Andrew Boraine » Cities and Culture

Transforming the city through redesigning public spaces for people

Andrew — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 09:50:53 +0000

Here is another great article published in yesterday’s Cape Argus (Sept 9, 2010) by my colleagues, Lorelle Bell and Alexandra Jongens, in support of Cape Town’s bid for the title of World Design Capital 2014. Through the WDC bid process, we are asking the question: how do we use design…

Where is the centre of Cape Town?

Andrew — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 20:54:43 +0000

My colleague Iain Harris, who runs the popular Coffeebeans Routes (“We create contemporary, urban, African experiences that provide travellers deep insights into the places they choose to visit”) raised some provocative questions on his blog yesterday – Where is the centre of Cape Town? What happens if we move…

Why Cape Town is bidding for World Design Capital 2014

Andrew — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 18:53:14 +0000

For an overview as to why Cape Town is currently bidding for the title of World Design Capital 2014, and changing the name of the design game in the process, read the excellent article by my colleague, Lorelle Bell, followed by the editorial by the Cape Argus, which gets it spot on. Then…

Cape Town’s Reclaim Camissa Project puts social media tools to good use

Andrew — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 16:53:05 +0000

“CAMISSA, meaning ‘the place of sweet waters’ is the ancient Khoi name for Cape Town. Embedded, lost and obscured within the city’s fabric this vital ecological and cultural link still exists….”

The Reclaim Camissa Project, a citizen activation project to investigate, document and restore vital ecological and cultural heritage links between…

Mouille Point – what’s in a name?

Andrew — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 13:50:59 +0000

While the Sea Point Promenade ranks as one of the best public spaces in Cape Town, my personal preference is for its slightly scruffy and less well known neighbour – the Mouille Point promenade and beachfront.

I have often wondered how Mouille Point got its name, so I started doing some…

We’re on the road to nowhere…

Andrew — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 07:45:32 +0000

Update: There was a good response to my original post on Cape Town’s unfinished freeways. Ella Smook wrote a follow up article in the Cape Argus on 01 September (see full story below), following which John Maytham picked up the debate on Cape Talk radio.

What do you think? Should the Foreshore Freeways be:…

Come rain or come shine… we walk the city to discover our history

Andrew — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 13:06:59 +0000

I took a group of 25 international journalists on a walking tour of the Cape Town Central City this morning. The weather was awful, a typical wet Cape winter’s day, but true to our motto – we walk, come rain or shine – we set off in good spirits. The group is…

‘The Little Girl walks with her arms outstretched, dreaming she could fly…’

Andrew — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 21:27:17 +0000

If you ever needed an excuse to walk on the Sea Point Promenade, now’s the time to go and see Walking the Road, an inspiring public art project by Marieke Prinsloo. I’m not going to tell you what the story is about – you must experience it yourself.

Once you’ve…

The UDF was born in song

Andrew — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 15:52:32 +0000

Steve Gordon’s moving tribute to the late Robbie Jansen in the Mail and Guardian this weekend (The last blow for freedom) reminded me just how important music was to the culture and ethos of the United Democratic Front (UDF) in Cape Town in the 1980s.

Who can forget…

The ‘unhappy compromise’ shows signs of coming of age

Andrew — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 06:05:54 +0000

The Cape Town Foreshore has been described as an ‘unhappy compromise’ resulting in series of ‘wind-blown stretches of asphalt and concrete, filled with car parks and roaring traffic, inaccessible to pedestrians.’* Yet on a still winter’s morning, in the early dawn light, on foot, the Foreshore can almost be beautiful.…