THE City of Durban’s effort to creating a caring and liveable city was given a major boost when its Inner City Spatial Vision and Regeneration Strategy won at the International Society of City and Regional Planners (ISOCARP) 2017 Awards for Excellence.
The formal announcement of the awards was made in Portland Oregon, United States of America, which honours exceptionally innovative urban and regional initiatives. Durban competed with countries such as China, Singapore and Belgium. EThekwini Mayor Zandile Gumede said the international award means a great deal for eThekwini. “This provides an outstanding opportunity for the City to be recognised globally,” she said.
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Gumede said the project was in line with the new urban agenda and sustainable development goals as well as the National Development Plan which all aimed to drive radical economic growth and transformation.
Some of the key projects mentioned in the inner city regeneration strategy includes the development of the centrum site into a mixed use and multi-modal transport facility, a strategy to deal with problem and derelict buildings and the creation of new high quality public spaces relating to major public transport interchanges and accommodates a range of social and trading opportunities in the Warwick Junction area.
The award will allow the city officials to work with experts from the ISOCARP Urban Planners Advisory team who will be visiting Durban in 2018. The team of international experts will bring international knowledge and experience to share with planners locally, and use best practice to regenerate the inner city. They will also assist to source funding for the development projects to be undertaken in the inner city.
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