School of Architecture and Planning (ETDs)

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A Conservationist Menagerie: Redefining The Johannesburg Zoo ThroughA Multi-Species Educational Facility
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Jacob, Anneline
This architectural project seeks to rectify the injustices that the human-wildlife conflict has had on captive, injured and displaced wildlife and their welfare. Throughout the years human have exerted their dominance over wildlife and the current relationship between humans and animals is described as hierarchical and demonstrates a power dynamic whereby humans view themselves as superior to wildlife. This dynamic and the absence of animals which used to be a part of daily life has resulted in a lack of tangible experiences between species resulting in a knowledge gap and poor understanding of animal welfare. This research project will explore the relationship between humans and wildlife in the context of the Johannesburg Zoo which has faced increasing disapproval from the public as its current design fails to provide adequate landscape habitats and ecological aware facilities for animals, thereby decreasing the educational value and overall experience for the animals and visitors, threatening the welfare of the animals. The zoo represents the ideal testing environment due to its possession of animals in stimulated environments. As one of the largest sites that house wildlife within an urban landscape, it facilitates daily human interactions and is the ideal space to observe co-habitation and multi-species relationships. This will facilitate the development of an alternative zoo model which aims to draw lessons from the precedent "Multispecies Design" by Daniel Metcalfe to influence a shift in the power dynamic by creating interactions that will promote respect between humans, wildlife and nature. This will facilitate reconciliation enabling learning so that humans and animals develop a kinship that fosters coexistence and coadaptation to eliminate conflict and captivity, building wildlife welfare and maintaining resources for future use. The research will be directed through an explorative approach that will include a series of photographs, mapping, and research tabulations to gain an understanding of wildlife habitats and how they may be adapted and recreated in the urban landscape. The research will make use of film and comic-like graphics to illustrate the design and spaces representative of a utopian world, which may be created but has not been accomplished yet.
A model for integrated tourism infrastructure planning in the South African public sector
(2024) Chettiar, Shamilla
Infrastructure supports competitiveness, productivity and economic growth. While planning is critical for co-ordination and delivery of infrastructure, integrated infrastructure planning models remain elusive. Integrated infrastructure planning is especially important to derive maximum benefits from limited public sector funding. This research focussed on infrastructure planning in the tourism context. Within the complex South African public sector planning system, the responsibility for infrastructure and tourism planning lies with multiple departments at national, provincial and local government spheres. Tourism infrastructure needs can therefore best be addressed through integrated planning. This thesis presents the results of a qualitative, multi-method study. Various methods, such as reviews of documents, key-informant interviews, focus groups and case studies were utilised to gather data. The research also contains the reflections of the researcher who has extensive experience in public sector planning. The research question was: “What are the key elements of a model for integrated tourism infrastructure planning undertaken by the South African public sector?” The model proposes three key elements - a National Tourism Spatial Development Framework; Regional Tourism Masterplans; and a Tourism Infrastructure Strategy and Plan. A People component has also emerged as being significant for the effectiveness of the model. The study further confirmed that the model will support the integration of tourism, economic, spatial and infrastructure planning and development. In the long - term integrated public sector tourism infrastructure planning in South Africa, should yield greater public sector investment, stimulate greater private sector investment, and ultimately support the growth and competitiveness of the tourism sector. This research makes a significant contribution to knowledge for integrated infrastructure planning.
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.
Acid[c]ity - Undamning the Dam: Wicking of the Harmony Gold Mine Dam Through Algae Exploration
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024-02) Le Pere, Justine; Doermann, Kirsten; Daskalakos, Christos
This project discusses the need to help fight against the effects of mining on water, and to help the surrounding environment and community. A large emphasis is placed on the use of algae to treat the water from the Harmony Gold Mines’ tailings dams, and the facility plays host to this natural water treatment method. The facility provides the space for water resource management and water treatment education to take place. The community of Tshepisong Phase 2 lies north of the facility and acts as the activator of the facility. Without the community needing to collect water for use at home, the facility would not have a strong sense of integration into the township. The layout of the facility allows the layers of privacy to help aid the program, and the program allows the facility to be transparent to its visitors and the neighbouring township.
