Global South Public Space Platform
Public space only comes alive when it is used. But using public space in South African cities is to come up against a long history linking back to Apartheid spatial planning.
From citizen initiatives and art, to informal businesses and food systems, a legacy of control permeates almost every aspect of public space.
This platform, produced through a collaboration with the Heinrich Böll Foundation, Southern Africa, offers a space to look across comparable contexts such as South Africa and Colombia, for ideas, exploration, and inspiration.
Comparing contexts
While cities like London and New York are often used as inspiration for South African urban interventions, the level of resources available are dwarfed by those cities. City budgets show just how much this is the case.
City budgets ($US billions)
Differences between comparable contexts also offer new insights. For example, South Africa is an outlier with its low level of informal employment compared to other similar economies. Research shows that the large number of unemployed people in South Africa would, in many other countries, be employed in the informal economy.
Unemployment rate
Percentage of employment that is informal
Public space and purpose driven regulations
Using public space in South Africa is constrained by a compliance and control-driven regulatory framework.
For instance, a temporary road closure in most municipalities requires an event permit. And an event permit requires compliance with a host of expensive and onerous regulations. Informal trading is likewise constrained by the state, paradoxically, given the levels of unemployment.
This is not to say that there should be no regulation. Public space is just that – public. There needs to be a rational policy and legal framework to govern its use so that there is a broad public benefit.
Read our research brief on public space and informality where we outline this in more detail here:
