Contents of June 2006

COMMENT
Opportunities abound

LETTERS
Feedback on UGF's 10th anniversary edition

UPFRONT

INSPIRATION
Whistleblower for wetland

INSULT
Ruining Jo’burg’s skyline

PLANNING PERSONALITY
Cliff Hague: reinventing planning

BATTLE OF THE ’BURBS
Bryanston v Waterkloof

CITY VISIT
The future of Stellenbosch

ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING AND DESIGN
Freedom Park –- A spiritual journey

WASTE AND POLLUTION MANAGEMENT
Managing food waste

TREE OF THE ISSUE
Trichilia emetica – Natal Mahogany

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COMMENT

Opportunities abound
The world’s eyes are on Germany this month. Players, injuries, odds, coaches, draws and the like will make headlines. But, behind the scenes, the 12 host cities have worked hard over the past few years to prepare for 15 minutes of global exposure.

For South Africa, the countdown has certainly begun.

Following President Thabo Mbeki’s State of the Nation address and Minister Manuel’s budget, government is ready to spend more than R370-billion on infrastructure development for 2010.

But there are more opportunities than construction and infrastructure development alone. The German Federal Government set up and supports many accompanying projects and campaigns for the World Cup. These include ‘Green Goal’, a climate neutral environmental strategy to reduce consumption of water and energy, and minimise waste creation, as well as shift traffic to public transport, and the campaign ‘KinderLeicht’ (child’s play) would like to use the World Cup 2006 to interest a wide audience – mainly young people – in the subjects of diet and exercise as well as sustainable consumption. For the first time, an extensive Artistic and Cultural Programme also accompanies the World Cup.

Maybe we, as custodians of the urban environment in South Africa, should also look at a first for the 2010 World Cup. Maybe to celebrate and improve African urban living?

At municipal level, a further round of integrated development plans has been completed – plans refer to global significance and envision world and African cities.

‘2010’ is a huge opportunity to make our cities prominent on the world (and even local) map. And we all know that cities are more than only buildings and infrastructure.

Infrastructure investment in 2010
Eskom will be spending R84-billion, mostly on energy generation, transmission and distribution.

Transnet has committed R47-billion (R40-billion for harbours, ports, railways and a petroleum pipeline). The Airports Company of South Africa has allocated R5,2-billion to airport improvements and R19,7-billion will be allocated to water infrastructure.

South Africa’s hosting of the 2010 Soccer World Cup will see the upgrading of six stadiums and construction of four new stadiums within the next two to three years.

Urban Green File monitors the progress of the R712-million Freedom Park on Salvokop in Tshwane where indigenous knowledge systems have informed design (see page 30).

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LETTERS

Reading pleasure
– Carol Milner, research co-ordinator, Democratic Alliance, Gauteng Legislature

Congratulations on your 10th birthday. I have had the pleasure of being one of your readers for some years and look forward to many more years of reading pleasure. You are one of the lone voices on environmental issues, which, in a developing country such as ours, are not often in the face of our politicians and leaders. Keep up the fantastic work.

Urban Green File has been a watchdog of the South African environment for just over 10 years, promoting environmentally- sound development as a benchmark for planners and designers to measure the relative success or failure of their urban interventions in the exterior built environment.

Jo’burg rivers
– Flora Mokgohloa, director: environmental planning and management, City of Johannesburg

I read your magazine with interest. It very ably highlights the challenges of urban management.

The City of Johannesburg recognizes urban pollution and the future of our cities (in the 10th anniversary edition) but we regret not being consulted on some of the issues raised. Nevertheless, where references are made specifically to water pollution, this is based on qualitative scientific data (see E. coli in the Jukskei in 2003).

Johannesburg has a surface water quality monitoring programme, running for years: samples are collected bi-weekly from over 100 sampling points within the Jukskei River and Klip River catchments; freely available quarterly reports are generated together with action plans for improvements in water quality and submitted to politicians in council; results per specific sampling point for a particular month, season or year are available on request.

Unless the pollution level quoted in the article does not relate to one of the city’s sampling points, the city is not aware of any point within the Jukskei River or elsewhere downstream that has recorded 13-million m³ of E. coli. The city remains open to engage on this.

A number of ‘hot spots’ within the Jukskei are being monitored with interesting results since the implementation of the Alex renewal programme. Upstream of Bruma Lake, a progressive river rehabilitation programme aims to reduce silt, litter and pollution loads. Monitoring and reporting on improvements are ongoing. These programmes are not only in affluent areas: between 2002 and 2004, almost R30-million was spent reclaiming Moroka Dam and building the flagship Thokoza Park; in 2003 to 2004, almost R10-million went towards rehabilitating the source of the Klip catchments within Dorothy Nyembe Park in Soweto with improvements in water and overall quality of life.

Over the next five years, the City of Jo’burg will be implementing a package of interventions to reclaim its rivers. Details of the programme are included in the five-year Integrated Development Plan.

Urban futures
– Flora Mokgohloa, director: environmental planning and management, City of Johannesburg

On the future of our cities in 2016, I commend suggestions on reclaiming our polluted rivers, providing community spaces and specific focus on transportation. However engineering of the environment (canalisation, channelisation of rivers and waterfronts) should never get a town planner’s stamp of approval. Refer to the failure of Randburg Waterfront and issues confronting Bruma and Centurion lakes.

Alternative transport routes along water courses are highly commendable and proven successful overseas. I am not a planner but it strikes me most of the interventions are targeted at affluent areas. Townships and informal settlements are not yet considered as significant urban fabric deserving of cutting-edge planning interventions.

There is no reference to non-planning intervention issues such as crime.

New York successfully addressed urban efficiency. Johannesburg’s City Safety Strategy looks at the effect of residential estates and boom gates on urban efficiency and planning now and in the long term. While anticipating problems faced by this country, planning has to consider a spatial form that will stand the test of time. This is at the heart of sustainable development.

Again as a non-planner, I think, in limiting development pressure into the future, rights held in perpetuity should be revisited.

Lessons can be learned from owners of mineral rights being forced to exercise them within certain time frames.

Please note that letters have been edited in the interests of clarity and brevity.

To suggest that the city council limits responsibility for upkeep of main arterials, while residents’ associations take care of parks and pavements within enclosed communities, will dangerously perpetuate the ‘gated community’ concept.

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UPFRONT

Planning Africa
Topical planning issues affecting the entire African continent were discussed during this year’s Planning Africa conference at the Cape Town International Convention Centre.

At the beginning of the conference, the signing of the Durban Declaration to formally establish the African Planning Association was based on resolutions passed at the 2002 Planning Africa conference in Durban.

The Durban Declaration was signed by representatives of South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Egypt, Uganda, Ghana and Zambia, among others, during the Planning Africa conference this year.

Activity award
The South African affiliate of the International Association for Impact Assessment (IAIA) invites nomination of individuals, project teams and organisations for the 2005 IAIAsa Premium Award, which recognises excellence in ‘activity’ execution of environmental management throughout Southern Africa – including policy, programme, process, project or operation. Projects should be advanced enough so that efficacy of planning is clear in the implementation. The closing date for entries is June 20, 2006.

Visit www.iaia.co.za  for more information.

EIA rules
New environmental impact assessment (EIA) regulations in terms of Section 24 of the National Environmental Management Act were promulgated on April 21, 2006.

Although these regulations have been finalised, they will only become effective on a date to be published in the Government Gazette. Existing regulations in terms of the Environment Conservation Act 73 of 1989 are accordingly still in effect.

Bigger bay
Visitors to Big Bay in the Western Cape will find parking and recreational areas closed until November this year to facilitate construction activity, including bulk earthworks, services installation, landscaping and building of the Big Bay coastal development at Bloubergstrand, which will be established as part of the Jonga Entabeni development.

The Big Bay development will be constructed just north of Bloubergstrand with views of Table Mountain.

Bridge precinct
The privately-owned Bridge Precinct commercial and retail development in lower Braamfontein, Johannesburg, will include five buildings on Smit Street, between De Beer and Melle streets. Derelict buildings earmarked for refurbishment will be retained as historical reference points (rather than erecting a single, monolithic structure) to infuse a community vibe.