Alternative Tenure Options as a Stepping Stone for Urban Land Reform: The Case of Kwa Mai Mai Muthi Market
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024-02) Mnguni, Thobeka; Maina, Miriam M.
This research uses qualitative methods to investigate the case of the Kwa Mai Mai muthi market located in the central business district of Johannesburg where over the decades informal traders have converted their trading units into residential homes. This case is used to respond to the research question, ‘To what extent is taking administrative action to improve land tenure by offering communities rights to occupy urban land feasible and necessary for advancing the urban land reform agenda?.’ The research acknowledges that popular approaches to improving tenure by converting insecure tenure rights to statutory ownership through the Deeds office has had limited success and resulted in efficiencies due to the high costs and the resources intensive nature of this approach. Instead, the research recommends a necessary transition to improving tenure in innovative, context-specific ways that work to build on existing settlements through taking low-cost and low LOE administrative action.
An application of John Rawls' principles of social justice to planning: issues arising from the implementation of the national housing subsidy programme in the inner City of Johannesburg
(2024) Oelofse, Michael Gerald
John Rawl' s conception of social justice has had a fundamental influence on liberal ethics yet its practical implications for distributive planning have rarely been considered in any comprehensive way. This is the key contribution of this thesis. Using the South African housing subsidy system, it examines how distributional policies may be structured to benefit the least advantaged and explores the consequences of their implementation in Johannesburg's inner city. Based on a literature review, it argues that Western planners often place the responsibility for distributional decisions on political processes, or concern themselves with maximising the public good without addressing the consequent allocation of the costs and benefits among members of society. Contemporary planning theory continues to avoid the substantive c.9ntent of social justice. Confronted with what seem to be equally valid, often competing conceptions of social justice, planners focus on the fairness of planning procedures instead of taking normative, principled positions on distributional outcomes. However, just procedure alone does not guarantee a just outcome. This requires adherence to some predefined set of distributional principles, and Rawls' political conception of social justice is presented here as a reasonable and compelling option for planners. Drawing on the author's practical experience, this thesis traces the liberal influence on the formulation of housing subsidy policy in South Africa and argues that national policy generally conforms with Rawlsian distributional principles. However, an empirical analysis of the housing sector in Johannesburg's inner city reveals that its impact is dissipated by a lack of local commitment to the original principles. Conflicting development principles and a failure among many residents to honour the obligations attached to housing benefits compound the problem. This thesis concludes that Rawlsian principles of social justice in combination with the contemporary communicative turn in planning provide planners with a powerful means of placing social justice on the development agenda, but that these principles require championing because conflicting principles and interests continuously place the needs of the least advantaged at risk.
An investigation on the impact of landownership dynamics in rural development: A case of Nooitgedacht area in Muldersdrift, Mogale City Local Municipality
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024-02) Masonganye, Thoriso Obakeng; Sithagu, Taki
South Africa's history of land ownership is deeply intertwined with the legacy of colonialism and segregation. In the contemporary context, land ownership has emerged as a pivotal catalyst for rural development, aimed at addressing historical injustices and fostering sustainable socio-economic growth. Despite numerous reforms and initiatives introduced since the dawn of democracy, challenges persist, particularly in rural regions like Nooitgedacht in the West of Gauteng. In Nooitgedacht, landlessness, underdevelopment, poverty, and minimal economic activity continue to plague the community. This study delves into the intricate relationship between land ownership dynamics and rural development, with a specific focus on Nooitgedacht within the Mogale City Local Municipality. To comprehensively assess this issue, a multi-faceted research approach was employed, incorporating primary and secondary data collection methods. The research methods encompassed a thorough desktop survey, the distribution of questionnaires to community members, and in-depth interviews with municipal officials and community stakeholders. The desktop survey harnessed municipal valuation data to discern the existing patterns of land ownership in Nooitgedacht, revealing a marked imbalance, with most of the land controlled by private individuals and businesses, while national, provincial, and local governments held relatively merger land ownership within the study area. This skewed ownership pattern underscores the profound challenge of land access in Nooitgedacht. Consequently, the area grapples with persistent land inequalities encompassing issues of access, ownership, distribution, and administration, which further manifest through ongoing threats of land invasions, evictions, limited development, and a dearth of economic activities. Despite the presence of municipal policies aimed at addressing these disparities, implementation remains sporadic, fragmented, and inadequately coordinated within the municipality, resulting in a sluggish delivery of rural development. In conclusion, the study underscores the pivotal role of land ownership in shaping the trajectory of rural development in Nooitgedacht. It is evident that without equitable and well-coordinated land ownership policies and practices, the goal of achieving sustainable rural development in this region remains an elusive aspiration.
