Contents
of April 2008
COMMENT
Clean energy: the upside of the crisis
UPFRONT
What’s new and happening?
LETTERS
Your views aired
GREEN BUILDINGS
Environment-sensitive buildings across South Africa
CITY
VISIT
West Wits: a ‘retrospective township’
ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING & DESIGN
What
impact will Gautrain have on the urban environment?
WASTE AND POLLUTION MANAGEMENT
Is Cape Town saving landfill space?
PLANNING PERSONALITY
Strijdom van der Merwe: a
‘land artist’
BATTLE OF THE ’BURBS
Brooklyn v Linden
INSPIRATION
Magnificent mall in Atholl
INSULT
Clarens character crumbles?
TREE OF THE ISSUE
Trichilia emitica
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COMMENT
Energy is a town planning issue
Why did we need an energy
crisis to change our wasteful habits?
For years,
South Africans have been carelessly consuming coal-generated electricity, and boasting our
supply of energy is the cheapest in the world and readily available. Perhaps today’s
energy crunch is the best example of unsustainable planning and development. Without
considering the real cost of our consumption (massive air pollution from coal power
stations and the related health costs or the fact that, if we continued to consume, prices
would have had to increase to fund new power stations), we merrily went about wasting
electricity.
When Urban
Green File first began publishing articles on green buildings, with particular emphasis on
water and energy efficiency in the urban environment, many a developer and council
official thought we were crazy. Why worry about alternative energy when cheap Eskom power
was available?
The fact is
South Africa consumes way too much coal-generated power for the size of its economy. If we
were more efficient in our use, we could have postponed the construction of more coal
power stations (and the resultant pollution). But this would have only been possible if
planning was done in a coherent way. Every town council should have implemented by-laws at
least a decade ago to force new buildings and developments to use solar energy. There
should also have been incentives to convert any existing geysers to solar versions. In
this way, massive energy savings could have been realised.
However,
even today in the midst of the power crisis, it is not too late to opt for energy
efficient options. The planning fraternity, particularly architects, are well-positioned
to advice their clients on solar energy solutions. Town councils shouldn’t pass plans
that do not allow for alternative energy while town planners should consider alternative
sources of energy in their township plans. Perhaps there is scope for an independent power
producer (IPP) to convert a waste stream in a specific area into a source of power, or to
operate a mini-hydro to power a specific housing estate?
The problem
remains, however, that any IPP is forced to sell its power to Eskom only.
Urban Green
File argues that an IPP should be able to sell power to anyone within its vicinity and all
new planning should incorporate a search for localised power solutions – and clean
energy that should be!
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UPFRONT
A new skyline imminent
In the near future, Sandton’s skyline will change dramatically to become, perhaps,
even more iconic than the original Johannesburg CBD. Until 18 months ago, there was not
much interest in tall buildings but since then the Gautrain has become fact and now there
is significant interest, Peter Magni of Johannesburg’s development planning
department told Urban Green File. Combined with other driving forces, such as the proposed
Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system, the city identified a need to develop a localised spatial
development framework (SDF) for the Sandton area. It categorises Sandton as a ”metropolitan
node” – this is unique outside the Johannesburg CBD. The trend towards high-rise
is determined by a land-space issue as sprawling buildings are no longer an option.
Important
from a planning point of view, according to Magni, will be management of the construction
of skyscrapers so that Sandton does not end up with a wall of skyscrapers and dark, shady
canyons below.
—
Urban Green File’s sister journal, Building Africa, will feature Sandton as a “boiling
zone” of building and property development opportunities in its May 2008 edition.
Holcim Awards
attract significant interest
Following on
the success of the 2006 Holcim Awards for Sustainable Construction, which declared the
Tsoga Environmental Centre a regional winner (pictured above), the Holcim Foundation has
announced that the deadline for entries for the 2008/9 awards has passed.
More than 4
700 submissions, from 90 countries, have been received. Prize money of US$2-million is up
for grabs.
The
competition is run by the Swiss-based Holcim Foundation with the aim of promoting
ground-breaking projects already at an advanced stage of design, and to encourage ”blue
sky” concepts from the next generation.
