By Tom Leenders
When visiting a city, the first impression and different characters of neighbourhoods tell me a lot about the history and possible future of these neighbourhoods and the city. For Joburg it was more than a tale of two cities. Continue reading
In October Johannesburg is hosting the EcoMobility World Festival 2015 focusing on the possibility of an ecomobility future and making public transport, cycling and walking safe. As one might know, public transport is mostly limited to minitaxi’s here (kind of mini buses driving around Johannesburg) and walking is for the poor. The city is trying to improve the unsafe image of cycling by installing cycle lanes. Continue reading
From 15 December – 15 January Johannesburg is empty. No traffic, restaurants are closed for a month, everybody is on holiday. People in Cape Town and Durban say that the whole of Gauteng is migrating to the coast, good for business but not really for the relaxed climate that they are used to. I’ve spent some time in Johannesburg, Christmas in the Netherlands and New Years in the Drakensbergen. All very quiet and relaxed. But new things are ahead. Continue reading
For some time now I have been following the debate on affordable or social housing. In the blog Vision, Apartheid and Gentrification I touched upon some of the general challenges in South African housing and urban development. The last three weeks I have been talking to several experts and I have attended two conferences (Social housing and municipalities & Department of Design). I noticed that I missed one challenge in my previous post: design. This doesn’t mean interior design or art, rather it means architecture, infrastructure, use of materials, human capital and local factors. So how does design fit in with social housing and urban planning? Continue reading
adventures in social housing & more
Global Regeneration Initiative
"What is fashionable now is despised by the next generation, thought quaint by the following and revered by the one thereafter"
"The best thing is surprising people, knowing that tomorrow it will all be forgotten" Regine Zylberberg
Musings of a woman/mother/teacher/creature
a blog that tells the stories of Joburg's people and streets
12-18 maanden wonen, reizen en werken in Johannesburg
Living in Joburg
An American in Quirky Johannesburg
