Thesis (MTech. degree in Architecture: Professional)--Tshwane University of Technology, 2008. / The aim of this dissertation is to design an urban-agricultural building to facilitate small scale intensive farming on the edge of the city of Durban. The buildings assume the typology of a vertical farm which has been named the 'ZED' farm, 'ZED' being dichotomous. Firstly the term has been borrowed from Bill Dunster Architects who coined the acronym 'ZED' (Zero Energy Development), which is one of the project's inherent objectives. The second meaning of 'ZED' is a translation of the building's main programmatic function of production in the vertical Z-axis. The site is located on the interface of the metropolitan edge, in an area bustling with activity ranging from industry, trade, recreation, public transportation, and a residential component. This area is flanked by the Umgeni Road corridor and the Suncoast Casino lifestyle entertainment centre along the beachfront.

South African cities were subjected to artificial, unnatural growth patterns brought about by apartheid planning that legitimated exclusionary practices in the city and which created and maintained racial, social and class differences between people. Post-apartheid South Africa has witnessed processes of urban fortification, barricading and the gating of urban space that are manifested in contemporary urban South Africa. This research showed that the privatisation of urban public space is not solely a post-apartheid phenomenon. Closure legislation has been, and still is, used by citizens to remove urban space from the public realm through its privatisation. Closures are largely citizen-driven, either individually or as a collective, and it is small public spaces that are privatised, hence the micro-privatisation of public space that could influence the immediate surroundings and erf-sized living space of individuals.

Thesis (MS en S)--Stellenbosch University, 2002. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study investigated the problems associated with open spaces and nature areas in Paarl. The attitudes and needs of Paarlites towards these open spaces were also assessed. A comparison was then made with area specific crime statistics to assess the actual safety of these problem areas. The needs of the community are stated according to the needs assessment. This study was conducted to ensure the sustained conservation of open spaces and nature areas, and to ensure that the needs of the community are met. The public use of these areas should also jusitfy the financial input required for maintenance and up grading of these areas. This study tried by means of an investigation into the needs, patterns of use and attitudes of Paarlites, and a comparison with the true crime statistics of the relevant areas to ascertain whether these areas are truly problematic. If public opinion about the safety of these areas cannot be substantiated, people can be lured back into using these areas. The open spaces and nature areas in Paarl is underutilized. This is due to the inadequate nature of the areas in terms of the needs of the respondents, the discontentment of the respondents because of their perceptions about the poor maintenance of the areas, the activities that take place there, and the general perception of the areas as unsafe. There were only two areas that could be perceived as unsafe after research. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie lewer 'n ondersoek na die probleme geassosieer met oopruimtes en natuurgebiede in die Paarl. Daar is ook onder Paarliete 'n houdings- en behoeftebepaling aangaande hulle oopruimtes gedoen en 'n vergelyking is met area spesifieke misdaadstatistieke getref om sodoende 'n gevolgtrekking te maak oor die areas se daadwerklike veiligheid. Die gemeenskap se behoeftes is na aanleiding van die behoeftebepaling weergegee. Hierdie studie is gedoen om die volhoubaarheid en bewaring van oopruimtes en natuurgebiede te verseker, en te sorg dat die gemeenskap se behoeftes bevredig word. Die benutting van die areas moet, relatief tot die finansiële insette verbonde aan die instandhouding en voortbestaan van die areas, voldoende wees. Hierdie werkstuk poog om deur middel van 'n ondersoek na die Paarliete se gebruike, houdings en behoeftes 'n vergelyking met die beskikbare statistieke van oopruimtes en natuurgebiede te tref om sodoende te bepaal of die areas werklik probleemareas is. As die openbare mening oor die areas se veiligheid nie gesubstansieer word nie, kan mense teruggelok word om hierdie areas te benut. Die ondersoek het bevind dat die Paarlse oopruimtes en natuurgebiede onderbenut word. Dit kan daaraan toegeskryf word dat die areas nie in die respondente se behoeftes voldoen nie; die respondente ontevrede is as gevolg van hulle persepsies oor die swak instandhouding van die areas; die aktiwiteite wat daarop plaasvind, asook die algemene persepsie dat die areas onveilig is. Die navorsing toon egter dat daar slegs twee areas is wat as onveilig beskou kan word.

