June 18, 2004

By the Editor

Over the years, the loveliest part of old Cape Town, the meeting place - and the workplace, too - of politicians, lawyers, shopkeepers, journalists, tailors, bookshop browsers, coffee connoisseurs and fruit sellers, has become increasingly sterile and unlovely.

For those of us who think of it as our home, the decline at the top end of St George's Mall - abandoned by one institution after another, and a place the traffic rushes past on its way to livelier destinations - has been a source of disappointment.

This is especially so in view of the precinct's telling associations with the city's, and the country's, history, but also because of the immense potential of this old quarter of the city. At last, these things are being recognised.

City planners and architects have long advanced the argument that a safe, vibrant city is one which people inhabit, and not merely commute into - and out of - every morning and evening.

But sound thinking about cities comes to nothing without the conviction that investment brings, and the conviction on which investment rests.

And this is certainly true of the far-reaching announcements made yesterday, and the unveiling of a vision for this quarter of the city. New developments will no doubt benefit shareholders, but they will also deliver considerable benefits and opportunities to the people of Cape Town. We all have a stake in a rejuvenated city, one that is lived in, is safe, economically buoyant and worth visiting.

It's a model we should extend across the metropole.