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Johannesburg has a history of segregation, economic inequalities and the decline of the industrial sector. The resultant post-fordist city is characterised by a sense of disconnection between different cultural communities. This is a difficult challenge for post-apartheid South African cities. In this paper I argue that the “good city” is one where socio-political institutions are democratised; difference becomes commonplace and accepted; and connection and solidarity between different urban residents is part of the politics of everyday life. In addition to redistributive justice, these tenets are the basis for a full sense of urban citizenship where social justice includes cultural, economic and spatial inclusion. Public space has been recognised in international literature and in the urban vision documents of the city of Johannesburg as key to the delivery of urban social justice and public spaces (or spaces of interaction) have been rapidly constructed in the city of Johannesburg. These have been developed following the principles of new urbanism as public-private partnerships. New urbanism (or neo-traditional planning) has been hotly debated with many commentators arguing that this form of planning promotes exclusionary politics. Using a case study, the potential of new urbanist development to answer the need for inclusive public spaces is explored. The case study is then situated in terms of broader development trends in the city and it is argued that these spaces are frequently constructed as showcase spaces serving the requirements of business, tourism and urban elites rather than the urban poor. This requires a closer examination of what interaction in public space means in urban centres and the ways in which public space can answer the needs for an everyday politics of interaction, engagement and solidarity are more closely examined.