WITS-TUB-UNILAG URBAN LAB MASTER’S SUMMER SCHOOL
URBAN MANAGEMENT ACROSS CONTINENTS
SESSION 2:
© TOBIAS KUTTLER
PRIVATE SECTOR DEVELOPMENT & BUILDING
View from the Carlton Centre in central Johannesburg, South Africa
The second parallel session of the afternoon focuses on private sector development. The session is chaired by Lucas Elsner (TU Berlin). The four presenters in this session approach the question of private sector involvement from different perspectives. While two presentations focus on the mechanisms of private sector participation in making them an efficient tool for delivering urban development and renewal, the others look at long-term sustainability and viability of private sector initiatives, also in the light of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Rorisang Sojane (Wits) starts off the session by presenting his research on the Covid-19 lockdown in Johannesburg, and how the City Improvement Districts (CID) in the Inner City adapted their management practices to address the lockdown. He conducted interviews with city officials and CID managers, and a survey among the CID managers. The interviews revealed that CIDs have become stronger due to having played a role of community binders during this difficult period. In the follow-up to his presentation, participants discuss the role of the CID model in supporting a circular economy, and Rorisang points to examples of Johannesburg where mutual support and collaboration is encouraged by CIDs, including incentivising the recycling of materials. 25