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The challenge of creating green jobs by the city of JohannesburgMolete, Mokone January 2017 (has links)
A research report submitted to the Faculty of Management, University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfilment for the requirements for the Degree of Master of Management in the field of Public Development / The purpose of the study was aimed at understanding whether the economic hub of South Africa is able to create the jobs it wants to, specifically with reference to “Green” jobs. It will seek to understand if there are barriers to the realisation of this objective and if these barriers can be overcome. Explore whether the Metropolitan City Council of Johannesburg (CoJ or Johannesburg Municipality), which has embarked on a Green Economy trajectory, can create jobs though the Green Economy.
The CoJ promised, through it long-term strategy, the Growth and Development Strategy (GDS) 2040, to play its part in reducing unemployment in the Country.
The main finding is that the City is able to create jobs, both within and beyond its borders, but it cannot as yet quantify the number of jobs created or the potential number of jobs that can be created though the Green Economy. / GR2018
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The new public: a campus of exchange at Park StationTyler, Julie-Ann 13 July 2016 (has links)
This thesis is submitted to the School of Architecture and Planning, University of the
Witwatersrand in fulfillment of the requirements for the Masters of Architecture (Professional) / This thesis, entitled ‘The New Public’, aims to
investigate the role of public space and civic
architecture in the information age. Specifically,
examining the role of design in facilitating
multiple different forms of public life as well
as challenging the current approaches to
pedestrian movement within the city.
The design approach was to create a campus
containing a new public space and a hybrid civic
building which together allow for spaces that
facilitate new forms of public engagement. The
aim of this campus is to create public spaces
which host many different forms of public life
and allow for mixing and exchange.
The thesis is grounded in the context of 21st
century Johannesburg, a city which brands
itself a ‘world-class African city’ and whose
vision is to be a city that provides real quality of
life for all its citizens.
However, while the current spatial policies strive
to build a collective and shared vision for the
future of Johannesburg, the city still plagued
by a past based on segregation and inequality.
What this has left us with is a bifurcated
public environment. A spatial condition further
impaired by the currently strongly dived public
and quasi-public transport systems.
I have therfore chosen to site my project in
a space within the city which encompasses
these issues: The Park Station precinct,
Johannesburg.
The research component of this thesis aims to
unpack the factors which have led to a change
in the culture of use of the public realm both
globally and locally. I also investigate how
Johannesburg’s past and current planning
strategies created spaces that contain a ‘legacy
of separation’. Lastly the research extends to
the relationship between public transport and
public space and the effect of transit oriented
design (TOD) approaches on public life.
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Speaking about rape and societal discourses of rape in Johannesburg: a narrative analysisGatonby, Ciara Ann January 2016 (has links)
A report submitted to the University of Witwatersrand in partial fulfilment of the
requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Sociology by Coursework and Research
Report
The Department of Sociology
The Faculty of Humanities
March 2016 / Rape is an important topic of enquiry in South Africa due to the high incidences of rape and
the underreporting of the crime to legal authorities. This research is exploratory in nature and
is concerned with how the four women interviewed employ specific narratives to aid or
inhibit their ability to speak about their experience of being raped, and the ways in which
rape survivors position themselves within their own stories and societal discourses of rape. A
detailed analysis was done of the research available on hegemonic masculine power, societal
discourses and myths about rape, silencing and personal and public narratives. Through this
analysis rape is placed within a framework of patriarchy and control. Four female rape
survivors living in Johannesburg were found using targeted sampling, and were interviewed
using a recording devise and unstructured, one-on-one interviews. These interviews were
transcribed and coded, and then analysed using Thematic Narrative Analysis. Great care was
taken throughout the research process to ensure that it is ethical and that no harm was done to
any of the interviewees or anyone else. It was found that each of the interviewees came to
represent three distinct narratives, namely the stranger rape narrative, the date/acquaintance
rape narrative and the child rape narrative. These narratives appear to sometimes be in
tension and conflict with one another, creating confusion in the positionality and believability
of the rape survivor. It was also found that narratives are often employed as ways of defining
the experience of rape and challenging rape myths and public narratives of rape. The women
interviewed for the purposes of this paper drew attention to various themes within their
narratives, such as tensions between their own experience of rape and societal discourses of
rape, empowerment, safe spaces to talk about trauma, education, consent and control. Further
research could be conducted to explore this topic in greater detail and expand upon the
knowledge that was gathered and investigated in this research report. / MT2017
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A cultural exchange hub: reviving the first Chinatown in JohannesburgSun, Samantha 30 April 2015 (has links)
The diasporic movement of Chinese people to South Africa, through time and space, unfolds the current discourse of cultural identity within the multicultural flows of our society. Diluting the Chinese culture into a hybrid of Chinese and South African identity, results in a disconnection to their homeland and their loss of “Chineseness.” However, the global realities of diaspora in the 21st century render this condition inevitable and so, consequently, this thesis aims to celebrate the Chinese culture as well as the fusion of Chinese culture, through the creation of culturally integrative spaces.
