A Visit to Cape Town

Posted by Carol Coletta on October 25, 2008 |

Like all South African cities, Cape Town is a city with a complicated history.  But the city’s natural setting is breathtaking.  Its central district declined along with most other cities, but, under the leadership of Andrew Boraine, Chief Executive of the Cape Town Partnership and former city manager, it is making a big comeback.  Andrew toured me through the district Wednesday after I spoke to the National Business Initiative and Accelerate Cape Town.  (More on Accelerate Cape Town and its leader Guy Lundy tomorrow.) 

The most striking part of the central district is the take back of space from cars and converting it to pedestrian space.  Andrew has been heavily influenced by Copenhagen-based planner Jan Gehl, the champion of pedestrians, who advises cities to take away space for cars by stealth over time.  We saw multiple streets that have been closed in very simple ways --  gates dropped at half blocks to prevent cars from going farther, turning the remaining street into a pedestrian space. Cape Town has also removed parking from at least one square, converting it back into public realm. 

One result of the increased pedestrian activity is a boom in coffee…

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