Includes bibliographical references (p. 95-102). / The aim of this study was to determine if sufficient data at no charge is available on the Internet to use as input to a free and open source hydrological model for use in a flood monitoring system. As such, the monitoring system would be SensorWeb enabled. The study area is the C83A quaternary catchment (746 km2) in the Northern Free State, part of the Vaal primary catchment in South Africa.

Includes bibliographical references. / This thesis confines itself to a consideration of urban development opportunity in the East City Precinct through the understanding of it former historical character and memory which can be implemented through Form Based Codes. It locates the design process in the sub-regional context and puts forward notional spatial proposal for the physical area of the East City Precinct and its surrounds. The application of theory is tested at precinct level and emphasis remains firmly on the public elements ordering the spatial structure. With all these considerations, this dissertation presents a piece of history of District Six and the importance of memory in relation to the East City. This contested site of memory and heritage informs the area’s contextual development amid the often-essentialising multicultural in particular to the ‘new South Africa’. In turn, an understanding of District Six’s urban quality which frames the intricacies of a restitution and redevelopment plan. It also illustrates the genuine uniqueness of its principles of urbanism, in contrast to market-oriented urban development which reproduces spaces of social fragmentation, exclusion and inequality. Indeed, the vision for the East City concerns long-term urban sustainability, an investment in a city of fluid spaces, a city of difference and meaning. This dissertation contends that there is a real role for urban and social sustainability in the redevelopment potential of the study area, with its historical, social, cultural and symbolic significance. Therefore its outline the key elements and principles for a development framework prepared for the study area and discuss the prospects for urban and social sustainability. This will inform where and how to apply form based codes with in the East City context.

Includes bibliographical references. / Many South African cities, including Cape Town, have inherited an skewed urban form which is intensified by the current high levels of in-migration and urbanization which cause great socio-economic and spatial structural urban problems. In a response to these urban issues, this dissertation argues for strategic integrated infill developments on well located, vacant land parcels which are believed to serve as the restructuring mechanisms and urban management tools for reversing Cape Town’s inefficient urban form. This dissertation presents a spatial framework for the Wingfield site that will include a dense, integrated infill development proposal which potentially will pave the way for similar future integrated development proposals. Collectively, these infill-pockets of developments will shape the Cape Town Metropolitan Area (CTMA) into a positive and integrated urban environment that is ecologically sustainable, economically durable and socially just.

Includes bibliographical references. / A point in Voortrekker Road was intensified by creating a halting place at an underdeveloped and important crossing in the central area of the Voortrekker Road Corridor, in Parow. Connectivity within the business centre of Parow is enhanced by the railway lines that run parallel to Voortrekker Road to the north and south - providing multiple access to public transport. The station enables a pedestrian network that extends far beyond its reach. This network is currently a very popular informal trading area. Trade is focused within a narrow strip, called Station Arcade, a pedestrian link from Voortrekker Road to the station. The area to the north of Voortrekker Road lacks the vibrant activity, generated within the commercial zone to the south. A reason for this is the strip of parking lots behind Voortrekker Road that create a buffer zone between the commercial strip and the residential area to the north. At the moment this transitional space adjacent to Voortrekker Road is ill defined and lacks activity. At night, these spaces become vulnerable areas and unsafe zones due to the gang activity and crime within the area. Due to the many tertiary institutions within the central part of the Voortrekker Road Corridor and a lack of student residences, a campus framework was introduced which proposes the development of student residences along a recreational spine. This framework was focused around key strategies to satisfy students’ accommodation needs. The junction between Voortrekker Road and Station Arcade serves as a significant point of crossing within the campus precinct and the location of my site. By locating a central function at this point within the campus, the existing link to the station is reinforced and a gateway to the new recreational spine behind Voortrekker Road is introduced. The Student Exchange building, located at this important nexus, will assist in creating shared facilities that can provide academic and social support to students in the area.

Includes bibliographical references. / This dissertation presents the current reality of a South African city, Cape Town. Based on the literature it has been established that a large proportion of South Africa’s population lives in urban areas. South African cities are centres of opportunities and have the promise of a better life but they are also characterised by marginalisation, poverty and poorly managed urban growth. Informal settlements have become a ubiquitous feature of South Africa’s urban landscape. The combination of poverty, marginality, overcrowding and limited service provision, exposes residents to a range of ongoing hazards, particularly informal dwelling fires which creates an environment prone to risks and can be devastating for affected households. The current response from government has been analysed through the process of interviewing government officials; policy and institutional analysis, is to temporarily house people in Temporary Relocation Areas (TRAs) if affected by a situation that leaves them rendered homeless. It is believed to be an adequate response. However, as the research reveals, this response often exacerbates people’s resilience to deal with the disaster and the accumulation of risks found in informal settlements. Additionally it further places people in a vulnerable situation as Temporary Relocation Areas (TRAs) have limited service provision and are often located in remote areas far from opportunity centres. The intention of the research was to come up with a new strategy to address emergency response in the form of settlement provision for those affected by disasters. It was further discovered that there needs to be a more sustainable approach that would reduce risk accumulation in informal settlements in a proactive manner in order to mitigate the occurrence of disasters and slowly build resilience.

