The focal point of the case study is based on the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) as one of the initiatives agreed to at the Growth and Development Summit (GDS) in June 2003. The goal of the EPWP is to bridge the gap between the growing economy and the large numbers of unskilled and unemployed people who have not yet enjoyed the benefits of economic development. Taking into consideration that most of the unemployed are unskilled, the importance is on relatively unskilled work opportunities. This case study sought to understand the conceptualisation and operation of the EPWP in the eThekwini Municipality. It attempted to establish the extent to which the beneficiaries of the EPWP have been able to sustain decent jobs after the implementation of the EPWP within the Municipality. Against this backdrop, this case study drew conclusions on the conceptualisation and implementation of EPWP and made recommendations on how best to implement the programme. The study was largely qualitative seeking to establish people’s views and perceptions on the programme. In addition however, the study was enriched with one-on-one interviews which were held with selected officials so as to gain deeper understanding of the situation. / Thesis (MPA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2012.

The study was conducted to explore the experiences and perceptions of crime prevention managers on crime prevention programmes. A qualitative, explorative, descriptive investigative study was conducted in Umgungundlovu District Municipality. Interviews were conducted with eleven crime prevention managers, ten from South African Police Service and one from Umgungundlovu District Municipality. Data were analysed using content analysis. All crime prevention managers had a variety of crime prevention programmes implemented in their areas of operation. Generally, the crime prevention managers viewed their experiences as positive. Certain challenges were identified. Based on the findings, recommendations in terms of policy, practice and research are made. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2012.

The purpose of this study is to uncover the extent, causes, and to find solutions to the decay in the inner city neighbourhood of Albert Park. The Albert Park area is at a stage where appropriate intervention is required to prevent the area from deteriorating further and to improve the quality of life for the people that live and work in the area. The sources used to carry out this study entailed researching various publications such as planning related books and journals to understand the dynamics of the inner city; urban renewal theories; and political and socio-economic theories. Newspaper articles and interviews of role players also informed the study. The research methods entailed a detailed study of the area where the researcher investigated the physical characteristics of each building in detail. These were defined as buildings in good, fair and poor condition. A systematic stratified sample was used to interview thirty residents from each building condition. The physical study of the area found that the area is presently experiencing a small pocket of decay. This is surrounded by buildings in fair condition, which are beginning to deteriorate to a state of disrepair and will soon become decayed if no intervention takes place. The questionnaire survey found that people throughout the area share similar requirements for the physical and socio-economic regeneration of the area. It was concluded that although the economic characterictics of the residents residing in buildings matched the physical condition of the building they occupied, the residents themselves were not responsible for the decay of apartments. The Albert Park area is being targeted mostly by poor people for residence close to employment opportunities. The decay in the area is the result of exploitation, by landlords and managers, of tenants as minor and major maintenance is not undertaken. The recommendations for Albert Park entail a holistic approach to the area's future development. The area is experiencing a cycle of change. This change is important for the area's residents and needs to be accommodated rather than stopped. The change in the area is allowing poorer people access to inner city housing which is limited at this time. It is also possible for people of different income groups to live together. This can be achieved through improving the physical condition of buildings and the area in general. The apartments in the area need minor and major renovations. It is also necessary for social planning as there is a high level of apathy among residents. There is also a need for crime to be stopped and more community facilities to be opened in the area. / Thesis (M.T.R.P.)-University of Natal, 2001.

This research work evaluates the quality of built housing environment and the improvement of the quality of life for the beneficiary communities under the South African Housing Policy. It pays special reference to the Case Study of Waterloo and Quarry Heights within the jurisdiction of Durban Unicity. In order to assess the quality of built housing environment whether it has a potential to improve the quality of life for the client communities the researcher set indicators which are: Integrated planned housing environment, residential quality, suitable building material, secured housing environments, standard of dwelling units, housing environment with economic infrastructure, housing environment that allows fleXibility and extension, and housing environment that has got development infrastructure and social services. These indicators are used in this study as important tool in evaluating the quality of built housing environment. / Thesis (M.Arch.)-University of Natal, 2002.

