Background of Area | Project Overview | Community Meeting | The Way Forward | ALL MULTIMEDIA

The CBD is a transient space.  It is precisely because it is not a residential area that there is no obvious sense of community.  Residents drive into the CBD to do their shopping.  They park at Peppergrove Mall and drive away when they are finished, without needing to interact with any of the other community members.

Business owners are concerned only with trade and how this translates to economic growth.  Vendors find themselves marginalised in this environment, and there are no attempts to incorporate them into this space.

Our project aimed to make the community aware of the problems relating to this lack of community, and to bridge the gap between the formal and informal trade sector.  We also aimed to make the community aware of the crime in this area, and how that crime is tackled.  Crime affects all those that operate within the CBD, and its very existence should be enough to bring community members together to find ways to combat it.

The writing and editing students looked at the relationship between Hi-Tec and the police, presented the effects of ‘mallification’, and encouraged residents to become involved in the fight against crime and their community.  The television students explored the informal trade and also gave a glimpse into the life of a reformed criminal.  The photojournalist and radio students profiled one street vendor’s struggle to deal with crime as a threat to her trade.

These stories all highlighted the effect of crime within the CBD and how the phenomenon of malls has perpetuated the divide between the informal and formal sector.  We also aimed to show the community that it was necessary for them to come together and be more aware of these issues.

Ultimately, our aim was to start a discussion between all those that operate within the CBD so that solutions to these problems may be found.