CITICHAT 28/2001 - 27 July 2001
The Cultural Arc
In the latter half of 2000, Professor Peter Stark, the Director of the Centre for Cultural Policy and Management at the University of Northumbria conducted a Cultural Audit of the city on behalf of the then Greater Johannesburg Metropolitan Council. The resultant Interim Report addresses the cultural context of Johannesburg in terms of physical facilities, location and connection and then in terms of cultural sub-sectors and the cultural projects themselves.
The Report defines “City Centre cultural assets” that:
• connect the City to the rest of the country and to the world.
• provide an international launching pad for the cultural products of the city and nation
• provide a first port of call and distribution hub for the best cultural products that the world has to offer to the country.
• deliver a service to the whole community of the City including visitors
The Report refers to recent studies by Charles Landry, consultant and well known author of "The Creative City" and others which "have pointed to the critical importance of Cities achieving “cultural quality and distinctiveness” in the global marketplace. The quality of major cultural institutions and their place in the broader physical, social and cultural environment of the City have proved to be major factors in a City’s ability to reposition itself internationally."
The audit process suggests that Johannesburg has existing, real and recognised generic “City Centre” cultural strengths in:
• certain fields of music where the City draws on the strengths of its immigrant communities as well as its indigenous musicians
• collections – particularly in cultural and social history
• areas of the contemporary visual arts – particularly work beyond galleries
• aspects of dance
• media production
but that the Market Theatre is its only internationally recognised cultural institution.
In these areas and others, the City has real cultural strengths to build upon but it lacks the institutions – whether buildings, “events and festivals” or lightweight “virtual” organisations to develop those strengths, add new ones and give a clear focus to the City’s cultural “offer” into the international market place.
In a City of the size and diversity of Johannesburg there should be – in time – a diversity of substantial centres of cultural activity.
However, too much of a grape shot approach to the distribution of City Centre cultural assets can fail to maximise synergies (both cultural and economic), and in the particular circumstances of Johannesburg, “clusters” will continue to be necessary for some time. This to ensure the perception of safety throughout the day times and evenings of a seven day week through the generation of footfall and the deployment – at affordable cost - of visible security.
In this context the concept of the Johannesburg Cultural Arc – as developed by Professor Caroline Hamilton (Witwatersrand University) is a persuasive one. The Fort and Constitution Hill
The Johannesburg Fort is one of the oldest structures in Johannesburg and – placed at the high point of a ridge in the heart of the City - it offers magnificent views and a history that touches all communities. The fort and its adjoining “native” prison compound was, however, a place of great brutality particularly during the struggle against the apartheid regime.
Funding has been provided to build the new Constitutional Court immediately to the North of the Fort and to seek to co-locate all of the “Chapter Nine ” institutions provided for in the new Constitution on adjoining sites. The Fort and Constitution Hill will therefore become both an important “legacy” project related to the price that was paid during the struggle for freedom and the internationally important manifestation of South Africa’s triumphant constitutional achievement.
The project has the capacity to stand alongside Robben Island as an icon for the new South Africa. The Fort and Court could match the island for political importance. The Island’s focus on the triumph of the individual spirit will be mirrored by a Constitution Hill focus on the political and legal journey taken to create a new democratic constitution enshrining Human Rights.
3.4) A Civic Campus
At least one of the major entrances to the Fort and Constitutional Hill connects directly to the City Council Offices and their surrounding terraces and greened spaces. The display, event and meeting spaces within the Council offices and temporary structures that have been erected on the adjoining terraces have fulfilled a number of promotional and cultural functions over the years and will continue to do so. The offices connect directly – if over another road – to the Civic Theatre.
The Civic Theatre is – in reality – a complex of theatres, meeting rooms, exhibition spaces and catering areas – the last with considerable potential for expansion into the external environment.
The plans currently being developed and implemented for the long term future of the Civic Theatre as a commercial receiving house and meetings/conference venue seem sensible, achievable and to be progressing well.
The Theatre is located within the “precinct” of the Council’s offices (and security) and benefits from the availability of substantial car parking. The flexibility inherent in the building design should produce a well used and vibrant - if culturally conservative - Civic Theatre Campus with catering and activity spilling into the terraces and outside spaces from the internal foyers.
Links along Jorissen, Ameshoff and Stiemens Streets through to Wits are identified as priorities for the Civic Theatre, the Wits Cultural Campus and the Braamfontein regeneration strategy more generally.
The presence of the currently closed Alexander Theatre on Stiemens Street may assist the revitalisation of the connecting corridor in the evenings in due course. This is a priority for the Braamfontein Initiative where the possibility of Cinema screenings has been raised .
The Braamfontein Initiative and the Wits Cultural Campus have also identified the potential for the creation of “wired workspaces” to grow and attract small start-up businesses with particular reference to IT based Design and Communication. Experience elsewhere is that such businesses often have substantial cultural components and connections.
A combination of major cultural facilities at the Eastern and Western ends of the three streets, adequate-to-good parking, consequential increased foot traffic and small business and residential developments could swiftly produce the desired increase and diversification of street level retail and – particularly – evening catering in this area.
There is a real and early prospect here for the virtuous circle of culture-led regeneration to be completed and for current decline – particularly in the quality and value of residential space to be reversed. The key to success is in the proposals for a Wits Cultural Campus immediately to the West of the area.