Township development
ARG Design has completed a draft development framework for Kosovo in Philippi, Cape Town. Included are a spatial framework, proposals for housing typologies, solutions to flood and fire problems, and provision of civic and community facilities.

There are approximately 5 300 households in Kosovo and the township has a density of 210 units/ha.

Jukskei rehabilitation
The Jukskei River will be renewed by freeing it from concrete channels, building water attenuation features, removing alien vegetation and creating wetlands that serve as biotopes, as well as stormwater retention areas. Informal housing on the banks of the river will have to be removed, and residents relocated to safe and comfortable houses.

Efforts are underway to rehabilitate the embattled Jukskei River, which the Jukskei River Catchment Management Forum and the City of Johannesburg intend to rehabilitate.

Integrating transport
Gauteng will roll out extensive transport infrastructure projects (roads, rail, airways, public transport and freight) in the next five years. Following a strategic transport-planning workshop in May 2006, it was announced that all interested parties would works towards establishing a single transport authority for Gauteng by January 2007.

In the meantime, an integrated transport plan is set to be launched by August 2006.

Sensitive construction
The first global Holcim Awards has awarded US$1-million to the best sustainable construction projects. Joint ‘gold’ winners are an urban integration project in Caracas, Venezuela, and a new main railway station in Stuttgart, Germany.

The silver award went to a regional master plan and renewal strategy for the Mulini Valley, Italy, and ‘bronze’ to a lowcost housing and urban renewal project in Montreal, Canada.

The urban improvement project in a large shanty town of Caracas, Venezuela, has been commended for its sensitive treatment of a challenging range of environmental and cultural dilemmas.

The main station in Stuttgart, Germany, is underground, combining structural and landscape aspects, to recover land for a new urban area.

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INSPIRATION

Campaigner stops rampant expansion
Construction of a petrol station on Boksburg’s Libradene Wetland has been stopped, thanks to Nicole Barlow (likened to American Erin Brokovich but not yet immortalised on film).

Environmental issues appear to take a back seat to commercial activity. But not so in the mainly industrial eastern suburbs of Johannesburg where Nicole Barlow has put a stop to the approved development of a petrol station.

Barlow has won a case brought against her by the developers.

Petro Props had sued her for costs incurred as a result of an order to halt the construction of a Sasol station.

Sasol actually pulled out of the project within days of the first newspaper reports about Barlow’s vehement opposition to the development.

Not only would land considered an ‘irreplaceable site’ by the Gauteng Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Environment have been lost but the Elsberg Spruit, fed by the wetland, would also have become polluted and the townships of Thokoza, Katlehong and Vosloorus, as well as the Vaal River system and the Klip River would have suffered the consequences down the line.

“This is not a victory for me, this is a victory for the environment,” she insisted when she spoke to Urban Green File.

Barlow hopes she has encouraged other environmentalists and concerned citizens to take action against unbridled expansion.

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INSULT

Triumph or travesty?
In how many ways is Herdershof, built high on a ridge in north-western Jo’burg, a parody?

With all due respect to engineer Ivor Evans and architect Rijks van der Walt, what was the ‘old’ Department of Community Development (DCD) thinking when it built the Herdershof skyscraper on one of Johannesburg’s highest lookouts 35 years ago?

To some it may appear as a powerful political statement by the ‘apartheid’ government because the multi-storey block of quarters’ for the police soon after the original neighbourhood, Sophiatown, was razed; the people who had lived there since its inception were infamously removed to the townships; and the suburb was renamed Triomf in the ‘60s.

Several people lived there after displacement from other areas of the city in terms of the Slums Act of 1934.

Writing about the former township, famous local priest, the late Trevor Huddleston, said: “Sometimes looking up at Sophiatown from Western Native Township, across the main road, I have felt that I was looking at an Italian village in Umbria. For you do ‘look up’ at Sophiatown and in the evening light, across the blue-grey haze of smoke from braziers and chimneys, against a saffron sky, you see closepacked, red-roofed little houses.

You see on the farthest skyline the tall and shapely blue gum trees… You see, moving up and down the hilly streets, people in groups; people in colourful clothes; people who, when you come up to them, are children playing, dancing and standing round the braziers…

In the evening, towards the early South African sunset, there is very little of the slum about Sophiatown.”

Evans, commenting on the location of Herdershof, explained: “The DCD insisted it should be erected on the ridge and a certain number of flats was required which determined the basic size of building.

Nevertheless, it was a triumph for us working as structural engineers for BS Bergman & Partners at the time because this tall, narrow building with a very large face had to be designed against high wind loads and complex foundation conditions because the rock on site was extremely weathered and therefore demanded lots of in-filling.”

Van der Walt, a senior partner at the architectural firm MV3 at the time, said the skyline would have looked better if the DCD had gone with his recommendation to locate the building further down the hill and have tenants enter from the top floor instead of at parking level as they do now.

Apparently, rubble from Sophiatown buildings is buried at the foot of Herdershof just outside the Melville Koppies (declared a nature reserve in 1959 as it has indigenous plants and animals, and ancient rock formations). When an Iron Age furnace was discovered on the ‘koppies’ in 1963, the reserve was declared a national monument.

The volunteers who manage the reserve have requested incorporation of the area below the flats and westwards to Johannes Road into the reserve but the offer has yet to be accepted.

Herdershof still stands sentinel today but its location has been renamed Sophiatown.

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PLANNING PERSONALITY

Cliff Hague: reinventing planning
Reinventing urban planning
Cliff Hague, president of the Commonwealth Association of Planners and planning academic, argues that global planning is in need of reinvention.

Urban Green File caught up with Professor Cliff Hague at the Planning Africa conference in Cape Town this year, and discussions centred around the state and future of planning in general, as well as urban development in South Africa.

Urban development is taking place rapidly and on an unprecedented scale.

Globally, towns and cities are growing by around 65-million people a year. In Africa, the urban population is increasing by about 4,5% a year.

The rationale for planning is that it influences the form of urban development, particularly by anticipating the long-term implications of building.

But, at this point in time, there is insufficient focus on these pressing issues.

The Millennium Development Goal Target 11, which aims to improve the lives of 100-million slum dwellers, has been given little attention in national poverty reduction strategy papers, for instance.

Urban planning
While planning cultures generally differ in different countries and global regions, urban planning, as it is today, is a practice that was institutionalised in the 20th century, based on ideas from the 19th century.

The stamp of the British 1932 Town and Country Planning Act can still be discerned today in many of the former British colonies.

Rapid urbanisation

Slums are growing. More than 60% of Africa’s urban populations live in slums, which account for more than three quarters of the continent’s total urban population growth. Trends indicate around one third of the world’s people will be slum dwellers by 2030. The slum problem, more than any other single factor, brought the planning profession into being in the northern hemisphere a century ago. Slum growth reflects and perpetuates the urbanization of poverty.

The ‘city beautiful’, the ‘radiant city’, the ‘green belt’, and legislation to control subdivision and land use were replicated in countries distant from their origins and in quite different circumstances.

Paradoxically, planning is now under-globalised: international networks and connectedness have barely developed, and, in ‘rich’ countries, there is little grasp of the impending catastrophe to be experienced from slum growth in the south.

Local practice within national legislation blinkers a wider vision of planning.

The threat of climate change has raised awareness that, environmentally, we are ‘one world’.

But, all too often, even planners fail to recognise urban poverty as a global issue of comparable concern.

Planning from margins
Planning is therefore positioned, geographically and intellectually, on the margins at a time when what is happening in urban development is of global significance.

However there are many innovative approaches to urban problems although they are often bottom-up and/or not formally seen as ‘planning’.

This marginalisation of planning means that an integrated and practical approach to human settlements has also in turn been marginalised.

The central intellectual discourse of the planning profession is less reductionist than that of any of the other professions or disciplines involved in human settlement issues.

Crudely put, this tradition recognises that, in human settlements, everything affects everything else, and that such knowledge should drive practical action.

Reinventing planning
This year, a window of opportunity has been opened.

At the second World Urban Forum in 2004, UN-Habitat held a workshop under the theme ‘Urban Planning Revisited’.

