Community Centres: Background

Community Centre Report

Background

In coming up with a planning and building report for community centres, many different parties were involved. Robert Taylor, Mike Tremeer and ecoBEAM were involved when discussing the building styles and types. Buyiswa Tonono and the Indlovu Project as well as Di Womersely and The Shaster Foundation were involved in discussions regarding what services should be offered in community centres and where they should be located.

Existing Conditions

In most of Monwabisi Park, there is no formal place designed specifically for people to meet, children to play and guests to stay. The members of the community are a tight-knit group of people who routinely come together for a variety of reasons. A few of these activities can be done in places like churches and the current shacks, but a new community centre for any of the sections of Monwabisi Park would be a great stride for redevelopment efforts. A community centre is being built in Section C and is known as the Indlovu Project. It features a crèche, soup kitchen, guest house, health clinic and much more. Because of its success, it was recently proposed that a similar community centres be built in the rest of Monwabisi Park. The Section C community centre will serve as a prototype for the other community centres. It is the ultimate goal that these buildings will bring people together, encourage community involvement and promote a safe and positive atmosphere (Garcia et al., 2008).

Next Section: Plan Implementation

Back to: Community Centre Report

Author: WPI CT09 Buildings