Neil Fraser’s Easiread No. 1/2012

Citichat January 2012

“How do you get a reply from a Minister?” – service delivery - the Marshall Street Barracks et al.

If you are around my age you may remember that great Burt Bacharach song “What do you get when you fall in love?” The lyrics went something like this “What do you get when you fall in love? A guy with a pin to burst your bubble - That’s what you get for all your trouble, I’ll never fall in love again.”

It could be well updated by “What do you get when you vote for government? A bunch of morons who live in a bubble – that’s what you get for all your trouble. I’m never going to vote again.

What do you get when you call a Minister? You get a warning to send a letter -  After you do, he’ll never answer, I’m never going to vote again”  

The point is I’m sick and tired of hearing various levels of government either being exhorted to “improve their service delivery” or hearing resolutions that “we will improve service delivery”! What actually do they mean by service delivery? I turned to the only reliable source of information – Google! I googled “service delivery” and found the first three reasons for the mess we are in – (i) everything is out of date (ii) the information is typical government spin and (iii) service delivery seems confined to municipal delivery of services to citizens! AND THAT’S NOT CORRECT!  

The first website was inserted by Local Government in South Africa and explains what “municipal service delivery” is and why we should understand it and partnerships and the role of citizens blah blah blah. This is the kind of document that is fed to international investigative groups to say “see, we know all about service delivery!” This was followed by another site of no help - “Service Delivery Platforms”  – a Wikipedia site that relates to telecommunication service delivery.

Then there is a two-and-a-half year old report by the Institute for Security Studies as to “the reasons behind service delivery protests in South Africa” – I guess it hasn’t been updated because the reasons haven’t changed in those two-and-a-half years!

Following that is a website from the Centre For Service Delivery (part of the HSRC) which states that  “The multi-disciplinary Centre for Service Delivery (CSD) undertakes scientific research towards understanding and explaining the dominant trends in service delivery provision.” Things are clearly so bad that we have to have a national scientific research centre to explain why government can’t do its job.  

That, in turn, is followed by a whole lot of other equally useless sites until I eventually found www.wonkie.com. Wonkie simply says it like it is “What the government in South Africa seems to lack is, ironically enough, exactly what customers expect from business services such as Mr. Delivery – solid service level agreements that someone can be held accountable to.  Sadly these measures and those accountable for them either seem not to exist or are well hidden in the state bureaucracy. And all this despite the South African taxpayers having to fund a whole new team for Performance Management and Evaluation in the Presidency headed by Minister Collins Chabane. The strategy of denial that problems exist, or acknowledging them and then doing practically nothing significant about them seems to be the only definite policy in place in government for the moment – particularly to address major public concerns such as service delivery”

Whilst I fully empathise with poor communities who have huge lack-of municipal service delivery and am happy to toi-toi with them (as far as my back will allow!) and with other communities who suffer from poor service delivery -  I want to know why senior officials and politicians themselves are allowed to get away without any form of service delivery? Are we being totally unfair to these people when we expect the courtesy of a reply or even an acknowledgement to documents addressed to them? Are they truly at a level that we mere mortals (who are also rate and tax payers that pay their salaries and perks) are being unfair to have expectations to be treated to even the tiniest speck of common decency.

A major property developer in the city was telling me that in order to have an issue finally resolved with Council he had to take the matter to court – he won his case which the City was instructed to resolve within something like two months – that was eighteen months ago and he now has a contempt of court motion which he might have to ‘reluctantly’ launch.

I’m waiting for a reply to a letter that I wrote to the City Manager about four years ago!

Some years ago, I phoned the then MEC for Finance in Provincial Government, about a fairly important issue regarding the city to be told that he didn’t take telephone calls – I must write, I was told,  and he would address the issue. A letter and numerous reminders were sent and now, probably six years (and a number of MECs later!) I await an acknowledgement.

A fully documented letter to the MEC for Local Government, plus reminders, requesting an investigation into some Provincial legislation met with the same result. Utter silence.

A group of heritage individuals and organisations (known as “the group”) fought the decision of SAHRA to allow the demolition of some 10 heritage buildings in the inner city and, although they had the decision overturned in a number of the cases, were not satisfied as to the clearly biased procedures that were followed. An appeal to the Minister in terms of the Act was simply ignored. To add insult to injury the Gauteng Provincial Government started alteration work on some of these buildings, probably eighteen months ago, during which the magnificent brass windows to the Rand Water Board building in Fraser Street (one of the ‘protected buildings’ ) were replaced with cheap aluminium. For eighteen months the city has been pockmarked with these ‘protected buildings’  that Provincial Government started to alter and subsequently deserted to strains of corruption involved in the awarding of the contracts. 

I wrote about the Marshall Street Barracks debacle at the end of last year – an issue that had been taken up by Flo Bird of the Parktown and Westcliff Heritage Trust. I noted her year-end newsletter to members “This last newsletter of the year sums up the failures of each level of government in dealing with the City of Johannesburg’s precious heritage, starting with the National Department of Public Works which refuses to be interviewed or even to answer written questions on their abandonment of the Marshall Street Police Barracks. The fire was 10 years ago and yet officials have twiddled their thumbs with no thought for how it could be restored and used. They certainly haven’t responded to the one person who has shown an interest, offering to restore the building and use it to accommodate artists and an artists market.

Obviously unless the Department of Public Works gets a lease agreement which costs millions of Rand it doesn’t consider the matter important. The conservation organizations of Johannesburg have written to the new Minister, Mr. Thembelani Nxesi, about this, so far without a reply.”

I’m quite sure that politicians and senior officials are excessively busy – after all this year is Centennial celebration and party time for the ruling party. I bet everyone answered their RSPVs to the events – but those would be in the Action box and not the “Take no Notice” box. So at the end of all that, back to Burt Bacharach

“Don’t tell me what it’s all about – ‘Cause I’ve been there and I’m never getting out – out of those chains, those chains that bind me – that is why I’m here to remind you “What do you get when you call him tomorrow? You only get lies and pain and sorrow – so far at least until the morrow, I’m never going to vote again” - neil   

Citichat is a Joint Venture between Urban Genesis Management and Neil Fraser. Urban Genesis Management works to strengthen local economies and business nodes, creating places that entice and captivate (www.urbangenesis.co.za). Neil Fraser, who writes Citichat, is a private consultant dedicated to the revitalization of urban centres. He can be contacted on (023) 614 3806 or neil@urbaninc.co.za. The views and opinions expressed in Citichat are those of Neil Fraser and not necessarily those of Urban Genesis.

