Public open spaces – who for?

Mfaniseni Mdlalose writes:-

OUR Grade 12 Geography teacher’s opening statement in her class was, “We as geographers must be able to answer three questions, Where, Why and so What?” These questions have always influenced the way I analyse spaces: their connectedness and functionalities.

A question asked by a British planner in 1898 was whether urban planning was about physical design or about making things easier for the people who live in these spaces. So when I walk about in my town, I reflect on my teacher’s questions and the British planner’s remark. I like to read spaces and try to understand how they work for people, my special interest groups being children and the youth.

It makes me happy to see the young being taken care of physically, emotionally and intellectually. I know some schools take good care of them in all three aspects; my concern is the aftercare situation. Should this be a town planning agenda?

The Town Planning profession plays an important role in creating spaces we live in. The history of planning shows how important this tool is in designing layout plans to set aside zones for different functions in towns and cities, to make things easier for citizens. Cultures are formed in these spaces.

In the past Town Planning created homelands and places such as Mondlo, these places displayed gloom, they lacked amenities and infrastructure for children and the youth. Growing up at Mondlo we used the streets as our recreation space, as for youth facilities there were none.

The 2013/ 2014 IDP shows that Wards 8 and 9 have recreation facilities, and there is a new sports facility at Mondlo which is currently not in use. I am not sure about neighbourhood parks for children? I am not sure either about theatres? AbaQulusi has vibrant arts and cultural youth groups, these need spaces not just for events but also to display art work, spaces of engagement and for their day to day operations as well.

A space for youth entrepreneurs could be created to make them visible in town. I am hoping that through participatory planning, Town Planning would be more aggressive in meeting real needs of the children and the youth in our town. I hope more open spaces will be turned into meaningful play areas for children.

Empty buildings could be turned into hubs for youth creativity to create vibrant and colourful zones for young people. Maybe we could see more BMX and skateboard parks to create happy zones in our town. Participatory planning is not about ticking the box, it is about meaningful engagement processes which involves building the capacity of those involved enabling them to debate, empathise and reaching consensus on what needs to be done and to be prioritised for them.

Participatory planning processes help to build young active citizens who could be future change agents. I believe Town Planning has important role in making spaces for our young people to make them visible and hopefully get better slices in government budgets.