Whose City Is It Anyway?

Abstract

The purpose of this chapter is describe why and how a multiplicity of especially diverging forces, ‘voices' and rationalities can work against effective place branding. Specifically, it aims to demonstrate by the case of Harare, the capital city of Zimbabwe, that economic hardships are the major place shaper rather than the wishes and marketing strategies that may be put in place by the state. An ailing economy will naturally see the terrain and fabric of a place, in this case, a city deteriorating both in terms of its service performance and in terms of outlook. This is in contrast with the main urban planning philosophies of order, amenity, functionality, aesthetics and convenience. The post-colonial Harare has suffered major blows of trying to retain its vividness and functionality due to a number of forces including state control and interference, the consistently perturbed political economy that explains rising retrenchments, unemployment and underemployment, which has seen the ushering in of rampant informality. Both the state and the non-state actors, including politicians and households have laid claim on the affairs of the city without approaching the same with a sense of place stewardship. Proper city branding presupposes shared visioning and moving on an agreed path and trajectory. However, characteristic of Harare is disparate and fragmented efforts, most of which work against the cause of city branding. Street vending, of late, is the major cancer haemorrhaging the city fabric and outlook. Even the politicians, who have assumed a major seat in the decision-making of the affairs of the city, seem not to agree on the way forward. Although, the city is under the leadership of the opposition – MDC-T councilors, their role has not been subsumed, within the council chambers as one that matters. The councilors have largely been silenced, if not technically, co-opted. The role of physical planning, on the other side of the story, has become increasingly nullified. Some real estate investors are considering reducing their portfolios. The dramatis personæ and the effects it is inflicting on the ground needs adequate scholarly interrogation hence the line of the argument in this paper: Whose city is it anyway? Unless, the city is seen as a collective responsibility), efforts to brand will simply prove futile and a waste of time. Overall, there is an economy that needs first to be fixed and players that need aligning their inspirations, aspirations and actions for achieving a branded city. Planning has to be given its place because it provides a solid foundation upon which actions are built.