Citichat is a free twice monthly publication concerning cities generally and Johannesburg specifically. Please forward Citichat to your colleagues who may wish to be placed on the subscription list. To subscribe please contact neil@urbaninc.co.za

Citichat can also be found as a blog on www.citichat.co.za

Urban Genesis Management (Pty) Ltd
T +27 11 447 8841 F +27 11 447 1375  

C +27 82 254 1001

katie.engelbrecht@urbangenesis.co.za
www.urbangenesis.co.za

December 2011
Catching up!

This week, some more updating on issues I’ve missed out on over this year – next year we’ll look more closely at what is happening on the ground.

Joeys – city of contrasts!

Looking through my file in which I keep all the bits ‘n pieces that folk send me about the inner city, I came across the following two, both some months old but that reminded me again of the huge contrasts the central city offers. The first was an announcement that “Johannesburg makes Wallpaper magazine's list of 5 Best Cities”. Wallpaper*, the famous British magazine focusing on architecture, fashion, lifestyle and design, announced its Design Awards 2011. Rio de Janeiro was voted World's Best City and Johannesburg was among the top 5, together with Chicago, Hong Kong and Oslo.

According to the magazine, "South Africa's commercial capital has bloomed and boomed since the end of apartheid. The townships show there is a long way to go, but Johannesburg pushes on, shaping itself into a world-class city. Its arts scene is a major draw…….and in the heart of Jo'burg, the converted warehouse complex Arts on Main is a shining example of urban preservation done well. A true creative hub, its tenants include Bailey Seippel Gallery, publisher David Krut and eaterie Canteen.”

Amongst the urban developments ‘worth noting’, the article listed: Gautrain rail link; Rea Vaya bus system; renovated former industrial complexes in Newtown, such as the Workers' Museum and Turbine Hall Square.

The second article was about an informal trader on the corner of Rissik and Bree Streets who sells false teeth from his pavement stall. The false teeth are collected from undertakers in Johannesburg, (Proudly South African!) disinfected (hopefully!), and sold for R20.00 for a pair whilst used singles only cost R10.00. You are invited to test them until you find the perfect match! Hmmm, wonder why Wallpaper* didn’t include it in their ‘worth noting section? At less than two pounds a pair they are a bargain!

Now this is urban regeneration!

When we bandy about words like ‘urban renewal’, ‘urban regeneration’ and ‘urban revitalisation’ everyone nods knowingly but many have totally different perceptions of what is meant. Those perceptions range from ‘greened’ iconic soaring glass and aluminium towers replacing the drab cityscape to the sanitation of all public space preferably by removing indigent street people and the informal traders who add to the detritus. That’s not it!!!!!

The words renewal, regeneration and revitalization are all positive words that speak of renewed life and vitality and above all, renewed energy!

Wallpaper* has got it right ‘Arts on Main’ “is a shining example of urban preservation done well.” Starting just a few years back, Jonathan Liebmann bought the old D.F.Corlett construction offices and builders yard on the block bordered by Main, Berea and Fox Streets. At the time, a friend of mine, in the ‘city business,’ said that this was the most ‘unlikely to succeed’ investment given the area and what the developer wanted to do. This type of project stood no chance of success, she said, no chance at all!

Some weeks prior to this conversation, I had been invited by Jonathan to visit the site he had bought. As we traipsed through building rubble and contractor's mess, he spoke of his vision for the building and the area. I was impressed! The building was to become ‘Arts on Main’ a project that incorporated a number of old, mostly industrial buildings, into mixed-use space that would offer alternative lifestyles, workspaces and retail outlets. One of the first buyers was in fact William Kentridge. Following his interest the project drew Goodman Gallery, The Nirox Foundations and The Goethe Institute. In just a couple of years Jonathan created what has become a fundamental component of Johannesburg’s cultural landscape, hence its mention in Wallpaper*.

But this was only the beginning and the spur to a much broader concept of transforming the entire area around Arts on Main into a fully integrated, mixed use community. Comprehensive and mixed income residential offerings were introduced in the next phase. Two more remodeled buildings (‘Main Street Life’ and ‘12 Decades’) have been added and I understand that five more associated projects are in various stages of completion.

Some time ago two German artists came to South Africa and collaborated with a Sowetan artist on the “Remote Words” project, which resulted in the word ‘Maboneng’ being produced as text artwork on the roof of Arts on Main. This Sotho word, meaning “Place of Light”, spoke to Liebmann’s vision for an enlightened community in the area. As his marketing brochure says “The regeneration efforts go beyond developing old buildings in that the company also focuses on engaging with and uplifting the community. The company has placed a strong focus on the creation of lifestyle spaces for members of the community as well as encouraged support for existing businesses in the surrounding areas. The company has also formed partnerships with community initiatives and continues to work on projects that involve securing and lighting the streets as well as improving the transport systems to and from the area.”

It’s all about the people, now that’s what I call urban regeneration!

Frank’s Ashes

Referring to my story in the last Citichat regarding the ashes of Frank Wild, Flo Bird dropped me a note to say “as regard’s Frank’s ashes, we (Parktown Westcliff Heritage Trust) have put a box with a plaque recording the fact that they were there for so many years and their removal for interment alongside Shackleton.” Thanks Flo, that’s great because the story would have been otherwise lost.

The Legislature (old City Hall).

