42 research outputs found
Reinventing Planning: Critical Reflections
Abstract There is a growing acceptance in international development circles of the
contribution a revitalised planning canmake to addressing key urban challenges. Current
expectations that planning can play roles in managing the growth of cities in ways that
promote their sustainability, inclusiveness and liveability, contrasts with past perceptions
of planning as an irrelevant discipline obsessed with spatial ordering and control. This
paper considers whether the new forms of planning can address the challenges facing
cities, with particular reference to the South African context. It does so through providing
an overview of the shift in thinking about planning, and reflecting on the new agendas for
planning as well as on some of their silences. It argues that the new approaches need to be
understood in terms of contemporary urban and planning theories which are rethinking
the nature of planning and its relationship to power and institutions, andwhich viewcities
as complex, dynamic places, embodying multiple interests and spatialities. These
perspectives can help to enrich our understanding of the new approaches to planning, and
to avoid ineffectiveness or a return to the negative elements of modernist planning of the
past. The paper demonstrates the argument through focusing on some of the recent
themes that have received attention in the contemporary international agendas for
planning: the cross-cutting themes of sustainability and gender; the infrastructural turn in
planning; and the ambiguities of the compact city. While these are quite particular
concerns, they highlight the complexities of institutionalising the new approaches to
planning, and ways of thinking about spatial planning
Rethinking spatial planning
In South Africa, broad spatial frameworks have become a standard form of planning, but have been critiqued on various grounds. This paper focuses on three lines along which spatial planning may be reconsidered. First, it argues that it is important for planners to engage with the complexity of the socio-spatial dynamics of the city. Secondly, it suggests that planners need a deeper understanding of urban economic space and a more conscious consideration of the way in which planning relates to markets. Thirdly, spatial planning could be enhanced by a stronger link to infrastructure planning. 
Spatial inequalities and policies in South Africa: place-based or people-centred?
SA has shifted from spatial rebalancing policies to a mix of place based and space neutral approaches.
There has been much experimentation without an overarching policy framework or vision.
Both the space neutral and spatial re-balancing approaches are difficult to justify in SA.
The structure and character of the economy are neglected in spatial policy debates.
The social, political and institutional environment shapes prospects for spatial policies.There is a robust international debate about how best to tackle spatial inequalities within nations and regions. The paper discusses three contrasting approaches: spatial rebalancing, space-neutral and place-based. They vary in the scope and purpose of government policy, from redistributing economic activity, to facilitating aggregate growth, and realising the economic potential of less-developed regions. The paper applies this framework to analyse South Africaâs five decades of experience of spatial policies. The context is one of stark spatial inequalities, uneven institutional capabilities, and mounting political pressure for change. Under apartheid, spatial targeting was highly instrumental and played a role in reproducing social divisions at considerable financial cost. Since the end of apartheid there has been much experimentation with spatial initiatives, but without any overarching vision or policy framework. A cautionary conclusion is that there are risks of extravagant spending in marginal locations when political pressures are strong, public institutions are weak and economic disciplines are lacking. Another is that place-based policies have potential, but require stronger vertical and horizontal policy alignment to stand any chance of tackling entrenched spatial divides. Enhanced local institutions involving private sector and community stakeholders are also essential for spatial policies to respond to the specific challenges and opportunities encountered in each place.BM2017http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305900616300897?via%3Dihu
Employer perceptions of planning education in South Africa
The changing nature of planning has raised questions about what skills, competencies, values and literacies should be the focus of planning education, both internationally and in South Africa. This article reports on a survey of planning employers which questioned their perceptions of the relevance of planning education and of the appropriateness of the Bloemfontein competencies, a list of competencies drawn up by South African planning schools in 2000. The study found that planning employers largely felt that planning education is relevant, and that the Bloemfontein competencies are appropriate. As is the case internationally, creativity, problem solving abilities and critical thinking are highly valued, and communicative and organizational capacities are increasingly seen as key issues. Concerns were raised however over the competence of graduates in these realms, raising questions again about the focus of planning education
Integrated Area Development Projects: Working Towards Innovation
There is growing interest in integrated area development projects as a way of
responding to special problem areas, including ameliorating the geographic concentration
of social and economic disadvantage. This is expressed through the
move towards âjoined upâ government and development âin the roundâ at the
local level; and new forms of area-based initiatives aimed at neighbourhood renewal
and urban economic development. The growing influence of sustainability
concepts and developmental approaches to housing and urban development is
also leading to multi-faceted projects that incorporate economic, social and environmental
dimensions. In the South African context, the interest in integrated
area development manifests in the major urban renewal projects that are presently
being mounted, and reflects a search for ways of achieving integrated development
that are more grounded than the grand scale planning associated with
Integrated Development Plans and Spatial Development Frameworks
Gender in Planning and Urban Development
Gender-sensitive urban planningThere is increasing evidence that women and men experience cities in different ways.
