Sep 18, 2021Where’ve I gone?Where’ve I gone? If you’re missing me, remember I am writing over on Substack now, where readers can read as many posts as they want to for free. Since migrating there I have written about doing better with street people, rail recovery, recovery from unrest, CID policy, and “green shoots”…1 min read1 min read
May 28, 2021Another way…I’ve migrated to Substack, so more people can read more, for free. My first post there is about another way Chase’em, rob’em, fight’em in court? Is this the approach to homelessness? Or is there another way….1 min read1 min read
May 12, 20214 ways in which cities transition to “city as a platform”“We tend to think of government as doing things…but we should also think of government as a platform that lets things happen.” -Tim O’Reilly I remember the first time someone explained the concept of an open source platform to me — “imagine the green board of a Lego kit, underneath…7 min read7 min read
May 6, 2021Panel tenders: pros and cons“Appointment of a panel of service providers” is the new norm in tender documents. …Procurement4 min readProcurement4 min read
Apr 25, 2021Open letter to Vetus ScholaUpdate: Vetus Schola have invited me to attend a hearing on this matter. We live in a traumatised country. Women live in fear of when the worst will happen (again), black men feel undermined and remember at a cellular level what white men did to them or their fathers; and…9 min read9 min read
Apr 24, 2021Paarl in need of healingAs a city strategist an “urbanist” I shocked a few people when I made the move to Paarl — in many of my Capetonian friends’ minds — a small town that is not quite as interesting as Franschoek or Stellenbosch and not quite far enough away to make it a…4 min read4 min read
Apr 22, 2021Why can’t they build somewhere else?I was asked this question on response to my Amazonification piece, by a person concerned about the “flooding risk”. I’m not an expert on the flooding risk. What I do know is, most of Cape Town has been built, since the earliest colonisers, by managing water. This is not to…River Club5 min readRiver Club5 min read
Apr 21, 2021Amazonification of Cape Town“And that is Cape Town. It is the City of unresolved complexes. We do the right thing and then we undermine it. We are the Cape of Storms and the Cape of Good Hope at the same time. We are hostile to outsiders but we are also the most welcoming…Amazon10 min readAmazon10 min read
Mar 25, 20216(ish) biggest opportunities facing Cape Town (and the region)I recently wrote a piece about the 7 biggest threats to Cape Town and the region. Here’s a view on the 5+ biggest opportunities: Berry bonanza (an increasingly diverse and sophisticated agricultural economy) Community Action Networks Micro-developers (and the next frontier: mixed-use) Fundamentally, we’re still attractive Transition and crisis leaders …Cape Town7 min readCape Town7 min read
Mar 25, 2021False budget choices for informal settlement dwellersOne of my colleagues likes to talk about the classic categories of spend in local government as: Keep the lights on: maintain existing service levels, maintain water, sanitation and energy infrastructure, roads, street lights, etc. Keep up with growth: invest in new infrastructure and capacities to keep up with growth…2 min read2 min read