The Wilds’ turnaround highlights how communities can reclaim abandoned spaces and rebuild pride in the city.
The GroundUp story we run today about Johannesburg’s hidden environmental gem, The Wilds, could be the glimmer of the light of hope at the end of the tunnel of collapse, decay and neglect.
The Wilds is a 16-hectare nature reserve almost on the edge of the city’s concrete jungle. It was once forgotten, abandoned and crime-ridden. Today, it is widely considered the best communal green space in the city.
And it is people like volunteer James Delaney and others, working with the city’s parks department, who have effected the turnaround.
Delaney made an astute observation about why things declined.
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“Rich people were scared that it was full of poor people who would rob them. The poor people thought they weren’t allowed in because it was too expensive and only for the rich. So, neither group came. An empty public space is never good for anything.”
Think about that: an empty public space is good for nothing.
There are plenty of them around Joburg – from abandoned bowling greens to tennis courts – that would require comparatively little work to be repurposed into public assets.
If we want to be proud of our city, we can’t stand by and let others do the work.
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