Designing African blue-green cities for all

The festival culminated in an awards ceremony that acknowledged people and institutions who have helped shape and design blue-green cities in South Africa. The #cocreate Blue-Green Cities Design Awards recognise projects that promote water sensitive design, develop resilient and water sensitive cities and showcase the value of building in harmony with nature for all citizens.

Professor Tony Wong (Chair of the Water Sensitive Cities Think Tank) was delighted to be asked to speak at the awards ceremony.

“The Water Sensitive Cities concept operationalises 3 key principles of practice:

• Cities as water supply catchments
• Cities providing ecosystem services
• Cities comprising water sensitive communities.

These principles have been expressed in one form or another among the 10 finalists,” he said.

“I visited Cape Town in 2018, when it was on the brink of running out of water. I am delighted to see the development of water sensitive initiatives in Cape Town, and South Africa more broadly, since then.

“The power of demonstration cannot be underestimated. Each of the 10 finalist projects does this by demonstrating socially, institutionally and physically how the principles of water sensitive cities can be operationalised.”

The 10 entries were grouped under 3 categories:

Best community-based projects

• WINNER: Place, People, Purpose Khayelitsha combines waste removal, art and green spaces to form a water sensitive urban design for along Hlontlo Street in Khayelitsha.