This research dissertation investigates the level of Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) housing delivery in Disteneng (Polokwane Extension 44) Township, Capricorn District: Limpopo Province. The post-apartheid South African Constitution indicates that the provision of basic services like formal housing is a basic right for all South Africans. In Limpopo Province and in particular, Disteneng (Polokwane Extension 44) Township, Capricorn District, there is still massive shortage of Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) housing for the poor, despite funding being made to address this need. Millions of poor families are suffering and are still living in shacks in informal settlements. There is a backlog in the provisioning of RDP housing delivery. Low cost housing projects have been identified in Limpopo Province to address the RDP housing delivery backlog. It takes time to complete RDP houses and the communities become impatient and frustrated. The quality of completed houses is often perceived to be of unacceptable standards. This study investigates the level of RDP housing delivery in Disteneng (Polokwane Extension 44) Township, Capricorn District: Limpopo Province. This study also identifies the challenges of RDP housing delivery experienced by Disteneng (Polokwane Extension 44) Township, Capricorn District: Limpopo Province. Recommendations with the view of resolving problems pertaining to Disteneng (Polokwane Extension 44) Township, Capricorn District: Limpopo Province are made. The findings from this research work identified significant challenges of RDP housing delivery experienced by Disteneng (Polokwane Extension 44) Township, Capricorn District: Limpopo Province which needs to be addressed. In its contribution, this study made recommendations with the view of resolving problems pertaining to Disteneng (Polokwane Extension 44) Township, Capricorn District: Limpopo Province. This study in conclusion, emphasizes the need to address RDP housing backlogs and ensure that RDP houses are of good quality and that the government and all South Africans have to join hands and collectively address the problems of RDP housing delivery in South Africa.

The year 1994 marked the dawn of the new democratic South Africa, bringing its own set of challenges to the country. Currently urban areas cover only one and a half percent of South Africa’s surface area. However, sixty one percent of South Africans live in urban areas. Furthermore, the average growth rate for urban areas has been consistently higher than the population growth rate during the period from 1998 to 2008. This resulted in larger towns and cities, growing at the expense of rural areas, with metropolitan areas experiencing the highest influx, followed by secondary cities. However, urban areas consume more water, food, energy, and durable goods, and have an impact far beyond the urban boundaries. This directly relates to urban decline. The rapid influx of people into urban areas that are already overcrowded with large service delivery backlogs, has led to the formation of informal settlements in exposed locations. Many of the informal dwellings in South Africa are subjected to environmental factors. The absence of basic services in overcrowded areas is linked to negative health outcomes and enhanced environmental degradation. This study is a critical review of a phenomenon named urban resilience. The report seeks to highlight the current status in cities and the transformation that cities need to undergo to enable them to become the cities of tomorrow. Indeed, “sustainable future cities and human settlements begin today”. The paper raises arguments on urban resilience by different theorists, philosophers, academics and scholars. The study proceeds to unpack the urban resilience determinants. Furthermore, the challenges cites will experience in responding to rapid urbanisation and their denial attitude to informal settlement and environmental degradation, which include how cities respond to climate change, are under investigation . The purpose of the study is to share the theoretical framework relative to the urban resilience determinants, with the intention to solicit criticism on gaps and blind spots. This is done with specific reference to Buffalo City Municipality. This study aims to contribute to the goals of municipalities by improving understanding of the drivers of urban resilience. This will, in turn, enable a city system to withstand and recover quickly from multiple and diverse shocks and stresses, and improve its performance over time. However, this study was conducted within a qualitative paradigm. The study followed a non-probability sampling technique. Categories of data sources were identified based on their probability to hold information that is crucial to the study. For each category, this study followed a 50 + 1 rule for sampling size when the population of the data sources were identified and access gained. he statistical software (SPSS) supported by a qualified statistician was used to analyse data qualitatively in attempt to answer the research question.

The purpose of the research is to assess how the Port Elizabeth Land and Community Restoration project has been perceived by the beneficiaries with regard to spatial transformation.The study is about land restitution programme in Port Elizabeth; with specific emphasis on those land claims which were lodged through a community based organization called Port Elizabeth Land and Community Restoration Association (PELCRA) for the restitution of Fairview, South End, Salisbury Park and Korsten. Such land claims were subsequently part of the PELCRA project for the restitution of Fairview. The study looks specifically at claimants who were dispossessed of their land rights as a result of the implementation of Group Areas Act in the 1960s. The claimants were forcefully removed from Fairview, Korsten, South End and Salisbury Park to their respective race group areas, such as Bloemendal for coloureds, Malabar for Indians and Kwa-Zakhele for Africans.However, before the general objectives of the study could be discussed, it is important to provide a brief historical context that brought about racial segregation in the South African urban setting, and how the post-apartheid government sought to re-integrate, restructure the towns and cities, as well as healing the boundaries set by racial zoning through land reform. This will then followed by the discussion on how the various communities of Port Elizabeth responded to the introduction of the Land Restitution Act 22 of 1994. The post-apartheid government in South Africa faces serious challenges in undoing the legacy of apartheid. One such product of apartheid system is the ‘apartheid city’. It stands out as an extreme example of social engineering. According to Freund (2001, 537) urban segregation was pervasive across the colonial world, some other cities in colonial and even post-colonial Africa were subject to massive forced removals or urbanisation that were comparable to South Africa under the apartheid regime. Urban segregation is therefore not unique to South Africa. It has to be said though that the South African apartheid city was distinctive in a number of ways.

