The place – Cafe de las Sonrisas. The city – Granada, Nicaragua.

Describing itself as the “first coffee shop in the Americas and the fourth in the world to be entirely run by deaf-mute people”, Cafe de las Sonrisas was established to break down the barriers that deaf and mute people typically face in integrating into the labour market.

Easily accessible and visible from one of the city’s busiest thoroughfares, the cafe is physically integrated into the city centre and well-placed to provide people living and working in the city with a coffee, breakfast and lunch spot or a meeting place for business.

The cafe forms part of the Tio Antonio Centro Social, a not-for-profit specialised employment centre based in Granada, Nicaragua. The centre aims to achieve two main objectives:
(1) create jobs for people who face difficulties integrating into the labour market; and
(2) provide quality products to customers.

The centre also includes a hammock workshop. Full of colour and creativity, the workshop designs, produces and sells high quality hammocks on a daily basis. Within two days, the workshop can produce a hammock that is made to your specifications!

In addition to the opportunities generated by the cafe and hammock workshop, the centre is able to provide social support to people who cannot hear or speak across four priority areas: education, healthcare, child care, the care and empowerment of women, and social interactions.

Drawn into the centre by the vibrant murals and colourful displays of hammocks for sale easily visible from the sidewalk, we walked off the noisy street into the quiet cafe for a cup of coffee.

Upon arrival in the cafe, we were greeted by a friendly waitron and given some time to soak up the peaceful ambiance and consult the menu.

Within minutes of walking into the cafe, I was impressed with the commitment displayed by the centre to accommodating the communication needs of its customers and its staff.

For example, each item on the menu (and its various ingredients) is simply but clearly presented using pictures and described in English and Spanish. There are sign language guides on each table, as well as a large and colourful mural on the perimeter wall adjacent to the seating area displaying some of the essential signs required to communicate with any member of the centre, especially your waitron. Using the pictures and some basic hand signals, it is easy to order off the menu and communicate any variation of a menu item that you may require.

After flipping through the easy-to-use menu and consulting the sign language guides available, we silently but successfully placed our order with the waitron: two coffees (with milk and sugar).

While we waited for our coffees, we explored the centre.

A quiet hub of creativity and empowerment immersed in the hustle and bustle of a city, the cafe hugs a beautiful indoor garden located in the open-air courtyard at the heart of the building. The garden is flanked by hammocks produced by the workshop team making the cafe a great spot to soak up some sun in peace with a cup of coffee in hand!

There are information boards in and around the cafe explaining the concept and purpose of the centre and inviting visitors in participate in the centre (whether this means simply communicating with the centre staff, having a cup of coffee, ordering a hammock or adding value in some other way).

The hammock workshop – easily accessible and visible from the street and from the cafe – offers you the opportunity to experience first hand more of the a different part of the Tio Antonio Centro Social. Colourful hammocks of various sizes are produced and sold by the workshop team. The team members are friendly and happy to engage with you as you walk through their workshop. We tested out one of the hammocks and can vouch for their comfort and quality.

Reflecting on my visit to the centre, I found the coffee enjoyable; the creative but quiet space energising; the staff friendly and service-orientated; and the opportunity to learn and use some basic sign language refreshing and enriching. I also felt good about supporting a non-profit organisation that is committed to improving opportunities for people who face barriers to participating in their city.

As we left the centre, I thought about what value a specialised employment centre like the Tio Antonio Centro Social can add to a city and what made my experience of it inspiring and memorable.

The founder of the centre, Tio Antonio, believes that it should not matter who made the hammocks or who prepared and served the meals and drinks on offer. What should matter is that those employed by the centre have work opportunities and can offer customers quality products (with a smile).

There is dignity in having work. And there is empowerment and creativity in partnerships. Well-located and easily accessible centres like the Tio Antonio Centro Social that are accommodating of the needs of their staff and customers and that offer quality products and services have the potential to promote the diversity of a city in a way that empowers and integrates. It is projects like these that break barriers sustainably.

