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Hard economic lessons are being learned in the cities of Britain and the US during the global financial upheaval, and we would do well to heed them as the economy tightens.
 ALTHOUGH my plan was to spend at least a week a month in Jozi, April proved to be so full of short weeks that I left my visit to earlier this month and will be back in early June.
Lots of people have asked me how I'm coping with adapting from a large city to a small town. The answer is "well" and I'm enjoying the opportunity to slow down and begin to do many things I've wanted to do but never had the time for.
Montagu
A little bit about Montagu for those who don't know it. It is about 190 kilometres northeast of Cape Town - about two- to two-and-a-half hours drive - with the nearest "big town" being Worcester, an hour away. My new definition of a "big town" is one that contains at least a Woolies and an Exclusive Books! (Well, the inner city now has a Woolies Food so it's on the way!) The population of Montagu is about 9 000 and it sits at the foot of the majestic Langeberg in the middle of fruit and vegetable country and lots of vineyards.
What is quite unique is that a strip of farmland runs right through the centre of the town giving it wonderful green space. Water provision for crops is still via channels that carry lei-water. Established in 1851, 30-odd years before Jozi, it retains many old Dutch buildings but interestingly, also some fine art deco examples. The Montagu Hotel is not only one of these but its furnishings are almost all from that period.
That said, the town also has some really awful, bland architecture completely out of sync with the general urban fabric - the worst contributors being the public sector, national and regional government, pre-1994. I think the old PWD had a set of standard plans for post offices which were built to plan notwithstanding where they were situated.
Road rage in Montagu is defined as when one cannot get a parking bay adjacent to the entrance to whatever shop you are going to! There are no traffic lights - not true, there actually is a pedestrian crossing light outside the high school! Combi taxis are few and hawkers are nil. We had been here a week when the sewage blocked - my wife phoned the council and 20 minutes later the drain was cleared.
I popped into the municipal buildings to re-register our two cars - within 40 minutes I didn't just have the two new licences but also new number plates on both cars! The town is generally clean but pavement refuse bins are few and very far between.
There is literally no crime although unemployment is high. There are no metro police but a constant visible presence of SAPS. Numerous houses have no fences and those that have are no more than 1,3 metres high. On the issue of unemployment, being an agricultural area, employment tends to be seasonal with all the problems that this generates. The previous townships are really awful with very little done in relation to upgrading - so there is much to be done.
All round, it is a good place to be at this time of our lives, giving me time to do some serious writing and we are enjoying the change. However, as someone put it, I do have the best of both worlds coming to Jozi monthly to keep the adrenaline flowing!
Joburg
Talking of adrenaline - or in this case blood pressure - when I was in Jozi earlier this month I stayed with friends in Midrand. The trips to and from their home were horrendous - it once took me as long to get from Rosebank to Midrand as it takes me to get from Montagu to Cape Town! I also got caught going to a meeting in Newtown from the offices in 90 Market Street on the day of the swearing in of the provincial government.
I was interested as always to note a high presence of metro police controlling access and egress to and from the streets directly leading to the Legislature, the old City Hall, but not a single officer at any other intersection - all of which were pure chaos - the result was my trip of probably 12 city blocks took an hour!
Progress appeared to have been good on the Rea Vaya infrastructure although I still have my oft-raised doubts about the chosen Bus Rapid Transit system. Was pleased to see cleaning-up operations under way at the Newtown end of Nelson Mandela Bridge which was to have been part of the site for the international retail and transport area, now no longer under consideration - which is short-sighted.
Was disappointed to learn that there were some technical problems delaying the demolition of the edge structures of Beyers Naude Square; maybe those have been resolved and I will see work in progress next week.
Park Station
I had a chance to view the plans of the new retail/commercial building in Newtown just to the north of Museum Africa now under construction. Once certain heritage related issues regarding access are sorted out, the project will be a major boost to Newtown's ongoing development. I also received an email from someone regarding the old Park Station building which reads as follows:
"I would like to see the site of the Old Park Station being greened and turned into the garden of remembrance for the victims of AIDS, abuse and crime.
"Old Park Station must be repainted in green and be wrapped in a plain glass. There must be lights inside and outside but they mustn't be too bright. There must be flowers and plants planted in and outside the structure. People can also go inside and share their experiences; must get a flower or a seed to plant and a small booklet reminding all of us of being responsible in everything we do. There must be water features which will help in reducing the noise from the M1 and Mandela Bridge.
"Statues of men, women and children can be installed and face Mandela Bridge. The message of the statues is that we shall never forget what you, Rolihlahla Mandela, have taught us and we shall live by those values."
I believe there are a number of considerations on the table regarding the use of this wonderful historic building; that one should be added to the pile, although the sustainability of such initiatives is often the stumbling block.
Retail
Reading the April edition of Shopping SA, the official journal of the SA Council of Shopping Centres, it would appear that retail is unconcerned with regard to the global economic climate. There are articles on the 28 000 square metres of additional retail at Melrose Arch; facelifts to the Norwood Mall and the Middestad Mall in Bellville; the R1,77-billion refurbishment of Sandton City; a R1,2-billion regional shopping centre in Polokwane; the R2-billion Malakite Park development in Greenstone Hill in the east of Johannesburg; et cetera.
One must wonder at the damage all this will inflict on urban centres and also at the fact that hard economic lessons coming out of the USA and the UK are being ignored.
The up-beat headlines of "Sensationally sophisticated shopping" and "The future of shopping begins" are a far cry from a report I recently read emanating from a group of private sector city centre (or downtown) leaders of city centre organisations - such as our Central Johannesburg Partnership/Johannesburg Inner City Business Coalition - representing a dozen or so of the big cities in the US.