An analysis of public-private partnerships in housing in the Zimbabwe National Housing Delivery Programme: a case of Masvingo City
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2014-10-27) Chikomwe, Savory; Klug, Neil
Based on evidence of the performance of a public-private partnership (PPP) housing arrangement in Masvingo City, Zimbabwe, I argue that PPPs may not thrive in youthful democracies entrenched in informal approaches to project management. The PPP strategy which was meant to deliver about 10 000 housing units in Masvingo City has dismally failed to live to its expectation, save for an ignited spirit of cooperativism. This is in spite of what was dubbed as a potentially promising partnership strategy involving indigenous private developers and contractors. Yet the compulsory acquisition of urban and peri-urban farmland country-wide presented powerful launch pad for a promisingly successful housing delivery that is widely expected to wipe out serious housing deficits. Housing problems were recently further compounded by Operation Murambatsvina in 2005 which ruthlessly demolished all informal housing and left several hundreds of thousands homeless. Following an insightful in-depth interview methodology and several ground-truthing trips to the Victoria Ranch Housing Project site, I argue that Government of Zimbabwe (GOZ) arrangements in terms of legal, administrative and financial aspects were weak to enable successful implementation of a formal PPP strategy. The arrangements advertently or inadvertently promoted privatism instead of the mutually beneficial PPP arrangement. As such, there were no clear regulatory mechanisms and modalities to enable beneficiation of the targeted low-income people and other economically weaker sections of the Masvingo City Community. There are fears that undeserving better-offs could have hijacked the scheme. However, a commendable resilience has emerged through a resurgent self-help housing delivery approach resulting in many self-built houses in what is widely viewed as a “peculiar” parallel development. While it could be too early to meaningfully comment on the long-term performance of the PPP approach, it is clear that justice has not been done to low-income people in Masvingo who remain largely homeless.
Architecture as mnemonic experiencing past, present, and future narratives in a Johannesburg cultural complex
(2024) Segal, Yehuda
Memory is transient, it comes and it goes. It is a passing remembrance of a past time, person or place. Memory is the experience we store in our minds to recall at a future time and date. It is the friends we make on the first day of school, our childhood holidays, or beach sand between our toes. Memory is also stored in books, visuals, art, and the internet. It is the long-gone monarch in a painting, the photographs and videos of historical events that record a past time and people. And so, memory is architecture- or, simply, space. Spatial recall- the ability to remember a space or place, directions from point A to point B, is the reason we find our way when lost. The architecture of memory is related to that of structures, buildings and spaces that serve to record or preserve a past event or person, yet also the landmark that guides us. It is a museum, memorial, triumphal arch and even a religious or cultural space. It is also the old as opposed, or in harmony with, the new. Architecture as mnemonic is relatable to other aspects and devices with mnemonic value. Memory is therefore an important aspect of archi - tecture and the built world. Not only do we remember through spatial interactions, we also experience spaces which lead to us creating new memories.
A bathhouse in Cyrildene - a phenomenological approach to the design of a bathhouse in Johannesburg
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2020) Kow, Alan; Chungu, Gerald
In Johannesburg, there is a lack of global bathhouse typologies. They either don’t exist or are in a form which caters to a niche subculture. Bathhouse culture has been around for hundreds of years and many people around the world take advantage of it as a form of communal bonding, relaxation and general hygiene. In addition to this, when done correctly, it has the effect of stripping away of social class and distinction as well as providing a safe and entertaining environment for those within its walls. This study aims to bring my personal experience of an East-Asian bathhouse into Cyrildene, a predominantly Chinese neighbourhood, that is slowly losing its cultural identity. Building on existing data on historic bathhouses from around the world, it asks: How can the concept of phenomenology be used to guide the design of an Asian style bathhouse in order to enhance the Asian/Chinese cultural experience and help in the revitalisation of Derrick street as a distinct cultural hub In Johannesburg? The main methodologies that will be used in this report will be from literature reviews on historical analysis of bathhouses around the world but more specifically in Eastern Asia. One on one interviews with the residents and shop owners living in Cyrildene as well as the owner/s of a spa. Observations based on mapping and photography will also be employed. The last will be the use of auto-ethnographic data from my own experiences. The main hypothesis of the report will be seeing if the bathhouse typology through the use of a variety of different programs that range from bathing to eating to sleeping in addition to the application of architectural phenomenological theories helps make it suitable for Cyrildene and thereby revitalise and strengthen the areas existing cultural identity.
