Project to revive inner-city spaces

Urban dwellers were given a night to remember when the Retail Improvement District Grow project hosted shisa nyama for local residents on 30 March. Residents got the opportunity to engage in various activities and be entertained with the aim of activating the inner-city Kerk Street market place.

According to Nokwazi Zimu of Urban Genesis, the project is unique because of its focus on a community-based and community-led approach towards creating a unique space for urban dwellers in the Kerk Street market area. The project seeks to stimulate the use of such spaces by local residents who are more central to the area, than outer-city residents.

“RIDGROW is a significantly different approach towards activating inner-city urban spaces than other topical approaches that have come to dominate urban renewal projects in South Africa and many other parts of the world,” Zimu explained.

She further explained that the difference that, unlike current approaches to urban renewal which focus on middle-class suburban people and exclude city dwellers, the RIDGrow project attempts to activate social and economic activities within the inner city and revive interest in the area.

Instead of encouraging suburban city dwellers to explore the inner city, RIDGrow seeks to encourage inner-city dwellers to use the spaces offered and explore their own surrounding. “It seeks to activate night-life in the inner city over the weekend, so that the quality of life of people who live in the inner city is improved,” she explained.

In the long term, they plan to facilitate the growth of a range of informal and micro to small-scale retail and service night-time activities which will cater for the needs of the community after hours, according to Zimu.

The shisa nyama took place at corner Harrison Street and Kerk Street and provided entertainment, music and activities for local residents.