They got together with a top real estate economist to discuss the effects of the global financial crisis on "downtown". Four major findings emerged from the two-day lekgotla, not necessarily fully pertinent to ourselves, but offering us a glimpse of the problems being experienced in US cities, some of which will no doubt confront us as the economy tightens up. I have mostly quoted directly from parts of the report:
US report
1. The global financial crisis is having an unsettling effect on America's downtowns, but downtowns may be better situated to handle the disruption than the suburbs or exurbs.
While a pronounced economic effect was being felt on downtowns the effect varied enormously relative to the basic local economy - Detroit - auto industry; Houston - energy; New York - financial services, et cetera.
The initial impact appeared to be being absorbed by discretionary spending entities, retail, restaurants and related industries including hospitality. The bad economy and tight credit had resulted in fewer jobs, increased office vacancies, decreased property values, fewer property sales, fewer development projects, less business for architects, engineers and suppliers.
The positive news was that downtowns were doing better than their suburban counterparts and were planning on using the next three to five years to take actions that positively position themselves relative to the suburbs.
2. Downtown organisations are adjusting to the global financial crisis but are using different tactics. From a whole list of issues I thought the following pertinent to ourselves:
"In times of financial turmoil constituents like to be visibly reminded of ‘clean and safe' programmes - major cuts in government funding for criminal justice, homelessness, substance abuse, et cetera may require downtown organisations to redouble their hospitality and public safety initiatives."
"Downtown organisations can get more directly into economic development business as the economy is top-of-the-mind with most constituents, perhaps redefining their mission from ‘clean, safe and friendly' to the more holistic ‘economy, environment, equity' or ‘people, planet, profit'."
"Downtown organisations can counteract the almost totally negative economic messages coming from federal, state and local government. For example, the Downtown DC BID in Washington DC has prepared and released a leadership paper identifying strategic initiatives for the public and private sectors to undertake, including developing a ‘stimulus package'."
3. Although downtown organisations always have been indirectly involved in economic development the global financial crisis is leading them more and more in that direction. Some important capabilities for downtown organisations to develop to strengthen their economic development initiatives are providing credible information by collecting data:
- To benchmark and measure improvement against prior years;
- To measure market share within the region;
- To compare with peer downtowns;
- To advocate for projects and programmes; and
- To make the case for the value of downtowns to a city and a region.
They should also develop better financial tools and decision-making processes for economic development and infrastructure provision.
"With today's renewed focus on creating jobs and building infrastructure - along with the usual federal requirement of a local match for federal funding - better financial tools and decision-making processes need to be developed to ensure the recovery of downtowns and regions. An emphasis should be on market-based, value-creation models."
4. Since the global financial crisis, downtown organisations more and more are being called upon to provide leadership for their communities. The pull towards leadership comes against a push of limited resources.
Wherever one is in the world today, there is a hypercompetitive market for "place". Inner city areas, or downtowns have been catching up on their suburban competition by offering basic services, "clean, safe and friendly" ; the competitors have been catching up to downtowns by reconceptualising their developments as "live, work and play".
In addition, services offered by local government have been decreasing as local governments juggle between keeping taxes low and paying for ageing infrastructure. Downtown organisations will be called upon more and more to respond to these pressures and balance offering basic services with providing leadership.
There are some very close parallels, trends and suggestions for us. There is so much good sense in the report's findings, particularly relative to the private sector's close involvement with the public sector in tight economic times, but I fear that with our current draconian laws such as the "one size fits all" Municipal Finance and Management Act et al and now with a planning commission at presidential level that is sure to interfere further, our cities could be in for a tough time.
Regards, Neil
Walking tour: Berea and the northern tip of Hillbrow
Saturday, 6 June
Starting in the oldest street in Parktown, the tour traces the line of Clarendon Circle through the buildings around it, and moves into Hillbrow past the historic synagogue and up to the gates of Barnato Park.
Then it goes around to Tudhope Avenue and High Street with the home of Siegfried Mynhardt and the New Stephanie Hotel, winding through Berea to the grand finale - the Berea Fire Station and Clarendon Court - some very special buildings and fascinating history.
Meet Alex Parker, Sarah Welham and Gill Sagar at 2pm at the Brenthurst Clinic (Masonic Temple) car park - in Park Lane as it intersects with Princess Place, Parktown.
The cost is R55 for members of the Parktown and Westcliff Heritage Trust and R75 for non-members. Booking is at Computicket, on 083 915 8000 or 011 340 8000, or through the Computicket website.
For more information, telephone Eira Bond on weekdays from 9am to 1pm on 011 482 3349.
All day bus tour: Magaliesberg - history, restoration and art
Saturday, 20 June
Join us on a fun and informative day trip. We start off with Prof Erik Holm giving us a talk on ox wagons and his 20 years spent building and restoring them at The Ox Wagon Ring.
Afterwards there will be time for tea, coffee and rusks and to look at some of the wagons in their charming setting as well as visiting his small private museum. We will have a light lunch at Preller House, and visit the family cemetery and the cottage where Eugene Marais spent his last days.
Dr Johann Marais will talk to us about Gustave Preller and Eugene Marais. We will visit the Dietmar Wiening Gallery with its bronze sculptures set in a cliff hanging position over the Crocodile River, where Dietmar's wife, Lesley, will show us around. We will also visit other art galleries in the area subject to time and traffic.
Bring sun cream, a hat, comfortable shoes and some cash for drinks and possible retail therapy. Meet at 7.30am for departure promptly at 8am, at the Sunnyside Park Hotel, 2 York Road, Parktown. We will return between 5pm and 6pm.
The price of R385 per person includes transport, morning tea, coffee, juice and rusks, a light lunch, guides and guest speakers.
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