3.5) The Wits Cultural Campus
The connections across Jan Smuts at Jorissen Street close to the Braamfontein Centre via the (road beneath) the ABSA bridge and at Jorissen Street itself are already critical connections into the University and will become more important as the Wits Cultural Campus is developed.
The Wits Cultural Campus is probably the most significant recent development for the future of the cultural sector in the inner city. It offers the prospect of a critical additional piece in the physical “string of beads” that make up the Arc. In many ways more importantly, however, it also adds, through a mixture of the reputation of the University, the international profile of the individuals involved and the energy and interests of the student body substantial intellectual, cultural, consumer and participant weight to the whole project.
The Campus will be developed next to the existing Theatres – Wits Theatre, Downstairs at Wits and the Nunnery. The existing Dental School – an astonishingly appropriate “found” building for the work it is to house and on a magnificent site - will be adapted to re-house the Departments of Music, Visual Arts, Art History and Theatre.
Newtown South
On the Southern edge of Newtown there is a substantial cluster of cultural spaces and activities that either face on to the grassed area to the north or are directly connected to it. The cluster includes :
• The Horror Café,
• The SA Brewery Museum,
• Mixed use offices providing a base for small companies in film and the media, SAMU and many others
• GJMC iGoli 2002 Heritage Services
• Artists Print Workshops
• Arts Alive
• Mega Music,
• Movement into Dance,
• Dance Factory
• The Bus Factory (Craft Franchise Holders)
• National Film and Video Foundation (proposed)
• Café/Bar
• Ex-Africus/Biennalle/ICA Galleries
• Electric Workshop
Newtown North
On the Northern Edge of Newtown there is a substantial cluster of cultural spaces and activities that – with one major exception - either face on to Mary Fitzgerald Square or are directly connected to it. The cluster includes :
• The Market Theatre(s)
• The Market Theatre Gallery
• The Market Theatre Laboratory
• The Market Photographic Workshops
• The Market Theatre Precinct Market
• Kippies
• A major restaurant, two bars and a coffee bar/café
• Commercial galleries/craft shops
• Other small retail and cultural/training organisations
• The National Arts Council
• MuseuM AfricA
• The Afrika Cultural Centre (no current direct or indirect connection)
The space between the clusters – Newtown Central – is then conceived as a development corridor running East to West along Jeppe Street from the Turbine Hall to the site of the proposed Dance/Sport facility. Here, two issues arise.
First, the long term future of the Workers Library and the buildings that it currently occupies. The Library and their current principal tenants, Khanya College, have no historical connections to the buildings and their core policy and programme ambitions could clearly be better accommodated in more modern buildings though still within the Newtown precinct. The historical importance of the buildings are manifest in the small museum that the Library has developed displaying living conditions in the Municipal Compound.
The second relates to Turbine Hall at the “Gateway” to Newtown from the North and East. Whatever is done to the building its conversion or replacement must have synergies with the Newtown development. This means, principally, that it should have – on at least its ground floor and manifest on its facades – a public and evening and weekend oriented function.
In addition to the main projects on the Arc referred to in what follows, consideration should be given to:
• the potential of the University holdings on the Ridge to the North – including the Linder auditorium – to provide a connection for the City Centre (perceived as a safe one) to the residents of the Northern suburbs.
• the potential of the transport interchanges adjacent to Newtown at Park Station and in the new Metro-Mall to offer a similar – and specifically configured – “cultural entry point” for the residents of the Townships to the South and East.
• any ways that might be possible to develop the Arc towards a horseshoe that could accommodate Windybrow and the Johannesburg Art Gallery
• assisting the development of innovative means of bringing the public back to the City Centre in the evenings and at weekends for entertainment, catering and – increasingly – evening specialist retail.
Secure car parking is already plentiful in the evenings but it may not be currently open and it may not be as well located as would be ideal – particularly in Newtown - although the newly planned upgrade of Mary Fitzgerald Square will be of major assistance .
Exploring some form of Park and Ride might work – using specialist transport and, perhaps, developed alongside a journey connecting various historical sites. Could high quality shuttle transport and a tourist experience be linked?
The evolution of the taxi and private hire trade to provide a reliable evening service into and from the City Centre seems of real importance.
Amidst all the gloom about the inability of the City Centre to attract an audience for culture we have the stark fact that when the product is right the audience comes.
• Lord of the Dance at the Civic.
• The right South African play at the Market.
• 10,000 visits to the Chagall exhibition inside three and a half weeks
• The last night of SA Music Week in Newtown
• The opening of Urban Futures in MuseuM AfricA
• The recent John Rutter sunday afternoon classical concert in the Old City Hall.
• Midsummer Night’s Dream at Wits Theatre
There will have been others.
What they all had in common was the right product and a lot of people enjoying the event and – incidentally – reclaiming the City as their own.
Friday, July 27, 2001
Friday, July 20, 2001
Nelson Mandela Bridge Citichat 20 July 2001
CITICHAT 29/2001 - 20 JULY 2001
Nelson Mandela Bridge
Tuesday 17th July was a big day for Newtown and for the Inner City when Madiba himself unveiled the model of the winning design for the bridge which will carry his name and which will span the railway yards linking Braamfontein and Newtown. The Nelson Mandela Bridge at 294 metres long will be the country's largest cable-stayed bridge and is an important key in the plans for Newtown. Together with a pair of on-and-off ramps that will link the M1 South and the M1 North to Carr Street, known as the M1 Carr Street interchange, the bridge will provide easy access to Newtown and to the CBD itself for those driving to and from the north and west of the city.
