CITICHAT No 24/99 - 30 JULY 1999
Gandhi Square & Quality of Life
One of the issues regarding Gandhi Square (Citichat 23 of 23 July) is that it is a major public space which will now fall under private management, the first of its kind in Johannesburg.
The private management of public space brings with it all kinds of responsibilities that we have been getting to grips with as the construction work has progressed.
In fact the construction period has been particularly useful to gauge the type of problems we will be exposed to. For instance, the disappearance of New Street North and South which have now been incorporated into the Square itself, has removed the on-street parking that was previously available. We have trained 24 hour security personnel on the Square, one of whose functions during the latter phase of construction, has been to stop motorists from parking on the Square. But some motorists are not interested in law and order and drive their vehicles over high kerbs placed specifically to stop access and ignore our advice that parking is now prohibited. We have one security officer in hospital because the motorist that he blocked by standing in front of his car merely knocked him over! Sadly it is not just the general public but also staff of the Council who are giving us a hard time.
Another issue that in recent months has become a major problem in the city is the excessive noise used by retailers to attract shoppers into their establishments and who usually compete with the shop next door as to who can produce the highest decibel rating. But it is not confined to formal shops, it has also been taken up by informal traders on the pavements and the result is public areas that are positively unpleasant and often uninhabitable in so far as office workers are concerned let alone the irritation to the general public.
I have also been getting an increasing number of calls in regard to the apparently growing number of children sniffing glue on the streets, homeless persons living in empty buildings with no services and using the streets for both sexual and sanitary functions as well as the constant stench of urine around some buildings. I am not without compassion for these people and, in many cases, for the circumstances that have led to their plight, but the city cannot recover unless these issues are seriously addressed.
In studying what our approach should be to managing Gandhi square and with a great deal of the above in my mind, I went back to the work produced by the American Alliance for Rights and Responsibilities (AARR). Listen to this:
“The vitality of our nation’s cities and towns depends upon preservation of urban centres that are pleasant and enjoyable. For many communities an important factor in building the quality of life is the preservation of peace, tranquility and civility in public areas. A pleasant environment can make all the difference between a thriving urban area shared by the entire community and a declining area that is eventually abandoned by residents and visitors alike.”
AARR on noise; “Excessive noise is one of the chief urban quality of life problems in many cities. Excessive noise – whether from boomboxes, car alarms, factories, street musicians, or the mentally ill – can make normal conversation, productive work, or some solitude all but impossible. This noise causes residents and visitors to go elsewhere to dine, shop or relax, somewhere that is quiet and peaceful. To combat excessive noise while at the same time protecting the freedom of speech, cities are turning to ordinances which consider the reasonableness of the noise under the circumstances, rather than setting a maximum decibel level. This allows for flexibility, as the reasonable level of noise varies with changing circumstances and the time of day. For example a volume level that might be intolerable on a sidewalk outside a shop might be perfectly acceptable in a football stadium. Similarly, what is reasonable in a parade – or in an emergency – may not be reasonable on a quiet Sunday. By prohibiting speech that is “unreasonably loud” or “loud and unseemly”, based on the surrounding environment, an ordinance operates with greater precision – and is thus more narrowly tailored – than an ordinance imposing a “one size fits all” standard. “
Rob Teir of AARR comments on the constitutionality issue as follows, “The Supreme Court has held on numerous occasions that the constitutional right to freedom of speech does not prevent reasonable restrictions on the time, place and manner in which people choose to express themselves. Such restrictions are justified without reference to the content of the regulated speech, that they are narrowly tailored to serve a significant governmental interest, and they leave open ample alternative channels for communication of the information……The Supreme Court has recognised that governments have a substantial interest in protecting citizens from unwelcome noise in public areas as well as in residential neighbourhoods.”
In a study undertaken by AARR into Urban Quality of Life Issues , one of their findings was as follows; “Cities have more success if the proponents of improved street-order maintenance, work to build public understanding and support. Additionally, community leaders uniting to improve the quality of urban life can and should obtain and hold the moral high ground on these issues. Primarily the focus should consistently be on CONDUCT, not groups of people, with the goal of making the quality of life in urban areas better for the entire community. Cities should avoid the pitfall of turning these issues into class conflicts by emphasising who is using public parks, sidewalks and bus stops. Finally, communities should boldly assert that there is nothing to be embarrassed about when seeking to improve the residential and commercial vitality of an area.”
