Obslife, Mar 2010

OBSID Director Peta Brom not only brings a solid set of technical skills to the Business Development portfolio which she chairs, but also a lot of heart.

The very reason why she decided to settle and start a family in Observatory in 2008 was "to live in a place that represented what I did for a living".

Brom is a sustainable development expert with a special interest in inner-city regeneration.

Observatory, she explains, is uniquely placed to become a model of sustainable living: it is scaled to pedestrians, it has an integrated mix of businesses and residences, its public transport facilities are relatively convenient and many of the old buildings in Obs are greener than modern structures - the ratio of window-to-wall surface saves energy, for example.

"The other side of it is that Observatory is one of the few suburbs that has racial integration, and economic mix - you have wealthy people and poor people living side by side," she says.

Her profession, together with the fact that she comes from a business family, enables her to approach the development of the business community in Observatory in an holistic way, but she is quick to acknowledge that business development can only happen after the main issue of crime and security has been brought under control.

Although crime prevention, cleaning and indigent support all directly impact on business development, she believes that those issues should be left to the relevant OBSID portfolios, even if it means that her business-development portfolio should play a less prominent role for now.

But there is a lot that must be done in the meantime to fulfil her portfolio's main task, which she describes as making Observatory a better place in which to do business.

This year, her business-development committee will mostly be gathering information. A door-to-door survey is planned to compile a database of all businesses in Obs. The project will include a needs survey among business owners which will inform future business-development activities of the OBSID such as the strengthening of local business associations. Another core function of her portfolio that will start this year is the development of a plan to promote Observatory to the outside world.

It's going to be a busy year for Brom, who is expecting her first child at the beginning of April.

Anyone who wants to get involved in the business-development activities of the OBSID, even if it is just to suggest ideas, can contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.