While many Johannesburg residents voice frustration over potholes, overgrown verges, and crumbling pavements, Leonardo Lupini of Bryanston reaches for a different tool: his own. In a quiet, persistent rebellion against urban decay, Lupini has taken the maintenance of his neighbourhood into his own hands, funding and organising work that the municipality has, in his view, left undone.
His latest project was the Ballyclare Drive Bridge. Concerned by tall grass and overgrown foliage that obscured visibility for drivers and pedestrians, he dispatched his own team to clear it. But this was no isolated act. It’s part of a personal regimen that has seen him cutting verges, cleaning public spaces, and even repairing paving damaged by pipe burstssometimes purchasing the materials himself.
From a Spark of Inspiration to a Sustained Effort
Lupini’s motivation didn’t spring from a grand political statement, but from a simple, observed act of kindness. “I saw another resident picking up litter, so I decided to assist her,” he recalls. That moment planted a seed. The catalyst for more significant action came with the rainy season. “When I saw unattended long grass, knee high… I just decided to do it myself. Waiting was no longer an option.”
For him, this isn’t about usurping the city’s role permanently or making a public critique. It’s fundamentally about maintaining standards. “I feel satisfied that I am able to help in making the area in which I live look slightly better,” he says, downplaying the scale of his contribution.
The Pragmatism of Self-Reliance
Lupini is under no illusions. He acknowledges this work “would ordinarily fall under municipal responsibility.” Yet, faced with a visible decline”the municipal services are not as they were, say, ten years ago”his choice is one of pragmatic self-reliance over futile complaint.
“It’s frustrating to see stuff like litter and grass cutting neglected,” he admits. “I would rather just attend to it, than wait for it to get done, one less thing for me to worry about.”
His approach highlights a growing, quiet trend in South African suburbs: citizens becoming de facto custodians of their own public spaces. While he wishes the city would “attend more often,” Lupini isn’t waiting. In the space between official duty and community need, he has found a simple, powerful answer: just do it. And in doing so, he’s not just fixing a bridge or a pavement; he’s mending the frayed edge of civic life, one patch of grass at a time.
