3. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - All submissions
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Item Space, agency and informality :a case study of Musina's food vendors and foreign currency dealers(2019) Muzanenhamo, ChidoAs a more useful alternative to urban theories that originate from the North, the idea of African urbanism has been found to be more instrumental in investigating the day to day experiences of those who inhabit the African continent’s urban areas. While it has been well established that Africa’s metropoles are dominated by the presence of both an economics and a politics of the subaltern, very little is currently known about these processes in an African border town. This research report seeks to examine the role of the economics of urban marginality - by focusing on the informal economic practices of foreign currency traders and food vendors – in the production and transformation of urban place and space in Musina, a border town in South Africa. In addition, the research explores the spatial politics of Musina’s informal economic trade by emphasizing how the state, practices of governmentality and cultural politics intersect. Drawing on data from twelve semi-structured interviews and participant observation, this research report argues that there is a mutually beneficial relationship between the state and those marginalised by Musina’s urban economy, as reflected in the manner in which private and publicly owned space is produced and transformed. The urban physical space is closely associated with the generation of informal income, and this is expressed in Musina’s political economy in ways that enable individuals to embody space prior to its production. The report also argues that subaltern economics provide an opportunity to reimagine the spatial beyond the local. Finally, this study considers how identity is associated with specific spaces and the impact this has on how the spatial is conceived, used and claimed by street traders.Item 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 Relieving: reinterpreting the mall, the park and the public space in Sandton(2019) Batev, Minki MagdalenaStress is a reality of life. It can be good and bad and it can be constructive and the destructive. The destructive nature of stress can have a negative impact on a persons physical and mental health. Unfortunately, some stress is unavoidable, therefore a need to manage and alleviate stress is important. There is a general relationship between the built environment and stress. Looking at Sandton, the corporate centre of Johannesburg, it is understood why people experience professional, work pressure. The physical conditions of Sandton potentially further contribute to making Sandton a stressful environment. Sandton City, the mall situated in between Sandton’s corporate buildings, is in prime location with a under-utilised, empty flat roof. Herein lies an opportunity for a spatial intervention where people are able to alleviate constant streams of stress and in addition to improve the physical environment of Sandton to be more restorative and foster well-being in oder to enhance people’s ability to function effectively. This project is proposing that the roof of Sandton City is transformed into a public park. This responds to the need for more natural landscaping and to the need for public space in Sandton. The park will integrate into the mall at the main ‘social’ cores (the Checkers court, the Food court and Woolworths court). Most importantly, the park’s programming will address the issue of stress in the corporate environment by providing a variety of spaces and places for people to relax. This includes a exercise zone, a food zone and an urban escape zone which has a spa and short-stay rentable rooms.Item 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 Rethinking park spaces in Johannesburg : decolonising the African urban landscape through public space design(2017) Mavuso, Nkosilenhle ThaboThe report is an investigation of urban parks as public space in Johannesburg inner-city. It investigates the current situation of a deteriorating degree of public space in Johannesburg due to growing levels of privatisation and incapacity of the public sector to design, manage and maintain good quality, inclusive and safe public open spaces in the city. My research aims at being a radical re-imagining of Inner-city of Johannesburg, through urban design, in how the inner-city can be (spatially) transformed and reconfigured through open public space, as part of the decolonization agenda for African cities. In my study, I investigate the nature of urban parks in Johannesburg’s inner-city, in an attempt to understand the ways they are being used by different user groups and how this is affected by the way they are physically designed and managed. It presents three chosen parks of study; Joubert Park, End Street Park (North and South), and Nugget Street Park, located in Doornfontein Johannesburg, and look into the chosen park’s connectivity and accessibility to streets and other public spaces. I assess how the parks’ location and proximity to activities and public infrastructure/amenities (such as housing units, retail outlets, schools and public transport interchanges) affects the number and type of users that use them as well as the kind of activities within them. As part of this assessment will be the issue of safety and security within parks and how current management approaches have been used to address the issue. I, through my research, question current urban design and management approaches; aimed at achieving increased levels of use and safety in terms of the impact they have had on the city’s public open spaces. Questions are asked on the effectiveness of safety measures such as fences, gates and security cameras and personnel and how they impact