Estate Living Magazine Precinct Living - Issue 33 | Page 13

We invented computers and systems to make our lives easier, until screens
took over our existence and we needed an app for just about everything to survive."
Burnout and stress became a thing, and normal started looking a little crazy
and decidedly manic. We started falling off the wheel. Fortunately, sanity
returned, and we decided not to get back on.
And so, we have come full circle, from fast food to slow living and a healthier
balance in lifestyle.
The road to change
Urban sprawl and the forced removals of the apartheid regime led to a
slow decay of the city centre, resulting in its becoming an undesirable area
after business hours. Sea Point was the playground of Cape Town until the
development of the world-class V&A Waterfront in the late 1980s. Locals took
to the convenience, safety and novelty of the Waterfront in a big way, and Sea
Point faded into a somewhat grubby obscurity.
Spatial planning for the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ was a turning point for
the CBD and the ethos of live-work-play neighbourhoods. The Fan Walk that
linked the city centre to the new Cape Town Stadium and the V&A Waterfront,
coupled with outsourced cleansing of the CBD, the installation of security
cameras, visible policing and more pedestrian areas brought the city back to
life.
Eight years on, the city is innovating once again and reclaiming every available
parcel of urban space to create a modern city that embraces our evolving
lifestyle.
www.estate-living.co.za
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