Quality Public Spaces
The objectives of the Quality Public Spaces (QPS) project are of urban renewal and the creation of quality public environments across the metropolitan area that could serve as public spaces for various community events including celebrations, festivals, traditional ceremonies, social gatherings, demonstrations, as well as the exchange of goods and services. 
The eminent 2010 Soccer World Cup provided the backdrop to connecting local improvement initiatives with the spectacular sporting event. Although the QPS programme was initially tied to the World Cup event, the main emphasis lay in the legacy aspect of the spaces envisaged to provide benefits to the broader community in the long run. The QPS projects will however, NOT be operationalised as public viewing spaces during the World Cup because the City does not have the resources required to ensure the safety of the events.
It is said that a home is four walls, a roof and lots of love inside. Yet, remove the roof and the walls and it is no longer a home, rather a public space. However, the City of Cape Town envisages a more profound definition and use of their quality public spaces.
Many renowned cities are typified by good public spaces and facilities, Cape Town being a world-renowned destination, naturally gravitated to the idea of such spaces, especially in previously underprivileged areas.
The upcoming World Cup did energize and accelerate the delivery of these spaces, which had traditionally been provided through the Dignified Public Places programme of the Urban Design branch.
“These spaces have the potential to become the ‘public rooms’ of the city, places where people can congregate, celebrate, relax or just go about their daily activities in a dignified context. The focus of this specific programme was the creation of a lasting legacy by establishing neighbourhood level public places,” says Tamara Crewe-Brown, Senior Professional Officer in the Urban Design Branch of the City of Cape Town.
The QPS are small-scale projects consisting of hard and soft landscaping, paving; pedestrian lighting; play equipment; street furniture; planted trees; irrigation; sport fields and other features depending on the particular design and location of the public space.
Though these spaces are the product of laborious efforts in the planning, designing, funding and execution; the QPS are not gated nor have limited or controlled access for their use. In reality it is quite the opposite.
“These spaces are multifunctional in nature and offer scope for new community events to consolidate the existing social calendar of events,” continues Crewe-Brown. “In this way a formal public space is connected with ordinary day-to-day activities as well as with periodic or special events that contribute to the collective identity of a place.”
Strategic Placement
Conceptualised in 2006 by the City’s Strategy and Planning directorate, they felt the needs of locals and visitors, urban regeneration and an accelerated delivery of existing public spaces programme, could all be combined.
In doing so, 23 QPS were envisioned within the Cape Town Metropolitan area, (one per sub-council), distributed equitably across the city according to various spatial and socio-economic criteria.
In choosing each sit a number of criteria for creating the spaces were considered and was argued that each space should: be highly accessible; be within proximity of public transport; integrate into the existing urban fabric; close to commercial nodes; provide economic opportunities; and be within the realm of existing public institutions (Clinics, libraries, schools, civic halls, etc).
Overcoming the Odds
Budgetary constraints with the City of Cape Town have impacted the QPS programme resulting in delays. However, this has been overcome via shifting the project programme as well as the roles and responsibilities. At the time of publication, 11 of the 23 QPS projects had been completed in 2009, with the balance to be implemented over the next 3 years, and scheduled for final completion by the end of 2012.
A more evasive challenge has been formulating a concise plan for the management and maintenance of these spaces. The government recognises the need to allocate responsibility and are even exploring the possibility of community management initiatives, which supports their view that a community taking ownership of the management of special events facilitates the building of capacity within communities to the benefit of civil society.
Benefits
Bringing people of varying communities, socio-economic status and cultures together may be one of the most beneficial spin-offs of the QPS. This is achieved, not overtly, rather through the natural confluence of ideas, opportunities and interactions associated with public spaces where social events are held.
“Public space provides a platform for communal life, and can become a place that provides identity and where history can be shaped through events, celebrations or simple day-to-day activities. Most of these small interventions are located in the communities where it is felt that the need for an improvement in the public realm is greatest, and that the creation of public square can, over time, transform our inequitable and divided city into a place for all.”
