Cape Town - Road renaming will be done a bit differently in Gugulethu, using an “innovative, sexy way” to rid Cape Town of the Native Yard street names.
The “Name Your Hood” campaign kicks off at Gugulethu Square on Heritage Day. Residents will be able to have their say in renaming 91 streets and eight “hoods”.
The Name Your Hood concept proved popular when it was launched to name pockets of the city’s CBD.
Now it makes its way to Gugulethu. This project will be managed by the city’s public participation unit, with Name Your Hood acting as the service provider. Schools, churches, businesses and residents will be roped in to give their input.
Speaking at the naming committee meeting on Wednesday, Ruché Daniels, acting manager of the city’s public participation, said the campaign ushered in a new way for renaming city streets.
“This will become the city’s process afterwards, we will use this in future renaming projects because it does add value to public participation,” said Daniels.
Committee chairman Brett Herron said it was a new way of engaging with the community”.
“It’s an innovative, young and sexy campaign… it’s an exciting way of approaching people,” said Herron.
Bruce Good, founder of Name Your Hood, explained the process to the committee on Wednesday.
Following the Heritage Day launch, there will be door-to-door visits.
Pamphlets will be distributed and votes can be submitted manually. Residents can also log their input online.
There will be a two-week voting period. All responses will be brought back to the naming committee.
Cape Argus