July 13, 2007
By George Matlala
JOHANNESBURG is one of 10 urban centres on show at a major international exhibition, being held in Britain, entitled Global Cities. The architecture-themed exhibition is running at the Tate Modern gallery in London until the end of August.
It examines the recent changes in 10 global cities through artistic and architectural work, according to the gallery's website. The other nine cities are Cairo, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Mumbai, London, Mexico City, Shanghai, Istanbul and Sao Paolo.
With over half of the world's population living in cities, and an estimated 75 percent expected to be urbanised by 2050 - according to the United Nations - the show looks at these 10 huge, sprawling metropolises using themes including size, speed and diversity.
It addresses major issues facing these mega-cities, such as migration, social integration, sustainable growth and climate change.
The gallery is filled with huge visuals on wide screens, old film footage, satellite photographs and three-dimensional graphic presentations.
Inner city changes
With the 2001 census report putting the population of Joburg at 3,2 million, the city is experiencing a radical transformation of its inner city, says Guy Tillim, a Joburg photographer whose work is part of the exhibition. Twelve of his pictures, taken from the
Joburg series, document the process of decay and renewal taking place in Johannesburg's central blocks of flats. He won the Leica Oskar Barnack Award for the series.
Tillim's work comprises portraits, documentaries of political hot spots in Africa and urban research. A photographic artist, the 41-year-old has also worked for national and international media since 1986. His work can be seen at the Michael Stevenson Gallery in Cape Town.
"The decay of Joburg's centre can be ascribed to many factors but perhaps none more so than the absence of body corporates," he notes. He says the strained relationship between tenants and owners or agents over the state of buildings results in unpaid rents and dues.
The buildings started looking like fire hazards, and the City council began closing in on them for unpaid utilities accounts, he explains.
"In between the needs of the City council and the aspirations of developers anticipating the bloom of an African city, lies the fate of Joburg's residents," he adds.
Architecture exhibition
Global Cities was developed from a show that attracted thousands of people at the 10th International Architecture Exhibition held in Italy in 2006.
Although Johannesburg is a subject of study rather than a participant, being chosen shows that it is recognised as a major city in the world, says Yondela Silimela, the director of strategic support in the City's department of development planning and urban management.
"It is important that we constantly refer to lessons emerging from other cities."
Tillim's picture of the Miller Weedon building on Twist Street engulfed by fire is also on exhibition
The city is seen as a place that offers opportunities, so attracting entrepreneurial and ambitious people from all walks of life. "This is evidenced in the growth rates that the city has been experiencing and the changing demographic profile of certain parts of the city, most notably the inner city," she says.
However, the growth has also given rise to issues such as xenophobia and different types of segregation. It has also put pressure on infrastructure. "The increased appetite for affordable housing in the inner city, for instance, places demands on the provision of supportive social infrastructure, which was not catered for in the original design of the inner city as it was a commercial and retail node."
Infrastructure spend
To deal with current and future growth rates, Johannesburg is considering increasing infrastructure. "This obviously cannot be done carelessly; we need to carefully consider the carrying capacity of our infrastructure and make necessary investments to facilitate the anticipated growth," she adds.
Another challenge facing the City's planning and urban management endeavours is global warming. New flood lines have to be drawn as a result of climate change and increasing population densities, she says. Areas like Alexandra, Soweto and Diepsloot have been hit by flash floods, which, Silimela says, can be attributed to climate change and unprecedented demand for land, resulting in people setting up homes in precarious places.
She says there is also a need to protect Joburg's natural resources, including wetlands, rivers and parks. Its environmental management department is undertaking an audit of all these areas and is looking at various ways to protect them from development, she explains.
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