Peripheral corridors: the post-metropolitan landscape of Leganes (Madrid) and Melville (Johannesburg)

The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed versionThesis describing main arguments: This paper consists of a general history of the concept of periphery and aims to introduce the different definitions of periphery in architectural and other theories. It begins by setting out some of the difficulties encountered when attempting to define the periphery, before continuing with the three main parts to the paper. The first of these provides a general taxonomy and describes the characteristics of the periphery in architecture, based on historical general discourses; the second examines architectural discourse and typologies in more detail, developing a particular focus on the European context and thirdly it focuses in more detail on this difficulty of defining the peripheral condition in architecture theory. The architects Jonathan Woodroff, Dominic Papa and Ian Mac Burnie write (Woodroffe, J., Papa, D., and Mac Burnie, I 1994:6): “Today, it seems an almost impossible task to define a contemporary peripheral condition; and yet it is that very quality, its extreme elusiveness, that ensures its attractiveness for debate […] In Western Europe with the exception of Britain, the notion of periphery has historically been associated with the ‘marginal’”. This quote summarises recent discourse on peripheries, where the difficulty of the theme through its elusiveness has made the discourse marginal. So it is through these marginal figures that the exploration of the theme can be carried out in order to understand its language

Unpacking the decision making process of Johannesburg city projects: a dialogue between design and participation

Abstract: As a ‘reflective’ architectural practitioner in the City of Johannesburg I am finding there are limitations in the understanding and its potential value add of participatory planning. This is severely shortchanging communities. Through the Ivory Park and Alexandra Linear Market case study, I unpack the dialogue between design and participation as potentially a powerful mechanism for social justice. Although transformation is scribed into the South African constitution and is ‘celebrated' through different forms of socio‐politics, characteristics of the current political regime, silo’ed government spheres and hierarchy organisational structures creates a potential undercurrent which hinders its very democracy. Themes of participation, practice and urban development are three lenses through which the case studies are unpacked. The paper seeks to reflect on the politics of participatory design in post‐apartheid Johannesburg, and the complex interface between communities, professionals and city officials in driving urban change

Fostering Innovative Entrepreneurial Design Students : Exploring the Relationship between Innovation Characteristics and Attitudes towards Entrepreneurship in South African Design Students

Abstract: Innovation and entrepreneurship have been increasingly recognized as drivers of socio-economic development. The term innovative entrepreneur is a relatively new one and could be necessary for economic growth during a challenging and changing global environment. Previous studies have found that limited job opportunities for architectural graduates has meant that many have changed careers while others have had to innovate to survive within the profession. Therefore, architects must transform and innovate to survive and so should our curriculum. Learning how to train these innovative entrepreneurs effectively is key. Innovation can be taught and result in improved entrepreneurial skills that develop better entrepreneurial competence. The challenge is for educators, researchers and policymakers to create curricula that will impact design students to foster innovative entrepreneurial graduates and lead to eventual growth in the economy. This article is the result of a study that explored and measured the characteristics and dynamics of an innovative entrepreneur in design students. The sample consisted of South African students from the architecture, interior, graphics and multimedia disciplines. The study is the first step in understanding what behaviours and attitudes are present in African innovative entrepreneurs. The findings suggest that there is a relationship between entrepreneurial attitudes and innovation characteristics and behaviours. These can be nurtured through a dynamic design curriculum and increase a design student’s propensity to become a better designer within a thriving economy

Use of NQO1 status as a selective biomarker for oesophageal squamous cell carcinomas with greater sensitivity to 17-AAG

Abstract Background Oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is a major health burden in Sub-Saharan Africa, and novel chemotherapies are urgently required to combat this disease. The heat shock protein 90 (HSP90) inhibitor 17-N-allylamino-17-demethoxygeldanamycin (17-AAG) has previously been proposed as a possible candidate drug. NADPH quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1) is known to increase the potency of 17-AAG, therefore we investigated the effects of 17-AAG in OSCC cell lines in the context of their NQO1 status. Methods We used MTT assays to compare the sensitivity of a panel of OSCC cell lines to 17-AAG. Western blotting, and RT-PCR were used to investigate NQO1 protein and mRNA levels, while an RFLP approach was used to investigate the NQO1 C609T SNP. Results Expression of NQO1 markedly increased sensitivity to 17-AAG in the OSCC cell lines, while normal fibroblasts, which expressed HSP90 at much lower levels, were more resistant to 17-AAG. In isolation, neither the C609T SNP, nor NQO1 mRNA levels was an accurate predictor of NQO1 protein levels. Conclusions Since NQO1 greatly enhances the anti-cancer effects of 17-AAG, this could be used as a selective marker for patients that would benefit most from 17-AAG chemotherapy at low doses. Testing for the presence of the C609T SNP in both alleles could be used as a screen to exclude potentially poor responders to 17-AAG treatment at low dosages

