Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Gated developments, also known as gated communities, have become a feature of urban living
throughout the world and have been the subject of intensive research. Gated developments in South
African cities are a ubiquitous feature of the post-apartheid urban landscape with many new housing
developments in the form of secure estates or fortified townhouse complexes. Almost all the
international literature on gated developments has focused on them as a metropolitan phenomenon.
Very few international studies have investigated gated developments in non-metropolitan locales and
this topic is unexplored in the South African context. This dissertation addresses this research gap.
The study area is the entire non-metropolitan area of the Western Cape province. The politicoadministrative
concept of non-metropolitan is used rather than the descriptor rural because the latter
implies an area of primary production with no diversification of productive activities. The study area
excludes the metropolitan area of Cape Town but includes the rest of the province within which there
are settlements of varying sizes having a diverse range of economic activities. It is in these places that
gated developments were investigated to cover and discover particular aspects of the hitherto
unexplored non-metropolitan gated developments of South Africa.
The specific objectives were to place the research in the theoretical and conceptual debates of gated
developments; map the occurrence of the phenomenon; and spatially analyse the location and security
aspects of the developments at a macro scale. Two towns, Swellendam and Ceres, were selected as case
studies as their gated developments present a host of significant features warranting further micro-scale
analysis. The spatial and locational analyses yielded other researchable themes specific to certain types
of developments, namely retirement gated developments in Oudtshoorn and Swellendam and gated
developments outside the urban edge. A comprehensive spatially-linked database of gated
developments in the study area was compiled from numerous sources, culminating in a process of
groundtruthing that resulted in the collection of data on the physical features of each development.
Qualitative data was collected from respondents through interviews, electronic communications and a
questionnaire survey. Distribution patterns of gated developments were determined from spatial data
and data on physical features was used to calculate security level index values for the gated
developments. These data sets enabled spatial and typological comparisons to be made. Qualitative data added a ‘voice’ to the quantitative data and provided insights into social, economic and planning
aspects of gated developments.
The location of gated developments in the province is largely determined by proximity to metropolitan
Cape Town and areas with high occurrences of amenities. The spatio-temporal patterns and typological
distinctions of gated developments are influenced by location-specific factors. In some towns the gated
developments typify a living space and in others a living and lifestyle space. The security features of
gated developments also vary typologically and spatially. Crime data was used to show that the
distribution of non-metropolitan gated developments is not necessarily associated with towns with high
levels of criminal activity. Security in these developments is not a response to rampant crime, rather a
strategy brought into play in case something happens – preparedness in the unlikely event of a breach
of security. The gated developments in the two case-study towns are strongly influenced by locationspecific
needs, the purposes of residents and the processes of municipalities. Niche market gated
developments, as represented in the thematic case studies of retirement gated developments and gated
developments outside the urban edge are promoted by pull factors within towns and by the allure of an
exclusive rural residential lifestyle of living in areas with high amenity offerings. The latter is linked to
the transformation of agricultural land into gated developments, which signals a shift to postproductivist
change in the study area.
The results of this seminal investigation into non-metropolitan gated developments suggest avenues for
further research endeavour. These include the need for greater understanding of the changing nature of
social relations between gated and the non-gated inhabitants of non-metropolitan locales; investigation
of the potential for increased topophobia within towns; and examinations of the functions of the various
stakeholders and role players in establishing non-metropolitan gated developments. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Geslote woonbuurte, ook bekend as geslote gemeenskappe, ’n kenmerk van baie stede regoor die
wêreld, het die onderwerp van intensiewe navorsing geword. Geslote woonbuurte in Suid-Afrikaanse
stede is ‘n alomteenwoordige kenmerk van die post-apartheid stedelike landskap met baie nuwe
behuisingsontwikkelings wat as beveiligde landgoede en meenthuiskomplekse gebou word. Die
meerderheid van die internasionale literatuur oor geslote woonbuurte beskou hulle as ’n
metropolitaanse verskynsel. Baie min internasionale studies het geslote gemeenskappe in niemetropolitaanse
lokaliteite ondersoek en dié onderwerp is onverken in die Suid-Afrikaanse konteks.
Hierdie proefskrif vul dié navorsingsleemte.
Die studiegebied is die hele nie-metropolitaanse gebied van die Wes-Kaap provinsie. Die politiesadministriewe
konsep ‘nie-metropolitaans’ word gebruik in plaas van die benaming ‘landelik’ omdat
laasgenoemde ’n gebied van primêre produksie met geen diversifisering van ekonomiese aktiwiteite
impliseer. Dus, sluit die studiegebied die metropolitaanse gebied van Kaapstad uit, maar sluit die res
van die provinsie in waar nedersettings van verskeie grootte en met ’n diverse reeks ekonomiese
aktiwiteite voorkom. Dit is in hierdie gebiedens dat geslote woonbuurte ondersoek word met die doel
om besondere aspekte van hierdie tot nou toe onverkende nie-metropolitaanse geslote woonbuurte in
Suid-Afrika, na vore te bring.