If children are the future, we seem to be very short-sighted when it comes to urban design. Very little, if any at all, of the current discourse on the type of cities we should be building in a democratic South Africa truly considers whether these cities will be child friendly.

In this coming century, as humanity becomes a predominantly urban species, lifestyle and mental diseases will become ever greater threats to our societies. According to Professor Ronald Kanter of paediatric cardiology at Duke University, children born today are 500 times as likely to die of lifestyle related cardiac diseases than congenital heart diseases¹.

It is now a well established fact that most of these diseases have their origin in childhood – just like the habits necessary to prevent them. A population study in Finland, for example, found that children between nine and eighteen who are more physically active, are more likely to grow up to be active adults². However, for all the benefits cities do and could offer, the current model on which their development is based seems to nudge people into sedentary and isolated lives.

We need our children to be safe and healthy enough to play in the city.

Regardless of social-economic status, children who live closer to congested roads are less likely to feel safe in their neighbourhood or play outside³. On the other hand, it has been suggested that children who live in sterile suburbs are so reliant on their parents for even simple tasks such as visiting friends or going to the shops that they lose the autonomy they need to practice becoming well-balanced adults⁴.

While many studies find that parents would ideally want their children to play outside, issues of safety – including criminals and the danger of traffic – are generally of such concern that children are rather kept indoors⁵. As was drily noted: “If a car hits a child, that is an accident, but if a child damages a car, that is vandalism.”³

In order to make Cape Town more child friendly, we need to take the bold step which is being argued by many others, and make the city less car friendly.

Of course, we should also be addressing criminality, a failing school system in especially poor communities, inadequate child health care and nourishment, and the systematic poverty which threatens not only the wellbeing of individual children but of the city and country as a whole.

However, just because the associated problems are grave and severe, does not mean that we should not also ensure that children can play freely and in that way be active members of their communities.

Children’s playtime is not, well, child’s play. It is a vital component of their individual development, both physically and mentally. Equally important is the social learning that takes place when playing. Constructive playtime can contribute to better learning and a greater sense of safety and belonging⁶.

Besides, there are things that can be done tomorrow, without too much trouble, by grassroots community members to make their own neighbourhoods more playable for children of all ages.

Playing Out is a UK initiative to close streets temporarily for motor traffic in order for children to play outside. The City of New York has a Play Streets initiative which has regular (weekly or more!), scheduled road closures all across the city for children to play.

What is interesting to note, is the way in which these initiatives lead to greater community cohesion as adults and children alike come out onto the streets and start meeting their neighbours. A village might be necessary to raise a child, but it seems a child is also necessary for a village (or neighbourhood) to truly become a community.

In the longer term, we must design new neighbourhoods and districts with children in mind. The development framework for District Six is a good example of a truly urban design, but one which also incorporates “outdoor rooms” which will be relatively motor free and thus available for children to play in.

In our poorer communities, more must be done to “retro-fit” playgrounds and safe streets for children to play, with greater public surveillance by way of the placement of buildings and houses. We must find ways to break the sterility of our suburbs and encourage active community street life.

But we must also start rethinking the CBD, as the heart of the city. How many great urban playgrounds are there in the City Bowl? Maybe it is time to create a giant and fantastic playground on the Grand Parade or next to St Stephens Church along the lines of the Imagination Playground in New York⁷.

The possibilities are endless and exciting.

Of course, it is easy to ignore children, but we do so at our own peril. More than anybody else, children need to be included into fabric of the city. We might just find that they are the golden thread keeping us all together.

