School of Architecture and Planning
Permanent URI for this community
For information on accessing Architecture content please contact Katlego Chiya via email : Katlego.Chiya@wits.ac.za or Tel (W) : 011 717 1978
Browse
Browsing School of Architecture and Planning by Type "Other"
Now showing 1 - 20 of 87
Results Per Page
Sort Options
Item Acid mine drainage and its governance in the Gauteng City-Region(2015-05) Bobbins, KerryAcid mine drainage (AMD) in the Gauteng City-Region (GCR) has been described in the media as a ticking time bomb after it was officially reported to have begun surfacing from old mining works on the West Rand in 2002 (Masondo et al., 2011; TAU SA, 2011; Slack, 2013). Acid mine drainage occurs when ‘fool’s gold’ (FeS2) or iron pyrite found in mined rock oxidises. This occurs when either underground mine shafts, or crushed conglomerate in Mine Residue Areas (MRAs) on the surface, become exposed to oxygen and water creating run-off that is very high in sulphates – effectively sulphuric acid – and is hazardous to both humans and the environment (McCarthy 2010). Over the last decade, a flurry of news articles have highlighted the threat of acid water decant and its likely effects on human health, the environment, water quality, municipal infrastructure and building foundations in the Johannesburg Central Business District (CBD). These reports have fuelled anxieties around when and where decant will take place and who will be affected by AMD. In response to these concerns, government, through the National Department of Water Affairs (DWA), has introduced a set of immediate and short-term interventions to overcome decant in the West Rand. These have allowed AMD to be framed as an environmental emergency. DWA has also set in motion a process to develop a long-term solution that, through a broader and more inclusive approach, will solve various AMD issues over time including its impact on the Gauteng water supply. In relation to both these two government interventions – the immediate/short and long-term solutions – very few stakeholders or members of the public know enough about AMD and its governance to understand what the real challenges are and how they should respond. Even fewer are able to piece together the series of events that led up to the current and proposed set of actions taken by DWA to tackle AMD. This paper argues that the current trajectory of government-led responses has suspended meaningful public engagement and debate, and the result is a grey cloud of misinterpreted facts and presumed motives that has cast a shadow of misunderstanding, which in turn exacerbates the anxieties of affected communities and interested stakeholder groupsItem African Architect; a Journal devoted to the interests of the Architectural Profession in South Africa(Institutes of South African Architects and the Chapter of South African Quantity Surveyors, 1914)African Architect; a Journal devoted to the interests of the Architectural Profession in South AfricaItem African Architect; the Journal of the Association of Transvaal Architects(Institutes of South African Architects and the Chapter of South African Quantity Surveyors, 1911)African Architect; the Journal of the Association of Transvaal ArchitectsItem African Architect; the Journal of the Association of Transvaal Architects(Institutes of South African Architects and the Chapter of South African Quantity Surveyors, 1912)African Architect; the Journal of the Association of Transvaal ArchitectsItem African Architect; the Journal of the Association of Transvaal Architects(Institutes of South African Architects and the Chapter of South African Quantity Surveyors, 1913)African Architect; the Journal of the Association of Transvaal ArchitectsItem Back to the Streets; Exploratory research on pedestrian life and walking spaces in the Greater Johannesburg area(South African Research Chair in Development Planning and Modelling, School of Architecture and Planning, University of the Witwatersrand., 2012) Cabaret, AliceThe aim of this exploratory research is to identify the different aspects and trends of the pedestrian practices in the Greater Johannesburg area. This has been achieved by the use of “street models” encapsulating the different socio-demographic profiles of pedestrians as well as their uses of space, based on site visits and social surveys....... This research aims at being exploratory and at providing a first understanding of pedestrian life and walking spaces in Johannesburg. It also looks at the challenges to their development, based on the comparative analysis of street models. The research provided provisional answers to questions posed, but also raised additional complex questions to be interrogated. The research method itself assumes that the findings cannot be perfectly representative: rather they serve as a base for preliminary conclusions and further research.Item Benchmarking the way cities and regions around the world are responding to the global recession(2009-09) Everatt, David; Gotz, Graeme; Phakathi, Sizwe; Makgetla, NevaThe Gauteng Provincial Government Department of Economic Department (GPGDED) approached the Gauteng City-Region Observatory (GCRO) to provide them with a fast turn-around report that benchmarks sub-national responses to the economic crisis globally. The brief was to provide a review of what cities and regions are doing in response to the crisis in other parts of the world, and to emphasise the action side of the story – what is being done, rather than analysing the differing nature and impact of