The results
of the regional competitions will be announced in five ceremonies in late 2008 in Madrid,
Montréal, Mexico City, Marrakech and New Delhi. Winners of the gold, silver and bronze
awards in each geographic region automatically qualify for the global Holcim Awards to be
announced in 2009.
Jo’burg
unveils ‘big screen’ park
Johannesburg
City Parks is making progress in its aim to introduce more quality parks throughout the
massive city. A new park has been unveiled in Kremetart Street, Eldorado Park. Designed by
Insite Landscape Architects and built by R&D Contractors, it boasts a soccer field,
water features, playground equipment, “braai” facilities, picnic areas,
landscaped lawns, trees, park furniture, seating areas, paved walkways and a big outdoor
screen for public viewing of educational, environmental and sporting programmes.
Upkeep and
maintenance of parks is one of the biggest challenges faced by Johannesburg City Parks so
a 24- hour security service will be employed at the new park.
The aim is
to discourage residents from littering, breaking bottles, spraying graffiti, consuming
alcohol, damaging playground equipment and/or contravening any municipal by-laws.
The success
of any park is determined by how well it is used and, in this sense, Urban Green File is
encouraged by the inclusion of a big-screen TV. Township TV has donated the screen for
public viewing of educational, environmental and sporting programmes.
Motherwell
replicated
Nelson
Mandela Bay Municipality is planning to replicate the success of the Motherwell Urban
Renewal Programme in the impoverished Helenvale area.
Cape
Town promotes biodiversity
The City of
Cape Town is implementing various biodiversity projects with a target date of June 2009.
It forms part of the city's Local Action for Biodiversity (LAB) commitment. First on the
list is the development and conservation of a fynbos corridor connecting the Diep River
Corridor near Milnerton with the Blaauwberg Conservation Area – one of the city's
most important biodiverse areas.
Cape Town
was instrumental in the conception and development of LAB, which had its genesis at the
International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) World Congress in Cape
Town in March 2006.
The city
proposed the launch of a three-year project supporting local authorities in their quest to
enhance biodiversity planning and management in cities. Following an inaugural planning
meeting in Rome, several world organisations joined Cape Town and eThekwini as the
founding partners of LAB.
Some 20
cities around the world and on all continents, including Sao Paolo, Seattle, Edmonton,
Barcelona, Paris, Amsterdam, Bonn, Seoul, Nagoya, Sydney, Auckland and Johannesburg, have
joined LAB, which is co-ordinated and run from a Cape Town office by four full-time
biodiversity experts.
Energy saved
Philips is
installing an automatic lighting system in its Johannesburg offices. The ActiLume
lighting-control system promises 70% energy savings. A light sensor automatically adapts
the quantity of light in relation to the room's natural daylight level. A movement
detector will either switch off or dim the lights if the room has been vacated for a
certain time and no movement has been detected.
Waste for food
The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport’s Siyazenzela Project employs community
members to provide waste collection services to households in areas where these services
were previously difficult to access. In return, they receive food parcels. The initiative
is modelled on a pioneering waste-collection project in Brazil commonly known as ”garbage
– that is not garbage”. The project is being piloted in three municipalities:
Hibiscus Coast, Umsunduzi and eThekwini.
Enviro-projects
in line for awards?
The Impumelelo Innovations Award Trust will announce the recipients of its 2008 awards on
May 17. According to Candice Jansen, more than 130 projects have entered, including
various environmental projects, and 44 have been shortlisted as finalists.
One of the
finalists is the Waste Management in Education (WAME) project of the Western Cape
Department of Environmental Affairs & Developmental Planning. WAME equips educators to
integrate waste management into the National Curriculum Statement (NCS) – 25 to 40
educators are trained in each workshop on how to integrate waste management into their
existing learning programmes and work schedules.
WAME’s
innovation lies in its radical reshaping of environmental education by incorporating it
into learning areas not traditionally associated with environmental issues like maths,
languages, arts and culture. This mainstreams environmental awareness in communities where
waste management is not a reality.
A total of
280 schools have been reached and 330 educators have completed the required training; 40
departmental officials and 100 municipal workers have been trained in the Eden District
Municipality that has taken over the running of the project in the area while 30 educators
from crèches in this district have also been trained.
