Round 2 of Cape Town Officials Exchange Programme
The second round of the Cape Town LIP Officials Exchange Programme has commenced, with the number of City Officials increasing from 6 in the first round to 8 candidates being selected to write in partnership with supervisors from the University of Cape Town. There was a marked increase in the second round in the number of applicants, range of departments and topics addressing questions of urban sustainable development policy and practice.
Candidates of the Exchange Programme are allocated 6 to 8 weeks away from their usual work posts at the City of Cape Town in order to write a journal article about a project that they have recently been involved in. These projects sit in conversation with one or several of the Mistra Urban Futures overarching themes of fair, green and dense cities.
The candidates for this round include Amy Davison, who will be investigating either the role of environmental policy within local government, focusing particularly on the City’s Integrated Metropolitan Environmental Policy or the impact of State of the Environment reporting in local government. Claus Rabe will explore the Economic Areas Management Programme (ECAMP), which has been initiated to shift the City towards an evidence led approach to local interventions. Probing the underlying issues and city building dynamics that challenge the urban edge, Adele McCann will investigate Cape Town’s urban growth boundary. Janusz Skarzynski and Najma Patel will write a joint article on the impact of public libraries on community development, focusing particularly on a low-income area in Cape Town. Gerhard Hitge will write about creating public transport that is competitive, sustainable and attractive to users with different incomes. Gugu Moyo will research participative planning in the development of a multi-purpose centre. Barry Coetzee will examine the systems, sustainability, costs and benefits aspects of waste management systems in the City.
Currently, the programme convenors at the African Centre for Cities at the University of Cape Town are confirming academic partners to collaborate with the city officials in writing up their accounts of policy and practice at the City of Cape Town. An official launch will be held in due course to celebrate the start of another round of coproduction between the City of Cape Town and the African Centre for Cities.
Read more about the Knowledge Transfer Programme in Cape Town