Regards,
Friday, July 30, 1999
Thursday, July 15, 1999
Decay Constitution Hill Citichat 15 July 1999
CITICHAT 22/99 - 15 July 1999
Inner City Decay & Constitution Hill
Even the so-called best brains in the world can talk rubbish. The East African Standard of 28th June quotes that Richard Leakey (re-established director of Kenya Wildlife Services and nominated by Time magazine as one of the twenty best brains of the 20th Century) wrote to The Daily Telegraph in reply to their article headlined “Kenya hit by a plague of bandits” saying “there is crime in Kenya and the large towns and cities are obviously the worst places, as they are in any country. For sure, Nairobi is not anywhere as bad as Johannesburg at the best of times.” I had dinner with a Nairobian some time ago and he was telling me how driving to work every morning was hazardous, apart from negotiating the roads which are a series of potholes held together by some tarmac, the daily roadblocks of the local police en-route to the city require payments of “dash” or your timely arrival at work is seriously endangered. It’s not a good idea to score points off other cities, as pointed out by the writer of the article “when elephants fight, only the grass gets damaged.”
At the other end of the scale a realistic assessment of ‘Johannesburg’s decay and prospects for renewal’ was recently published by the Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) which I think does a great job. Written by Caroline Kihato, a CPS policy analyst, the article recognises the complexity of inner city decay and that, “in order to succeed, inner city renewal programmes need to be efficient, effective, holistic in their approach and cater for a diversity of local needs and interests. While physical and social upgrading are esssential for successful inner city renewal programmes, they are not sufficient in themselves. In many ways, the success of inner city regeneration programmes hinges on the way in which political issues are addressed. Thus inner city renewal strategies in South Africa need to guarantee local government’s accountability to its citizens, and ensure that it continues to meet its constitutional and civic obligations.”
What I really appreciated is the succinct statement on the kernel of our current problem which I have been preaching for some time but never as eloquently; “Ultimately, though, the decay of Johannesburg, as that of world cities, is related to change. Although this is by no means the only causal factor, apartheid policies of racial segregation and separate development impacted significantly on cities in South Africa, and particularly on Johannesburg, which is the country’s premier and economic business centre. Apartheid artificially kept a large proportion of the population out of the city, in order to promote the state’s policy of racial segregation and to lessen social and welfare expenditure on a large non-white labour force. Blacks were prohibited from living in the city itself or from owning city businesses, and blacks in rural areas were prohibited from migratine even to urban townships. Thus, when the apartheid state crumbled, the authorities wee unprepared for the large numbers of people who streamed to the cities. Johannesburg in particular has experienced a large influx of people from neighbouring countries, rural area and townships in search of economic opportunities and accommodation close to areas of work.”
She makes some really interesting observations in regard to opportunities and limits of public-private partnerships which create grounds for a great deal of thought - and debate. If you would like a copy, let me know or contact the Centre directly on cps@wn.apc.org.
Last Friday night saw a presentation/update on the Constitutional Court by the architects for the project. Talented bunch of people who have crafted the imagery and symbolism of our new Constitution and of Democracy itself into their design whilst retaining African heritage and tradition. They have also provided stark reminders of just what the Fort represented. Great stuff! That it was freezing cold in the courtyard of the Fort where the presentation took place, was a stark but infinitesimal reminder of the privation that so many had suffered in that place, man’s incredible inhumanity to man.
Think about that extract from the CPS publication and the symbolism of the Constitutional Court and one must conclude that the Johannesburg CBD itself must become a working, living symbol of the past overcome by the present and the future.
Inner City Decay & Constitution Hill
Even the so-called best brains in the world can talk rubbish. The East African Standard of 28th June quotes that Richard Leakey (re-established director of Kenya Wildlife Services and nominated by Time magazine as one of the twenty best brains of the 20th Century) wrote to The Daily Telegraph in reply to their article headlined “Kenya hit by a plague of bandits” saying “there is crime in Kenya and the large towns and cities are obviously the worst places, as they are in any country. For sure, Nairobi is not anywhere as bad as Johannesburg at the best of times.” I had dinner with a Nairobian some time ago and he was telling me how driving to work every morning was hazardous, apart from negotiating the roads which are a series of potholes held together by some tarmac, the daily roadblocks of the local police en-route to the city require payments of “dash” or your timely arrival at work is seriously endangered. It’s not a good idea to score points off other cities, as pointed out by the writer of the article “when elephants fight, only the grass gets damaged.”
