This thesis is being submitted for the Degree of Masters In Urban Design at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. / Current understandings of Urban Design point towards the fact that it is the art and science of city making. Like other aspects of Architecture, it begins with a site analysis, followed by the formulation of a vision for the built environment and thereafter a process of transforming the vision into reality (Carmona et.al, 2003). Thus, Urban Design is perceived as a discipline that gives rise to the form and defi nition of the full spectrum of forces including social, economic, cultural, ecological, political and aesthetic dynamics (Dixon, 2005). The role of the Urban Designer can therefore be understood as central to a number of other stakeholders such as Traffi c Engineers dealing with vehicular movement, Civil Engineers concerned with structural design, Architects designing built form, Landscape Architects designing open space, Urban Planners formulating policy and the Property Developers involved in aspects of land investment. However, as urban populations grow, become more diverse and fragmented, the function of Urban Design and the role of the Urban Designer becomes questionable (Madanipour, 1996). The past tradition of thought in Urban Design (visual artistic approach) incorporated a fi rm belief in the physical aspects of city making relying on built form as a primary informant. This tradition has, however, been replaced by a more recent tradition (social usage approach) which incorporates a fi rm belief in interpreting phenomena occurring in public space. This served as a response married to the phenomenon of increased population density and rapid urbanisation persistent in the developing city context due to global migration patterns (Watson, 2009). Consequently, in its plight to reframe Urban Design to sequence developing cities, this thesis conducts a comparative analysis between developed and developing world cities regarding national migratory, population density and urbanisation trends and the effects that it poses on regions, cities and localities. In so doing, it progresses to a realisation that increased living densities in turn spills over into the public realm and onto the street edge for retail and social service access purposes. Thus, a greater mix of uses in the built environment is forged. The increased density of people on sidewalks in essence stimulates transport movement as a collector service which structures street connectivity systems around retail facilities and social services. From the analytical fi ndings here, this thesis recognises that there exist relationships between built form confi guration and socio-economic activities occurring in public space. In light of the above, the thesis employs the combination of the visual artistic and social usage approaches to form the making places approach, which can be appropriate for Urban Design in developing cities. After establishing a new approach, the thesis structures the above-mentioned operations into an evolved conceptual framework. Thus, the conceptual framework recognises that time change in developing cities in conjunction with population density and migration cause overlapping relationships between building density, housing and social services, retailing, land use mixes, transport/movement and street connectivity across various scales and within the formal, semi-formal/semiinformal and informal realms. With this being the case, the thesis analyses current literature which argues that the broader problem is the fact that the interrelatedness of the above-mentioned concepts is negated in theory. It develops the problem statement further by stating that a lack of the interrelatedness of the concepts contained in the conceptual framework has in turn infl uenced a lack of such in current research and urban design practice in developing cities. This is confi rmed through measuring the extent to which three South African Urban Design practice case studies consider concepts of building density, housing and social services, retailing, land use mixes, transport/movement and street connectivity across various scales and acknowledging the lack thereof. As a means of responding to the problem identifi ed above, a set of research techniques is investigated using a Yeoville/Bellevue, Johannesburg site-specifi c case with the aim of assisting designers to better apply the evolved conceptual framework. Simultaneously, the thesis uses Yeoville/Bellevue as a focus area to illustrate the manner in which building density, housing and social services, retailing, land use mixes, transport/movement and street connectivity can be considered across various scales. This essentially progresses into the creation of an Urban Design Framework for Yeoville/Bellevue that strengthens the linkages between housing and social services, retailing and transport/movement through using principles of street connectivity, land use mix and building density creation. An implementation strategy for the Design Framework is then established. Through the execution of the above process the collective consideration of building density, housing and social services, retailing, land use mixes, transport/movement and street connectivity across various scales serves as the basis for reframing Urban Design to suit developing cities.

