This dissertation comprises five chapters. The first chapter explores issues of housing and density. Case studies are used to examine the relationship between agency and housing as well as the trade-offs of efficiency of circulation systems in dense housing. The second chapter locates the research within the context of Delft South and, more specifically, along the main road. The idea of "Home as Economic Generator" is explored through studying housing and retail patterns. The third chapter moves towards a design outcome by choosing and analysing Sibanye Square as a site within Delft. Chapter four explores a variety of technical considerations that could develop into an architectural language by studying how people are currently building in Delft. Finally, chapter five proposes an architectural outcome that explores three typologically different housing developments located on and around Sibanye Square.

This dissertation departs with an enduring interest in matter. The research, in turn, becomes focused primarily on physicality and its implications for people. An empathetic attitude towards considering material developed as a founding precept for the design endeavour. The project can be described as a process which began by following water; the river, the land and the mediating edge. Water, viewed through the particular lens of this document, has an intelligence, an embedded and personified logic. This material logic is inescapably evident in the landscape with which I am most familiar, my home, the Hout Bay valley. This dissertation seeks to create an intervention which should encourage a new relationship with water in Hout Bay. It is through a gathering of found program; wood cutters, Zionist Christians, horse riders, joggers, walkers, bird watchers, gardeners and swimmers, that the community is brought together in the floodplain.

With regard to low-income settlemnts in Cape Town, it has become apparent that the private relam is prioritised over the public realm. It is essential that we regard the public realm as an integral component of the lives of the people who inhabit this environment. Because of the living conditions, large portions of people's lives are conducted outside of this prioritised private realm. It is evident that public spaces within these environments become neglected due to a lack of ownership and management. The intention of this research is to find strategies of enhancing public life through encouraging shared open spaces – the urban commons. This thesis is process driven as opposed to product driven. The objective is to determine a replicable strategy that possesses generic solutions as well as providing strategies to address the specific. These strategies are explored and hypothetically tested using Delft South, Western Cape, as a site. With regard to the public spaces the present condition of the public spaces are not dissimilar to that in other areas of the same socioeconomic condition in South Africa. The public spaces have been neglected and there is limited space to provide additional public spaces within these areas. Therefore this dissertation explores the possibility of activating existing residual open spaces as well as neglected parks. It aims to use these as opportunities to provide shared public spaces nestled within neighbourhoods to meet the needs of the respective communities. Ultimately, the objective of this thesis is to develop a series of strategies which can be applied to specific conditions. This is to be to be done by interrogating my own design processes with the objective of being able to reorder it in a suitable manner. Specific to Delft South the areas positioned away from the active Main Road require attention. For the case of this thesis theses areas are referred to the backquarters and I have highlighted it as my interest of concern An introduction to my interest of adding new life to the public back quarters through enhancing the neglected open spaces. I will start off by problematising public spaces in low-income suburbs to outline the underlying issues specific to South Africa. This is followed by general principles that public spaces should embody. A large section, thereafter, will analyse the spatial structure of Delft South and how it is being inhabited. This analysis was done using various exercises to get both a quantitative and qualitative understanding. Using this as a basis, desired outcomes are explained in the chapter following this. All of these aspects are used to inform the architectural interventions.

This dissertation expands the logic underlying Weiner's (1985a) achievement-motivation model, and applies this logic to the justification of unethical behavior. A conceptual model is developed in which causal attributions linked to anger and shame are predicted to increase the degree to which unethical behaviors are seen as justifiable. Conversely, attributions linked to guilt and frustration are predicted to impede the justification of unethical behaviors. Results of two scenario-based studies are reported. Study 1 tests the conceptual model using a sample of undergraduate students, whereas Study 2 samples a population of practicing physicians. Results provided only limited support for the hypotheses, but did indicate that both attributions and emotions are related to justification in some situations. Implications of these findings for the study of ethics and attributions, as well as for promoting ethical behavior, are discussed. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Management in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester, 2006. / August 10, 2006. / Ethics, Attribution Theory, Emotion, Attribution Style / Includes bibliographical references. / Mark J. Martinko, Professor Directing Dissertation; David B. Paradice, Outside Committee Member; Gerald R. Ferris, Committee Member; Stephen E. Humphrey, Committee Member.