The on-and-off ramps of the MI Carr Street interchange are going to be built in structural steel and will pose an interesting construction challenge given the height of the double decker motorway. Nazir Alli, the CEO of the SA National Roads Agency described this aspect at the launch on Tuesday as "an exceptional engineering achievement providing ramp bridges some 15 metres above ground level to the elevated M1 Freeway from Carr Street below." The two ramp bridges will be 280 and 230 metres long. The tender for this work has been awarded to Siawela Joint Venture (a J/V between Wilson Bailey Ovcon and Rainbow Construction), has already started and is scheduled for completion in September 2002. Costs are approximately R38 million.
For the technical-minded the Nelson Mandela Bridge is: "A three span unsymmetrical cable stayed bridge approximately 294 metres in length. The pylons will be of unequal length, 53 and 38 metres respectively with the northern pylons being higher and supporting a greater length of bridge. The pylons will be braced H-frame structures with vertical members constructed of circular steel sections and the bracing of circular hollow steel sections. The vertical members terminate with illuminated circular glass finial sections 3 metres high." The actual deck of the bridge is of steel box girder and concrete composite construction, with pre-stressed concrete side spans. Walkways for pedestrians are then bolted on to the side of the deck and have laminated glass balustrades. The design also provides a dedicated cycle 'path'.
The design-construct tender was awarded to the LBA Consortium comprising Grinaker-LTA and Bafokeng Joint Venture responsible for consstruction. Design is by BKS, ARQ Associates, PD Naaidoo and Associates, COWI, a Danish firm that specialises in the design of long span bridges and Dissing + Weitling (Danish Bridge architects).
The Bridge on which work has also already started, is scheduled to be opened by Nelson Mandela (GW) on July 18, his 85th birthday. R85 million has been allocated for the bridge and associated roadworks. It will certainly change the Joburg skyline. The pylons at the Braamfontein end will be the equivalent height to a twenty storey building and when illuminated at night, together with the striking lighting planned for Mary Fitzgerald Square and the elevated M1, will provide exciting city night tableaus.
The R120 million plus for the two projects is being substantially provided through Blue IQ (the R1,7 billion initiative of the Gauteng Provincial Government in 10-mega projects in the areas of information technology, transport, tourism and high value -added manufacturing). The other funders are the JDA, the SA National Road Agency and the National Department of Transport.
Gives a warm feeling to be able to say "and work has started on site" when referring to projects that have been reflected on these pages for some time now! But one also gets a warm feeling from listening to Madiba, his sense of humour and his passion for the country and support for the city are, as always, inspiring. With his wonderful insight and empathy he also caused the embarrassment of the morning. Looking at the model that he had just unveiled, he reflected that it is always the offices of President or Premier or Mayor who get the accolades for great projects and, usually, the person who had the idea in the first place is totally overlooked. "Whose concept was this bridge?" he asked. The Premier neatly tried to deflect the question to one of his staff, he in turn said that he certainly couldn't take any credit and the moment passed in some confusion. So for the record, the idea originally came out of the "Newtown Urban Design Proposals and Development Framework for an Historic Precinct" prepared by GAPP Architects and Urban Planners way back in 1988. At that stage the suggestion was a bridge linking Braamfontein to Newtown as an extension of Yale Street. Subsequently, Yale Street was absorbed into the Wits University campus. Some years later, I think in 1994/95, an urban development framework for the CBD was prepared by Steve Thorne who had just completed his urban design studies in the UK. Working with another professional from the UK, Gordon Gibson, , they suggested that the Braamfontein/Newtown linkage was essential and that it could come off Bertha Street as Yale was no longer possible. I'm almost sure that they also made the suggestion that such a bridge should carry the Nelson Mandela name. Gordon Gibson has a practice in Cardiff. Steve Thorne is now the principle architect and urban designer for the City of Melbourne and actually founded the architectural and urban design practice of Urban Solutions before he left South Africa. Urban Solutions won both the Mary Fitzgerald and Constitution Hill design competitions as well as being involved in a number of other prestigious projects in the City. So the kudos should really be shared by the two practices of Gapp and Urban Solutions!
I did mention the planned Cities 2001 conference last week. The conference is going to be one with a difference as we will be breaking away from the rigid structures of paper after paper followed by ten minutes for questions (if there is time!).
We have assembled a unique group of “hands-on” urban practitioners, both local and international, who will share their experiences on a range of critical urban issues including best practice in urban management; urban development; sprawl and ‘smart growth’; city branding and marketing and social issues. Each issue will be presented by an individual or a panel and a ‘conversation’ will be facilitated between the presenters and all participants to maximise the sharing/learning experience. The presenters include, amongst others:
• Rich Bradley, the ‘doyen’ of US Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) –Executive Director of the Downtown BID Corporation in Washington DC
• Kate Joncas – President of the Downtown Seattle Association and currently Chairperson of the International Downtown Association
• Michael Farr – Chief Executive of The Cape Town Partnership
• Graeme Reid - Chief Executive of the Johannesburg Development Agency (JDA)
• Bob Eury – President of Central Houston, Inc. a private non-profit corporation formed to lead the planning and implementation of the redevelopment of Houston's central city area
• Ellen Bradley – Deputy Director of Planning for Washington DC
• Bill Best - Executive Director, New Jersey Redevelopment Authority
21 and 22 August at the SAB Museum and Conference facility in Newtown, Johannesburg. Full details will be e-mailed to all Citichat subscribers early next week together with registration forms. Limited to 150 participants and cost will be R2 000 per delegate. .Great value when compared to commercial conferences
Nelson Mandela Bridge
Tuesday 17th July was a big day for Newtown and for the Inner City when Madiba himself unveiled the model of the winning design for the bridge which will carry his name and which will span the railway yards linking Braamfontein and Newtown. The Nelson Mandela Bridge at 294 metres long will be the country's largest cable-stayed bridge and is an important key in the plans for Newtown. Together with a pair of on-and-off ramps that will link the M1 South and the M1 North to Carr Street, known as the M1 Carr Street interchange, the bridge will provide easy access to Newtown and to the CBD itself for those driving to and from the north and west of the city.
