Public spaces management, financing and

partnership

Mr. Bulumko Nelana

Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo

6 June 2014

• Introduction: GREEN DIVIDE

• Beyond the Apartheid city

• Partnerships

• Management of public spaces

• Financing public spaces

• Way Forward

CONTENTS

Bridging the green divide

Beyond the Apartheid City: Corridors of Freedom

• Transport-orientated development will see Joburg overturn apartheid-era town planning, by bringing services, schools and work opportunities closer to home for those living on the city’s outskirts.

• The shape of the future city will consist of well-planned transport arteries – the Corridors of Freedom in namely; Turfontein, Perth Empire and Louis Botha – linked to interchanges where the focus will be on mixed-use development.

• Through the Corridors of Freedom, Neighbourhoods will be supported by social infrastructure – local shops, local parks, local schools, local clinics and local police stationswill embark on urban green spaces with mixed use along the three Corridors namely; Turfontein, Perth Empire and Louis Botha.

Re-stitching our City

Public space as a RESOURCE

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Active citizenry

• The vast majority of Johannesburg public spaces esp. parks are supported

exclusively by public funding;

• While private contributions are key, even more crucial is the role that the

citizens play as perpetual park guardians;

• City Parks officials (and their budgets) come and go, but citizens make sure

the City keep up their investment in parks.

• As the City confronts budget shortfalls – look at partnerships for parks

development, facilities within public space, maintenance of the public

space etc.

• Partnerships with the private sector bring entrepreneurial management

techniques and creative funding mechanisms to community park

stewardship.

Partnerships

Types of JCPZ partnerships

• Residents Associations (watch);

• Youth formations (turning a dumpsite into a recreation space);

• Non-profit organisations e.g. COPESSA (park development to ensure safety

of women and children);

• Voluntary group (environmental groups, civil rights groups);

• Spheres of government e.g., Province - sports to generate activities in the parks;

• Private sector e.g. Corporates (park dev.);

• Donor Community - park development etc.;

• Schools and Colleges (clean ups, food gardens)

LESSONS: What makes partnerships work

• Understanding the playing field (park users, local assets e.g. businesses);

• Aligning of goals with potential partners;

• Development of a vision for the public space;

• Quantify, value and explain the value of non-monetary “revenue”

• Effective communication;

• Clear decision-making;

• Honour commitments ;

• Clear accountabilities;

• Right skills in the right place;

• Adaptive ways of working

LESSONS: Pitfalls to partnerships

• Often partnerships are not clearly defined by municipalities;

• Even when definition is there, no written and signed agreement between all parties about the management and maintenance of public space and its frequency.

• When agreements are there they are seldom evaluated based on set indicators;

• Problem of conflating citizen involvement in public spaces with the private management and funding of them;

• Relinquishing responsibilities and entrusting private entities with the job of partially funding as well as running and maintaining urban parks;

– Leading to public increasingly being denied access to their spaces.

• PARKS ARE PEOPLE’S COMMONS AND THEY SHOULD ALL BE EQUAL THERE.

• .

Sources of funding

JOZI@WORK - Charting the way for co-design and co-production of services

• Radical approach to service delivery designed to give a larger role to ordinary

citizens;

• Through individuals, coops and SMMEs with respect to designing and delivering their

service;

• JOZI@WORK– 30% of procurement will go to contracting services, repairs and

maintenance and CAPEX;

• Local residents themselves are going to be more involved in the stewardship of

public spaces (Security guards, Community patrols)

• This financial year:

– 20 coops have been established and supported in horticultural maintenance,

composting, paper recycling and nursery management.

– 54 individuals trained in grass cutting and business acumen at the JCPZ training

academy.

JOZI@WORK

Community Innovation Fund at the Mayor’s office

•Contracting of management of public spaces to residents, street committees, coops etc.

Cooperative Governance Responsibility

•Combining different work packages (by government) that take place in the same place (e.g. libraries, recreation, food gardening in public spaces)

Structured graduation pathway – Out of the City procurement

•Involvement of private sector .

Wayfoward

Parks as catalyst for socio economic transformation

• My Parks My City Programme – citizen engagement and social integration,

promoting parks as catalysts for socio economic transformation

– Bringing government services to the parks – Parks convening power (mobile

services)

– Programming in parks – keeping the parks busy to deter crime and

violence. Gauteng Sports, Arts and Culture (gender, people with disabilities,

youth)

– Advocates for parks within the communities – to convince people that

somebody cares and is willing to do something

• Friends of the Park – written and signed agreements.

• Homeless and displaced people (tensions between user groups ) – instead of

eviction - park guidelines and partnership with social development displaced

people Unit .

Wayfoward

Parks as catalyst for socio economic transformation

• Maintenance responsibility for parks to communities e.g. street committees,

churches in the neighbourhood through JOZI@WORK;

• Green spaces dedicated to communities such as garden allotments in parks – in

turn communities keep an eye on the entire parks.

• Partnerships with private security companies – use parking space in parks,

signage etc.

• Youth Clubs to adopt parks with soccer pitches (as their training ground) in turn

contribute to the safety of their parks with watch programmes.

• Changing the use of buildings e.g. Athletics Club Houses - in turn contribute to

the safety of their parks with watch programmes.

SIYABONGA!