GCRO Celebrates 15th Anniversary
What is the future of the Gauteng city region? This question was discussed and hotly debated during the Gauteng City-Region Observatory’s 15th Anniversary celebrations held on 16 November 2023. The discussants were the partners, supporters, and even some detractors of the concept of City-Region. The informal discussions offered a poignant reminder of how engaged the wider community is in the GCRO and the intellectual project of using the lens of city-region to engage with the realities of poverty, inequality, and unemployment. The discussion flowed as participants paged through the recently released catalogue of the GCRO. The record compiled a list of the work of the GCRO over 15 years. The catalogue indicates consistent, evidence-based work is possible and can be related to government work.
Academia and government
The Chairperson of the Board, Professor Lynn Morris, picked up on this theme during her remarks at the event. Prof. Morris Indicated that the partnership model between academia and government in the GCRO is unique globally. The strong leadership of the GCRO board brings life to the partnership between the University of Johannesburg, the University of the Witwatersrand, the Gauteng Provincial Government, and the South African Local Government Association (SALGA Gauteng). The board Chair’s passion for the partnership model is evident as she highlighted its uniqueness and the potential for vital work. During her talk, Prof. Morris cited the Sewershed project as an example of how a partnership model operates in practice and contributes to an intellectual project. Prof. Morris encouraged the GCRO to participate in policy debates with data from the Sewersheds project, even in complex situations such as responding to the fire at the Usindiso building and raising difficult questions regarding Census 2022.
City region and change
At the event, Rashid Seedat, the Executive Director GCRO, gave a detailed presentation on the city region's developmental logic and its significance in addressing developmental challenges. He emphasised that the way space is used might differ from the administrative boundaries created by authorities. The GCRO is crucial in facilitating discussions around demarcations and resolving significant challenges related to infrastructure delivery and unstable coalitions. We were delighted to receive Mr Seedat's input, which underscores the critical role played by the GCRO in addressing the significant challenges facing our city region. He emphasised the importance of comprehensively understanding the region's complexities to generate practical solutions for our developmental obstacles. His insights were informative and optimistic demonstrating a profound interest in the improvement of our city-region.
At the event, Professor Fana Sihlongonyane, a board member and academic at the Wits School of Architecture and Planning, highlighted the significance of GCRO's work in promoting positive social change and emphasised the importance of policy development that is grounded in reality. Pascal Moloi, former City Manager of Johannesburg, shared an account of the inception of the city-region concept. He highlighted that urban areas are closely connected and constantly expanding, necessitating careful planning and skilful execution. He also speculated on what could have been the outcome if the idea had been implemented in its entirety.
Cataloguing the work
During his presentation, Professor Richard Ballard, chief researcher at the Gauteng City-Region Observatory (GCRO), introduced the organisation's recently released catalogue of GCRO's published work. He shared insights about the number of outputs the GCRO has produced over the past 15 years, as displayed in a graphic in the catalogue. He emphasised that the GCRO outputs should be measured not only by the quantity of results but also by the quality and impact of the work. Additionally, he shared some amusing stories about how drafts had to be corrected multiple times before they could be released. This is a testament to the team's dedication to producing quality work.
The event was an excellent opportunity for attendees to listen to diverse speakers who shared their insightful perspectives. The backdrop of the 154 Maps of the Month produced by the GCRO was genuinely captivating. These maps demonstrate the GCRO's dedication to providing accessible and policy-relevant knowledge. They cover many aspects of the complex network of subsystems that comprise the city region and are particularly interesting to urban scientists. The GCRO curated a collection of photos to commemorate their anniversary, showcasing individuals who have been involved in the organization over the past 15 years. Graeme Gotz, the research director, handpicked images that highlight the GCRO's work and the team's camaraderie throughout the years. These pictures depict the numerous people and their ideas that have contributed to the success of the GCRO.
The event was attended by over 60 guests with representatives from academia, local and provincial government, and civil society. It was both inspiring and informative to share this milestone with our stakeholders and partners, and it left us feeling confident about the future of urban research. Mr. Rashid Seedat expressed his gratitude to everyone who attended and thanked them for their continued support of the GCRO.