Act Five: Wrapping Up

Act Five spans over the last two weeks in Cape Town. Our team’s time was dedicated largely to editing and revising our proposal, which meant we communicated and met frequently with our sponsors to discuss the its progress. In addition, we gathered some final information through our meeting with the Property Management department in the City of Cape Town to clear up any questions we had that were relevant to the project and our proposal. In our last week, our sponsors took us on a trip to see the Liesbeek River and pathways along it in different areas. Our team enjoyed the trip very much and got some last minute inspiration before finalizing the proposal.

Scene One Summary

Our team met with Johan de Goede and Raafiq Kolia from the Property Management department. Our aim was to understand the driving range land transferring from their department to Parks. We found out there were several problem with fulfilling this plan in its current state, the first of which is the outstanding lease on the ground. The second is that the Sports and Recreation Department has other potential plans to make this area into a soccer field. A lesser problem is that this area is zoned for housing, and so it would have to be rezoned, though this did not appear to be a big issue. However, they were optimistic about the area being a multi-purpose centre where the help centre, community garden and soccer field could all exist.

Learned that the property is in a 25 year lease ending in 2018
Learned that the Sports and Recreation department has inquired about the driving land being a soccer field
Potential hope for a multifunctional area where all these ideas can coexist

Scene Two Summary

This scene was one of our weekly meetings with our Sponsor which was held at 44 Wale Street. In this meeting, we discussed our previous week of meetings and our presentation to the TRUP Steering Committee. Crispin and Juan shared their ideas and reactions to the meetings that we had with Storm Water, Parks and Property Management. We also presented a planning document with our ideas for the pathway and got their feedback. The meeting concluded with plans for future weeks and any ideas on wrapping up the project since there is limited time.

Reflected on the meetings with Storm Water, Parks and Property Management
Discussed the pathway features and layout of the proposal
Gained final contacts to meet with: Quinton Abrahams from Parks and Brian Watkyns

Scene Three Summary

After coming off of a short week, our team decided it would be best to have an additional meeting on Wednesday instead of our usual time on Monday. We obtained additional feedback on the current draft of our proposal and discussed plans for our remaining time in Cape Town.

Discussed revisions for the proposal
Decided to obtain quotes from MGV residents for the proposal
Began planning our trip to the Liesbeek River

To read more of Scene Three, click here.

Scene Four Summary

This was our final sponsor meeting in MGV for the project. We tied up as many loose ends as possible and discussed the status of the pathway vision. Our team brought several laptops and showed Crispin and Megan the changes and new formatting layout of our proposal. Before the meeting ended, we set final plans for our trip to the Liesbeek River on Thursday and discussed the logistics of our final presentation to the city.

Discussed formatting changes to the proposal
Set Thursday as the day for the Liesbeek River trip
Discussed when the presentation would take place and who would be in attendance.

Scene Five Summary

We met with our sponsors, Crispin and Juan, to take a short trip to the Liesbeek River. The goal of visiting the river was to understand what a river restoration project can look like and in some respect how it can be supported. It allowed for us to gather ideas on the construction of a pathway and what sort of logistics must be considered in the process. Overall, it was apparent that in any restoration project, community support as well as financial support from big businesses and corporations is vital.

Offered an opportunity to see a successful and current river restoration project
Learned about incorporating design elements while preserving the natural habitat
Realized the importance of multi-stakeholder involvement in supporting a revitalization initiative

Reflection

Our team feels as though we ended the project with our sponsors and liaisons on a positive note. We built good relationships and created a proposal for the pathway that will be helpful for the city and beneficial for the communities as different pieces are carried out. We enjoyed meeting and talking with people in the community and discussing the ideas from our conversations to be implemented in the final proposal. The people we met had interesting stories and valuable input for what they would like to see in the pathway and their enthusiasm was motivating as the project progressed. We feel privileged to have had such a wonderful experience in Cape Town.

Cape Town Project Center