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The proposition that the design process for the redevelopment of urban communities is improved as a result of one person's skill in process mechanics is examined. The proposition is sustained on the basis of observations and analyses made over a three year period in a community development corporation. Knowledge is gained regarding the method by which one can develop process skill, the conditions under which that skill can be applied, and the "levels'' at which it operates. / Master of Architecture

Part of my responsibilities as Life Orientation teacher at Sagewood School is the Community Outreach Programme. In particular encouraging participation and ensuring that learners enjoy a life giving and reciprocal experience as they focus beyond themselves in the wider community. Information for this research was gathered from other independent schools, parents and learners from Sagewood. Sources included answers to questionnaires, class discussions and feedback from past experiences. My focus included a study of the history of outreach, works on postmodernism, social construction, practical theology and my position of co-constructor with the learners. Important outcomes included ensuring that the voices of the learners are heard in decision making and planning for future outreach activities. Given the constantly changing nature of society such activities need to be evaluated regularly. Lastly, people care in different ways and about different things and we need to encourage learners to care, in their own unique way. / Practical Theology / M.Th. (Specialisation in Pastoral Therapy)

Challenges of implementing Integrated Development programmes can be seen in the difficulty in aligning different departmental budgets and processes in the implementation phase of projects. This has had many implications for development. However, the use of conventional and single sector approaches to meet development needs has been more apparent. The need to respond to a lack of basic services and poverty in rural and periurban has been growing. Absence of appropriate rural and peri-urban development approaches, and non-alignment of policy and budgets across government structures have resulted in the use of urban based models. This has culminated in the creation of settlements that are unable sustain themselves over time. The dissertation puts forward the hypothesis that "community development through the housing approach is not an appropriate development mechanism for rural and peri-urban areas". It also highlights problems faced in attempting peri-urban and rural areas. This is illustrated by a case study - Intathakusa Integrated Development Programme. This is a peri-urban and rural development programme located within the boundaries of eThekwini Metropolitan Area and is used to illustrate problems faced by a number of areas of similar nature. This project attempted to deliver integrated programmes within the urban edge and the peripheral parts of the city. Qualitative research methods facilitated an in-depth exploration of relevant issues in this dissertation. Development practitioners and community representatives were interviewed to elicit information on the challenges facing peri-urban and rural development and to explore possible alternatives. The dissertation concludes with suggestions for sustainable livelihoods approaches for rural and peri-urban areas. The research also acknowledges that the housing package is perhaps a basic requirement for rural and peri-urban areas. It acknowledges that housing offers a means through which a bundle of basic services (over and above a house) can be delivered. The research concludes by arguing that if this funding mechanism is to be used in rural and peri-urban areas, it should be repackaged to include bigger site sizes and agriculture. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2004.

M.Tech. (Architectural Technology) / The architectural intervention proposes an urban redevelopment along the mining belt of the city of Johannesburg through the treatment of acid mine drainage. The design research includes a network of selected sites located along the Johannesburgmining belt to address the problem of acid mine drainage,as well as to provide solutions for future urban environments. The main solutions to eradicate the acid mine water problem are infrastructural, which in most cases is associatedwith inhumane environments. A design question addressing the marriage between harsh infrast ructure and humane environments is therefore dealt with ,in an attempt to create a self-sustaining architecture in which infrastructure can have an integrative urban function for the future . The dissertation aims to achive a design intervention that will thread the traces of a mining century into this contemporary African city, through an architecture that will grow into the future of the ever-changing and continuously emergent Johannesburg.

This dissertation resituates C. A. Doxiadis in Post-War urban design history with a detailed examination of how urban growth and change was addressed by urban design strategies as applied in the master plan for Riyadh Saudi Arabia, undertaken between 1968 and 1972. The Riyadh master plan commission is important within Doxiadis' career, occurring in the midst of his prolific writing projects and approximately eight years after he completed the Islamabad master plan, his most renowned project. Most Post-War architects focused on the socio-spatial components of urban life, elaborating architectural projects that intertwined transportation, infrastructure, and concentrated on mass housing strategies. This dissertation argues that Doxiadis' contribution to urban design theory and practice during the Post-War period was to define a rational scientific methodology for urban design that would restructure settlements to enable urban expansion and change while addressing issues of community building, governance and processes of development. The applied urban design for Riyadh Saudi Arabia strongly exemplifies Doxiadis' rational strategy and methodology as outlined in Ekistics theory and the conceptual model of Dynapolis. The comparative analysis examines how Doxiadis applies the Dynapolis model in the urban spatial planning of Riyadh to organize urban territory at the macro and local urban scales, define neighborhood communities, and connect the new master plan to the existing spatial territory of the city. The longitudinal analysis contrasts the Doxiadis master plan, Riyadh's first urban development strategy, to the most recent comprehensive approach MEDSTAR to understand how the Doxaidis' urban design has sustained its spatial continuity over time. This dissertation makes two significant contributions. The first is to broaden knowledge of Post-War urban design specific to the spatial problem of urban expansion and change, and second to resituate Doxiadis within the Post-War history of urban design specifically revealing his previously unrecognized project of the Riyadh master plan undertaken from 1968-1972.

M. Tech. Architecture (Professional) / Aims to investigate opportunities that could arise out of designing a facility of this nature to take advantage of the scarce skills shortage, and by placing the proposed facility within a township area will necessitate research into the dynamics of designing in such an area. Therefore the issues of concern which will be investigated will be: the shortage of skilled artisans ; community ownership; and the rehabilitation of a degraded site.

Thesis (MTech. degree in Architecture (Professional))--Tshwane University of Technology, 2011. / The thesis emcompasses the design of an interpretive and research centre in the Mvembili area, Swaziland. The centre will have a multifaceted function as it will include the following: a landmark gateway, museum and tourist centre, and a limited research facility for the water and flora of the immediate region. The thesis seeks to give the structure a symbolic and poetic quality which will interpret the cultural and natural aspects of the environment and people and subsequently provide meaning to visitors. It will also acknowledge the beauty of the natural surroundings through the building's form and use of material and technology.

Thesis (MTech. degree in Architecture: Professional)--Tshwane University of Technology, 2010. / This dissertation focus on repopulating the north-west section of Pretoria's city, known as Marabastad. Evoking densification together with urban regeneration through a mixed-use affordable housing development, it will also acknowledge the presence of the remaining Marabastad and support the relationship between formal and informal trading whilst contributing to the overall existing function of the area as being a major transportation interchange node. The site that has been chosen is on the northern edge of Bloed Street and lies between Jerusalem Street and the Steenhoven Spruit.

Thesis (MTech. degree in Architecture (Professional Design)--Tshwane University of Technology, 2009. / The aim of this thesis is to design a music school [in Tshwane, South Africa] that will contribute to the development of our rich and vibrant music culture, which will furthermore assist in the promotion of the often unrecognized and struggling music industry as a major player in the South African economy. The building will contain practice and recording studios, together with classrooms for teaching music as well as performing spaces and administration facilities. The design attempts to introduce the building as a fully integrated element in the urban fabric and social infrastructure of the city so as to promote music and the performing arts to the broader public and help to redefine this precinct as the cultural heart of the inner city.