Sited at Ferreirasdorp in Johannesburg’s city centre, this project involves the design of a Chinese Cultural Institute in conjunction with retail and informal trade. The broad intention is to provide a catalyst for the revival of the earliest Chinatown within this historical corner of the city. Chinese migratory movement to South Africa occurred at different times, for different reasons and from a number of places in China, and this variation has resulted in the dispersal of these migrants throughout Johannesburg. The earliest Chinatown is one of these dispersed spaces. In addition to this larger scale diaspora, there are subcultural conflicts that exist between these Chinese communities that have further increased their dispersal. However, in this present-day atmosphere of celebrating cultural difference in Johannesburg and in light of the business relationship formed between China and Africa, there is a need to bring these diverse yet segregated Chinese communities together.
The principal research question is: Can architecture become a translator that can facilitate communication across cultures and subcultures?” The building therefore consists of flexible spaces that can easily adapt and transform to suit the users’ needs. This includes meeting spaces, whether it be a formal office space or under tree in the courtyard, so that Chinese businessmen can communicate with businessmen from local industries. The project also provides a variety of cultural activities. This includes Chinese cooking classes for anyone interested in learning about the richly diverse cuisines across China. Pan-Asian activities such as Karaoke Bars and Thai Massages are also provided in order to acknowledge the existing variety of Asian cultures in the city, and to accommodate for a larger scope of users. This thesis therefore explores how spaces can facilitate interaction between these cultures as well as distinguish and celebrate the various Chinese subcultures that exist in metropolitan Johannesburg.
In accomplishing the goals of this design, the building becomes a place of exchange. Through connections of movement and visibility, it allows new spatial and social opportunities to develop in order to create a variety of identities in our contemporary African city. The building encourages the Chinese communities to claim it as their own while simultaneously providing accessibility to a variety of other users who can experience cultures reverberating off each other, through a mixture of activities, from moment to moment.
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Rotten potatoes: redefining perceptions and integrating the police station in city and suburbanBothwell, Kier C. 10 September 2014 (has links)
Living in a country plagued by high crime rates and negative perceptions of the South African Police Service, South Africans are relying more and more on devices such as siege architecture and fortification to attain a sense of safety and security. However, these fortified enclaves do not just provide people with a sense of safety, they also serve as manifestations of Apartheid memory: intensifying segregation and ‘othering’, discouraging the growth of community and working against the development of healthy and inspiring civic spaces. At the same time, society’s obsession with police criminality, intensified by the influence of the media, has made policing one of the most contentious topics in post-Apartheid South Africa. Consequently, the relationship between the police – the state’s strong-arm of power – and the people is fragile, tense, and unpredictable, symptomatic of the palpable divide that separates the state and the people, a divide which is reinforced by a lack of spatial justice and a relic architecture which neither the state nor the people can identify with. As a tangible tool of cultural expression and a discourse of time and place, architecture embodies a nation’s shared history, its present, and its future aspirations. Architecture is also fundamental to the cause of change, serving as a catalyst and an interface through which the divide between the state and its people may be reconciled. However, the police station as an institutional building – a social incubator – remains apathetic to the ‘everyday’. This archetype demands a drastic rethinking of both parti and contextual setting. Such a reform could potentially transform the police station into an integral, effective, and active facilitator of relationships and make possible the goal of ‘community policing’.
