Abstract not available. / Thesis (M.Sc.U.R.P.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2000.

No abstract available. / Thesis (M.T.R.P.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1996.

The study was conducted in the community of Wellbedacht East in eThekwini Municipality. Welbedacht East (WE) is located north-east of Umlazi Township and west of Chatsworth and also expands into the eNgonyameni Traditional Authority. WE is about 23 kilometres from Pinetown, 43 kilometres from Durban, and 15 kilometres from Chatsworth Centre. It is one of the development projects undertaken to spearhead the very ambitious programme of slums clearance, in order to confront the challenge of informal settlements in the eThekwini Municipal area. The study area has been chosen because it is one of the largest slum clearance projects in eThekwini Municipality (Durban) and it is peripherally located. Due to its peripheral location, transport services, and facilities such as schools, a clinic, a police station, churches and shops are either scarce, or non-existent. A systematic sample of 60 households was drawn from a population of residents whose characteristics had been considered to reflect those of the larger population. The project has 5000 sites and 3000 beneficiary households were relocated to this project from the inner city areas. The study is aimed at examining the impact and effects of relocation on beneficiary households in peripherally located low-income housing projects, to determine whether or not transport costs are higher in peripherally situated settlements than in more central locations, and whether residents in peripheral settlements are less able to access the benefits of urban living, including economic opportunities and social networks necessary for survival. It argues that the relocation of informal settlements to peripheral sites promotes an urban sprawl, and thus deviates from the eThekwini Municipality's goal of promoting development as a 'compact city'. The findings in this study are that, firstly, there is clear evidence to suggest that relocations to peripheral areas can cause significant harm to relocated beneficiary households' livelihood strategies, and secondly, that the municipality's failure to coordinate its relocations plan with other spheres of government involved with social service delivery, especially the departments of health and education, resulted in medium-term deprivation of access to social services. The conclusions drawn from the findings are that a holistic and integrated approach to housing development needs to be enforced, whereby the minimum facilities, such as schools, clinics and other social amenities are prioritised if the project is poorly located. The study therefore recommends that low-income housing projects be located closer to the economic nodes, in order to eliminate transport costs and other social difficulties associated with peripheral location. The compact city settlement design epitomised by higher residential densities and the development of multifunctional habitats would, to a greater extent, reduce the need to travel, and improve quality of life and access to urban goods and services. / Thesis (M.T.R.P.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2006.

In response to urban society's disenchantment with the automobile and the conflict that has resulted between vehicles and pedestrians, came the development of pedestrian oriented streets. This constitutes a clear shift in priorities to redress the imbalance in the street in favour of pedestrians with respect to motor vehicles, in a process known as pedestrianisation. Much more common, however, was to traffic calm those streets in which motor vehicle access was still needed. This study examines the application of pedestrianisation and traffic calming to the Central Business District (CBD) as a potential solution for mitigating conflict between pedestrians and vehicles. To do this the study evaluates the effectiveness of the Pietermaritzburg (PMB) pedestrianisation and traffic calming plan, by looking at how the area caters/does not cater for the needs of its users (pedestrians and motorists) and tenants. The evaluation also includes obtaining comments from the planners, tenants and prospective users in Newcastle in order to determine whether the objectives achieved in PMB could be made useful in the proposed pedestrianisation and traffic calming plan of the Newcastle CBD. Findings and conclusions from various data collection methods are presented followed by recommendations that are important for the successful implementation of any pedestrianisation and traffic calming scheme. / Thesis (M.T.R.P.)-University of Natal, 2000.

Abstract not available. / Thesis (M.Sc.U.R.P.)-University of Natal, 2002.

Processes of dispossession led to the deconstructing and reconstructing of new forms of citizenship through new political identities. Concepts of citizenship and identity are now re - emerging with the reconstruction of a new political order post 1994. Who farm dweller families are in the newly constructed polity, or how their identities are understood by the new state, will have bearing on what they can rightfully access as part of the programmes of redress and transformation. Making the argument that farm dwellers are neither ‘peasant’ nor ‘labour’ or ‘worker’ in the dominant theoretical sense the research sets out to contextualise the farm dwellers’ development dilemma. This research attempts to situate farm dweller families in a dynamic and his torically fraught political economy so that a more accurate consideration is given to the impact of future settlement options on their households’ economy. This study evaluates the relationship between farm dweller settlement patterns and their household f ood security. in the Amajuba District of KwaZulu - Natal, South Africa. The situation of the farm dweller families in the Amajuba district tells a story of extreme vulnerability. The vulnerability is a product of their dependent relationship on the owners of the land for permission to access these basic but critical livelihood needs. Their continued dependence on natural resources, rather than the cash economy, is also a product of this decades’ long relationship which has perpetuated levels of generational chronic poverty. The cycle of this level of poverty is clearly vicious and without directed targeted intervention might take generations to overcome, if it is ever broken. The political economic context of an aggressive global food industry fed by industrial forms of agriculture, the levels of vulnerability, dependency and lack of agency in the farm dweller household economy and the incredibly uncertain government settlement and agricultural policy environment, makes the feasibility of new rural settlemen ts with new forms of economic and social functionality almost unimaginable. What the research finds is that in presenting the farm dweller perspective a good motivation can be made for developing a specific targeted state intervention that has short, medium and long term trajectories to provide farm dwellers with redress, and economic development opportunities. / Thesis (M.U.R.D.P.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2009.