Anti-oesophageal cancer activity in extracts of deep-water Marion Island sponges

OESOPHAGEAL CANCER IS ONE OF THE most common causes of cancer-related deaths in South African black males. The limited efficacy of chemotherapeutic agents to treat this disease has prompted a search for potential new chemical entities with anticancer properties. We report here on the evidence for anti-oesophageal cancer activity in the methanolic extracts of five species of sponges dredged from a depth of approximately 100 m in the vicinity of Marion Island in the Southern Ocean during the autumn of 2004

1,4-Bis[(2-pyridylethyl)iminomethyl]- benzene

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Fostering Innovative Entrepreneurial Design Students: Exploring the Relationship between Innovation Characteristics and Attitudes towards Entrepreneurship in South African Design Students

Innovation and entrepreneurship have been increasingly recognized as drivers of socio-economic development. The term innovative entrepreneur is a relatively new one and could be necessary for economic growth during a challenging and changing global environment. Previous studies have found that limited job opportunities for architectural graduates has meant that many have changed careers while others have had to innovate to survive within the profession. Therefore, architects must transform and innovate to survive and so should our curriculum. Learning how to train these innovative entrepreneurs effectively is key. Innovation can be taught and result in improved entrepreneurial skills that develop better entrepreneurial competence. The challenge is for educators, researchers and policymakers to create curricula that will impact design students to foster innovative entrepreneurial graduates and lead to eventual growth in the economy. This article is the result of a study that explored and measured the characteristics and dynamics of an innovative entrepreneur in design students. The sample consisted of South African students from the architecture, interior, graphics and multimedia disciplines. The study is the first step in understanding what behaviours and attitudes are present in African innovative entrepreneurs. The findings suggest that there is a relationship between entrepreneurial attitudes and innovation characteristics and behaviours. These can be nurtured through a dynamic design curriculum and increase a design student’s propensity to become a better designer within a thriving economy

Borders of Precincts: Unpacking the Politics of White Neighbourhood Identities in the Post‐Apartheid Black City (Johannesburg)

The relationship between a middle income white precinct in Melville and the post-apartheid predominantly black city of Johannesburg are still seen as separate entities. This poses a threat to the democratic production of space in a post-apartheid city like Johannesburg. Through a city-funded, “bottom-up” approach, the Johannesburg Development Agency (JDA) funded a Community Participatory Design (CPD) project known as the Melville Precinct Plan, in which the Melville Residents Association (MRA) have voiced a different opinion about the way that the urban is envisioned in relation to the Strategic Area Framework (SAF) set out by the City of Johannesburg. The city of Johannesburg’s planning policies and its urban development projects aggressively address the concerns of the post-apartheid city which segregated people by race and today the long lasting dire effects of spatial inequality are still experienced by the marginalised. The “Corridors of Freedom” scheme is a special project which was initiated by the Mayor Parks Tau a few years ago and aims to re-stitch city back together again. Amongst many other policies which echo the same anti-apartheid values, the SAF exhibits progressive socio-economic place-making strategies and is mainly focused along three main transport corridors around Johannesburg. The Empire-Perth corridor connects Johannesburg Central Business District (CBD) and the township of Soweto and along this corridor, on the border of the CBD, Melville is a white middle income neighbourhood which was commissioned by the JDS to undergo a CPD for a new vision of the precinct to support the Corridors of Freedom Project. However, the project received resistance from the MRA due to the imposing effects of urban densification on the precinct. Some of the questions we ask in this paper are: why does the MRA disagree with the Metropolitan Development Framework? To what extent does race and fear play a part in the argument? How do we make a sustainable and equitable post-apartheid city? What are the values of government, how do they relate to policies and how does they filter down to municipal level and make a difference on the ground to communities on an urban level? (Marinova and Hossain, 2013, p. 347).The aim of this paper is to discuss the relationship between this pro-liberal urban development planning project and the responses of a resistant minority group in Johannesburg in 2017. The paper contextualises the post-apartheid city and the pertinent arguments both for and against development. It questions what kind of development is important on the borders of the city, what fears are synonymous with that, but also what is unfair and exclusionary practice? The research will consider the Melville Precinct Plan as a case study, and look at its framing policies and the general outcomes in order to unpack how the borders, peripheries and edges are used politically to undermine generous public participation processes in planning for a new vision for a community

Integrating the edges : University of Pretoria's neighbourhood anchor strategy

The traditionally inward focus of many higher education institutions in both the United States (US) and South Africa has often failed to address important urban issues beyond the university gates, confining most student and academic activity to the campus. Universities can create social change not just through their primary teaching and research functions, but also through the promotion of integration on and around their campuses. In addition, place-based activities that improve neighbourhoods can help to attract students and staff, as well as new businesses and services. In particular, they can foster the influx of young professionals and families seeking to help build open, safe, vibrant and diverse communities, which may represent a new model for South African socio-economic integration beyond the ‘gated’ framework. Accordingly, the University of Pretoria (UP) has sought to lead an urban renewal and social transformation project around its Hatfield campus.http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/cdsa202019-08-15hj2018Curriculum Studie