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Between hair and the Johannesburg art gallery: a hair museum mediating the disjointed context by inspiring public ownership through the celebration of an African Art FormPlaskocinska, Patrycja 30 April 2015 (has links)
Master of Architecture [Professional] at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, in the year 2014. / In the case of Johannesburg, unlike cities
around the world that experienced inner city
decline, its city centre was never entirely
abandoned. It experienced rapid social
change. As Johannesburg was beginning to
change, the Johannesburg Art Gallery (JAG)
was experiencing a declining number of
visitors. Unable to engage with the changing
social structure, a fence was built around it
and JAG turned itself inwards. This thesis
explores the intention to take advantage of
the rich and dynamic informal industry of hair
that has emerged around JAG. Hair is loaded
with social, sexual and political undercurrents.
In an African city that has been colonized
and becoming increasingly globalised, hair’s
relevance in terms of politics must be brought
to the forefront. By acknowledging the thriving
inner workings and its contributors and by
engaging in a critical discussion that people
can relate to, JAG will be embraced by the
community again.
An intervention of mediation through
architecture is proposed. A Hair Museum
perched on the opposite side of the railway
that weaves JAG closer into its current context
by opening and improving dialogue between
the disjointed surroundings. A new museum as a mediator explores the idea of museum-asurban
system. The question is asked whether
a public institution is capable of assisting a
society through a museum by looking at the
concept of the Greek ideal of kalokagathia,
which means the perfection of the body and
city based on balance, justice and proportion.
This thesis essentially explores Julian
Carman’s idea of a museum1; that the key
to JAG’s survival and upliftment lies only if it
inspires public ownership.
This thesis will explore the significance of
celebrating hair in an African city with visible
impacts of an imperialist past. By celebrating
hair, thereby beginning the discourse of it’s
connotations, will allow for a transgression
into where society and its’ perception of itself
stands in a globalizating world. Museum’s
play a key role in society to not only preserve
memories but also re-ordering them and
making sense of them for later generations
(Watson, 2007: 4). The proposed Hair
Museum as mediator is not so much about
saving a contested and feared city- as much
as it is about embracing the new spirit of the
city and encouraging the potential held within.
1 Julian Carman, Author of ‘Uplifting
The Colonial Philistine: Florence Phillips And The
Making Of The Johannesburg Art Gallery’. See References.
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The occurrence, behaviour and public perception of rock hyraxes, Procavia capensis, in urban areasNaylor, Andrea Jayne January 2016 (has links)
With the continuous urban expansion, assessing how some species can survive in urban environments, particularly through modifying their behaviour, is becoming increasingly important. Urban wildlife can show phenotypic (e.g. behavioural) flexibility to exploit urban areas but it is also possible that they could seek refuges that match their phylogenetic niche requirements. The public’s perceptions of these “urban” species may also influence their success within urban centres. Using the rock hyrax, Procavia capensis, in Greater Johannesburg as a model species, I assessed the flexible and niche conservative hypotheses for its occurrence in urban areas. In particular, I investigated 1) the behaviour and flight initiation distance (FID; a measure of habituation to people) of rock hyraxes in warm (February and September) and cold (June and July) months at an urban site, Meyersdal Eco Estate, south of Johannesburg; and 2) the occurrence and public perception of rock hyraxes in Greater Johannesburg. At Meyersdal Eco Estate, three colonies were identified along an approximately 2km gradient of proximity to humans, from those living in a storm-water drain and gardens to a colony situated >100m from houses. The three colonies showed differences in behavioural patterns compared to a natural population located in the Mountain Zebra National Park, Eastern Cape Province. Although behaviours such as basking, sunbathing, travelling, grooming, and vigilance did not change between the colonies, feeding behaviour was greater and FID scores were shorter in the colony closest to people, indicating greatest habituation to people compared to the colony furthest from people, which showed reduced feeding behaviour and greatest FID distance. The intermediately situated colony showed intermediate levels of feeding and FID. The behaviour of rock hyraxes was not influenced by deterrents (boa, Boa constrictor constrictor, dung and wild garlic, Tulbaghia violacea) used at Meyersdal to keep rock hyraxes away from gardens. Rock hyraxes ate a variety of plants including grasses, forbs, shrubs, trees and succulents at each of the colonies, but the colony closest to people also ate a variety of garden plants which I did not observe at the two other colonies, including two species of wild garlic, T. violacea and T. simmleri. Within Greater Johannesburg, rock hyraxes occurred in the northern and southern suburbs, and appeared to avoid densely urbanized areas. Resource selection functions suggested rock hyraxes associated with rocky outcrops potentially conforming to the niche conservatism hypothesis, although they did not select for any particular landscape feature in the Greater Johannesburg environment. The public viewed rock hyraxes more positively than anticipated, with most
suggesting that they were part of the urban biodiversity of Greater Johannesburg. In conclusion, rock hyraxes have modified their behaviour and habituated to people over surprisingly small spatial scales. Such behavioural flexibility over comparatively short distances is a novel finding. However, rocky outcrops are still important natural habitats to meet thermoregulatory and denning requirements, and are used to explore and exploit the urban environment. Because they are constrained by their thermoregulatory requirements, habitat analogues (e.g. storm water drains) might create opportunities to enter houses and gardens. Such flexible responses, which together with a tolerant public, might allow them to flourish in Johannesburg.