This was significant because, in the past (at the 1996 Habitat II World Summit, the UN General Assembly Special Session follow-up in 2001, the first World Urban Forum in 2002 and the World Summit on Sustainable Development), relatively little attention had been directed to planning.

It had also become clear that slum upgrading was not keeping pace with the rate of new slum formation. So it would be worth revisiting planning.

The 2006 World Urban Forum will be held in Vancouver.

This is particularly significant as the first global summit to focus on human settlements was held in Canada in 1976.

The World Planners Congress will also be held in Vancouver (from June 17 to 20 this year).

The Vancouver Declaration
A draft declaration has been prepared for the repositioning of planning. It can be viewed at www.commonwealth-planners.org.

In essence, the Vancouver Declaration is global. And it puts the issues of rapid urbanisation, the urbanisation of poverty and vulnerability to hazards as the central focus for planning professions around the world.

It links planning to the millennium development goals while it makes the fundamental point: there is no sustainable development without sustainable urbanisation and no sustainable urbanisation without effective planning. The idea is to develop ongoing co-operation between planning bodies internationally and to enhance awareness of planning globally.

Motherhood and apple pie?
Critics may suggest that this is ‘navel gazing’ in that many of the statements are like ‘motherhood and apple pie’.

And that all such declarations are statements of the lowest common denominator and just words on a piece of paper. Nevertheless, there is truth in such comments.

However, the ‘navel’ of planning is urban development.

Slums and the profession globally have lost sight of this navel so gazing at it is a necessary re-acquaintance.

Similarly, with motherhood out of fashion and food scares common, perhaps motherhoodand-apple-pie assertions are more significant than they may first appear.

For example, we should not take it for granted that planners everywhere believe that planning is ‘inclusive’ or ‘strategic’ in nature.

As for the declaration being just words, that depends on what is done after the World Planning Congress.

The declaration, in itself, is not likely to persuade non-planners that it is time to bring planning in from the cold.

To do that, planning has to be re-invented and that has to be communicated, debated and demonstrated. This involves learning from our past while being positive about the role modernised planning can play. There is an opportunity to develop a different narrative and begin to build transformative institutions and practices.

If we miss it now, the chance may be gone forever.

Planning in South Africa
Hague said he’d visited South Africa several times since 1994. The first time was to attend the conference on the future of South African planning at Club Mykonos outside Cape Town in 1995.

Hague believes that planning in South Africa has improved tremendously in a short time and it is maturing and more multi-racial although there is still a huge need to quickly increase output and facilitate transition.

Perhaps increased emphasis on part-time and experiential learning could help speed up this process.

Combined with the problems of lowdensity sprawl, South Africa is also subject to international trends of rapid urbanization and slum formation.

Therefore, as is true for the rest of the world, planning in South Africa needs to re-invent, re-focus and re-formulate ways to deal with urban poverty. It has the capacity to become part of (and make a significant contribution to) a global planning voice.

Hague’s career
After a brief stint in mainstream practice, Professor Hague lectured at Heriot-Watt University and the Edinburgh College of Art.

As both his parents left school at the age of 14, he says he sometimes has a ‘starry-eyed view’ of learning, which sustained him over 35 years of teaching and research.

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BATTLE OF THE ’BURBS

Bryanston v Waterkloof
To subdivide or not
Bryanston in Johannesburg and Waterkloof in Tshwane are two of the most upmarket and well-established suburbs in Gauteng. What impact have urban planning and management actions had on these ‘burbs?

Location
Bryanston and Waterkloof are subject to the planning and development frameworks and policies of their respective cities, which outline the developmental plans for the various administrative regions, and which provide guidelines, strategies and directives for achieving these plans. These documents are in line with the Gauteng Spatial Development Framework, which prioritises, in a nutshell:
•            containment and compaction of the city;
•            economic growth;
•            the strategic location of new, subsidized housing initiatives;
•            protection of rural areas;
•            and increased access and mobility.

While the positive aspects of these policies may be evident in theory, in reality their practical implementation may be difficult, costly and time-consuming, and not all the long-term consequences are positive or predictable.

A comparison of the two suburbs gives insight into their different influences, the various responses by both public and private sectors to these influences, and the benefits and disadvantages of these responses.

Land use
6 Bryanston
Bryanston is one of the largest suburbs in Johannesburg. It now forms part of the City of Johannesburg metropolitan municipal area, and is subject to the Regional Spatial Development Framework (RSDF) of the city in terms of allocation of land use and provision of services. It is bordered by the suburbs of Midrand, Randburg and Sandton.

The area is primarily residential, although it does accommodate several retail and commercial nodes, largely due to its size and accessibility. The Sloane Street Precinct, bordered by the N1, includes significant commercial use – the largest development being the Didata Campus. This was prompted by owners in the area at the time of the precinct’s development, who wanted to optimise their property values, according to Steve Baylis of VBH Town Planners. Retail developments include the Riverside Centre, Bryanston Wedge, Grosvenor Crossing (at the intersection of Main and William Nicol), and the Bryanston Shopping Centre.

These areas conform to the RSDF, which favours development nodes rather than ribbon development as nodes tend to facilitate a more efficient public transport system.

However, ribbon developments are present within the suburb, along mobility spines and roads such as William Nicol (which has a prevalence of car dealerships) and Peter Place (office development).

There is currently little room for the allocation of non-residential rights within Bryanston, except within the existing nodes, according to Tinie Bezuidenhout of Tinie Bezuidenhout & Associates.

This is despite the obvious presence of many small businesses housed in residential buildings.

8 Waterkloof
Waterkloof is bordered to the north by Nieuw Muckleneuk and Brooklyn; to the south by Waterkloof Ridge; to the east by Menlo Park; and to the west by Groenkloof.

Waterkloof differs from Bryanston in that it is far more contained and has no major thoroughfares. The area is mostly residential with single, detached houses as the dominant typology. The suburb was established with a uniform grid pattern and, as a result, there is no specific hierarchy of roads. This makes it difficult to define nodes and contain the spread of land uses with the result that commercial and retail development within Waterkloof is not supported, according to Theo Rebel, town planner with the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality.

The one exception is a small mixeduse precinct, which has existed since the suburb was established. It comprises a small-scale community retail centre, post office, office development and computer training centre.

Some applications are received by the council for small businesses run from privately-owned houses. These are supported to a limited extent and within strict control measures. Guest houses are permitted, provided they contain a limited number of rooms and that the owner resides on the property. Applications for private practices (architects, lawyers and doctors, among others) are considered individually and generally depend on the provision of on-site parking and the amount of traffic the business will generate.

But, for the moment, the area is to remain primarily residential. Part of Waterkloof Ridge, to the south, has the same character as Waterkloof while other areas are much newer. The land use here is also set to remain residential albeit at a slightly higher density.

No retail or commercial developments are planned for now as the suburb is very close to the Brooklyn and Menlyn nodes.

Development potential
6 Bryanston
Originally Bryanston comprised large erven of between one acre (4 000 m²) and 1 ha (10 000 m²). In recent years, the policy has been to allow subdivisions to 1 000 m² – more or less quadrupling the density. The gross base density currently specified for the suburb is 10 dwelling units per ha.

In addition, in accordance with the citywide set of strategies laid out in the RSDF, the intention is to increase density along mobility spines and near commercial nodes. The rationale is that densification is a mechanism to facilitate, and take advantage of, improved public transport systems in the future, said Baylis. Accordingly, it is possible to find densities of between 50 and 80 units per ha directly adjacent to the major thoroughfares and close to commercial centres and parks.

The obvious problem with densification in established areas like Bryanston, is that the services and infrastructure were dertaken many years ago and, unless they are upgraded on a regular basis, capacity becomes an issue. While water and sewerage are sufficient for the moment, due to piecemeal upgrades over the years, there is a major problem with electricity capacity. City Power, which supplies the larger part of Bryanston, has had to apply to Eskom to increase its capacity and therefore further densification in the affected areas will not be permitted for the next three to five years, according to Bezuidenhout.

Although funds for upgrading services and infrastructure should come from council levies and payments made for enhanced rights (subdivisions, among others), there is no assurance that this money will be spent in established suburbs as other developing areas in and around the city are generally prioritised, Baylis pointed out.

