Impact of Gautrain stations on property prices and sales activity in the City of Johannesburg between 2006 and 2015

The core objective of this study was to analyse the impact of three Gautrain stations on real estate in the City of Johannesburg, looking specifically at how the Sandton, Rosebank and Midrand stations affected property prices and sales activity within 3 km of the stations between 2006 and 2015. This time period represented a temporal cross-section of the three fundamental stages of the Gautrain implementation, namely construction, commencement of operation and full operation. International literature is rich in documenting the relationship between transport infrastructure, real estate and property, although local studies are lacking, and in recent years the City of Johannesburg has recognised the Gautrain station locations as catalysts for local development, prioritising transit-orientated development as a way of promoting compact mixed-use walkable city environments. This formed the underlying motivation for conducting the study. It was predicted that the nature and impact of Gautrain-related property development and investment would vary based on its location. The research methodology relied on using GIS to apply advanced spatial analysis of the deeds database as the basis for measuring property prices and sales activity over the past ten years around the three Gautrain stations. The results of the study varied per station, indicating that closer proximity to a Gautrain station does not necessarily assure increased property value. This research is valuable for Gauteng local government in terms of urban planning, budgeting and municipal infrastructure development and in helping to inform the Gautrain Management Agency’s plans to extend the services of the Gautrain.Keywords: Gautrain, real estate, property price, sales activity, deeds data, transit-orientated developmen

Introducing the Green Book: A practical planning tool for adapting South African settlements to climate change

The Green Book is not a book, but a novel, practical online planning tool to support the adaptation of South African settlements to the impacts of climatic changes and severe events. It provides evidence of current and future (2050) climate risks and vulnerability for every local municipality in South Africa (including settlements) in the form of climate-change projections, multidimensional vulnerability indicators, population-growth projections, and climate hazard and impact modelling. Based on this evidence, the Green Book developed a menu of planning-related adaptation actions and offers support in the selection of appropriate actions from this menu to be integrated into local development strategies and plans. The second half of this article describes the steps involved in the process of developing and structuring this menu of actions and explains how the information contained in the Green Book can be used to promote the planning of climate-resilient settlements in South Africa

Adapting the Dyna-CLUE model for simulating land use and land cover change in the Western Cape Province

Models which integrate and evaluate diverse factors of Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) change can be used to guide planners in making more informed decisions and achieving a balance between urban growth and preservation of the natural environment. The implementation of these models at a provincial scale is however very limited in South Africa. LULC change models are valuable if their structures are based on a deep knowledge of the system under investigation and if they produce credible results. This study therefore investigates the suitability of LULC change models in simulating LULC changes at a provincial scale in a South African context. The Dyna-CLUE model was implemented using the following as inputs: spatial policies and restrictions; land-use type conversions; land use requirements (demands) and location characteristics. The model produced probability maps and simulation maps for the years between 1990 and 2014. Validation of the simulated maps was conducted using both visual and statistical analysis and the results indicated that the simulated maps were in good agreement with the validation map. This study contributes to the implementation of LULC change models at a provincial scale in a South African context. Knowledge derived from this study can be used by planners as a guide to effectively gauge the impacts that planning policies and other driving factors might have on future LULC patterns in the Western Cape Province

Backyard housing in Gauteng: An analysis of spatial dynamics

This article examines the phenomenon of backyard housing in Gauteng, a prominent driver of urban spatial change in South Africa’s housing market. Backyard housing in South Africa increasingly attracts the attention of policymakers because of the large number of households that this sector accommodates. Moreover, the role played by backyard housing in the overall small-scale rental-housing sector is significant, particularly in Gauteng where a large proportion of households rent their primary dwelling. Drawing on quantitative geo-demographic data from GeoTerraImage (GTI) (2010), Knowledge Factory’s Cluster Plus (2010) as well as StatsSA Census 2011, this article documents the spatial footprint of backyard housing in Gauteng and examines the implications of the findings for infrastructure service planning at the municipal scale.&nbsp

CSIR launches novel online climate risk profiling and adaptation tool : The Green Book

