August 24, 2004
By Philippa Garson
THE Cities in Change conference has put Joburg's regeneration project under the spotlight and thrown up useful ideas from those who have undertaken similar urban renewal projects in cities in the United States and United Kingdom.
Speakers from urban-based organisations from Harlem, Seattle, London, Manchester, Brighton and Newcastle last week recounted the long roads travelled in transforming their "downtowns" into thriving hubs of creativity, growth and business activity.
David Feehan, President of the International Downtown Association, gave a hard-hitting overview of the "progress and problems" experienced by cities globally over the last decade. "We're facing huge problems as people come to the cities like magnets," Feehan said. Soon, more than half the world's people will live in cities. The world's 19 biggest cities will soon have populations of more than 10 million people each; 22 cities will have 5 - 10 million and 370 cities, 1 - 5 million people. Mushrooming urban populations are placing huge strains on city infrastructures and creating a host of social and other problems.
Feehan cited safety and security as one of the most important aspects of city regeneration and praised the steps taken by Joburg to reduce inner-city crime as "one of its biggest achievements". While muggings may seem minor compared with other more serious crimes, "this is what stops business from coming in", Feehan said.
A crucial component of safety and security is how to pay for it. Cities in sub-Saharan countries are collecting 200 times less in taxes than those in developed countries. HIV/Aids is placing a further strain on sub-Saharan economies, "taking away people and families - the vital support to any business environment". Feehan cited China's consumption of a third of the world's raw materials as a major factor in the soaring cost of building materials - an issue for cities around the world.
Developed cities like Los Angeles also experience problems with growing numbers of homeless people. However, where homelessness is directly linked to poverty in cities like Johannesburg, in LA, two-thirds of the 80 000 homeless people are mentally ill or have substance abuse problems.
Speakers from both the US and Britain spoke about the huge increases in tourism that regeneration of their downtowns had brought. All reiterated the importance of public/private partnerships and "three-legged partnerships" involving NGOs in regenerating inner cities. "Downtown organisations," said Feehan, "have become the sustaining glue that holds these partnerships together in revitalising cities."
Once known as the "Capital of Black America", Harlem in New York has experienced dramatic changes of fortune over the years. In the 1970s and 80s, this part of Manhattan saw declining populations, redlining, economic recession, crime and slums. However, many public and private initiatives, including the development of the 125th Street business corridor, had paid off.
Said Barbara Askins, the president of the 125th Street Business Improvement District: "The Harlem of today is experiencing tremendous growth and regeneration. Through the hard work and commitment from its political leaders, government entities, community organisations, public and private partnerships, and its residents, the village of Harlem is experiencing a remarkable and exciting second renaissance. It is once again becoming a crown jewel."
Kate Joncas, president of the Downtown Seattle Association, spoke of how the trend towards shopping malls and gated communities had decimated many downtowns around the US. However, she added, the success of "business improvement district" initiatives had transformed many of them into thriving economic centres again.
The challenge, said Joncas, lay in "getting homeless people into jobs and off the streets," not in simply pushing them away. This meant the establishment of job training programmes, day centres and other initiatives.
Several speakers from the United Kingdom recounted stories of their own cities' transformations and give spirited advice to those attempting to do the same here. Simon Fanshawe, "place marketing" specialist, writer and international cultural commentator from Brighton, injected some wit and irreverence into the conference when he spoke of the crucial role that creative, seemingly "mad" ideas could play in turning around a city's fortunes.
The only reason Joburg had more shacks than Bulawayo was because no-one wanted to live in Bulawayo, Fanshawe joked. He spoke of the importance of finding a narrative or unique story for one's city. Whereas Brighton's story was the sea, Manchester's was the famous football club.
Fanshawe recounted how the bottom fell out of Brighton, the seaside leisure city, when cheap air travel in the 1960s gave people the freedom to holiday in Europe instead. Turning Brighton into a conference centre and keeping abreast of the new conferencing trends helped bring life back to the city, as did the creative innovations of many of its inhabitants.
The internationally successful Body Shop chain started up in Brighton "because no-one thought Anita Roddick was mad when she started making shampoo out of bananas", said Fanshawe. Similarly, the world famous Stomp act, which now has a permanent show on Broadway, had its origins outside a shopping centre in Brighton when bored youths began kicking dustbins to pass the time. It became successful, said Fanshawe, "because no-one thought it was a mad idea".
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