A research report submitted to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, School of Ar... more A research report submitted to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, School of Architecture and Planning at the University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Urban Design, June 2015.
urbanity is political. Thus, urbanists have to engage with political issues and systems in order ... more urbanity is political. Thus, urbanists have to engage with political issues and systems in order to address injustices of the past, and create a more equitable present. especially in the context of South African cities, which are still dominated by apartheid morphologies. 2016 marks South Africa’s 22nd year into democracy, but what are the achievements and advancements in transforming the spatial legacy the ‘new’ country inherited from the Apartheid dispensation? moreover, what are the characteristics of a post-apartheid, democratic city and society? The City of Johannesburg, the local authority of the Johannesburg metropolitan regions, believes that transport networks must play a role to support the creation of social cohesion in a highly segregated city to address the spatial legacy of apartheid. It has therefore implemented a number of transport oriented development plans throughout the city including the Corridors of Freedom development plan. This paper unpacks theory around the...
A research report submitted to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, School of Ar... more A research report submitted to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, School of Architecture and Planning at the University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Urban Design, June 2015.
Urbanity is political. Thus, urbanists have to engage with political issues and systems in order ... more Urbanity is political. Thus, urbanists have to engage with political issues and systems in order to address injustices of the past, and create a more equitable present. Especially in the context of South African cities, which are still dominated by apartheid morphologies. 2016 marks South Africa’s 22nd year into democracy, but what are the achievements and advancements in transforming the spatial legacy the ‘new’ country inherited from the Apartheid dispensation? Moreover, what are the characteristics of a post-apartheid, democratic city and society? The City of Johannesburg, the local authority of the Johannesburg Metropolitan regions, believes that transport networks must play a role to support the creation of social cohesion in a highly segregated city to address the spatial legacy of apartheid. It has therefore implemented a number of transport oriented development plans throughout the city including the Corridors of Freedom development plan. This paper unpacks theory around the concept of social cohesion, in order to understand why this is relevant to planning trajectories in South Africa. Furthermore, it discusses social, economic and spatial legacies to which planning needs to respond. It examines the Corridors of Freedom, a ‘Transit Orientated Development’ framework proposed by the City of Johannesburg aimed at “stitching” the city together. It critically analyses the plan’s objectives and how it addresses issues of social cohesion to highlight some of the strengths and shortcomings of the proposed ‘Corridors’.
Keywords Social Cohesion, Apartheid, Group Areas Act, Corridors of Freedom, Johannesburg
10 September 2018, 42nd International Academic Conference, Rome, 2018
There is a certain ‘othering’ when cities in the African continent are presented. Literature on c... more There is a certain ‘othering’ when cities in the African continent are presented. Literature on cities in Africa is saturated by narratives by ‘explorers and scholars’ from the north, often decades past their youth. Very few, if any, narratives in academia are from young voices who have lived and experienced urban spaces in various parts of the continent. The question is, how does one change that in a pedagogical landscape built entirely on narratives or texts that are ‘other’ to these youthful African voices? How does one shift pedagogy in an inherently colonial and industrial curriculum?
This study applies postmodern theories in narrating and studying both historic and contemporary realities of urbanization of cities in Africa through the lens of the self and storytelling as valid research method. It shifts focus from set literature and prioritizes lived experiences from young voices, moreover, it presents these as authentic pedagogical approaches.
The study is interested in how young people narrate, represent and present their immediate contexts. Since 2016, propelled by the 2014/15 ‘fees must fall’ student movement in South Africa which, amongst other things, advocated for the decolonization of education, the Department of Architecture at the University of Johannesburg introduced a lecture series focusing on cities in Africa within an existing module offering, but shifted the focus by inviting young and diverse voices as presenters.
In 2017, the series was taken out of the classroom into communal student spaces within the department to make it accessible to a larger interactive audience and to loosen the series from prescriptive curriculum structures. It is a work in progress, however what has come out from this two-year experiment, for the students presenting and participating in the series, is a yearning to hear more voices, the appreciation of various narratives and perspectives presented, and the need to expand such an experiment beyond the boundaries of the university campus.
