CASE STUDY 9

Public Employment: Urban Space Management: Advancing Opportunity Through Precinct-Based Management

“These are more than jobs. They’re stepping stones to independence.”
Johannesburg Inner City Partnership

Cities are sustained by people. When employment collapses, urban systems weaken. When people are given structured opportunity, cities begin to stabilise.

Through its public employment work, the JICP positions jobs, skills development and enterprise creation as foundational to urban regeneration. Infrastructure matters, but without livelihoods, infrastructure cannot sustain itself.

In partnership with Urban Space Management (USM), the JICP deploys participants through the Social Employment Fund (SEF) into structured, place-based roles across priority areas on the Walkable Network. Participants undertake visible urban improvement work — cleaning streets, maintaining pavements, supporting safety patrols, reporting service faults and restoring public spaces — while also building competencies that extend beyond the programme itself.

Training is integrated into delivery. Participants receive instruction in fire safety, first aid and waste management through the City of Johannesburg. In collaboration with the Johannesburg Roads Agency, they gain practical exposure to pavement installation and repair. These are transferable skills that open pathways into contracting and construction work.

The programme deliberately encourages enterprise development. Through the Make Your Own Money (MYOM) initiative, delivered with Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator, participants receive entrepreneurship training and practical support to start micro-enterprises. Many invest programme earnings into small businesses that generate supplementary income beyond SEF working hours.

Demand for placement remains high, underscoring the scarcity of stable work in the inner city. Yet the deeper value lies not only in short-term employment, but in progression — from wage support to certification, from structured work to entrepreneurship, from dependency to agency.

“Watching people gain confidence, learn new skills and start building something for themselves is what keeps us motivated.”
Nonku Hadebe, Portfolio Manager, Urban Space Management (USM)

Public employment, when designed intentionally, becomes more than a temporary intervention. It becomes a pathway to independence. By investing in people first, the JICP strengthens the long-term resilience of the inner city.
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