The City of
Cape Town is also planning to implement WAME within the metro. This demonstrates the need
for and relevancy of a project like WAME in South Africa.
Another
finalist in the Impumelo Awards is the Greening of the Nation Programme, which seeks to
“green” impoverished areas that lack green community space and school gardens.
In total, 36 schools in the Western Cape have been greened – 700 indigenous trees
have been planted at schools while another 2 385 indigenous trees have been planted in
Kleinmond, Khayelitsha, Mitchell’s Plain and Lavender Hill as part of the community
space greening.
Other
environmental finalists include the
*
Eco-Coffins
pilot-project, based at the Cedara Agricultural College in Howick, Pietermaritzburg, and
the Invasive Alien Species Programme of the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Agriculture &
Environmental Affairs;
*
Gauteng Environmental
Management Inspectorate known as the ”Green Scorpions”; and
*
Emalahleni Water
Reclamation project with the local municipality in partnership with Anglo Operations
Limited – much-needed potable water is now provided to the municipality by extracting
polluted water from South Witbank Colliery and treating it.
Asbestos
regulations final
Regulations regarding asbestos products were gazetted on March 28 2008. The use,
processing or manufacture of any asbestos or asbestos-containing product have now been
prohibited.
Further
regulations (in brief) include the
*
prohibition of the
import or export of any asbestos or asbestos-containing product;
*
prohibition of the
import of any asbestos or asbestos containing waste material except from a member of the
Southern African Development Community for the sole purpose of safe disposal;
*
use of asbestos or
asbestos containing material for research – allowed if the research is not undertaken
to produce another asbestos containing product.
The
regulations do not prohibit the continued use of asbestos containing materials (such as
asbestos-cement roof sheets or ceilings) that are already in place as the Department of
Environmental Affairs & Tourism is satisfied that there is no undue risk to the
occupants of houses that are fitted with these materials. Over time, they should be
replaced with asbestos-free materials.
Improved city
In the 2008
budget, Finance Minister Trevor Manuel extended Urban Development Zone (UDZ) tax
incentives by five years. Initially, the incentives would have expired in March 2009. As a
result, eThekwini Municipality’s city manager, Dr Michael Sutcliffe, has announced
that Durban is receiving a growing number of applications by investors to make the most of
the incentives.
“The
UDZ tax incentive was a welcome, if unexpected, innovation by national government. It has
taken a few years for the municipalities to understand the potential impact of the scheme
and to optimise take up by private investors. Most cities are now seeing accelerating
numbers of applications. There are also indications that the larger property owners,
financiers and investors are more aware of the scheme and are beginning to plan
large-scale property developments and refurbishments that will take advantage of the
depreciation allowance.”
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LETTERS
‘Cheap’ paving makes way for sustainable alternatives
Coverage of permeable
paving has sparked great interest in the technology. A developer is now considering this
as an option for a Knysna-based project.
We’re
interested in ”permeable paving” as featured on page 12 of Urban Green File’s
December 2007 edition. You have mentioned Concor and various landscape architectural firms
as well as some developments where the paving has been used but I cannot find any
information on paving manufacturers or suppliers.
Can you tell
me where I can find more information? We want to incorporate this type of paving in a new
20 ha development in Knysna.
On page 20
of the same edition, an article elaborates on 10 principles for sustainability. The third
principle, “import no resources”, was accompanied by a photo of a wind generator
sourced from the African Energy Journal archives. Can you tell me more about this photo:
is it national (South African) or just a reference to the idea and is there information
available about this? If I could get any information on where it is used or the product
name, I could venture online.
Lastly, on
page 36, under the “products & services” section, a short article is devoted
to rainwater recycling.
UK-based
Balmoral Tanks is mentioned but is there a South African distributor or representative
that can be contacted? I have attempted to contact Balmoral directly but I don’t
think they will respond to (what appears to be) individual interests.
Your
publication is great to see and to reference. In light of recent debacles, such as the
Eskom “load shedding” and the state of water-treatment facilities, sewage plants
and other ”municipal” services, there is no doubt that priority will shift from
the ”cheapest alternative” to the ”most sustainable” and
environment-friendly alternative.