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements of Doctor of Engineering, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2017. / The need to quantify and model transformations that have taken place in the cities of South Africa is one of the grand challenges linked to country’s transition to Democracy. Given the complexities associated with different stages of city transformation, it is imperative that models used to unpack processes of city transformation are novel. In this study it emerged that statistical methods alone are not adequate to fully present, in a comprehensible way, all facets of drivers of city transformation. As a result, statistical methods have been combined with mathematical and system dynamics models. Results revealed that city transformations derive from a number of triggers. Underlining these are income, migration and houses. The empirical data collected through questionnaire survey that was later incorporated into mathematical models demonstrated that income is a primary driver that fuels city migration. System Dynamic Models demonstrated that the availability of houses or accommodation serve as constraints that keep the city population within the limits of the carrying capacity of a city. In addition it was further confirmed, through mathematical models that income has varying effects on the attractiveness of cities. This was found to be linked to the shape of the distribution of income in the city. A normally distributed income with a peak in the middle results in a city being more attractive than an evenly distributed income that peaks either at very low or high income levels. This observation brought forth a need to test heterogeneity when analyzing city transformation using income as an index. Mathematical Models that incorporated heterogeneity demonstrated the usefulness of systems analysis in unpacking the mechanism of city transformation, a component of city management that requires serious consideration for planning, budgeting and provision of limited resources like houses in the cities. Success of methods used in this study led to a conclusion that these can be enhanced through other techniques like agent based models. With this call, improvements on this study that can be attained through these techniques are recommended. This will enrich the understanding of the transformation and dynamics of cities under different conditions than those that exist in South Africa. / D

M.Tech. (Architectural Technology) / This thesis deals with the reappropriation of an existing parking garage into a language institute at Constitution Hill. Through the generation of a flu id conversation between architecture and people this thesis aims to address the underlying social miscommunication present within South African society through a socially motivated architectural manifestation. The underlining aim of this thesis will be the generation of a socially orientated architectural platform that allows and encourages cross-pollination. This architectural platform will revolve around and investigate the many opportunities that language offers asa social mediator and how these opportunities can aid in the democratization of identity generation. This new approach will be more representative of the complex multicultural society that is present within South Africa and as a result will end up being more democratic in nature.

Community participation in urban renewal projects has become important in the South African government’s efforts to address past imbalances and improving the livelihoods of socially excluded and marginalised communities. In order for the Helenvale Urban Renewal Project to be successful and bring about sustainable change, it is vital that the community be allowed and encouraged to play an active role in consultation and participation initiatives. This study outlines the importance of community participation, the types, the incentives and disincentives as well as the possible barriers to effective community participation. Findings from the analysis of the collected data indicates that a community project can only be successful if the implementing agent employs democratic principles whereby all residents are given a voice and are allowed to participate in the decision-making and implementation process. This study explores the concept of community participation in the Helenvale Urban Renewal Projects with particular reference to the role played by the Mandela Bay Development Agency in promoting community participation in the Helenvale Urban Renewal Projects (HURP), in Port Elizabeth.

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of the Witwatersrand, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Built Environment in Housing Johannesburg 2014 / South Africa has one of the most progressive legislative and policy frameworks for water services in the world, which includes a constitutional right to water and a national Free Basic Water policy (COHRE, 2008). However, the stark reality is that although South Africa has these progressive policies, the sanitation challenge still needs to be overcome. The growing sanitation backlog and the eradication of the bucket system has become a difficult and emotive topic. Many South Africans live in extreme poverty and in informal settlements which do not have adequate sanitation available. Generally, within these informal settlements, households are forced to share toilet facilities, and to walk far distances as the toilets are poorly located, badly maintained and users of these toilets are exposed to danger and violent crimes. This study explores perceptions of the users of ‘porta potty’ toilets in Jim Se Bos informal settlement in Phillipi, Cape Town. Understanding the users’ socio‐cultural perceptions of the porta potty toilet will contribute to future policy making, as the information can be used to improve the future roll‐out of the technology in order to make it more acceptable. The study was qualitative in nature and used a phenomenological research design. A total of 20 community members were invited of which nine respondents comprising of eight residents of Jim Se Bos informal settlement and one employee of the municipality participated in the study. The sample was selected by a convenience sampling method. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted to collect data for the study. The data were analysed by means of content analysis, which enabled the researcher to identify important themes for the study. The findings of the study revealed that perceptions of the users of ‘porta potty’ toilets were positive and that everyone accepted the sanitation system. The participants recommended that the municipality should roll out the porta potty sanitation system in other informal settlements. This recommendation is a vote of confidence for the system and that it is seen to provide the necessary relief from unsafe and vandalised sanitation systems. In conclusion, the porta potty was accepted as being a far more appropriate and dignified system that does not impede on the socio-cultural background. Key words: Porta Potty sanitation system, informal settlements, socio-cultural perceptions, users and Jim Se Bos.