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of the Witwatersrand Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Science in Property Development and Management / Design development is a stage of the construction procurement process where the requirements of a project are specified including the technical and performance specifications. Thus the design development stage provides a significant opportunity in construction to incorporate green principles into building procurement to achieve energy efficiency, resource efficiency and environmental friendliness in the life cycle of built assets thus producing green buildings. However, this does not always happen in practice and in South Africa some of the reasons underlying this problem have not yet been fully researched and understood. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to conduct a study into factors that undermine the incorporation of green principles into building projects at the Design Development Stage. This research aims to examine the factors in the Design Development Stage in projects that undermine it from producing green buildings in South Africa’s construction industry, the Gauteng province being the focus of the study. The study investigated what is required from procurement processes generally to result in green buildings, then further narrowed down what is specifically required from actions undertaken at the Design Development Stage of projects to produce green buildings. Actions undertaken by the main practitioners involved in the Design Development Stage in Gauteng was then investigated in order to determine the factors within the Design Development Stage that undermine it from producing green buildings. Based on the critical review of the literature, six factors were systematically identified to facilitate each phase of the Design Development Stage producing green buildings, namely; “green concepts”, “green design”, “green specifications”, “green cost systems”, “green financial viability systems” and “green programmes”. Based on the knowledge acquired from the literature about the processes involved in the Design Development Stage, questions were developed to enable semi-structured interviews and a questionnaire survey to be conducted. The questionnaire was designed and administered online to architects and quantity surveyors using the Qualtrics software which also supports the analysis of data provided by respondents. Data collection for the study was restricted to the Gauteng Province of South Africa which contains the country's largest city, Johannesburg, its administrative capital, Pretoria, and a population of around 13 million. Hence there is a significant concentration of building projects and professionals in this Province to provide a useful setting for the collection and analysis of data to achieve the study objectives.Results flowing from the analysis of information collected from 25 architects and 20 quantity surveyors indicate that the main factors undermining the incorporation of green principles in the Design Development Stage are “Green cost systems”, “Green financial viability systems” and “Green Programmes”. The six factors identified that facilitate the Design Development Stage producing green buildings were as follows; “Green concepts”, “Green design”, “Green specifications”, “Green cost systems”, “Green financial viability systems” and “Green programmes”. Although the findings indicate that the incorporation of green principles at the Financial Planning Phase and Project Programme Phase are the main hindrance towards producing green buildings; this must be looked at with care as the Design Phase offers the greatest chance to produce green buildings. It is recommended that further research to other provinces with a larger sample size and frame is undertaken to gain a more accurate depiction of South Africa’s construction industry. Furthermore a study to why these factors are underperforming and how they can be configured to work to green buildings is recommended.

Thesis (M.Arch. (Professional))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, 2016. / The landscape of Parktown tells a story of possession, dispossession, building and demolition. This thesis challenges the history of the Parktown ridge as always being a place that has been associated with hegemony, elitism and uncertainty. Instead, it asks: Can the ridge become a nurturing environment, a place of ‘meditative pause’? Can it become a cathartic place that reshapes new territorial orders? In order to do this, two main contextual issues are explored; institutions and land... Institutions - Parktown forms a large part of the institutional belt of the city. However, these institutions lie like an archipelago; they are urban islands that do not interact with one another. This project challenges and deconstructs the traditional notion of the institution as being trapped in a modernist paradigm - caught up in a late modernist definition of health, body and mind that speaks of authority, control and isolation. The building thus becomes the antithesis of this; it is an open, permeable structure that becomes a public space. The programme of the building aims to re-conceive the institutions’ role in the city. It provides a framework for the currently separated health, education and business communities of Parktown to interact with one other and cross pollinate their knowledge in the hope that new transgressive orders will emerge. Being sited next to the largest institution, the Charlotte Maxeke Hospital, allows it to become a central gathering space in Parktown and provides the opportunity for the new structure to start interacting with the hospital. It focuses on the importance of mental health in two manners; it provides a framework where visitors and outpatients can deal with their trauma, loss and illness in a holistic environment. Secondly, it explores the myth that the hospital is a contained object, and looks to explode the issue of health and allow the hospital to have a reciprocal relationship with the city. The building becomes a central hub where research experiments are carried out in the city by citizens to study the mental health of the city. Land - Parktown lies on the Witwatersrand ridge; the founding and defining feature of the Witwatersrand. However, the ridge’s narrative of mining has perhaps remained stagnant and has not evolved after mining. Man has become disconnected from the land and the project sees the ridge as a device through which this relationship can be repaired, as the ridge moves into a new generation. This thesis emerges when architecture is used as the method through which these two issues, of institutions and land, interrogate and interrupt each other. Harmony between nature versus geometry is explored, which results in a ‘lyrical brutalist’ style. ‘Land’ or nature is used to humanise the ordered, authoritarian nature of the institution as it carves itself into the building and fragments and softens the rigidity of the gridded concrete structure. Symbiotically, the building gives new importance to the traumatised landscape of the ridge. With nature becoming such an important part of the building, man is encouraged to reconnect with the land. The ridge no longer becomes a barrier between the north and the south, but a connector, bringing communities together. The intervention becomes a place of refuge, a sanctuary in the modernist landscape. It is a landscape of re-cognition and encourages one to think more holistically; to break away from the traditional geometries that have dominated how we think and have new embodied experiences with the land. In so doing, the project not only acts as a catalyst in the rehabilitation of the scarred natural landscape but also speculates on an alternative future for technology, health and education. It gives a new level of social and cultural significance to the hospital and surrounding institutions, while reclaiming a land we feel disconnected from. Key words: Parktown, ridge, nature, concrete, land, landscape, institutions, hospital, education, communities / EM2017