This thesis provides an overview of the public open space policy for Durban and surroundings. The focus of the research is the sustainability of the open space policy with special emphasis on the integration of the natural environment, social aspects and economic factors within the open space system itself. Through this dissertation an attempt was made to ascertain to what extent the Open Space Policy of the Durban Metropolitan Area is sustainable. In order to achieve this it was necessary to specifically consider the status quo of the current open space policies internationally and locally with emphasis on the ecologically orientated Durban Metropolitan Open Space System. More appropriate public open space within the natural environment and urban context was considered, especially in respect of social needs and the aspirations and perceptions of communities with regards parks, sports fields, play areas, community areas, urban agriculture and natural areas. Social aspects, such as public participation and education, and economic implications were also investigated and considered. In order to locate this work theoretically and contextually, current planning theory and sustainable development was analysed. In addition existing policies, initiatives and strategies responsible for shaping development and consequently the local public open space policy in the Durban Metropolitan area were investigated. The dissertation argues that the success of a 'sustainable' policy is ultimately based in collaborative planning and implementation as well as appropriate management of the system. Current theory pertaining to sustainable management in the form of private / public partnerships was investigated and tested through selected case studies in Westville and Clermont. This dissertation concludes that sustainability is a process and that the public open space policy of the Durban Metropolitan Area, although attempting to achieve overall sustainability requires to address specifically, social needs and more appropriate collaborative planning and management strategies. Broad strategies to achieve this were considered and guidelines for a more sustainable public open space were proposed. / Thesis (M.T.R.P.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1998.

This research is aimed at investigating public participation in street naming in the KwaMashu Township of the eThekwini municipality in South Africa. Public participation in policy decision-making in post-apartheid South Africa has been characterised by conflict and contestation. Authentic public participation in local governance has been the subject of considerable research and the concept is often regarded as an ideal because of the numerous challenges associated with the practical implementation of authentic public participation in post-apartheid South Africa. Decision making in local governance is meant to be grounded on public participation. However, the realisation of authentic public participation in decision-making in local governance remains a challenge for local government in South Africa. In this study, I examine the process of public participation in street naming in the KwaMashu Township. I employed public participation as my theoretical framework. I adopted a qualitative research methodology which comprises of semi-structured interviews and documents analysis. Four key questions are explored in the study are as follows: firstly, what is the contextualization and understanding of public participation in the eThekwini municipality? Secondly, what is the extent of public participation in street naming, in the KwaMashu Township of the eThekwini municipality? Thirdly, how does public participation in street naming in the KwaMashu Township, influence decision making within the eThekwini municipality? Fourthly, how does political party affiliation impact on public participation in KwaMashu Township? Results of the research study indicate that community members in the KwaMashu Township do not share common perceptions of the extent of their participation in the street naming process. The study further reveals that community participation in issues of local governance in KwaMashu, are influenced by political affiliation of community members. These findings indicate that public participation should be detached from party politics for the development of communities in South Africa. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2011.

One of the most pressing problems faced by large urban areas is traffic congestion. Traffic congestion, or the urban transportation problem is not a new phenomenon, having existed since the process of urbanization began. Low density urbanization or suburbanization, facilitated by the availability of large numbers of automobiles has contributed to the present traffic problem. The causes of the problem have long been recognized by planners and decision makers, and viable solutions have been proposed. However, in spite of solutions being known, the problem still exists and has become worse. The purpose of this study is to observe how planners have dealt with the land use and transportation factors which contribute to the ever worsening traffic problems in a suburban area. It is hypothesized that the fragmented nature of the planning and decision making processes have resulted in a lack of co-ordination and co-operation in planning to resolve the urban transportation problem. The objectives of this thesis are to gain an understanding of: 1) why the urban transportation problem exists; 2) the planning process involved in finding solutions to this problem; and 3) the effect of the fragmentation of authority over various factors of land use and transportation. The methodology includes the following steps. The first is a literature review of the current thought on the subject of traffic congestion, and the factors causing it. The second is a literature review of the planning process and the theoretical foundations of current thought on land use and transportation studies. This will be followed by a case study using a descriptive historical approach. The case study reviews developments as well as past land use and transportation studies for the study area. The fourth step involves an interpretation of the information provided in the case study in light of the literature review. The area chosen for the case study is the Greater Vancouver Regional District's North East Sector. This Sector has experienced accelerated development and an increasing 111 population dependant upon the automobile for mobility. Low density land use, has created automobile dependent development, which make an automobile a necessity. A large percentage of the workforce in the area has to commute to other areas. Numerous studies have been commissioned to find solutions to the North East Sector's transportation problems. Despite the realization of the causes of traffic congestion, the solutions presented in the studies have not been comprehensively implemented to achieve workable results. There were two major findings of this study. The first is that planners and decision makers are aware of the relationship between land use and transportation planning. The second is the fragmentation of authority for different aspects of land use and transportation has frustrated attempts to resolve traffic congestion, through a fragmenting of the planning and decision making process.

