3. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - All submissions
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Item Settling on water pathways: a case study of Setswetla vulnerability to flash floods(2020) Mvulane, PauloseUrban flooding coupled with unplanned urbanisation and urban population growth characterised by informality has enhanced the vulnerability of the urban poor to climate change and weather extremes. On the 9th of November 2016, torrential rains led to flash floods which affected the City of Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni and Tshwane. Informal settlements such as Setswetla, situated north of Johannesburg, between Alexandra Township and Marlboro Gardens, were heavily impacted by the storm. Using semi-structured interviews and Forensic Disaster Investigation methods, the current study aims to explore what are the factors that shape and influence the extent and impacts of vulnerability to urban flash floods. The November 2016 flash floods were sudden and intense, businesses, roads and settlements were negatively impacted. According to News 24 (2016), there were people who never managed to get home after the 9th November 2016 torrential downpour in the city. The City of Johannesburg Disaster Management report (2016e) estimates that about 373 households with 862 individuals were severely affected by the November 2016 flash floods in Setswetla. Vulnerability to flooding is a complex condition driven by socio-economic and physical environmental factors. To address vulnerability there needs to be transformative adaptation and proactive local governance. Such adaptation may help to shift the current drivers of vulnerability to create a more inclusive developmental paradigm, and proactive governance that will ensure the provision of basic services to the most vulnerable communitiesItem The keepers of Kwambonambi apiculture as a catalyst in the negation of the spatial legacy of apartheid planning(2019) Becker, MicaylaKwaMbonambi meaning ‘’place where chiefs gather’’ is a rural town 30 km north of Richards Bay in Kwa-Zulu Natal. In contrast to its name, it seems that KwaMbonambi is a segregated place. Engulfed by plantations, lie three distinct residential communities: the Informal Settlement, the Old Town and the Suburb. The easily accessible ‘Old Town’ contains the infrastructure such as the police station, the post office and the liquor store. The Informal Settlement sector however which contains both industry and rows of cement block RDP houses are quarantined to the west of the area, with only one way in and one way out; an imposed spatial measure to keep ‘the others’ in. The railway and buffer-zones are the spatial barriers that lie between these communities which results in the perceived isolation. Residential segregation may be one of the strongest features of the Apartheid Legacy that has remained largely unchanged still today. Both the ‘Old Town and Township have experienced sprawl from out their edges but never seem to encompass the spatial barriers set out by apartheid planning. This divided past calls for healing of divisions to promote unity. A project in KwaMbonambi has to attempt to integrate the Township Community into the Old Town from which they are currently spatially excluded. The siting of the project aims to create a place of intersection that promotes local intergroup interaction as well as the introduction of tourists. This place of exchange forms the new town center, a key piece to the main street of the Old Town. This reclamation of space will enable the township residents access to services such as the post office where social grants are to be fetched. To represent the Township Community in the main street of the Old Town Sector I propose an Apicultural Center. Holding fast to its trademark feature of endless eucalyptus trees, bees are a natural byproduct of the site. People from the KwaMbonambi informal settlement have started capitalizing on these natural resources by starting to keep their own bees. Currently there are fifty-one families with at least five hives each that have the potential to produce four tons of honey a year. The international honey shortage provides opportunities for these rural beekeepers to act as a collective to manage their resources and offer a means of economic independence. Adding to the validity of this project is the problem of frequent fires that occur in the major Sappi plantations due to ‘wild-hive-robbing’ by the youth. The new facility will house production, commerce and health facilities as well as an education hub where people from within and out the community will learn about the beesItem An evaluation of the sustainability of urban regeneration projects in the Johannesburg inner city(2018) Xaba, Bhekumuzi NjabuloThe purpose of the study was to evaluate the sustainability of urban regeneration projects in the Johannesburg inner city using a prescribed model. This paper discusses the history associated with urban decay in the inner city, some of the current challenges still facing the inner city and intervention strategies put in place to restore the city to its former state, a world class African city. This paper further analysed the concept of urban regeneration, sustainable urban regeneration and methods used to measure sustainable urban regeneration in relation to cities. The report found that the indicator approach was the best way of evaluating the sustainability of urban regeneration as compared to other methods and it is the most widely used method in urban studies to give an indication of an areas situation. Through analysis of the previously used methods of evaluating the sustainability of urban regeneration projects, the Hemphill methodology was found to be the most widely used and has been replicated several times around the world due to its ability to