July 29, 2004
By Philippa Garson
THE CITIES IN CHANGE conference will place Johannesburg's regeneration process under the microscope and provide valuable lessons from cities in transition in the United States and the United Kingdom.
The conference, set to take place at the Johannesburg City Hall from 16 to 19 August, will focus on the development and upliftment of the inner city. It forms part of Johannesburg's celebration of 10 years of freedom.
The conference is being organised by the Central Johannesburg Partnership and the SA Planning Institute, in collaboration with the City of Johannesburg.
These bodies are playing a supportive role: the International Downtown Association, the Johannesburg Development Agency, the Johannesburg Inner City Business Coalition, the South African Cities Network and the United States department of housing and urban development.
Several international urban-regeneration experts will discuss their experiences in cities such as New York, Miami, London and Brighton.
The four-day conference will kick off with morning tours around the inner city and an afternoon tour of Alexandra's Urban Renewal Project.
There will be two keynote speakers: David Feehan, the president of the International Downtown Association, will tackle problems facing cities around the world; Andrew Boraine, the chairperson of the SA Cities Network, will talk about South African cities.
Lael Bethlehem, the director of Johannesburg's Economic Development Unit, will give a presentation on the implications of the Joburg 2030 strategy for inner-city regeneration. It will be followed by a talk on the urban regeneration of Harlem, in New York City.
Other speakers will look at private-sector interventions to uplift cities in the United States and at home.
The director of the Central Johannesburg Partnership, Neil Fraser, will discuss city-improvement districts in South Africa over the past decade. Kate Joncas, the president of the Downtown Seattle Association, will give a talk titled: "The clean and safe revolution in the United States."
Two American speakers will discuss housing challenges in their own country and Murphy Morobe, the chairperson of the Johannesburg Housing Company, will look at housing in the inner city. Tackling urban poverty and creating functioning communities in poor areas will also be on the agenda.
Graeme Reid, the head of the Johannesburg Development Agency, will discuss the relevance of "post industrial cities in the UK and the North to the South African experience and South African priorities for regeneration and equity". Several speakers will give presentations on cities in the UK.
The conference will culminate in workshops that will focus on strategies for cities. On the last day parallel programmes will be run by the SA Planning Institute and an international urban think-tank.
The conference costs R250 a delegate per day; tours cost an extra R50 each. The first day will end with a cocktail party and the second with a dinner.
For more information or to register phone Katherine Cox on 011 537 0650 or email her at Katherine@kum.co.za.
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