New GCRO Website

In late 2014 the GCRO identified that a new website would be essential to provide easier and more intuitive access to various outputs and online data websites. After months of design and development, which also saw the GCRO receive a new branding identity, the website was formally launched at the Smart | City | Region Exhibition on 26 August.

The new website is a substantial overhaul of the previous site. Importantly, it offers cross-platform compatibility ensuring that our data is as widely accessible as possible. It is also developed in Django, a leading web development framework that has recently been taken up by the likes of The Guardian and Quartz. The framework enables update and interactivity.

Important features of the new site include an active home page that will be regularly updated with news stories, events, and our latest outputs. An interactive menu allows users to access our research themes and projects, and a simple listing of outputs allows them to be accessed quickly and easily. The website also hosts a new portal, the ‘Urban data Gallery’ through which all our separate interactive websites can be accessed. The website also makes use of striking photography from the Gauteng City-Region (GCR) throughout, embedding images of landscapes and the people of the GCR in this new data platform.

The flexibility and compatibility of the site will no doubt allow it to function as the public voice and presence of the GCRO for many years to come.