by Craig Page-Lee (@cpl_ignite) “Creation from Catastrophe — how Architecture rebuilds Communities”, an exhibition by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), took place in London recently. What’s this got to do with the theme of this column, you may ask? Everything. When directly referencing the two opening paragraphs of the exhibition guide, the connection and relevance for Africa are ever-apparent.
The destruction of cities, whether manmade or natural, can present unique opportunities to radically rethink townscapes. The exhibition ‘Creation from Catastrophe — how Architecture rebuilds Communities’ explores the varying and sometimes magical ways that cities and communities have been re-imagined in the aftermath of disasters. It considers the evolving relationship between man, architecture and nature and asks whether we are now facing a paradigm shift in how we live and build in the 21st century.
Starting with the five alternative plans for London created after the Great Fire of 1666, the exhibition takes the audience on a journey through 18th century Lisbon, 19th century Chicago, 20th century Skopje, ending in current day Nepal, Nigeria, Japan, Chile, Pakistan and USA. — RIBA Season Guide, 27 January–24 April 2016. Sponsored by Ruskin Air Management.
Key learning
A key learning from the exhibition is that a more-collaborative way of living and working is possible and, more so, is essential for the future of sustainable cities. It further informed that large squares, avenues and grid patterns replaced mediaeval street patterns in the late-1700s, while wide boulevards and vistas were the trend in 19th century Europe. New technology and high-rise buildings arose in America in the mid-1800s, and a new architectural movement from Japan, called Metabolism, emerged in the mid-1900s, where cities were conceived of as living, moving and evolving entities. Citizens and local government have worked collectively in a community-based approach in Chile, while ecological buildings have been developed in Nigeria to accommodate varying sea levels and waterfront settlements in the 2000s.
While I was amazed at the levels of collaboration and input from various sectors, the entire experience has left me asking myself: What role do brands have to play in the reshaping and rebuilding of these cities, communities and cultures?
This was validated in a very different way when reading an article in Ogojiii, a magazine that I’ve really come to enjoy of late. Founded by Jens Martin Skibsted, the title focuses predominantly on “African Innovation in Design, Enterprise and Current Affairs” and an article entitled “Bright Lights, Big Cities” by Vusi Nzapheza covers a few key points that most definitely resonates with my thinking and plugs directly into some of the takeout from the RIBA exhibition.
While the exhibition covered a series of disasters over the past five centuries and investigated how the respective cities were reimagined, specifically looking at the relationship of “man, architecture and nature” (presented in written transcripts, rendered images, photographs and architectural scale models), the article from Ogojiii focuses upon the future and covers the topic of smart cities and how “high-tech, upmarket satellites are springing up around Africa’s urban centres”.
What role do brands have to play?
I again ask myself: What role do brands have to play in this futuristic and still only-just-imagined world for Africa’s cities?
While the relevant professional bodies across all sectors of the built environment, cultural and religious leaders, sociologists, local authorities, investment groups and, I’m sure. many other entities may all be considered in the conceptual evolution and eventual implementation of these new cities, surely the way that people experience and consume brands within these cities, as well as the way that that the products serving these people are produced and distributed, needs to be considered in the overall design framework?
Before diving into why I think major brands can make a difference to the way that cities are designed, let’s understand that the natural flow, growth or death of all major cities is, in reality, a direct result of a number of factors, and not just economic driving forces. With this in mind, a key requirement to support increased urbanisation remains the relationship between increasing the density of housing in areas with high number of job opportunities and, inversely, trying to stimulate more jobs in areas of high residential density.
A perfect example is that of Johannesburg. In the late ’60s and through the ’70s, Joburg had a great balance of close-proximity residential support to the bustling central business district (CBD), which housed the majority of South Africa’s corporate head offices. As the dynamics of the CBD changed, with corporate SA migrating to new locations — first Rosebank and then Sandton, and while the urban influx was happening in the CBD, the reduction in jobs created a major imbalance in the city. This was echoed in the new CBD (Sandton) in that there were not enough residents in and around Sandton to support the increased jobs requirements, and people had to commute again.
Residential rezoning, higher density
The expected outcome of this situation is that the Urban Spatial Development Plan for the City of Johannesburg will inevitably see increased residential rezoning applications and higher-density housing being enforced in and around Sandton, and along the growth nodes towards Fourways, extending towards Lanseria Airport [for more, read up upon Corridors of Freedom — ed-at-large].
Moving from my takeout of the RIBA exhibition to the underlying theme of Vusi Nzapheza’s article, what is obvious is that these smart and satellite cities are very much focused to serve the wealthy and high-income earners. That said, the smart cities are apparently “evaluated on their integration of the urban environment, energy consumption, mobility governance and quality of life”, according to Edgar Pieterse, head of the African Centre for Cities in Cape Town.
Pieterse made an encouraging point in that, “apart from the costs, there must be citizen and stakeholder buy-in to make them work” and that “smart cities have to emphasise the inclusion of disadvantaged groups”. This last point is probably the biggest challenge for all of Africa’s smart-city developers as profit and ROI is their key priority — ahead of upliftment and social benefit.
Wherever these satellite or smart cities are built, they cannot be far away from the CBD’s economy — a point made above and, to quote Pieterse once more, “they will work better if they do not exclude urban planners and managers, local governments and citizenry”, another point noted above.
Growing demands
My original question really comes to light now: What are brands and their respective organisations doing to keep in touch with growing demands and development plans of our cities?
Apart from a few brands or local authorities vying to provide ‘free wifi’ to communities, much else springs to mind. What are these brands doing to reduce the cost of products and services to society? Surely by producing closer to the new high-density mixed-use cities, distribution costs may be reduced? Surely the workforce may be drawn from the higher-density mixed-use cities, where transport costs are lower because workers do not have to travel so far? It may mean that high-industrial production-type processes may need to change (less pollution and less energy consumption) as these cannot be close to the cities? But then this is surely for the good of the environment as well?
Where are the vertical or rooftop-growing food gardens that are found in many other cities of the world? Where are the alternate energy-production facilities running off recycled waste that bring cheaper (and cleaner) electricity to our neighbourhoods? Is it possible that brands may give consumers the ingredients to make or grow the products themselves?
In closing, who decides upon the definition of the stakeholder list in the development and implementation of the new cities of the world, and when will brand owners gain a seat at THIS table, in the same way that we constantly ask when marketers will gain a rightful place on the board of their organisations?
Image: Architecture.com.
Craig Page-Lee (@cpl_ignite) is the group managing director of Posterscope South Africa. He has over 21 years of working experience across the disciplines of architecture and retail design/brand communications and marketing management/advertising and media, across 11 pan-European and six pan-African regions. Craig’s monthly column on MarkLives, “Beyond Borders”, focuses on doing business in various African markets. Don’t forget to tune into his #eBizRetail slot on www.ebizradio.com.
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