References:

1. Yale Medical Group. “Prevention of Heart Disease Starts in Childhood”, www.yalemedicalgroup.com
2. Pappas, S. “The top five benefits of play”, Science Live http://www.livescience.com/15541-top-5-benefits-play.html
3. Collins et al as quoted by Anderson, S. “What we know about how urban design affects children and young people” http://www.cph.co.nz/Files/Children-and-Urban-Design.pdf
4. Duany et al as quoted by Anderson.
5. Goodyear, S. “What we lose when kids can’t play in their own streets” The Atlantic Cities http://www.theatlanticcities.com/neighborhoods/2013/02/what-we-lose-when-kids-cant-play-their-own-streets/4789/
6. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. “Does better recess equal a better school day?” http://www.rwjf.org/content/dam/farm/reports/issue_briefs/2013/rwjf406050
7. Graeber, L. “Science and secrets in New York City playgrounds” New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/15/arts/design/extraordinary-playgrounds-in-new-york-city-boroughs.html?_r

Picture credits:

1. http://playingout.net/inspiration-ideas-and-links/gallery/
2. https://www.bristol.gov.uk/press/children-and-young-people/bristol-leads-way-supporting-street-play
3.  http://www.londonplay.org.uk/document.php?document_id=1832 

Exterior view of the station in context as it borders the developing King Abdullah financial district. Source: designboom

RIYADH

Zaha Hadid’s winning entry for one of the Riyadh metro stations sports a lattice-like undulating skin–a sequence of opposing sine-waves– and will purportedly enclose a stop at the intersection of the high street/ batha line and the Abdul Rahman bin Auf/ Sheik Hassan bin Hussein line. the in-progress rapid transit system is part of major redevelopment bordering the King Abdullah financial district, itself a burgeoning area in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia.

JOHANNESBURG

Joburg authorities are going to make it increasingly difficult for cars to be used in the city in a bid to improve public transport and health. In his State of the City address last week, mayor Parks Tau revealed plans to reduce residents’ reliance on private cars, including mammoth spending on high-density housing infrastructure along public transport routes and improved public transport. “The urban design will strongly encourage this move away from private car usage,” Tau said at Wits University.

CONNECTICUT

Federal transportation investigators will work to determine what caused two passenger trains to collide during rush hour in Connecticut, sending dozens to the hospital. Officials from the National Transportation Safety Board will be at the site of the crash this morning, the agency said. The two Metro-North passenger trains, heading in opposite directions, collided Friday evening in southwestern Connecticut, damaging both trains and leaving some people critically injured.

ROME

Thousands of protesters, led by trade unionists, have rallied in the Italian capital Rome against the policies of the new coalition government. Wielding red flags and placards, they urged the centre-left Prime Minister, Enrico Letta, to scrap austerity measures and focus on job creation. Public trust in his fragile coalition with the centre-right is dropping, opinion polls suggest. The country is experiencing its longest recession in more than 40 years. National debt is now about 127% of annual economic output, second only to Greece in the eurozone.

HONG KONG

Sixty-two people have been injured after multiple cars derailed on Hong Kong’s light railway in the north of the city, throwing passengers onto the floor, police say. The accident occurred on Friday in the New Territories region north of the city’s business district. ”There was a derailment on the light rail,” a police spokeswoman told AFP news agency. The fire department said that four people had been seriously injured while most others suffered sprains and cuts from the collision.

LUMUMBAVILLE

The Democratic Republic of Congo plans to name a city to honor Patrice Lumumba, the independence figure who was assassinated more than 50 years ago, reported the Associated Press. The new city, to be called Lumumbaville, will comprise several existing communities in the Kassai-Oriental province (Lumumba’s birthplace) in the center of the huge nation, about 930 miles from the capital Kinshasa. Construction will commence next year.

NEW YORK CITY

Mayor Michael Bloomberg appears to have found a partner with the financial muscle to bring a Major League Soccer stadium to the largest public green space in Queens, Flushing Meadows–Corona Park. It’s a project he’s been pushing for a while, and now it looks closer than ever to becoming reality. But there are urgent questions about how this for-profit enterprise will displace the ordinary New Yorkers who currently use the park in huge numbers. How much should cities should be willing to give up when it comes to encouraging private investment? Is it worth trading away the core of a neighborhood’s vital park?

TEXAN CITIES

A rash of tornadoes slammed into several small communities in Texas overnight, leaving at least six people dead, dozens more injured and hundreds homeless. The violent spring storm scattered bodies, flattened homes, threw trailers onto cars. In Granbury, the worst-hit city, a tornado tore through two neighborhoods around 8pm local time Wednesday.