produce robust, reliable, and valid results. This is because it has an extensive coverage of indicators, the derivation procedure of those indicators is said to encompass good practice and follows a logical rationale behind and it is robust hence the application of the method on the current study. Based on the results produced after the application of the Hemphill methodology on the study, the Johannesburg inner city is said to be making good progress towards sustainable urban regeneration. However, there is still room for improvement if the city is to move towards a sustainable world class African city.Item Dencity: toward a sustainable urban density for suburbs close to inner cities: the case of Muckleneuk, Pretoria(2017) Patel, SushmaThe lack of adequate urban density in suburbs close to inner South African cities compromises the ability for cities to reduce urban sprawl. This inadequacy of density prohibits more people from benefitting from the rich city resources and access to opportunities. Public transportation infrastructure, which is necessary for higher densities, often already exists at these locations. These suburbs are predominantly inhabited by white South Africans, are characterised by many heritage buildings, and resist and inhibit change and integration. Muckleneuk, Pretoria is selected as the study area. The study explores urban density as a means to spatially integrate fragmented parts of Muckleneuk. Various density tools are employed to measure the current and proposed density. Densities are compared to successful international examples of neighbourhoods. An investigation into a range of appropriate housing typologies is conducted in order to ensure a diversity of living environments. The study finds that it is indeed possible to radically improve the density of Muckleneuk and simultaneously improve spatial integration and conserve the heritage and natural landscapes of old suburbs.Item Geotechnical conditions, community-based practices and developments in Slovo park informal settlement, Johannesburg(2018) Lebea, Given MohaleIn recent years, authorities, experts and environmental agencies have had to deal with the challenge of considering dolomitic zones for the in situ upgrading of urban informal communities. South Africa appears to lead many regions globally in the management of developing construction methods on dolomitic terrains. The benefits of such expertise are, however, not yet visible in informal settlements. Intervention envisaged by the Constitution, various laws and regulations seem to have little effect. The challenge remains: the need to significantly improve the economic prospects and livelihoods of residents of informal settlements. Lack of such interventions is driving dangerous practices that exacerbate the development of dolomitic hazards, such as sinkholes. The informal settlement of Slovo Park was selected for the study because it is built on dolomite and at present there are major on-going debates between the City of Johannesburg (CoJ) and the community around issues of residential upgrading in relation to possible geotechnical hazards materialising in this area. The aim of the study was to investigate and define human actions that can exacerbate the formation of sinkholes within this type of setting. This research also strives to illustrate the gap that exists between conventional geotechnical interventions, and the important key roles that informal communities could play in preparing for and mitigating dolomitic risks. The study recommends the adoption of a Dolomite Risk Management protocol, as well as social awareness programmes, to inform residents of the negative impacts that socio-cultural and household practices and decisions can have on sinkholes creationItem An assessment of the spatio-temporal urban dynamics in the city of Tshwane, South Africa(2018) Magidi, James TakawiraUrbanisation, urban sprawl and loss of biodiversity in urban environments are major phenomena of the 21st Century cities and towns in both developing and developed countries. A study of the City of Tshwane (CoT), South Africa has shown that the city had been affected by unprecedented urbanisation, which led to encroachment of urban areas into non-urban environments. There is a need to monitor, quantify and predict urban dynamics for the sustainable management of urban environments. The advent of remote sensing and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) techniques have enabled researchers and decision-makers to have a historical perspective of the earth and detect change in urban areas. Remote sensing and GIS are powerful, cost-effective and efficient tools that are used in quantifying, monitoring and predicting land cover change using multi-temporal and multi-spectral spatial datasets. This helps decision-makers in designing decision support systems that are useful in evaluating alternative management scenarios and in the formulation of land use policies that are effective in the sustainable management of urban areas. Landsat TM (Thematic Mapper), ETM+ (Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus) and OLI (Operational Land Imager) satellite imagery from 1984 to 2015 were used for the long-term change detection. These remotely sensed data were classified into two classes, which are built-up (urban) and non-built-up (non-urban) areas using the supervised maximum likelihood classifier (MLC) Post-classification change detection methods and landscape metrics were used to assess change and quantify the degree of urban sprawl. Short-term change detection was performed in the low, medium and high-density areas using classified SPOT (Satellite Pour l'Observation de la Terre) satellite imagery of 2008, 2012 and 2015. To predict future scenarios in urban dynamics the study made use of the classified land cover maps of 1986, 2005, 2009 and 