The on-and-off ramps of the MI Carr Street interchange are going to be built in structural steel and will pose an interesting construction challenge given the height of the double decker motorway. Nazir Alli, the CEO of the SA National Roads Agency described this aspect at the launch on Tuesday as "an exceptional engineering achievement providing ramp bridges some 15 metres above ground level to the elevated M1 Freeway from Carr Street below." The two ramp bridges will be 280 and 230 metres long. The tender for this work has been awarded to Siawela Joint Venture (a J/V between Wilson Bailey Ovcon and Rainbow Construction), has already started and is scheduled for completion in September 2002. Costs are approximately R38 million.
For the technical-minded the Nelson Mandela Bridge is: "A three span unsymmetrical cable stayed bridge approximately 294 metres in length. The pylons will be of unequal length, 53 and 38 metres respectively with the northern pylons being higher and supporting a greater length of bridge. The pylons will be braced H-frame structures with vertical members constructed of circular steel sections and the bracing of circular hollow steel sections. The vertical members terminate with illuminated circular glass finial sections 3 metres high." The actual deck of the bridge is of steel box girder and concrete composite construction, with pre-stressed concrete side spans. Walkways for pedestrians are then bolted on to the side of the deck and have laminated glass balustrades. The design also provides a dedicated cycle 'path'.
The design-construct tender was awarded to the LBA Consortium comprising Grinaker-LTA and Bafokeng Joint Venture responsible for consstruction. Design is by BKS, ARQ Associates, PD Naaidoo and Associates, COWI, a Danish firm that specialises in the design of long span bridges and Dissing + Weitling (Danish Bridge architects).
The Bridge on which work has also already started, is scheduled to be opened by Nelson Mandela (GW) on July 18, his 85th birthday. R85 million has been allocated for the bridge and associated roadworks. It will certainly change the Joburg skyline. The pylons at the Braamfontein end will be the equivalent height to a twenty storey building and when illuminated at night, together with the striking lighting planned for Mary Fitzgerald Square and the elevated M1, will provide exciting city night tableaus.
The R120 million plus for the two projects is being substantially provided through Blue IQ (the R1,7 billion initiative of the Gauteng Provincial Government in 10-mega projects in the areas of information technology, transport, tourism and high value -added manufacturing). The other funders are the JDA, the SA National Road Agency and the National Department of Transport.
Gives a warm feeling to be able to say "and work has started on site" when referring to projects that have been reflected on these pages for some time now! But one also gets a warm feeling from listening to Madiba, his sense of humour and his passion for the country and support for the city are, as always, inspiring. With his wonderful insight and empathy he also caused the embarrassment of the morning. Looking at the model that he had just unveiled, he reflected that it is always the offices of President or Premier or Mayor who get the accolades for great projects and, usually, the person who had the idea in the first place is totally overlooked. "Whose concept was this bridge?" he asked. The Premier neatly tried to deflect the question to one of his staff, he in turn said that he certainly couldn't take any credit and the moment passed in some confusion. So for the record, the idea originally came out of the "Newtown Urban Design Proposals and Development Framework for an Historic Precinct" prepared by GAPP Architects and Urban Planners way back in 1988. At that stage the suggestion was a bridge linking Braamfontein to Newtown as an extension of Yale Street. Subsequently, Yale Street was absorbed into the Wits University campus. Some years later, I think in 1994/95, an urban development framework for the CBD was prepared by Steve Thorne who had just completed his urban design studies in the UK. Working with another professional from the UK, Gordon Gibson, , they suggested that the Braamfontein/Newtown linkage was essential and that it could come off Bertha Street as Yale was no longer possible. I'm almost sure that they also made the suggestion that such a bridge should carry the Nelson Mandela name. Gordon Gibson has a practice in Cardiff. Steve Thorne is now the principle architect and urban designer for the City of Melbourne and actually founded the architectural and urban design practice of Urban Solutions before he left South Africa. Urban Solutions won both the Mary Fitzgerald and Constitution Hill design competitions as well as being involved in a number of other prestigious projects in the City. So the kudos should really be shared by the two practices of Gapp and Urban Solutions!
I did mention the planned Cities 2001 conference last week. The conference is going to be one with a difference as we will be breaking away from the rigid structures of paper after paper followed by ten minutes for questions (if there is time!).
