Revitalising Braamfontein: A vision for a safe, vibrant, and walkable urban oasis

Vumacam CCTV upgrade. Photo: Bridget Hilton-Barber

By Bridget Hilton-Barber

29 Apr 2025

Precinct manager Kelvin Tshabalala is not only a man with a plan, but one who can make it happen.

We are standing in pleasant gardens below the Joburg Theatre Complex in Braamfontein, looking all the way down Ameshoff Street to Wits University. On our left is the building where the mayor works; below us to the right is 19 Ameshoff, a refurbished landmark building with New York-vibe offices and apartments, delis, grocery stores and coffee shops, plus Hollard City Campus.

“We are turning this whole street into a 24-hour safe, beautiful and walkable space,” says Kelvin Tshabalala, precinct manager of the Braamfontein Improvement District (BID). The BID was formed in 2003 by local property owners in response to the advent of urban decay and has since worked alongside the City of Johannesburg and local business to keep Braamfontein buzzing.

Kelvin Tshabalala has a vision for Braamfontein. (Photo: Bridget Hilton-Barber)

Tshabalala enthusiastically describes how this beautiful creative outdoor space, where the four theatres of the Joburg Theatre Complex all join, will become a landscaped area with comfortable benches, good lighting and tight security where students and office workers can take a break.

It’s easy to imagine. Already there are signs of rejuvenation and people are happily hanging out or going to and from shops, offices and campus.

Tshabalala suddenly spies an unruly line of weeds on the sidewalk, abruptly halts our conversation, places a phone call to someone and barks his displeasure down the line.

“These weeds will be gone very soon,” he says firmly.

Urban management

Clearly, he is a man who gets things done and, as we walk the chilly autumn streets, it’s also clear he knows exactly what’s going on, block after block. Urban management is Tshabalala’s thing — he worked his way up from the bottom in cleaning, security and public space management and became an operations manager in Sandton central.

Getting rid of weeds, fast-tracking sidewalk repairs, coordinating cleaning and security — it’s all part of a day’s work for Tshabalala. He takes many calls throughout our walk and at any given moment could be talking to City Parks, City Power, Joburg Water, ward councillors, provincial or government officials.

“It’s about liaison and collaboration,” he says. “It’s about law enforcement and networking with municipal entities and people in the area.”

The famous eland statue in Braamfontein. (Photo: Bridget Hilton-Barber)

A Vumacam CCTV being upgraded. (Photo: Bridget Hilton-Barber)

We walk down Ameshoff Street to the corner of Jan Smuts Avenue with its iconic eland statue, where students are milling about. Tshabalala stops to greet the technicians who are upgrading the Vumacam CCTV cameras on the corner of Jorissen Street. There are 68 cameras in Braamfontein that are monitored by a control centre. Sophisticated camera technology and visible policing have resulted in a marked decrease in cellphone snatching, says Tshabalala.

The BID uses Bad Boyz security in the district 24/7, and they work alongside the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department, the South African Police Service (SAPS) and community policing forums.

A giant mural of Nelson Mandela smiles down on us as we weave around a few blocks.

Braamfontein is lively. There are about 40,000 Wits students, many living in the area, as well as schools, museums and offices for NGOs, corporates and government entities. Coffee shops, restaurants, hair salons and cellphone shops are buzzing, there’s a film shoot going on outside the Bannister Hotel, and Tshabalala greets the Braamfontein tourism ambassadors on a street corner.

We pass two pavements being excavated — big holes in the ground, cables and pipes exposed, no apparent worker in sight. Tshabalala says the biggest challenge facing Braamfontein is water infrastructure and supply. He says the BID is frustrated by the City of Joburg’s lack of capacity.

Nelson Mandela Bridge

We then walk across the iconic 284m-long Nelson Mandela Bridge linking Braamfontein to Newtown. It’s the largest cable-stayed bridge in southern Africa and its extraordinary views should really be attracting tourists in their droves.

The bridge is busy and looking perky after an upgrade by Jozi My Jozi and its corporate partners. There is now better lighting, tighter security, new glass and clean walls.

There are a few signs of vandalism, which infuriate Tshabalala no end. This part of Braamfontein requires careful management of vandals, the homeless, wastepickers and the unavoidable question of the future of the 42 railway tracks below the bridge.

The neighbouring Queen Elizabeth Bridge that leads to Park Station is also earmarked for a facelift. DM

Bridget Hilton-Barber is a freelance writer who writes for Jozi My Jozi.

This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper, which is available countrywide for R35.

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South Africa

Urban management

Nelson Mandela Bridge