The Council for Science and Industrial Research (CSIR) Green Book contributes to sustainable and liveable South African settlements through climate change adaptation. This article announces CSIR’s newly launched online climate risk and profiling tool towards region-specific adaptation measures for climate resilient settlements. The role of adaptation planning is vital in reducing the exposure of municipalities, settlements, neighbourhoods and infrastructure to devastating impacts of climate-induced hazards. Complementary to the Green Book is The Neighbourhood Planning and Design Guide (the Red Book), which is aimed at built environment practitioners, providing practical information related to the planning and design of services and infrastructure in neighbourhood development projects

Spatial policy, planning and infrastructure investment: Lessons from urban simulations in three South African cities

This article is based on the assumption that more spatially efficient investment choices in both economic and basic infrastructure spending can make a significant impact on the equity, efficiency and sustainability of human settlements. Emerging from work conducted as part of a Department of Science and Technology (DST)- funded Integrated Planning and Development Modelling (IPDM) project, the article argues that decisions about infrastructure investment in South African metropolitan areas ought to be grounded in robust and rigorous analysis and scenario evaluation. More evidence, and better evidence, an understanding of spatial trends and the underlying forces that shape them, are needed to support planning and infrastructure investment. Urban simulation platforms offer valuable tools in this regard. Findings of simulation work in three metropolitan areas (eThekwini, Nelson Mandela Bay and Johannesburg) are presented to demonstrate this, and some implications for spatial policy, planning and infrastructure investment are highlighted.&nbsp

Impact of Gautrain stations on property prices and sales activity in the City of Johannesburg between 2006 and 2015

The core objective of this study was to analyse the impact of three Gautrain stations on real estate in the City of Johannesburg, looking specifically at how the Sandton, Rosebank and Midrand stations affected property prices and sales activity within 3 km of the stations between 2006 and 2015. This time period represented a temporal cross-section of the three fundamental stages of the Gautrain implementation, namely construction, commencement of operation and full operation. International literature is rich in documenting the relationship between transport infrastructure, real estate and property, although local studies are lacking, and in recent years the City of Johannesburg has recognised the Gautrain station locations as catalysts for local development, prioritising transit-orientated development as a way of promoting compact mixed-use walkable city environments. This formed the underlying motivation for conducting the study. It was predicted that the nature and impact of Gautrain-related property development and investment would vary based on its location. The research methodology relied on using GIS to apply advanced spatial analysis of the deeds database as the basis for measuring property prices and sales activity over the past ten years around the three Gautrain stations. The results of the study varied per station, indicating that closer proximity to a Gautrain station does not necessarily assure increased property value. This research is valuable for Gauteng local government in terms of urban planning, budgeting and municipal infrastructure development and in helping to inform the Gautrain Management Agency’s plans to extend the services of the Gautrain.Keywords: Gautrain, real estate, property price, sales activity, deeds data, transit-orientated developmen

CSIR launches novel online climate risk profiling and adaptation tool: The Green Book

The Council for Science and Industrial Research (CSIR) Green Book contributes to sustainable and liveable South African settlements through climate change adaptation. This article announces CSIR’s newly launched online climate risk and profiling tool towards region-specific adaptation measures for climate resilient settlements. The role of adaptation planning is vital in reducing the exposure of municipalities, settlements, neighbourhoods and infrastructure to devastating impacts of climate-induced hazards. Complementary to the Green Book is The Neighbourhood Planning and Design Guide (the Red Book), which is aimed at built environment practitioners, providing practical information related to the planning and design of services and infrastructure in neighbourhood development projects

Analysing risk and vulnerability of South African settlements: attempts, explorations and reflections

With the world’s urban population now estimated to be at 52% (United Nations 2012:1), towns and cities are increasingly becoming the stage where disaster risk has to be managed and mitigated. Understanding the risks and vulnerabilities in these complex socio-ecological systems thus becomes of utmost importance to be able to intervene in the underlying root causes, dynamic pressures and unsafe conditions. In this paper, the authors share their experience in, and reflect on, recent attempts at exploring integrated and place-specific risk and vulnerability analyses of settlements in South Africa. An overview is first provided of the attempt to develop multi-criteria indicators for integrated assessment of socio-economic vulnerability at a regional level. Secondly, an indication is provided of some first steps in interpreting projections for environmental risks and hazards in terms of possible implications for settlements at this regional level. The paper concludes with some reflections on the challenges and breakthroughs experienced in this exercise, as well as implications for on-going and future research.https://doi.org/10.4102/jamba.v5i2.8