We have assembled a unique group of “hands-on” urban practitioners, both local and international, who will share their experiences on a range of critical urban issues including best practice in urban management; urban development; sprawl and ‘smart growth’; city branding and marketing and social issues. Each issue will be presented by an individual or a panel and a ‘conversation’ will be facilitated between the presenters and all participants to maximise the sharing/learning experience. The presenters include, amongst others:
• Rich Bradley, the ‘doyen’ of US Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) –Executive Director of the Downtown BID Corporation in Washington DC
• Kate Joncas – President of the Downtown Seattle Association and currently Chairperson of the International Downtown Association
• Michael Farr – Chief Executive of The Cape Town Partnership
• Graeme Reid - Chief Executive of the Johannesburg Development Agency (JDA)
• Bob Eury – President of Central Houston, Inc. a private non-profit corporation formed to lead the planning and implementation of the redevelopment of Houston's central city area
• Ellen Bradley – Deputy Director of Planning for Washington DC
• Bill Best - Executive Director, New Jersey Redevelopment Authority
21 and 22 August at the SAB Museum and Conference facility in Newtown, Johannesburg. Full details will be e-mailed to all Citichat subscribers early next week together with registration forms. Limited to 150 participants and cost will be R2 000 per delegate. .Great value when compared to commercial conferences
Friday, July 13, 2001
Urban sprawl Citichat 13 July 2001
CITICHAT 27/2001 - 13th July 2001
Urban Sprawl
Greatly encouraged to see the report in Tuesday's Business Day of the Cape Town Partnership's ‘Plan’ that they have submitted to their city council. The plan appears to have adopted "smart growth" principles that, although labeled ‘radical’ in the press report, have been gaining force in the US for quite some years. According to the report “developers will have to prove to the council their proposals will not displace social or economic activity from designated urban nodes. The burden of proof currently lies with the local authority. The partnership wants to reverse this, and has recommended legislation to restrict municipal spending on public infrastructure - such as roads and sewers – to designated growth areas.” Perceptive comment by the reporter that Century City and the new Westlake Business Park would probably not have passed the partnership’s suggested criteria. I have long felt that Cape Town was shooting itself in the foot by allowing such ‘sprawl’ development by not learning from Johannesburg’s mistakes and taking cognisance of the enormous damage that has been done to Joburg’s Inner City as a result of a laissez faire approach to sprawl.
However, because the Province of Gauteng includes a number of major cities, our approach to sprawl has been from a Provincial rather than a metropolitan point of view. The previous concern appears to have been that if Johannesburg adopted a tough, smart-growth approach and the other cities chose not to, it might well be to Joburg’s disadvantage, not a concern I personally share. I first covered the possibility of an Urban Growth Management Policy way back in a Citichat of 26 November 1998 when I reported on a workshop convened by the then Premier where the issue was discussed. In January 1999, the media announced that the Premier, together with the then MEC for Planning and Local Government, were to introduce a Provincial Bill “banning all development outside of the CBD of Johannesburg”. I never got to the bottom of whether the politicians had misunderstood the issue or whether the press had deliberately acted mischievously in misquoting them. I do remember that the letter pages were full of righteous indignation and that I wrote an article to try to set the matter straight which received withering comment from one source who clearly didn't understand the concept and objected to the “smart growth” terminology I had used! Others accused the Provincial Government of "apartheid planning in reverse"!
Nearly three years later, under a new Premier and a new MEC for Planning and Local Government, the draft Gauteng Planning and Development Bill has been published and provides principles to promote spatial restructuring and development that “promote the compaction of towns and cities through discouraging urban sprawl and protecting the agricultural resource base.” In addition, also as previously covered in a Citichat, the City Development Plan (the consolidated Local Integrated Development Plans for the metro) also includes the bones of a smart growth approach.
The latest edition of ‘Getting Smart’, the newsletter of the “Smart Growth Network” as always carries a number of interesting articles based on practical experience in the USA in relation to sprawl and which provides us with valuable information and direction. For example, in one article there is a strong motivation for the use of fiscal impact analyses rather than for the more traditional economic impact studies. The latter evaluate direct and indirect impacts on overall economy, typically new jobs, real disposable income, and consumer spending. Fiscal impact analyses on the other hand, rather determine costs and revenues attributable to new developments. Thus they examine revenues, capital costs and associated operating expenses. After such an analysis, fiscal impacts can then be evaluated next to non-fiscal issues such as environmental concerns, housing affordability, jobs/housing balance, and quality of life.
In another article, an excellent report on research undertaken by the Michigan Land Use Institute into Garfield Township, the following extract expresses some hard realities which underpin the approach that the Cape Town Partnership appears to be taking: “Garfield Township, which like other local governments in Michigan, has long disdained the influence of outsiders in decisions that affect its future, no longer has a choice. Taxpayers outside its jurisdiction are pressing Garfield and neighbouring governments to coordinate their planning in order to protect the environment, build better communities and save money. Like other investors interested in sound use of their money, taxpayers are demanding and winning more accountability and influence in decisions about future growth. The Institute’s findings make it clear that sprawl is neither an accident nor a product of the free market, but is fundamentally influenced by public policies and public investments (my underlining). And, in a departure from previous eras, when development decisions were made by a handful of men working largely in private, the disputes over what will be built, and where, are now the most closely followed and visible public debates in local communities throughout the United States.”
The Institute developed a 12-step programme intended for citizens and local government leaders to use in breaking the sprawl addiction and improving patterns of development. These include directing public investments for roads, sewers, schools, water lines and economic growth into already developed areas, instead of farther out in the countryside; establishing urban growth boundaries; encouraging bankers to finance neighbourhoods instead of sub-divisions and downtown construction instead of malls and, requiring state agencies to abide by local land use plans!!!!!