Bridging the Past: Redeveloping parts of Fordsburg to create secure and empowering environments for women
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024-03) Dar, Sarah; Szentesi, Anita
The safety of women in public spaces has become an increasingly unsettling issue in South Africa. One of the most severe violations of human rights that still occurs in communities worldwide is gender-based violence, a phenomenon that has a foundation in gender inequity. Gender-based violence affects both men and women, but women and girls comprise most of victims. Public spaces have favored the safety of men, whereas women struggle for their wellbeing in the same space. There is a need for a re-imagined women only space concept, in which women can evolve in, in hopes of creating safer spaces. (UN-Habitat, 2015). The proposal for this thesis is a Skills and Development Centre for women. The Centre will aim to create women run businesses in male dominated spaces with the research focusing on women empowerment through education, and further investigating past architectural theories on women-only design.
Change the GOAL: Promoting sports & community engagement through the integration of FNB Stadium
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024-02) Ramsarup, Shreya; Kirkman, Deborah
South Africa has invested many billions of rands to build and renovate stadiums. This investment has some advantages, such as fostering national pride and boosting political and economic agendas. However, the benefit to the ordinary citizen is exaggerated. This is evident at the FNB Stadium, while used for elite sport, majority of the Soweto community do not come to the stadium. To the local community it a symbol of something beyond their lived worlds. Against this context my project explored how the FNB stadium can become a sport and cultural led space that locates local people at the center of its use identity. I explored the design of the stadium precinct as a mixed-use space with a focus on sport and football development, allowing opportunities for more people to better connect and understand what the stadium has to offer. This re-imagining of FNB as a stadium fostering broader community aims helps to break the pattern of the stadium as an alienated icon within this historically disadvantaged community.
Critically exploring the link between privatization and institutional capacity at the local government level in South Africa
(2024) Ralane, Hluma Luvo
This study aims to critically explore the link between privatization and institutional capacity at the local government level in South Africa. The study is presented in a user-friendly manner for a wider readership. The central themes explored by the study are local municipalities and privatization. A discussion of the central themes of this paper evolves in the following way. Firstly, the paper outlines the nature of local government in South Africa dating back from the apartheid epoch to the inception of democracy in 1994. It reflects on the local government sphere which is a collective of local municipalities, analysing the nature and structure of this sphere. In its expedition, it particularly focuses on a Category B municipality from Queenstown Eastern Cape. Surveying the outplay in the link between privatization and the institutional capacity in this municipality through the contracting-out of services, particularly water privatization in that municipality. The reflection on local government is succeeded by the scrutiny of the privatization theoretical framework. The study assesses the root nature of privatization. It investigates its emergence from a global frame of thought, how it has evolved through neoliberalism, and ended up superseding other macro-economic frameworks and being a central policy of governance linked to the institution's capacity. The study further looks at the different frameworks provided by the government to enhance institutional capacity at the local government level, together with the methods and theories that characterize privatization, and the outcomes that underpin it. The scrutiny of the above central themes leads to a broad analysis of case studies from a global realm, regional arena, and local arena. The study utilized both qualitative and quantitative research methods to gather data for the study to complement the former methods the study used an exploratory research design as it was broadly exploring the link between privatization and institutional capacity. It further used semi-structured interviews to substantiate the theoretical findings. Throughout the paper, explicit examples are provided to substantiate all arguments raised.
