A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Architecture, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg for the degree of Master of Urban Design. JOHANNESBURG 1992 / This dissertation studies the residential environment o f suburbia. As urbanisation continues to increase, renewed questions on the costs ot sprawl, its environmental impact and the livability of suburbia are being asked. The major aim or purpose is therefore to suggest new ideas which w ill be capable of transforming neighbourhoods into places exh biting the many qualities of urbanism that have been eroded away as standardised planning techniques and automobile domination, slowly but surely break down the fabric of urban areas. The research method traces the historical beginning of suburbia up to the present day in order to clearly understand the factors fundamental in determining its structure and form. The results show a need to compact and integrate res'dential areas so that densities may be increased and sprawl curtailed. Livability is, however, an essential prerequisite as without it a return to the slum conditions of the pre-war years is possible, due to the ever increasing population growth and rural depopulation.