A democratic city?: the role of transport networks on social cohesion
Date
2016
Authors
Makhubu, Jabu Absalom
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Abstract
Urbanity is political, thus, urbanists have to engage in
political issues and systems in order to address the injustice
of the past, especially in the context of South African cities.
2014 marks South Africa’s 20th year into democracy, but
what are the achievements and advancements in changing
the legacy the country inherited?
“What is the spatial layout/”blueprint” of a democratic
city and society?”
“Democratic urban space is derived from the design for all
concept” Kurdistan et al, 2012, 71. Burdett, 2013 argues that
a multiple scale perspective informs us that social processes
are the outcomes of often hidden spatial narratives,
alongside more conventional social science considerations.
“It is perhaps the role of urban scholarship to bring informal
role players and professional agencies closer together, both
through theoretical reframing of the contemporary urban
crisis and by the identification and explanation of projects
and initiatives that are, by default or design, changing our
urban world, as they contribute to making cities just and
equitable” (Burdett, 2013, 365).
This research attempts to act on Burdett’s call above.
It discusses the inherited legacy of social, economic,
and physical separation, in the goal of understanding
the development trajectories proposed by the City of
Johannesburg that are focused at addressing this legacy.
Regional and neighbourhood projects such as the
Gautrain, Rea Vaya Bus Rapid Trainsit, and Alexandra
Renewal project are being implemented throughout the
city. Very few projects such as the Corridors of Freedom
focus both on the regional and metropolitan scale. This
research specifically focuses on the metropolitan scale;
it unpacks, and expands on the City’s vision of a Socially
Cohesive city. Furthermore, it proposes an urban design
framework that identifies key projects at a metropolitan
level that need consideration in order to change the image
of Johannesburg
Description
A research report submitted to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, School of Architecture and Planning at the University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Urban Design, June 2015.