A research report approved by the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment of the University of Witwatersrand for the degree of Master of the Built Environment in housing / In post-apartheid South Africa, the delivery of low-income housing has been occurring at unprecedented rates since 1994. This means that more and more poor households are gaining access to secure tenure on progressive basis. Unfortunately the new low-income housing townships are often established on cheap peripheral land, adjacent or far beyond the existing apartheid townships. The widespread growth of informal settlements in urban areas has also been occurring at higher rates following the repeal of apartheid laws which restricted rural-urban migration. The growth of informal settlements is nothing but a precise indication of poverty and the desire of the poor to gain access to employment opportunities. However, the link between employment opportunities and home is often provided by transport. Travelling demands money which most of the urban poor rarely have. For the poor, proximity to areas of employment opportunities is key to surviving in urban areas. The consequence of this arrangement is the establishment of informal settlements near places of employment as a way of escaping the cost of transport. Yet the upgrading of well-located informal settlements has not been a preferred and popular strategy for the post-apartheid government as a mechanism for promoting access to opportunities. Instead the focus has largely been on providing access to individual tenure through the delivery of the free-standing housing units on the periphery where land is relatively cheap to accommodate large scale housing delivery. Is this the only factor which had motivated the rural poor to migrate to urban areas in the first place? Which matters most for the urban poor? Is it access to subsidised housing in the urban area only or is the latter. Perhaps it is a combination of both factors. To provide answers to the foregoing questions, the researcher resolved to pose two guiding questions to focus the investigation: What are the effects of relocation to the periphery on household livelihoods and how do relocated households make a living on the periphery....what sort of coping mechanisms are adopted to survive in remote, isolated, low density and sprawling low-income Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) townships of the post-apartheid South Africa? The research uses Diepsloot as a case study area because it presents all the necessary traits of a typical post-apartheid South African low-income township which had been used as a northern Johannesburg relocation site. The findings of the research suggest that the only major positive impact which result from relocation, is access to secure tenure while the major negative impact, is the poor location of Diepsloot in relation to major employment opportunities. This finding correlates with the existing literature and the hypothesis of the study.

Thesis is submitted in partial fulfilment for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, School of Architecture and Planning, at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2017 / In this thesis, elements of Crawford Stanley Holing's life history are put into perspective. It provides a historical trajectory upon which the space imbued in the various contexts hosting pivotal activities on the production and refinement pf resilience idea are explored. These elements are also used as a point of departure from where the idea of resilience originates and circulates internationally and in the context of South African cities. [Abbreviated abstract. Open document to view full version] / MT 2018

This thesis 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 explores the concept of social and cultural inclusivity and urban regeneration through a brewpub that celebrates South Africa’s rich drinking history. Growing up in a household where alcohol has been viewed as a negative factor that can actually destroy the family, I have always wanted to know if it could in fact ignite some positivity in the lives of society. Common social perception dictates our individual views and opinions on alcohol, and these perceptions sometimes differ from society to society, and from culture to culture. The history of beer is deep rooted in the soil of South Africa: from the traditional African beer makers who practiced ritual through their craft; to the notorious beer halls that were described as ‘drinking cages’ by the mine workers of Johannesburg. Today, the act of drinking beer is shared across multiple social spectrums – from the regular shebeen patrons to the trendy hipsters that crawl the city. Can these various social groups interact together over the common act of enjoying a beer with friends? Can a multi-cultural brewery overcome the many issues that occur within our diverse city? The three themes of health and morality, sociability, and state and nation, as suggested by Mack P. Holt in the book Alcohol: a social and cultural history, are the analytical tools that have been used to dissect the interesting body that is society and drinking. Ultimately, it is the understanding of these different aspects of consumption that has led me to the design of a new hybrid drinking establishment that could benefit the community in which it is situated. On a site known as the gateway to the Maboneng Precinct, the brewery houses all the functions necessary for the production of beer as well as a restaurant, coffee shop, curio shop, offices and a small learning centre. The brewery also offers the opportunity for aspiring brewers to occupy a brew lab and test their brewing skills on the market. The main patrons include the visitors of Arts on Main, residents in the area, Ellis Park spectators, students from the Doornfontein campus as well as people from many other walks of life. Hagaman says that beer holds a place “[…] in the total socioeconomic and ritual life of its brewers and drinkers,” and only once we learn from the past, take notes from the unknown and allow inevitable changes to happen, can such a place truly feel welcome and open for all. / EM2017

