I appreciate and welcome Rory Williams replying to my City of Cape Town Centralisation Scheme article. He is an urban planner and an expert in development in the Cape Town CBD.
He is right that I was muddled in my article, as I am not an expert in these matters and I want to provoke discussion, but he ignores why Cape Town's Spatial Planning, Environment and Land Use Management Committee's suggestions are being ignored by the mayor and her committee.
Perhaps he can comment?
Friday, July 15, 2016
Ratepayers ignored in City's Grand Centralisation Scheme. David Lipschitz letter to the Cape Times published Tue 29 Dec 2015
I live in the City of Cape Town, so I will use the City of Cape Town as my example, but I believe this example to be applicable in Johannesburg and other parts of South Africa.
The City, which works for its corporate citizens, providing them with a "red tape to red carpet" special service, that us mere mortals can only dream of, is implementing a massive growth strategy to increase square meters of office, conference, hotel and private living space in the Central Business District (CBD) and close to it. This makes the land in the CBD much more valuable, making billions for the property developers and hundreds of millions in additional rates annually for the city.
People are forced to travel into the city where in the rest of the world cities are moving to decentralised "pod" offices as Shelley Childs wrote about in your newspaper recently.
At the same time, it has managed to change the signalling of the traffic lights near the harbour to such an extent that traffic now goes back many kilometers when the traffic should be free flowing.
This is also applicable in Claremont with its three traffic lights on the M3, which are completely out of phase, and in many cases after the third set of lights there is no traffic, whereas before the lights there is a long queue.
And this is applicable on Strand Street, where I can remember only a few years ago being able to drive the length of Strand Street with green lights all the way. Nowadays, invariably every light is red!
At the same time as this the City has built its Integrated Rapid Transport (IRT) system, and in many cases the City has taken space from its citizens to build this transport system. Yellow lanes have been used for a third lane.
Many intersections that used to take two minutes to traverse now take upwards of six minutes to traverse because buses get priority, even if there are no busses when one gets to the intersections.
And then along these routes, the City has prevented the alternative bus and taxi services from operating, thus "forcing" people to choose, either a car, or a bus.
So we have a special recipe that the City has developed:
1) Grow rates income as fast as possible in the CBD, even going so far as to ignore the Spatial Planning, Environment and Land Use Committee, its own planning body, and even riding roughshod over historical landmarks in its own interest of centralising everything.
2) Creating traffic mayhem by stopping proper traffic light signalling and taking one third of the roadway for itself.
3) Creating its own special bus service, called the IRT.
4) Stopping alternative operators from using these routes. (Note: research I've done in July 2016 leads me to think that this is Apartheid planning gone mad).
5) Forcing people to choose between using their car or using the IRT.
6) And then finally, the nail in the coffin, adding e-tolls, which the IRT operators, owned by the city, won't need to pay. There will be other exceptions, for example minibus taxis and others, and 20 percent of the road users will pay 100 percent of the e-tolls.
The law abiding citizen is being given a choice. Either use "our" bus to come into "our" city where there is work, or be forced to pay an exorbitant amount to use your car and "we" won't give you any alternatives. If the city wants me to get out of my car, then the very least it needs is competition along its IRT routes, for example the IRT, Golden Arrow and other bus services, minibus taxis, normal taxis, Uber taxis or anything else. Only with this choice will I be able to get out of my car.
And lastly, in every other city in the world, e-tolls only work because there are alternatives. If South African cities wish to pursue their e-toll frenzy, then I suggest that the City builds a double-decker highway where the top deck is free. I believe e-tolls are illegal because the City is working for itself, even though I and millions of others are paying high rates, high electricity, water, sewerage and other costs, and I am being ignored while this City pursues its own grand centralisation scheme.
David Lipschitz
Greater Cape Town Civic Alliance Exco Member, Milnerton
The City, which works for its corporate citizens, providing them with a "red tape to red carpet" special service, that us mere mortals can only dream of, is implementing a massive growth strategy to increase square meters of office, conference, hotel and private living space in the Central Business District (CBD) and close to it. This makes the land in the CBD much more valuable, making billions for the property developers and hundreds of millions in additional rates annually for the city.
