Tag Archives: Reclaim Camissa

“Pedestrians in Cape Town are a hunted race”… We’ve made some progress

17 April 11 1 Comment

In 2005, Gehl Architects from Copenhagen did an analysis of public space and public life in the Cape Town Central City. Jan Gehl, world-renowned architect and pioneer of the city-building philosophy of “first people, then space, and then buildings”, commented at the time, when he saw the extent of car-dominance…

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

05 September 10 3 Comments

“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…

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The ‘unhappy compromise’ shows signs of coming of age

07 August 10 5 Comments

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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.…

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Storming the ramparts: How the Castle of Good Hope can become part of city life

12 July 10 2 Comments

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One of the good things about hosting a large global event like the 2010 World Cup is the way we were able do things that previously seemed impossible. Like regular road closures to create safe pedestrian spaces, reliable public transport, dressing the city in bright colours, colourful wall murals and outdoor advertisements,…

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Ports d’Attache

19 January 10 0 Comments

Ports d’Attache, or Home Ports, is a Canadian documentary series on 13 major port cities*, currently in the process of production. One of the cities is Cape Town, and I had the opportunity earlier this week to show reknowned Canadian photographer Heidi Hollinger, the host of the show, and…

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Reclaim Camissa

18 November 09 7 Comments

I’ve just got back from an amazing walk underneath the city through an old water tunnel that runs from Oranjezicht to the Castle. The walk was part of the Reclaim Camissa project, which is currently managed by Caron von Zeil at the Cape Town Partnership (021 – 419 1881 for more…

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