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Tafelsig Placemaking Initiative

How can placemaking and art drive community development?

2019

Services: Project Facilitation and Management, Research, Urban Strategy and Visioning, Design, Stakeholder Engagement, Communication

The initiative consists of a series of ongoing tactical interventions and art projects centred on the Tafelsig Cultural Node, with the purpose of fostering neighbourhood pride and advocating for better living conditions in the surrounding area. This initiative also spawned the PAINT communities project, which aims to accentuate and transform spaces in Mitchells Plain and other underserved Cape Town neighbourhoods.The work has included engagement with local youth, City authorities, and residents, a conceptual urban design plan, the installation of a tree and benches through a South African Cities Network IUDF grant, the delivery of the Mak1One public artwork, and raising awareness about issues ranging from inadequate public lighting to illegal dumping.The outputs would contribute to the broader picture, which is evolving and focuses on understanding what a blue-green framework means in this context and how nature-based solutions could play a role in driving it, and is backed by the leading Dutch landscape architecture firm OKRA.

Context

The Tafelsig Cultural Node is located at the intersection of AZ Berman Drive and Kilimanjaro Street in the heart of the neighbourhood. The proximity to a number of social amenities highlights opportunities to invest in small-scale interventions to improve the public space. Around the node are a clinic, a church, a thriving community centre, and three schools. The Wolfgat Nature Reserve, which stretches along the southern coastline, is an additional valuable resource for the location.‍‍‍

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Client Quotes
Team

Team: Michael Bell and the community of Tafelsig, Our Future Cities, OKRA, Wesley Nash

Sponsors: South African Cities Network, Open Society Foundation, Artbridge, Hamiltons Brushware, AkzoNobel, DuluxSA

Rashiq Fataar
rfataar@ourfuturecities.co
Rouen Smit
rouen@ourfuturecities.co
37 Parliament Street
Church Square
Cape Town City Centre
Cape Town, 8000
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