The project planners and architects, ARG, were presented by principals Gita Goven and Alistair Rendall. Their defence was able but free of surprises, or any of the major breakthrough ideas that social media commenters had hoped for. After a spirited discussion, the audience was left with no new rationale to justify a project of this scale in this location. Wescape’s proponents chose to lead with an economic argument for the viability of the new exurb, which raised more questions than it resolved. The consortium’s sums on job creation, the reservation of housing by income level, operating costs and bulk services inspired lively debate, but unfortunately the developers of Wescape were not present to answer these in greater detail.

Comments from the audience, and from discussants Vanessa Watson, tended towards the negative. Several prominent professionals questioned the most fundamental aspects of the project, including the figures and transit/mobility figures produced by the CommuniTgrow consortium driving the Wescape project. The nuclear aspect – Wescape will lie mostly within Koeberg’s evacuation zone – is perhaps the most concerning of these. The consortium’s evacuation proposals seem founded on a series of optimistic assumptions more reminiscent of Zurich than Cape Town.

However, Goven and Rendall rebutted with a historical analysis of why their vision was different from similar projects attempted elsewhere, and why it would succeed where more orthodox initiatives inside the existing edge had repeatedly failed. The thrust of their argument was that the glacial pace of densification and economic diversification inside the existing edge meant that a compact Cape Town might yet be generations away, and that exciting and potentially liberating new spaces and opportunities were possible at the land prices and densities Wescape would achieve. However, some voices in the audience said that faults in the current system did not justify an embrace of greenfield development so far beyond the city limits.

The city has currently approved the extension of Cape Town’s urban edge to accommodate Wescape – which currently sits with the MEC for Environmental Affairs at the Western Cape Government – but environmental impact and zoning approval are still pending. All parties agreed that another meeting, at minimum, was in order.

Future Cape Town will in addition to its participation in Wednesday night’s event be releasing the proceedings and major themes from the inaugural Future Cape Town Summit which covered the topic of urban sprawl in Cape Town.

Where: Church Square (Google Map)

After another satisfactory run at Cape Town International Airport, the bright yellow ballot box will  return to the CBD area where citizens can come and take a minute or two of their time to vote on two urban issues. On Friday 17 May, members of the public can make their way to Church Square, situated at Spin Street and Parliament Street between 9am and 3pm .

The box will display two urban questions, with each question providing four options for voters to choose from. The options will be displayed as images or future visions for Cape Town, presented in four pigeon holes.

This will be the fourth time the installation will be set up around the Cape Town district. Future Cape Town will be working in collaboration with HOTT 3 Dimensional Marketing and Cape Town Partnership for the latest installation setup.

The installation was initially designed as a temporary urban intervention as part of the build-up to the upcoming Spaza Urban Innovation Festival during Cape Town’s year as World Design Capital in 2014.

Notes to editors

1. Future Cape Town is a non-profit think tank advocating for progressive urbanism and pro-active thinking about the future of our cities.

2. The Your City Idea initiative seeks to use structures, new and traditional media and powerful partnerships to engage citizens in different and innovative ways.

3. Read about the Your City Idea installation initiative here.

4. See images of the Your City Idea installation here.

5. Watch a video on the Spaza Urban Innovation Festival here.

Issued by

Media Office, Future Cape Town

media@futurecapetown.com

So said Chris Whelan, CEO of business think-tank Accelerate Cape Town, at Friday’s Accelerate Cape Town Members’ Meeting sponsored by Deloitte. Whelan, who heads up the business organisation that counts more than 45 of South Africa’s largest corporates among its members, added that it is critical that innovation is approached as a collaborative effort. “Whether we’re developing a new product or building a future society, the key to unlocking our success as a city and country is innovation and partnership.”

Whelan was joined by Dr Vincent Maphai, Executive Director of Corporate Affairs and Transformation at SAB Miller Limited and former Chairman of BHP Billiton Southern Africa. Maphai who also acts as the Education Commissioner on the National Planning Commission, detailed the key requirements for growing talent in the country in terms of what inspired the thinking of the NPC.

