A group of community representatives or Caretakers has participated in the first co-design workshop for the public spaces and streets in District Six earlier today. The workshop has set the tone for a dynamic collaborative process between the community and the City of Cape Town.

The Caretakers who have participated in the first face-to-face co-design workshop were nominated by the community to participate in the Public Realm Improvement co-design workshops for District Six. The representatives are from various groups, communities, interested and affected parties, and stakeholders and those Caretakers who could not attend the workshop in person, joined the conversation online.

The co-design workshop was hosted by the District Six Museum’s Homecoming Centre and the City’s Public Realm Study consultants.

First off, the Caretakers were asked to participate in a ‘memory mapping’ of how they related to specific places in District Six. Then participants had to describe how these memories would resonate in the public spaces and streets of a future District Six, and what urban principles could be applied to realise this vision.

The purpose of the co-design workshops is to collaborate on developing a framework for proposed public spaces, priorities for these and design guidelines – the look and feel and uses – of the public realm of District Six. Importantly, the Caretakers will help identify the first projects to be implemented in District Six.

‘I want to thank the Caretakers for participating in the first workshop. I was told this was a very fruitful, honest, and productive session. I also want to request the Caretakers to please report back to their constituencies and to source more ideas and input from those who have nominated them. The more input we receive, the better the outcomes will be. The community of District Six has an inherent knowledge and experience of the public open spaces, and we want to draw on this wisdom as we are planning the future District Six,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Spatial Planning and Environment, Alderman Marian Nieuwoudt.

Another five co-design workshops are planned, three of which will take place in October and November and the remainder early in 2022. Open house meetings and an exhibition are planned to inform the public and community on the progress. The dates of these meetings will be announced closer to the time, pending Covid-19 limitations.

Source: City Of Cape Town