Cape Town residents participate in 'Name Your Hood'

Following a three-week period, which received over 450 submissions and then thousands of votes, 'Little Camissa' and 'The Loop' were elected as the most popular names for the first two neighbourhoods.

Little Camissa

The first, 'Little Camissa', submitted by Rouen Smit, is the name that received the most votes for the area bordered by Kloof Nek Road, Camp Street, Molteno Road and Belluvue St. The spine of this area is upper Kloof Street. A mix of vintage and modern, the area has a laid-back air, fusing old-world charm and urban-cool. Other leading names for this neighbourhood were: WOMo (West of Moleno), Lions Hood and Beaumont.

Smit explained his motivation for the name, saying, "The area is just a small part of where many Camissa fountains from Cape Town burst into the open - providing clean water. So it's just 'Little Camissa' - Little Place of Sweet Waters."

The Loop

'The Loop' is the name given to the neighbourhood between Buitengracht and Loop, Strand and Buitensingel Sts. The resident traders of yesteryear have all but disappeared, yet many of their historic storefronts remain and in their restored buildings are many restaurants.

The winning name was submitted by Celeste Van Dijk who says her motivation for the name included several reasons, "The boundary streets form a loop and Bree Street was made wider to allow wagons to make U-turns or 'loop' around. 'Loop' is the Afrikaans word for walk and this hood is made for walking."

Local support

Support has been offered by key stakeholders such as Cape Town Tourism, Cape Town Partnership, Accelerate Cape Town and Wesgro, which will see the names established. Local businesses are also showing their support, including Pam Golding Properties, Mr Delivery, Groupon, Vida e Café and other smaller neighbourhood establishments. On completion of the naming process and in partnership with Cape Town Tourism and Creative Cape Town, the project will see new tourist maps printed and distributed throughout the City to include the new neighbourhood names.

Bruce Good, MD of Name Your Hood, is delighted with the names. "We couldn't have hoped for better, more original and relevant names for the first two neighbourhoods. We hoped that through the naming project the colourful history of Cape Town would be recognised and what better name than 'Little Camissa'. The Camissa River is the reason behind settlement of the Cape Town City Bowl and was the lifeblood of the area. We also love that 'The Loop' signifies the reason behind the width of Bree Street. The public response has been superb."

More hoods to come

The Name Your Hood project aims to roll out across the entire city over time. Two new neighbourhoods are now open for submissions. Submissions can be made online or through a number of voting booths which will be available in participating shops throughout the city.

Go to www.nameyourhood.co.za and submit your uniquely Capetonian neighbourhood name.