Capacity of the state

Maphai said that in democracies, the government is a reflection of its society. “If we are unhappy about our government’s actions, we must remember that we as civil society elected them to their positions of power. For us to succeed as a nation and be able to become the shapers of our future, we need to step up and start taking our role in the country very seriously.”

He added that active citizenry should be combined with strong leadership in order to create a government that is able to take decisions that they can also implement. “Madiba is a perfect example. His views were not based on scoring political points or promoting his own interests, but rather on what is best for the country as a whole.”

Challenge of Job Creation and Lack of Education

Maphai said that the NPC is faced with a massive dual challenge of creating jobs while also overcoming the struggling education system. He stated that while he’s in favour of the current Outcome Based Education system, the country is in dire need of well-trained, committed teachers.

“We don’t have enough skilled workers in the country, and the skills that are available come with a hefty price tag. Until we attend to the mess in education, we can forget about dealing with the issues of inequality that the unions keep talking about.”

According to Maphai, there are ways in which to bring positive change to the country. “If you’re a major company like SAB, you are fortunate enough to have a strong supply chain that enables you to train people and empower them to come and work for you. This is one contribution to addressing the disaster we are facing of a shrinking tax base and growing social grants handouts. But we should also look at requiring the individuals who receive social grants to run the gardens and bake bread in schools and then utilise the money allocated to school feeding on more important items.

“In this country, we don’t need more money or resources, of which we have more than enough. Instead, we need greater resourcefulness, especially in the form of political and social innovation.”

Innovation is critical to a vibrant and productive society

Maphai was joined by Dr Julius Akinyemi, head of the MIT Media Laboratory and chief adjudicator of the Innovation Prize for Africa. Akinyemi said that the mission for schools is to educate students and create new capabilities, but added that most schools fail woefully on the latter aspect. “Innovation is the enabler for creating new capabilities, allowing you to make a social impact by improving efficiencies in the environment or the lives of individuals. This focus on innovation creates an entrepreneurial environment that is very nurturing and empowering to people, leading the creation of businesses, jobs and an environment that enables us to move forward.”

Innovation in Africa

He said that, in terms of the state of innovation in Africa, the problem lies not with a lack of innovation but rather in creating a nurturing environment that allows innovators to be productive. “Businesses have an important role to play. Joint innovative development, for example, creates an opportunity for the research and development team to collaborate and work side by side with businesses, incubators and venture funds in a highly productive environment. A perfect example of this model in action is Workshop 17, the University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business innovation hub based at the V&A Waterfront.”

Akinyemi added that innovation should not stop after the first positive result has been achieved. “Through constant innovation you are able to find out more about your company – what works and what doesn’t. This re-innovation process creates jobs as well as a nurturing environment and better profitability.”

In closing, Whelan said that determining the strategy, plan and call to action around fostering a culture of innovation in Cape Town will be a key point on his organisation’s agenda going forward. “We need an active citizenry and a strong government and business sector driven by innovation and partnership to further progress this city and truly achieve our objective of making Cape Town a world class destination for talented people to work and live in.”

Media release 13 May 2013 from Accelerate Cape Town.

For more information about Accelerate Cape Town, please visit
www.acceleratecapetown.co.za

Ever wondered where you need to live in order to be considered unusual if you don’t ride to work? To have urban planners fighting over how to make the city as friendly a place as possible for you, the cyclist? To be a car driver so amazed by the cycling facilities on offer to leave your car at home and join in? To be a pedestrian enjoying breathable air while two wheels pass by next to you?

Well, unfortunately right now, you probably need to move to Europe… But maybe not for long.

This year’s Copenhagenize index of bicycle friendly cities is bigger and better than the inaugural edition of 2011: 80 cities were upped to 150, all assessed along 13 criteria to definitively reward those cities who are “Re-establishing the bicycle as a feasible mode of transport”.