Die spesifieke doelwitte is om die navorsing binne die breër teorietiese en konseptuele debatte rondom
geslote woonbuurte te plaas; die verspreiding van die verskynsel te karteer; die ligging en die
sekuriteitsaspekte van die woonbuurte op makro skaal ruimtelik te ontleed. Ceres en Swellendam word
as gevallestudies behandel. Die twee dorpe se geslote woonbuurte ’n menigte beduidende kenmerke
van hul geslote woonbuurte vertoon, wat verdere mikro skaalanalise regverdig. Die ruimtelike en
liggingsanalises het navorsingwaardige temas oor spesifieke tipes geslote woonbuurte onthul. Die
temas sluit geslote aftreewoonbuurte in Oudtshoorn en Swellendam en geslote woonbuurte buitekant
dorpsgrense in. ’n Omvattende ruimtelike databasis van geslote woonbuurte binne die studiegebeid is
uit verskeie bronne saamgestel en ’n proses van terreinverifiëring het vir die inwin van data oor fisiese
kenmerke van elke woonbuurt gesorg. Kwalitatiewe data is by respondente verkry deur middel van
onderhoude, elektroniese kommunikasie en ’n vraelys opname. Verspreidingspatrone van die geslote
woonbuurte is aan die hand van die ruimtelike data vasgestel en die data oor die fisiese verskynsels is gebruik om ’n sekuriteitsindekswaardes van die geslote woonbuurte te bereken. Die datastelle het
ruimtelike en tipologiese vergelykings moontlik gemaak. Kwalitatiewe data het ’n ‘stem’ aan die
kwantitiewe data verleen en insig in die sosiale, ekonomiese en beplanningsaspekte van geslote
woonbuurte verskaf.
Die ligging van geslote woonbuurte in die provinsie is grootliks deur nabyheid aan die Kaapse
metropool en gebiede met ’n hoë voorkoms van geriewe beïnvloed. Die ruimtelike- en tydspatrone en
tipologiese kenmerke van geslote woonbuurte is deur liggingspesifiekefaktore beïnvloed. In sommige
dorpe is die geslote woonbuurte as ’n ‘leefruimte’ gekenmerk, terwyl ander geslote woonbuurte as
‘leefruimte en leefstylruimte’ getipeer word. Die sekuriteitsverskynsels van geslote woonbuurte het ook
tipologiese en ruimtelike verskeidenheid getoon. Misdaaddata is gebruik om te toon dat die
verspreiding van nie-metropolitaanse geslote woonbuurte nie noodwendig ooreenstem met dorpe met
hoë misdaadsyfers nie. Sekuriteit is nie ’n reaksie op buitensporige misdaadsyfers nie, eerder ’n
strategie wat in werking tree in geval iets gebeur – paraatheid vir die onwaarskynlike gebeurtenis van
’n sekuriteitskending. Die ontwikkeling van geslote woonbuurte in die gevallestudiedorpe is sterk deur
liggingspesifieke behoeftes, die doelstellings van inwoners en prosesse van munisipaliteite beïnvloed.
Geslote woonbuurte wat nismarkte bedien, soos dié wat deur die tematiese gevallestudies
verteenwoordig is, word bevorder deur sekere aantrekkingsfaktore wat dorpe bied en die bekoring van
’n eksklusiewe landelike residensiële lewensstyl in gebiede met ’n hoë voorkoms van geriewe vir
lewensgenieting. Laasgenoemde is gekoppel aan die omskepping van landbougrond vir die bou van
geslote woonbuurte wat ’n aanduiding van post-produktivistiese verandering in die studiegebeid is.
Dié eerste en gedagteprikkelende ondersoek oor nie-metropoolitaanse geslote woonbuurte opper temas
vir verdere navorsing. Dit sluit in ’n verstaan van die moontlike veranderings in sosiale verhoudings
tussen die inwoners van geslote en ongeslote nie-metropolitaanse lokaliteite, die moontlikheid van
verhoogde topofobie in dorpe; en ondersoeke oor die rol van verskillende insethouers en rolspelers in
die ontwikkeling van nie-metropoolitaanse geslote woonbuurte.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:sun/oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/79915 |
| Date | 03 1900 |
| Creators | Spocter, Manfred Aldrin |
| Contributors | Donaldson, S. E., Landman, K., 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 | en_ZA |
| Detected Language | Unknown |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 332 p. : ill., maps |
| Rights | Stellenbosch University |
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