2009 (Landsat TM and Landsat OLI) coupled with transitional areas, transitional probabilities and the Cell Automaton-Markov (CA-Markov) model. The prediction model was validated using the predicted maps and classified maps of 2009 and 2013. Change in vegetation was assessed using time series analysis, which was run on MODIS (MODerate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) datasets with a 250m spatial resolution and a 16-day temporal resolution. Temporal (NDVI) profiles generated in different land cover classes coupled with the Mann-Kendall Statistic and Sen’s Estimator were used to assess the seasonal trends in vegetation from 2000 to 2016. Retrieval of change in land surface temperature (LST) was done using winter (August) and summer (December) Landsat imagery of 1997 and 2015. NDVI, emissivity and satellite temperature of the two different years and seasons were inputs in the retrieval of LST. There was a comparison of LST between the two years (1997 and 2015) and between seasons (winter and summer). Cross-sectional transects were run across different land cover types to show variations in LST. Results revealed an increase in urban areas in the CoT between 1984 and 2015. Urban predictions revealed an anticipated future increases in urban sprawl. Short-term land cover changes using SPOT imagery revealed an increase in urban areas in the high-density as compared to the low-density and the medium-density areas. Human settlements in the high-density areas especially the informal ones are also encroaching into areas earmarked for conservation. There were also remarkable seasonal variations in vegetation cover based on the MODIS NDVI temporal profiles. Mann Kendall trend analysis revealed a decreasing trend in vegetation cover in different land cover types. Temperature change in the CoT is evident as there was an increase in LST between 1997 and 2015 with high LST in summer and low in winter. The main aim of this study was to use remote sensing and GIS techniques to quantify, monitor and predict urban dynamics in the CoT. The objectives were to assess long-term and short-term land cover changes, to predict urban dynamics and to use available proxies such as vegetation cover, land surface temperature to assess urban growth. Keywords: Urban Sprawl, Urban growth, Predictive Modelling, GIS, Remote Sensing, Sustainable Development, Landscape Metrics, Land Surface Temperature, Time Series AnalysisItem Under the over infrastructure for the spectacle of the everyday(2016) Steynberg, Magriet"Thresholds are often the most dynamic places in ecosystems. The cusp, both spatially and temporally, is the zone of maximum activity, exchange, hybridization and instability." (Kullmann, 2012) Threshold spaces, previously abandoned or unoccupied, have been infiltrated by various communities - the homeless occupy the undersides of bridges, traders fill pavements and foreign and rural migrants live in derelict buildings. People have created, through their bodies, areas of communication, encounter, and areas of commoning, through which the public 'square' or 'park' in Johannesburg can be reimagined, neither as public space nor as non-place, but rather as common space. It is here that architecture can engage with both the city and its user, space and experience. It is within public space, that architecture can both enhance and celebrate the spectacle everyday. This project investigates all of these aspects within the city of Johannesburg and more specifically along the threshold of the M1 Underpass (Henry Nxumalo Street), focusing on the Newtown Precinct. Programmatically a promenade and market is used to experience this spectacle.Item Reification of space within knowledge production: the case of the circulating idea of resilience internationally and in the context of South African cities(2017) Ntamack, SergeIn this thesis, elements of Crawford Stanley Holing's life history are put into perspective. It provides a historical trajectory upon which the space imbued in the various contexts hosting pivotal activities on the production and refinement pf resilience idea are explored. These elements are also used as a point of departure from where the idea of resilience originates and circulates internationally and in the context of South African cities. [Abbreviated abstract. Open document to view full version]Item The feminist classroom: women's action in the reinvention of adult learning spaces(2017) Shubane, Letlhabile MonicaMy focus is on working women in post democracy education and training programmes. Due to societal gender roles, rights for women, in both education and opportunity, should materialise in adult education systems. In order for women to be exposed to work opportunities as well as to maintain the domestic and child-rearing roles they play in society, these systems and spaces must be reinvented. I hope to defi ne indigenous feminist theories, and then to manifest these in the creation of learning spaces. Th rough deconstructing the hugely diverse lived experiences of women in their social roles, I will question educational subject matter, women’s representation as learners, workplace roles, domestic and child-rearing roles, and fi nally challenge the idea of the widely accepted school and classroom model as a centralised institution. Alternative practices of learning and knowing possibly have great impact on transformation for women. Th e ties between education and work lead me to choose factories as my site of interest. Th e site of Jeppestown is appropriate because it is where the light industrial practices about which I am talking, continue to exist. With this thesis I aim to propose an alternative model for working- women as students and educators. I aim to reinvent the systems and spaces in which women learn and in which contextualised feminist theories are manifested.