Day Two
uShaka Marine World
Market in Warwick Junction
Tour of eThekwini municipal areas that demonstrate economic redevelopment The second day of the Learning Exchange commenced with a tour of eThekwini municipal areas that demonstrate economic redevelopment, and included, uShaka Marine World, Warwick Junction, Cato Manor and Bridge City (INK).
Theme 3: Strategic Planning as a Tool for Economic Transformation Local economic development and job creation are arguably the strongest indicators for measuring the success of a strategic plan. Cities use economic opportunities and trends, for example, global markets or construction boom, to create long term investments and position themselves for growth. However, economic growth can be experienced without growth in jobs. In certain instances, economic growth has led to social exclusion as well as environmental and cultural mismanagement. The cities of Johannesburg, Porto Alegre, Sevilla, and Salvador outlined how they used strategic planning as a tool for economic transformation. Mr Zayd Ebrahim, policy strategist from the City of Johannesburg, argued that strategic planning is more than just a planning tool. In tracing the evolution of his city’s strategic planning process, he made the point that cities continually change and that the ‘business as usual’ approach is no longer valid. Johannesburg’s strategic planning paradigm hinges on effective governance with a sustainable environment, socio-economic development and service delivery as key focus areas, and from this foundation, economic development will follow if a city defines its competitiveness correctly. Ms Vania Goncalves de Souza of Porto Alegre, Brazil shared her experiences in the project in Villa Chocolata - a slum in the city centre of Porto Alegre. She spoke about how the project 10