From a commercial and retail perspective, while policy does allow for residential densification over the next five to 10 years, intensification of nodes is unlikely to be supported, Bezuidenhout stressed.

7 Waterkloof
Erven in Waterkloof were originally around 2 500 m² (0,25 ha) in size.

In the mid 1990s, due to many applications for subdivisions, an amendment scheme was completed, which increased the density to 10 dwelling units per ha (stands of 1 000 m²). This means that most erven are only subdivisable into two portions.

In the adjacent suburb of Waterkloof Ridge, the density is slightly higher at 14 units per ha, allowing a minimum stand size of about 700 m². As far as cluster developments are concerned, each application is considered individually.

Increasing densities in established areas requires upgrading of infrastructure. “It’s very difficult to take a meaningful decision on densification unless you’re prepared to invest huge amounts of public money in upgrading infrastructure,” said Rebel.

“It’s very difficult to know what the capacity of existing services is and the process of upgrading can be very disruptive.”

As mentioned before, commercial and retail developments are not being considered, apart from small, home-based businesses.

Accessibility
6 Bryanston
Bryanston is highly accessible, partly because of several mobility spines and roads that run through it, and partly because of its proximity to the N1. The major thoroughfares are Main and William Nicol running north-south, and Bryanston Drive, Grosvenor and Ballyclare running east-west.

All of these roads are under increasing pressure from traffic as developments to the north and north-west of Johannesburg continue to increase rapidly. The mobility spines of Main and William Nicol are better equipped to handle this load than the east-west mobility roads. In the quieter areas of Bryanston, road closures are common, largely for security reasons – although this does place additional pressure on the main thoroughfares as secondary routes now become inaccessible. However it appears that, for the time being, accessibility and road networks are to remain as is because other far more problematic areas of the city are being prioritised.

Parking for both residential and commercial developments is located on site. One of the few exceptions to this is the ad hoc parking adjacent to informal trading activities along William Nicol.

6 Waterkloof
Waterkloof is accessible from Queen Wilhelmina to the west, which connects via George Storrar to the N14; Dely (later Brooklyn) to the east; and Rigel Avenue, which runs through Waterkloof Ridge to the N1.

The major roads running through the suburb are Albert, Milner and Main, which carry east-west traffic; and Crown, from north to south. These roads were not originally designed as thoroughfares but now tend to carry some intraregional traffic moving between nodes and neighbourhoods in adjacent suburbs. Few traffic lights have been installed, allowing for mobility, and traffic is generally calmed on quieter roads through the use of stop streets and traffic-calming circles.

Because of the rigid grid pattern, in conjunction with council’s tendency to refuse applications for road closures, areas have generally not been contained, facilitating both pedestrian and vehicular accessibility. Negatively, the area is possibly not as secure as might be desired. Parking is generally provided on site although street parking is available near the small community mixed-use precinct.

Environment
8 Waterkloof
Topography and an abundance of jacaranda trees are the defining environmental features of Waterkloof.

There are no large, open tracts of land within the suburb itself, although a small, densely-vegetated stream runs through on the west side. The area houses the Pretoria Country Club and is situated close to a large expanse of council-owned land, part of which is the Groenkloof Nature Reserve and part of which is leased out as a golf driving range. As the erven remain fairly large and well planted, it is likely that birdlife and small wildlife will continue to thrive.

However, as traffic increases on the east-west roads through the suburb and on its major bordering thoroughfares, noise and air pollution will become more noticeable as in all growing urban environments.

6 Bryanston
Bryanston is essentially a welltreed area with several open green spaces, including those adjacent to the Jukskei River.

Baylis explains that these open areas are often protected by electrical power line servitudes and flood lines, and will therefore probably remain as development is not permitted. Bezuidenhout is optimistic about the approach to established trees.

He believes that developers are more responsible than in the past, as they have learned that there is benefit in preserving the natural state of a site and in retaining mature trees. Effectively it is more difficult to sell an empty stand than to sell a lush, well-treed one.

Nonetheless, the increased traffic to and through the area will substantially affect noise and air pollution – a problem common to developing cities. Stormwater may also become problematic if not properly managed in paved spaces and along roads.

Neighbourhood character
6 Bryanston
A suburb’s sense of place is determined by several factors, including topography, erf sizes, road patterns, the planting of trees and vegetation, building heights and typologies and the socio-economic groups of the area. Anything that changes any of these will materially affect the character of a place, undoubtedly like densification.

With regard to property values, Bezuidenhout points out that, in an upmarket residential area, the value created on cluster erven far exceeds that of single unit dwellings. In Bryanston, for example, a 500 m² cluster on a 1 000 m² stand will fetch anything between R4-million and R7-million. Whereas a ‘ranchstyle’ house on an acre property is worth approximately R2-million to R3,5-million. And currently, due to the electricity capacity problem, available land is at a premium and is likely to be sold for R1 000 to R1 500 per m². So the suburb is likely to remain upmarket, despite the densification process.

However, the visual impact of densification is not necessarily positive. Bryanston, like most of Johannesburg’s wealthier suburbs, is characterized by a never-ending series of massive boundary walls, security guardhouses and new buildings that turn their backs on the street.

As the city no longer takes responsibility for maintaining pavements and owners are apparently disinterested in the environment outside their properties, there is one poorly maintained corridor after another. This is a pity as the diversity, visual interest and balance created in a city by retaining upmarket areas is lost to an extent.

9 Waterkloof
Waterkloof differs somewhat from Bryanston in that only one single dwelling unit is permitted per stand. A second dwelling unit may be permitted if it does not exceed a density of 10 units per ha. Therefore, although slightly denser than before, the building typology does not change. In addition, Waterkloof clearly has a stronger sense of community. Houses often acknowledge the street and, in many cases, palisade fences have been used instead of masonry boundary walls, which allows flow of space and the visual interest manifest in gardens and different building languages. Pavements and walkways are well maintained by owners as is the small community retail node.

But sense of place is affected by off-site parking and traffic in and out of guest houses and home-based offices.

The challenge is to find a balance that meets the needs of all parties concerned without changing the area’s character, said Rebel.

Conclusion
Bryanston: 31 (out of a possible 50)
Waterkloof: 37
While the intentions and policies of the respective municipal planning units may look good on paper, it remains to be seen what their long-term impact will be on areas such as Bryanston and Waterkloof, and how these will be handled by the responsible parties. It is no secret that more efficient cities require more than densification policies. As it is, interventions appear to be happening in a piecemeal fashion and are generally reactive rather than proactive.

Ideally, a proper, wide-scale intervention is needed before the densification process starts.

In this way, a decent quality of life will be maintained in these and other more densely-populated urban environments.

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CITY VISIT

4 ways for Stellenbosh
Faced with complexity and contradiction, planning for the future of Stellenbosch requires innovative thinking.

Although relatively small with around 62 000 people, the town of Stellenbosch is home to about six JSE-listed company headquarters and this, together with other seemingly contradicting trends, has subjected the picturesque Boland town to a number of development pressures.

Municipal boundaries
Stellenbosch town forms part of Stellenbosch Municipality, along with the town of Franschhoek and other smaller settlements such as Klapmuts and Pniel. Abutting the metropolitan area of the City of Cape Town, the town is under pressure from urban development along its western boundary. A further consequence of its locality is that the town has experienced a decline in retail economic activity as a result of competition from the metropolitan area, particular nearby regional shopping centers such as the Tyger Valley and Somerset malls, as well as construction of the Paarl, Okavango and Jamestown malls.

However close proximity to Cape Town has advantages, including easy access to Stellenbosch for tourists visiting the metropolitan area.

Growth
The Stellenbosch Municipality’s economy as a whole has been growing at 7,5% per annum. Although many of the jobs created have been in highly skilled sectors, such as financial services, demand has also been created for lower-skilled occupations.

However manufacturing employment has suffered setbacks with the closure of KWV’s operations in Stellenbosch and PG Bison intends to close down within the next five years.

According to Bernaby de la Bat, head of economic services at Stellenbosch Municipality, local economic development and the SMME sectors appear relatively underdeveloped except for Kayamandi where there is a thriving informal sector.