One of the reasons I was given some years ago for the Gauteng Legislature buying the Old City Hall, where they were tenants of the City Council, related to maintenance or lack thereof. During the Legislature’s tenancy of the building no maintenance of the building had been provided by the City. The Legislature which is not allowed through statute to spend money on properties they do not own, was therefore unable to provide the much needed maintenance. The obvious solution was to buy the building which happened in November 2001 for the ridiculous sum of R20 million, another example of one level of government scratching another’s back! (If I got my computer correctly to calculate the value of the building today, 100 years later, at an average inflation rate of just 2.5%, the value of the building would be in excess of R100 million!).

For whatever reason, the promised maintenance/restoration failed to materialise and the building continued to deteriorate badly. The good news is that an announcement was recently made that “the general renovation of the exterior of the institution has commenced. In essence, this project, which will extend over a three year period, will restore the sandstone exterior of the GPL building back to its original colour and at the same time, repair damaged sandstone either by replacement or reconstitution. In addition, the renovation work will address the balustrades, the window frames, window putty, the guttering, and the roof tiles, all with a view to refurbishment or replacement – where absolutely necessary – of those components of the building. The end result will be a fully restored exterior of the building akin to its appearance when it was originally commissioned in 1915.”

Whoopee!!! Interesting that the entire building took only three years to build originally (1912 to 1914) at a cost of R900 000!

Rissik Street Post Office

As you know, following repeated warnings to the Council of the dangers of allowing vandals and various people turning it into their personal night shelter, the derelict Rissik Street Post Office was badly damaged by fire on the 1st of November 2009.

A group of indiduals and organization, incensed by the Council’s criminal neglect of the building, attempted to lay a charge against both the City and the Provincial Government but the SAPS refused to accept the charge - which had to be directed against the Executive Mayor (as representing the City) and the Premier (as representing the Province). “You are not allowed to lay charges against the Mayor and/or Premier” we were told by a succession of police officers starting with the charge officer on duty; then his supervisor; then his officer in charge, then the lieutenant who referred us to the captain. The captain said our charge was framed under the wrong clause in the Act and told us to “go away” and redraft it. The lawyers pointed out that it was the correct provision and so on and on.

In the end the Council undertook to effect repairs and the work was declared the responsibility of the Johannesburg Property Company under whose stewardship the building had been allowed to quietly implode on itself for fifteen years. Being aware of their poor track record and the excellent work done by the JDA, we implored the Executive Mayor to move the job to the JDA, to which he agreed. However internal politics then came to the fore and the decision of the Executive Mayor was reversed. It soon became clear that the Council were only interested in restoring the structure to the extent of the insurance payout. This is exactly what some of us had been concerned would happen. Time should have been spent on looking at a number of other alternatives – going out for proposal calls on what was left after the fire with the insurance money provided to the developer; leaving the exterior of the building as a monument to inefficiency but inserting a new building within the exterior (as was done so successfully at Turbine Hall and the JDA’s offices in the Bus Factory), leaving the private sector to come up with ingenious proposals whilst respecting the heritage envelope of the building, etc. etc. Instead we now have what we basically had before the fire, another derelict building but with a new roof! The insurance recovery evidently didn’t even cover the cost of repairing the bell tower – work that one out! So what happens next…..? Suggestions have been floating around about using the building for the offices of the Executive Mayor but don’t hold your breath. It has only taken us just under 20 years to get where we are from when the building was vacated by the Post Office – it took local government about the same time between making the decision to vacate the old City Hall and move into its current Gulag 17 on Braamfontein Hill! On second thoughts a Gulag is the wrong description as Aleksandr Solzheitsyn said that the gulags were “a system where people were worked to death”. No chance of that happening!!!!!!!

Marshall Street Barracks

Another result of government neglect, this time Central Government, also leading to a fire and continuing disinterest in the gutted historic building from the government department concerned, is the Marshall Street Barracks. Continuous pressure on Public Works to “do something” has resulted in indifference. Now Flo Bird has taken up the cudgels and if anyone has the determination to get action it is Flo, so watch this space.

Rand Steam Laundries

Remember the historic Rand Steam Laundries complex that was totally annihilated by the Imperial Group in early 2008 - notwithstanding its provisional status as a Provincial Heritage Site? (The name of their car rental agency was incidentally changed subsequent to the incident through partial acquisition by Europcar). Well, they have applied to Council for the site to be used temporarily as a parking area but that has not as yet been agreed to. But they will have to comply with redevelopment terms that all future development will have to be in terms of an overall urban development framework (UDF) that in turn has to address a whole host of issues including the reconstruction of the laundry buildings along Napier Road, the restoration of the existing laundry building and the circular tower and the commemoration of the Amawasha site. The restoration and reconstruction of the laundry buildings have to occur simultaneously with or before any further development of the site. Again, the driving force in protecting the future of the site has been the Parktown Westcliff Heritage Trust

Charter

Since the last Citichat, I managed to get some answers regarding the fate of the previous Charter and the future intentions. Firstly, the overall responsibility has been taken away from the Development, Planning and Urban Management Department and transferred to the Region F office. For me this is a big disappointment – not that the Nathe Mtetwa is not competent, I regard him as one of the best – but with the amount of strategic thinking that has to go into this process, I was really hoping that the work would fall under the JDA. They have been ‘mothering’ the process for the past few months. However, I’m sure that Nathe will take a firm grip on where the Charter is going with the political direction being the responsibility of Ros Greeff. What will be interesting will be how she will structure the process given that the Inner City 79 Committee and inner city mayoral sub-committee have been scuttled. I gather that the broad thinking is to have another round of consultations with the CoJ stakeholders and the charter partners. Then another Summit (another mountain to climb!) and a new Charter which I assume will pick up all the issues not completed in the previous Charter. I believe that the previous charter will still undergo external audit. My concern that the Charter has been lost in the Growth and Development Strategy is evidently incorrect. The GDS is considered the high level strategy to which the Charter (and other Council programmes/ processes) respond.

