6. Urban regeneration and mega-projects in Durban
6.5. Mega-projects as tools of entrepreneurialism
Entrepreneurialism was discussed in Chapter Two, and relates to the adoption of an entrepreneurial approach by cities, which involves the pursuit of innovative strategies aimed at the maintenance or enhancement of a city’s economic competitiveness in relation to other cities and economic spaces (Waley, 2007). Cities thus focus on competing for investment, and employ interventions with the intention of economically reinvigorating urban areas, allowing them to be more competitive within the global market (Barber and Hall, 2008; Scott, 22/04/2010).
Mega-projects form an important tool of entrepreneurialism as they play a vital role in urban regeneration strategies pursued by cities in search of economic growth and competitiveness, with their goals of generating growth, promoting cities to compete for investment, as well as achieving a range of economic, social and physical regeneration aims (Swyngedouw et al, 2002). Projects which form part of entrepreneurialist strategies are thus outward looking and have a global focus, as their primary agenda is attempting to position cities more competitively in the global economy.
Each of the three mega-projects investigated in this study incorporate elements of entrepreneurialism to some extent, particularly the Moses Mabhida Stadium and the Point Development.
6.5.1 Enhancing the competitiveness of the city for tourism and investment
The stadium would be considered predominantly a strategy of entrepreneurialism, as it was developed on a number of principles and goals associated with enhancing the competitiveness of the city. The stadium was constructed for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, with one of its primary goals being to capture the benefits of being a host city; as well as aiming to position the city strategically internationally; while capitalising on the income generation potential of a new stadium (Foster, 05/05/2010; Scott, 22/04/2010). It also formed the focal point of demonstrating to the rest of the world that South Africa and its cities can host mega-events such as the World Cup (Foster, 05/05/2010), enhancing the potential for the city to compete for further such opportunities. The goals of the stadium were thus to connect and integrate Durban into the global economy; enhance the city so that it is able to effectively compete with other cities around the world for investment and tourism, demonstrating a boosterist agenda; as well as creating a magnet to attract people to Durban (Scott, 22/04/2010; Sim, 30/04/2010).
The possibility of using the stadium precinct as the focal point for bidding for the Olympics was also touted as a major goal of the city, thereby furthering a competitive agenda (Foster, 05/05/2010; Maharaj, 11/07/2011). This fed into the idea of building the brand of the city beyond 2010 as a sporting, eventing city. Sports eventing is a substantial market in the global arena, and Durban already takes part in events such as the Comrades Marathon, Dusi Canoe Marathon, and Amashovashova cycling race; and this type of precinct would have the potential to enhance the city’s opportunities in this regard (Moonsammy, 12/09/2011). Beyond this, the stadium sets a path that the city has chosen to follow concerning positioning itself as an international standard sporting destination, with officials discussing notions such as the ‘sports capital of Africa’ or the
‘southern hemisphere sports mecca’ (Robbins, 22/04/2010).
One of the distinct logics evident in the Point Development is an aggressively competitive response to initiatives from other cities to attract international tourism and its associated benefits (Lootvoet and Freund, 2006; Sim, 30/04/2010). The incorporation of a ‘world class waterfront’ is thus a pro-growth development aimed at enhancing the city’s competitive position for investment and tourism globally, displaying an entrepreneurial agenda (Robbins, 22/04/2010; Scott, 22/04/2010; Brink, n.d.). According to Deputy Mayor, Logie Naidoo, the vision is for the Durban Point Waterfront to become the prime tourist destination for the city, and it is expected that the entire development will create huge interest both nationally and internationally (www.sailingkzn.org.za).
The original idea of the Point was for it to be a catalyst for the redevelopment of the inner city space, and the repositioning of Durban as a city; as well as helping the city to gather momentum to regenerate its tourism offerings. According to Robbins (22/04/2010), it has been incorporated into the city angling itself as a “tourism, sports destination”, and has therefore become a support enterprise to the bigger goal of becoming “the playground of the east coast of Africa”. The Point Development therefore has aspects of entrepreneurialism in its development, while it also embraces aspects of a locally strategic nature.
6.5.2 Becoming more attractive
The proposed mall would have formed part of an entrepreneurialist approach through showcasing to the world the ability of the city to transform a downtrodden area into a mall precinct. It was also linked to the World Cup and the development of the Moses Mabhida Stadium, as these provided the impetus for infrastructure and transport upgrading within the city, which was seen as contributing to ensuring that Durban is an internationally friendly travel destination, and a user- friendly city for visitors and residents (Jenvey, 2010).
The proposal for the mall was thus established on the notion of upgrading the transport infrastructure of Warwick Junction, thereby aiming to address economic, social and physical regeneration aims for the city. However, it is not considered to have the potential to increase the city’s global competitiveness to any large degree and is therefore judged only minimally as a form of entrepreneurialism.
The above discussion highlights that each of the three projects possess locally strategic aspects as well as forming part of an entrepreneurial approach. The Moses Mabhida Stadium has a locally strategic component secondary to forming part of an entrepreneurialist approach, as its main
focus was enhancing the competitiveness of the city; while the Point Development is both entrepreneurial and locally strategic, as it incorporates elements of both to an extensive degree.
The proposed Warwick Mall would have been considered predominantly locally strategic as its focus was on the improvement of a particular area in the city. Projects may therefore be locally strategic, entrepreneurial or incorporate elements of both; and these themes therefore have distinct features, but are also connected in their role in planning and development.
Flagship and prestige projects
The projects which incorporate elements which are locally strategic appear to be similar to flagship projects, discussed in Chapter Three, as they are aimed at promoting growth in specific areas, and highlight the strategic location or unique facilities which are present in a city (Engelbrecht, 2004). In the same way, projects which incorporate elements of entrepreneurialism appear to be synonymous with prestige projects which are aimed at enhancing the image of a city;
encouraging and attracting investment; generating economic spin-offs; and changing the perceptions of national and international business decision-makers and visitors (Loftman and Nevin, 1996; Engelbrecht, 2004).
The previous two themes have highlighted the important role which each of the mega-projects play within urban regeneration and development in Durban. They also provide an idea of the strategies which the city has been implementing in planning within the last decade. The role of urban regeneration in the development of the city has therefore been discussed, and it is now pertinent to explore the role of sustainability, in order to determine whether these two agendas are conflicting or mutually supportive within the planning and development of this contemporary city.