Inner City Cape Town placemaking updates for 2025

The Mission for Inner City Cape Town is a long-term, high-impact initiative working to transform Cape Town’s Inner City into a thriving, inclusive, green urban hub, a City of Hope for All.

Led by a coalition of civic leaders, businesses, urban designers and government partners, the Mission aims to revitalise public spaces, strengthen walkability, support independent retail and restore public confidence in Cape Town’s historic core.

New placemaking projects and Walking Routes map launched

As part of its 2025 programme of work, the Mission has unveiled a suite of new placemaking interventions, along with the launch of the Walking Routes map, a practical guide highlighting safe, connected, walkable routes linking public art, retail clusters, greened spaces, landmark streets and cultural anchors across the city centre.

“Our work is about showing that Cape Town’s Inner City is not only walkable but welcoming, inspiring and full of possibility,” says Tim Harris, co-founder of The Mission for Inner City CT.

“As we head into the festive season, these interventions, from seating and greening to lighting, art and diverse retail, become more important as they create a space where locals and visitors can slow down, explore and enjoy the Inner City safely. This is a practical investment in public life that makes the city centre more enjoyable for everyone who moves through it daily.”

Walking routes and wayfinding

By introducing highlighted routes, intuitive wayfinding and simple visual cues, the Mission is making it easier for people to navigate the Inner City on foot and to discover more of what lies beyond the familiar workday commute.

The new Inner City Walking Routes map launching this December brings these elements together, supporting a more confident and enjoyable pedestrian experience.

Seating and greening: Creating places to rest and connect

Bree Street
What was once a blank stretch beneath the Bree Street Gallery murals has been transformed using concrete planters with integrated seating. This simple intervention introduces shade, greenery and dwell space which invite people to pause, enjoy the art and activate the street frontage.

Church Lane
New timber benches, painted in a red-to-plum gradient, tie into refreshed bollards and street lamps, which bring warmth and comfort to Church Lane. Designed to be moved as the area evolves, these benches elevate what was once a transitional lane into a welcoming, human-scale public space.

Bree Street Gallery: Public art as a civic anchor

An old electrical substation has been transformed into the Bree Street Gallery, now home to murals by leading South African artists including Kirsten Sims, Yay Abe, Xolani Sivunda, Danielle Clough, KOOOOOS, Aviwe Plaatjie, Marti Lund, Lelethu Fundakubi and Amy-Lee Tak.

The gallery brings colour, culture and civic identity back to Bree Street, forming a key anchor in the Mission’s growing network of public-art-linked walking routes.

St George’s Mall kiosks: Reactivating a key pedestrian corner

Two previously underused kiosks along St George’s Mall have been refurbished to introduce new creative and culinary experiences. The Kiosk of Curiosity features a series of dioramas crafted by local artists showcasing a moment of whimsy designed to prompt passers-by to pause, notice and engage.

Next door, a new food-and-beverage concept tailored to the corridor offers fresh energy to one of Cape Town’s busiest pedestrian routes, used by more than 120 000 people daily.

Strand Street Crossing: Safety meets public design

To improve pedestrian visibility and safety at the busy Strand Street intersection, the Mission partnered with designer Heather Moore from Skinny laMinx to create a bold, joyful ground artwork marking the crossing.

The design increases driver awareness while introducing a sense of playfulness to a critical everyday moment in the city.

Lighting: Making evenings feel safer and more vibrant

Additional warm, human-scale festoon lighting from Litehouse and targeted lamp upgrades have transformed Church Lane from a dim, underused passage into a lively, welcoming evening environment.

Local businesses have reported increased activity after dark, demonstrating the impact that lighting can have on safety, vibrancy and public behaviour.

Retail curation: From vacancy to purposeful tenancy

The Mission continues to support a more diverse, design-led retail mix in the Inner City by connecting landlords with independent entrepreneurs. A prime example is Ultraviolet Gallery on Shortmarket Street, which was once a vacant café and is now reimagined by photographic artist Dylan Culhane into a gallery and framing space.

This shift from vacancy to vibrancy reflects the Mission’s belief that curated retail contributes directly to street-level energy, safety and economic opportunity.

Building confidence in the Inner City

“These interventions show that meaningful change doesn’t always come from mega-projects,” says Harris. “Sometimes it’s a bench, a light, a planter, an artwork or a thoughtfully chosen retailer that reshapes how people feel about their city. Together, these projects help position Cape Town as a benchmark for inclusive urban renewal on the continent.”

The Mission for Inner City CT’s 2025 programme demonstrates how targeted, collaborative investment in the public realm can restore confidence, spark economic activity and reconnect people with the heart of Cape Town.

By enhancing walkability, elevating public art, supporting local businesses, and creating places that invite people to pause and participate, the Mission is helping build a city centre that is safe, vibrant, and accessible to all.

These early interventions demonstrate what becomes possible when private capital is directed into shared public spaces. As a registered NPO, the Mission channels private funding into projects that deliver visible, measurable improvements to the civic realm without competing with traditional marketing budgets.

Additional contributions from corporate partners will enable the Mission to scale this work across the Inner City, unlocking more lighting, greening, public art, safer crossings and meaningful public life.

To explore partnership opportunities or to learn more, visit www.missionforinnercity.org or follow @missionforinnercityct on Instagram and LinkedIn.