Tourism

Apart from the Parktown Westcliff Heritage Trust’s brilliant tours of many years standing and which cover a far wider area than just the inner city, I spent quite some years as being the only other regular “tour show” in town. By “tour show” I mean one with a focus on inner city regeneration. Before I moved down to Montagu I was asked by the JDA to develop a tourist guide training programme covering urban renewal and arts in the inner city. I then ran a number of training sessions to probably a hundred individuals and organization interested in this field and have been delighted that there now appear to be regular and varied tours on offer. One that caught my eye is a company that goes by the name Past Experiences (www.pastexperiences.co.za). It is evidently a small family business - Jo Buitendach and Tania Olsson are the tour guides. They both possess that critical quality for guiding – passion – passion for the inner city, for its many and varied peoples, its buildings, its history, its art and culture and, of course its regeneration. I believe that passion is the core ingredient for successful tour guiding so that the fact that they are ideally qualified sharing degrees in archeology, history and linguistics is almost secondary.

I recently received the Cape Info December newsletter (well I do live in the Western Cape!) and two issues jumped out at me. The first was the tremendous support Cape Town received from its citizens et al in seeking and winning two major awards (apart from "World's Top Destination"!) namely World Design Capital 2014 and Table Mountain's New 7 Wonder of Nature status. The report made a comment that we Joburgers need to think seriously about – “Both (awards) introduce a paradigm shift in the way people around the world will think about Cape Town. One must wonder if other SA towns work hard enough.” Well we don’t have a Table Mountain but we do have a hell of a lot else, we need to get our act together!

The second issue was a comment made about the Joburg Tourism Company. They had evidently agreed to take part in a National Tourism Survey (in which 69% of respondents were from the Western Cape!) and the article says JTC had agreed to participate in the survey to increase responses from Gauteng. They evidently did ask a claimed 8,000 subscribers to participate by clicking on a link in their newsletter. But the link was to their Travel Information page. Cape Info pointed the error out and JTC offered to add a banner but never bothered to correct the incorrect URL!

Hey Jozi, we need to get our act together! Ciao, neil

Citichat November 2011

Neil Fraser’s Easiread




November 2011



Well, we’re back, Citichat ‘n me!

After a long break and many requests, cajoling and threats, plus an arrangement with Urban Genesis, Citichat is back in circulation, starting on a basis of twice monthly.

Was in Joeys last week and happened to drive eastwards down Bree Street. The area where Bree passes from Troye to End Streets is like driving through the worst parts of Lagos! Hey, what’s going on? The area seems to be under the control of informal traders with no sign of any form of management! If you try to nip down the cross streets you are sandwiched cheek to jowl between great steel mesh walls made up of the backs of informal trading stands on pavements on either side of the roads. The result is that most pedestrians, of which there are many in that area, use the streets and driving is quite hazardous.

At the very first serious attempt to pinpoint the problems bedeviling the city way back in 1992, unmanaged informal trading was a priority on the list. THAT’S NEARLY TWENTY YEARS AGO AND WHAT HAS BEEN ACCOMPLISHED??????? Well, we do have a “Municipal Owned Entity” the MTC, the Metropolitan Trading Company that we didn’t have before and which must be costing ratepayers a fortune to maintain! It is responsible for the management of informal trading plus another issue prioritised twenty years ago “taxis”. But what are the actual results on the ground? Nice cleanup of informal trading around Oppenheimer Square, which was motivated by the private sector, but I don’t see twenty years of steady progress in dealing with the issue. Which brings me to the Inner City Charter that set out specific informal trading requirements to be achieved by last July.

The Inner City Summit and Charter introduced by Amos Masondo, the previous Executive Mayor, was one of the most innovative and courageous steps any Council has ever taken in the Inner City. For that matter in any city in the country! For a local authority to expose itself to publicly listing nearly 200 issues requiring urgent attention, from major complex initiatives to smaller items, then providing target dates for their implementation, and signing these in a Charter as a commitment to achieve their completion by certain dates was an unusually brave step. In my opinion, the Charter formed the basis for one of the best urban renewal processes that we have been subject to.

That it didn’t totally achieve its objectives, in most part, was due to a system that appears to allow senior management of the city’s departments and MOEs to do their own thing. Some absolutely ignored the charter commitments, others treated it as an irritant. Informal trading wasn’t the only issue that wasn’t resolved, there were numerous others. The critical Better Buildings Programme made absolutely no progress at all other than being re-imagined as a complex BEE based programme that never got off the ground. I hear on my grapevine that the City is now surreptitiously selling off some of the buildings involved.

Whilst during the charter process, instituted in 2007, there were annual independent audits to determine what exactly had been achieved against programme, and what hadn’t, there wasn’t such an audit for the council year ending June 2010. Instead the independent consultants were told to develop a “new” list of “charter commitments”, including those items not completed in terms of the previous charter and also to re-examine the institutional arrangements that the Charter is both managed and assessed by. So we may never know the final score that was achieved which, sadly, merely stokes skepticism about such processes.

From what I now hear, you have to dredge through the voluminous newly issued “Growth and Development Strategy 2040” to find Inner City issues that still need attention. Does that mean that there will not be a new Inner City Charter for the new Executive Mayor’s term of office? I sincerely hope not especially as I hear that the very competent MMC Ros Greeff has been given the responsibility for the Inner City!

Had a meeting near the Market Theatre and saw that a number of the old buildings opposite the theatre are being demolished – I think I have been reporting on this development, known as “The Majestic” for probably five years! Good news is that the facades of the buildings are being retained for their heritage value. The very large (R1 billion plus) proposed retail and hotel development between Museum Africa and Carr Street seems to have stalled, I guess because of the economic situation. However the historic Potato Sheds directly behind Museum Africa are gone. The area looks quite sad, a large open space with a sign forlornly declaring “The railway sidings - visible directly behind Museum Africa – date back to 1911 and were constructed by the South African Railway Administration to provide access between the Newtown market and the railway yards to the north. Around the railway sidings, the Fresh Produce Market, the Market Hall and the Indian Fruit Market developed over time. Most produce was transported to the market by rail. Originally designed in 1910 as open sheds, the so-called potato sheds played an integral part in the activities of Newtown. The site incorporates various structures that were added over a 60-year period for keeping vegetables and fodder as well as for slaughtering poultry. Bustling activity, dirt and the smell of livestock characterised this area. By early 1960s some 2 000 tons of fresh produce was moving through the market every day.” So another little bit of Joeys’ history disappears BUT I believe that the demolished steel structure of the Potato Sheds will be reused in the new structure to be built in its place.

