How To Rebuild Cities

Tuesday 13 October. 11:00 London / 12:00 Johannesburg / 06:00 New York. Sixty minutes, live on Zoom.

Bea Swanepoel leads Jozi My Jozi, the non-profit coalition of corporates, NGOs and City Improvement Districts working to bring Johannesburg's inner city back.

In November 2023 it signed a memorandum of understanding with the City of Johannesburg. Since then it has put the lights back on the Nelson Mandela Bridge, brought street lighting to Doornfontein, turned its attention to Hillbrow, and started reclaiming the main gateways into the city as clean, safe spaces.

Now the model is being prepared for other South African cities, through a national vehicle Bea is set to lead.

Colin Iles asks her what it actually takes to rebuild a city, and why business cannot sit it out.

Who this is for

- CEOs and senior executives of businesses with a stake in South African cities

- Leaders in property, infrastructure, banking and financial services

- Founders building for urban Africa

- Civic, public sector and philanthropic leaders

What we'll cover

- Why decades of plans for Johannesburg's inner city stalled, and what is different now

- How a public-private coalition gets things done alongside the City

- Which visible wins, lights, bridges, gateways, actually change how people feel about a place

- Safety, investment and the economics of urban renewal

- Taking the Jozi My Jozi model to other South African cities

- What business leaders can do, starting now

Bring questions. The last stretch is live Q&A.

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