Electronic Theses and Dissertations (Masters)

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Browsing Electronic Theses and Dissertations (Masters) by SDG "SDG-11: Sustainable cities and communities"

Now showing 1 - 9 of 9
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    A Symphony of Sakina: Using mosque design to facilitate community development in Mooiplaas
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024-02) Jaffer, Raeesah; Janse van Rensburg, Ariane
    This research report studies Mooiplaas Informal Settlement in Pretoria, South Africa. The research first discusses the developmental challenges of this marginalised community and then investigates ways in which informal settlements can be developed. It explores the design and application of a Mosque complex, focusing on its potential to facilitate community development. Mooiplaas has a growing Muslim population, and a Mosque is a fundamental requirement to facilitate prayer. The Mosque is further investigated to understand its significance and functionality in community settings throughout history. Previous developmental initiatives undertaken have not reached full potential to holistically address the needs of the Muslim and non-Muslim communities in Mooiplaas. Thus, this research investigates ways the Mooiplaas community can enhance resilience and sustainability by applying the Mosque complex as a fundamental instrument for future development initiatives. The proposed Mosque can facilitate social and economic upliftment within the settlement by providing spiritual development and education and promoting social cohesion.
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    Foraging for Earth: resurrecting the heritage of ochre through land reparation of an iron ore mine
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) O'Maker, Simone; Felix, Sandra
    This thesis aims to extract concepts, ideologies and theories viable to the rights of land. To rewrite a set of spatial relations that deeply grapple with the remnants of the Ngwenya mountain, in an iron-ore mine within the Kingdom of Eswatini, as an archaeological, cultural, ecological and geographical site. Foraging for Earth aims to mend its wounds that gives back the earth its dignity. It questions what architecture arises from seeing the land as a living being and to what extent it can form a relationship with a post-mined landscape. The concept of the design is derived from the site’s scar, a palimpsest of narratives rooted to memory, decay, healing and regeneration, and thereby interprets reparative strategies into a living archive that aims to reclaim what the landscape used to be. The program includes an earth reparation facility, a knowledge-sharing centre, an ochre sanctuary, craft studio and a sculpture garden. Constant visual and physical engagement encourages one to be aware of the land’s rich narrative.
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    Mwana Wevhu (Child of the soil): Enhancing subsistence cotton farming through education with production creating employment opportunities in Marondera, Zimbabwe
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Mafemba, Simbarashe A.; Kirkman, Deborah
    Cotton plant production in Zimbabwe has witnessed a concerning decline. This cash crop, crucial for the country’s economy, has unfortunately become a harbinger of poverty among diligent farmers. Nonetheless, there is a glimmer of hope on the horizon with the adoption of sustainable farming practices, including the use of organic seeds, which can reduce pesticide usage and water requirements, potentially revitalizing cotton production. Marondera, an agricultural hub, predominantly relies on subsistence farming methods to cultivate this labor and capital-intensive cash crop. Regrettably, these methods have proven inefficient for achieving profitability, ultimately pushing farmers further into poverty. The objective of my research is to delve into the realm of cotton farming, seeking avenues to enhance its viability and sustainability, thereby empowering farmers and fostering employment opportunities within associated industries. Cotton cultivation presents a multitude of job prospects, particularly during the processing phase. As part of my architectural intervention, I aspire to design a community Research Centre in Marondera. This center will serve as a knowledge hub, equipping cotton farmers with the expertise and techniques needed to cultivate the crop efficiently and sustainably. A pivotal aspect of the design will be the incorporation of vernacular architecture and locally available materials, ensuring that the architecture aligns with the practical needs of the local population it serves.
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    Navigating the Existential: A Sacred Anchor for the Liminal Identities of Johannesburg South’s Diasporic Youth
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024-02) Moodley, Priyan; Bahman, Dirk
    The story of Johannesburg South is one that begun with the city itself, a by-product of the scar of the mining belt. Through an influx of diasporic communities, it grew and morphed into a place of diverse cultural editing. One that created a youth which was born into landscapes of sacred and cultural juxtapositions and multiplicities. The result is a diasporic melting pot of existential redefinitions and liminal identities, all in flux in this ever-changing landscape, requiring anchorage and rootedness in all the shifting. Through understandings of transliminality, diasporic theory, sacredness and phenomenological existentialism, this thesis aims to give form, materiality and atmosphere to spaces in which temporal meanings of ritual and event can be held and the layering of sacred and secular multiplicities can be evoked. To answer the question of how anchorage can be created for the sacred redefinitions and temporal meanings of the liminal diaspora of Johannesburg South.
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    Re-Urbanization Restoration of urban space through the narrative of the context of Tzaneen
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024-02) Mohale, Koketso Emmanuel; Daskalakos, Christos
    A study of abandoned buildings in a small town such as Tzaneen with a lack of concerns about Green Building and environmental consciousness. Evidence of old malls abandoned for newer and fashionable shopping centers with no sign of regenerating and renewing the abandoned economy. This leaves room for informal traders to operate in these abandoned spaces, leading to a decrease in property value within the economic hub of the Town. This project will be investigating the different methods of urban regeneration and exploring theories in relation to Sustainability, Environmental Ecology, and green design, to come up with a solution that could help in regenerating abandoned urban spaces. By exploring the current activities that are on the site, this project will further look at options to have an inclusive program of the informal trader as part of the solution to creating a well-balanced and vibrant economic hub.