I trust that the new Gauteng Planning and Development Bill, Johannesburg's LIDP together with the Cape Town Partnership’s bold approach will raise the level of national awareness of the seriousness of the situation. We must move from paying lip service to taking firm action in regard to an issue that is not peculiar to Johannesburg and Cape Town but which is negatively affecting all of our towns and cities.
I mentioned some time ago a Cities Conference which is now shaping up to be held in Johannesburg during the week 20 to 24 August and which will include a number of international ‘urbanists’ – we are hoping to include a “Smart Growth” practitioner amongst them. Final news on this next week, but mark your diaries now!.
.
Urban Sprawl
Greatly encouraged to see the report in Tuesday's Business Day of the Cape Town Partnership's ‘Plan’ that they have submitted to their city council. The plan appears to have adopted "smart growth" principles that, although labeled ‘radical’ in the press report, have been gaining force in the US for quite some years. According to the report “developers will have to prove to the council their proposals will not displace social or economic activity from designated urban nodes. The burden of proof currently lies with the local authority. The partnership wants to reverse this, and has recommended legislation to restrict municipal spending on public infrastructure - such as roads and sewers – to designated growth areas.” Perceptive comment by the reporter that Century City and the new Westlake Business Park would probably not have passed the partnership’s suggested criteria. I have long felt that Cape Town was shooting itself in the foot by allowing such ‘sprawl’ development by not learning from Johannesburg’s mistakes and taking cognisance of the enormous damage that has been done to Joburg’s Inner City as a result of a laissez faire approach to sprawl.
However, because the Province of Gauteng includes a number of major cities, our approach to sprawl has been from a Provincial rather than a metropolitan point of view. The previous concern appears to have been that if Johannesburg adopted a tough, smart-growth approach and the other cities chose not to, it might well be to Joburg’s disadvantage, not a concern I personally share. I first covered the possibility of an Urban Growth Management Policy way back in a Citichat of 26 November 1998 when I reported on a workshop convened by the then Premier where the issue was discussed. In January 1999, the media announced that the Premier, together with the then MEC for Planning and Local Government, were to introduce a Provincial Bill “banning all development outside of the CBD of Johannesburg”. I never got to the bottom of whether the politicians had misunderstood the issue or whether the press had deliberately acted mischievously in misquoting them. I do remember that the letter pages were full of righteous indignation and that I wrote an article to try to set the matter straight which received withering comment from one source who clearly didn't understand the concept and objected to the “smart growth” terminology I had used! Others accused the Provincial Government of "apartheid planning in reverse"!
Nearly three years later, under a new Premier and a new MEC for Planning and Local Government, the draft Gauteng Planning and Development Bill has been published and provides principles to promote spatial restructuring and development that “promote the compaction of towns and cities through discouraging urban sprawl and protecting the agricultural resource base.” In addition, also as previously covered in a Citichat, the City Development Plan (the consolidated Local Integrated Development Plans for the metro) also includes the bones of a smart growth approach.
The latest edition of ‘Getting Smart’, the newsletter of the “Smart Growth Network” as always carries a number of interesting articles based on practical experience in the USA in relation to sprawl and which provides us with valuable information and direction. For example, in one article there is a strong motivation for the use of fiscal impact analyses rather than for the more traditional economic impact studies. The latter evaluate direct and indirect impacts on overall economy, typically new jobs, real disposable income, and consumer spending. Fiscal impact analyses on the other hand, rather determine costs and revenues attributable to new developments. Thus they examine revenues, capital costs and associated operating expenses. After such an analysis, fiscal impacts can then be evaluated next to non-fiscal issues such as environmental concerns, housing affordability, jobs/housing balance, and quality of life.
In another article, an excellent report on research undertaken by the Michigan Land Use Institute into Garfield Township, the following extract expresses some hard realities which underpin the approach that the Cape Town Partnership appears to be taking: “Garfield Township, which like other local governments in Michigan, has long disdained the influence of outsiders in decisions that affect its future, no longer has a choice. Taxpayers outside its jurisdiction are pressing Garfield and neighbouring governments to coordinate their planning in order to protect the environment, build better communities and save money. Like other investors interested in sound use of their money, taxpayers are demanding and winning more accountability and influence in decisions about future growth. The Institute’s findings make it clear that sprawl is neither an accident nor a product of the free market, but is fundamentally influenced by public policies and public investments (my underlining). And, in a departure from previous eras, when development decisions were made by a handful of men working largely in private, the disputes over what will be built, and where, are now the most closely followed and visible public debates in local communities throughout the United States.”
The Institute developed a 12-step programme intended for citizens and local government leaders to use in breaking the sprawl addiction and improving patterns of development. These include directing public investments for roads, sewers, schools, water lines and economic growth into already developed areas, instead of farther out in the countryside; establishing urban growth boundaries; encouraging bankers to finance neighbourhoods instead of sub-divisions and downtown construction instead of malls and, requiring state agencies to abide by local land use plans!!!!!
I trust that the new Gauteng Planning and Development Bill, Johannesburg's LIDP together with the Cape Town Partnership’s bold approach will raise the level of national awareness of the seriousness of the situation. We must move from paying lip service to taking firm action in regard to an issue that is not peculiar to Johannesburg and Cape Town but which is negatively affecting all of our towns and cities.
I mentioned some time ago a Cities Conference which is now shaping up to be held in Johannesburg during the week 20 to 24 August and which will include a number of international ‘urbanists’ – we are hoping to include a “Smart Growth” practitioner amongst them. Final news on this next week, but mark your diaries now!.
.
Friday, July 6, 2001
JMPD; Gautrain Citichat 6 July 2001
CITICHAT 26/2001 - 6 July 2001
JMPD Launch and Gautrain announced
No, I don't want to talk above our 'move' other than that at the end of five days we are only slightly more settled than we were when we started the week, and that isn't saying much! Maybe, just maybe, we will have returned to some degree of sanity/normalcy by the end of next week and maybe, just maybe, we'll have been able to get some work done by then. However we have managed to keep our sense of humour.! So a bit of pot pourri for this week's Citichat.
The launch of the Metropolitan Police Services some months ago was viewed by some with quiet optimism and not-so-quiet cynicism by others. It was suggested that the 'new' service was just the 'old in new uniforms' bringing with them a reputation for corruption and lack of will to enforce. I was optimistic (some will say "as usual") and prepared to wait and see what effect the new force was going to generate in the city. By the end of May, early June, I was becoming a bit despondent - my major problem was that I had hardly seen any presence of the new force let alone results arising from their establishment. Something clearly happened about that time, for, all of a sudden, there were groups of the new officers well in evidence in the city and patrol cars abounded both in the city and on the freeways (freeways which have hardly witnessed a municipal patrol car for years!) Twice this week, when I've escaped from the chaos of unpacking (and you can't unpack if your packed cartons haven't arrived!), I have driven through major roadblocks which were politely yet firmly managed. This morning I had a meeting with senior By-Law Enforcement officers and was delighted to hear that a dedicated task-force of some 78 officers started on informal trading enforcement this week. I do still have a concern at the apparent ratio of those in patrol cars to those on the ground. Some years ago I was fortunate to be able to hear a presentation by George Kelling who, with his wife, Catherine Coles, wrote the book " Fixing Broken Windows" (the theory was not developed by Mayor Guilliani nor by his police chief William Bratton but by a Stanford University psychologist Philip Zimbardo and then developed further by Kelling). Kelling suggested that enforcement in New York had been negatively and seriously affected by two issues. The first was the '999' emergency number that resulted in large numbers of police hanging about 'waiting for the phone to ring'! The second was the removal of the 'bobby-on-the-beat' when foot officers were redeployed into patrol cars. The result was to lose touch with the very community they were supposed to be protecting and the diminution of their visibility on the ground. We need to guard against that, certainly the success of Improvement Districts is the high visibility of security and the Metro Police Services could do well to follow that example. The other concern must be their reluctance to do anything about the constant parking violations on Gandhi Square many of which stem from various Council employees themselves.
From policing to trains! Some time ago Premier Mbazima Shilowa announced the proposed Rapid Rail Link between Johannesburg and Pretoria. The project has become one of the ten adopted by the Provincial Government's Blue I.Q. initiative. This aims to actively promote and invest in a whole range of strategic projects in order to maximise the competitive advantage of the province, or, in their words, "to optimise Gauteng's role as the 'smart' hub of Africa. Two of the other projects being supported by Blue I.Q. that will benefit the city are the Newtown redevelopment (including MetroMarket and Mary Fitzgerald Square) and Constitution Hill. The so-called Gautrain Rapid Rail Link is quite correctly being punted primarily as an economic development and only secondly as a transport initiative. Some years ago I attended an IDA Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina and traveled on their then recently established historic tram route. Very different obviously to what is in mind here, but the developers made no bones about the fact that this was an economic initiative and the new and refurbished developments along its route provided strong evidence of its success.
Our public transport system has always been pathetic and certainly rail has hardly played a role over many decades in serving the economic development of either Pretoria or Johannesburg. The system now under consideration is aimed at commercially active persons needing to commute between Johannesburg and Pretoria as well as the Johannesburg International Airport thus also servicing national and international tourists. I must say that for sheer convenience you can't beat rail travel that delivers you right into your airport having booked your luggage onto your flight at the railway station! Current planning provides for the main stations to be located in Johannesburg CBD, Rosebank, Sandton, Midrand, Centurion, Pretoria CBD, Hatfield and Kempton Park. The service will have 'predictable service levels and travelling times' with the 57 km section between Johannesburg and Pretoria being covered in below 38 minutes requiring maximum speeds of 160 to 200 km/hour. The project is being mooted as "an alternative, economically feasible and environment-friendly solution to the public transport and traffic congestion challenges for Gauteng."
The project is being approached on a 'Build-Operate-Transfer' basis, which means that the successful tenderer will be responsible for the infrastructure as well as the operation of the system. A conference detailing the requirements and procedures is to be held shortly. A Pre-Qualification and Tender Process will start this year with construction scheduled to start in the first half of 2003 and completion in 2006.
Food, glorious food! The Portugalia Restaurant at 62 Troye Street has recently refurbed and is great. It is run by Mozambican singer Rosalia Mbo'a and her husband and specialises in Mozambican cuisine. Matapa (crushed, boiled cassava leaves stewed in liquidised peanuts or coconut cooked with prawns, onions, tomato, ginger, garlic and peri-peri and served with rice or boiled green banana);cacana with prawns and other goodies; galinha a peri-peri (peri-peri chicken), camarao grelhado (grilled shrimp peri-peri). Very friendly - some of these dishes take a few hours to prepare so orders should be made in advance - great food - tel 083-466 6471.
