Shopping malls with quasi-public spaces in Pretoria: Neo-traditional consumption space or controlled village commons?

Recent debates have highlighted trends towards the privatisation of public space and the incorporation of increased security measures to safeguard users. Literature has also emphasised the move away from the traditional high street to suburban shopping malls as part of an increased focus on the development of protected consumption space. As public space continuously evolves, it is interesting to find the emergence of a new type of controlled outdoor space that seems to reflect characteristics of older traditional public spaces acting as a local gathering space in suburbia, yet being very controlled within the boundaries of shopping malls and reflecting strong patterns of consumption. The article investigates this trend within the capital city of South Africa, Pretoria, focusing on three quasi-public spaces. The findings indicate that urban design continues to play a critical role in the incorporation of characteristics that are traditionally associated with successful public spaces, but with a strong emphasis on consumption in a controlled and secure environment. At the same time, however, these spaces have also become a new type of village commons in an increasingly polarised society and, hence, cannot simply be negated as purely exclusive spaces

Gated communities in South Africa: Tensions between the planning ideal and practice

Gated communities are considered by many South Africans as a necessity – a place to stay in a safer environment in the context of high crime rates. At the same time, these developments can also challenge planning and development goals towards greater integration and accessibility. This article considers the views of planning masters’ students related to gated communities and the inherent tensions and presence of inconsistent attitudes prevailing within the students. This reflects the growing dichotomy between the planning ideal and practice in South Africa and raises a number of questions for planning education. With reference to the different roles of planning theory, the discusion explores different ways to read and interpret these tensions and attitudes and redirect planning education not only to reflect this, but also to effectively utilise it in an attempt to bridge the gap between normative visions and contextual realities.&nbsp

Rapidly Changing Cities: Working with Socio-Ecological Systems to Facilitate Transformation

Cities across the world are changing rapidly. Driven by population growth, migration, economic decline in rural areas, political instabilities, and even more recently, the Covid-19 pandemic, urban systems and spaces are changing to accommodate moving people and new functions. In many cases, these trends contribute to increased levels of inequality, poverty, food insecurity, and unemployment, while the warnings about the impact of climate change continue to raise concerns. Though some have called this a new urban revolution, others have referred to, in a more apocalyptic turn, the end of cities. In response, many writers are encouraging smarter cities, whereas others are promoting a post-urban context and a return to small communities. High levels of uncertainty are characteristic, along with increased intensities of complexity, rapid fluctuation and unbounded experimentation. This raises many questions about the nature and implication of change in different cities situated in vastly contrasting contexts. This thematic issue of Urban Planning focuses on five narratives from cities across the world to illustrate various drivers of change and their implications for urban design and planning. The editorial introduces these narratives, as well as commentaries from leading academics/practitioners and highlights several divergent experiences and common threats. It argues that to deal with the rapid and often large-scale changes, planners need to view human settlements as socio-ecological systems and plan for change and uncertainty to facilitate the co-evolution of humans and nature

A home close to opportunities in South Africa: Top down vision or bottom up demand?

South African cities have changed tremendously over the past 50 years. Alongside growing urbanisation, people have moved further apart or closer to each other, influenced by the reigning ideologies and policies of the past and present. Cities were and are shaped by the leading corporations, institutions and to some extent by the planners who aim to implement their visions. Many of the contemporary international planning and urban design movements promote closer proximity of new housing developments to a larger variety of socio-economic opportunities. In response, international planning and development policies from many countries advocate the development of medium-density mixed housing developments to achieve increased densification and socio-economic integration and ultimately more sustainable cities. The new housing plan, Breaking New Ground (2004), also promotes this. Yet, how many people pause to consider the opinions of those for whom these developments are planned and designed? This discussion reconsiders the issue of housing location and, in particular, the importance of greater proximity of housing projects to a range of socio-economic opportunities from a resident’s point of view

The impact of gated communities on spatial transformation in the Greater Johannesburg area