Another bit of old Jozi that has disappeared is 92 Market Street better known in the ‘70s and ‘80s as Solly Kramer’s. The first structure on this site was a low corrugated iron building with gable and verandah built in 1888. In 1895 a double storey brick building with dormer window and verandah with a chequered stained glass was designed by architect M.B. Houge. It was erected to house The West of England Clothing Establishment. In 1920 a new building, the Sauer building, provided retail facilities and Solly Kramer’s was built in 1976, a double storey building with an intriguing “wine cellar” and an open central courtyard. Over the years the building provided premises for clothing, a butcher shop, a fish shop, a confectionary store and a bottle store. The last structure was mostly timber. Earlier this year the building was sold and a new façade and interior alterations commenced. Robbers broke into the building a short while ago and lit a fire to see (as there was no electricity available) but the fire was allowed to get out of control and ultimately gutted the building leaving just the new façade. Heritage-wise it was no great loss to the city as it had been rebuilt and altered so many times that its heritage value was almost non-existent.

Another interesting episode I experienced when I was last in the city concerned Commander Frank Wild. Frank Wild was born in Yorkshire in 1873 – joined the Royal Navy in 1900 – volunteered to join Scott’s Antarctic expedition in 1901 aboard the vessel ‘Discovery’ when it sailed for McMurdo Sound. This was to be the start of his two decades of exploration. He was involved in a number of further Antarctica explorations including two led by Sir Ernest Shackleton on the second of which he acted as second-in-command to Shackleton.

After the First World War, he farmed cotton in British Nyasaland but answered the call of Shackleton again in 1921. Shackleton suffered a heart attack and died whilst the expedition was in South Georgia before they had reached Antarctica. Wild took over and completed the expedition. He then returned to South Africa and died in Klerksdorp in 1939 and was cremated in the Braamfontein Crematorium. Evidently it was Frank Wild’s last wish to be buried alongside his ‘boss’ and friend Sir Ernest Shackleton. Angie Butler, a South African author has recently published a book “The Quest for Frank Wild” (published by Jackleberry Press) which includes his original memoirs and details of her seven year search for his ashes. Following a phone call from Angie Butler, Alan Buff, the head of technical services at City Parks, discovered Frank Wild’s ashes in an urn in the Crematorium. Alan, who is clearly passionate about the huge history that the Braamfontein Cemetery holds, was the man who discovered Enoch Santonga’s grave in the cemetery. How I was involved was that the BBC have been working on a feature film on Frank, and I was asked to sit with the film narrator in Braamfontein cemetery and talk about what Joeys was probably like when Frank spent some years in the city in the 20s and 30s. I won’t add “oh yes, I remember it well!”.

Lots of news to catch up on but ciao ‘till next time, neil



Citichat is a Joint Venture between Urban Genesis Management and Neil Fraser. Urban Genesis Management works to strengthen local economies and business nodes, creating places that entice and captivate (www.urbangenesis.co.za). Neil Fraser, who writes Citichat, is a private consultant dedicated to the revitalization of urban centres. He can be contacted on (023) 614 3806 or neil@urbaninc.co.za. The views and opinions expressed in Citichat are those of Neil Fraser’s and not necessarily those of Urban Genesis.



Citichat is a free twice monthly publication concerning cities generally and Johannesburg specifically. Please forward Citichat to your colleagues who may wish to be placed on the subscription list. To subscribe please contact neil@urbaninc.co.za

Citichat can also be found as a blog on www.citichat.co.za









Urban Genesis Management (Pty) Ltd

T +27 11 447 8841 F +27 11 447 1375

C +27 82 254 1001

katie.engelbrecht@urbangenesis.co.za

www.urbangenesis.co.za

Citichat No 10 November 2010

CITICHAT 10/2010


November 2010

Learning from the States (2)


Washington DC

Washington DC is politically unique amongst American cities. It was founded in 1790 as a Federal District distinct from the States to serve as a permanent national capital. The City of Washington was originally a separate municipality within the federal territory until 1871 when it was established as a single, unified municipal government for the whole District. This is why, while legally named the District of Columbia, it is known as Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., is governed by a mayor and city council. However, the United States Congress has supreme authority over the city and may overturn local laws. Residents of the District therefore have less self-governance than residents of the states. The District has a non-voting, at-large Congressional delegate, but no senators. D.C. residents could not vote in presidential elections before 1961.

But Washington DC is also unique as a city. It provides accommodation for Federal, District and local government with their numerous agencies etc, which in turn attracts private business; many magnificent monuments; dozens of embassies; a plethora of world class museums, art galleries, universities, hotels and theatres. Add wonderful rivers, fantastic public transport, outstanding urban design and stupendous public spaces and cuisine from every corner of the globe. It is a city in which one can enjoy an excess of different experiences in a relatively compact space.

An article in an “in-flight” magazine whilst on my trip caught my eye. The journalist introduced her article as follows “Washington DC has always been a great place to visit – easy to navigate, rich in classic architecture (and lacking in skyscrapers) and offering an abundance of world-class museums and attractions free of charge. However, it’s always been a bit, well, fuddy duddy. But, like him or not, President Barack Obama has injected a fresh new energy into Washington DC and a much-needed dash of sass to the Capitol City.”

I agree fully with the sentiments expressed in her first sentence BUT, as far as the last sentence is concerned, no….ooooo, I don’t think so lady!!!!!! A President has little if any influence on the city until he is no more, nor is Obama exactly top of the pops these days! I also disagree with her comment that DC “always been a great place to visit”!

My first visit, nearly thirty years ago, was memorable due to, yes, its architecture, scale and historic monuments. But the city itself was dirty, decaying in many areas, filled with aggressive street people and like a cemetery at night. Some years later, in Citichat 37.2007, I described the central city area as “suffering from a decidedly negative image which was quite justified. It was dirty and an air of insecurity pervaded the place with many buildings boarded up and the retail was generally limited and of poor quality. Employment within the central area had been steadily declining, investment was described as ‘anaemic’ and the private sector ‘lethargic’ and it was a pretty dull place. DC, at that time, was actually bankrupt and was experiencing a shambles in governance.”

