This month we bring you a follow up to the topic of the future of cities which we started in last month's edition, with a focus on “City Perspectives”.
 
Our feature article for February is written by Mphathi Nyewe, Managing Director at Foresight Strategies (Pty)Ltd.


Growing up in South Africa as a young man it was generally a given that the places where one lived and where one’s parents worked would likely be far apart. What with our parents waking up in the wee hours of the morning coming home late at night, work and home were never ever going to come close to each other. It was very much the same with schooling; the public transport system in the urban areas was an indispensable blessing whether or not it was efficient or economical. Long walks to schools in distant villages from where learners lived were the order of the day. Life somehow seemed possible and we straggled along as a matter of survival. Cities, towns, townships and to some extent villages in close proximity to urban areas were some kind of bestowed gift from the authorities up above and one simply had to fit in and be grateful to have a roof over one’s head. It is a significant sign of progress for South Africa’s majority to even to think of indulging in hypothesizing about the future of our cities, and to have a sense of agency in creating those futures.

The Foresight for Development website has undergone another upgrade to keep pace with the improvements in hosting technologies. The new website is leaner and aimed at greater integration with social media while at the same time streamlining content delivery and simplifying access to various areas of our site. The library and repository of material on the FFD platform has undergone a complete work-over and we have also improved the ability to contribute content. The website is also already set up for easy integration into RSS feeds and podcasting streams so that these features can add more value to your current experience of the FFD platform. We hope you like it and look forward to receiving your comments and suggestions at admin@foresightfordevelopment.org.