Andrew Boraine » Urban Development

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

Andrew — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 13:22:10 +0000

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…

City of Cape Town considers new urban densification policy

Andrew — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 07:38:22 +0000

The Cape Times today reports that the City of Cape Town is considering adopting a city densification policy next month. This is welcome news and needs to be supported! Continued low-density urban sprawl in Cape Town is not sustainable. We are one of the most dispersed and fragmented

…

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…

Jay Walking in Cape Town

Andrew — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 15:25:29 +0000

I spent an enjoyable two hours yesterday walking the streets of the city and talking about the history of Cape Town and South Africa with Lucie Pagé, an award-winning French-Canadian writer and journalist. Impatient with many travel guides to South Africa that still persist in starting with “In 1652, Jan…

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 Integrated Rapid Transit System takes shape

Andrew — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 17:50:52 +0000

The City of Cape Town announced deadlines for the implementation of phase one of the Integrated Rapid Transit System (IRTS) at a meeting of the Cape Town Partnership’s Central City Partners Forum this week.

The West Coast trunk route between Bayside Shopping Centre and the CBD/ Waterfront will be up…

Whoops! Did someone perhaps jump the gun?

Andrew — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 15:14:59 +0000

Sunday, 22 August. We had been waiting for about two hours at the Clyde-Pinelands sports fields, along with a good crowd of about 5 000 people, to watch the demolition of the Athlone Towers. Finally, three minutes to go. Nearly time for the big event. A stir of anticipation began…

Athlone Towers – a giant new opportunity for a different approach to city building?

Andrew — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 07:17:37 +0000

When our boys were small, their name for the Athlone cooling towers was the ‘giant’s coffee cups’. Located near the N2 highway out of Cape Town, the ‘coffee cups’ usually signified the start of a holiday weekend out of town, or the end of a long tiring journey home.

…

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.…

Post 2010 paradigm shifts create opportunities for new city development

Andrew — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 13:12:12 +0000

In 2008, the City of Cape Town and the Cape Town Partnership published the Central City Development Strategy – a framework to guide change and manage growth over the next ten years. We are currently reviewing and updating the strategy in light of the 2010 World Cup experience.…