Subsequent to 2007, I witnessed a massive change to the area that was brought about primarily through the work of the Downtown DC Business Improvement District (BID or what we call a CID) which was established in 1997. Since its inception, the BID has contributed to the neighborhood’s economic growth and image by providing safety, hospitality, cleaning, maintenance, homeless, economic development, transportation, streetscape and marketing services to Washington’s center city. All of this basically from the private sector property owners’ purses, ie those within the DC BID area.

You cannot attract investment to a city unless you can provide investors with three basics - certainty, stability and predictability. If local or other government cannot supply that, the private sector has to step in. Therefore, as good urban management was developed and impacted the downtown area , so investment returned and, today, the result is quite astonishing – a truly huge amount of new office and renovated office space; new residential units, new hotels and museums and restaurants. Employment and number of inner-city residents has soared, quite against the US trends. In just the two days that I was there at the end of October, $1.5 billion of new work was announced for just two projects!

Current construction activity is high– the numbers of people in the streets, day and night, is unbelievable so much so that a major restaurant has decided to go 24/7! Today Washington DC has a vibrant downtown with a wonderful quality of life that attracts more and more young people and business alike, a great city to live and work in!

Last week, instead of concentrating again on the ‘CBD’ I was shown how the dramatic revitalisation of the central area has now begun to ‘push out’ to the surrounding areas resulting in large urban renewal nodes outside of the historic downtown as well as in those areas that are along its extensive riverfront. In regards to the nodes, these are being developed with high density residential cores which are pulling in restaurants, entertainment, etc. Even the badly run-down Adams Morgan area with its problems of high prostitution, drugs, etc has attracted a developer who plans to build a ‘boutique’ hotel which will provide a much needed lift to the area.

Talking of residential, I read a report of the opening of a new $43 million mixed income apartment development – developed by a partnership between the private sector, local government and a church. The 178 unit project provides 128 units for working families and individuals who earn up to 60% of the median income for the area and the balance for those who earn up to 30% of the median income for the area – these units will in fact house formerly homeless individuals who have previously occupied transitional housing or single room occupancy units.

A magnificent new waterfront park on the South West of the city is in the last stages of construction along the edge of the Potomac River between the Francis Scott Key Bridge and the Kennedy Centre. About 80% of its length was undertaken by the council’s Parks department which left an unmade section at its one end. The local (Georgetown) BID financed this section with $100 000 from its funds and another $100 000 raised from the public. Four features I particularly liked were (i) the numerous large black granite information ‘boards’ with historic photographs of the area etched on their surfaces; (ii) the way those using the park are enabled to get right down to the water’s edge (iii) the wide use of natural grasses and (iv) the large paved maze which always attracts people to figure out how to get to the end.

Georgetown Park - local grasses

Georgetown Park - stone storybook

Georgetown Park - maze in centre background

A major (5 000 units) residential precinct is being developed on the edge of the Anacostia River between the new National Ballpark and the Washington Naval Yards. Here the developers have chosen to complete the public space along the river before completing the residential units. Again, it is high quality design using natural materials, planting and water.

Planning of a third new waterfront development as a ‘frontage’ to high density residential is well advanced this time on the South East of the city. The waterfront already provides moorings for scores of yachts, houseboats and small vessels as well as a floating sea food market and also boasts an historic performing arts building, the Arena Stage, now cleverly enveloped by a large glass structure providing modern amenities.

Floating seafood market

Arena Stage- glass envelope

Washington is synonomous with museums and art galleries and one automatically thinks of the Smithsonian museums, the Holocaust Museum, the National Art Gallery, and the National Portrait Gallery. But there are literally dozens of others and I spent a good few hours in one recommended to me, the Newseum. The blurb provides this description: “The Newseum in Washington, DC is a six-level, high-tech and interactive museum tracing the history of news reporting from the 16th century to the present day. In 250,000 square feet of exhibit space, the Newseum offers visitors 15 theaters, 14 major galleries, two state-of-the-art broadcast studios and a 4-D time-travel experience. The exhibition galleries explore news history, electronic news, photojournalism, world news and how the media have covered major historical events.” For me it was an absorbing and fascinating walk through history. One gallery has original front pages from the world media covering every major incident from the Oxford Gazette of 1666 reporting on the Great Fire of London through World Wars, Man on the Moon, political assassinations, Nixon’s Watergate scandal (including the door to the room that was broken into to obtain the tapes) the toppling of the Berlin Wall, 9/11, etc etc. One section has day to day reporting on Katrina; another has eight twelve foot high grafittied 3 ton sections of the Berlin Wall and a guard tower from Checkpoint Charlie; yet another a massive charred and twisted section of the 360 foot high antenna from the top of a World Trade Centre tower once the highest point in New York City and the second highest antenna in the world. But none of these are merely static objects to gawp at but are part of exhibits that tell their stories visually and aurally. A section that also tells its own poignant story is a curved glass wall engraved with the names of over a thousand journalists who have died whilst carrying out their trade – a sobering reminder of the extreme danger that many experience in their work.

A huge map of the world is colour coded in relation to the degree of Freedom of the Press in each country. The top grading is “Free” and covers North America and most of Western Europe. Sadly, South Africa is only reflected as “pretty free” but even that will change to the worse if the current Bill is approved by Parliament!

World Trade Centre Antenna

Berlin wall sections and Checkpoint Charlie guardpost

Another new Museum, outside of the city, is the Air and Space Museum at Dulles Airport – it has an exciting collection of real planes, historic and contemporary, as well as various NASA spacecraft.

