The V&A Waterfront as workplace and leisure space for Capetonians

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: According to a report compiled in 2012 by Projects for Public Spaces (PPS) on behalf of UN-Habitat, one third of the world's population resided in cities in the 1950s. This figure increased to 50% in the following half century and is predicted to be two thirds by 2050. The building of new skyscrapers and rapid urban development often causes urban communities' public spaces to disappear leading to more stressful living environments in crowded urban neighbourhoods. Such stressed communities often look for alternatives to fulfil their needs to interact in nature and in open spaces. One solution to this global challenge is the popular rise of urban waterfront developments that provide a link between water spaces and cities, creating multi-use destinations, which provide urban citizens with the public spaces they need to encourage public interaction and social cohesion.The Victoria and Alfred Waterfront (V&AW) in Cape Town, now 25 years old, consists of a variety of options for visiting retail, food and beverage, leisure, commercial and public spaces. Being the most visited destinations in South Africa in 2014 (according to South African Tourism), 60% of visitors to the property are Capetonians. Some 19 269 people are employed at the V&AW and it creates about 36 162 jobs in the Western Cape.The dilemma the V&AW faces is however that the major developments and investments that have regenerated the old commercial port area into an upmarket, mixed-use complex is perceived by many locals to be a playground for high-income earners and wealthy tourists where locals feel out of place. The variety of public spaces in the V&AW are seen by many Capetonians to be dysfunctional, and places they have no reason to visit.This research aimed to investigate and understand the role of the V&AW as a workplace and leisure space for Capetonians. A qualitative and quantitative questionnaire survey was conducted to determine the perceptions of local visitors and employees about the above issues and to identify ways to encourage them to take psychological ownership (attachment) of the property.The results highlighted four areas of concern. i) the non-affordability of activities, retail options, restaurants and parking; ii) the lack of parent-child activities, which include indoor options and options for various age groups, as well as child-friendly restaurant options; iii) the need to improve the public spaces by adding more greenery, benches and free Wi-Fi; and iv) adding more functional services and offerings for employees, for example ready-cooked meal options, exercise options and specialist retailers, like a hardware shop. The study makes recommendations for making the public spaces in the V&AW more functional and accessible; as well as the introduction of some retail, entertainment and service-related offerings to address the affordability issue; and encouraging more Capetonians to frequent the V&AW through these improvements. With urbanisation taking place at an unprecedented rate and waterfronts being catalysts for urban regeneration and job creation, the pressure are increasing for urban waterfront developments, like the V&AW, to create a destination for local visitors and employees that is functional to the community it serves and to create a link between the ocean and the city where locals feels welcome, have asense of ownership and which ultimately leads to social cohesion while creating long-term public private partnership opportunities beneficial to the socio-economic upliftment in the community in which it is located.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University