A strong property market at the high end of the scale has experienced considerable growth over the past five years.

This has led to strong pressure to develop the villages, towns and surrounding farmland.

Another consequence of the considerable growth is that property is not easily accessible to middle-income earners. As a result, a number of people working in Stellenbosch are not residents but commute into the town from places such as Kraaifontein and Brackenfell in the Cape Town metropolitan area. Conversely, a number of people living in Stellenbosch are working in Cape Town and the result is traffic congestion during peak periods.

Stellenbosch is facing issues that the rest of the country as a whole also has to deal with, such as a skewed distribution of wealth. In the town, this manifests spatially as a poorer northern area and richer southern area. The Stellenbosch Municipality has now embarked on ‘scenario building’ to determine the preferred future development pattern for the town.
SCENARIO 1 ‘Business as usual’ 
SCENARIO 2 ‘Incremental growth’
SCENARIO 3  ‘Restructuring and integration’
SCENARIO 4 ‘Public  transport’

Growth scenario 1
Business as usual
In Stellenbosch, as with many other South African towns and cities, settlement is divided into several cells separated by rivers, roads, rail lines and public open space. Growth occurs mainly through outward extension to existing suburbs. Thus the fundamental ‘apartheid structure’ is not changed. As its name suggests, this business as usual scenario anticipates the town continuing to grow very much along the lines of the past with low- and high-income suburbs sprawling out into the vineyards around the town’s periphery, construction of more out-of-town shopping centres and relatively little development within the town except for the consolidation and demolition of existing properties for conversion into office blocks. Stellenbosch’s growth has clearly followed this pattern. Each suburb began with the conversion of an existing farm, like Cloetesville, Paradyskloof and Die Boord, which was then converted into a suburb. The extensions to Klapmuts and Weltevreden Park are examples of this kind of growth in the low-income housing market. The scenario yields about 8 600 dwelling units for all income groups across all the suburbs. It will consume an additional 432 ha, much of it outside of the urban edge, and will bring the average density of the town to 12,7 dwelling units per ha, a slight increase from the current 12 dwelling units per ha.

Civil engineers estimated that engineering services could be installed at an average of R11 200 per unit (in 2003). If broken down across the market, this amount will be considerably more for high-income housing and less for low-income housing. The transport implications are severe in that, mainly because of the peripheral location of the new development, there would be a greater demand for travel and therefore increased road space, with road widening and new roads having to be built. It would give little support for public transport.

Growth scenario 3
‘Restructuring and integration’
This scenario, as its name suggests, makes a serious attempt to address physical deficiencies that caused suburbs to be separated from one another by public open spaces, railway lines and major roads as a result of apartheid. It targets open buffer areas between suburbs along major roads and carefully identifies specific areas, mainly also abutting major transport routes, where existing buildings could be redeveloped. Emphasis on doublestorey, semi-detached dwellings is a return to the historic character of the Stellenbosch middedorp.

Importantly, this scenario recognizes that, as the town grows and there are more people, existing wellsituated public open spaces will become increasingly precious and should not be developed (although properties around open spaces should be developed). It identifies, on an erf-by-erf basis, exactly where redevelopment could be permitted.

Although it strives to contain development within existing urban edges, it recognises that, it will sometimes be necessary to develop greenfields outside the existing urban area. However this land should focus inwards and reinforce major transport routes. A possible 17 600 extra units can be accommodated without going beyond semi-detached two storeys on the development sites identified.

Because of the preciseness of this scenario, large parts of the town, especially areas further away from major transport routes and public open spaces, are left untouched.

The danger of precedent motivating extensions away from demarcated redevelopment areas is minimised because development sites can be identified on an erf-by-erf basis and enshrined in the zoning scheme.

This is a much cheaper scenario to service mainly because of the efficiencies generated by the higher numbers of units. It is more supportive of public transport than the other scenarios although not so much from the south of the town.

Growth scenario 3
‘Incremental growth’
This scenario assumes that much of Stellenbosch town’s growth can be deflected to surrounding hamlets, thereby reducing residential pressure.

Remaining growth will be accommodated on suitable, vacant sites to permit gradual increase in densities throughout the town. Two types of development patterns can be seen in this scenario – in higher density areas (Kayamandi, Town Centre South, Cloetesville and Idasvallei): new development is limited to suitable open spaces; in lower density areas (Onderpapegaaiberg, Mostertsdrift and Paradyskloof): increase in densities will be limited. As would be expected, this scenario is the most expensive to service, largely due to the small numbers of units that must carry the costs of upgrading bulk services infrastructure such as water, sewerage, stormwater and electricity.

It also does little to provide support for public transport and is likely to result in a demand for more road widening. Because this scenario takes a broad-brush approach rather than identifying particular plots adjoining a main street or public open space, it cannot give the same level of certainty as that of a more accurately targeted approach. Thus there will always be the chance that development applications will be successful anywhere in the neighbourhood. This scenario does not directly address the question of the town’s urban character, particularly with regard to its history, so it is likely that existing trends will continue. As this scenario yields the lowest number of new dwellings, it will have the least impact on existing densities in the suburbs. There is merely a small increase across the board, particularly in Cloetesville and Town Centre North. The question of equity and the socio-economic restructuring of the town does not feature as a major concern in this scenario. It is most likely to be supported by those who want the status quo in Stellenbosch town to remain unaltered as far as possible.

Growth scenario 4
‘Public transport’
Public transport routes have been identified for a successful public transport service. This scenario focuses on how the town of Stellenbosch should grow to make it more convenient to use public transport, cycle and walk. In any town, there are two requirements to make this happen: first, the street layout of the town must make it easy for pedestrians to move around and get to public transport stops and, secondly, within reason, shopping, work, residence and recreation should be mixed together so that all these activities are closer together rather than further away.

Development must be increased along major and minor roads if a public transport system is to be successfully supported. The sites targeted for development are mainly vacant or include redevelopment of single-dwelling units.

Because focus is on transport routes within the existing town, there is no impact outside the urban edge. The pattern of affected sites is similar to that of the restructuring and integration scenario and it highlights the main routes or skeleton of the town. Clearly, emphasis is on the western, southern and eastern areas of the town. This scenario yields nearly as many units as the restructuring and integration scenario – mainly in two-storey and threestorey group dwellings and apartment buildings although there can be singledwelling houses on plots not larger than 600 m². The total of 16 800 housing units is particularly significant considering they could be within the urban edge. Service costs per unit are relatively low again due to the large number of units. Not surprising as this was the sole intent, it will be good for public transport. The town’s appearance will change to some extent, particularly along the main transport routes. However new buildings could, if carefully designed, represent a return to the historic heritage of the town rather than starting another out-of-character wave of development.

Density
The town of Stellenbosch also faces the typical South African tension between compaction and urban sprawl, according to Simon Nicks of CNdV Africa, which assisted the municipality in compiling its spatial development framework (SDF). Since the 1960s, Stellenbosch has seen significant low-density development with new suburbs sprawling into the valleys (Die Boord) and high up the mountain slopes (Brandwag, Idasvallei and Onderpapegaaiberg). Although Stellenbosch town’s population has grown considerably since 1900, the density of the town has decreased – there were less people per ha in 1980 than there were at the beginning of the last century. This was corroborated by research done in Cape Town, which found that the same pattern had occurred there. This suggests that higher densities are part of Stellenbosch’s historic character and are not some new idea that is being forced on the town. Recent studies reveal that the average town density is 12 dwelling units per ha. Only two suburbs in Stellenbosch town, Kayamandi and Town Centre South, achieve densities over 25 dwelling units per ha. Although very different, both areas are vibrant and have a large number of different activities integrated with residential accommodation.

The future
The different scenarios were discussed at a number of public and ward committee meetings. Residents were also informed of the various scenarios through a series of articles in the local newspaper Eikestad.

The outcome of the meetings as well as extensive discussions within the municipality formed the basis of the spatial development framework that became part of the integrated development plan and will guide all future development in the town of Stellenbosch.

CNdV Africa, in co-operation with Stellenbosch Municipality is in the process of completing a restructuring plan for the town of Stellenbosch. It will accommodate more detailed proposals to effect the preferences raised through the scenario process, specifically in scenarios 3 and 4. Scenarios are not an end in themselves.