Public space is a fundamental component of the urban condition. Throughout the history of settlement planning, its inclusion has represented the role and identity of the citizen in society. By definition, it encapsulates concepts of freedom, justice and social inclusion. The apartheid spatial experience however, has woven persistent spatial distortions into the urban landscape. Public space was imbued with apartheid ideology, promoting sinister nationalist agendas whilst defining spatial experience by race. It is the premise of this paper that South African public space must be re‐conceptualized in order to embody the aspirations of a new democracy and to maintain its relevance in a post‐apartheid landscape. The Durban City Hall Precinct should represent the symbolic heart of the city. The City Hall and its primary public square, Francis Farewell Square, should capture both the city’s history and the direction of its developmental potential. As the most central and prominent public space, its re‐conceptualisation has the capacity to re‐inspire civic identity and turn the tide of a thirty year decline of the inner city. The process used to achieve such aspirations requires an approach broader than a single built environment discipline. Contemporary approaches to complex urban challenges call for greater integration between disciplines, in particular, the fields of town planning, urban design and architecture. The modernist paradigm has seen the divergence of interests and agendas between built environment disciplines at the ultimate expense of place making and identity. As cities grow, we are faced with the expanding monotony of an urban landscape which surrenders the upliftment of the human spirit for infrastructural demand. This study serves to highlight the potential of the City Hall Precinct and the process and depth of approach required to inform relevant public space. The study explores integrative approaches to planning challenges and the role of design in the redevelopment of public space in city centres. Using the City Hall precinct as a case study, the study pursues this holistic approach as a replicable methodology which should underpin the development of all public space initiatives. / Thesis (M.T.R.P.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2011.

This article examines the rationale for a dynamic perspective of poverty in South Africa and analyses the magnitude and characteristics of those in chronic versus transitory poverty using data from the KwaZulu-Natal Income Dynamics Study. The results show that the incidence and depth of poverty have increased steadily between 1993 and 1998, a trend that is pronounced in rural localities and for female-headed households. Though the majority of households (30.7%) were found to be experiencing transitory poverty, a significant proportion of households, in lieu of the expected small minority suggested by previous empirical research, were chronically poor. / Thesis (M.Sc.U.R.P.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2000.

The aim of the dissertation is to examine the costs in township housing and to identify some major issues and concepts by means of a case study for consideration by planners. The study is divided into three main sections. The first deals with some concepts of cost, the need for cost awareness, and a justification of the dissertation topic. The South African low income housing policy is also discussed insofar as it is of concern for planners. The second section consists of a case study of a case study of the Phoenix New Town design. An alternative to that of the Phoenix design is put forward and both are then evaluated in terms of criteria specifically formulated for that purpose. The last section concerns the conclusions of the case study, and contains some policy and design implications for planners. / Thesis (M.T.R.P.)-University of Natal, 1979.

This dissertation deals, firstly, with the nature of zoning and development controls, and their relationship to the planning process. From this broad overview the emphasis changes to deal more specifically with how these regulations affect flat development; and to look at the Durban Town Planning Scheme area of Berea North in particular. The zoning and dimensional regulations are examined in detail, along with the flat development that has taken place in Berea North as a result of the implementation of these regulations. An evaluation of the Berea North regulations follows, which covers four aspects, namely, evaluation of the planning process, the goals, the regulations, and the resultant development. This leads into an examination of some alternative systems of Development Control, with the suggestion that these be considered for implementation in Durban. The conclusions arrived at in this study are that zoning and development controls are essential elements of planning; that they are both part of the Development Control system; that there is strong justification for controlling flat development; that the methods for controlling flat development in Berea North are neither efficient nor sufficient; and that there are alternative and more successful ways of controlling flat development. / Thesis (M.T.R.P.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1978.