Community key to
Mdantsane renaming
By Nangamso Mabindla
25 May 2006
GROUNDWORK for changes in the signage and numbering of Mdantsane is under way as part of the Mdantsane Urban Renewal Programme.
The changes are necessary as regions of Mdantsane are still officially defined by the racist zone designation NU - "Native Unit". Sections of the sprawling township are numbered from NU1 to NU17, and it is these labels that are to be changed.
The city's urban renewal unit has hosted a workshop to examine at the progress of consultants doing the groundwork and share the experiences of Ivory Coast, a country that has gone through similar processes.
The workshop was attended by the ward councillor, municipal officials, the consultants and an expert from the Ivory Coast.
Riana Pretorius, general manager of the urban renewal unit, said at the workshop that each NU zone would be given a suburban name, a name owned by and with more meaning for the community.
"Most streets in the township do not have proper signage - that is, suburb and street names with house numbers displayed which make it easier for postal deliveries, creating a sense of belonging for residents and improving response times by the police to emergency call," Pretorius said.
The Mdantsane Urban Renewal Programme has identified the demarcation of suburbs, the proper display of street names and logical house numbering as one of the priority projects for the 2005/06 financial year.
"The purpose and overall objective of the project is to undertake a comprehensive analysis and survey of the current situation in order to determine the status and processes with regards to the naming of the streets; how house numbers are being allocated and how many streets and houses are without proper signage," Pretorius said.
The survey is to asses the following aspects:
- The number of Mdantsane streets that don't have proper visible signage.
- The number and location of streets with or without names allocated to them by the Directorate of Development Planning.
- The current status and processes regarding the house numbering.
- To have all spatial related data compatible with and linked to the Buffalo City Geographical Information System.
Valuable input was given at the workshop by Doctor Koffi Attahi, director of City Planning at the National Bureau for Development Studies in Ivory Coast, a country that has gone through a similar renaming process.
Attahi stressed that community involvement was key. "They should be involved through the sharing of ideas with the local authorities," he said. "The selection of names is a very important exercise."
He urged the community to come up with names of township heroes, places of interest and natural resources. "It should not only be limited to political names; people need to be creative and think of everything that defines their area."
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