The authors were assisted by Trudi Horak with the literature review and Trisha van Rhyn with the field visits.Gated communities in south Africa have increased tremendously since the late 1990’s, with various types spreading across the urban landscape. they can broadly be divided into two groups, namely enclosed neighbourhood s and new security developments. Enclosed neighbourhoods refer to existing neighbourhoods that have been fenced or walled in and where access is controlled or prohibited by means of gates or booms erected across existing roads. New security developments are private developments in which the entire area is developed by a private developer. these areas/buildings are physically walled or fenced off and usually have a security gate or controlled access point, with or without a security guard. this type can include large security estates, gated townhouse clusters/complexes and gated apartment complexes. these three sub-types are predominantly residential. new security developments can, however, also include gated offi ce parks and gated mixed-use developments (Landman 2012). As a signifi cant contributor to urban spatia l transformation, there is a need to understand the current extent and impact of different types of gated communities in the greater johannesburg area and implications for urban restructuring and sustainable development.NRF

Incidental great public spaces and the role of urban design in South Africa

Urban Design in South Africa as a formal profession has a relatively short history. However, in practice, there have been many examples of what must be considered both good and bad Urban Design. There have also been numerous debates at universities and conferences on what Urban Design should be. However, in the constant making and re-making of urban and rural space, Urban Design has a tenuous and weak presence. This article interrogates the rather low profile of Urban Design in the country and why it is not growing or better positioned compared to other countries. This is done through a discussion of three cases that illustrate the often incidental making of great public spaces in contrast to the thoroughly planned approach. The article argues that spontaneous projects of high quality, rather than over-planned projects, where shortcomings result from this preoccupation to rationalise, often have a greater potential to strengthen the role and value of Urban Design. Such an approach would favour incremental, flexible and sensitive proposals and interventions where spontaneity and adaptation are recognised and celebrated, as well as support the notion that urban design should set a framework for many role players to respond to in shaping the city.&nbsp

Residents’ perceptions of the importance of outdoor spaces and neighbourliness for medium-density mixed-housing in South Africa

Medium-density mixed-housing is promoted in various countries as a means toward creating more sustainable settlements. It does, however, require residents to live closer to their neighbours, share outdoor spaces, and be more neighbourly than what may typically be required in lower density suburban neighbourhoods. Yet, how important are outdoor design and neighbourliness for the success of medium-density mixed-housing in a South African context? This article examines the perceived importance of a number of outdoor design and neighbourliness factors from the point of view of residents living in such developments in South Africa. A survey of 300 residents across 10 developments reveals the importance of both outdoor design and neighbourliness, particularly if children, women, and older residents are involved. Planners and designers should, therefore, include sufficient private and common outdoor spaces to address the needs of residents and to promote neighbourliness and consequently the social acceptability of this type of housing in South Africa

The impact of gated communities on urban sustainability: A difference of opinion or a matter for concern?

An increasing number of planning and development policies promote the achievement of urban sustainability through a specific interpretation of sustainable development. This paper questions whether the dominant interpretation of sustainable development can adequately address the impact of specific development choices within the city on the sustainability of the urban system in all its complexity. The phenomenon of gated communities is used to explore this argument

Urban space diversity in South Africa : medium density mixed developments

As is the case internationally, there is also an increased focus on urban space diversity in South Africa. Is it appropriate to pursue place diversity in South Africa? If so, what are the design factors that support place diversity and can these be accommodated by the development of medium density mixed housing in the country? Furthermore, could these emerging trends be considered as part of a larger global trend moving towards greater place diversity in cities, or does it only offer local fragments and practices of fashionable international ideas? This paper explores the multiple meanings of place diversity in the country as evident in the development of medium density mixed housing developments and highlights a number of paradoxes that emerge as a result of the context-specific realities.CSIRhttp://www.openhouse-int.com/ai201

Assessing the physical characteristics of medium density mixed housing in South Africa

The new housing plan in South Africa promotes the development of medium density and mixed housing developments. The nature and organisation of the physical characteristics of this type of housing has been identified as one of the key factors that could influence the success of these developments. However, while there is a growing need for empirical research in the built environment discipline, there are very few tools or methods for measuring the built environment, especially in terms of the physical design characteristics. In order to address this, a housing measurement tool was developed for assessing the physical characteristics of selected medium density mixed housing developments and determine medium density mixed housing’s relevance for the implementation of the housing plan. It was found that the tool provides a useful mechanism to built environment professionals to assess the physical characteristics of these housing types