The City of Cape Town has concluded the sixth and last co-design workshop on the public realm

The City of Cape Town has concluded the sixth and last co-design workshop on the public realm, otherwise known as the streets and public spaces, of District Six. The workshop was hosted at the District Six Museum Homecoming Centre yesterday.

Over the past year the City, in collaboration with the nominated Caretakers from District Six, worked on a list of public spaces and streets to be prioritised for redevelopment in future. The workshops also focused on the guidelines for the look and feel of the public spaces and streets in District Six.

The public realm is the spaces between buildings such as streets, squares, green spaces, and pedestrian areas that are freely accessible to the general public.

‘The National Government is responsible for the redevelopment of District Six and the return of beneficiaries as part of the restitution process. However, restitution is much more than building houses. Although the City is not involved with the restitution process, we are responsible for creating an overall spatial vision for District Six in collaboration with the District Six community, and other residents. The purpose of this spatial plan and the public realm study is to re-establish this once vibrant neighbourhood, to create a sense of belonging, and to establish a multicultural community.

‘A community forms over time. We become a community in the places where we meet, mostly outside, on our streets or in the park, in all the public spaces. The work that we have been doing in collaboration with the nominated Caretakers relates to the public realm and its role in creating an inclusive and vibrant neighbourhood, and a sense of place.

‘I was privileged to attend a part of our last co-design workshop with the community of District Six yesterday. I want to congratulate and thank the nominated Caretakers who have participated in this process over the past 12 months, for setting aside their valuable time, and contributing passionately to this very important process.

‘I am extremely proud of and impressed with the ideas that emerged from the co-design workshops. It has been an interesting and engaging process. The collaboration with the nominated representatives from District Six is pivotal in re-establishing this once vibrant neighbourhood, and sets the tone for how the City wants to partner with residents and communities. The work done by the City and the Caretakers will be exhibited to the public sometime in June, the details of which will be announced in due course,’ said the City’s Deputy Mayor and Mayoral Committee Member for Spatial Planning and Environment, Alderman Eddie Andrews.

The Public Realm Study is to be concluded by 30 June 2022 and will inform the draft Local Spatial Development Framework (LSDF) or local neighbourhood plan for District Six and the implementation of a prioritised public space flowing from this process.

The LSDF and related Public Realm Study are aspects that the City can implement. They are separate from, but will enhance the housing project of the National Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development that is currently under way as part of the restitution process.

Source: City Of Cape Town