EBE a think tank for future Foreshore development

Next year students from UCT's Faculty of Engineering & the Built Environment (EBE) will consider, as part of their curricula, various possibilities for the future development of the north Foreshore Precinct.

The inclusion of this part of the Cape Town central business district is the basis for a partnership between the faculty and the City of Cape Town, which approached EBE with the request to help develop exciting and creative ways to think about the future of this rather problematic part of the city.

Final-year undergraduates and postgraduate students from the School of Architecture, Planning and Geomatics, and the Departments of Construction Economics and Management, Civil Engineering, and Chemical Engineering will have the option of doing projects centred on the Foreshore Precinct.

"These projects will be embedded in their curricula and normal course assessment processes will be followed," says Professor Vanessa Watson, deputy dean of EBE. "They will work in project groups and the different classes will continually use work and information from each other to inform what they are doing. Questions these students will grapple with include, but will not be restricted to:

• How can we reconnect the CBD with the sea?
• How can we create vibrant public spaces that will attract residents and tourists?
• Could the unfinished highway sections be used as markets or viewing platforms?
• How do we consider the effects of climate change and rising sea-level?