At the other end of the scale a realistic assessment of ‘Johannesburg’s decay and prospects for renewal’ was recently published by the Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) which I think does a great job. Written by Caroline Kihato, a CPS policy analyst, the article recognises the complexity of inner city decay and that, “in order to succeed, inner city renewal programmes need to be efficient, effective, holistic in their approach and cater for a diversity of local needs and interests. While physical and social upgrading are esssential for successful inner city renewal programmes, they are not sufficient in themselves. In many ways, the success of inner city regeneration programmes hinges on the way in which political issues are addressed. Thus inner city renewal strategies in South Africa need to guarantee local government’s accountability to its citizens, and ensure that it continues to meet its constitutional and civic obligations.”
What I really appreciated is the succinct statement on the kernel of our current problem which I have been preaching for some time but never as eloquently; “Ultimately, though, the decay of Johannesburg, as that of world cities, is related to change. Although this is by no means the only causal factor, apartheid policies of racial segregation and separate development impacted significantly on cities in South Africa, and particularly on Johannesburg, which is the country’s premier and economic business centre. Apartheid artificially kept a large proportion of the population out of the city, in order to promote the state’s policy of racial segregation and to lessen social and welfare expenditure on a large non-white labour force. Blacks were prohibited from living in the city itself or from owning city businesses, and blacks in rural areas were prohibited from migratine even to urban townships. Thus, when the apartheid state crumbled, the authorities wee unprepared for the large numbers of people who streamed to the cities. Johannesburg in particular has experienced a large influx of people from neighbouring countries, rural area and townships in search of economic opportunities and accommodation close to areas of work.”
She makes some really interesting observations in regard to opportunities and limits of public-private partnerships which create grounds for a great deal of thought - and debate. If you would like a copy, let me know or contact the Centre directly on cps@wn.apc.org.
Last Friday night saw a presentation/update on the Constitutional Court by the architects for the project. Talented bunch of people who have crafted the imagery and symbolism of our new Constitution and of Democracy itself into their design whilst retaining African heritage and tradition. They have also provided stark reminders of just what the Fort represented. Great stuff! That it was freezing cold in the courtyard of the Fort where the presentation took place, was a stark but infinitesimal reminder of the privation that so many had suffered in that place, man’s incredible inhumanity to man.
Think about that extract from the CPS publication and the symbolism of the Constitutional Court and one must conclude that the Johannesburg CBD itself must become a working, living symbol of the past overcome by the present and the future.
Friday, July 2, 1999
Braamfontein Yeoville Newtown Citichat 2 July 1999
CITICHAT 20/99 -2 JULY 1999
Braamfontein - Yeoville
Part of my 'job' is trying to raise people's sights, change perceptions keep them updated with the 'good news' and to infect people with the confidence that I have, and which I don't believe is misplaced, in the city. Not always that easy to keep oneself positive in the face of overwhelming prejudice! But just when your batteries are getting a bit low a couple of things happen, sometimes very small even insignificant to the unbeliever, and you're ready to conquer the world again. Here are two.
Last night was the opening of "the Devonshire Keller" - a restaurant cellar pub in the Devonshire Hotel in Braamfontein. Sure its not in the heart of the CBD, but it's in the Inner City and it is OPENING not CLOSING! Frans Gmeiner has set about cleaning up the Devonshire and his latest offering is this restaurant cellar pub which offers Westphalian Ham with pumpernickel bread, Geschnetzeltes Shiraz, Eisbein and many more goodies whilst sipping beer, wine or schnapps. Chatting to Les Weil at the opening I learnt that this was the site of a favourite varsity watering hole some decades ago. Good luck to Frans and may it again become a centre of good food and drink and fun.
On the 22 June, only 10 days ago, I received an e-mail from Maurice Smithers who has taken on the job of revitalising Yeoville. Maurice came up with this hair-brained scheme that if he could find enough people who want to see the area turned around, then there was an opportunity to make an impact by them clubbing together and buying a building that had been sold on auction the previous day at a give away price. Under the rules of the game someone else can put in a higher offer; the person who had made the previous highest bid at the auction then has the right to match the new offer, if he can it's his, if he can't he loses to the new high bidder. Aptly named the Bizarre Centre the property is on Rockey Street and is potentially very exciting particularly if it offers a retail mix which complements the community. What makes it even more interesting is that the property on the opposite side of the road has also recently been sold and the new owners are equally determined to clean the area up. Then there is the proposed new market which effectively will take all informal traders off the street and give them an opportunity to upgrade their businesses and income. Over all of this is a proposal to establish a City Improvement District to provide the urban management that has been so clearly lacking.
At least twelve motivational e-mails later Maurice had raised the money through thirty contributors and the Bizarre Centre now has a new owner (owners!) driven by urban upgrade principles rather than trying to make a quick buck Well done Maurice, I think this could well be the catalyst to getting Yeoville back to where it was and should be.