A research report on a study presented to the School of Architecture and Planning, Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of the Witwatersrand / The research is a comparison of two state-owned housing institutions namely, the Johannesburg Social Housing Company and the Malawi Housing Corporation and how they are contributing to affordable housing and social integration in the housing sector. It uses a qualitative approach. Objectives of the research were achieved through obtaining primary written data that was collected through document reviews from the relevant organisations and interviews. The interviews were supported through the use of secondary materials. The research strategy was comparative in nature and content analysis was used to analyse the data obtained. The study showed that integration ensures that housing institutions provide housing without segregation and discrimination bias while affordability is a mechanism for housing provision to households whose housing needs are not met by the housing market. The research results portrayed that JOSHCO’s housing affordability is more meaningful than MHC’s because JOSHCO offers housing within the social economic opportunities in the inner city while MHC provides housing estates outside the inner city. It also showed that both institutions consider issues of income, gender, race and disability in their housing projects and programmes to ensure that integration occurs.

In my thesis I wish to illustrate the ability of architecture to provide restitution, inclusion and identity. In Botswana, Basarwa have been forcefully evicted from their ancestral land to facilitate diamond mining by the government. In addition to this, within other Southern African countries, Basarwa have experienced varying degrees of similar circumstances. This has resulted in Basarwa experiencing widespread exclusion, loss of culture and dispossession. The aim of this project is not to solve this issue but to create a platform to work towards improving the current state of Basarwa. The aim is to explore the notion of a cultural think-tank; an advocacy center where Basarwa from all over southern Africa can congregate and advocate for the various issues affecting them, where information and archives can be accessed and cultural performances can occur. This is a significant step towards achieving this goal. The site is in Botswana at the heart of the admin-istrative center and has been selected as a subversive form of restitution. This thesis investigates the types of dispossessions that Basarwa have experienced the resulting effects of exclusion, and the experiences of Basarwa in the Southern African context. Cosmopolitanism and multiculturalism are explored as vehicles of change that could help achieve the goal. Furthermore as a means of restitution and identity build-ing, mythological cosmology and design have been investigated as they are the essential elements in the formation of identity and a source of pride and esteem for Basarwa. By creating a building where advocacy for the plight of Basarwa can occur, which celebrates the mythological cosmology, design heritage and cultural practices of Basarwa, the aim is to achieve restitution, inclusion and identity.