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The relative importance of property-specific factors that influence office occupation decisions in P-grade, A-grade and B-grade office buildings in the decentralized office nodes of Johannesburg, South Africa / The relative importance of property-specific factors that influence office occupation decisions in A-grade office buildings in Johannesburg, South AfricaMeiring, Estelle January 2016 (has links)
A research report submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Property Management and Development to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2016 / Purpose – Within the paradigm of consumer behaviour, the purpose of this study was to determine the relative importance of the various property-specific factors that influence office occupation decisions in the decentralized office nodes of Johannesburg. The aim was to provide more definitive information on office space occupation to real estate marketers, managers, investors and owners.
Design/Methodology/Approach – A Malaysian study by Adnan et al. (2012) was replicated in the South African context, utilizing their (adjusted) questionnaire survey. After review, Adnan et al.’s (2012) data analysis methods were altered and, in addition, three key-informant interviews were conducted to discuss the results of the survey and to try and gain further insight into the findings.
Findings – The three categories that were considered of highest importance were Cost/Financial Considerations, Services and Management. Factors that scored the highest overall were Security & Access Control, Car Parking Provisioning & Accessibility, Electricity Systems & Provisioning and Rental Rate. The categories On-site Amenities, Space Functionality & Atmosphere and Location were considered of least importance.
Research Limitations/Implications – The study was confined to property-specific factors and limited to tenants in P-grade, A-grade and B-grade office buildings in the decentralized office nodes of Johannesburg. It also took place during a specific stage of the South African economic cycle. Further research is required to determine the impact of office grade, firm type, firm size and economic climate on office occupation decisions.
Originality/Value – No research on this topic exists within the South Africa context and this study contributes to the limited research, internationally, on real estate within the consumer behaviour paradigm. / MT2017
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Assessment of waste separation at source by residential households as a tool for sustainable waste practices: a case study of the City of JohannesburgKadyamadare, Grace Alice Rudo January 2017 (has links)
A research report presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of Master of Science in Environmental Science at the
University of the Witwatersrand. Johannesburg, August 2017. / In Johannesburg, as in many cities of developing countries, municipal solid waste
management poses a key challenge to local city governments. The amount of municipal solid
waste generated has been noted to be growing in tandem with increasing city populations.
This Masters Research Report focuses on the factors shaping participation in the separation at
source (S@S) programme run by Johannesburg’s Pikitup waste management utility, with a
particular focus on the role of residents’ conceptualization of waste. The research employed a
qualitative comparative case study of two suburbs that were part of Pikitup’ first pilot S@S
programme, which was conducted by the Waterval depot: the low income area of Newlands,
and the high income area of Franklin Roosevelt Park. Twenty semi-structured interviews and
one focus group interview were conducted in each of the suburbs, as well as three semistructured
interviews with key informants. Findings were analyzed using thematic content
analysis. The results indicate several differences between the two suburbs – including
participation rates, conceptualization of waste and other factors shaping wasting practices.
