CITIES throughout the world, including Cape Town, face similar challenges when it comes to urban placemaking in a global recession, and sharing ideas and success stories is key to their continued economic vibrancy.
The rapid increase in homelessness and ensuring safety and security in inner cities were key points of debate at the International Downtown Association’s (IDA) 65th Annual Conference & Tradeshow – the most influential downtown conference in the world – held recently in Baltimore in the United States.
CCID CEO Tasso Evangelinos, who attended the IDA conference with CCID manager of Social Development, Pat Eddy, says the event highlighted shared concerns of leaders who are shaping cities around the globe through business or city improvement districts.
The conference, the largest of its kind to date, was significant as Cape Town was recognised as a leading city in urban placemaking with Tasso being appointed to the IDA Board. Five other cities are represented on the board including Germany (Berlin), Canada (Winnipeg), New Zealand (Auckland), Tokyo (Japan) and Sweden (Malmo).
CCID CEO Tasso Evangelinos has been appointed the IDA board.
CAPE TOWN RECOGNISED AS A WORLD LEADER
Commenting on his appointment, Tasso says it is heartening that the IDA recognised Cape Town’s success in creating a world-class downtown. “I am honoured to be chosen to represent the CCID and Cape Town. This will certainly help us put our name on the map and further highlight the important work that we do with all our partners.”
According to Tasso, the host city itself shares similarities to Cape Town in that it, too, has battled to rise above a debilitating “crime and grime” scenario similar to the one the Mother City CBD experienced in the 1990s – before the CCID turned it around.
However, even though Baltimore is moving ahead swiftly to improve its city centre by encouraging investment, it is still struggling to dispel the perception that it is a crime-ridden city.
Tasso says: “It was interesting to note that Baltimore, as far as I can see, is a city that is struggling with its image in that, historically, it experienced high levels of crime, and like the Cape Town CBD, it has reversed the decay but the public perception that it is unsafe still persists.” However, Baltimore is making great strides in improving its downtown, with developments, including a key waterfront development driving its urban renaissance.
THE POWER OF COLLABORATION
The conference emphasised that collaborating with different partners is key to dealing with the socio-economic challenges many downtowns face in a global recession.
CCID Social Development manager Pat Eddy says: “What stood out for me is that the numbers of homeless people are rapidly increasing in all major cities. There was also overwhelming consensus that city improvement districts (CIDs) – or business improvement districts (BIDs) – as they are known overseas can no longer just abdicate that responsibility to the State but have to become part of the solution.”
Tasso shares Pat’s sentiments, adding: “As cities, we can certainly help pioneer some great solutions towards our challenges and as the CCID, we will look at implementing some of the ideas from the conference such as Winnipeg’s pop-up public toilet, aimed at providing the homeless with hygienic public facilities. We must continue to build a strong network of partners to see what works and what doesn’t.”
LESSONS TO BE LEARNT
For Tasso, Baltimore’s approach to ensuring the safety of visitors and residents also struck a chord. “I’ve visited various cities locally and abroad, and for the first time ever, when I got to Baltimore, I was given advice on which places were safe to visit, and which ones weren't. This knowledge empowered me – it didn’t scare me – and helped me to have a better understanding of the city and plan my day accordingly. This is something that speaks to our own approach at the CCID and the messaging we adopt for our crime prevention and public awareness ‘Stash it, don’t flash it’ campaign."
“I appreciated this approach and could relate to it. And I think this is something the whole of Cape Town could adopt as 'Information is King',” says Tasso.
IMAGES: downtown.org