The Inner City Summit workshops have continued, with a meeting of the social, or community, development stakeholder's working group. In line with concerns raised, we can learn some lessons from South America.
Just as a reminder, there are six SWGs - transportation; residential; economic; public space, arts, culture and heritage; urban management, safety and security; and social development. Each SWG will meet four times before the summit; the first meetings were held in December last year.
Each SWG session has a different objective: the first is to give everyone the opportunity to get issues off their chests, to collate the issues and to cluster like issues with like. The second SWG session is to identify the most critical of the issues raised and investigate possible solutions; the third is to firm up the solutions and the final session is to agree the wording of the charter relative to that particular SWG.
The social development SWG was well attended by a very divergent group of people representing organisations ranging from social housing, shelter and community health to refugee and migrant-immigrant groups. The following are the issues that emerged, clustered into like groups:
Facilities and programmes - many City facilities appear to be badly run down, closed or open intermittently.
Apart from those issues listed above, there were also issues raised that will be referred to the other SWGs, such as safety and security; the judicial system; waste removal; the Better Buildings Programme; and problems related to Council service charges.
While the first meeting of the SWGs usually results in what I call "dumping", there was a positive suggestion made in this session that could affect many social issues in one fell swoop. That is adopting a city-wide policy that would ensure that within, say one square kilometre of each person's living place, we create a sports and social facility.
The idea is to attract kids and adults off the streets and away from drugs and criminal activities into healthy active and interactive lives. Basket- and volleyball courts, music, dance, ballet should be offered - the things our community centres should provide. But our community centres tend to be large add-ons that are often fairly inaccessible. These would be very localised and compact.
Impractical? Not at all. In fact a number of mayors of developing cities in South America have been responsible for similar interventions. When he was the mayor of Curitiba in Brazil, Jaime Lerner introduced a range of major interventions that dramatically changed the city and the lives of its communities. One such initiative was the establishment of the Faróis de Saber (Lighthouses of Knowledge). These "lighthouses" are free educational centres that include libraries, internet access and other cultural resources.
These lighthouses were built in every community. They were, in fact, designed to look like lighthouses so that they were very visible, standing out in the communities as beacons of learning. I went to a number of such lighthouses some years ago and they were always busy, with activities for every age group, and just exciting places to be.
South America
Another former mayor who had a profound effect on his city and its inhabitants was Enrique Peñalosa, of Bogotá in Colombia, who looked to real democritisation of the city and its peoples. He promoted a city model giving priority to children and public spaces and restricting the use of private cars, building hundreds of kilometres of pavements or footways, bicycle paths, pedestrian streets, greenways, and parks.
He led efforts to improve Bogotá's marginal neighbourhoods through citizen involvement; planted more than 100 000 trees; created a new, highly successful bus-based transit system; and turned a deteriorated downtown avenue into a dynamic pedestrian public space.
He helped to transform the city's attitude from one of negative hopelessness to one of pride and hope, developing a model for urban improvement based on the equal rights of all people to transportation, education and public spaces.
While I'm "going on" about South America, let's turn to Chile, a country with many historical similarities to our own. Michelle Bachelet was at the forefront in the battle to restore democracy to that country in the late 1980s. She was imprisoned by the previous regime, followed by years in exile. A medical doctor, she was subsequently the minister of health, then the minister of defence and, now, the country's president.
Described as a "moderate socialist", this is her vision for her country as reported in The McKinsey Quarterly: "I would love Chile to be regarded as a modern society with a modern system of social protection and an open economy, both regionally and internationally, and also to be seen as a player on the world stage. Not, of course, in the sense of throwing its weight around, but rather as a contributor to the task of global development.
"We want Chile to be a country where you can find all the conditions needed to create wealth and innovate, but at the same time one that protects the vulnerable and looks after those with liabilities or those who started too far behind to benefit from the opportunities and possibilities we have here...
"In addition to social justice, everything we do is intended to promote a better quality of life and greater dignity for our people. You cannot have winners and losers - everyone has to win...
"In our opinion there is no incompatibility between growth and a more equal distribution of wealth. Indeed, we are convinced there is a virtuous relationship between the two. International experience shows that extreme inequality is not just unfair and a source of social tension, but also reduces the dynamism of the economy."
Nothing wrong with those sentiments for a city either! Ciao, Neil
Walking Tours by the Parktown and Westcliff Heritage Trust
The costs below are for members and non-members. Bookings can be done at Computicket on 011 340 8000 or through the Computicket website. For more information, call 011 482 3349 in the mornings only.
Saturday, 10 February: Langlaagte and Paarlshoop
Explore the original Voortrekker farm and the mining camp that were to be the reason and the site for the establishment of Joburg. Meet at 2pm at the church square off Marais Street, in Paarlshoop. The tour lasts about three hours and costs R50 and R70 respectively.
Saturday, 17 February: Drill Hall
Learn about the extraordinary story of this amazing building. Meet at Sunnyside Park Hotel at 2pm. The tour takes about two-and-a-half hours and costs R75 and R95 respectively.
Wednesday, 21st February: Alexandra Bus Tour
This tour is an absolute must. Hear the history from 1904 to date - poignant, painful, tumultuous and victorious; visit the inspiring African Ballet Theatre's programme for the aspiring dancers of Alex. This ballet outreach is unique and the chief executive and prime dancers Iain MacDonald and Karen Beukes will be present.
The bus leaves Sunnyside Park Hotel at 12 noon. Bring your own packed lunch. The tour takes about four-and-a-half hours and costs R180 and R200 respectively. Numbers are limited.