This discourse is submitted to the Faculty of Architecture, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the degree Master of Urban Design, Johannesburg, October 1993 / Johannesburg's inner-city is in crisis. Physically; the city is deteriorating. Daily, the media reports of increased crime figures, and yet another corporation moving to suburbia. Institutions which remain in the city intensify their security and offer internalised canteens, gymnasiums and parking to their staff so that they need not venture out onto the streets. It is therefore doubtful that institutions which remain do so out of love for the city; rather, it would appear that these decisions are motivated for reasons of retaining their property investments. In reaction. city politicians (who live in suburbia) have embarked on cosmetic urban design upgrades and programmes to keep Johannesburg clean, or green, while others campaign for transportation solutions and stadiums driven by manifestos to make Johannesburg a truly 'world' city - Eurocentric images of what great cities should be. [No abstract provided. Information taken from introduction]. / MT2017

The nature of transport systems determines how people can travel from Johannesburg to Pretoria within the city. This research report seeks to demonstrate that transit-oriented development (TOD) as a concept has a strong sustainability agenda, and also has a strong developmental thrust. Concepts such as the “compact city” and the “smart city”, propagated for the sustainable use of the city and were used to influence the planning of TODs. The research report will seek to gain an understanding of how transit-orientated developments work and also how different concepts have influenced the way they are planned. The report also uses theories such as compact city, sustainable city and other theories like Christaller’s (1933) central place theory to form an explanation as to why these TOD nodes could be seen as attractive. Because the City of Johannesburg has promoted the use of TOD, property developers are indirectly encouraged to develop in these areas through various incentives that have been placed in the node. This study focuses on the Sandton area and specifically the area around the Gautrain station, and investigates how the concept of TOD has made the node more attractive for retail development and consumers. Apart from providing a basic understanding and overview of TOD, it explains the logic behind TOD and what makes it attractive to developers and consumers. The literature looks at theorists like Christaller (1933) to explain this phenomenon, while the epistemology of multiplicity is one which uses mixed methods to ensure that the questions posed in the research, along with the theories in the literature, are proved or disproved. This research report concludes by reflecting on some of the key factors of TOD that affect attractiveness. The main reason for this report is that, by identifying what is attractive to the consumer and the developer, a better understanding of the logic that underpins the market will be developed. A clearer understanding of the logic that operates in this market could allow for a number of new insights both when planning TOD nodes combined with major infrastructure projects, and when looking to develop in these areas. Another of the important questions that were answered was whether or not shopping-centre attractiveness was enhanced by TOD policies.

Abstract This thesis focuses on identifying and satisfying opportunities through the regeneration of underutilised land in our cities. It investigates the potential and benefits of transforming these land parcels to maximise accessibility, use, and function. Consequently influencing urban renewal and urban connection. The thesis initiated through identifying the possibilities and opportunities which exist upon the Killarney Country Club site in Lower Houghton, Johannesburg. Its location, size and exposure are key to its potential, furthermore its current status makes transformation plausible and desirable. The Killarney Country Club is a sizeable strip of greenery centrally located in the Johannesburg context. It offers significant linkage opportunities throughout Johannesburg and high public exposure. In its current state it is heavily underutilised, allowing access to a select elite minority and in turn creating a stifling element in the city. Theoretically the Killarney Country Club can be described as a Heterotopic space. A space without a place, juxtaposing its context and existing as a world within a world. However, it ultimately possesses the ability to transform to meet the needs of an evolving society. These heterotopic concepts, debated by Michel Foucault, are regenerating the underutilised A Catalytic Intervention for Reactivation Within a Revived Urban Green Artery a b s t r a c t influential theories which I explore during this thesis. The success of this regenerative intervention requires a comprehensive urban framework which lays the foundations for an equally significant architectural intervention at the core of the proposal. The urban intervention includes elements of linkage, activity, high density, mixed-use and place making. The improvements see the transformation of the Killarney Country Club into an accessible, connected and active city node, which embodies a social and recreation facility. The facility promotes outdoor activity, wellness and interaction amidst a heavily altered and environmentally conscious new urban context. To attract and generate activity to the site I have proposed a public square at the heart of the transformation, on-to which is placed a catalytic architectural intervention for regeneration. The proposed built intervention is a Social + Recreation Complex which is comprised of three interconnected but separate buildings. The Social+ Recreation Centre, the Conference + Events Centre and The Exhibition Centre. The building becomes a threshold between urbanity and nature. It promotes, and most significantly, initiates and sustains the regenerative transformation. / MN (2016)

Boksburg’s landscape is home to many left-over, forgotten, and wasteful spaces which offer no return. This dissertation will explore these elusive landscapes, and through design, breach one of these thresholds. Humans long for refuge. Nature should return. This dissertation explores the theory of ‘liminality’. This theory was used to understand the notions related to event. The application of the ‘liminal’ occur in a transient and a material manner. The three narratives, within this dissertation, that marry this theory are: the ‘cloud’, the ‘wetland’ and the ‘landscape’. The youth culture of Johannesburg seeks release from the quotidian. Can an understated city on the East Rand of Gauteng host a public space that caters for different user groups? Can this public space be appropriated for events? Can this public space supply Johannesburg with a definition for a ‘beach’ in a landlocked city? The architecture is to conjure a sense of liberty and choice within the users and the role of architecture is to create a platform for diversity. The design aims to construct a place where society can re-create itself; where nature can reconcile the damaged environment; and where event can serve to produce ephemeral architecture to make [other\younger\ better\greener] worlds.