the crisis in different places.The report is filled not so much with specific recommendations as a suite of possible interventions that the Gauteng Provincial Government may wish to choose from and implement.Item Brazil: innovation and development(2012-10) Arbix, Glauco; de Toledo, Demétrio G. C.; Felizardo, Rafael G.This essay discusses recent developments in Brazil´s innovation policies. These policies are part of a long-term developmental process and the current search for a new national configuration of policies and instruments capable of steering Brazil in the midst of globalisation and economic systems that have knowledge as their backbone. Industrialisation became the main source of inspiration as a means of attaining social evolution in countries like Brazil, South Africa, India, Mexico, Argentina and South Korea, to name a few; and in a sense this remains true today. These roots have marked state institutions and underscore the modus operandi of government planners. Brazil´s prospects for overcoming poverty, inequality and the burden of late development can be described as a process of attaining a better balance between earlier achievements and the current process of institution-building aimed at providing Brazil with the policies and instruments to support innovation as a means of achieving social and economic development.Item CHANGING LAND USE ON THE PERIPHERY; a case study of urban agriculture and food gardening in Orange Farm.(South African Research Chair in Development Planning and Modelling, School of Architecture and Planning, University of the Witwatersrand., 2012-08) RICHARDS, ROBIN; TAYLOR, SUEThis study was undertaken after funding was received under a call for short-term consultancies to investigate a range of topics related to urban spatial transformation. The call was issued by the School of Architecture and Planning of the University of Witwatersrand under the NRF SARCHi initiative. This study investigates peri-urban food gardens and the role that food gardening plays in Orange Farm in addressing poverty and in improving food security. The study specifically looks at the effects of available open space on urban agriculture and food gardening in Orange Farm. It was hypothesised at the outset of the study that, being located on the peri-urban periphery of the city, Orange Farm is not yet densely populated or short of land for food gardening to be excluded as a livelihood option. This abundance of open land could, therefore, become an asset in an agriculturally-based strategy to target poverty in this priority region of the city.1.......... This study was undertaken after funding was received under a call for short-term consultancies to investigate a range of topics related to urban spatial transformation. The call was issued by the School of Architecture and Planning of the University of Witwatersrand under the NRF SARCHi initiative. This study investigates peri-urban food gardens and the role that food gardening plays in Orange Farm in addressing poverty and in improving food security. The study specifically looks at the effects of available open space on urban agriculture and food gardening in Orange Farm. It was hypothesised at the outset of the study that, being located on the peri-urban periphery of the city, Orange Farm is not yet densely populated or short of land for food gardening to be excluded as a livelihood option. This abundance of open land could, therefore, become an asset in an agriculturally-based strategy to target poverty in this priority region of the city.1...... The study was guided by two key research questions, namely: 1. What interest do Orange Farm residents have in urban agriculture and food gardening; and can this interest be used as a spatial planning element as the settlement undergoes increased formal development? 2. Are there spatial, land ownership, socio-economic and attitudinal constraints that currently affect the implementation of food gardening projects and urban agriculture in Orange Farm and, if so, which of these is the greatest obstacle to current and future urban agriculture and food gardening?Item A composite index of quality of life for the Gauteng city-region: a principal component analysis approach(2015-03-30) Greyling, TalitaGCRO's 'Quality of Life' survey and outputs are increasingly part of the research landscape, with both policy and academic uptake. However, to ensure that the results are as accurate as possible, we commission external reviews using alternative analytic methods, to see if they generate similar or very different findings, in addition to the in-house quality control measures in place. In this way, all spheres of government - and GCRO ourselves - can be reassured that rigorous peer review and critique is an integral part of our work. In this paper, UJ economist Talita Dalton-Greyling uses PCA (Principal Component Analysis) to re-run the 2011 Quality of life data and see if her outcomes are similar to ours - which they were. The paper also provides an interesting overview of the global move away from GDP and other economistic measurements of growth to more quality of life and/or well-being measures, and locates her and our work in a broader global context.Item Country Life in South Africa with which is incorporated "The African Architect"(Institutes of South African Architects and the Chapter of South African Quantity Surveyors, 1915)Country Life in South Africa with which is incorporated "The African Architect"Item The decanting of acid mine water in the Gauteng City-Region: analysis, prognosis and