on the degree of ‘publicness’ and safety in the city’s public open spaces. As part of its aim of understanding the nature of parks in the inner-city of Johannesburg, the research reviews existing literature that has been written on public space/public park use and design and the ‘ideal’ approaches to good design and management. It focuses on the ideal of an ‘Open City’ and questions of ‘publicness’ in park use and management. The notion of decolonising Johannesburg as an African city (in its current neo-apartheid segregatory form) is also interrogated. Questions are asked on the definition of what African urban space is and the principles of its form and function, based on precolonial African city examples. The principle of common space and collective ownership and use is discussed as an essential principle that framed the configuration of african public space, which was lost in the introduction of colonial city formations. The report1 presents an analysis of End Street North and South Park located on the north and south ends of the railway line along Nugget Street in Doornfontein. It assesses the process in which End Street South Park was (re)designed and upgraded in 2009 as part of the Ellis Park precinct development for the 2010 World cup, and critically assesses the outcomes of its design in terms of both the successes and failures of the upgrade. In the analysis the report illustrates how though the park’s upgrade reduced violent crimes such as muggings in the park, the park contains illicit activities such as gambling and drug use spots along its edges and corners. The use of high fencing in the new design and deployment of private security in the park was found not to be entirely solving issues of safety in the park. Although the fence was intended to assist in the management and control of who accesses and uses the park for safety reasons, it contributes towards creating hidden spaces for gambling, drug use and bullying to occur away from the eyes of the public. The analysis of End Street North Park involves the documentation of the End Street North Park upgrade pilot project that tests a participatory approach to park design and management for safety. The objective of the project was to demonstrate an integrated stakeholder approach to public space design and management that involves sector contributions from different city departments as well as engagement with city residents and other park users in designing a safe, inclusive and sustainable public space though participatory tools and methods. This set of findings from End Street North and South Parks reveal that park use and safety issues cannot be completely addressed through design and installation of physical safety measures such as high fences, law enforcement and regulation of use by security guards or park managers alone. The report indeed proposes a radical and aggressive urban design framework and/or strategy towards transforming inner-city Johannesburg’s spatial fabric through urban park and open public space design. Part of this process involves looking into alternative design related ways of dealing with aspects of use and safety in parks as well as aspects of public participation, community co-design and comanagement processes.Item Mending publicness through urban form : urban connectivity(2016) Rude, Warno P.The public realm is continually under pressure as the container of constant urban change. Streets and public spaces function as connectors between public / private transport and the built urban form. The public realm is also responsible for hosting public activity that includes commuting, socialising, trading and governing. In the context of ever changing urban form due to accelerated urban sprawl, suburban growth, complicated politics and the increasing demand for vehicular transport, it is becoming increasingly difficult to maintain and develop quality public urban environments throughout our polycentric cities. The concept of relinking transport and public space to mixeduse urban form originates from theory of Transport Orientated Development (TOD) and the densification of our cities in order to be more sustainable and to control urban sprawl. The importance of good quality public space, public transport and supporting urban form cannot be underestimated in the drive towards a densified sustainable city. Together the city transport network and supporting public spaces need to stitch all urban form and more important need to be attractive for all types of people living in the city. The assumption is that this will encourage people to move towards these densified areas that are supported by public transport nodes. The aim of this research is to identify possible scenarios for repairing urban fabric in order to improve the link between the community and the public urban realm. Key concepts that will be investigated are public transport, public spaces, urban form, suburban densification and non-motorised transport. The design initiative will be to repair a specific suburban neighbourhood by means of public space creation, urban densification and mixing uses within built form. The heart of the intervention is to create a lively sustainable dense neighbourhood by activating publicness through a humanist urban design approach.Item Breaking down the walls: how can we integrate gated communities into the existing urban fabric through design?