Thesis. 1966. M.S.--Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of City and Regional Planning. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ROTCH. / Bibliography: leaves [150]-153. / M.S.

published_or_final_version / Urban Planning / Master / Master of Science in Urban Planning

published_or_final_version / Urban Planning / Master / Master of Science in Urban Planning

published_or_final_version / abstract / Geography / Master / Master of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Urban Planning and Design / Master / Master of Urban Design

This research proposes to determine the ten major social and psychological needs of a neighborhood scale community, and develop an assessment model that will provide designers and developers with insight into which New Urbanist principles should be applied, and to what extent application should occur, to better address the community's social and psychological needs.Failure of designers to consider adequately the psychological and social needs of groups of individuals has brought about consequences detrimental to the long-term livelihood of communities. The inability of a community to meet the needs of its inhabitants creates a state of discontent and "disconnect" among residents, thereby encouraging residents to leave their current community and relocate (sprawl) elsewhere in order to try and attain satisfaction. Attempts at addressing the discontent often focus on improving "quality of life" through the inclusion of open space, pedestrian-oriented streets, and other amenities. Often times, these physical design solutions gloss over, or ignore entirely, the community's psychological and social needs.Social and psychological factors are integral to a community's well being. According to the concepts of holism and wellness, "health" is gauged by how well individuals measure up in all dimensions of needs: physical, emotional, social, occupational, intellectual, and spiritual. (Robbins, Powers, and Burgess 1991) From the reverse perspective, individuals who have deficiencies in one or more dimensions can be considered "unhealthy." The wellness concept carries over from the individual to our built environments: communities that fail to inclusively meet the needs of their residents can be considered "unhealthy," or incomplete, from a wellness perspective.To remedy the incompleteness, designers and developers must focus on quality infill development that addresses deficiencies in a community, thereby bringing the community closer to a wellness balance. Effective evaluation and appropriate application of proposed infill developments are critical to the suitability of the solutions. In short, only by carefully considering the problems in our communities will designers and developers generate appropriate solutions that set our existing communities along the path to health, and solve the linked problems of disconnect, placelessness, and sprawl. / Department of Landscape Architecture

This document is submitted in partial fulfilment for the degree: Masters of Architecture (Professional) University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, 2015 / Globally people are at the edge of their seats wide-eyed with passion and awe for the spectacular and entertaining world of motor racing, admiring the world’s most powerful machines and talented drivers battling through the race tracks with lightning speed and outstanding agility. Due to lack of public support, poor management and funding the motorsport culture is rapidly dying out and race tracks are becoming exceedingly underutilized in South Africa. Through Architectural intervention, the aim is to transform the underutilized Kyalami race track into a vibrant and entertaining motorsport venue that will integrate motorsport back into society and preserve this iconic race track that maintains the national motorsport culture alive. Apart from the shear entertainment value motorsport provides it has always united people from around the globe and enabled the production of some of the most technologically advanced machines of our time. Recognising the tremendous value motor racing had, the iconic Kyalami race track was built in South Africa, situated between Johannesburg and Pretoria, which hosted a great number of International Grand Prix events. Motorsport soon gained a major cultural, political, social, economic and spatial presence in South Africa. After almost three decades the race track was removed from the Formula 1 Grand Prix calendar, among other major motorsport calendars, due to sanctions. The poor entertainment value over recent years has led to a major decline in public and sponsor interest in local motorsport. In return Kyalami has become unsustainable which, in the past year, nearly led to the loss of the iconic race track which would have further rendered the local motorsport culture extinct. This recurring scenario around the country becomes the vital point of enquiry for this thesis; the role of Architecture in promoting the motorsport culture; the long-standing relationship between the automobile and Man and its influence on the urban fabric and architecture that is part of our everyday experience. Sited on the Kyalami race track, the architectural design will include an urban framework that will better integrate the current isolated race track with its surrounding context. The framework will include outdoor public activity spaces as well as research, training and workshop facilities that will accommodate the public’s needs and interests at the same time uplift and promote both the automobile and motorsport industry. The primary Kyalami Motorsport Centre sited by the existing southern pit complex will not only offer an enhanced trackside and racing experience to both spectators and race teams but the necessary auto-tecture that will host thrilling motorsport events and promote the nation’s young talented drivers / GR2017

This document is submitted in partial fulfilment for the degree: Master of Architecture [Professional] at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, in the year 2015. / This Thesis, Urban Active Junction: Connecting neighbourhoods with a NTM fitness centre, is about movement and physical exercise in an urban environment. In-between spaces are often underutilised, creating an opportunity for to connect and integrate adjacent spaces. With the help of human activity these space can become public environment with a social atmosphere, which can be enhanced through design details. I then introduce non-motorised transport and the significant need for an alternative mode of transport, due to increasing congestion in the city. This is done through an analysis cycling and what is required to develop cycling as an alternative mode of transport. The relationship between body and building, illustrate their intertwined and inseparable nature. Despite the wide range of movement that the body is capable of, architecture has the ability to enhance a user’s experience of a space by stimulating a sensory response to the building, while also manipulating the body into particular movement patterns. The programme of the building creates a dialogue between different the public space and the building. A with a non-motorised transport interchange and a gymnasium making up the bulk of the programme, serving to integrate the contrasting communities of Bellevue and Yeoville with Houghton. The site is located on the corner of Louis Botha Avenue and Cavendish Street on the border Bellevue, Yeoville and Houghton. Through a thorough urban analysis and site analysis the site is understood in greater detail, with precedent studies serving to give relevance to certain design decisions. The design of the building opens to the urban context on the ground floor, with movement routes informing positioning and functionality of space / GR 2017

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. Johannesburg, 2014. / This dissertation tracks the political response by middle class residents to attempts by the city of Johannesburg to develop a public golf course and wetland called Huddle Park. It seeks to better understand the role of politics in Johannesburg’s suburban areas. The study explores three aspects of this issue. It first looks at the reasons why the issue of Huddle Park became important for residents. It then examines mobilisation tactics used by residents’ groups to pursue their political agenda on the issue. Lastly it follows how these middle class formations interact with city governance structures informed by deliberative democratic theories. It argues that understandings of these of these groups are too narrow and that by using a spatial paradigm greater nuance can be added to understandings of their actions. It shows that long term political action is possible by these groups and explores the limits of its effectiveness.

Mixed communities have been largely developed by policy makers of western counties such as Australia, the United States and Western Europe. The debates of whether mixed communities could be the solution to the problems of poverty and place are still in examination. As most of the studies are concentrated on western context, this paper attempts to study the outcomes of living in a mixed community in Hong Kong. This study would be focused on assessing the outcomes of low income residents living in a mixed community in Hong Kong for exploring the possibility of urban planning and housing policy through the social mix policy. Though the idea of social mix is not the main concern in Hong Kong’s urban planning, the paper aims to find out whether living in a mixed community constitutes positive outcomes such as improving living environment, exploring social networks, seeking employment opportunities, role modeling and acquiring better livings in the future. A sample estate in Yau Ma Tei of Hong Kong would be chosen for case study to evaluate the outcomes of living in a mixed community. The study might provide hints for policymakers in considering of town planning and housing developments which towards the goal of reducing social problems such as poverty. There has no practical model or framework in development of policies allied with mixed communities. However, social integration and cohesion should be encouraged for promoting balanced neighbourhoods. / published_or_final_version / Housing Management / Master / Master of Housing Management