No leaving out the people

Some of the discussions I am hearing, I’m wondering if we are not listening to each other, so I’m taking the opportunity today to speak clearly as to what the vision is. Because I am certain we all share the same vision.

Of course, all of this has to be paid for, and it’s one thing we have said as part of securing our economic independence, that we are not going back to a situation of debt so it means we have to incorporate the private sector in everything that we are doing.

A part of the development here will have commercial value, there will be significant commercial value, approximately 1.2 million square feet of commercial space. There are some who feel that we are trying to throw out the people who live here. Block and steel don’t make a city, people make a city.

The people give you that vibration, that energy, that culture, they create the lifestyle, the warmth, the reception, but if the block and steel isn’t built in a particular way, it could also create a culture of crime and violence where people don’t relate well with their built environment or use their built environment to perpetrate crimes.

So we are taking into consideration the people and the built environment, so there will be 5,000 homes when this project is done around this area, and not homes exclusive for the rich. There will be homes of all grades and classes and in combines because all kinds of people make the city vibrant, inclusive of multicultural, allembracing. So nobody has to fear.