Transforming green open space in Soweto: the case of Klipspruit
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Date
2019
Authors
Mandyanda, Aviwe
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Abstract
Green open spaces are continually under pressure globally (and in cities of the global
South in particular) to serve as containers of the ecosystem, nature, tranquillity and
human recreation, due to constant demand for occupational space and rapid urban
change. In 2012, the City of Johannesburg (CoJ) through the Johannesburg City
Parks and Zoo (JCPZ) initiated the Greening Soweto project. One of the primary
objectives of the projects was to focus on the green open spaces in Soweto for urban
regeneration.
One of the key focuses of the project was to regenerate the Klip River/Klipspruit
green open space through the development of 'a continuous system of functional
green open spaces such as parks along the Klip River.' (JCPZ, 2012: 3). In engaging
with the green open spaces in Soweto, JCPZ officials are coming up against an array
of existing user groups, which are appropriating the green spaces in different ways
influenced by different economic, cultural, social norms.
This study explores the contemporary uses of green public open space and takes
Klipspruit green public as a case study to explore spaces in Soweto. It asks the
question, how can the 'informal' appropriation of Township green spaces for livestock
grazing, recycling and religious/ceremonial uses to help us understand green spaces
in township spaces such as Soweto and rethink the approach to their design.
The study proposes a design strategy that goes beyond ecological sustainability
to cultural sustainability in an aim to develop urban design strategies that address
everyday practices in township green public space for housing and retail use, and
instigate the growth of self-sufficient communities whilst reclaiming green open space
to dissolve apartheid buffer zones that divide the black communities in Soweto.
Description
Master of Urban Design (MUD) Research Report Submitted to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment University of the Witwatersrand, 2019