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The role of architecture in the democratisation of South Africa in disadvantaged communities : a design of a civic centre for Mpumalanga Township.Gumede, Siphiwe. January 2010 (has links)
In the field of architecture the socio-cultural factors have been deterministic in the
formation of place, conditions within them and consequently, social relations.
Sociologists, anthropologists and environmentalist have advocated that buildings are
essentially social and cultural products - King (1980), Rapoport (1969; 1976; 1977) and
Bartuska & Young (1994). Architecture that addresses the human socio-cultural factors
has been advocated to make a significant contribution to human life; it fosters a sense
of belonging, well being and involvement.
South Africa has endured years of colonisation and apartheid ruling, this has also
reflected on its built environment. It was planned and designed to communicate and
reinforce the dominance of the ruling regime which thus transformed the local populace
by incorporating them into their political, economic and social value systems. The
political shift of 1994 has however (from apartheid to a democratic ruling state)
facilitated a renewed interest in acknowledging peoples differences, their unique
characteristics and celebrating the diverse nature of a heterogeneous society. The
democratisation of South Africa has brought about a major shift in the social and
cultural context of the society which in turn has affected the built environment and
architecture.
It is in this context that this study explores the nature of the transformation, its ideals and principles so to inform the making of environments that help uplift the populace
and to integrate our multicultural society while simultaneously celebrating, facilitating
and accommodating the diverse cultures of the groups within it.
Thus as professionals involved in the design of the built environment, there is an urgent
need to identify and understand the socio-culture of society due to the political shift in
South Africa in order to orientate in the right direction towards playing a role in the
democritisation of South Africa. Hence the topic: The role of architecture in the
democritisation of South Africa. / Thesis (M.Arch.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2010.
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Space, place and identity: political violence in Mpumalanga township, Kwazulu-Natal, 1987-1993Bonnin, Deborah Rosemary 15 May 2008 (has links)
ABSTRACT
This thesis investigates political violence between the United Democratic Front
and Inkatha in Mpumalanga township, Natal. In the early 1980s and early 1990s
Mpumalanga was one of Natal’s townships most gravely affected by political
violence.
I ask and answer four questions:
1. Why and how did the conflict between political organisations in Natal
become violent?
2. What forms did the violence take?
3. Why, as a result of the violence did ordinary people with little prior history
of political activity come to identify with either the UDF or Inkatha?
4. How were these political identities produced?
In order to answer these questions the thesis explores three primary arguments.
The first argument is that 1987 represents a severe rupture in the politics of Natal.
This rupture is captured in the violent form of political conflict that gripped the
province. To understand this rupture the thesis looks back at a complex set of
processes that interlocked over space and time.
A second major argument of the thesis is that an aspect of the distinctiveness of
the violence was its profoundly spatialised form in combination with gendered
and generational forms. There were two major shifts in the spatialised form of the
violence. The first shift occurred when instead of only attacking individuals, the
household and its members also became targets. And then the second shift was
when the purpose of the violence was about the pursuit of territory. Boundaries
between territories identified who was ‘in’ and who was ‘out’ and all aspects of
everyday life became politicised.
The third major argument of the thesis is that there was a strong relationship
between space/place and political identity. The re-territorialisation of space
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during the violence was central to the production of these new identities. Political
violence created new spatialities, with space itself acquiring political meaning and
identity. The political meanings of these spaces were intense markers of their
identity and overrode all other meanings and identities. As the spatial form of the
violence shifted it forced people to question their political identities. The lived
experience of the politicisation of everyday life by the violence shaped the
production of political identities.
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