People are forced to travel into the city where in the rest of the world cities are moving to decentralised "pod" offices as Shelley Childs wrote about in your newspaper recently.
At the same time, it has managed to change the signalling of the traffic lights near the harbour to such an extent that traffic now goes back many kilometers when the traffic should be free flowing.
This is also applicable in Claremont with its three traffic lights on the M3, which are completely out of phase, and in many cases after the third set of lights there is no traffic, whereas before the lights there is a long queue.
And this is applicable on Strand Street, where I can remember only a few years ago being able to drive the length of Strand Street with green lights all the way. Nowadays, invariably every light is red!
At the same time as this the City has built its Integrated Rapid Transport (IRT) system, and in many cases the City has taken space from its citizens to build this transport system. Yellow lanes have been used for a third lane.
Many intersections that used to take two minutes to traverse now take upwards of six minutes to traverse because buses get priority, even if there are no busses when one gets to the intersections.
And then along these routes, the City has prevented the alternative bus and taxi services from operating, thus "forcing" people to choose, either a car, or a bus.
So we have a special recipe that the City has developed:
1) Grow rates income as fast as possible in the CBD, even going so far as to ignore the Spatial Planning, Environment and Land Use Committee, its own planning body, and even riding roughshod over historical landmarks in its own interest of centralising everything.
2) Creating traffic mayhem by stopping proper traffic light signalling and taking one third of the roadway for itself.
3) Creating its own special bus service, called the IRT.
4) Stopping alternative operators from using these routes. (Note: research I've done in July 2016 leads me to think that this is Apartheid planning gone mad).
5) Forcing people to choose between using their car or using the IRT.
6) And then finally, the nail in the coffin, adding e-tolls, which the IRT operators, owned by the city, won't need to pay. There will be other exceptions, for example minibus taxis and others, and 20 percent of the road users will pay 100 percent of the e-tolls.
The law abiding citizen is being given a choice. Either use "our" bus to come into "our" city where there is work, or be forced to pay an exorbitant amount to use your car and "we" won't give you any alternatives. If the city wants me to get out of my car, then the very least it needs is competition along its IRT routes, for example the IRT, Golden Arrow and other bus services, minibus taxis, normal taxis, Uber taxis or anything else. Only with this choice will I be able to get out of my car.
And lastly, in every other city in the world, e-tolls only work because there are alternatives. If South African cities wish to pursue their e-toll frenzy, then I suggest that the City builds a double-decker highway where the top deck is free. I believe e-tolls are illegal because the City is working for itself, even though I and millions of others are paying high rates, high electricity, water, sewerage and other costs, and I am being ignored while this City pursues its own grand centralisation scheme.
David Lipschitz
Greater Cape Town Civic Alliance Exco Member, Milnerton
Friday, July 8, 2016
Britain, EU must become true partners in diverse world. Article in Cape Times on 7th July 2016
The article "Voters' remorse is so high, a new Brexit poll would have the opposite result" by Gwynne Dyer's (Cape Times, June 5) refers.
The following picture shows a gap between "your comfort zone" and "where the magic happens".
This gap is variously known as "the valley of the shadow of death" (Psalm 23), "post decision depression", "buyer's remorse", etc.
The following picture shows a gap between "your comfort zone" and "where the magic happens".
This gap is variously known as "the valley of the shadow of death" (Psalm 23), "post decision depression", "buyer's remorse", etc.
This "valley" is an incredibly scary place as one moves from one's comfort zone to where the magic happens.
Paulo Coelho refers to this valley as "the personal legend" and specifically "the fourth obstacle".
Paulo Coelho refers to this valley as "the personal legend" and specifically "the fourth obstacle".
Here is a piece from Mr Coelho's blog:
– And what is the fourth obstacle?Britain and the British people have voted for their dream.
– After unearthing your dream, using the power of love for support, spending many years with the scars, a man realizes – from one day to the next – that everything he always wanted is right there, waiting for him, perhaps the very next day. Then comes the fourth obstacle: the fear of realizing the dream he has fought for all his life.
– That makes no sense.
