CAPITAL: The Voice of Business Issue 1, 2015 | Page 48

URBAN RENEWAL

What is urban renewal?
URBAN renewal can take many forms. It can involve urban management — as aspects of Msunduzi’s Pietermaritzburg Urban Renewal Project (PURP) highlight
through its enforcement of bylaws and other similar measures — or it could be
driven by private prestige projects like the Maboneng Precinct in Johannesburg.
This project has seen the eastern part of the inner city creatively reshaped by local investors to create a unique and energetic neighbourhood that has become a
sought-after area for entrepreneurial, creative and cultural production.
Urban renewal could even take the form of a joint initiative between the three
spheres of government, the private sector and community-based organisations, as
with the 2009 UN-Habitat Scroll of Honour-winning Alexandra Renewal Project.
Just as everyone sees a city differently, people have diverse ideas of what urban
renewal should be. To get ideas on what Pietermaritzburg residents might like to
see form part of urban renewal here, Capital asked people from Pietermaritzburgbased organisations for their take on urban renewal in the capital of KwaZulu-Natal.
Gareth Roberts, Area
Manager
Midlands,
Master Builders Association KwaZulu-Natal.
PIETERMARITZBURG
has always had a
proud building and
architectural heritage and is recognised
for its historic buildings.
Any urban renewal programme would
need to take into account the restoration
of these grand old structures to ensure
that the city does not lose its identity.
As the area becomes a greater attraction,
avai lability of parking will become increasingly more challenging and lead to traffic
congestion, which people generally try to
avoid. Allocation for additional parking has
to form part of the strategy.
There are thriving micro businesses to
consider, such as street or informal traders who add value to the local economy by
providing employment. This could be promoted by establishing better facilities for
them.
The challenge is to progress with urban
renewal in a manner that is relevant to our
economic environment.
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| Issue 1 | Capital

Brian Zuma, marketing
and communications
manager at Maritzburg
United Football Club,
and former marketing
and communications
manager for Msunduzi
Municipality.
I WOULD like to see Alexandra Park getting
a serious facelift to turn it to a real park so
that it is conducive for families to go out to
rest, relax or play in a beautiful park with
trees and flowers — and which is safe. A
park must be therapeutic. That park is very
busy, especially on weekends. A well looked
after park would contribute immensely to
urban renewal.
A lot has been said about cleaning the
city. That is a very prominent item on
the Pietermaritzburg Urban Renewal
Programme. I think for the municipality to
be able to achieve that, a public cleanliness
awareness programme needs to be put in
place with the sole intention of educating
the public to be active participants in
keeping the city clean. We need to shed
the “us” (public) and “them” (municipality)
mentality. We are all in this together.