Cross-border pollination: incubation hub for urban farming in Yeoville
(2024) Kubanza, Nzoli Gloria
Yeoville holds the reputation as an Afro-migrantcentric suburb in Johannesburg (ABED, 2019), with each dispossessed body desiring to keep their cultures alive. This has created social boundaries between South Africans and other African nationalities in the urban landscape. The burning of Yeoville Market is the physical manifestation of growing tension in the community. Gambela (BÉNIT-GBAFFOU, 2019) (known by the neighbourhood) provides migrant women from the diaspora the opportunity to respond to the economic crisis they face in their home country. The enclosed market sphere encourages cultural exchange and interaction by eating, processing, and selling food from home. For migrants living in Yeoville, food is not only a source of nutrients but a tool to transmit culture. Thus, the burning of the market signifies the resistance of the community to integrate. The thesis will follow the Congolese women in the Yeoville market who frequently encounter borders, traveling with various products including cassava. The traders use cassava to transgress the misconceptions of a patriarchal stereotype of an African housewife, simultaneously ensuring household survival. Cassava holds a cultural significance to the West African women as the method of processing cassava requires the knowledge of the native women that have passed down from one generation to another, perfected through time and across borders (Christina Emery, 2021). The importance of the plant not only lies in its mobility but its functional characteristics of promoting harmony, encouraging collaboration, and a medium in which information is transferred (Christina Emery, 2021). In asking the question “how can cassava be used to mend the fragmented community of Yeoville” this thesis will be using cassava as a framework to explore themes of, mobility, boundary, and identity. Re-introducing the market to the community as an agricultural hub. The architectural intervention will re-interpret the market as a space that transmits and preserves culture. The project aims to mediate the fragmented communities of Yeoville using food to educate, generate social spaces, and food works to encourage community involvement.
Desire Lines: Addressing the Pedestrian and their Access to the Jukskei River Through Public Interest Design
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024-02) Smuts, Robyn; Felix, Sandra
In this thesis, the propinquity of pockets defined between urban schemes of Dainfern and Diepsloot is explored. As well as the overlap zones of various networks of urban goers. The possibility of developing the prospective benefits of these pockets will be outlined through the principles of public interest design (PIB), placemaking, and adventure playgrounds. This reinforces the ideals of ‘rights to the city’ and creates a feeling of citizenship by focusing on the commonalities of the urban goers. To create a community between otherwise divided groups. The research methodology is site and context-centred, revealing where conflicts may lie, and opportunities sourced. Doing this through the exploration of the materiality and features of the Jukskei River site, and the desire line paths that weave through it. The proposed design develops a productive, shared space that instigates common curiosity and skill development through addressing the propinquity of various urban goers and utilizing the rubble and waste that has accumulated on the site.
Disaster preparedness and mitigation in informal settlements: community and municipal roles in the case of Stjwetla in Alexandra, Johannesburg.
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2020) Ngove, Pheni; Huchzermeyer, Marie
This study looked into the extent of coordination between municipalities and communities in preparing for and mitigating disasters. Using qualitative methods in key informant inter views, it compiled a case study of Stjwetla informal settlement in Alexandra, Johannesburg. The study was motivated by the fact that despite South Africa having been one of the first countries in Africa to adopt legislation on Disaster Risk Management (DRM), and despite the legislation having been praised as significant and progressive, the response to disasters on the ground has been characterised by reactionary rather that proactive measures. As such, the study identified the gap between what the DRM legislation sought to achieve and what transpires on the ground. The findings of this study suggest that collaboration between com munities, municipal officials and non-governmental organisation plays a huge role in disaster and risk management in Informal settlements.
Eco-vital[c]ity: Ecological Regeneration of the Robinson Deep Landfill through Microclimate Superstructures and Phytoremediation
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024-02) Leong, Keilun; Goncalves, Kevin
Landfills are essential to our society for waste disposal. However, they have many negative impacts due to contaminants that are released, polluting the air and ground as leachate seeps into the soil and nearby water sources, affecting the health of surrounding communities and the environment. This research report aims to re-naturalize and repair the Robinson Deep Landfill, which bears scars of exploitative industrial use, and attempts to rehabilitate the environment while mitigating the effects on the community. This will be achieved through phytoremediation techniques, using Sunflowers grown in Hydroponic farms, housed within greenhouses. The design for these facilities will consist of superstructures, greenhouses, and a waste-to-energy plant (incinerator) within a closed loop system. Additionally, the report seeks to generate economic opportunities that promote tourism, entertainment, and education through a recreational centre which will incorporate Biophilic Design and Parametricism to create a public space that will be beneficial to the community.