A research report submitted to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, School of Ar... more A research report submitted to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, School of Architecture and Planning at the University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Urban Design, June 2015.
urbanity is political. Thus, urbanists have to engage with political issues and systems in order ... more urbanity is political. Thus, urbanists have to engage with political issues and systems in order to address injustices of the past, and create a more equitable present. especially in the context of South African cities, which are still dominated by apartheid morphologies. 2016 marks South Africa’s 22nd year into democracy, but what are the achievements and advancements in transforming the spatial legacy the ‘new’ country inherited from the Apartheid dispensation? moreover, what are the characteristics of a post-apartheid, democratic city and society? The City of Johannesburg, the local authority of the Johannesburg metropolitan regions, believes that transport networks must play a role to support the creation of social cohesion in a highly segregated city to address the spatial legacy of apartheid. It has therefore implemented a number of transport oriented development plans throughout the city including the Corridors of Freedom development plan. This paper unpacks theory around the...
A research report submitted to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, School of Ar... more A research report submitted to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, School of Architecture and Planning at the University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Urban Design, June 2015.
Urbanity is political. Thus, urbanists have to engage with political issues and systems in order ... more Urbanity is political. Thus, urbanists have to engage with political issues and systems in order to address injustices of the past, and create a more equitable present. Especially in the context of South African cities, which are still dominated by apartheid morphologies. 2016 marks South Africa’s 22nd year into democracy, but what are the achievements and advancements in transforming the spatial legacy the ‘new’ country inherited from the Apartheid dispensation? Moreover, what are the characteristics of a post-apartheid, democratic city and society? The City of Johannesburg, the local authority of the Johannesburg Metropolitan regions, believes that transport networks must play a role to support the creation of social cohesion in a highly segregated city to address the spatial legacy of apartheid. It has therefore implemented a number of transport oriented development plans throughout the city including the Corridors of Freedom development plan. This paper unpacks theory around the concept of social cohesion, in order to understand why this is relevant to planning trajectories in South Africa. Furthermore, it discusses social, economic and spatial legacies to which planning needs to respond. It examines the Corridors of Freedom, a ‘Transit Orientated Development’ framework proposed by the City of Johannesburg aimed at “stitching” the city together. It critically analyses the plan’s objectives and how it addresses issues of social cohesion to highlight some of the strengths and shortcomings of the proposed ‘Corridors’.
Keywords Social Cohesion, Apartheid, Group Areas Act, Corridors of Freedom, Johannesburg
10 September 2018, 42nd International Academic Conference, Rome, 2018
There is a certain ‘othering’ when cities in the African continent are presented. Literature on c... more There is a certain ‘othering’ when cities in the African continent are presented. Literature on cities in Africa is saturated by narratives by ‘explorers and scholars’ from the north, often decades past their youth. Very few, if any, narratives in academia are from young voices who have lived and experienced urban spaces in various parts of the continent. The question is, how does one change that in a pedagogical landscape built entirely on narratives or texts that are ‘other’ to these youthful African voices? How does one shift pedagogy in an inherently colonial and industrial curriculum?
This study applies postmodern theories in narrating and studying both historic and contemporary realities of urbanization of cities in Africa through the lens of the self and storytelling as valid research method. It shifts focus from set literature and prioritizes lived experiences from young voices, moreover, it presents these as authentic pedagogical approaches.
The study is interested in how young people narrate, represent and present their immediate contexts. Since 2016, propelled by the 2014/15 ‘fees must fall’ student movement in South Africa which, amongst other things, advocated for the decolonization of education, the Department of Architecture at the University of Johannesburg introduced a lecture series focusing on cities in Africa within an existing module offering, but shifted the focus by inviting young and diverse voices as presenters.
In 2017, the series was taken out of the classroom into communal student spaces within the department to make it accessible to a larger interactive audience and to loosen the series from prescriptive curriculum structures. It is a work in progress, however what has come out from this two-year experiment, for the students presenting and participating in the series, is a yearning to hear more voices, the appreciation of various narratives and perspectives presented, and the need to expand such an experiment beyond the boundaries of the university campus.