solutions(2010-09) McCarthy, TerenceThe large void beneath the Witwatersrand created by gold mining over the last 120 years is filling with water, which is rising at about 15m per month. The void will fill and water will begin to leak out (decant) on surface in about three years from now. It is likely that multiple decant points will develop in municipal areas across the Witwatersrand from Roodepoort to Boksburg. experience on the West Rand has shown that the quality of the water is likely to be poor and toxic. The prime risk area where decant points are likely to develop is in a zone about 500m wide straddling Main Reef Road and the M2 motorway, plus a secondary zone some two kilometres to the south. deep basements of buildings and other sub-surface infrastructure in the risk zones could experience flooding and the underground facility at Gold Reef City, a national treasure, will be lost. The problem can be solved by establishing pump stations at shallow depth in the mining belt to keep the water at a safe depth below surface. a depth of 300m is recommended in order to protect the Gold Reef City facility. The technological capability to do this is readily available, and the necessary water treatment processes are well established. although initially expensive, the pumping operation may ultimately generate a profit. Moreover, the cost of not pumping may ultimately vastly exceed the cost of timely intervention. establishing the necessary pumping and water treatment infrastructure will take considerable time, and therefore immediate action is required.Item Distribution of population vs economic activity(Gauteng City-Region Obervatory, 2021-08-31) Mosiane, Ngaka; Murray, JenniferThe location of population in relation to economic activity in the Gauteng City-Region (GCR) has been a subject of considerable interest from a number of researchers and institutions. This Map of the Month contributes to that body of work, highlighting a misalignment between where people live and where Gross Value Add (GVA) typically associated with urban development occurs. The map shows every ‘mesozone’ – equally sized polygons drawn by the Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) – across the extended Gauteng City Region, using a radius of 175km from the centre of Johannesburg. The value of each mesozone is calculated by subtracting its share of the whole region’s population from its share of selected urban economic sectors. In green mesozones, the share of urban economic activity exceeds the share of population, while in red or orange mesozones, the share of population exceeds the share of the urban economy. The map draws attention to the edges of Gauteng’s metropolitan areas as sites with larger population shares than that of the economy (e.g. the red and orange shaded ‘mesozones’ in Soweto, Soshanguve, and KwaMhlanga). The opposite is true for the core of the GCR, which is characterised by high urban economic agglomeration compared to the people living there (e.g. the green shaded mesozones around Johannesburg and Pretoria).Item Does density drive development?(South African Research Chair in Development Planning and and Planning, University of the Witwatersrand., 2012-08) Msulwa, Rehemahere is growing interest among governments and researchers around the world in the contribution of cities to economic development. Several influential international organisations have argued that the spatial concentration of economic activity is necessary for faster economic growth. This paper examines whether the density of population and economic activity influences the rate of local economic growth in South Africa. Municipalities are the basic units of analysis and the time frame is 1996-2010. Contrary to expectations, no statistically significant relationship is found between density and growth across the full range of 237 local municipalities. However, searching hard for a relationship among particular kinds of municipality, some evidence does emerge. The influence of human skills on local growth is also examined and is found to be more robust than density. Several reasons are given for why the relationship between density and growth is generally weak or non-existent.Item Economic and commuting connections in the northern GCR(Gauteng City-Region Obervatory, 2022-02-28) Mosiane, Ngaka; Murray, JenniferThis Map of the Month illustrates some of the ways through which the core areas of the Gauteng City-Region (GCR) are interconnected with their peripheries, including those that are outside the Gauteng Province, but are within commuting distance. The connections are drawn as straight lines from the start to end points, representing some of the regional flows of goods, services, and people (particularly workers). These flows signify disparate types of relationships between the city region peripheries and core areas, involving the transporting of mining supplies from Gauteng to Rustenburg mining operations. They also indicate relationships of interdependence, including daily commutes from northern Tshwane and former KwaNdebele to the City of Tshwane. It suggests that railway lines, highways, and roads are among the government's most important development interventions. Ordinary people themselves turn those facilities into resources to cope with, rework, or even overcome their marginality. The resultant large-scale practices and spaces of mobility overcome the divide between the core and periphery.Item Gauteng going dark: How nighttime light intensity changed during early stages of lockdown(Gauteng City-Region Obervatory, 