Imagine Johannesburg with parks that are safe for families and kids. This dream became real with a new plan to change inner-city parks.
What was the problem?
Johannesburg didn't have enough open spaces and parks for the large number of people that live in or are coming into the city. This problem made the existing parks overused and damaged, making them unsafe and looking bad. End Street North Park in Doornfontein, once an industrial area, had been hit hard, becoming a spot for illegal activities like gambling and drug dealing.
How did they solve it?
The End Street North Park upgrade was a new effort to make a safe, welcoming, and lasting public space. The plan brought together city departments and community members to work together to design and manage the park. The goal was to create a management plan for the city that could be used in other parts of Johannesburg and even other parts of the country.
So how did they do it?
Understanding the problem: They did surveys, site visits, and community needs checks to choose End Street North Park as the first park to work on.
Key Stakeholder Brainstorming Sessions: They held planning and design meetings, made a team, and created a project plan.
Project Mapping, Carrying Out, and Management: They defined roles and responsibilities, engaged Sticky Situations for stakeholder mapping, and began collecting information to help them plan well.
Pilot Case Study: They checked safety, held Minecraft sessions for public input, and set up community events to bring life to the park. Minecraft is a computer game that can be used to build imaginary parks and buildings. It can be a great tool for working out what you want the park to look like.
Carrying Out Plan: They developed key projects and suggestions, mapped current and proposed options, and put forward ideas on how the park could be managed (a governance model).
What was achieved
The project successfully involved the community through various activities, including a MineCraft workshop, weekend Meet your Neighbour events, and a boxing tournament. These activities helped residents feel ownership, which positively affected the planning and design phase of the park upgrade. A draft design of the park was created, and the community continued to be engaged in the implementation phase.
What was learned
While the project aimed to greatly improve the neighbourhood, several challenges came up, like different opinions among park users, small numbers of community members involved, and funding challenges. Despite these challenges, working together on the design was helpful. It made people feel ownership, which reduced the number of people messing up the park and illegal activities, saving resources and bringing people together.
Read more
Lessons learned. Read more.
Acknowledgements:
Original article written by: saferspaces
Photograph supplied by: saferspaces
Get your community involved
Is there a community-driven group or caring business in your area? A dedicated group of committed people can effectively solve local problems.
Think about starting or joining community groups like a street WhatsApp group, residents' association, or community policing forum (CPF) to get help and to stay informed and involved in local issues.
How to set up a community group
How to start a residents' association
How to set up a community policing forum
How to set up a neighbourhood watch
How to organise community action
How to use media to create pressure for change
Know your rights – how local government works
It’s important to understand how your local government works so that you can work with them to support what they are doing while your community continues to keep them accountable and deliver services on time. Remember you have a constitutional right to many of the services provided by local government, as well as to accountability and transparency, wherever you live and regardless of how much you earn. It is also where money collected from taxes and rates goes.
Tshwane
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