JMPD Launch and Gautrain announced
No, I don't want to talk above our 'move' other than that at the end of five days we are only slightly more settled than we were when we started the week, and that isn't saying much! Maybe, just maybe, we will have returned to some degree of sanity/normalcy by the end of next week and maybe, just maybe, we'll have been able to get some work done by then. However we have managed to keep our sense of humour.! So a bit of pot pourri for this week's Citichat.
The launch of the Metropolitan Police Services some months ago was viewed by some with quiet optimism and not-so-quiet cynicism by others. It was suggested that the 'new' service was just the 'old in new uniforms' bringing with them a reputation for corruption and lack of will to enforce. I was optimistic (some will say "as usual") and prepared to wait and see what effect the new force was going to generate in the city. By the end of May, early June, I was becoming a bit despondent - my major problem was that I had hardly seen any presence of the new force let alone results arising from their establishment. Something clearly happened about that time, for, all of a sudden, there were groups of the new officers well in evidence in the city and patrol cars abounded both in the city and on the freeways (freeways which have hardly witnessed a municipal patrol car for years!) Twice this week, when I've escaped from the chaos of unpacking (and you can't unpack if your packed cartons haven't arrived!), I have driven through major roadblocks which were politely yet firmly managed. This morning I had a meeting with senior By-Law Enforcement officers and was delighted to hear that a dedicated task-force of some 78 officers started on informal trading enforcement this week. I do still have a concern at the apparent ratio of those in patrol cars to those on the ground. Some years ago I was fortunate to be able to hear a presentation by George Kelling who, with his wife, Catherine Coles, wrote the book " Fixing Broken Windows" (the theory was not developed by Mayor Guilliani nor by his police chief William Bratton but by a Stanford University psychologist Philip Zimbardo and then developed further by Kelling). Kelling suggested that enforcement in New York had been negatively and seriously affected by two issues. The first was the '999' emergency number that resulted in large numbers of police hanging about 'waiting for the phone to ring'! The second was the removal of the 'bobby-on-the-beat' when foot officers were redeployed into patrol cars. The result was to lose touch with the very community they were supposed to be protecting and the diminution of their visibility on the ground. We need to guard against that, certainly the success of Improvement Districts is the high visibility of security and the Metro Police Services could do well to follow that example. The other concern must be their reluctance to do anything about the constant parking violations on Gandhi Square many of which stem from various Council employees themselves.
From policing to trains! Some time ago Premier Mbazima Shilowa announced the proposed Rapid Rail Link between Johannesburg and Pretoria. The project has become one of the ten adopted by the Provincial Government's Blue I.Q. initiative. This aims to actively promote and invest in a whole range of strategic projects in order to maximise the competitive advantage of the province, or, in their words, "to optimise Gauteng's role as the 'smart' hub of Africa. Two of the other projects being supported by Blue I.Q. that will benefit the city are the Newtown redevelopment (including MetroMarket and Mary Fitzgerald Square) and Constitution Hill. The so-called Gautrain Rapid Rail Link is quite correctly being punted primarily as an economic development and only secondly as a transport initiative. Some years ago I attended an IDA Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina and traveled on their then recently established historic tram route. Very different obviously to what is in mind here, but the developers made no bones about the fact that this was an economic initiative and the new and refurbished developments along its route provided strong evidence of its success.
Our public transport system has always been pathetic and certainly rail has hardly played a role over many decades in serving the economic development of either Pretoria or Johannesburg. The system now under consideration is aimed at commercially active persons needing to commute between Johannesburg and Pretoria as well as the Johannesburg International Airport thus also servicing national and international tourists. I must say that for sheer convenience you can't beat rail travel that delivers you right into your airport having booked your luggage onto your flight at the railway station! Current planning provides for the main stations to be located in Johannesburg CBD, Rosebank, Sandton, Midrand, Centurion, Pretoria CBD, Hatfield and Kempton Park. The service will have 'predictable service levels and travelling times' with the 57 km section between Johannesburg and Pretoria being covered in below 38 minutes requiring maximum speeds of 160 to 200 km/hour. The project is being mooted as "an alternative, economically feasible and environment-friendly solution to the public transport and traffic congestion challenges for Gauteng."
The project is being approached on a 'Build-Operate-Transfer' basis, which means that the successful tenderer will be responsible for the infrastructure as well as the operation of the system. A conference detailing the requirements and procedures is to be held shortly. A Pre-Qualification and Tender Process will start this year with construction scheduled to start in the first half of 2003 and completion in 2006.
Food, glorious food! The Portugalia Restaurant at 62 Troye Street has recently refurbed and is great. It is run by Mozambican singer Rosalia Mbo'a and her husband and specialises in Mozambican cuisine. Matapa (crushed, boiled cassava leaves stewed in liquidised peanuts or coconut cooked with prawns, onions, tomato, ginger, garlic and peri-peri and served with rice or boiled green banana);cacana with prawns and other goodies; galinha a peri-peri (peri-peri chicken), camarao grelhado (grilled shrimp peri-peri). Very friendly - some of these dishes take a few hours to prepare so orders should be made in advance - great food - tel 083-466 6471.
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