Street trade within South Africa contributes to a significant portion of the informal sector and is
now seen as something that contributes to the economy as well as the character of the city. It
plays an active role incontributing to the livelihoods of many people ofthe informal sector.
The informal sector has almost become synonymous with South Africa becoming a democratic
entity as people that had struggled through exclusion from entering the cities, now had a platform
towards citizenship to the city. Historically street trade has always been perceived as a nuisance
in the city and as a result traders were marginalized to use spaces which did not present proper
opportunity to support the needs of the traders.
Urban public space has become one of the most valuable assets to people entering the informal
sector, therefore it is important to understand the properties that play a role in the meaning of
urban public space with for the users within the informal sector. The square, the street and the
buildings make up the public face of towns and cities. The street has the opportunity to become a
comfortable environment when the user is able to perceive it in such a way that they are able to
orientate themselves with it. Further the street can be examined as a series of integrated spaces
and when the physical elements of space are ordered a central point of relation to the user
develops.
The problem arises whereby urban public space in general has for some time been analyzed and
interpreted from a first world viewpoint. One of the primary aims of this dissertation is to
understand the various factors involved with third world developing countries, more specifically
the informal sector and to understand how these factors may be supported and enhanced by the
existing knowledge of place to aid in the design of meaningful architecture aiding in urban
revitalization.
The case studies outlined within this paper seek to demonstrate the importance of creating
architecture that acknowledges that relationships between its, cultural, economic, and
environmental, contexts of which can have the ability to sensitively and positively have an
impact on its surrounding urban fabric. / Thesis (M.Arch.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2012.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:ukzn/oai:http://researchspace.ukzn.ac.za:10413/9714 |
| Date | January 2012 |
| Creators | Leith, Mark. |
| Contributors | Ogunsanya, Lawrence Babatunde. |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | en_ZA |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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