TTPod 4.7: "Lines, Wines and Tears!" - the ups and downs of Johannesburg's post-2000 Metro Planning Policy

Talking Transformation

We follow up from our introductory episode with a second podcast episode featuring the planners who have worked as the head of the City of Johannesburg's Metro Planning unit 2000: Johan Olivier, Pete Ahmad, Nkateko Shipalana, Thandeka Mlaza-Lloyd and Minenhle Maphumulo.

These guests represent a straight line of succession from the inception of the metro in 2000. Their availability and willingness to share their experiences presents a unique opportunity to go deep into the themes and aspects of metro scale planning.

In this episode we consider some of the processes and plans that have become fundamentals of Johannesburg’s post-2000 planning frameworks and the rationale at that metropolitan scale.

We reflect on some of the matters and metrics that kept us up at night and touch on the tricky tightrope officials walk: trying, on the one hand to balance political imperatives and needs with sound planning norms and overarching regulatory requirements on the other. There are stories of hope and disappointment and many lessons to reflect on.

It's another engaging conversation and will be of interest to built environment professionals, young and old.

Regrettably, Dylan Weakley was unable to join us for this episode but we are looking forward to him rejoining the fold in the next conversation where we hope to deal with matters of spatial targeting, prioritisation and aligning the spatial plans to budgets.

Recorded 15th October 2024