Thesis (MA (Geography and Environmental Studies))--Stellenbosch University, 2009. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Gated developments (GDs) are a global phenomenon with their presence and numbers increasing
in many cities throughout the world. This is also true for cities in South Africa, including Cape
Town which has seen a dramatic increase in the number of GDs during the last decade. GDs
pose significant challenges to their surrounding urban environments and to cities as a whole
because of the spatial and social fragmentation associated with such developments. The
challenges created by GDs are especially relevant in the context of the post-apartheid planning
goals of integration and sustainability of cities in South Africa. There is a pressing need to
understand these GDs in their social and spatial contexts. This study examined aerial
photographs to establish the spatial distribution of GDs, ascertain their growth over time and
determine clustering of the phenomenon in the north-eastern suburbs of Cape Town. The
architectural characteristics and the security measures employed by the GDs were investigated
through field observations of a sample of GDs. The socio-economic and demographic features,
as well as the daily activity spaces of the residents of the GDs, were determined in a
questionnaire survey of a sample of these inhabitants. These investigations provided a detailed
look at the gating phenomenon as it manifests in a post-apartheid city, namely Cape Town. The
study is of particular interest to urban geographers, town and regional planners, and urban policy
makers dealing with the integration of post-apartheid cities. The study found that the GDs
constrain progress toward reaching the post-apartheid planning goals of integration and urban
sustainability by their contribution to increasing urban fragmentation and urban sprawl through
their clustering close to the urban edge. The GDs also promote social segregation through their
high perimeter defences with low visual permeability which effectively separate the
developments from their neighbourhoods. The use of a larger sample on which to base the socioeconomic
and demographic profiles of GD residents as well as the use of more recent aerial
photography will enhance future studies of the gating phenomenon. A thorough analysis of travel
patterns and traffic volumes in neighbourhoods with large clusters of GDs will advance an
understanding of this phenomenon’s effects on urban segregation and fragmentation. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Sekuriteitsoorde is ʼn globale verskynsel wat toenemend in teenwoordigheid en getalle
wêreldwyd in die meeste stede voorkom. Dit is ook die geval in Suid-Afrikaanse stede,
insluitend Kaapstad wat in die laaste dekade ʼn dramatiese toename in die getal sekuriteitsoorde
beleef het. Sekuriteitsoorde hou ʼn paar gewigtige uitdagings vir die omliggende stedelike
omgewings en dié vir die groter stad in as gevolg van die ruimtelike en sosiale fragmentasie wat
met hierdie ontwikkelings geassosieer word. Hierdie uitdagings is veral relevant vir die huidige
Suid-Afrikaanse beplanningsbeleid wat na 1994 in werking getree het en wat stedelike integrasie
en volhoubare stedelike ontwikkeling beklemtoon. Dit is belangrik om sekuriteitsoorde binne
hulle sosiale en ruimtelike kontekste te bestudeer. Lugfoto’s is bestudeer om die ruimtelike
manifestasie (ligging, groei en konsentrasie) van hierdie verskynsel in Kaapstad se noordelike
voorstede te ontleed. Verder is ʼn steekproef van sekuriteitsoorde ter plaatse ondersoek om die
argitektoniese kenmerke en die sekuriteit maatreëls van die ontwikkelings te bestudeer. Die
sosio-ekonomiese en demografiese profiele sowel as die daaglikse aktiwiteitsruimtes van
sekuriteitsoordinwoners is deur middel van ʼn vraelysopname van ʼn steekproef van inwoners
vasgestel. Hierdie ondersoeke het ʼn diepgaande blik op geslote ontwikkelings in stede wat
gekenmerk is deur apartheidstyl beplanning (soos Kaapstad) gegee. Die bevindings is dus veral
relevant vir stedelike geograwe, stads- en streeksbeplanners en stedelike beleidmakers wat met
die integrasie van na-apartheidstede te doen het. Die studie het bevind dat hierdie ontwikkelings
die bereiking van die na-apartheidsbeplanningsdoelwitte van stedelike integrasie en volhoubare
stedelike ontwikkeling belemmer deur stedelike fragmentasie en stedelike wildgroei te bevorder
deur konsentrasies van hierdie ontwikkelings naby die stedelike grens te vestig. Sosiale
fragmentasie word ook deur hierdie ontwikkelings aangehelp deur hulle neiging om hoë
grensmure met lae visuele deursigtigheid te gebruik wat effektief die ontwikkelings van hul
buurt afsonder. Die studie kan verbeter word deur ʼn groter steekproef te gebruik om die sosioekonomiese
en demografiese profiele op te baseer, asook om jonger lugfoto’s in te span. ʼn
Deeglike ondersoek van reispatrone en verkeersvolumes in die woonbuurte met groot
konsentrasies geslote ontwikkelings sal ʼn beter begrip van die verskynsel se impakte op stedelike
segregasie en fragmentasie bevorder.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:sun/oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/1952 |
| Date | 12 1900 |
| Creators | Welgemoed, Louis |
| Contributors | Ferreira, S. L. A., Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Geography and Environmental Studies. |
| Publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Rights | Stellenbosch University |
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