Emblems of Sociality_Transversal social spaces in re-imagining the identity of a modern African city: The case of central Addis Ababa
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Berhe, Delina
IIIIII Abstract The current African city exists through the lens of global building culture. Addis Ababa, going through immense transformation seems to have taken its architectural inspirations from foreign world-class cities in hopes of reaching global heights. This research explores alternative possibilities to achieve that goal while considering the existing socio-cultural identity of the city. African cities should take their place in the network of globalised cities, however, a sense of representation should be considered to enrich their potential. The transformation of cities through embracing their local ways of life and historical traditions should be prioritized. The work investigates modern city planning in the context of Addis Ababa as its aspirational condition. The overarching theme explores the relationship between the current city planning conditions and their understanding of social space and identity in an Ethiopian context. Specifically, the research is centred in representing identity of social cohesion and its interpretation through architecture and spatial elements. It aims to investigate urban social traditions that have and are being pushed aside within the process of creating a ‘global worthy Addis Ababa’. The study site is central Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, which serves as both the city’s point of origin and locus of ongoing transformations. The work proposes the creation of a Food media library prioritizing indoor and outdoor social spaces, with the goal of fostering a meaningful presence within the evolving cityscape. The research methodology involves analysing historical documents, photo series, mapping and observation of the neighbourhoods and the characters within them. The research aims to create a design in which an overlapping space of critique, knowledge exchange, activity, sense of identity and belongingness can be experienced and transferred. It explores the relationship between diverse societies to create a common space that will be able represent them and create a hub for positive and meaningful interactions. It aims to create a space of contemplation into one’s respected society through nurturing the social dynamics in terms of architectural spaces and interactions.
Empowered for Employment: A Collaborative Learning and Skills Development Centre in Primrose
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024-02) Scremin, Michele; Felix, Sandra
South Africa currently experiences the highest unemployment rate in the world. Due to the inequitable educational policies of Apartheid, large sectors of the population missed out on basic education and remain ill-equipped for the demands of the labour force. A culture of poverty, crime and social instability prevails. The solution lies in building a bridge to cross this gap and improve opportunities for learning and skills development of the youth and older adults. This will empower them for employment and improve their overall socio-conomic prospects. This study investigates the architectural narratives that are relevant to the design of a successful, collaborative adult learning centre that will serve the Makause informal settlement in Primrose. The research is directed through an explorative lens of the sustainability triangle, discussing the social, economic and environmental implications. Literature reviews of the multi-disciplinary theoretical foundations of adult learning give insight into the unique social, intellectual and physical requirements of adult learners while existential needs are influenced by phenomenological approaches. Appropriate designs of learning spaces are subsequently guided by informed decisions. Economic sustainability is reinforced with financial support of corporate stakeholders and the large waterbody on the site provides environmental opportunities that will benefit both the facility and the community it serves.
Exploring rapid development in emergency relocations in the South African context: a case study of Nellmapius Extension 21 in Mamelodi, Tshwane
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2020) Mahlangu, Phumuzile Nicoline; Huchzermeyer, Marie
The upgrading of informal settlements has been at the centre of upgrading in South African cities. While the government advocates for phased in situ upgrading of informal settlements, in some settlements upgrading is not possible thus making relocation the only option. While some cities may create Temporary Relocation Areas as guided by the Emergency Housing Programme, the City of Tshwane has managed to create a permanent relocation area for a relocated community in its jurisdiction. Using a series of interviews with community members, their leaders and a City official, this research report looks at how the City managed to create a permanent relocation area in Nellmapius Extension 21, being the study area. The findings of the paper are that the City has managed not only to develop the area but it did so rapidly. This paper reports on how rapid development happened in Nellmapius Extension 21 reporting on the potentials and limitations of rapid development, and what it could mean for South Africa