In a post-modern society, creativity is the key to both cultural and economic prosperity in the U.S. and in the world. The creative sector has become an important element of the economy, and it also contributes to the cultural wellbeing of the community and generates social progress. For many small towns and rural communities across the U.S. that struggle with stagnation and decline, developing the creative sector may offer an array of benefits including improving local economies, empowering the community from within, and bringing about socially useful development outcomes. This research investigates the role of art industries in small town revitalization with a focus on the empowerment impact. Using a multiple-case study design and mixed methods, the research evaluates the empowerment effects of different art programs in two pairs of small towns located in Georgia and Florida. In each pair, one town has a major art program while the other does not. The two pairs of small towns are: Colquitt, GA and Camilla, GA, and Mt. Dora, FL and Minneola, FL. The research has found empirical evidence for the empowerment effect of art programs on the participants and the community. Further, the research has constructed explanations on how and why such impact takes place through a'Creativity-based Empowerment and Development Model'. The findings of the research offer crucial guidelines for community leaders, development planners and policy makers to design effective programs and policies associated with community development and creative industries. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Urban and Regional Planning in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester, 2014. / October 10, 2014. / community economic development, creative economy, empowerment, small town / Includes bibliographical references. / Petra Doan, Professor Directing Dissertation; Timothy Chapin, Committee Member; Xiaojun Yang, Committee Member.

The story of how a particular place came to be is more than the knowledge of a chronology of events; it is intimately part of our experience of that place. By knowing even a little of the history of a place, our perception of that place is transformed. In Historical Ground, John Dixon Hunt uses the term historical ground to refer to the notion that memories, tales, myths, and historical artefacts adhere to a place. The question Hunt then asks is how an existing site, and its tales, may be told through the medium of architecture, or landscape architecture. The idea that each site accumulates histories which may be revealed through architecture, is the basis for my own investigation. In the context of the Cape Peninsula mountain range, I am interested in seeking out and revealing particular historical narratives through the medium of architectural intervention. This report traces the journey of my design research project from my broader interests in the history of the mountain range; through the clarification of my architectural intentions; to my initial siting and programming strategies; and finally to my first ideas about making architecture in this context. I would describe this process as one of walking, finding, linking, and ultimately responding. This report introduces several key elements which underpin my research project. These elements (or layers) are: mountain (my general site of inquiry); pathways (how movement is linked to memory and meaning); earth (a technical study of the encounter between earth and architecture); fire (and its effects on the landscape); water (a resource with a story); and the wall (an historical piece of infrastructure). Each of these elements guides the reader through my research process and highlights certain found histories and artefacts along the way. As each element is presented, my research hones in on one particular place in the landscape, which is ultimately the site of my design investigation. This site, with the addition of a final artefact (a found brief), becomes the site of an architectural proposition which seeks to engage and link all of these elements together.

This dissertation introduced a minimal means approach to architectural interventions in the landscape of the Western Cape. Learning from land artists such as Robert Smithson and Robert Morris, an intervention is powerful when experienced in isolation. The intervention supercharges the landscape, enabling the participant to notice things they might have overlooked otherwise. Simultaneously, when there are too many interventions, the dialogue they have with their surrounding environment becomes diluted. It proposed the idea that architecture is a means with which people interact with their environment. People make place by using what the land has Io offer and curate a place in relation to the surrounding landscape. Looking at the way people lay claim to the land, and in particular make place with boundaries, lies at the heart of the research. The place-making theories of Martin Heidegger and Christian Norberg-Schulz were not negated, but rather reconsidered in the landscape of the Western Cape, outside of the metropole. This research focuses on Kleinmond, a small-scale fishing town along the Western Cape coastline, which originated with fishermen settling along a small indent in the coastline, where conditions invite fishing activities. It was suggested that the land could only be exploited to a certain extent that is determined by the constitution thereof. The manner in which the urban fabric in Kleinmond has developed over the years has deprived civilians of a dialogue with the ocean. The project sought to redefine this relationship by making place through physical and implied boundaries with minimal means of intervention. The existing rhythms present in this environment: the fishermen's daily routine, the rhythm of the tides, the seasonality of the wetland water as well as the coming and going of visitors, were informants to the approach to the site. It was sought to redefine Kleinmond as a place worth dwelling in by proposing a building that acts as an end towards the harbour, as well as an edge for the slipway while offering amenity to an under-utilised site.