2020-07-21) Naidoo, Yashena; Maree, GillianThe COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa has had far reaching impacts on society and the economy. A national disaster was declared on 15 March 2020 and by 26 March 2020 strong restrictive measures were put in place to manage the spread of the disease. The tightest restrictions were in place for lockdown level 5 which lasted from 26 March 2020 until the end of April 2020. During level 5 all movement was restricted and only essential workers were permitted to work. The country's borders were closed; interprovincial movement was banned; all gatherings except for small funerals were prohibited and schools, restaurants and non-essential businesses were closed. With movement restricted, activity was confined largely to domestic spaces. In the July 2020 Map of the month, we use nighttime satellite data to see whether night light intensity across the Gauteng City-Region reflects the impact of lockdown. We looked at how light intensity changed from before lockdown (March 2020) to lockdown level 5 (April 2020). In the full write up, we also show a second map of the difference between level 5 night light brightness (April 2020) and level 4 brightness (May 2020). The maps show a clear dimming of light intensity which resulted from reduced nighttime activity during the various lockdown levels. Roads were noticeably darker with far less vehicle traffic on main highways and many areas with usually vibrant activity at night were darker. As restrictions have eased, light intensity and nighttime activity have increased again across the GCR.Item Gauteng’s property gradient three decades after the repeal of the Group Areas Act(Gauteng City-Region Obervatory, 2021-06-30) Ballard, Richard; Namponya, Alfred; Tshangana, AlisonIn June 1991, the South African parliament repealed the Group Areas Act, the legislation that the apartheid state had used to drive urban segregation. To mark the three decade anniversary of this moment, this month’s map showcases remarkable analysis conducted by the Centre for Affordable Housing Finance in Africa (CAHF) on property values across the three metros in Gauteng. It shows in broad terms the way in which historically-white suburbs continue to be the most financially exclusive parts of the city region. Each pie graph represents one Census subplace or suburb: the size of the circle reflects the total number of registered properties in that suburb while the coloured slices of the pie represent the number of properties in each market segment. Green and blue segments represent properties under R600 000, while red segments indicate properties over R1.2 million.Item Gauteng’s urban land cover growth: 1990-2020(Gauteng City-Region Observatory, 2022-03-31) Ballard, Richard; Hamann, ChristianItem The GCRO barometer 2014(2015-04-17) Mushongera, DarlingtonThe GCRO Barometer 2014 depicts developmental progress in the Gauteng City-Region (GCR) in a single interactive graphic using 38 indicators across ten key sectors. It serves as a tracking and diagnostic tool to inform policy makers and the public on where development progress is being made, and areas of concern. It also serves as a tool for benchmarking Gauteng against other South African provinces and similar sized city-regions across the world. The GCRO Barometer 2014 is the first release and shows progress in 2012 against three base years: 2002, 2007 and 2011. Overall, the Barometer shows that the developmental outlook for Gauteng is positive with significant progress realised between 2002 and 2012 in nearly all sectors. For instance, the poverty rate has fallen dramatically since 2002 and access to basic services has improved. However, there are challenges in areas such as Social Cohesion, Governance, the Labour Market and Sustainability. Sadly, people’s perceptions of government, as well as their unwillingness to participate in governance matters do not correspond to the achievements made by government during this period. This should be a cause for concern for policy makers in all spheres of government as it reflects dissatisfaction with the nature and quality of services being provided as well as the methods of provision. The Barometer also shows that the impact of government programmes is minimal over shorter time spans – change between 2002 and 2012 is considerable, but change between 2011 and 2012 is insignificant. This is a cause for concern given the 5-year cycle of electoral terms for local government in South Africa. The Barometer’s outcomes underscore the need for government to step up policy and programme monitoring with a view to achieving immediate and positive short-term impacts on communities.Item Historical spatial change in the Gauteng City-Region(2013-03) Mubiwa, Brian; Annegarn, HaroldThis Occasional Paper is one of two that GCRO has commissioned specifically to deepen our understanding of the past of the GCR. Both focus on aspects of the region’s spatial past, and ought to be read together. This paper by Brian Mubiwa and Harold Annegarn explores the historical spatial evolution of the GCR. It examines key spatial changes that have shaped the region over a century and provides a remarkable picture, based on satellite imagery, of regional spatial growth in the last two decades. The companion paper by Alan Mabin asks the different but related question of how the idea of a city-region found expression in various statutory planning frameworks over the course of the last century, and how embryonic city-region concepts influenced spatial decisions and developments.