Spotlight on Newtown which is the venue for an all day FREE PARTY on Saturday 10 July. Free dance classes by Moving into Dance, West African dance, Jazz and Afro fusion; conference on the French Revolution by Mister Roland Dubertrand, first councillor at the French embassy;;Victorian paper craft workshop for children; the Fordsburg Artists Studio will be open; a special screening of La Petite Vendeuse de Soleil by Djibril Diop Mambety will be given at the SAB Centenary Centre preceded by short films from the Newtown Film and Television school; roof garden jam session at Kippies 13h00 to midnight, a performance by the Moving Into Dance company at the Dance factory, magic show at the Flea Market, the Michel Macias Quartet a French band of "world musette'; The Fantastique Guys at Mega Music; exhibition of Newtown photography; screening of French movies and Concerts at the Horror Café.by Sayaka
There also are all day events or exhibitions at Museum Africa, the Horror Café, Mega Music, the French Institute, Flea Market, Cool Factory, Rembrandt van Rijn Factory, Market Photography Workshop and the Artist Proof Studio.
For detailed information contact the French Institute telephone 836.0561/62/63 or fax 836. 5850.
Bien a vous.
Braamfontein - Yeoville
Part of my 'job' is trying to raise people's sights, change perceptions keep them updated with the 'good news' and to infect people with the confidence that I have, and which I don't believe is misplaced, in the city. Not always that easy to keep oneself positive in the face of overwhelming prejudice! But just when your batteries are getting a bit low a couple of things happen, sometimes very small even insignificant to the unbeliever, and you're ready to conquer the world again. Here are two.
Last night was the opening of "the Devonshire Keller" - a restaurant cellar pub in the Devonshire Hotel in Braamfontein. Sure its not in the heart of the CBD, but it's in the Inner City and it is OPENING not CLOSING! Frans Gmeiner has set about cleaning up the Devonshire and his latest offering is this restaurant cellar pub which offers Westphalian Ham with pumpernickel bread, Geschnetzeltes Shiraz, Eisbein and many more goodies whilst sipping beer, wine or schnapps. Chatting to Les Weil at the opening I learnt that this was the site of a favourite varsity watering hole some decades ago. Good luck to Frans and may it again become a centre of good food and drink and fun.
On the 22 June, only 10 days ago, I received an e-mail from Maurice Smithers who has taken on the job of revitalising Yeoville. Maurice came up with this hair-brained scheme that if he could find enough people who want to see the area turned around, then there was an opportunity to make an impact by them clubbing together and buying a building that had been sold on auction the previous day at a give away price. Under the rules of the game someone else can put in a higher offer; the person who had made the previous highest bid at the auction then has the right to match the new offer, if he can it's his, if he can't he loses to the new high bidder. Aptly named the Bizarre Centre the property is on Rockey Street and is potentially very exciting particularly if it offers a retail mix which complements the community. What makes it even more interesting is that the property on the opposite side of the road has also recently been sold and the new owners are equally determined to clean the area up. Then there is the proposed new market which effectively will take all informal traders off the street and give them an opportunity to upgrade their businesses and income. Over all of this is a proposal to establish a City Improvement District to provide the urban management that has been so clearly lacking.
At least twelve motivational e-mails later Maurice had raised the money through thirty contributors and the Bizarre Centre now has a new owner (owners!) driven by urban upgrade principles rather than trying to make a quick buck Well done Maurice, I think this could well be the catalyst to getting Yeoville back to where it was and should be.
Spotlight on Newtown which is the venue for an all day FREE PARTY on Saturday 10 July. Free dance classes by Moving into Dance, West African dance, Jazz and Afro fusion; conference on the French Revolution by Mister Roland Dubertrand, first councillor at the French embassy;;Victorian paper craft workshop for children; the Fordsburg Artists Studio will be open; a special screening of La Petite Vendeuse de Soleil by Djibril Diop Mambety will be given at the SAB Centenary Centre preceded by short films from the Newtown Film and Television school; roof garden jam session at Kippies 13h00 to midnight, a performance by the Moving Into Dance company at the Dance factory, magic show at the Flea Market, the Michel Macias Quartet a French band of "world musette'; The Fantastique Guys at Mega Music; exhibition of Newtown photography; screening of French movies and Concerts at the Horror Café.by Sayaka
There also are all day events or exhibitions at Museum Africa, the Horror Café, Mega Music, the French Institute, Flea Market, Cool Factory, Rembrandt van Rijn Factory, Market Photography Workshop and the Artist Proof Studio.
For detailed information contact the French Institute telephone 836.0561/62/63 or fax 836. 5850.
Bien a vous.
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