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equitable present. Especially in the context of South African cities, which are still dominated by apartheid morphologies. 2016 marks South Africa’s
22nd year into democracy, but what are the achievements and advancements in transforming the spatial legacy the ‘new’ country inherited from
the Apartheid dispensation? Moreover, what are the characteristics of a post-apartheid, democratic city and society? The City of Johannesburg,
the local authority of the Johannesburg Metropolitan regions, believes that transport networks must play a role to support the creation of social
cohesion in a highly segregated city to address the spatial legacy of apartheid. It has therefore implemented a number of transport oriented
development plans throughout the city including the Corridors of Freedom development plan. This paper unpacks theory around the concept of
social cohesion, in order to understand why this is relevant to planning trajectories in South Africa. Furthermore, it discusses social, economic and
spatial legacies to which planning needs to respond. It examines the Corridors of Freedom, a ‘Transit Orientated Development’ framework proposed
by the City of Johannesburg aimed at “stitching” the city together. It critically analyses the plan’s objectives and how it addresses issues of social
cohesion to highlight some of the strengths and shortcomings of the proposed ‘Corridors’.
Keywords
Social Cohesion, Apartheid, Group Areas Act, Corridors of Freedom, Johannesburg
This study applies postmodern theories in narrating and studying both historic and contemporary realities of urbanization of cities in Africa through the lens of the self and storytelling as valid research method. It shifts focus from set literature and prioritizes lived experiences from young voices, moreover, it presents these as authentic pedagogical approaches.
The study is interested in how young people narrate, represent and present their immediate contexts. Since 2016, propelled by the 2014/15 ‘fees must fall’ student movement in South Africa which, amongst other things, advocated for the decolonization of education, the Department of Architecture at the University of Johannesburg introduced a lecture series focusing on cities in Africa within an existing module offering, but shifted the focus by inviting young and diverse voices as presenters.
In 2017, the series was taken out of the classroom into communal student spaces within the department to make it accessible to a larger interactive audience and to loosen the series from prescriptive curriculum structures. It is a work in progress, however what has come out from this two-year experiment, for the students presenting and participating in the series, is a yearning to hear more voices, the appreciation of various narratives and perspectives presented, and the need to expand such an experiment beyond the boundaries of the university campus.
Keywords:
Africa, Cities, Pedagogy, Postmodern, Urbanism
equitable present. Especially in the context of South African cities, which are still dominated by apartheid morphologies. 2016 marks South Africa’s
22nd year into democracy, but what are the achievements and advancements in transforming the spatial legacy the ‘new’ country inherited from
the Apartheid dispensation? Moreover, what are the characteristics of a post-apartheid, democratic city and society? The City of Johannesburg,
the local authority of the Johannesburg Metropolitan regions, believes that transport networks must play a role to support the creation of social
cohesion in a highly segregated city to address the spatial legacy of apartheid. It has therefore implemented a number of transport oriented
development plans throughout the city including the Corridors of Freedom development plan. This paper unpacks theory around the concept of
social cohesion, in order to understand why this is relevant to planning trajectories in South Africa. Furthermore, it discusses social, economic and
spatial legacies to which planning needs to respond. It examines the Corridors of Freedom, a ‘Transit Orientated Development’ framework proposed
by the City of Johannesburg aimed at “stitching” the city together. It critically analyses the plan’s objectives and how it addresses issues of social
cohesion to highlight some of the strengths and shortcomings of the proposed ‘Corridors’.
Keywords
Social Cohesion, Apartheid, Group Areas Act, Corridors of Freedom, Johannesburg
This study applies postmodern theories in narrating and studying both historic and contemporary realities of urbanization of cities in Africa through the lens of the self and storytelling as valid research method. It shifts focus from set literature and prioritizes lived experiences from young voices, moreover, it presents these as authentic pedagogical approaches.
The study is interested in how young people narrate, represent and present their immediate contexts. Since 2016, propelled by the 2014/15 ‘fees must fall’ student movement in South Africa which, amongst other things, advocated for the decolonization of education, the Department of Architecture at the University of Johannesburg introduced a lecture series focusing on cities in Africa within an existing module offering, but shifted the focus by inviting young and diverse voices as presenters.
In 2017, the series was taken out of the classroom into communal student spaces within the department to make it accessible to a larger interactive audience and to loosen the series from prescriptive curriculum structures. It is a work in progress, however what has come out from this two-year experiment, for the students presenting and participating in the series, is a yearning to hear more voices, the appreciation of various narratives and perspectives presented, and the need to expand such an experiment beyond the boundaries of the university campus.
Keywords:
Africa, Cities, Pedagogy, Postmodern, Urbanism