The University of Cape Town provides free public access to substantial open and green spaces across its campuses, enabling community use and recreation. UCT’s Upper Campus (including areas around Plaza Steps, Fuller Garden and rugby fields) is commonly described in visitor material as freely walkable and used by tourists and the public for views and recreation. UCT’s Hiddingh Campus (city-centre campus) is described as a historic, leafy campus with green outdoor spaces accessible from the surrounding city precinct. The Middle and Lower campus precincts include lawns, plazas and gardens that are frequently mentioned in UCT visitor guides and student information as public-facing open spaces.

While most open spaces on UCT grounds are unfenced and available for public walking and enjoyment during daylight hours, some buildings, residences and certain precincts (for example parts of the Graduate School of Business / Breakwater precincts and selected residence gardens) operate with controlled entry or event-specific access; these building-level access controls do not negate the wider campus’ public green spaces.

1. UCT Upper Campus is walkable and free to visit
   Multiple visitor and travel guides note that walking the Upper Campus grounds and enjoying the views is free; travel content encourages tourists to visit campus green spaces and take the virtual/physical campus tour. UCT’s own “getting around” student guide also treats Rhodes Memorial as a parking/visitor reference point for campus access, indicating permeability of campus edges to the public.
2. Hiddingh Campus (city campus) — public access to green outdoor spaces and cultural venues
   UCT Hiddingh Campus descriptions (language-centre / campus pages) present Hiddingh as a leafy, city-centre campus with green outdoor spaces and public cultural programming (theatres and galleries), indicating community access and use of outdoor areas.
3. Middle / Lower campus green features referenced in UCT guides and visitor write-ups
   Student-facing and tourism write-ups (e.g., “UCT’s hidden gems”, campus guides) describe Fuller Garden, lawns between academic blocks, the Plaza and other greens as public-oriented spots for leisure and photography — evidence these areas function as open green space accessible to the public and visitors.
4. Graduate School of Business (GSB) locations & access note
   The UCT Graduate School of Business (GSB) lists its campus locations (Breakwater campus & Philippi Solution Space hub) publicly and operates a conference centre (Breakwater) which is publicly described — though some GSB precincts have controlled/managed entry (staff access guidance exists for GSB campus access), indicating building/venue-level controls while surrounding precinct green areas can still be public.
5. Public sculptures on freely accessible green spaces on campus
   UCT’s campus operates as an open, largely unfenced urban campus and hosts a distributed public art collection with multiple permanent outdoor sculptures and artworks sited in freely accessible locations (Middle, Upper and Lower campuses, and public precincts around the Baxter Theatre and the Irma Stern Museum gardens). These works are managed as part of UCT’s Works of Art Collection and are intended for public view and community engagement — examples include David Brown’s "Dialogue at the Dogwatch" on Middle Campus, multiple Brown pieces sited across campus (Chemical Engineering, Hoerikwaggo, Robert Leslie Building), sculptural works in the Irma Stern Museum gardens, and public features around the Baxter Theatre centre.
   • Works of Art Collection (Ibali catalogue / WOAC):
     UCT’s Works of Art Collection lists "Dialogue at the Dogwatch" and other named sculptures in the public catalogue (formal record of campus artworks). This is the authoritative institutional inventory of artworks sited across campus.
   • Multiple David Brown works across campus:
     UCT News and the WOAC entry note several of Brown’s works are sited across campus (Chemical Engineering Building, Hoerikwaggo Building, Robert Leslie Building, Irma Stern Museum gardens). Outdoor sculptures are distributed through academic precincts that are publicly walkable.
   • Irma Stern Museum gardens:
     The Irma Stern site and museum guides reference sculptural works and garden displays that are publicly accessible as part of the museum/campus cultural offering. The museum gardens are an outwardly accessible green/art space contiguous with campus.
6. UCT’s Baxter Theatre precinct & Baxter Garden:
   The Baxter Theatre Centre (on Lower Campus at Main Road/Rondebosch) is a public cultural venue with an excavated garden and landscaped outdoor areas (Baxter Garden) promoted for public events, indicating public access to green/arts precincts near the theatre. The Baxter’s public role and garden are documented in venue descriptions.