– Oscar Wilde said that we always destroy the thing we love the most. And it is true. The simple possibility of achieving that which we desire causes the soul of the common man to be filled with guilt. He looks around, and sees many others who have not succeeded, and so he thinks he does not deserve it. He forgets everything he overcame, all he suffered, everything he had to renounce in order to come this far. I know many people who, when they are within reach of their Personal Legend, make a series of silly mistakes and do not attain their objective – when it was just one step away.
Their politicians have no idea how to implement the people's dream, but the people have spoken.
"Global economic recession" and "currency devaluation" and "leaderless political parties" and Martin Shultz, president of the European Parliament saying that "the Tories have taken us hostage" are all blame and scapegoats.
It is time for the British and EU to roll up their sleeves and become true partners in the new globally diverse environment.
It is time for the British and EU to roll up their sleeves and become true partners in the new globally diverse environment.
I wrote about it in my last Brexit article published, "Only by being unified in diversity can we truly be free: (Cape Times, July 1).
Solar Design is "easy"
Someone just wrote in Facebook that solar design is easy and it can be learnt in a week by anyone.
The following assumes that you did higher grade mathematics and science in matric and that you got at least 60%.
Solar home design can be learnt quickly, but note that things like "grounding" can take a while to understand. When I learnt solar design in 2008, I put 1000 hours of R&D into building my first system and understanding everything about it. Included in this was 100 hours of "grounding" understanding and I even wrote to the guy who wrote the American Standard, NEC Article 690, and said that I thought that the standard was wrong, and he said that it was being changed!
For MW scale projects, there are more considerations which will take longer than a week to learn, for example switch gear, large scale inverters, etc. And if you are going to do large scale wind farm design, then their courses are about one year long. This doesn't prevent you from doing your own EIA (as I did) and installing a wind turbine in your garden.
See HeatSpring for more information:
https://blog.heatspring.com/megawatt-design-obstacles/
I met Dr Sean White in Cape Town a couple of years ago. A really nice guy. Heatspring recommended. In 2009, I did my one week Grid Tie Photovoltaic Course in the USA at Solar Energy International (SEI) and then I wrote the entry level NABCEP exam.
BTW, Frank, I am available for mentoring, coaching and guiding, especially re "big picture stuff", but not for full time employment.
The following assumes that you did higher grade mathematics and science in matric and that you got at least 60%.
Solar home design can be learnt quickly, but note that things like "grounding" can take a while to understand. When I learnt solar design in 2008, I put 1000 hours of R&D into building my first system and understanding everything about it. Included in this was 100 hours of "grounding" understanding and I even wrote to the guy who wrote the American Standard, NEC Article 690, and said that I thought that the standard was wrong, and he said that it was being changed!
For MW scale projects, there are more considerations which will take longer than a week to learn, for example switch gear, large scale inverters, etc. And if you are going to do large scale wind farm design, then their courses are about one year long. This doesn't prevent you from doing your own EIA (as I did) and installing a wind turbine in your garden.
See HeatSpring for more information:
https://blog.heatspring.com/megawatt-design-obstacles/
I met Dr Sean White in Cape Town a couple of years ago. A really nice guy. Heatspring recommended. In 2009, I did my one week Grid Tie Photovoltaic Course in the USA at Solar Energy International (SEI) and then I wrote the entry level NABCEP exam.
BTW, Frank, I am available for mentoring, coaching and guiding, especially re "big picture stuff", but not for full time employment.
Saturday, July 2, 2016
Only by being unified in diversity can we truly be free. Article about BREXIT by David Lipschitz in Cape Times on Friday 1st July 2016
AS USUAL, the naysayers are out in force, telling the world's people that the world is about to disintegrate and we should all start praying and packing up our businesses and lives, heading for the hills.
Brexit, Britain exiting the EU, might not be as bad as some would believe.
We live in an over-centralised world where the people at the centre channel all the energy and funds via themselves, raking off commissions and other monies for themselves. Corruption is rife. Palms are greased. And the money laundering is incredible.
Imagine a world where Britain separates from the EU. And then, imagine that Britain itself "disintegrates" like Czechoslovakia, which become the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Imagine that Britain becomes England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland - four separate countries.
And then, imagine that these countries disintegrate further and England's counties become countries called Leicestershire, Lancashire, Nottinghamshire, etc.
