Browsing by Author "Klug, Neil"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    Beyond master planning? New approaches to spatial planning in Ekurhuleni, South Africa
    (Elsevier., 2010) Todes, Alison; Karam, Aly; Klug, Neil; Malaza, N
    Traditional master planning has been criticised, but continues in various forms. This paper critically assesses an initiative by a South Africa metropolitan municipality to develop ‘local spatial developmen tframeworks’: comprehensive integrated plans dealing with 22 sectors, for some 103 areas, to guide land us edecisions and to provide a frame work for development. The paper concludes that despite some innovative aspects, several elements of traditional master planning were evident. New approaches to spatial planning were being shaped by older thinking, but also by the impact of a traditional land use management system.The findings point to the need for greater attention to debating alternative forms of spatial planning and their appro-priateness in various contexts. .
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    In the Era of Global Shocks: A Needs Inquiry on State Provided Housing During and After the Covid-19 Pandemic
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024-02) Mogale, Lebogang Lucia; Klug, Neil
    South Africa, like many countries of the South is confronted by a housing crisis, especially in Metropolitan areas. This is because Metropolitan areas are experiencing rapid population growth and, in the process, creating a demand for low-income housing. The state-provided low-income housing, implemented as a remedial intervention, has faced spatial, procedural, and administrative scrutiny, among others. Furthermore, the Covid-19 pandemic has brought housing and human settlements into the spotlight, raising both opportunities and challenges with the resilience of state-provided low income housing. The study has used the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic to emphasize and make apparent the various types of housing and settlement needs that should be prioritised to potentially mitigate the impact of future global shocks such as pandemics. Global shocks trigger resilience thinking that is linked to spatial attributes that can potentially reduce and mitigate the impact of disasters and risks. This indicates an opportunity of supporting ‘resilience thinking’ with existing social realities. The study speaks to this gap by diving deep into theoretical discourses of housing needs and practical needs as determined by participants perceptions. This was done by adopting a case study design that follows Wilhelm Dilthey's philosophy of hermeneutics. The Case Study context used was Palm Ridge extension 10 where Breaking New Ground Housing and Military Veteran houses were allocated in November 2019. Interviews were conducted with both municipal officials and beneficiaries of subsidised housing to inquire in-depth about their considerations of housing needs and how they can be met. The findings of the study indicate that there is a correlation between what is perceived as housing needs during the pandemic and some principles of resilience thinking. It identifies two types of housing needs necessary for mitigation, coping, and recovery from the Covid 19 pandemic. The needs identified are technical housing needs which are concerned with the physical structure of a house and settlement, and soft dimensional housing needs which are more symbolic of the relationship residents have with their houses and the overall neighbourhood. Moreover, the study emphasises that the translation of housing needs from theory to practice is to a certain degree challenged by institutional deficiencies. Although state-provided housing is challenged, it has proven a resilient measure in the era of the pandemic when housing insecurities were on the rise. Neighbourhoods like Palm Ridge can potentially adopt evolutionary and transformative resilience due to their flexible nature to cater to changing needs. Therefore, it is apparent that needs inquiry is a complex issue that can be leveraged to stimulate the adoption and development of bottom-up and collaborative responses to shock mitigation.
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    Why do equity oriented, ‘progressive’ planning policies fail to redress the apartheid city? An examination of Planning Instrumentality in South Africa
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023-09) Klug, Neil; Bénit-Gbaffou, Claire; Todes, Alison
    In the immediate post-apartheid period, the fields of urban planning and housing experienced what some have called a ‘golden era’ during which planning played a significant role in the Reconstruction and Development Programme of the government, through developing new and progressive planning and housing policy instruments. Some of these instruments were designed to expedite the release of serviced land and provide subsidised housing, address the apartheid legacy of spatial segregation and housing backlogs. Despite success in the large number of houses delivered to the poor and increased service delivery to previously disenfranchised communities, by the mid 2000s there was growing criticisms of the state’s failure to redress discriminatory apartheid spatial patterns. South Africa was also experiencing growth in unemployment and inequality between emerging elites on the one hand and the majority of previously disadvantaged in society. This study sought to examine what role planning policy instruments played in failing to address the spatial legacies of apartheid. Acknowledging the wide range of potential variables contributing to this lack of efficacy, the study took an in-depth grounded, research approach. Using three case studies on different planning and housing related policy instruments and suits of instruments, at different phases of the policy cycle framework, it examined whether or not the state had managed to address housing and other inequalities. The first case study involved the examination of the processes and practices in formulating a local eviction policy instrument, the second reflected on housing officials’ engagement with the National Housing Code suit of instruments, and the third examined the practices and processes of implementing the Upgrading of Informal Settlements Programme. The findings of these case studies were that equity oriented, ‘progressive’ planning policies fail to redress the apartheid spatial inequalities because they are either not being selected for use or, where they are being applied, had limited impact because they were being implemented in a watered-down fashion. My thesis shows that there are multiple factors, from broad and complex governance structures to the actions of individual actors, that affect the efficacy of policy instruments.