Taking Liveability Seriously
DR . PIETER VAN HEYNINGEN
Dr . Pieter van Heyningen , founder and CEO of SustNet – a company focused on developing and managing sustainability-oriented innovation systems and districts . Dr . van Heyningen is also senior lecturer and associate at the School of Public Leadership , Stellenbosch University .
“ S
ize doesn ’ t always matter , sometimes quality is better ” – a pattern of thinking , steadily replacing the “ bigger is better ” philosophy . “ Bigger is better ” is not only unsustainable , but a fallacy . An example of this : mega-malls . An established trend in South Africa , their success has been declining in the US , even being banned in some states , as they are shown to have negative socio-economic impacts ( especially on the social dynamics , and liveability factors of urban centres ).
Of course malls are attractive in car-consumerist cultures , and dangerous neighbourhoods – hence the need for understanding the contexts of our developments . Many South Africans are unfortunately prone to both the consumer culture and subject to the safety-issue context .
There is , however , rapidly-emerging alternatives to the car-culture and disingenuous ‘ bigger , brighter , faster is better ’, path to development – and this approach puts liveability and citizen-oriented design at the forefront . Interestingly , this trend is coming out of the USA , as a counter-culture to the Trumpist “ Big League ” ( or is it “ Biggly ”?) thinking , representing a more sustainable approach . It also considers the 21st century knowledge as founded on citizens with talent , knowledge and skills , and gears urban design and infrastructure for their needs . That is , cities need to be liveable for them to function optimally in this age .
Innovation taking the stage
The live , work , play slogan is no longer sufficient with innovate primed for inclusion . In conjunction with the development of one of America ’ s first Innovation Districts , the city of Boston took these principles so seriously , they ripped up their mega high-way and replaced it with a massive green belt . This is now a central feature , having reshaped the entire city ’ s culture , in one bold move . This project , called the ‘ big-dig ’ took the notion of walkability and liveability very seriously into consideration – something South Africa yet has to ‘ get ’.
Other cities , such as Los Angeles , have strongly adopted transport-oriented development ( known as TOD ) which puts people , their liveability , and their movement at the centre of development . The psychology behind this goes as deep as an understanding of how people feel when they walk past two city blocks , how pavements have been designed , and how green spaces influence psychological health and well-being ( check out the TEDx Talk by Jeff Speck on The General Theory of Walkability ).
Where to begin ?
South African cities have so much latent potential to transform their inner city cores , following these principles – but where do we start in activating it ?
Barcelona shifted its entire economic strategy , and did pretty well since , around the concept of the walkable and people-centred city . The point to be made here is that as thinking shifts , so does the design of our cities and spaces . What follows is innovation , productivity , and progress . A large scale societal shift in thinking is the ultimate driver of
44 OCTOBER 2017 SA Real Estate Investor Magazine