Abstract: Access (the modern paradox): Borders, much like Architecture, can be described in one of two ways. The one is the simple way, and the other a more complex – but unsettling – way that is open to contradiction. On the surface, a border is a threshold or boundary that constrains the separation of two or more entities. Yet, the more complex understanding is harder to define and because of that it requires limitations, or a different point of view to be able to comprehend. In the case of defining architecture, it can be seen that Architecture is: the art and science of building. Although, this isn’t actually the case, if it was the case practicing Architecture and designing buildings would be easy. There is a complex, more pluralistic way of interrogating Borders and Architecture. Put simply, borders define themselves in the eye of their user. This means that a border to a sociologist, or anthropologist, will be read in a completely different way to an engineer, or will be read differently by a geographer to an immigrant. It becomes obvious that there can never be a complete, all encompassing understanding of what a border is, or can be. A border will always be limited in one way or another, and will always be contested once it has been mapped on to paper. Could there possibly be a way to subvert, dilute or transgress a border or the notion of a border though architecture? Is there an architectural intervention, either physical or metaphysical, that could take on the role of the subversive, dilutor or transgressor? Can a border become actionable and create a place of ACCESS? / MN (2016)

Thesis is submitted in partial fulfilment for the degree of Master of Architecture (Professional) to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, School of Architecture and Planning at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2017 / This research report is an exploration of the public arena of a transport interchange in Vereeniging’s urban centre, and the opportunities created within a zone where many people of different backgrounds converge and interact. Therefore the document looks at various forms of transport converging on a single node and how best to integrate these into a single zone where all can feed off one another and enhance the experience within the public transport realm itself. The divisions of race, class & income cannot be wished away in Vereeniging, therefore the urban context of the inner city needs to be addressed (this indirectly affects the mindsets of the city’s inhabitants). The local informal economy, mini-bus taxi industry, bus services and rail have each appropriated responses to overcome the obstacles of segregation. The entrenched presence of the local informal economy and mini-bus taxi industry and its legal conflict with formal urban systems further fuels their independence. This still young newly found independence can mature in an urban intervention in which new rules of engagement are charted and a new tradition in the built environment begins. Therefore a gateway is a metaphor for the integration of public transport modes into a point of convergence at an urban movement node. It is also here at the threshold of this gateway, in and out of the city, that trade is best exploited and social engagements have the highest potential. It is not about erasing but rather reassembling a viable urban future, through learning from and working within the given conditions / XL2018

Document is submitted in partial fulfillment for the degree: Master of Architecture [Professional] at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, in the year 2016 / In this dissertation I explore the notion of how space relates to human and place identity within the context of the buffer zones established under Apartheid. By exploring spaces remaining as political remnants the concept of the invalid landscape is investigated. Twenty-one years after the ! rst free elections these invalid landscapes still exist in South African cities, as open wounds on the democratic landscape. Historically divided communities remain residentially segregated facing each other uneasily across these buffer zones. This dissertation is a collage of theoretical and experimental discursions and case studies relating to identity, borders, and architecture. South Africa continues to grapple with myriad urgent practical problems while at the same time trying to de! ne a new national identity. Despite the gains of democracy, our nation is still faced with signi! cant challenges of which limited access to public transport remains a pressing urban issue. This thesis attempts to revalidate the spatial divide that continues to cleave the landscape of Alberton and Thokoza by proposing a train terminal that is in line with the vision of the National Development Plan of 2030. The project is focused on the translation and articulation of the landscape through an architectural language that is posited as an urban cicatrisation. By situating the proposed Alrode Train Terminal (ATT) within the invalid landscape, a bridge and operating connection between these two polarized communities is offered. An exploration of the idea of identity and the effects of the invalid landscape can take place while simultaneously addressing a practical challenge for our rapidly developing city. Inspiration for the project derives from the unprompted informal culture that has arisen within Johannesburg. Here life plays out alongside passing traffic made up of pedestrians, taxi ranks, streets,roadside activities and commerce. A social network aggregated by mobility where we see people starting anti-authoritarian movements, reclaiming and re-appropriating public space to meet their everyday needs. This de! ance of authoritarian space-making lays the groundwork for revalidating the invalid politically constructed landscapes. Traditional models of division are characterised by the vertical plane. The architecture of the ATT aims to collapse the vertical to put forward a new mediation of the horizontal plane and its architectural possibilities. The ATT acts as a bridge that affords its visitors the opportunity to transcend physical and cultural boundaries. By crossing between the polarized communities, visitors may potentially experience acculturation and in this way expand their identities