Here’s
hoping! I work with Chris Mulder & Associates (featured in your article on “new
ruralism”). Dr Mulder has requested that I ”track down” this information
with a view to introducing these elements into our development proposals. We would
appreciate your assistance in any way possible. - Quincy Crow
—Thank
you for your letter. We are delighted that the topics and solutions discussed in Urban
Green File are of interest and that you are considering sustainable solutions for your
developments.
Regarding
permeable paving I can think of Concor Technicrete and Terraforce as two manufacturers in
this field. The article referred incorrectly to Terraforce’s Terrafix product as
permeable paving whereas it is actually Terracrete.The Concrete Manufacturers Association
should also be able to put you in touch with their members who produce permeable paving.
It is always
worth considering some “low-tech” solutions in low-traffic and pedestrian areas.
For instance, gravel pathways can be aesthetically pleasing with the bonus of
permeability. And there is something to be said for concrete-strip roadways with grass
planted in between.
Regarding
the wind turbine, the picture is of Eskom's Klipheuwel wind-energy research and
demonstration centre in the Western Cape.
It was
featured in our sister magazine, African Energy Journal’s March/April 2003 edition.
Balmoral
Tanks is located in Aberdeen, UK, and is on the web as www.balmoral-group.com.
Lake Michelle -
community groups played key role
Community
groups played an important role in reducing the number of erven allowed at Lake Michelle.
I read with
interest your articles regarding the ILASA Awards of Excellence (September/October 2007
edition) with particular reference to the Lake Michelle development in Noordhoek.
This is a
splendid development (I can see it from my own residence). However, and without derogating
from the environment it now enjoys, it is unfortunate that such ”accolades” are
given to the developer and his ”team” when, in fact, they fought ”tooth and
nail” for the 315 originally-approved erven, which would have had an enormous visual
and environmental impact on the Noordhoek Wetlands.
It was only
the efforts of the local Noordhoek environmental groups, namely Noordhoek & District
Civic Association (now Noordhoek Conservancy) and the Noordhoek Environmental Action Group
at the environmental impact assessment stage (including an appeal against the record of
decision, which approved 315 sites) and the objections at sub-division stage (where the
numbers were once again reduced from 268 to the final 224) that the development finally
came together in the form we see today.
So
references to ”reconfigured the layout” and ”sensitivity towards the
environment” should, perhaps, be made with an acknowledgement of the positive
contributions made by the concerned local environmental groups without whom such
developments would take away rather than "add" to our beautiful Noordhoek
Valley. Just some thoughts. - Simon Elliott
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GREEN BUILDINGS
Energy savings
achieved
Although Urban Green File (UGF) has published many case studies on “green building”
initiatives, so far the trend in South Africa has focused on design and construction with
little retrospective statistics available on what has been achieved. However Johnson
Controls has told UGF that energy consumption at BP’s South African head office
(first featured in the July/August 2003 edition of UGF) has decreased to 231 kWh/m².
“This is a considerable improvement on the standard 330 kWh/m² normally used for a
building of this size,” Nino Calvert, BP account manager for Johnson Controls Global
WorkPlace Solutions, states. However savings have not yet reached the target set at the
beginning of the project BP’s offices at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town were
developed in 2004 by V&A Waterfront Properties at a cost of R110-million.
Architectural design was spearheaded by Kruger Roos Architects & Urban Designers in
association with Joshua Conrad Architects.
AGAMA Energy
consulted on environmental issues. The building is being managed by Johnson Controls while
the land and building is owned by V&A Waterfront Properties and leased to BP for a
20-year period.
Mike Munnik
of AGAMA Energy elaborates on the history of this venture. "In 2003, BP had to make a
decision about how it could better accommodate its staff then housed in a number of
different buildings in BP Town Square, Cape Town. The company needed to create a workplace
able to deliver a first-class service to its employees, as well as meet enhanced health,
safety and environmental standards. As an upgrade was not cost-effective or practical, BP
decided to move to a new building.”
