Cape Town

As Africa's first UNESCO-designated City of Design, Cape Town is a departure from traditional seaside retreats and has been named one of the world's most beautiful cities for its inclusive and creative design of urban public spaces. Cape Town's urban public spaces have been designed as a creative and cultural convergence point to promote inclusion, diversity and social engagement. Both the citizens of Cape Town, the local municipality and various social organizations are constantly putting into action the creative design of the city's public spaces.

Color House Bo-Kaap

Cape Town, which uses creativity to create urban public spaces, did not initially realize the importance of inclusive design. Apartheid has been practiced in South Africa since the early 20th century. In Cape Town, a city of racially diverse inhabitants, it was no exception, which led to the intensification of intra-people conflicts, generating serious discrimination and social inequities. But this is when the creative transformation and design of the urban space by the intelligent people has been the first to open up and has shown a potential that cannot be underestimated. When the city refused to recognize the legitimacy of the slave settlements brought by the Dutch from Malaysia, Indonesia and Sri Lanka due to the policy of apartheid, the clever Malays successfully avoided the demolition of their houses to solve the problem of lack of door numbers by creatively painting their houses in various bright colors to distinguish them and have kept them, becoming the now famous colored houses in the Malay district of Bo- Kaap, which attracts many people to visit. Today, the neighborhood full of colorful houses is clean and tidy, and the annual repainting keeps the colors bright. In addition to the colors, one can also see many ingenious ideas designed by the residents themselves, such as various hand-painted signs and houses built from scraps.

Green Market Square (GMS)

The turning point in race policy came with the election of Nelson Mandela as President of South Africa. With the abolition of apartheid, the process of democratization and urbanization in Cape Town was finally initiated. After more than two decades of efforts to build a racially integrated and mutually inclusive society through the construction of creative cities, Cape Town was desegregated from its previous geographic space. This shift in policy has encouraged inclusive design of urban spaces. On the other hand, creative and inclusive urban spaces have fed into the implementation of the policy. For example, public areas such as shopping malls and parks, which were previously the domain of white people, have gradually become accessible to all races; cafes and restaurants, which were originally the private domain of certain groups, have gradually become new open public spaces. Among them, the open Long Street and Green Market Square in the heart of Cape Town, Bree Street and Kloof Street for leisure, and the V&A Dock and the Thomas Heswick-designed Museum of Contemporary Art in Africa (Zeitz MOCAA) are particularly prominent contributors. Zeitz MOCAA). It can be said that Cape Town has built a harmonious and symbiotic urban public space as a new hub of social interaction that attracts people of all races.

Gorgeous George Hotel

Central City

The local government has made many positive moves to promote the inclusion of public spaces in the city. In order to revitalize the Central Business District (CBD), which had been decaying due to poor governance, Cape Town launched the Central City Improvement District in the 1990s with the aim of "preserving the history and culture of the CBD, reflecting the public identity of Cape Town people, and creating an inclusive, effective and diverse CBD. The Central City Improvement District (CCD) was launched in the 1990s with the aim of "preserving the history and culture of the CBD, reflecting the public identity of Cape Town people and creating an inclusive, effective and diverse CBD. The Central City Improvement District is the result of a continuous, comprehensive management process that has upgraded and transformed more than 170 buildings over the past year, resulting in a number of world-class hotels, restaurants, bars and entertainment venues to serve the creative core. As a result, big-name creatives such as jewelry designer Kirsten Goss, architect Robert Silke and potter Anthony Shapiro have gathered here, and the local design community has forged partnerships and shared knowledge. At the same time, public spaces and sidewalks have been greatly improved. Here, the transformation of Long Street and Greenmarket Square is arguably the most representative. In order to bring more black people into the central city, during the revitalization process, Long Street and the nearby sidewalks have spaces dedicated to vendors; while Greenmarket Square has opened up the entire site to stallholders of all races and become a famous craft bazaar. As a place where creativity is in the blood, Cape Town values craft space, which in part contributes to an inclusive social atmosphere. According to statistics, 380,000 square meters of open space has been opened up for vendors in the central city, and there are more than a thousand stores of all kinds in the streets and alleys, placing creative design in a racially inclusive and open scene.

Battery Park

If Long Street and Greenmarket Square are successful renovation projects led by the local government, then Bury Street and Cluff Street are the winning work of creative people who fully shape the open and inclusive atmosphere of the urban space through their own unique designs. Here, different store owners will add their own unique aesthetic interests to the building facades and interior design. Bury Street is probably the hippest street in Cape Town at the moment, full of stores, cafes and bars with a sense of style. But before Bury Street became part of Cape Town's artisanal commercial district, Clough Street existed. While Bree Street has a new face, Cluff Street is an old gun that has seen the light of day for several years. A diverse and inclusive mix of food, clothing, niche styles, and community services make it unique, such as the small art store run by German girl Barbara, which has a collection of fascinating African designers, ranging from accessories, handbags, clothing and footwear to homeware, and serves as a creative concept store, showroom and sales venue.

Museum of Contemporary Art in Africa (Zeitz MOCAA)

In addition to the open spaces where arts and crafts stores and stalls congregate, public architectural spaces, as an integral part of the city, also have an important social responsibility for inclusion. 2017 saw the opening to the public of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Africa, transformed from a barn, which attracted a large number of visitors from the nearby V&A docks upon its unveiling, with the cut-out silo walls forming a creative architectural space that has the cut-out silo walls form a creative architectural space that revitalizes a nearly abandoned industrial site.

Cape Town Art Fair (ICTAF)

These tangible creative designs for urban spaces helped Cape Town win the 2014 World Design Capital title. Since being crowned, Cape Town has been recognized for its urban design and innovative appeal, with countless works of art from hotshot creatives to artisans, and the use of creative design to transform cities and revitalize neighborhoods. In the same year, Cape Town launched the year-long World Design Capita (WDC) 2014 project, with the theme "Live Design. Transform Life', showcasing the city's design and creativity to the world with 460 creative design projects.

Woodstock Art Tours

The Maboneng Township Arts Experience, a project that transforms backwater villages into art galleries, is representative. This nonprofit destination development program turns townhomes into attractions, neighborhoods into creative districts, and cottages into art galleries. It creates a creative environment between the township, the countryside and the city that is equally warm and intimate for locals and international visitors. The impact of the project has been far-reaching and continues even today.

Design Indaba, the interactive sculpture "Embracing the Unknown"

In addition, events such as the Infecting the City Festival in Cape Town aim to support and promote local art, culture and design, thereby promoting inclusion. The Open Design Festival, which began in 2013, attracts around 8,000 people each year, and Design Indaba, which has been running since 1995, attracts more than 10,000 people; the 10th annual Cape Town Art Fair is Africa's largest gathering of contemporary art and Cape Town's annual The 10th annual Cape Town Art Fair is Africa's largest gathering of contemporary art and Cape Town's annual cultural event, showcasing the work of 128 new artists and 99 exhibitors and attracting more than 23,000 visitors.

Cape Town's urban public spaces are prime examples of inclusive creative design. Artists, business people, citizens, communities, and social activists contributed, and cultural diversity, openness, and inclusiveness were fully reflected.

Article Source:艺术与设计

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