A small park in the heart of Joburg’s inner city, the End Street North Park, went from being overtaken by vagrants, drug dealers and drug users to become a usable park and critical green space in one of the most overcrowded and neglected parts of the CBD. 

The park was restored with the input of many role-players. These included various City of Johannesburg departments, the German government development agency, local and international universities, local and international NGOs and the business community. 

Making the park usable again through a wide collaborative initiative has served as a case study and offered up many lessons for authorities on how to create more safe recreational spaces for city dwellers.

What was the problem?

Inner city parks have long been left to fall into disrepair and are overrun by criminals and vandals. They are spots for illegal dumping and are used by vagrants and the homeless, making the parks unsuitable and unsafe for children to play in or the community to enjoy. People simply stay away.

Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo (JCPZ) also has limited resources, including not enough park rangers to ensure safety and to enforce rules in public parks.

The End Street North Park, between Hillbrow and Joubert Park, had been hit hard by these challenges and was in dire need of some attention.  

How did they fix it?

In 2014 the End Street North Park was identified by JCPZ to be upgraded as part of a collaborative case study on how to restore inner city parks that are under pressure. 

Because this was a case study, the city followed steps of workshopping with its different partners within the city, then worked with its partners before reaching out to the community. There was a diverse spread of collaborators that each brought their own expertise. They gave input on how to engage with the community; how best to get different city departments to work together effectively; how to work with the flow of traffic and movement of people. 

The project highlighted the needs of specific user groups like women and children and involved them in workshops to co-design the project. For the children this included` using technology on gaming platforms to get them to play while designing elements in the park and their community.  

Key to the project, was finding out about local needs. This saw researchers and data collectors spending many months in the park to gather this information. The park was officially opened in 2015. 

What made it work?

• Collaborating with many partners: By bringing on board a wide range of collaborators, both local and international, the JCPZ was able to cover more bases to make the End Street North Park a successful restoration project and a strong case study. 

• Spending time on the ground: By being in the park for many months, project teams could understand more clearly the challenges, fears and needs of park users. 

• Doing deeper research: As the project to restore this park was meant as a case study, there was strong data collection, analysis and evaluation. It’s hoped this research will benefit other park restoration projects.

• Building relationships: A park committee was set up along with a park champions programme, making locals co-managers of the park. 

• Breaking the silo mentality – This project saw three different City of Johannesburg departments work together for the revival of the park – this was a breakthrough!

• Ongoing management – The success of bringing the park back to life in 2015 as a research case study, has meant that over the years other businesses and sponsors have also come on board to invest in the upkeep of the park.

Acknowledgements

Author: FixLocal Reporter

Additional articles/ sources: 

Transforming Public Parks into Safe and Inclusive Community Spaces Report 

Afhco End Street Park 

Rebuilding Safe Parks in Johannesburg 

Photograph: Afhco End Street Park