Johannesburg CBD, Gauteng
The iconic Nelson Mandela Bridge built in 2003 is a key landmark for Johannesburg. When it was opened it lit up the city skyline at night. But in the last decade, the bridge has not been maintained by the city. It’s been vandalised, crime is high, there’s litter everywhere and the lights that have broken have not been replaced.
It took a business-backed initiative called Jozi My Jozi, formed exactly 20 years after the bridge was built, to make the renewal of the bridge their first project to clean up and restore the City Centre. It’s an ongoing campaign to involve business and other collaborators to turnaround the dire state of the city, which is considered the engine room of the country.
What was the problem?
The Nelson Mandela Bridge came into being as an important link between Braamfontein and Newtown. It was also meant as a grand tribute to Nelson Mandela and was a triumph for urban development.
But in the past few years, neglect by the City of Johannesburg has left the bridge unmaintained. As the condition worsened people no longer walked across the bridge, for fear of muggings and because of the filth on the bridge. At night it remained in darkness.
The one-time icon of the city was in bad shape. Left in this state it added to a sense of decline and despondency felt by business, tourists and the everyday citizen.
How did they fix it?
Jozi My Jozi was formed with backing by big business to be a movement in the city to restore pride in the City of Gold. It’s rooted in a deep passion for Johannesburg, and the values of the Constitution. Its focus has been to collaborate and support those in the creative sectors in building a movement. They worked with the City of Johannesburg and identified their first project as the one to bring the Nelson Mandela Bridge back to life.
The bridge was cleaned of graffiti and tagging. Damaged glass panels and paving was restored. The Jozi My Jozi teams installed solar-powered LED lights that have programmable light sequences. They also put in new safety features like crash barriers.
The newly restored bridge proudly lit up the Jozi night once again in June 2024.
What makes it work?
Big business came to the party: Business has an important role to put their resources into community initiatives that are focused on rebuilding and restoring the areas in which they trade.
Setting up a separate entity focused on reviving Joburg: The creation of Jozi My Jozi allows this initiative to be something that more people can relate to without feeling like it’s just about businesses.
Building a movement: Kicking off with the intention to be a movement means having objectives to be inclusive, to be sustainable and creative and to get as many people moving in the same direction.
Working with the creative sector: The creative sector makes up a strong pillar of Joburg life and is essential to making real the objectives of being a movement that benefits a positive comeback for the city.
Starting with an iconic first project: Restoring the Nelson Mandela bridge as a first project doubled as an “grand” introduction of Jozi My Jozi. As the bridge was lit up again it represented hope for the city and was a reminder that despite massive challenges the city can indeed be turned around.
Acknowledgements
Author: FixLocal Reporter
Additional articles/ sources:
In photos: the Nelson Mandela Bridge lights up
Jozi My Jozi is Transforming Local Tourism Through Urban Innovation
Photograph: JoziMyJozi
Johannesburg
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