Therefore gender-sensitive urban planning is needed. However, like other built environment occupations, the planning profession has traditionally been âgender
blindâ. The Commonwealth Association of Planners (CAP) has been a strong advocate
for âreinventing planningâ (Farmer et al. 2006). CAP argues for âplanning as an
inclusive process ... rooted in concerns for equityâ (CAP 2008). Gender equality is one
dimension of this kind of inclusive planning. This position, which was endorsed by the UN-Habitat World Urban Forum in 2006, also reflects the Commonwealthâs strong commitment to gender equality. So why does gender matter in urban planning? And, what might âgendered planning practiceâ hope to achieve?Commonwealth Secretaria
Spatial planning, infrastructure and implementation: Implications for planning school curricula
Infrastructure plays key roles in shaping the spatial form of the city at a macro- and a more local scale, and it influences the sustainability, efficiency and inclusiveness of cities and local areas. Linking infrastructure and spatial planning is therefore critical. Wide-ranging sets of knowledge and skills are required to enable planners to make these links, from technical knowledge of different types of infrastructure delivery systems, institutions and finance, to normative dimensions, such as sustainability, inclusion, liveability, efficiency, and their spatial implications, to socio-political, governance and institutional dimensions, such as the politics of decision-making, community participation, and negotiation. A matrix of knowledge and skills is produced, and the way these fields of study have been taken up in the undergraduate/honours planning programme at the University of the Witwatersrand is explored. The teaching methodologies and approaches which might be used to address these issues are discussed
Resilient Densification: Four Studies from Johannesburg
Unlike most cities in the world, over the last 20 years Johannesburg has become more dense and more compact. This reflects the increased rates of rural-urban migration from the late 1980s as urbanisation controls collapsed, but also the relative success of Johannesburgâs economy and democratic-era policies to contain
urban sprawl (such as the urban development boundary). The ending of apartheid regulations allowed a release in a pent-up demand for access to large cities with much of the movement directed to the three large metropolitan cities in Gauteng. Densification in the city has occurred in both planned and unplanned ways. In line with directions in planning internationally, post-apartheid planning has placed strong emphasis on urban
densification and compaction. At the same time, however, market forces (both formal and informal) have driven densification in the city, in ways that are often unforeseen and sometimes contrary to city policies. In order to plan for further development and to respond effectively to the densification that has happened, and is occurring, research into the processes and effects of densification is clearly needed. In this work we use
an âurban resilience lensâ to investigate four forms of residential densification in Johannesburg, using four illustrative case-studies. We explore the effects that densification is having in the city, showing how diverse, complex and contingent it often is.The research was funded by the Department of Science and Technology and the National Research Foundation. The work does not necessarily represent their views
The changing nature of the job market for planning in South Africa: Implications for planning educators
This article reports on the findings of a job market study conducted by South African planning schools in Gauteng, Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal in 2001. The study explores several interrelated themes: the structure of the job market, and current trends within the public and private sectors; the growth of new fields of work linked to planning; the growth and decline of fields within planning, and market perceptions of skills and competencies that are needed. Findings are to some extent regional, and reflect economic and institutional dynamics in the three areas. Key findings include the reshaping of the private sector, and the public-private division of work; the diversification of planning work, including a shift towards developmental planning, both within planning departments, and outside of them. Generalist planners are still in demand but the nature of what constitutes generalist planners is much wider than before. The diffuse nature of planning holds both opportunities and challenges for planners and for planning educators
Decentralising voice: womenâs participation in Integrated Development Planning processes in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
The appeal of decentralisation is based on the belief that it will foster participatory democracy, introduce more responsive service delivery and advance the rights of citizens. It is also assumed that decentralisation processes will promote gender equity and benefit women. International experience, however, has begun to show that social transformation does not necessarily follow decentralisation processes, and that the increased autonomy enjoyed by local government can roll back advances secured by national government as local elites entrench their power in ways that exclude and disempower marginalised and vulnerable groups. Against a backdrop of ambivalent evidence feminist scholars have cautioned against an uncritical acceptance of the supposed benefits of decentralisation for women