Tag Archives: Cape Town Central City

Perfect day, perfect walk

On one of the most beautiful winter days in Cape Town that I can remember, it was wonderful to take a break from football action to explore Signal Hill for a few hours. Even though I’ve been walking the Fan Walk, I certainly needed the exercise after many tense moments in front of the TV (Yes,…

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Heaven forbid we return to business as usual in the city

Cape Town will never be the same again. Not after the experience of the World Cup. I’m not talking about the infrastructure legacy, or the new facilities created, or the worldwide exposure for Cape Town as a destination. I’m talking about the way in which our attitudes to using the city…

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350 000 people in Cape Town Central City for start of Football World Cup

The City of Cape Town estimates that an astounding 350 000 people visited the Cape Town Central City area on Friday 11 June to watch the World Cup Opening Ceremony and Bafana Bafana-Mexico game on TV and to attend the opening match at the CT Stadium, with 250 000 in…

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I love it when a plan comes together

“I love it when a plan comes together” was one of the catchphrases of John ‘Hannibal’ Smith, a character in the popular 1980s TV-series, The A-Team. I felt like repeating it on Friday evening when I saw 20 000 people (the City of Cape Town’s official figure) using the Cape Town…

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Cape Town gees (spirit)? – We’re getting there!

There’s been quite a bit a talk about Cape Town not being in the mood for the World Cup. Sure, we sometimes take a bit longer than other parts of the country to get going. But don’t just count the number of flags on cars or lamp-posts. Rather, walk around…

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Award for Cape Town Station designer

Yesterday, I wrote about the huge public space opportunities that will present themselves once the new CT Station Square in the Central City is unveiled (Cape Town Station Square – Unburied Treasure). In today’s Cape Times, I see that my colleague Mokena Makeka, the Cape Town architect behind the redesign of the…

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Look around! Look sharp!

I’m always on the lookout for new and quirky images and places when I walk around the Cape Town CBD, so I often take a camera with me, even on the way to a meeting. After all, the whole point of a city centre, unlike a suburban mall, is that it is…

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Why Cape Town works

The Cape Town Central City features very positively in a recent article by Alan Cameron at iafrica.com entitled ‘Why Cape Town works’. The article is based partly on comparisons between the Cape Town Central City and the Johannesburg and Durban CBDs.

Many of the subsequent responses from readers to the…

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Cape Town Station Square – unburied treasure

We haven’t quite yet begin to realise the future potential of the new Cape Town Station Square. Situated right in the middle of the Cape Town CBD, the construction of the new Square was initially driven by the need for a public evacuation area, so that the CT Station can conform to international transport safety…

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New pedestrian bridge in place over Lower Buitengracht

After almost two years of planning, a new pedestrian bridge was lowered into place over Lower Buitengracht in the Cape Town Central City yesterday. For many years, pedestrians walking between the V&A Waterfront and the CBD have had to take their life into their hands in trying to get across six lanes…

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Public spaces and places in the city come of age on Human Rights Day weekend

A large part of our time at the Cape Town Partnership and CCID  is spent on finding ways in which our public spaces can be used by and for citizens of this city. The multiple events taking place this coming Human Rights Day weekend point to a coming of age in…

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Imagine City Hall

I’ve never been a fan of the Cape Town City Hall from an architectural and aesthetic point of view. I always find it a bit gloomy – two buildings in one rather awkwardly joined together with a rabbit-warren of corridors and rooms. However, there is no denying its symbolic and…

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