The research showed that conceptualization of waste is an important factor, but not the only
one and affirmed other studies showing the importance of time, convenience and positive
attitude towards recycling. The research found that in addition to their conceptualization of
waste, the ways in which residents conceptualized recyclables affected their participation
rates, and that their separation practices were aligned to their conceptualizations. In
addition, the research found that residents’ conceptualization of recyclables and the recycling
system played an important role in their decision to participate in Pikitup’ S@S programme.
In Newlands, whilst some separated but due to their low incomes they sold it for themselves
versus giving it to Pikitup, and others would not separate as they felt Pikitup should pay them
or it was time consuming for them. In both suburbs those that understood the role of waste
pickers chose to separate their waste for the waste pickers versus Pikitup. In conclusion,
when we understand that residents participating in separating materials for different
pathways, and waste pickers play an important role in separating at source when residents fail
to do so then a better understanding of how much waste is being separated and diverted from
landfills is obtained in addition to what motivates participation in separation.
Keywords: municipal solid waste (MSW), resident households,
conceptualization of waste, separation at source, wasting practices, waste
picker / LG2018
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Taxicity: reconfiguring the inner city and taxi industry through an urban taxi terminal / Taxicity: revisiting the inner city and the taxi industry through an urban taxi terminalUys, Jacobus Johannes January 2016 (has links)
Thesis (M.Arch. (Prof.))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, School of Architecture and Planning, 2016. / This thesis explores the role of the Johannesburg Minibus Taxi Industry as a city- making device, both
as a concentrator as well as a separator of different people and different industries. The taxi industry’s
role in the city oscillates between an activity- generator and inhibitor depending on what state the
mini-bus taxi is in. By concentrating people during drop- off or pick- up phases of a commute, the
density of commuters afford traders and other commercial entities an accessible market to exploit
and sell their wares to, but during off-peak hours the taxi industry is static and doesn’t attract activity,
other than taxi- centric activity. The city provides limited amount of space for the taxi to operate in,
which forces taxis to territorialise public streets spaces during off- peak hours when the industry is in a
lull. These territorialised spaces are then limited to a set taxi- centric function and are prevented from
becoming spaces with a greater variety of function or activities. By introducing a space that allows
taxis to park, or hold, off street as a means to allow current streetscapes, currently defi ned as taxi
spaces, to become open to a reinterpretation by citizens and to fulfi l needs of the citizenry will afford
the city a greater level of workability and engagement from all parties involved.
In order to achieve a city that is reinterpretable by its citizenry and to do it successfully, the need to
establish what constitutes a good urban form is paramount. Dense, diverse, multi- functional and
interesting urban morphology is key, but none of this can be addressed if the status quo of the urban
environ remains the same.
By proposing the construction of a mixed-use taxi holding space on the existing Jack Mincer Taxi
Rank, in order to allow taxis currently parking and holding on street to be able to hold in a safe and
secure building. This proposal will serve as a catalyst in development for the surrounding urban
context which will allow for the redesign of these previously taxi- focused urban spaces to evolve into
mixed- use developments that provide housing, commercial opportunities as well as recreational
spaces in the existing End Street Park.
R einvigorating the existing urban condition through reconfi guring the surrounding urban condition,
there is an opportunity to relook at the existing taxi industry itself and its workings and reimagine
it. To create a system that allows for greater economic opportunities for associations, owners and
drivers. However, in order to achieve a greater level of effi ciency in the current taxi industry, numerous
changes need to be made to implement these processes, the least of which will drastically affect and
reduce the amount of taxi drivers on the roads. Since drivers are already in a constricted position
in terms of job opportunities, these individuals will invariably be victimised and be forced into a
position of joblessness, due to South Africa’s struggling economy. By introducing an enterprise
component to the project that will help facilitate skill- creation and foster entrepreneurship in drivers,
and former drivers, the industry becomes an important stepping stone in developing a workable
economy that supports and engenders greater and varied economic activity, by directly encouraging
the development of entrepreneurs and skill development. Furthermore, by not just targeting the
taxi industry directly, but also by engaging with industries dependent on the taxi industry, this
intervention further develops the market district in the region, and further enables traders in the
region to exploit the pedestrian market and encourage a richer economic activity on the chosen site,
and the surrounding urban context.
This intervention is not just reconfi guring an urban condition, but also an industry’s effect on that
condition, through the introduction of the Urban Taxi Terminal. / EM2017
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