Members of the Cape Town Central City Improvement District (CCID) are in Winnipeg, Canada, this month to take part in the largest international gathering of city improvement districts in the world - the International Downtown Association Conference held for the 63rd year in a row.
With the theme of this year’s event being “AuthentiCITY”, the aim of the conference as always is to engage participants in inclusive city-building discussions and examine the role and responsibility of professional placemakers to shape the future of downtown areas.
The capital and largest city of the Canadian province of Manitoba, Winnipeg was chosen for its downtown legacy and the very real struggle it had of turning itself around from extreme urban decline. Having once been a vibrant economic and lifestyle centre, from the 1960s right through to just a few years ago, it experimented with many different projects and urban plans as it struggled to find the right formula. It is only really in the past five to seven years that it has finally begun to enjoy the breakthroughs needed to see its turnabout eventually begin. It’s the lessons of both its failures and successes that it intends to share with downtowns from across the globe, from tackling job creation in a beleaguered downtown economy and dealing with social challenges to creating walkable, pedestrian-safe streets and an inclusive urban environment.
Covering as many angles for the CCID as possible, its representatives from the organisation this year include CEO Tasso Evangelinos, who will focus on security and urban management, and Social Development manager Pat Eddy, who is attending in particular to attend workshops on homelessness and finding solutions to its highly dynamic challenges.
We look forward to sharing some of the lessons learnt from our colleagues in our next newsletter.
Image: supplied