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New State of the South African Cities Report now available

 

At a time when SA national government policy and politics still tends to be preoccupied with rural development, the recently-released State of Cities report – Towards Resilient Cities, provides a welcome focus on the role of South African cities and the challenges they…

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Have a look at the people evaluating Cape Town’s bid to be World Design Capital 2014

56 cities in 24 countries, including Cape Town, South Africa, are bidding for the designation of World Design Capital 2014. These are the people who will determine a shortlist of three cities by July:

World Design Capital 2014 Selection Committee


Dr. Mark Breitenberg
Icsid President (USA)

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Cape Town launches climate change coalition

Even though Cape Town did not win the bid to host the UN Conference on Climate Change (COP17) at the end of 2011, the process of bidding has resulted in the formation of a citywide climate change coalition. The objective of the coalition is to build Cape Town into a…

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Read this if you are not sure whether cities should be building cycle lanes or not

The Real Reason why Bicycles are Key to a Better City, by Kasey Klimes, Secret Republic – Designing a Better Urban Ecosystem

We all know the talking points. The benefits of bicycles have been tirelessly elaborated upon; bicycles improve health, ease congestion, save money, use less space, and…

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Beware the ‘silver bullet’ approach to urban regeneration

Beware urban regeneration strategies that rely on the magic ’silver bullet’ approach. In a great article entitled ‘31 flavours of urban redevelopment’, Rod Stevens critically disects the history of ‘flavour of the month’ interventions in US cities.

It is interesting to reflect which ones have worked in Cape Town (e.g.…

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56 cities from 20 countries are bidding for World Design Capital 2014 – Cape Town is one of them

about-bg

Have a look at the first chapter of Cape Town’s 465-page Bid Book for World Design Capital 2014

http://www.capetown2014.co.za/gallery/

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Leading cities into the next global era: The role of cross-sector partnerships

This is a talk I gave at a conference entitled The Future of Cities organised by Chatham House in London in March 2011. It draws on the experiences of the Cape Town Partnership over the past twelve years, as well as the work of Ralph Hamann, Associate Professor at the…

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A useful overview of the urban agenda since 1976

“Cities are undoubtedly one of the most complex human creations. They are places where density meets diversity, order meets chaos, innovation meets tradition, communication meets anonymity, change meets inertia, fight for liberation meets economic oppression. They are places where women and men meet to try and realize their dreams. Cities

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New exhibition in Cape Town: Beyond car-dependent models of city development

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Our Cities Ourselves: The Future of Transportation in Urban Life showcases the potential transformational role of transportation in ten major cities across the world and illustrates how the dream of a sustainable, equitable and liveable future can be realized when transport is a core foundation.

Ten of the world’s leading…

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Cape Town World Design Capital 2014 Bid Book unveiled at City Council meeting

City of Cape Town WDC 2014 media statement

Cape Town has officially submitted its bid to be World Design Capital in 2014, an occasion marked today by the handing over of a copy of the 465-page bid book to the Executive Mayor of Cape Town, Alderman Dan Plato, by the…

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And I thought South African cities had a long way to go in terms of segregation…

South African cities are often cited as some of the world’s most segregated cities. We certainly have a long way to go in terms of achieving more racially equitable and inclusive urban areas. But Daniel Denvir’s article on levels of segregation in US cities (The 10 most segregated urban areas

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Top New York City transportation and planning officials visit Cape Town as part of ITDP delegation

It’s only when I play ‘development tour guide’ in my own city that I fully appreciate all the amazing things going on. Last week was no exception. I was fortunate to help host Janette Sadik-Kahn, NYC Transport Commissioner and Amanda Burden, NYC Planning Commissioner, who visited Cape Town as part…

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