Neil Fraser
July 12, 2004
THE Johannesburg Partnership had hoped to present a city conference last year. But it was decided to postpone it until 2004, which would coincide with the 10 years of freedom celebrations.
We felt it would be particularly good to study urban development of the past decade - and to look forward to what might be expected in the next 10 years.
It is also always valuable to look at yourself in relation to the experiences of other countries and cities, so we have been talking to a number of experts from the United States and the United Kingdom.
All this came to a head at the end of June. Although notice is now shorter than we would have wished, Cities in Change will be held from 16 to 19 August.
The conference consists of various parts; delegates can take part in one or many sessions, depending on their interests.
The first, on 16 August, offers three - possibly four - pre-conference tours. These will be of the inner city, the Alexandra Development Project and Soweto. There might also be a culture-specific tour. The day finishes with a welcoming cocktail party at which the Johannesburg Development Agency will launch the results of its 2004 research survey, Progress in the City.
On 17 August the focus will be on:
- cities globally and locally;
- economics;
- private-sector interventions; and
- residential and community and social issues.
Each topic will involve a presentation from an American and from a South African perspective.
On 18 August we change gear for Creative Cities, Smart Cities and Cities of Culture. British speakers will give background presentations and will then lead two workshops.
Day four, the 19th, offers two programmes. The first, which will be organised by the South African Planning Institute, will deal with a wide-ranging urban agenda.
The second involves a South Africa and US think tank, which will be limited to invited urban practitioners and urban leaders.
The American contingent, which has been funded by the US department of housing and urban development, includes:
- Shannon Sorzano, the department's deputy assistant secretary for international affairs;
- Alven Lam, the department's director of international research;
- Kate Joncas, the president of the Downtown Seattle Association;
- Barbara Askins, the president of the 125th Street Business District Association in Harlem, New York City;
- Dana Nottingham, the executive director of the Miami Downtown Development Authority; and
- Dave Feehan, the president of the International Downtown Association
The British contingent includes:
- David Powell, a cultural sector research and development consultant and the 2012 London Olympic bid champion';
- Simon Fanshawe, a writer, international cultural commentator and expert on southeast England;
- Jo Burns, an international cultural sector consultant; and
- Tim Cantle-Jones, the Millennium festival director and northeast England specialist with a long SA connection.
South African speakers include:
- Andrew Boraine, the chief executive of the Cape Town Partnership;
- Lael Bethlehem, the director of the City of Johannesburg's Economic Development Unit;
- Murphy Morobe, the chairperson of the Johannesburg Housing Company;
- Edgar Pieterse, the director of the Isandla Institute and a visiting lecturer in urban studies at the universities of Cape Town and Stellenbosch;
- Erky Wood, a partner at Gapp Architects and Urban Planners;
- Patrick Bond, an author and commentator;
- Stefan de Beer, a pastor and community leader;
- Mike Freedman, a well-known blue-sky consultant;
- Sue Parnell, a UCT academic who has done several studies of
Johannesburg; and
- Tony Mallows, a planner and architect with more than 25 years of experience in complex planning and urban design.
It's an impressive line-up - worth clearing your diary for. And, with the help of some great sponsors, we've kept conference fees as low as possible. You can come for just one day, two or three.
Please email me at neilf@cjp.co.za or my colleague, Katherine Cox, at katherine@kum.co.za for the detailed programme and registration form, or for any queries.
The Stamp Mill
A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the Stamp Mill, which has been refurbished and erected in Hollard Street as part of the Main Street redevelopment.
Gavin Carrick - whose company, Dublin Woodworks, carried out the refurbishment - has given me some background to the work that has been done.
He says the dismantling of the mill at George Harrison Park revealed the bottom timber beams and bearers to be rotten. These were replaced, as were timber beams that had been burnt to the extent that they were unusable.
Carrick says most of the nuts and bolts had to be cut loose and were severely eroded, hence the decision to replace them all. The new timber beams, bearers and posts are made of laminated pine. All the timber has been treated with an oil-based sealer containing fungicides and ingredients to protect against UV rays.
The cast-steel crusher pots, camshafts and stampers were sandblasted and then primed and painted.
The volume of new timber used is 10 cubic metres; the weight of all the timber, including the original pieces retained, is nine tons. The steelwork weighs about 9,1 tons. A 20-ton crane was used to erect the structure.
Also have a look at the streetlight poles, which are replicas of those used in the city in the early 1900s.
Carrick has done a superb job. If you haven't yet seen it, pop down and have a look.