Scenario building is a tool to improve the quality of executive decision-making as it highlights crucial issues and possible routes of action.

In discussions with municipal officials, it became apparent that the scenarios were very useful in communicating with the public and political representatives. As always, the proof of the pudding will be in the tasting, and implementing the proposals from the Stellenbosch exercise will require a lot of innovation and a lot of political courage.

A number of developments have already reflected identified trends. The challenge is to mainstream them, ensure their heritage and contextual fit, and encourage them in different parts of the town.

Scenario building
The concept of ‘scenario building’ is not alien to South Africa. In the early 1990s, Anglo’s Clem Sunter came up with some widely-publicised scenarios for the future of South Africa. Fundamentally scenarios seek, as phrased by well-known futurist Pierre Wack, to change our ‘mental maps’ of the future.

A further aspect to keep in mind is that scenario building should rather be viewed as an approach than as a method as scenarios are not intended to be accurate predictions of the long-term future. Scenarios deal with two worlds: facts and perceptions. The process of brainstorming to come up with these factually informed perceptions of the future is intuitive, ambiguous, fluid, messy, risky and open. This being the case, scenarios are usually developed in sets in order to provide various possible options.

Under the leadership of the Department of Economic Development and Planning, Stellenbosch’s scenarios were compiled by an interdisciplinary team:
•            CNdV Africa, which was responsible for environmental planning and urban design.
•            Urban Dynamics, which undertook the town planning aspect.
•            GLS, which provided civil engineering input.
•            Arup, which did the transport planning.

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ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING AND DESIGN

Freedom Park – A spiritual journey
The intermediate phase of Freedom Park in Tshwane, is under construction and should be completed by December 2006.

By now the whole country is probably aware of the R712-million landmark development on Salvokop in Tshwane, with numerous journals reporting on this unique development. An article also appeared in the May/June 2004 edition of Urban Green File. “So what more is there to say?” I thought when assigned to do a review on the progress of the Freedom Park.

I visited the site in 2005 with an official of the Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality.

I remember the overwhelming and breathtaking views. I also recall being highly impressed with the purity of material, the elegance of form, the simplicity of line and the natural integrity of the landscaping.

Yet little did I know that my next visit would entail so much more. I experienced a sense of oneness with the nation; becoming part of a national ritual of cleansing and healing. My guide, Gabriel (symbolically I even felt his name to be appropriately chosen for this spiritual journey), and I were standing barefoot at the Isivivane, holding hands and silently paying tribute to those who have heroically died and whose spirits filled the sacred space around us. It was then that I realised that this is more than an assignment, it is a sacred journey that should be experienced by every single soul in this country. I also realised that the story of the design could not be told without narrating the symbolism and sanctity underlying it.

Design philosophy
The overall design of the site and its components is informed by Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS), of which an essential requirement is sensitivity to the gestalt of the site – one of the few relatively untouched hilltops in Tshwane – and its natural elements. Appropriate designs and responsible construction in such a sensitive and unique setting was thus one of the biggest challenges identified by Katherine Fordyce, the co-ordinating architect for OCA. A strong design generator for the site layout, as well as the architectural design was thus to keep the silhouette of the hilltop intact. Built structures were designed in such a way as to sit discreetly in the landscape. The majority of buildings were also placed on the northern slope to interface with the city. Visual interventions on the southern slope were kept to a minimum to retain the natural character of this unique system of valleys of valleys and ridges that dominates the view as one approaches the city of Tshwane from the south. The aim was also to create environmentally responsive buildings where the use of natural light and natural ventilation is optimized.

Secondly, the design of the site and its components is extremely rich in symbolism with a strong emphasis of African spirituality. Metaphoric references to cleansing and healing are found throughout the site, with the movement on the Mveredzo (Venda for ‘success/progress’) spiral path being a perfect example of this.

Public art will further play an important role in communicating the narrative to visitors. Through the inclusion of art, spaces will become memorable and compelling, with a distinct sense of place. Art works and themes will reflect the five creative spirits identified as part of the driving forces behind Freedom Park, namely youth, family, politics/leaders, arts/culture and science and technology/medicine. Potential locations for art works have identified along with potential themes for each of these locations.

Thirdly, the design of the site and its symbolic nuances were informed through a totally inclusive process. Involvement of as many stakeholder groups as possible was facilitated where each group had the opportunity to disclose how  they would like their story to be told. The aim of Freedom Park to create bridges and linkages – between cultures, religions, generations, disciplines, the past, present and future – towards unifying the nation, is clear in the design. The usage of various languages to name the different components is, for example, a firm metaphorical bridge builder.

In concrete terms the linkage towards the Voortrekker Monument can also be seen as a concerted effort to link past and present. The architect Mpheti Morojele of OCA identified the biggest challenge for this project “to have the whole nation as a stakeholder”.

Phase 1
A ring road has been established on the hilltop. As part of future phases, an existing link to the Voortrekker Monument will be upgraded. Parking has been subdivided in small pockets on three terraces. This is a positive point as it almost blends into the natural environment. The pockets were laid out in order to minimise the number of trees lost.

As one drives up to the parking areas, you pass an information centre, built of the same rocks as the ablution facilities. The architecture is characterised by simplicity.

Curved lines create a feeling of the sides almost growing out of the mountain edges.

Isivivane
The Isivivane (Nguni word meaning ‘a heap of stones’) is a resting place for the spirits of fallen heroes that have been collected from the different provinces to make this their new ‘home’. The mere design of this section is the sense of sacredness.

The simplicity of the design is in stark contrast to the rich symbolism and profound rituals underlying it. The guide recalls the rituals and cleansing processes that each of these boulders went through in each province before they were brought to their final resting place in Freedom Park. In African culture, it is believed that the spouse of a deceased person goes through a mourning period to ease the passage of the dead person’s spirit towards the other spirits. After a certain period, the relatives visit the grave site to collect the spirit of the deceased and to invite him or her to come and stay at home.

Symbolically, all the spirits of deceased heroes were collected through the provincial rituals and were brought to a final resting place at the Isivivane. The concept was derived from the African tradition to bring stones to the grave of a deceased person. Apart from representing a specific province, each boulder also symbolizes and celebrates something uniquely South African. The boulder from the Western Cape, for instance, comes from Table Mountain, celebrating the unique geological formations of the country. The boulder from Gauteng comes from a site in Mamelodi where people died as part of the liberation struggle and as such it represents the freedom struggle.

Intermediate Phase
Sikhumbuto
The Sikhumbuto (siSwati word meaning ‘memorial/place of remembrance’) contains the Wall of Names, an amphitheatre or “platform for gathering” (approximately 2 000 m²), a sanctuary (approximately 200 m²) and an indoor exhibition space where significant leaders/heroes will be commemorated. The Wall of Names will be divided in eight parts, each representing a different conflict event and epoch in the history of South Africa. The walls will be arranged on the southern side as one enters the Sikhumbuto from the Mveredzo spiral path. Walls will start at a height of approximately 1 m. As one gets closer to the turning point to enter the Sikhumbuto, the walls will get higher (up to 9 m) and closer to each other. The narrowing of the space will create a sense of acceleration, symbolizing the growth in tension before one reaches the turning point (1994). At that point one will move out of the tight space into the light with a focus on vast views of the city and some of its significant landmarks, such as the Union Buildings. On the northern side of the Sikhumbuto the sanctuary will emerge out of the landscape with the amphitheatre flowing onto the roof.

Water will play an important symbolic role as both cleanser and source of life.

The sanctuary will thus ‘sit’ in a reflective pond, with an eternal flame burning inside.

From the sanctuary a low passage will lead into a space behind and underneath the amphitheatre forming the western flank of the Sikhumbuto. This space will be reserved for the commemoration of the 10 most significant leaders or heroes of the struggle.

The Sikhumbuto will appear to be growing out of the hilltop, with a concerted effort being made by the designers to keep the ridge line and the profile of the hill intact. High brushed stainless steel poles with red lights on top were added to the design to provide a strong visual element for emphasis of a rising line that coincides with the intensity of the struggle. Inspiration for the concept of poles to demarcate the Sikhumbuto area was obtained from the traditional use of reeds or sticks. These were often used to define a space and provide enclosure such as at Mgungundlovu, the place of Dingane. Reeds are also widely used during traditional African rituals.