(2017) Van Dyk, WesselInfluenced by the thinking of the Garden City movement, gated and so-called lifestyle security estates have become overwhelmingly popular in many cities across the world. With demand fuelled by a combination of security concerns and a belief that such schemes provides enhanced efficiency and comfortability, these estates have come under severe scrutiny with regards to its apparent spatial and socio-economic impacts on the city structure as a whole. However, despite the severe criticism and awareness, these types of developments have showed very little signs of decline - thus perhaps illustrating a real economic rationale in the desire of people to reside in environments with higher perceptions of safety and control. Cities respond to this by clearly delineating urban development boundaries and even in some cases publish design principles that promote integration and inclusion. These more than often become contested by means of political- and private sector influences resulting in the perpetual realities of estate development and no real prohibiting actions and remedial recourse. Given these realities, what then does the future hold for our city landscape? Could we possibly reposition ourselves now to better the outcome later? Using Steyn City and Dainfern in the Fourways area, as two mega development case studies, this academic inquiry seeks to reflect on the status quo of estate developments and creatively find internal possible clues within the very structuring elements of such schemes that could potentially unlock and ‘un-gate’ developments and in the process improve access to opportunities in the city. This could surely not only provide new insights as to what the potential future can be, but it also provides the opportunity to redefine the ‘right to the city’ and opportunity in already deprived and isolated localities.Item Urban prototypes: the importance of the small in changing the big(2017) Mhlongo, Siphephelo Njomane NqabaThe end of apartheid signalled the need to reinvent and re-configure South African cites not just spatially but economically as well, to be more inclusive of the people it once marginalized and excluded. South Africa’s urban identity is intrinsically intertwined with the history of apartheid to the point where it is impossible to have the one without the other. Johannesburg much like all the other cities in South Africa is and was an Apartheid project; the city was a tool used to perpetuate and enforce a system of economic exclusion which later developed into social and cultural segregation. Despite its nearly complete re-population after 1994, the city today, as dynamic and vibrant as it is, still poses remnants of the apartheid era. The people who had not been allowed into the city have become its primary residents, yet not its owners. And because the city was never designed for them, they have had to make, re-make and reconfigure the city for themselves. Through this process of making, re-making and re-configuring innovative solutions to everyday problems are tried tested and developed to integrate the urban African into the city. The changing demographics manifested growth through informal infill to create the Johannesburg we know today. It is by the process of negotiation between the formal and the informal economy that Johannesburg assumes its identity. The resilience of the informal economy could be attributed to the social networks that govern its relationships. The combination of social networks and the process of re-making the city suggest the informal as a strategy for urban regeneration that heals the city in its entirety by intervening in sensitive points in the urban fabric. This thesis investigates the shifting role of the informal in, the need for a change in approach when dealing with the informal and looks at the informal as a skill and form of knowledge.Item Re-configuring invisible labour: dignifying domestic work and cultivating community in suburbia, Johannesburg(2016) Blumberg, Jessica MicheleDomestic workers in South Africa are a vulnerable work force who are not financially or socially recognised for the significant role they play in sustaining homes, suburbs and society. The topic of domestic work serves as a lens through which to analyse the intersectional issues of race, gender and class in South Africa and their spatial manifestations. I have found that spatial principles employed, historically and currently, play a substantial role in creating or upholding the unbalanced power relationship governing domestic work. The spatial techniques of separation, isolation, concealment, surveillance, front to back and leisure to work relationships for example, have become so mundane and normalized in South African society that it is difficult to identify these factors as facilitators of race, gender and class discrimination. My spatial approach is to utilize these principles in a way that disrupts and draws attention to their original objective. The program aims to recognise the significance of this occupation, give domestic Workers collective power to negotiate their working conditions and facilitate social mobility. The building is a mix-use centre which incorporates business, accommodation, communal and public facilities, activities and gathering spaces a landscaped park. The business facilities incorporate existing services in a more formalized, professionalized manner, ensuring fair remuneration and recognition for quality services. The centre additionally provides services in more interactive, sustainable and economically efficient ways than they are traditionally provided for in individual private homes. These communal services include a children’s day care, public laundry and eatery. The intention is to create a prototype that may be reproduced in any suburb thereby creating a network of centres. The selection of the park in Norwood as a site serves to reactivate an underutilized public space and in so doing challenge the existing relationships of work and leisure, public and private and social hierarchies in the suburb. The position of this project in the relatively, sparsely populated suburbs would change the racial and financial demographic. It would be a new typology for high density, low cost/ government subsidised housing in a way that integrates infrastructure and public space.