CIDs Citichat 17 August 2001

CITICHAT 32/2001 - 17 August 2001


CIDs and formalizing a National Umbrella Body

In Citichat 19 (18 May 2001) I detailed out the growing spread of City Improvement Districts in South Africa. At that stage I recorded 8 established CIDs; 16 proposed and at some stage of the approval process and 7 voluntary that are up and running. Since then, the Eastern Cape Province have made progress in moving their legislation forward at the Provincial level and work is advanced in doing so in the Northern Province. In the Western Cape apart from the established CIDs in Wynberg, Claremont and Cape Town itself, CIDs are in various stages of establishment in Green Point, Oranjekloof, Higgovale, Sea Point and Camps Bay. Here in Gauteng, a number have moved from 'voluntary' into 'established' and there are a number of new in the 'proposed' category.

So the movement grows apace and as it does so a fair amount of confusion develops. Statements made by a variety of people, political organisations and politicians, ratepayers associations, chambers of commerce, trade unions, etc., reflect some confused thinking which is part of the growing pains of what in fact is a fledgling industry. Exposure to the latest city thinking is imperative if the South African industry is to grow and flourish without having to re-invent the wheel.

In the United States, CIDs (generally known there as Business Improvement Districts or BIDs - which I still believe is the best terminology for an initiative which is vested in the Business area rather than in the local authority) have largely found a 'home' in the International Downtown Association (IDA). IDA holds a number of workshops and conferences throughout the year which enables city practitioners, not just CID/BID practitioners, to get together and share the latest approaches and developments in their 'industry' and to exchange information and ideas. Currently only the Central Johannesburg Partnership is a full member of the IDA and I have had the privilege of serving on that body as a Board member for a number of years - my present term is due to end in September next year. South Africa has in fact had a lengthy Board representation, I believe Nigel Mandy held such a position prior to my appointment. For quite a number of years I have been discussing a formalised relationship with IDA on a National basis. The problem for South African CIDs is that membership is expensive particularly as it is based on dollars and on that basis I see few CIDs being able to join. What I have proposed is that a National Organisation be established which is affiliated to IDA and pays a fixed affiliation fee per year based on the number of CIDs that it has as members. The affiliation fee that I proposed has been $50.00 per CID irrespective of size - so it would be between R400 and R500 per annum. The South African national body would receive all IDA information and documentation and would redistribute it nationally to all its members who would be required to pay a membership fee which would include the $50.00. By National Body I am not sure that this should be limited to South Africa - I believe that any such local organisation should also be established on a broader basis than just South Africa, We are ourselves working in a number of countries north of our borders so that possibly we should look to embrace the SADAC countries, this would be an issue to be debated by the new organisation.

I have also had negotiations and have in fact received approval to affiliate a South African national body with the Association of Town Centre Management (ATCM) which is a UK organisation also working in the realms of urban management and with a focus on CBDs. In fact, three World Congresses focusing on cities have been run in Coventry, New York and London respectively over the past six years organised by IDA and ATCM in association so a relationship with both these organisations is important. I have tended to concentrate on these two organisations because I have close personal contacts with them. However, there is a growing tendency for the establishment of such organisations throughout the world as private urban management becomes more of a force. Thus there is a European Federation of Town Centres, an Australian and a New Zealand Association of Town Centre Management and an emerging group in Japan.

A cooperative approach between town and city practitioners from different countries and cultures is critical in addressing the problems and issues faced by towns and cities all over the world. I am constantly amazed at how what I think is a problem unique to Johannesburg or South African cities is on the agenda of cities I visit all over the world. In addition, the whole philosophy behind Improvement Districts is critical in the understanding of what urban private sector organisations are doing and seeking to do. Already the well-intended actions of some local authorities are not off a correct base and are muddying the waters. A body that acts as a facilitator for the co-ordination and dissemination of relevant information is vital and a number of cities have expressed their support.

The delay in establishing the proposed National organisation has really been through an inability of IDA to finalise the discussions I initiated with them some years ago. This is because they themselves have been going through a number of years of soul searching as to what their members believe should be their 'International' role. Hopefully this is now at an end and I hope to put this issue to bed at the next IDA Board meeting at the end of September. Why wait for IDA if they are only an affiliate body? In my experience the wealth of knowledge that we can gain from a formal association with them is worth the wait. Late September is also when IDA hold their 47th Annual Conference in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania from September 29 to October 2. Check it out on their website http://www.ida-downtown.org

We have a few places left at our conference next week on 21 and 22 August so please contact Katherine at katherine@cjp.co.za for registration information.