published_or_final_version / Urban Studies / Master / Master of Social Sciences

The socio-economic problems created by apartheid in South Africa are a huge challenge to the current government. In order to alleviate the above, Integrated Development Planning was seen as the most appropriate strategy the country could apply. There was need to introduce a new approach to planning which was integrated, democratic and environmentally sensitive. For the first time, planning became 'people focused' by introducing participatory processes. As a backup to the above strategy, government introduced a variety of measures to bring total transformation to local government to facilitate service delivery. The key actions taken were; restructuring of local authorities, provision of new legislative framework and various capacity support programmes. Ironically, ten years after democracy was achieved, the situation has hardly changed. Access to basic services is still poor, poverty is worsening and unemployment is on the increase. This fact has been confirmed by the 2001 census data, which generally reflect deteriorating standard of living. This has been the cause of the current widespread violent demonstrations by communities in the country. It is ironical that despite all the effort being put by the provincial and national governments, the desired goals are not being achieved. This raises the big question, 'What is going wrong?' Are there shortcomings within the structures and processes or programmes being undertaken? The above question can be answered by conducting a research to try and find the root cause of the problem. This would be carried out by way of scrutinizing the roles and responsibilities of major stakeholders in development namely, municipalities, sector departments and communities. Focus would be made on issues like cooperative governance, weakness within support initiatives, availability of funding, compliance with prescribed processes and procedures etc. The research aims to interrogate the causes of poor service delivery and possible practical solutions. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2007.

This paper is an exploration of how the foundations of the land use planning system in Britain originally rooted in altruist reform and in bettering society has evolved within the context of the modern environmental agenda. This paper examines how the planning system has been changing and what further change may be required in order to cope with current environmental challenges, particularly in dealing with societal adaptation to climate change.

This paper is an exploration of how the foundations of the land use planning system in Britain originally rooted in altruist reform and in bettering society has evolved within the context of the modern environmental agenda. This paper examines how the planning system has been changing and what further change may be required in order to cope with current environmental challenges, particularly in dealing with societal adaptation to climate change.

Men have been neglected in development discourse to the extent where, for example, demographic research on men and fathers has been sparse. As a result we do not know how many men in South Africa are fathers and there is no available survey that measures this statistic. This study attempts to fill a gap in our knowledge of fathers by asking how many men are fathers, whether they are resident or absent, and what type and level of involvement they have with their children. A household questionnaire (adapted from the General Household Survey) was used to estimate the number of biological fathers in 100 households in Clermont. Interviews were conducted to explore reasons for existing living arrangements between the father and his partner and children. Some key findings from the research include: the family structure of households in Clermont is extremely varied; a majority of men over the age of18 appear to have fathered a child; men willingly identified themselves as a father; and a significant number of men live apart from their children. With respect to absent fathers, the research supports Mott 's theory (1990) that there is a continuum of involvement with their children. Many of Clermont's absent fathers make a voluntary economic contribution to their children and they visit their children on a regular basis (usually weekly or monthly). In several cases where a father was not making an economic contribution this was because he was unemployed. Very few cases were recorded where a father had broken off contact with his children completely. Some fathers lived separately from their children because they had employment in another area. Others lived apart from their children because they were unemployed; it was clear from the research that while men perceived their role of provider as important this was not the only criterion to make for a good role model as a father. Tradition was another important reason why men did not reside with their children; cases were recorded where the father could not afford to pay lobola which would allow him to marry the mother. Another reason for father absence was because a new relationship had been formed by the mother or father, or both. A significant proportion of both resident and absent fathers stated they would like to spend more time with their children. This suggests policy and activities that promote increased involvement of fathers in the welfare of their children would be welcomed by the fathers of Clermont. / Thesis (M.T.R.P.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2006.

Following the 1947 Town and Country Planning Act, a persistent policy of urban containment has been pursued throughout rural areas of the United Kingdom. In spite of growing evidence that the effects of containment are incompatible with key aspects of public policy towards housing, agriculture and the environment, there is little sign that government agencies are considering the possibility of a serious policy re-think. This thesis represents the first attempt to analyse the continued commitment to this core of the British land use planning system from the perspective of public choice theory. The thesis begins with an outline of the institutional focus of public choice analysis, considering the fundamental questions of 'market failure', 'government failure' and the theoretical case for state intervention in the market for land. Having examined the evolving context of urban containment in the post-war period, the thesis proceeds to apply key elements of public choice to decision-making incentives in the planning system. The empirical analysis commences with an account of interest group behaviour on the 'demand side' of the political system. A subsequent section turns to the 'supply side', examining bureaucratic incentive structures and the role of regulatory agencies in the management of land use change. A still further section considers the role of legislative incentives on the 'supply side'. Finally, the empirical analysis concludes with a case study of a major planning dispute. The evidence presented suggests that a combination of institutional incentives on both the 'demand' and 'supply' sides of the 'political market' has led to the continual growth of restrictive land use regulation at the expense of a diffuse and unorganized mass of urban taxpayers and consumers. The thesis concludes by outlining a possible institutional alternative based on private property rights, which might help to avoid these undesirable elements of the British planning system.

RIA methodology has evolved over the last 30 years and has moved through several stages. At the same time there have been new directions in planning theory which have in turn influenced planning policy. Shifts have taken place in government policy towards retail development with changes in attitudes towards new forms of retailing, particularly in out-of-centre locations. A key issue in retail planning is whether major shopping developments have an unacceptable impact on existing town centres. In the mid 1990s this question has achieved high political profile and has become more significant because of growing public concern about the cycle of decline perceived in many town and city centres. Approaches to assessing retail impact have changed considerably over recent decades because of technical advances in planners' understanding of the retail system and through learning from past experience on the effects of new retail developments. But at the same time there has been a realisation that assessing the impact of a new shopping development is not simple; it is concerned with outcomes which cannot easily be predicted or quantified. Human behaviour and the retail system are too complex for retail impact assessment to be treated as a mechanistic exercise.

Thesis (M. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1996. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 184-195).

Thesis (M. Sc. (Urb. Plan.))--University of Hong Kong, 1994. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 95-98).

Thesis (M. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1991.