Presented by the Greater Tygerberg Partnership

Episode Guests
Rirhandzu Marivate, Programs Manager at the South African Urban Food and Farming Trust
Jacqui Samson, professional planner and owner of J Samson Consultancy.

Episode Summary

The episode highlights Bellville as Cape Town’s second-largest CBD and a major transport interchange, attracting over 90,000 daily commuters. This bustling hub fosters a vibrant informal food trading system that provides accessible, culturally diverse food options, enhancing food security for residents and commuters.

The market’s informal traders form a symbiotic relationship with the formal retail sector, creating a dynamic supply-and-demand network that supports local businesses and commuters alike. Key challenges for traders include inadequate infrastructure (e.g., lack of storage, electricity, and sanitation), safety concerns, and cumbersome permitting processes.

The AfriFoodLinks project, in collaboration with the Greater Tygerberg Partnership, is addressing these through innovative solutions like prototyping food vending structures, improving waste management with black soldier fly facilities, and introducing capacity-building programs for food safety compliance. These initiatives aim to create dignified, hygienic, and sustainable trading environments.

The discussion also covers urban planning’s role in integrating innovations like cashless systems, mobile trading structures, and enhanced waste management to support traders. The Greater Tygerberg Partnership’s market management model and sustainability efforts, such as organic waste processing for composting, aim to empower traders to adopt greener practices. Co-design with vendors ensures these solutions are contextually appropriate, fostering trust and community ownership.

The episode concludes with reflections on the informal economy’s social ecosystem, where traders operate with a “social license” despite regulatory challenges. The Greater Tygerberg Partnership’s goal to become a knowledge hub offers a scalable model for supporting informal traders across South African cities, emphasising technology (e.g., e-services, AI, and Wi-Fi access) and stakeholder collaboration to enhance business operations and urban resilience.

Welcome to the Local Government Innovation Series on Future Cities Africa, presented by Business Engineering.

Nestled in the heart of Namaqualand, Kamiesberg is addressing rural challenges with innovative strategies, blending digital advancements and community-driven solutions.

Let’s dive into their journey of transformation, service delivery, and community connection!

Welcome to another insightful episode on Future Cities Africa. In this episode we’ll explore Our Future Cities’s Framework for Great Places, shaping vibrant, equitable African cities through place-led development.

We cover its core components, real-world applications, community co-creation, policy influence, global insights, and a bold vision for Africa’s urban future.

Rashiq Fataar, CEO of Our Future Cities, discusses the organisation's framework for creating vibrant, equitable African cities through place-led development. The framework consists of four core components: Place of Mind (functional spaces like transport hubs), Place of Heart (emotionally significant places), Design and Function (practical elements like seating and Wi-Fi), and People and Stewardship (active community involvement and management). These elements must work together, underpinned by an understanding of societal context, to create meaningful urban spaces.

Rashiq shares real-world applications, such as the Regent Road project in Sea Point, where the framework revealed a need to enhance the "place of heart" despite strong design and function. He also highlights the role of informality as a strength in African cities, citing examples like vibrant informal markets and a drug harm reduction center in Durban that naturally became a placemaking hub.

The framework informs policy advocacy by demonstrating practical solutions, such as pedestrian crossing art in Cape Town to improve safety, though Rashiq notes South Africa still lacks place-led thinking at a national level. Global insights from cities like Torino and New York have shaped the framework, emphasising the importance of density and quality public spaces, but it remains tailored to African contexts by starting with local societal conditions.

Looking ahead, Rashiq envisions African cities evolving through inclusive placemaking, urging stakeholders to make placemaking "everyone’s work" and foster unusual collaborations to empower communities. The episode underscores the need for a holistic, community-driven approach to urban development in Africa.