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    Socio-economic Perspectives in the Redevelopment of Hostels in South Africa: A Case of Wolhuter Hostel, Jeppestown
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2020-11) Madonsela, Thando Kwenza; Sihlongonyane, Mfaniseni
    Hostels in the South Africa context are synonymous with the migrant labour system. The dominant feature of these pre-democratic hostels is that they catered for single-sex employees as opposed to worker families. This contributed to the destruction of the social fabric in terms of culture, traditions, and the destruction of the black families at large. In post-democratic South Africa, Hostel accommodation continues to paint a grim picture within our human settlement’s spaces. Socio-economic difficulties manifest themselves in mostly inadequate living conditions or poor housing circumstances that are largely conditioned by the unequal and distorted access to opportunities. To this day, most hostels that are not yet redeveloped or refurbished continue to present images of dirty menacing buildings associated with a public stigma of notoriety. This research study explores socio-economic perspectives in the redevelopment of hostels in South Africa. The study will consist of an interface between theoretical foundations, and empirical evidence. This research, data collection was sourced both from primary and secondary sources. Qualitative investigative methods were used to get an in-depth understanding of the subject. The research follows a case-study approach, that of Wolhuter Hostel, Jeppestown in Gauteng and undertook interviews of sixteen hostel dwellers plus a fucus group discussion. The study makes recommendations on policy reforms such introducing more responsive programmes in human settlements. It is also aimed at introducing an improved approach to the planning and redevelopment of the hostels by strengthening neighbourhood and precinct planning. The study contributes to the understanding and insight on hostels and their redevelopment and considering socio-economic perspectives in human settlements planning and development.
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    Transactions of mobility: Community trade centre to promote job security and networking in Phokeng
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024-02) Belisha, Edan; Janse van Rensburg, Ariane
    This architectural thesis is an in-depth study of local space-making with the aim of enhancing local networking and economic growth within the Phokeng community. The research is community-led and focuses on local services and spaces, as a way in which to incorporate rituals of everyday life. Through careful analysis of the community's spatial dynamics, a central hub arranged around a transport interchange is developed and proposed. Phokeng possesses the potential for prosperity due to the community’s distinctive Bafokeng identity and resources derived from their fertile and platinum rich landscapes. However, the community is socially and geographically isolated from local and global networks. Local individuals see these limitations to networking, unreliable access to local services and limited opportunities to develop experience and skills as the primary barriers to finding employment. Against this backdrop, the study focuses on three crucial areas: identity, transactions, and interactions. Through an in-depth examination of these areas, the study is aimed at creating a central hub for the Phokeng community to network and facilitate job security. This central hub becomes a strategic solution to foster collaboration and promote growth within the Phokeng community, with the potential of this hub serving as a springboard for wider development within the Bakofeng region.
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    Waste Not, Plant, Rot: A wastewater treatment centre that produces sustainable resources in Norwood, Johannesburg
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024-02) Glanville, Robyn Alice; Stone-Johnson, Brigitta
    This research investigates the delivery of essential resources - water, energy, and food around Orange Grove and Norwood, Johannesburg, where all three aspects are threatened by pollution and inaccessibility. Drawing upon permaculture and biomimicry principles, the study explores localized resource management in neighbourhood nodes to address the pressing issue of sustained inequality in South Africa. Focusing on a wastewater treatment plant and an aquaponic farm in Orange Grove, Johannesburg, the project aims to generate sustainable materials, produce, clean water, and energy while fostering spatial and social justice opportunities through community engagement and learning.
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    What are the Lessons that can be Drawn from International Experience on Sustainable Transport for Johannesburg? Case Study: Berlin, Germany
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024-02) Ngoma, Ralph Thabiso; Sihlongonyane, Mfaniseni
    This study unravels the performance of sustainable transport in two vastly different and unique spatial contexts, which have developed from comparable historical landscapes. The transport performance in the city of Johannesburg, South Africa and the city of Berlin, Germany is assessed respectively, to note the effectiveness of the transport modes individually and collectively. It is not a comparative study, but rather a study seeking to understand the actualisation of the concept ‘sustainable transport’ in Johannesburg. The problem statement is asking how the nuanced applicability of sustainability in transport can inform transport plans. The nuanced applicability of sustainability must inform transport plans, so that the vision of sustainable transport is strategically applied in the Johannesburg city plans and those of the other cities in the global south. There is a set of criteria that was adapted to assess the performance of transport in the respective cities, thereby extracting valuable lessons for Johannesburg. The qualitative method of study was used to gather the required data, through case studies, desktop research and unstructured discussions. The report argues for innovative and context sensitive approaches to conceptualising sustainable transport in the cities of the global south, and this is informed by the growth strategy of the respective cities. It is noted that transport and land use are co-dependent, therefore sustainable cities are those that integrate all the elements of sustainability in development plans. The results speak to planners and policy makers to have a nuanced view of transport, thus developing forward-looking frameworks to address sustainability as postulated by UN Habitat goals. The goal is to improve mobility in the city and keep abreast with new innovative approaches to unpacking ‘sustainable transport’ in literature, to inform the ever-growing sustainable, resilient and inclusive cities of the global south.