Includes bibliographical references. / This thesis stemmed from the idea that we as a society find it harder and harder to understand even the everyday technologies around us. It is argued that despite the seemingly limitless opportunities for self-learning in the ‘information age’, an interest for the technological is still not fostered within our society. This dissertation is inspired by Cedric Price’s proposal that, “[...]every town should have a space at its disposal where the latest discoveries of engineering and science can provoke an environment for pleasure and discovery[...]”. 1 It started with the search for a spatial models through which people could learn about and experience the essence of technology. The initial research looked at different ways people have learned about technology 1 Stanley Matthews, From Agit-Prop to Free Space: The Architecture of Cedric Price (London: Black Dog Publishing, 2007), 66. throughout history, focusing particular on examples where education could successfully be combined with leisure or recreational activities. It was important that the model proposed, not only taught people, but also inspired a sense of marvel and wonder through engagement with technology . Based on principles gleaned from the research a project was proposed which would manifest itself in two different, but interrelated architectural explorations. The first is a sort of ‘headquarters’ or ‘mothership’ for a new model of the education of technology. It finds itself in the Woodstock industrial area, and would serve as a resource to the greater Cape Town. The second is a prototype for mobile, rail-based workshops that would be developed and manufactured within the headquarters. These units would act as ‘satellites’, spreading the spirit of this movement across the country to areas where the resources for such education may not exist.

Includes bibliographical references. / Poverty eradication as a policy issue has received significant attention since the promulgation of the South African National Development Plan (NDP). The NDP envisages that by 2030 poverty should be eradicated. To do this government must accurately target their interventions ensuring that the intended population benefits from the actual poverty eradication intervention. With the evolution of systems and processes in the Science and Technology industry over the past two decades, the integration of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and MCDM techniques has achieved encouraging results within different planning domains (Lidouh, 2012: 2). This research paper presents a vector - based GIS - MCDM methodology that integrates both Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to the Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) and COmplex PRoportional Assessment (COPRAS) within a GIS environment. This integration is facilitated through the use of loose coupling within the ArcGIS 10.2 environment.

Includes bibliographical references. / This dissertation deals with the phenomenon of movement in relation to architecture. What does it entail to create an architecture of movement and what possibilities can this type of design offer us outside of 'conventional' architecture. The research behind the topic bases itself in the theory of Game Design as a tool to structure movement with meaning. Game Design proves itself to be a potent tool in encouraging interactivity, in turn handing over a certain level of control and design over to the players participating. The more control afforded to the players, the more they can affect the outcome and experience of a game. This means games are a medium with the possibility for high replay value as players go back to experience the multiple outcomes of a game. The theory of using Game Design as a tool in architecture is then tested through my own design located on the edge of the Grand Parade in Cape Town. The design aims to create an architecture of multiple outcomes including an 'Everyday' and 'Festival' narratives through the use of movement. Game Design is used as a tool of analysis in order to determine whether the movement is integral to the architecture and its intended function through spatializing the key principles identified in the theory of Game Design. The conclusion drawn is that Game Design is an effective tool in aiding design in architecture. Its value emerges through the fact that it challenges design decisions made within architecture based on how integral they are in relation to the social and programmatic rules and expectations the project attempts to deal with.

Includes bibliographical references. / This thesis explores the notions of safety and the usage of Crime Prevention through Environmental Design methods for creating safer spaces within cities. The project examines the inner city of Durban specifically, grappling with the issues of crime and grime and the perceptions of the city as a space of vulnerability. The project examines the historical and current context of Durban with regards to perceptions held about the inner city. The Project then delves into the links between crime and the city and examines the extremities of crime within South Africa and Durban. It then turns to a study of crime and place theories which attempt to explain the connections between the offender, the targets and the location in which crimes take place. Particular attention is paid to possible implications for urban form. The thesis also investigates various ways in which Durban’s landowners, developers and residents have attempted to create islands of safety throughout the city, after which international and local examples of urban crime prevention are discussed. From these theories and case studies, a few principles are highlighted as guidelines for producing safer spaces. An exploration of design strategies follows. The city is analysed according to a set of elements of the city or a layering of the city on the scale of the Central Business District. This is then taken into a proposal for development. A precinct scale analysis investigates the finer details of Pickering precinct, an area notorious for criminal activity. Such detailed explorations of the built fabric are not possible at the scale of the city, but have an impact on smaller urban acupuncture proposals on a street segment scale. A number of routes that run through the precinct are then explored in terms of potential adjustments to the built fabric, in order to support pedestrian activity and safety along the routes. This project illustrates an alternative approach to creating safe spaces within the urban environment of Durban. Through providing a safe urban core, the city can allow for positive interactions to take place within common spaces and hence fulfil the role that cities have to play in fostering growth in society.

Includes bibliographical references. / This thesis uses a spatial epidemiology approach to investigate clusters of diseases across formal and informal built environments in "Brown’s Farm" Philippi. Health data were analysed using cluster detection methods in geographic information systems to identify diseases hotspots. The identified clusters were then examined against environmental, spatial, and socio-economic variables. Data from the Desmond Tutu HIVIAIDS Foundation database, census and questionnaires were used. Even though most of the disease clusters were found in the informal part of the study area, the data showed very limited variation in the distribution of diseases clusters across the study area.