The strong vertical elements will symbolise the connection between earth and heaven; between the nation and spirits of people that have sacrificed their lives. According to Graham Young of NBGM Landscape Architecture Joint Venture, another meaning of the ‘reeds’ is ‘to commune or to beseech’ and to create a sense of ‘walking among giants’.

These will be the main elements seen from afar – a much more discreet design solution than a bulky monumental structure dominating the hilltop, as was originally conceptualised.

The glowing reeds will also create a dramatic view at night.

Mveredzo
The Mveredzo (Venda word meaning ‘success/progress’) is a spiral path that will start in front of the //hapo (museum).

From there one will move in an easterly direction, symbolising the movement towards a new beginning as the sun rises in the east to mark the birth of a new day.

The spiralling movement also symbolizes an emotional and spiritual journey. The journey will start at the arrival space in front of the museum. From there the journey will go through a mourning phase towards the Isivivane, passing the IKS garden.

Upon crossing the ridge line, a linear space with the theme of a funeral procession will contribute to a sense of mourning.

At the Isivivane, an almost ambivalent emotion hovering between mourning and contemplation is created. With the washing of hands upon leaving the Isivivane, the Mveredzo will assume an atmosphere of contemplation. A final pausing space will occur as the path turns to lead one along the final leg of the journey, with the pace quickening through the struggle towards liberation. The change in character of the various parts of the path will be created through the size and form of the spaces and the type of materials (lighter materials will be used as one progresses towards liberation).

Moshate
The Moshate (Sepedi/Setswana word meaning ‘palace’) is a hospitality suite of approximately 500 m² for high level dignitaries.

The main entrance to the Moshate will be at the side of the indoor leaders’ space. All accommodation will face a circular courtyard space (the kgotla), which will also form the focal point of the design. Principles of traditional vernacular architecture were applied but the design steers away from the production of literal copies of African built structures. Natural materials such as natural stone, local sand stone, African timber and reeds will be used, while the use of air conditioning will be limited.

Uitspanplek
The Uitspanplek (Afrikaans word meaning ‘place of relaxation’) is the picnic area. It deliberately breaks from the design narrative of the rest of the site as it will not be directly integrated as part of the journey of mourning, contemplation or liberation. It will be a secluded resting place with shade, water and birdlife. Also in terms of the design, the area will most probably be covered by indigenous lawn (to be contained in between hard edges or surfaces) and endemic trees that occur elsewhere on the northern slopes of the site.

Isivivane
Extensions to the Isivivane are also proposed to provide more viewing platforms and to create a second waterfall that will create ‘white noise’ to counter the noise from the surrounding roads. The upper walkway will be a secular route where one would be able to view the Isivivane from a distance. Should a visitor, however, like to enter the area of the Isivivane and adjoining kgotla, the sacred route will have to be followed including the shoe-removal and hands-washing rituals, respectively at the entrance and exit of the Isivivane.

Phase 2
This phase will include a museum, lake, added garden spaces and the development of the northern terraces with connecting pathways. The //hapo (Khoi word meaning ‘dream’) will be approximately 10 000 m² in size. It will house the Pan-African archives with interactive exhibitions and touchscreen computers, as well as an audio-visual library. Tiva (Shangaan word meaning ‘lake’) will be a sacred water body, which will be visible from the Isivivane and the Sikhumbuto.

Reeds will also form an important symbolic and natural design element.

Two gardens that require specific reference are the IKS Garden and Children’s Garden that will be established at the //hapo. The focus in the IKS Garden will fall on knowledge as it relates to the hill as well as communicating indigenous values in an educating way. Plants and other features of the site will be identified by labels or in guidebooks and will be available in the IKS Garden. Environmental, nutritional, socio-cultural and medicinal advantages of these plants will also be highlighted. The focus of the Children’s Garden will fall on communicating these values in a playful manner to be experienced through all senses.

This will be achieved by supplementing ordinary play materials with natural materials such as sticks, stones, grasses, leaves, bushes, logs, rocks and streams as well as playful art and sculptures.

The space would be created such that children will realise that they are not separate from the natural world but part of it in every way. Children should also be introduced to the legends, myths and stories of the past through play structures that will reflect these stories and inspire new ones.

The Future
Freedom Park was informed by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and forms part of the healing and cleansing process on a national scale. While other structures give financial or legal recognition to those who have suffered, Freedom Park gives spiritual recognition through rich symbolic designs.

Through the design, spirituality becomes almost tangible and a stroll along the walkways in Freedom Park will silently compel one to become part of a ritual where people, nature and buildings unite to celebrate the past, present and future of this remarkable country we live in.

Landscape design
One of the areas of emphasis of the development of Freedom Park is the incorporation and integration of the indigenous knowledge systems (IKS) into the project. The planting of the proposed development is one of the aspects of the project that is very well suited to incorporating this knowledge. To date information has been gathered regarding particularly the medicinal value of plant species that occur naturally on the site. The planting design philosophy is also guided by the Record of Decision from the Gauteng Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Environment which states that:
•            The ‘landscaping’ of the site must be kept to an absolute minimum
•            Natural vegetation must be retained as far as possible
•            Landscaping may only be used for the purposes of rehabilitation in areas disturbed previously or in areas disturbed by construction
•            Any plants removed during con struction must be rescued, cared for on site and used for rehabilitation purposes
•            If any additional plants are required for landscaping, over and above those rescued from construction sites, only indigenous plants to the immediate area may be planted.”

To this end, a holding nursery is being established in the north-western corner of the site.

Where indigenous and endemic plants occur in the footprint of construction, these are rescued and kept in the nursery, to be transplanted at a later stage. The visual screening of the reservoir, through berms and landscaping, also forms a major component of this phase.

General information
Architectural consultant: Office of Collaborative Architects (OCA) an office established for this project between the architectural firms GAPP Architects & Urban Designers, MMA and MRA.

Landscape architectural consultant: Newtown Landscape Architects Bagale Green Inc Momo Landscape Architecture Joint Venture (NBGM)
Environmental consultant: Africon
Website: www.freedompark.co.za
Visits / Tours: By appointment only until completion of the project. Contact Freedom Park Trust (Tel: +27 12 470 7400)
Freedom Park is managed by the Freedom Park Trust.
Dr Mongane Wally Serote is the CEO.

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WASTE AND POLLUTION MANAGEMENT

Handling food waste
Commercial and domestic food waste need not go to landfills – it can be put to good use.

Food waste is generated far and wide – from factories that produce bottled tomato sauce or tubs of margarine to the scraps from restaurant tables or bits and pieces with an expired ‘use-by date’ in a household fridge. And, as it spoils, discarded food carries the risk of bacterial infection, which could cost lives, particularly in a country like South Africa where poverty-stricken people scavenge for sustenance.

Waste generation
It is an established fact that income and waste generation increase at the same rate – be it sewage, washing water, solid or any other form of waste – evident in the number of refuse bags waiting for collection on suburban pavements. This is part of the waste cycle: generation, storage, collection, transportation, treatment and final disposal.

Much can be said about the avoidance of waste generation in the first place but volumes of food waste goes to landfill sites every day although South Africa generates less than wealthier countries (some municipalities estimate it to be as low as 0,5% of all waste). So, for every ton of waste, 5 kg would be food waste.

What is being done with the rest of the food waste?

Food waste chain
At The Gateway Theatre of Shopping on Umhlanga Ridge in KwaZulu-Natal, waste produced by 75 restaurants and several other mixed-use retailers is managed by EnviroServ.

The collected waste is mainly sorted by hand at a central point (‘waste area’), including organic waste (mostly food scraps) then despatched to various recyclers or landfill.

EnviroServ is continuously looking for new opportunities to divert waste from landfill sites. Feedback, a company that collects unused food, now collects unused pizza bases, meat patties and left-over chips from some of the restaurants and shops and distributes the food to the needy. A composting trial has been successfully completed using all the food waste from Gateway.