Contemporary cities are experiencing unprecedented growth to cater for growing populations and immigration into urban centres. As a result cities are becoming increasingly densified especially in developing countries2. Densification, and the associated growth, provides many social and cultural benefits, but can lead to increased pollution, environmental degradation, the destruction of existing urban fabric, a lack of greenery, a lack of light to street level, unmanageably large, decaying buildings and increased pressures on infrastructure. This dissertation argues that the design of densified spaces is of utmost importance if we are to maintain a healthy operating space for humanity and the planet. Since before the industrial revolution our society has become governed by a mechanistic way of thinking that originates from technology and science. These thought patterns have shaped the way we design and perceive architecture globally. Many other aspects of society are also influenced by the same mechanistic thought, including our global economic system. This system focuses on indefinite growth; a goal that our finite planet cannot sustain. This paradigm suggests that new, complex approaches to city growth need to be considered to avoid impending disasters. Over Growth investigates various biological concepts that can be applied to densification. Metabolism is used to understand how Cape Town can become more socially and ecologically sound. It suggests that to retain its local character and multi-cultural identity new buildings should grow over valuable, existing urban fabric. The cell is used to interrogate basic increments of city growth. These range from from the scale of an urban block, to individual ERF sizes and to the basic units of the proposed architecture. Symbiosis suggests that cities can exist in harmony with the natural environment. City growth, as an organic process, facilitates the necessary shift away from rational, dualistic thinking towards more complex solutions. These ideas are applied to the South African context, and in particular, a site on Bree Street. Many cities in the developing world continue to aspire to the western models of development. The development of Cape Town is thus threatened by the predominant mechanistic worldview. Conversations with Gawie Fagan, an architect and occupant of the chosen site, gave insight into the city's future and its past, explained later. In general this process was open, collaborative and interdisciplinary to be congruent with the push towards complexity over mechanistic thinking. In short, I develop an approach to architecture that could most suitably alleviate the negative affects of densification in central Cape Town. These include: the deconstruction of spatial hierarchies by using the idea of cellularity to create a more diverse, inclusive social realm; the adaptation, configuration and tectonic of cells; the provision of structure, services and greening to accommodate future additions in a layered 'over growth' that is simultaneously occupied and under construction; and the malleability of the city's zoning regulations and its densification strategy.

This dissertation, situated in Delft, on the eastern edge of Cape Town, aims to improve livelihoods by establishing a productive urban agricultural operation that will create jobs, supply healthy food and reestablish farming as a lucrative business in an impoverished community. It is intended to inspire people to transform the landscape of local food production and sustainable agricultural practice. Most impoverished communities tend to feel the effects of a formal food system that is set up to deliver to more established urban areas. This forces low-income communities to rely on informal retail to supply healthy foods, often at a premium, both for user and supplier. Food supply chains are dispersed resulting in high food costs and over-reliance on an extensive transportation sector. My project aims to decrease this footprint allowing nutritious foods to be grown and sold locally, benefitting both the consumer and the producer. By investigating the leading NGOs promoting urban agriculture and food security in the Western Cape, I have been able to extract valuable spatial lessons from these organizations. I have then applied them to create a model of urban agriculture and local food production that can work in these demanding landscapes. I explored the natural and urban conditions at various scales to determine the number of inputs required for a successful operation. I also investigated selected technologies to enhance land productivity and food production as well as selected systems to establish a sustainable operation in a landscape where resources are valuable and scarce. With high unemployment a regular statistic in impoverished communities, there will always be labor available and when given the opportunity, local residents can take advantage of the many benefits that such a project can deliver. I hope to develop a model that can be implemented around communities all over South Africa and the world, where common challenges of food insecurity faced by millions of people everyday can be addressed through local food production and in the process, establish a new type of agricultural model that can supply both the formal and the informal food sectors. My project is about celebrating a new agricultural model, one that is integrated into the urban landscape with a particular focus on local production within an impoverished community. It consists of a production farm with educational, research and retail components and a large-scale greenhouse that is intended to change the landscape of Delft. The farm will run various agricultural operations in a sustainable manner where are resources and waste is recycled and reused allowing for a closed loop operation. Growing, processing, packaging and distributing of produce will take place from this centralized hub. The greenhouse will be the celebratory moment of my project and I envision it to transform the landscape of Delft and the way in which the farming is perceived from a local perspective. The building will showcase all kinds of food growing technologies and will become a landmark in the area as a place of education and production. Specialized crops and seeds will be cultivated, stored and displayed for visitors from around the world, a one of a kind building that fuses food production, education and public interaction.

This dissertation is rooted within the personal struggle to understand the absurdity of spaces which exist within Woodstock, Cape Town. The project draws a psychological connection between the site and its absurdities, implying that spatial absurdity is the effect of problems of the personified "sitemind". By visualizing what are called "neurosis spaces" the expressions of site-mind anxieties, and arranging them into a speculative site, the project creates a space of analogy. A space for which architecture becomes a therapy. Architecture in application thereby embodies therapy, forming an intervention which itself enacts the speculative analogy. The proposal is therefore seated firmly between the real and the imagined. A victim Offender Rehabilitation center mediates the analogy physically creating an architecture that plays on spatial experience and programming to create a place of therapy, a machine of sublimation.