3. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - All submissions
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Item Adaptability of participatory backcasting to e-backcasting for inclusive sustainable city visioning for African cities: a prototyped study Of Abuja, Nigeria(2019-07) Achuenu, Ache StellaThe implementation process of the envisioned future for Abuja as the capital city of Nigeria since 1975 was ill-fated from the start, mainly due to the pattern of exclusion in the governance style, as well as the rigid execution guided by a modernist-inspired master-plan. The resultant sustainability challenges facing the city today include escalating segregation among its rich and poor residents, a hostile relationship between residents and city-administration and a stubborn indifference to the city’s ecological footprint. Provoked by these challenges, this study applied action-research to guide the prototyping of e-backcasting for sustainable city transitioning for Abuja over the next 50-years, with the key focus on participation and inclusivity. The potential of e-backcasting as a participation enhancement-tool was explored by bridging e-governance and conventional backcasting (face-to-face) while leveraging the rapidly maturing Web 2.0 socio-media tools. The process involved four iterative steps which entailed the application of four social-media tools (e-mails, Facebook, blogs and WhatsApp). Of the 644 possible participants initially contacted, 302 participants consented (26 on email, 58 on Facebook, 9 on blogs and 209 on WhatsApp) and remained engaged across all four iterations. Of these, 34 participants were deemed to be experts while 268 participants were deemed to be common citizens. 147 of the 302 participants reported that they were generally satisfied with their participation experience and felt that the approach would be useful for inclusive city-planning in Nigeria especially in facilitating responsive pathways for sustainable city transitioning. In contrast, 59 participants reported dissatisfaction in their experience with the process while 96 participants reported an undetermined/neutral experience. The key inadequacies with the recruitment, participation and inclusivity mainly related to time and technology access, language and low-familiarity with the process and subject-matter of the study. The study recommends further prototyping within Abuja’s e-Governance platform in order to allow for additional evaluation and establishment of institutional capacity for full implementation. In addition, the study concludes that the initial process of reaching out for awareness-raising and recruitment of participants constitutes the most critical stage towards ensuring participation and inclusivity.Item Urban living 101: a platform for [re]introduction into Johannesburg inner city(2014-02-20) Belamant, MichelleOver 800 000 people access and commute through Johannesburg Inner City every single day. (JDA, 2009) Out of this, a certain group of people enter the city with every intention to fi nd permanent residency and work within the city. They mostly come from afar, rural or semi-rural areas and often from neighbouring countries. Unfortunately, with the continuously changing urban environment, it can be an incredibly difficult process to adapt to alone. As such, this can be the best time and the worst time of their lives, fi lled with mixed emotions of excitement, disappointment, fear and anticipation. This is the time where one may manage to truly live life, or end up surviving it. The sudden change in lifestyle, security, social and economic conditions, entertainment and habitat can create situations where the very best will fail in their quest to improve their lives and fall into degenerate lives of crime and despair from which very few will emerge stronger. As I see it, architecture is the science of building, in terms of not only visually inspiring structures but more importantly, structures that can improve the lives of people whilst preserving the environment and assisting in the building of a stronger economy and moral fi bre. I believe that architecture is at the root of civilization itself. However, due to a multitude of varying levels of control implemented into the urban realm of Johannesburg’s Inner City, in order to ensure this change, it appears that parts of the physical environment are being distorted to accept a selected group of city inhabitants, leaving the marginalised group to fend for themselves. In saying this, there thus appears to be a new form of segregation occurring within the city. As such, the social and physical environments are beginning to lose a certain key characteristic of what a city should be – spirit and integration between all of its parts. This thesis therefore investigates a design that strives to create a bridge between Johannesburg’s Inner City and the formal environments where new city-dwellers can fi nd respite and are assisted to achieve their goals without succumbing to the pitfalls that would otherwise await them. The design will ensure that the transition between these new-comers’ old and new lifestyles and surroundings is as painless as possible allowing them to reach their full potential quickly and hopefully removing the risk that they may become a burden to themselves and society. This thesis will focus on the construct of a 21st century interpretation of Godin’s familistère, not necessarily in its structural make up but rather in its funding, management and programmatic structure to fulfi l its mission in a sustainable manner as well as the new idea of connecting these factors into the ‘bigger picture’. (Benevolo, 1971) This thesis will address the fundamentals of target group, services provided, training, temporary living accommodation, optimal time of stay, work ethics, funding and most importantly, the spatial framework required for such integration to occur. The results of this thesis will culminate in a full-scale detailed design of such a construct and propose how it could be achieved spatially for the direct benefi t of those individuals, as well as the indirect effect it could have on the physical make-up of Johannesburg’s Inner City.