The Greater Tygerberg Partnership hosted 160 representatives from the public and private sector at its annual conference held on Tuesday 24 July. Asking the question Why Bellville?, the conference explored the area’s current opportunities, public sector development plans and showcased some of the private companies and individuals doing exceptional things in Bellville and beyond.

The morning began with a welcome from GTP CEO Warren Hewitt, which was followed by presentations from the City of Cape Town’s Acting Commissioner for Transport and Urban Development Authority (TDA), Gershwin Fortune, and the City’s Director: Catalytic Projects, Frank Cumming. Both reaffirmed the City’s commitment to Bellville as an important node in Cape Town. The City of Cape Town has renewed its investment in the GTP for the next three years, and is also calling on the broader sector to join it in developing an exciting and inclusive African city.

Key transport projects that lie ahead include the co-ordination of the Public Transport Interchange in Bellville and Parow and an upgrade for the Blue Downs rail corridor, a project that has already received investment from national government and PRASA and is projected to happen over the next five to eight years.

Cumming called on those present to respond realistically to Bellville’s economic landscape and identified an opportunity around more affordable housing, especially student housing.

Leading the charge on investment and development was developer George Georgiou of Evolution Property Management, who is capitalizing on transport Orientated Development (TOD) by extending to R2 billion their development of the Parow Centre, which is entering phase two, with an additional 95 000 m2 office and retail extension and the addition of 1 200 affordable housing units adjacent to the shopping centre and transport links.

The University of the Western Cape (UWC) also showcased its long-term investment in Bellville, with a sneak peek at the first operational day of the brand new Faculty of Community and Health Sciences in the Bellville CBD. UWC’s Director of Institutional Planning, Lois Dippenaar stressed that academic facilities remain key institutions in urban life both in terms of its contribution to the population but also because of its active involvement in the evolution of an area. UWC plans to invest a further R420 million worth of infrastructure in Bellville over the next 3 years.

One of GTP’s institutional supporters, Sanlam, has been a key corporate role player in the area with 5 500 employees based at its head office on Voortrekker Road. Ian Erlank, Senior Facilities Manager at Sanlam detailed its history and growth since moving to Bellville in 1953.  He said that corporates needed to be invested in their surrounding social and environmental issues and congratulated the Voortrekker Road Corridor Improvement District as well as the GTP — in making a noticeable improvement in the level of crime in the area.

Sustnet’s Dr Pieter van Heyningen said that Africa will have an additional 1.2 billion people by 2050 and said this was a motivating factor for citizens and investors to respond to their environment, using sustainability as a lens. He called for a focus on smaller, leaner projects which could be completed and inspire bigger ideas. Van Heyningen also noted that Bellville needed to focus on creating clusters around sectors, like the metals industry.

Delegates also heard from Innovate Durban’s Aurelia Albert, who is inspiring young people to take ownership of their opportunities, through innovation; and Ellen Fischat, co-founder of Innocircle and Story Room, who spoke about developing trust in communities through real listening and consistency.

The call to view Bellville as an African city was a common theme for many speakers including Aurecon’s Director of Innovation and Transformation, Abbas Jamie, who mused that Africa should really be spelled Afrika as over 200 African dialects spell it as such. He cautioned against focusing on technical solutions to the wrong problems, saying that it was important to imagine a future Bellville through the lens of design thinking – putting the end user first in the design process.

Global design champion, Mokena Makeka, also pointed out that public spaces play a key role in reconnecting people who have previously been separated. In the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, he sees unparalleled access but also complexity and confusion. Mokeka suggested a focus on an adaptive low tech/smart grid city infrastructure with an emphasis on access and localised renewal. He highlighted Bellville’s unique opportunity to densify intelligently and the key role an organisation like the GTP can play in facilitating this

During the day, the delegates work-shopped ideas that could support the GTP in achieving it three key goals: a 24 hour economy, connected community (through connected transport, Wi-Fi and culture) and a facilitated urban transition to support safety, cleanliness and social development. The programme ended off with an inspirational talk from extreme adventurer David Grier, who has run over 25 000km over the last 12 years in pursuit of personal change and as his contribution to the South African story.

CEO Warren Hewitt said that the day was just one part of the GTP’s ongoing engagement with the Bellville community: “We have to work collectively to define the planning process. To this end we are calling on partners from the area and beyond who can assist us in nurturing new ideas and change-making projects. Bellville is an exciting space to be in so let’s talk.”