Sustainable alternatives
In its 2005 Sustainability Report, Woolworths mentions ongoing programmes to minimise waste at all levels of business.

Food disposal initiatives are managed by the Woolworths Trust, according to Zinzisa Mgolodela of Woolworths Corporate Affairs.

Woolworths’ programme has three steps:
1: Product is removed from shelves on the day it reaches its ‘sell-by date’.
2: The food is offered to staff or sold to institutions at a discounted price (large quantities may be sold to institutions, such as hospitals or hotels) the following morning.
3: Any product not sold by the end of that day is available for collection by designated charitable organisations.

The benefits of this procedure are myriad: not only is food not wasted but it also feeds the needy. Woolworths thus disposes of about R100-million worth of food every year.

But what can be done with safely-disposed food that cannot be sold cheaply or given away (like inedible fish)? All supermarkets have to follow the local municipality’s environmental health guidelines in this instance.

Safe disposal
Primary food disposal takes place where it is generated. In the case of restaurants, this would be in the kitchens where local by-laws usually require grease traps to be fitted in the drains. The same rule applies to residential households.

Municipalities have procedures that require bulk disposal of food unfit for human consumption. A representative from the environmental health department will accompany the product when it is transported to the nearest suitable landfill site.

When disposal of a large amount of liquids or foodstuffs happens at a landfill, a sample is taken for analysis at the on-site laboratory – highly acidic products are mixed with lime to raise the pH (a process known as ‘delisting’) and buried in trenches.

The dumped product is then compacted and covered with a layer of refuse. A ‘safe disposal’ certificate is then issued to the company by the environmental health inspector.

Candidates for this type of bulk disposal would be the tomato sauce factory – as it produces a highly acidic product – where internal procedures for recycling have been exhausted so the product has to be disposed of using this procedure.

Standard modification changes the properties of a product – so that it is no longer a ‘listed’ but a delisted item – for safe disposal on a typical GLB+ landfill site, according to the solid waste department of the Ekurhuleni municipality.

Lime is added to improve acidity, for example. Acceptance criteria for a landfill are determined in hydrological and geological studies, and environmental impact assessments, when the site is planned. A landfill may not accept products on its particular list of exclusions.

Waste is not segregated at landfill sites although some have separate skips for each category.

By the time the waste reaches a landfill site, it is badly contaminated.

Recycling really needs to be done at source to be effective. At the landfill, recycling is undertaken by private contractors watched by the local authority. Waste classification of a landfill site is controlled by a permit from the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, and the Gauteng Department of Agriculture Conservation and Environment, according to the Ekurhuleni solid waste department.

Sites accepting hazardous waste are run privately in South Africa. However all sites can receive solid food waste in bulk although capacity must be evaluated before it is accepted.

Responsibility
Factories take responsibility for managing their own waste streams in accordance with corporate policies and procedures.

When it is necessary to consult the local authorities, relevant bylaws take effect. This would be for the disposal of solid waste, contaminated foodstuffs or effluent, for instance.

Building regulations provide for basic hygiene, such as not having the toilet and kitchen next to each other. When building plans are submitted to the municipality, this is evaluated by town planners but they focus on the rights to the land and not necessarily the compliance of the plans to building regulations. The professional (be it architect or civil engineer), who signs off the plans before they are submitted to the municipality for approval, is responsible for ensuring compliance, including provision for waste, particularly in residential estates or complexes; shopping centres; institutions such as hospitals and hotels, among others.

The decision to plug into existing waste collection infrastructure is taken during the planning phase of any new building.

Deviations from this require municipal approval, which may not necessarily be granted if the refuse collection system cannot support it.

Requirements
A subsidiary of the National Environmental Management Act, last amended in 2004 (Act No 8 of 2004) deals with integrated pollution and waste management. One of the outputs is described as “developing mechanisms for promoting cleaner production technologies and innovative treatment and disposal options at source”.

“National policy places emphasis on a paradigm shift from end-of-pipe waste management practices to integrated waste management, taking into consideration the waste management hierarchy in the planning and implementation of waste management services,” said Mxolisi Dube, director in the Ekurhuleni solid waste department. “Disposal of waste on a landfill is the least desirable but remains a necessary and environmentally acceptable practice.”

The Ekurhuleni municipality is working on an integrated waste management model based on the waste management hierarchy (see diagram on page 40).

Source separation of waste and recovery of re-usable waste streams to reduce waste volumes and consequently the stress on collection and disposal systems is a primary consideration. However it is imperative that this model is underpinned by adequate infrastructure and greater awareness and education to inculcate and foster environmental responsibility, Dube pointed out.

Organic waste, including food waste, can be used as stock feed, converted into compost or fertiliser, and there are technologies based on biological processes to separate food waste and allow it to biodegrade under optimal conditions.

International trends
The international trend is to launch food waste diversion programmes that link food waste generators with end users.

In California, USA, 16% of food waste finds its way into landfills. Separate composting facilities have been set up for collective and beneficial disposal of garden refuse and food waste. The cost of collecting and dumping compostable materials is generally lower than that for general waste destined for disposal at landfill sites.

Another international trend is the extraction of biomass fuel (from living organisms or their metabolic by-products, such as manure). It is a renewable energy source, unlike other natural resources such as petroleum, coal and nuclear fuels. Biomass alternative fuel is being used at Tanga Cement in Tanzania to provide about 10% of its energy requirements.

Biomass is manufactured from various food ingredients – in Tanzania, from cashew nut shells, sea flower cake, sunflower cake and coconut husks. The Earthpower Technologies biomass plant in Australia can convert up to 100 000 t of food waste per year into biogas, which is used to generate electricity.

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TREE OF THE ISSUE

Trichilia emetica – Natal Mahogany
Street tree
The Trichilia emetica, also known as the Natal Mahogany or Rooi Essenhout, has been chosen by landscape architect Karen Louwrens as this month’s ‘tree of the issue’.

Finding suitable ‘street’ trees for the Main Street Mall in central Johannesburg was somewhat challenging.

The street runs from east to west so trees planted on the north side against tall buildings (directly south of other buildings) would see very little direct sunlight in summer and almost none in winter. And the trees would be planted in areas previously covered by tarmac.

The extremely compact soil was removed and completely replaced with a suitable growing medium and holes no bigger than 2 m x 2 m. Drainage beneath the compacted layers was not certain and this would be intolerable for trees requiring good drainage.

The Natal Mahogany is ideal as it grows naturally in evergreen forests and riverine fringes of deciduous woodlands.

Single species also stand around permanent water sources.

The trees were planted in the winter of 2004 and have established and grown very well. One of the trees was almost destroyed by rioters months after planting but it formed new shoots and has recovered so well since then that damage is hardly visible.

Young trees usually grow rapidly in warm, moist conditions but, in this urban context, growth is more likely moderate.

The Natal Mahogany will grow up to about 10 m in height and spread similarly in Gauteng even though it can grow much bigger in a warmer and moister climate, according to Linda de Luca of Random Harvest Nursery.

In its natural habitat, it is a magnificent, imposing evergreen tree with a very dense, round, spreading crown. The large leaves are glossy, very dark green and pinnate. The dark grey to brown bark can vary from smooth to rough texture.

The flowers, which appear from August to October, are creamy white to green, in tight bunches on the terminal twigs.

The sweet smell, like lemon blossoms, attracts lots of bees, butterflies and birds. The trees planted in Main Street Mall have not flowered yet as this generally happens for the first time at around six years of age.

The striking fruits of the Natal Mahogany are round, greygreen, wrinkled capsules, which split when they are mature, revealing two black, beanlike seeds that are partially covered with a bright red arillus.

These seeds attract a host of birds, especially horn bills, and are eventually shed to make a colourful carpet at the foot of the tree.

The Natal Mahogany can be planted in sunny or shady positions and, as it is frost-tender will need protection as a young plant. The winter of 2005 was exceptionally mild so there is no telling how the Natal Mahogany will endure a typical Highveld winter, although there could be greater protection from frost in the inner city with its unique microclimate. In gardens, it survives average winter drought and irrigation meets high water requirements in most urban settings. Shady and neat, Trichilia is ideal for car parks and avenues.