But, back to the city! What new issues are there for us to learn from? The leader in practical forward urban thinking is still the Downtown DC BID. As I wrote some years ago: “One thing has distinguished the Downtown BID above all others. That is the strategic thinking and far-minded planning of its Executive Director Rich Bradley, an old friend to Johannesburg. Whilst still being passionate about ‘clean and safe’ as its core function, under his direction, the BID has considerably broadened its scope particularly in the areas of economic development, marketing and transportation. A great deal of this work is done in partnership with local government departments and I really mean ‘partnership’ – whilst our local government talks of partnership I don’t believe we go anywhere far enough to allow the inner city to reap the benefits of full co-operation – admittedly they are locally hampered by some of the quite stupid requirements of the MFMA, but that’s another story.”

Rich believes the future imperatives for cities are Public Space, Transportation and Energy.

The latest on the transportation front are

Increased use of bicycles for transportation. Bicycle lanes are being introduced all over the city – the lanes are provided between the pavement kerb and the street parking places for cars. This also allows access for cleaning the street gutters!

Large scale provision of ‘smart bikes’ - ‘bikes for hire’ – as has become very popular in Paris. Racks of twenty to thirty bicycles are strategically placed all over the city. Their front wheels are locked into the racks and can only be released by (a) paying a membership fee to belong to the particular hiring company – which fee can be from 24 hours to an annual fee and (b) swiping your credit card. You can return the bike to any rack of that particular company and your rental ends when you lock the bicycle back into the rack. You are charged on length of time (per half hour periods) from unlocking to re-locking the bike. Want to go from city centre to any one of the dozens of attractions – no problem. Grab a bike, ride to where you want to go, lock it back into a locally available rack and walk back or ride it back or to somewhere else.

Rent a bike

Map of CBD rent a bike racksAdd caption

Rent a bike rack in CBD

Re-introduction of street cars. Streetcars (on rails) are being re-introduced on certain streets in the city over the next few years. They will particularly be used on streets that have become somewhat run down and I saw rails being laid in some streets – usually in the centre of the street but not giving exclusive use to the trolly as is the case with BRT. My first experience of the economic value of streetcars was quite some years ago in Charlotte, North Carolina, where a streetcar was re-introduced on a one mile strip through a badly run down and neglected industrial area. It had an incredible impact! The entire strip was revitalized over the period of about twelve months, property prices climbed, etc etc. (I’ve always believed, particularly from a tourist point of view, that we should use the couple of historic trams that languish in the Transport Museum on a route from Newtown to Gandhi Square and back. But I guess that is another story again!)

The DC BID is also examining new thinking to parking – possibly one can introduce the same electronic system now being used in parking garages which indicate via a light which bays are in use and those that are vacant. Imagine if you had that facility throughout your inner city with advice on boards on the perimeter directing you to vacant spaces. Many tolls throughout the States are now automatic – a card reader in the roadway or, more lately, above the car, automatically debits your car with the toll – maybe it could be done for parking! Scientific ways at calculating parking tariffs are being examined – ideally you always want to price parking high enough so that there is a small vacancy factor, say 5%. If the infrastructure of all of this is provided by the private sector who will manage and maintain it far better than any public body, there is room for a deal between public and private sectors – both benefiting.

Finally, new thinking on energy. Property owners in US cities are being forced to re-examine their energy usage but this tends to be done in isolation. What if you have a city block that has residential, hotel and office buildings? Surely there is a synergy waiting to be exploited – the office buildings use electricity during the day, the other two mainly at night. If night users could generate extra energy during the day and vice versa, there is an opportunity for major rationalization, cost and energy savings. Now take that philosophy to a BID (CID) area and one can start to look at ECO BIDs (CIDs). One thought that went through my mind is that our major resurgence in residential conversion of old office blocks probably means that we aren’t getting the maximum energy saving that we should. Maybe we need some drastic new thinking in this area!

Street lighting and the management thereof is another aspect which is under the microscope. There are emerging companies that will take over street lighting from a city – provide guaranteed lighting levels, guaranteed lamp replacement times, management of lighting levels – you want a more lit or less lit ambience during a special occasion, they will provide it – and the cost is less. Again, we have a problem with parastatal control and union issues and a fragmented approach to energy saving.

I remember at the start of the CJP nearly twenty years ago now, how we were often criticised for looking for inspiration to first world cities/countries. The answer is simple – their private sectors and many of their public sectors think outside the box, constantly inventing new ways to solve old problems – we, on the other hand, have a private sector that too often doesn’t recognize its urban responsibilities and a public sector that, by and large, constantly seeks ways of keeping everything within the box – not a winning formula!

Citichat N0 9 2010 New York City

CITICHAT 9/2010



October 2010


Learning from the States (1)

Have just spent a month with two of my sons and their families who live in the USA. I was fortunate to be taken to a number of places of great interest that I hadn’t seen before. The magnificent Shenandoah Park with its Fall leaves in all their glorious colours and its breathtaking Skyline Drive. Had a chance to walk a part of the Appalachian Trail (well, about one mile of its 2 174 mile length - 3 500 kilometres!). Hiked a bit more than that on the Jockey Hollow trail near Morriston, New Jersey where 10 to 13 000 of George Washington’s troops (The American Continental Army) found shelter during 1777 and 1779-80. Visited Princeton University with its 5 000 undergrad and 2 500 grad students in a most beautiful campus founded in 1746. The town of Princeton, in which the campus is situated, and the area surrounding it, has a population of about 30 000 people. Crossed the Delaware River near to where George Washington and his troops traversed over some hundred years before Jozi was established, I walked over a bridge, they crossed in small boats on Christmas Day 1776. Had a short cruise on the Chesapeake Bay and visited the very impressive United States Naval Academy based at Annapolis, Maryland plus some wonderful, for me, new museums and art galleries including the new Air and Space Museum at Dulles airport and the Newseum in DC. Traveled the length of the 3 mile Greenwood Lake - about an hour-and-a-half from New York City – must be amongst one of the most beautiful spots in the world.

