Tag Archives: Western Cape Provincial Government

The ABC of the EDA in Cape Town and the Western Cape

Today, the Western Cape Provincial Cabinet approved the establishment of a new Economic Development Agency (EDA) for the region. The EDA as a formal corporate entity is due to be launched by end March 2012.

While many of the organisational and operational details are still to be worked out, here is a…

Read More

Introducing the new Cape Economic Development Agency

This article by Murray Williams, which appeared today in the Cape Argus (09 August 2011), gives a nice overview of what the proposed new Cape Economic Development Agency will do. The final details still need to be signed off by Provincial Government and the City of Cape Town over the…

Read More

Western Cape regional economic development – how are we doing?

The Western Cape Provincial Government (WCPG) is currently considering the establishment of an Economic Development Agency (EDA) in an attempt to increase the rate of economic growth, deepen levels of economic development and broaden economic participation in the region. The WCPG has commissioned the Cape Town Partnership to engage with…

Read More

World Design Capital 2014 deadline for shortlisted cities draws near

The Premier of the Western Cape, Helen Zille, and the Executive Mayor of Cape Town, Patricia de Lille, joined together yesterday to lend their support to Cape Town’s bid for World Design Capital 2014. On 21 June, Icsid will announce the names of the three cities (out of 56 bidding cities)…

Read More

The Fringe is a space to watch

Read an update of Cape Town’s The Fringe Innovation District by project coordinator Yehuda Raff (Cape Argus, 09 May 2011)

In 2007, a group of forward-thinking people got together and talked about the need to establish an environment that would support innovation and development in the design, media…

Read More

Opportunities for a new V&A Waterfront Development Path, or, will it be Business as Usual?

IMG_4933

Cape Town’s well-known V&A Waterfront is back under South African ownership. It was sold yesterday to Growthpoint Properties, South Africa’s largest listed property company, and the Public Sector Investment Corporation (PIC) representing the Government Employees Pension Fund, for R9,7bn.

The new owners have announced that they plan to spend between…

Read More

A year of blogging dangerously

I see that I have written 148 posts on ‘Cities for People’ since I started blogging in October 2009. That’s more than a post every three days, which I’m told is the least one must do to keep one’s readers vaguely interested. Blogging has been a great opportunity to get back into the art of…

Read More

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

COP17 Bid document - Copy

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.…

Read More

We’re on the road to nowhere…

IMG_1481 - Copy

Update: There was a good response to my original post on Cape Town’s unfinished freeways. Ella Smook wrote a follow up article in the Cape Argus on 01 September (see full story below), following which John Maytham picked up the debate on Cape Talk radio.

What do you think? Should the Foreshore Freeways be:…

Read More

The ‘unhappy compromise’ shows signs of coming of age

IMG_0999

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.…

Read More

Post 2010 paradigm shifts create opportunities for new city development

Pedestrian zone in Adderley Street

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.…

Read More

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

Castle3

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,…

Read More