Copenhagenize- the organisation behind the index- only releases data on the top 20, so who knows, perhaps Cape Town was 22^nd?! But in this top 20, Europe dominates. Only 4 are non-European, and the top 10 all come from 6 European countries.  But why should the benefits of bicycle transport only be accruing in Europe? Why shouldn’t Capetonians also feel the benefits of spending less on transport, better health, reduced air pollution, and safer streets?  Despair not! Cape Town should take inspiration from the index.

Get inspired Cape Town: Things move quick

Yes, the top two look extremely familiar. Amsterdam and Copenhagen remain the leaders. The bicycle Mecca’s command modal shares of 34% and 37% respectively (that’s 37 in every 100 journeys by bicycle!). Yet the index suggests that others are being more innovate and catching up. And it’s this speed of movement which should inspire Cape Town. Seville increased its modal share from 0.5% in 2006 to 7% in 2012, and Bordeaux’s city centre from 2% in 2006 to 10% today.  According to the creators of the index, getting to 5% is a magic moment: reaching it is difficult, but once you get there, momentum makes it much easier to get to 15%+.  Of course, things take longer to get going in large, developing country cities still overcoming the spatial legacy of apartheid, but the precedents are there: change can happen, fast. And with a modal share of just under 1%, alongside a fast-growing bicycle sub-culture, the time is now in Cape Town.

Get inspired Cape Town: Big cities can do it too

While predictably smaller and historically compact cities dominate the list, big metros are also holding their own. Tokyo keeps its place in the top 20: showing vast, densely populated metropolises can still retrofit space for bicycles. In Rio de Janeiro, in as the 16th city, a new bike sharing scheme set-up in 2011 is enjoying success. The city is expanding its modest bicycle lane network and has big ambitions. Rio is one of the few cities to actually improve its ranking despite all the new additions making this year’s index much more competitive. One of the key ingredients for Rio’s climb up the rankings? Political will (perhaps driven by the Olympics), innovative projects, and increasing social acceptance of the bicycle.

A bike, made of vegetables

So how to break into the top 20, Cape Town?

Cape Town can learn from good and bad practice; there’s a wealth of experience out there. From the velo-city conference, to the EcoMobility alliance*, to the partnership on sustainable low carbon transport , Cape Town can learn. The ingredients for success are not rocket science, and are rooted in the indexes own criteria: how do you make cycling attractive (encourage a bicycle culture), how do you make cycling easy, enjoyable? (provide facilities & infrastructure), how do you use urban planning and traffic calming efforts to promote sustainable transport and make cycling safe?

But the solutions will have to be specific, endogenous to Cape Town. Maybe we’ll need cycle lane security guards? Specially designed wind tunnels to channel the good Doctor to power journeys? A minibus taxi “adopt a cyclist” scheme?!

We know in Cape Town we are heading in the right direction: the integrated transport authority, bikes on buses, bikes on trains, and the willingness to work with community and activist groups are all good signs. The City government’s very own brand new CBD bike-sharing system is an example of leadership.

But we have a long way to go to up that modal share above 1%. Copenhagenize says it all:

“The Emerging Bicycle Cities are not just transforming their own urban landscape, they are inspiring cities around the world in showing what is possible in a short amount of time. These are the visionaries”.

Let’s be visionary, Cape Town. Let’s Copenhagenize, Cape Town style.

*Disclosure of interest: the ecomobility alliance is administered by the author’s employers global Secretariat.

Indianapolis completed its cultural trail this week, source: Matt Kryger / The Star

INDIANAPOLIS

After years of construction and millions of dollars invested, the Cultural Trail connecting downtown officially opened with much celebration this Friday. The project, which took 12 years of planning, six years of construction and $63 million, is an eight-mile walking and bike path connecting the city’s five cultural districts. The trail creates unprecedented connectivity, connecting Indiana Avenue, Mass Ave., the Canal and White River State Park, the Wholesale District and Fountain Square with the Monon Trail and other city greenways.