The incessant backdrop behind all of this was the baseball playoffs where two underdogs won through to the World Series as well as the electioneering for the American mid-term elections. A poll that I saw on TV reflected that three quarters of those polled considered this to be the most destructive of all such elections. Certainly the programmes I watched showed candidates dragging up as much dirt as they could on each other and nothing about what their parties were going to do about the macro issues facing the country. This approach was repeated ad nauseam in TV and radio advertising – I noted in one newspaper that $4.2 billion dollars had been spent in this meaningless campaigning, on average $100 million per candidate, the most spent on any similar campaign in history. This whilst the US economic situation remains dire!

I also had a chance to visit old friends in New York City and Washington DC for a couple of days each, which gave me the opportunity to update myself on what was happening in those cities. I’ll deal with New York City in this edition and Washington DC in the next.

New York City.

There were two projects in the Big Apple that I particularly wanted to have a look at. The first was what is known as the ‘High Line’.

Going way back to the mid 1800s, Manhattan had a freight railway running on its West side servicing a wide variety of industries particularly meat and various related industries in that area. However, numerous accidents occurred between the freight trains and other surface traffic. As a result, in 1929, it was decided to lift the railway line by one storey so that the trains could run above and over the street level traffic. The ‘High Line’ would eliminate 105 street level railway crossings and opened to trains in 1934. Wikipedia gives some background:

“It was designed to go through the center of blocks, rather than over the avenue, to avoid the drawbacks of elevated subways. It connected directly to factories and warehouses, allowing trains to roll right inside buildings. Milk, meat, produce, and raw and manufactured goods could be transported and unloaded without disturbing traffic on the streets.”


It originally ran from 34th Street to St. John’s Park Terminal, at Spring Street. The growth of interstate trucking in the 1950s led to a drop in rail traffic throughout the nation. In the 1960s, the southernmost section of the line, about one half of its length, was demolished. The last train ran in 1980 with three carloads of frozen turkeys. Shortly thereafter, the owners of property below the line lobbied for its demolition but this was successfully challenged in court by Peter Obletz, a Chelsea resident, activist, and railroad enthusiast, who tried to re-establish rail service on the Line. It was again slated for demolition under the administration of New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani.


In 1999, the non-profit Friends of the High Line was formed by residents of the neighborhood the High Line ran through. They advocated for the Line's preservation and reuse as public open space basically turning the High Line into an elevated park or greenway, similar to the Promenade Plantée in Paris.


Broadened community support for public redevelopment for the High Line for pedestrian use grew, and city funding was allocated in 2004. The southernmost section, from about 10th to 20th Streets, opened as a city park on June 8, 2009.

“The park was designed by the New York-based landscape firm of James Corner Field Operations, and architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro, with planting design from Piet Oudolf of the Netherlands and engineering design by Buro Happold.


The park's attractions include naturalized plantings that are inspired by the self-seeded landscape that grew on the disused tracks and new, often unexpected views of the city and the Hudson River. Pebble-dash concrete walkways unify the trail, which swells and constricts, swinging from side to side, and divides into concrete tines (prongs) that meld the hardscape with the planting embedded in railroad gravel mulch. Stretches of track and ties recall the High Line's former use. Most of the planting, which includes 210 species, is of rugged meadow plants, including clump-forming grasses, liatris and coneflowers, with scattered stands of sumac and smokebush, but not limited to American natives. At the Gansevoort end, a grove of mixed species of birch already provides some dappled shade by late afternoon. Ipê timber for the built-in benches has come from a managed forest certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, to ensure sustainable use, conservation of biological diversity, water resources, and fragile ecosystems.”

The High Line - Planting

Seating

 I walked the existing 10th to 25th Streets length and was really impressed by the project which shows just what can be done with decaying city assets instead of destroying them if the community raises its voice. The project demonstrates great ingenuity in providing “green” pedestrian ways off an unusual base. It also illustrates what such projects can do to stimulate economic development in an area that has seen better times! By 2009, more than 30 projects were planned or under construction in the immediate area. It is also a great example of architectural/urban design and brilliantly conceived planting.


I understand that it will ultimately be extended to 34th Street providing a unique pedestrian experience for New Yorkers and visitors.

The second project I wanted to look at in Manhattan was the changes to Broadway that I mentioned in last month’s Citichat. Below are some pictures of the changes showing planting to delineate the seating areas and bicycle paths.

They really have made a huge difference to what has always been a hectic motor vehicle dominated area. Parts of the street have been reclaimed for pedestrian and bicycle use. Chairs and tables provided so that one can sit and read or sip coffee or watch the myriad illuminated giant adverts that surround Times Square and just generally enjoy the inevitable chaos that this great street provides.

More bicycle paths are being provided throughout the city and the Mayor is seriously considering exchanging the City Council’s employees’ motor cars for Zip cars. I described Zip cars some time ago after I’d first seen them in Portland Oregon but they have clearly spread into most other cities. Zip cars are ordinary vehicles that you can access through payment of a small monthly retainer and then booking for the specific period you require them. So, as opposed to rental cars where the minimum is one day and you have to go to a central location to collect and return, Zip cars are spread and parked throughout a city and can be booked and collected from the location nearest you (there are no forms to be filled in nor any staff or queues, just your Zip card!) and returned to any other location. You pay only for the time used.

Imagine the saving to our Council if all those Mercs and Beemers were to be sold over to a similar service provider!

Unique walking trails/green pathways, bicycle paths, pedestrianisation and Zip cars! The Big Apple adds continually to its quality of life.

We’ll look at 2010 Washington DC next time around.

Cheers, neil

PS. Closer to home, congratulations to the Trust for Urban Housing Finance (TUHF). This Joburg based Section 21 company crossed the R1 billion mark in money lend, i.e. money out the door and owing to TUHF, last week. Mostly concentrated in Joburg, they now have loans throughout Gauteng and in Durban and hope to expand to PE by year end.

Some other interesting numbers include that they have financed just short of 17 000 units and beginning in 2003, their lending per unit was just over R27k steadily increasing to a loan per unit of R116k so far this year.

PPS. I was greatly shocked and saddened to hear, on my return, of the death of Ian Fife, the property editor of the Financial Mail. A great character, friend and accomplished property man, he will be sorely missed. Sincere condolences to his family and business colleagues.