Stories

Cape Town’s nature capital

Cape Town from Signal Hill, photo by Lisa Burnell

We often think of cities and nature as being worlds apart. But in Cape Town, the proximity and co-existence of the urban and natural are unmatched: This is one of only three cities globally that rank as an urban biodiversity hotspot. We are located in the Cape Floristic Region – the smallest and richest of the world’s six floral kingdoms. Continued…

May 20, 2013

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Sprouting community

Oranjezicht Farm_20130412_LisaBurnell

Can carrots teach us about building a community? If the Oranjezicht City Farm is anything to go by, growing food together is a great way to simultaneously reconnect Capetonians with a part of the city’s heritage and with each other. The project is building social cohesion across communities, developing skills among the unemployed, educating citizens about food and championing unused or under-utilised green spaces in the City Bowl. Continued…

May 13, 2013

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The city as an ecosystem: learn more

Shannon Royden-Turner walks in Cape Town, photo by Lisa Burnell

What if we stopped thinking of the city as a man-made system of moving parts, somehow separate from nature, and started thinking of it as an ecosystem: a community of living organisms dependent on and co-existing in the natural environment. What would change? Urban ecosystems specialist Shannon Royden-Turner talks to City Views. Continued…

May 9, 2013

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Drawing on diversity: a City Views cover story

Illustration of Cape Town and its biodiversity by Alex Latimer

In honour of International Day of Biodiversity on 22 May, the May edition of City Views celebrates the abundance and variety of Cape Town, one of three cities globally that rank as an urban biodiversity hotspot.

Continued…

May 7, 2013

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What does freedom sound like? City Hall Sessions, on stage and behind the scenes

Cape Town City Hall Sessions audience enjoys the Moreira Project on stage

What does freedom sound like? If you were at the sixth instalment of City Hall Sessions in Cape Town on Saturday 27 April 2013 – the day South Africa celebrated the first post-apartheid elections 19 years ago – you would’ve heard Paul Hanmer, McCoy Mrubata, Amaryoni and the Moreira Project in concert. And perhaps, through their music, you would’ve tasted freedom. What did performing in this particular space on Freedom Day mean for the musicians and for the crew behind the scenes? Alma Viviers went in search of answers. Continued…

May 2, 2013

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Bringing the blessing

Dean Michael Weeder by Lisa Burnell

Michael Weeder was born in District Six, forcibly removed from District One, and raised in Elsie’s River. Today he lives in the Central City. He’s also the dean of St George’s Cathedral at a time when its crypt is being transformed into a jazz venue. We spent some time listening to the extraordinary soundtrack of his life.
Continued…

April 30, 2013

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Changes in the life and leadership of the Cape Town Partnership

Today marks an exciting and significant moment in the life and leadership of the Cape Town Partnership. Continued…

April 26, 2013

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The sound of collaboration: What we can learn from jazz

Lee Thompson on trumpet, photo by Jonx Pillemer

Is music purely a form of entertainment or can it teach us something about who we are and how we can work together better? The Western Cape Economic Development Partnership decided to find out – by hosting an evening at the Mahogany Room to see what those involved in developing South Africa’s economy could learn from jazz.

Continued…

April 25, 2013

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