Speaker
Description
Cities worldwide are changing, and so are the public spaces within them. At a point in history where the future is uncertain, and images of war, violence and conflict flash on various screens, many urban residents are hesitant to engage in public life and space. Growing polarisation, inequality and environmental threats drive people to hide behind barriers, feeling increasingly threatened and vulnerable. This often leaves public spaces desolate, neglected or avoided in many cities.
Planning, as transformative and often disruptive action, forced to deal with complex challenges, relies on strong narratives to inspire and move actors in the most appropriate direction. This paper tells a story of hope, highlighting the transformative action of two communities in the City of Tshwane to innate hubs of hope. The discussion shares the dreams and actions of a group of residents in an upper-middle-income suburban community and those from an informal settlement to highlight the transformative capacity of regenerative development and design in two different socio-spatial contexts in South Africa’s capital city. Building on transformative practices related to regenerative development and design, the discussion spotlights planning as a transformative action in selected nodes.
Although the stories from the Muckleneuk Commons and Melusi Youth Centre are different, the two cases illustrate the value of public spaces as sites of hope. They demonstrate how communities can nurture hope for a better future and embody social justice, environmental sustainability and collective well-being aspirations. The author argues that community engagement in and with public spaces has the potential to change spaces of despair to places of hope through collaboration and empowerment that can ripple beyond the space and act as an acupuncture point in the larger urban environment.
| Keywords | Hubs of hope; regenerative public space; Tshwane; South Africa |
|---|---|
| Best Congress Paper Award | No |