BEIJING

Oh, dreams deferred. In 1998, developers broke ground on an ambitious building project outside of Beijing. They promised “the largest amusement park in Asia.” Shortly after that, funds were withdrawn, thanks in a large part to land sale disagreements between developers and local farmers. The half-finished park then languished for years. 13 years later, the abandoned park is finally coming down, though it’s not clear what will take its place. According to Reuters, local officials are reporting that a shopping center may fill at least part of the space.

KAMPALA

As the Government moves to implement the National Slum Upgrading programme, a strong warning has been issued to prevent resistance that may be staged by communities inhabiting areas where modern buildings are going to erected. The urban development minister Daudi Migereko explained that the housing programme is meant to uplift the standards of living for the residents occupying areas that are undeveloped and disorganised. “This programme intends to transform the lives of our people living in slums, we don’t want to meet any public resistance as we move to kick-start this national development initiative,” he said.

NEW YORK CITY

Rockaway, Queens, a low-lying area in New York City, was hit hard by Hurricane Sandy, so a fascinating new design competition seeks to create a more resilient and sustainable form of development for this vulnerable area, and, really, others like it in New York City and other coastal cities. FAR ROC [For a Resilient Rockaway] is a design competition that will delve into “innovative strategies for the planning, design and construction” of a more resilient place at Arverne East, an 80+ acre site on the Rockaway Peninsula. Their ambitious goal: new best practices for development in waterfront areas.

HARARE

Harare City Council will soon issue out colour-coded bins that will allow residents to separate waste at source as it intensifies efforts to promote the recycling of waste at the domestic level. This emerged following the launch of colour-coded trash bins by the Proudly Zimbabwean Foundation under a new anti-littering campaign initiative. The event was jointly organised by PZF, Environment Africa, Plastix Incorporated and other stakeholders. Clr Musarurwa Mutizwa said recycling was important in efforts that were aimed at addressing the garbage crisis facing the city. “We have moved a step further on issues that are bedevilling this city. The only solution is to go the recycling route and to tackle it at source,” he said.

KIGALI

With the recently-launched Kigali Master Plan, Rwanda hopes to put forward an innovative urban development plan, transforming Kigali “into a ‘model’ city for the region, Africa, and the world.” The plan focuses on better preservation of nature and the use of natural cycles to provide efficient infrastructure. The Kigali City plan also aims to improve informal settlements and create new developments in open spaces. ”The fundamental building blocks of the city plan are clustered communities that will facilitate the delivery of education, health care, and other social services,” according to Kigali City’s official website. ”These clusters will also support economic innovation and vitality and the creation of social capital, generating development from the ground up.”

MUMBAI

We’ve seen grandiose new skyscrapers do all sorts of weird things. From rotating dynamic towers, to hi-rises that have enormous voids, to skyscrapers built so tall they can’t find enough occupants to rent space, architects like to try anything to come up with a headline-grabbing design. However, Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture‘s latest proposal for Mumbai’s tallest building—the slender 116-story, 400-meter residential Imperial Tower—may take the cake. According to AS+GG, the svelte structure is designed to “confuse the wind.” A little confused by that? Don’t worry, we were too. AS+GG’s deceptive description simply means that the extremely tall and thin (two adjectives you don’t normally associate with sturdiness) tower will stand up to the wind. Enhanced by “sky gardens,” which have been designed to “dampen” wind eddying about the tower, the futuristic pencil-like structure will stand strong against a sudden gale. That should make residents of the two upper floors feel safe and secure as they gaze out to their commanding views of the Arabian Sea.

GHANIAN CITIES

Giant internet search engine, Google has launched a maps app for Ghana, as the West African country continues to assert itself as a new communications leader in Africa. Google Ghana launched its Google Maps Navigation recently to enable owners of android devices such as smart phones to access comprehensive, accurate and easy-to-go maps with built in local search, voice guided turn-by-turn navigation to all kinds of places.
 Users of Google products in Ghana already had access to the maps app, but the introduction of voice prompts has improved the function, the company said. ”What we have done now is to improve the safety of that, because you will not be driving and using your phone at the same time anymore,” Estelle Akofio-Sowah, Google Ghana country manager, said.