I am wandering around the very cool and colourful 'Bo Kaap' at the Northeast top of Cape Town cbd. This city is like Vancouver, Sydney, San Francisco and New York all rolled into one but smaller and friendlier and more folksey.
A Khosa guy and a coloured guy who have made Upper Lewellen Park their home tell me that 'bo' means 'high' in Afrikans. I already know that Kaap means 'cape' from Kaapstad - Cape Town. After a few more tidbits of info they share with me from their bunkbeds, they ask for small money to buy smokes. As I always do, I tell people they shouldn't smoke because it will kill them to which they stare at me like I am an idiot. Obviously their current living situation illustrates that health and fitness aren't exactly a daily priority. A lot of people in Cape Town have asked me for money to buy smokes and no one in Kenya ever did that which is interesting. Maybe they think that me buying them smokes will somehow ease their plight, take off the edge, create a bond between people trying to get through the day. But they always understand that my refusal means I care, that to help them smoke is hardly a gesture of kindness. What I want for them is to be healthy, contribute and thrive. Sleeping in a park isn't exactly an end-game plan.
The Bo Kaap was one of the communities of Cape Town where forced removal of coloured or African residents did not occur. Primarily an Islamic area, the neighbourhood was more like a hide-out for slaves &/or slaves who gained freedom. And the more I learn about Islam the more I see the small acts of courtesy and respect within its culture. Like the Sharia banking system and how it's illegal to charge interest on deposits. The Islamic faith does not allow that. They believe in taking equity from lenders and sharing risk to share gain. Slavery is a major story here in Cape Town much like in West Africa but far less told. Slowly the history is being rebuilt into Cape Town's storytelling, but there are few visible markers.
So the Bo Kaap is this funky blend of muslims, coloureds and brightly painted buildings you see in Cape Town postcards. Carved into the height of the city like the peak moment of a rollercoaster ride - the Bo Kaap immediately faces the front side of Table Mountain in an ideal residential setting. I would like to live in Bo Kaap and take a leisurely stroll down to work every morning. This feels like a place to call home. Extended, connected, warm. Not to mention the killer samosas. Where there are muslims, there are samosas.
Regeneration of Bo Kaap seems to quickly be taking place. With a finite amount of land for the CBD to expand into, the Bo Kaap is a target for urban renewal. How will these families who have lived here throughout the generations be able to stay? Hopefully they own their little smartie box houses - hopefully they're not just renters. Because if they leave, so much of the great community character will leave with them. Will the growing economy 'un-forceably' remove them from this place? When rents rise and developers come knocking, will the aging grandchildren of freed African slaves be able to hang on to their homes?
The market value of real estate in the cbd is extremely low compared to the world-class club of cities Cape Town is most definitely a party to. I would say prices are anywhere from 10-30% the price of what foreign investors would expect. But then there government buildings, the narrow streets, the locked security gates at night that all cut into the valuation structure. This is changing. Now is the time to buy with the fear of scarcity growing proportionately amongst the locals.
When the World Cup comes in 2010 all levels of government are bracing to exploit what will hopefully be an economic tidal wave. I believe when the soccer fans come in droves the masses will walk the streets as I do and think - what a fantastic opportunity all of this really is. So much is still possible here. The issue however is for these governments to use the coming growth trajectory to also lift the lives of its citizens in every small way possible. Can the people of Bo Kaap access capital? Do they understand the complexity of property rights? Will their Sharia banking system preserve their equity for the coming generations?
Photos; Upper Wall Street, off Bree Street, Upper Leeuwen Park, Bo Kaap Historic Mural, Bo Kaap youth.
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