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Capetonians take to the streets again

The annual Community Chest Twilight Run provided another opportunity for Capetonians to take over the streets of the Central City. In the spirit of the 2010 World Cup Fan Walk, over 25 000 people, many dressed in outlandish gear and cheered on by an enthusiastic crowd, ran/walked a 5km route …

Talkin’ bicycle blues, or why don’t more people use bicycles as their primary means of transport in South African cities?

22 November 10 3 Comments

Today I was introduced to an amazing project called Bicycle Portraits, which investigates bicycle culture in South Africa, and in particular, the lack of cyclist commuters on the roads. Its run by Stan Engelbrecht and Nic Grobler, who travel around South Africa meeting fellow cyclists and taking pictures of them …

Walking blues 2, or the importance of a legible city

21 November 10 1 Comment

Continuing on the theme of walking blues, while in London last week, I came across a campaign called Legible London run by the Applied Information Group (AIG) on behalf of Transport for London. The idea of Legible London is to provide better support for the millions who walk every …

Walking blues, or how to make Cape Town a more walkable city

21 November 10 9 Comments

At one level, Cape Town is a city prominently associated with walking – on the mountains, the beaches, the Sea Point Promenade, the walkway from Muizenberg to Kalk Bay. In particular, one thinks of Peter Slingsby’s wonderful hiking maps and Mike Lundy’s influential Best Walks in the Cape Peninsula.…

Perverse outcomes? New bicycle lanes in Cape Town CBD add space for cars

10 November 10 26 Comments

I have been monitoring how the new bicycle lanes in Bree St in the Cape Town CBD are being utililised. In my view, the net effect has been to simply give more space to motorists for illegal parking (where they can now double park for free without obstructing the traffic flow) and for delivery vehicles …

Bidding for City cultural awards – learning from Donostia-San Sebastian

28 October 10 2 Comments

I’ve just spent three days in the Basque city of Donostia-San Sebastian, where I was a speaker at the World Urban Development Congress (INTA 34). I was interested to discover that San Sebastian is a candidate city for the European Capital of Culture 2016. Given Cape Town’s current bid …

The joys of sauntering the city

25 September 10 3 Comments

The great Baudelairean tradition of strolling the streets to discover the city is well captured by Jacob Dlamini in a recent article on walking in Johannesburg (yes, apparently it is possible – see below). He reminds us that one of the consequences of suburban life is the diminution of the rights of pedestrians in favour of cars. …

Ten reasons why the Sea Point Promenade is ‘My Cape Town’

10 September 10 4 Comments

September is World Tourism Month and Cape Town Tourism, in partnership with Table Mountain Aerial Cableway and other top city attractions, is encouraging locals to experience their city as tourists through the ‘My Cape Town’ Campaign.

Here are ten reasons why the Sea Point Promenade on a late afternoon in September …

Why lively public spaces that centre around people and community, not cars, are important for democratising cities

10 September 10 1 Comment

My colleague, Ibrahim Seedat, Director of Public Transport Strategy at the South African Department of Transport, drew my attention to this great interview with former Bogotá mayor Enrique Peñalosa in Yes! Magazine.

In Ibrahim’s words, “Even though you have heard it all before, it is always a refreshing option to read Penalosa …

Transforming the city through redesigning public spaces for people

10 September 10 7 Comments

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 …

Cape Town’s Bid to host 2011 UN Climate Change Conference

07 September 10 14 Comments

Cape Town is one of three South African cities bidding to host the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP17) towards the end of 2011. The fact that the event will take place in South Africa so soon after the 2010 World Cup is a major boost for our country.…

Why Cape Town is bidding for World Design Capital 2014

05 September 10 4 Comments

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. …

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