This study attempted to link parental beliefs to parenting behaviors and adolescent outcomes within specific domains. The study also explored whether parental warmth moderated the relationship between parenting behavior and adolescent outcomes. A sample of 60 Chinese immigrant families from Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan participated in the study. One primary parent and one adolescent aged between 13 and 18 from each family answered surveys related to parental goals, parenting behaviors and adolescent competence in the moral, prudential and learning/academic domains. Findings offer confirmatory evidence for associations between parental goals and parenting behaviors and between parental goals and adolescent competence in all domains. Parenting behaviors were related to adolescent competence in the learning/academic domain only. No mediating effects of parenting behaviors nor moderating effects of parental warmth were found. Results are discussed in terms of Smetana's (1997) notion of domain-specificity, parental goal-parenting behavior congruency (Hastings & Grusec, 1998), and age and cultural relevance in regards to the chain associations found between parental goal, parenting behavior and adolescent outcomes.

This thesis examines the opportunities and constraints facing the implementation of Transit Oriented Development (TOD). TOD consists of concentrated, mixed use development within walking distance of a commercial core and a transit stop that provide the focal point for the community and connect the resident to the region. Despite the fact that many planners accept TOD as a useful form of development, TOD has experienced barriers to its implementation. Neither the barriers to implementation, nor the opportunities for overcoming them have been sufficiently researched. This case study of land use planning at the four east Vancouver station areas of Joyce, 29th Avenue, Nanaimo and Broadway of the 'Expo' Advanced Light Rapid Transit (ALRT) line, known locally as 'SkyTrain', addresses this deficiency. Planning literature, planning documents, interviews with seven Vancouver planners, zoning and land use maps, and a land use survey provided the data from which conclusions were drawn. The research suggests that the major barriers to TOD implementation along the Vancouver 'Expo' line were poor transit routing, difficulties in assembling large parcels of land, lack of coordination between public entities, separated regional land use and transportation planning, inadequate political commitment to design and mitigation measures, the setting of goals for the station areas that are not TOD goals and the intrusive nature ALRT due to its elevated guideway. Many of these barriers correspond with those identified by the TOD literature as existing in other cities, but significant barriers that were identified in the case study but not by the literature include the intrusive nature of the ALRT technology due to its elevated guideway, the decision making process that had the province make decisions (e.g. the type of rapid transit technology to be used) without local input, and the absence of sustained implementation. Opportunities for overcoming barriers to TOD include creating more participatory decision making processes that ensure decisions that affect local communities are made at the municipal and regional, rather than provincial, level, the creation of a directly elected agency responsible for both land use and transportation planning, increased coordination between public agencies, and the creation of TOD guidelines.

The period between the nineteen fifties and the seventies in South Africa witnessed the emergence of a central state housing policy incorporating large scale mass housing for Black people in delineated Group Areas based on segregated racial zoning policies originally initiated in Durban. During this period the local state in Durban began to exercise the responsibility assigned to it since 1920 by providing the previously neglected housing for Coloureds and Indians. As a case-study detailing the origins of the Indian township of Phoenix this study explores how power is exercised at the local level. It focuses on local representation and accounts for the growth in bureaucratic power and subsequent decline of the City Council regarding matters of housing in Durban. The study argues that in order to conceptualise the 'local state' and its 'relative autonomy' from the central state it is necessary to analyse local social relations. As such the study focusses on the power relations existing between the City Council and the bureaucracy; the City Council and the Indian community; and the bureaucracy and The Natal Estates Ltd. Data have been drawn from primary sources including municipal records and oral interviews, and from secondary sources which have provided the historical context for the study. The relationship between the City Council and the bureaucracy has been found to have been dominated not only by the technical expertise and resources of the bureaucracy, but also by the intervention of powerful personalities holding senior positions within the bureaucracy. Both the City Council and the bureaucracy proved to have been instrumental in ensuring that opposing demands from the various sectors of the Indian community did not interfere with their plans for housing at Phoenix. In the same manner, the bureaucracy's determination to maintain control over housing and ensure the reproduction of urban labour power led to the cooperation of the local, regional and central state levels, which forced Natal Estates into protracted land negotiations where the Company was finally pressurised into selling under threat of central state expropriation. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1987.