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 2014. / ‘Unless someone like you cares an awful lot, nothing is going to get better, it’s not.’ (The Lorax, Dr Seuss) How can architecture play a role to make us understand and realise the vulnerability of Fynbos? The Western Cape is the habitat for one of the six species of the floral kingdom, Fynbos. This botanical treasure is in danger of becoming extinct. There are thousands of types of Fynbos, each endemic to a specific region within the Western Cape and it is important to raise awareness of this unique species as creating a familiarity and deeper personal connection with the plant can help to protect this endangered flora. I propose a Fynbos Research and Education Centre set in Clanwilliam, a historical area within the Cederberg Mountain Range. The centre will be created to allow a deeper understanding of Fynbos and to this effect, aims to educate people about Fynbos so as to give them a better knowledge about sustainable living and the value of this plant species. It will be a place of calm and learning and the landscape will have a fundamental effect on the form. A vital part of the work to be carried out by this centre will be research into methods of conservation as well as into possible medical and cosmetic uses inherent in this species. Looking to plant structure, organic architecture and the analogy of nature, and its influence on architecture from both the geology of the region and the natural landscape setting, to discover what this then means for the architecture of the centre. The idea of Nature’s constant generation and degeneration, life coming from death and the influence of ruins on architectural imaginations will be fundamental in this building. Fynbos is endangered but this centre will aim to prevent it from becoming a memory and perhaps once it has been saved the structure will be left for nature to take over once again. The relationship between Fynbos and the landscape will shape and determine the architecture and materiality. Organic rammed earth walls will rise out of the sandstone formations which are the foundation of the Cederberg, to create this centre. The walls, made up of the very sand that sustains the Fynbos will exemplify it as at one with nature. As fire reignites life within the Fynbos seeds which lie dormant beneath the soil, so too can the building and the garden ignite passion to save this species, incorporating various design mechanisms into the architecture representing fire and its giving of life, in the case of the Fynbos, or preventing destruction in terms of the building. The creation of an education centre, restaurant and research facility will encourage a steady stream of visitors to Clanwilliam throughout the year. This will help to build tourism and eco-tourism to the town and surrounding areas, giving a much needed economic injection by creating job opportunities. Importantly, it will also increase awareness and exposure to the Fynbos species, with the building encouraging the visitor to linger and get involved with the plants and site and to develop a deeper affinity with this dwindling flora. This thesis aims to take its visitors on a journey, by means of architecture, creating a human experience and therefore a connection with their surroundings, exploring and uncovering the landscape of the Cederberg and its local identity and heritage, creating a bond forged by a new understanding.

Report submitted to the Faculty of the Built Environment, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters in Architecture 2014 / Architecture is the appreciation for story-telling; fiction and literature, history, culture and conversation. It entails the unfolding of a plot, unfamiliar places and eccentric characters. These do not merely exist on dusty old pages in books but are an integral part of our imagination - our subconscious design. This report explores the role of the architect as the reader; and so, this thesis forms what I have ‘read’ this year. This thesis aims to interpret literature as a design methodology in order to understand site and develop a suitable architectural language. The process of oral traditions, written text and digitalised technology are used to deconstruct systems and principles that document change in architecture and the city. This project, The Doorn Paperback Project is located in a contested area set within the in-between yard spaces of New Doornfontein. The unsightly nature of the site gives rise to ephemeral slumming. The cracks that exist within the formal urban fabric are atypically inhabited by the marginalised. These hidden narratives of the people living on the site create new meaning to these abandoned and derelict spaces. The way in which people ‘hack’ the site and use it in ways opposed to what was originally intended forms the reality for which the architecture exists. The architecture needs to ‘tear down’ and ‘dismantle’ formal conditions on the site in order to mediate a space in which ‘life’ can be reinvigorated into the space. Thus the introduction of a literary program responds well to the educational and industrial conditions on the site.

No abstract.

The Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve is one of twenty-six such reserves in the United States established with the intent of protecting coastal estuaries. GIS-based analysis of aerial photographs of the southern half of the reserve reveals high rates of erosion along the margin of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway which runs through the reserve. From 1970/1971 to 2002 nearly 70 hectares (approximately 170 acres) of shoreline habitat were degraded by erosion along the 64.8 kilometers of channel margin analyzed. Wakes generated by vessels in the Intracoastal are hypothesized to be the primary cause of this erosion. An examination of the relationships between lateral movement of the channel margin and factors with the potential to affect erosion and accretion supports this hypothesis. Exposure to boat wakes was found to be the causal factor most strongly correlated with rate of lateral margin movement. Margin movement rates were also found to vary significantly with exposure to wind waves and with the type of channel margin eroded. A reduction in nearshore wave energy appears to be necessary to allow the recovery of impacted ecosystems. Approaches to erosion management based on nearshore stabilization and regulation of navigation are discussed, and the intricacies of the implementation of such plans are described. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Urban and Regional Planning in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. / Degree Awarded: Spring Semester, 2005. / Date of Defense: March 29, 2005. / Erosion Management, GIS / Includes bibliographical references. / Robert Deyle, Professor Directing Thesis; Sergio Fagherazzi, Outside Committee Member; John Thomas, Committee Member.