Imagine that these "new" "city states" want to work with each other to better each other for the betterment of mankind, not for warlike reasons.
Each "shire" has unique capabilities. Each "shire" has unique inspiration and motivation. Each "shire" can "muster" its people in a unique way to be "better" - "shire" people. More fulfilled. More energetic. More resourceful. More at peace with each other in their own "local communities", connected by the "internet-super-highway" (Jeremy Rifkin).
At the moment, all these "separate" people are lumped together in a community called the EU where everyone is meant to be the same. But difference should be celebrated, not inhibited.
When one looks at nature, one sees millions of colours, millions of smells, millions of shapes. Almost nothing is the same as the next thing. And yet, we humans are all trying to be alike instead of celebrating our humanity by being who we truly are.
Men and women are really different. Blacks and whites have different value to offer society, knowledgeable about different parts of an increasingly complex and diverse world.
Different religions can and should work together for the betterment of all. Different countries and societies have different human capital, different systems that should all contribute to a new "whole." And even West and East have different ways of viewing science, with the West preferring a "proof" approach, and the East preferring an "observation" approach.
We live in a "connected" world where anyone anywhere can "be their own boss", accessing the internet and trading with anyone anywhere on the planet. This "flat" (read Thomas Friedman's book Hot, Flat and Crowded) world makes everyone "appear" to be the same. It appears that we all have the same opportunities. It appears that we all have the same markets. It appears that we all have the same resources.
Yes re opportunities. Yes re markets. No re resources. Small communities of resourceful communities have changed the world, and this is what we need today.
In fact Margaret Mead said "never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."
Nelson Mandela, the Madiba (father) of our modern South Africa, celebrated difference. He intuitively knew that by celebrating the uniqueness that the 11 different "tribes" of South Africa has, and by keeping our languages and cultures separate, that we would "thrive" in this diverse world. Only by being unified in diversity can we truly be free. Many people said that we should have one South Africa with one language. They are wrong!
Single monoculture crops are failures waiting to happen. Whilst planting a single crop might mean a huge profit in the event of everything going well, a "bad" year could spell disaster.
How much better to sow a field with multiple varieties of corn and multiple other crops that co-exist with corn. Any single point of failure is covered by the diversity planted on the field.
Brexit allows us to celebrate difference, whilst being part of a diverse, integrated-whole. We should applaud the people who have taken this painful decision and support the processes that will come out of it.
Break out of mould. Letter by David Lipschitz in Cape Times on Friday 1st July 2016
MANY people, including myself, are worried about "the singularity", an event that is supposedly going to occur some time in the future when robots take over.
Robots have already "taken over"!
I have come to realise that since the Industrial Revolution, humans have been turned into robots.
Working "9 to 5". Spending two hours a day in the traffic. Cooking. Cleaning. Tidying.
And then the weekend comes around, and if we are lucky, we have some time off to watch rugby or TV or read a book. If we are really, really lucky we do something that does not cost us anything, like spending a couple of hours talking to our friends, drinking free water from the Newlands spring.
We go to school to turn us into the robots that our society needs. I did badly at school. I didn't fit in. I couldn't catch (a ball). I didn't understand what was going on.
When I was asked what I thought of a poem, I wrote what I thought.
Twenty years after school, I realised that what the teachers wanted me to say about the poem was what they thought - "what do you think about the poem?" actually meant "what do I, the teacher or textbook, think about the poem?"
Imagine Shakespeare in a modern school. Would we have his wisdom in the "modern" age?
Luckily I "focussed" in matric, and my mathematics and science marks went from 45 percent to 75 percent and this gave me a "university exemption".
And then at university, I was freed to think my way, as long as it was provable. For example, there might be a number of proofs for Pythagoras's theorem, an algebraic proof and a geometric proof. Either proof is valid in an exam.
And in the university of life, there are multiple possibilities if only we are open to see them.
Our school system constrains our thinking. How do we break out of this mould?
And what of "the singularity"? Fortunately robots don't have intuition, although they sometimes seem to be cleverer than us humans.
7 words, my new Elevator Speech
guiding guidées to emerge their incipient value
My titles are : Guide and Aspiring Bodhisattva
My titles are : Guide and Aspiring Bodhisattva
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