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This Thesis investigates the residential structure of Wynberg, a suburb of Cape Town, and it has both a short and long term purpose. The main intent of the Thesis is contained in its short term purpose, that is it attempts to find patterns of selective differentiation in residential location for various groups in the community. An assessment of the factors that are most salient in the location of households must begin with an appreciation of the range of the relevant variables which will vary according to the scale of the project and the general mode of analysis that is contemplated. It is not intended in this study to examine the interaction between those variables such as population, economic organisation, technology and environment which would be expected to play a role in shaping a macroscale study of residential structure at Metropolitan level. The general mode of analysis here is on the suburban or microscale and it is intended to compare various attributes associated with environmental quality (using an experimental vocabulary and scoring system) with a constant unit of measurement studied over time. This unit of measurement is the market price of property adjusted for comparability over time and for which a large source of primary data is available in the records of property transactions in the Valuation Department of the Cape Town City Council. It is assumed that the price people pay for dwellings is a good index of.socio~ economic status and that decisions made in the market place are by and large rational ones. Wynberg was chosen because it ·appeared to have a wide range of residential building types in various income groups and because it contained both White and Coloured Group Areas with little induced change due to Government legislation. The study is restricted in deptp to transactions in the property market between the years 1963 to 1967. It was originally intended to study a ten year period, but the length of time taken to procure the data from the Valuation Department precluded so long a study. The evaluation of environmental quality includes physical, perceptual and social factors and a necessary part of the study is a testing of the expeF.imental vocabulary and scoring system. The variables to be studied in the analysis are therefore qualit~tive in the case of environment and quantitative in the case of the market price of property. The long term purpose of the study is to find a benchmark for further study on a city-wide scale of the locational patterns of high value residential areas. Before such a study could be undertaken some assumption would have to be made about 'high value residential areas'. What are the factors which influence location in Aigh value residential areas? One could postulate that a high scoring on the environmental quality scale would be a more significant factor in location in higher value areas than accessibility to work place, or to public transport routes. Therefore, if a positive correlation was found between environmental quality and high market price in the Wynberg area, a threshold market value might be revealed above which one couid study high value locational patterns throughout the Metropolitan area. Analysis of high value areas was carried out by the Chicago School of Ecologists in the 1920's when American cities were experiencing the first rapid expansion to the suburbs, brought about by wide spread use of the automobile in a period of increasing economic growth and affluence. Since then, according to Leo F. Sc0 hnore (i), studies of ecological structure have been carried out in at least one city in every major region of the world. To the writer's knowledge, no such study has yet been carried out into the locational patterns of high class residential areas in South African cities. The Thesis is divided into three parts. The first summarises research in the related fields of residential structure, environmental psychology and urban design. The second part is the main body of the Thesis containing the Wynberg Case Study and the third part is concerned with conclusions.

A primary aim of the study is seen to lie in the establishment of criteria which could ultimately form the basis or a land-use "plan", or policy for Kuils River. It is therefore considered fundamental to establish, in the first instance; the role of Kuils River in the region. It, furthermore, becomes necessary to define the local physical environment. This would serve to establish qualitative features as well as constraints which could determine future planning decisions.

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This study takes as its starting point the hypothesis that the Table Valley area of Cape Town is in need of fresh policies and planning. It avoids preconceptions by looking critically at the work, methods and principles of present-day planning in South Africa, and sets out to establish far broader standards for the good life by returning to fundamentals: man's need for being part of a human community and his need of a rich and varied life. It then sets out to measure the environment of Table Valley against these values to ascertain both subjectively and objectively whether it is a satisfactory place to live in, and if not, what its shortcomings are. In the course of this assessment, it considers both the built and natural environment, and looks at selected components in detail when appropriate, providing a small research component. In identifying the shortcomings and problems It is not content to consider only the negative issues, but also the many positive opportunities apparent. Finally, it outlines suitable overall policy for Table Valley, making It clear what role this area should play in the future, and also the roles of subareas in an around it. It then puts forward an energetic programme for action to achieve the desired ends and overcome the problems, outlining briefly the tasks and responsibilities of some of the professional planners and designers who would next become involved.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of City and Regional Planning, 1965. / "June 1965." / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 389-394). / by Mahmoud Yousry Hassan. / Ph.D.

Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of City and Regional Planning, 1961. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 69-70). / by Miriam Libby Blank. / M.C.P.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of City and Regional Planning, 1969. / Vita. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 247-259). / by Alan Rabinowitz. / Ph.D.