Regional planning and management are problematic in many countries. Control over land and natural resources is fragmented among different levels of government and agencies with narrow missions. Interorganizational collaboration is advocated as a solution, but research to date has predominantly involved case studies with little theoretical rigor. The main objective of this study is to identify the determinants of success in interorganizational collaboration. There is extensive literature on why organizations collaborate, but what factors make collaborations successful is not well documented. To add to the knowledge of this field, this research integrates theory and empirical research from organizational theory, management studies, public administration, urban and regional planning, and environmental planning and natural resource management to define operational measures of successful collaborative planning and applies multivariate analysis to assess hypothesized determinants of success. Natural resource management provides a very good opportunity to examine this due to the fragmentation of administrative structure. However, the implications of the results are not limited to natural resource management. The findings will be useful in understanding collaborative planning and decision making in many other interorganizational settings including regional planning, metropolitan area planning, economic development, and growth management. Understanding what makes collaborations work is important, because despite the documented need to collaborate, many efforts take years to bear fruit, and most do not achieve much. I believe this is due to poor understanding of the collaboration process and its elements. If this process is thoroughly examined and the factors that lead to success are determined, it will help future collaboration efforts immensely by identifying the circumstances in which collaboration is most likely to succeed and the factors that can be manipulated to enhance the likelihood of success. The research methodology includes multivariate analysis of a mail survey of participants in 70 collaborative natural resource planning processes. Representatives of 3 to 4 organizations that collaborated in the development or revision of a management plan for one of six natural resource management program types were surveyed: (1) Remedial Action Plan development under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, (2) the National Estuary Program of the United States Environmental Protection Agency Office of Water, (3) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Marine Sanctuary Program, (4) Habitat Conservation Plan development under the Endangered Species Act, (5) the Surface Water Improvement and Management Program of Florida Water Management Districts, and (6) National Estuarine Research Reserves administered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The survey included questions on the measures and determinants of success identified from the collaboration literature as well as open-ended questions designed to help identify other ways to define success and other determinants of success. The dependent variable, success, is measured objectively and subjectively and includes responses to single survey questions as well as arithmetic average indices of four major theoretical categories (realization of goals, satisfaction of collaboration participants, enhanced interorganizational relations, and efficiency) and component-based scales. Principal Component Analysis was utilized to determine the elements of the components and their weights. The independent variables, determinants of success, are also grouped together by arithmetic average indices based on theoretical groupings as well as component-based scales. The determinants of success include member factors that are related to the participants in the collaboration, process factors that are related to discretion over the process of collaborating, and resource factors that may be beyond the control of the collaboration participants. The results of the multivariate regression analysis support the hypothesis that most of the member factors, process factors and resource factors influence the success of interorganizational collaboration. However, due to multicollinearity between the independent variables it is not possible to investigate the individual contributions of each factor to success. The models show clearly that the relationship between the parties, equity in decision making, participant characteristics (inclusion of all affected stakeholders, proportional representation, and effective leadership), agreement between the participants on ground rules and the scope of the collaboration, and ripeness of the issue are important for collaboration success no matter how success is measured. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Urban and Regional Planning in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Degree Awarded: Spring Semester, 2004. / Date of Defense: December 11, 2003. / Natural Resource Management, Interorganizational Collaboration, Interorganizational Cooperation, Collaborative Planning, Collaboration Success / Includes bibliographical references. / Robert E. Deyle, Professor Directing Dissertation; Richard C. Feiock, Outside Committee Member; Bruce Stiftel, Committee Member.