A key point
of departure for BP, according to Calvert, was to demonstrate commitment to more
sustainable office operations and to develop a structure that would reflect its brand
values (green, progressive, innovation and performance- driven). Broad project objectives
included:
*
reducing energy
consumption;
*
optimising natural
light, passive heat and climate control;
*
highlighting renewable
energy generation; and
*
conserving water.
The annual
energy consumption target was set at 115 kWh/m² – 40% less than buildings of a
similar type; 10% of the overall energy had to come from renewable sources and water
consumption had to be 25% better than an equivalent conventional building. Local and
recycled materials had to be used and construction waste had to be recycled.
The result
was a carefully-designed building with façades that minimize direct sunlight penetrating
the building and thus reduce the energy required to cool the interior. Insulation,
including double glazing, which is unusual for the
African
climate, was employed to enhance passive-energy design. Passive and natural ventilation
was incorporated as part of the air-conditioning system.
“The
design also made significant use of natural light through atrium roof lights and provision
of light shelves to reduce the requirement for artificial light,” says Calvert.
“A lighting system that is movement- and light-sensitive was installed to reduce the
energy load. In addition, solar water heaters supplement a 68 kW photovoltaic array
mounted on the roof (the largest grid connect system in South Africa) to generate 10% of
energy requirements.”
To reduce
water consumption, rainwater from the roof as well as greywater from showers, basins and
air-conditioning cooler units is captured and stored in a 1 350 m³ storage tank (half the
size of an Olympic swimming pool) and used to irrigate the indigenous landscaped gardens.
Reaching and
maintaining the energy use and other targets set by BP is an ongoing challenge for Johnson
Controls; requiring constant monitoring and persistent vigilance. A building management
system maintains climate control while energy use and savings are monitored through
electricity consumption and the electricity generated by photovoltaic array. Water use and
water recovered are also monitored. A system displays measured spending, generation and
savings.
Calvert
elaborates: “Shared Energy Management has been appointed to provide an ongoing audit
of energy and water use, and to identify further saving opportunities. Johnson Controls
responds to these reports by implementing the recommendations. At present, we are still
working towards achieving some of the set targets.
While the
solar panels and photovoltaic array do deliver the 10% of total energy consumption they
were meant to, energy expenditure still needs to be lowered.”
‘Green
building’ for ‘green bank’
Nedbank’s
much-publicised proposed “green building” adjacent to its existing head office
in Sandton, Johannesburg, will set many benchmarks.
It is being
developed by Nedbank Corporate Property Finance at a cost of R1,6-billion and it will
comprise 60 000 m² of mixed use, including luxury apartments.
The façade
of the proposed development will be aligned to the first-phase Nedbank development.
Challenging
for the “green architects” is that the original design done 10 years ago did not
attend to “green issues” although basic and sound design principles were
addressed from the outset (north-south aspect and atrium core), says Xavier Huyberechts,
MD and architect-in-chief of GLH & Associates Architects.
In order to
achieve the client’s expectations of harnessing energy through “green design”,
GLH is being advised by Green by Design.
The
mixed-use development will be in keeping with the aesthetics of the existing complex and
comprise seven parking levels, seven levels of office space, retail space fronting Maude
Street, a transition level and 152 upmarket residential apartments on 18 levels.
Construction
is expected to begin in April 2008 with Group Five as main contractor and Coffey Projects
will handle the project management.
The main
emphasis, in terms of green building, will be on efficient energy and water use.
During
construction, the bulk of power requirements will be supplied by generators to alleviate
demand on an already stretched electricity grid. A number of initiatives are also
envisaged to minimise power requirements after the development has been completed.
How many ‘green
stars’?
A”green
building” rating system, the Green Star SA, is being implemented by the Green
Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA).
“Developers
and property owners will be able to have their buildings objectively assessed as to how
green they are,” Nicola Douglas, CEO of GBCSA, tells UGF. “This will help
facilitate the debate about green building and stimulate the demand for green building
expertise, products and services.” Douglas says rating systems have proven to be the
key to unlocking the take-off of green buildings in many countries worldwide as this
effectively defines a green building.
The GBCSA
has begun the process of customizing the first rating tool – the Green Star for
Commercial Offices – and Douglas anticipates the launch of the tool in pilot form in
mid-July 2008. The development of tools for other building types will follow.
Jo’burg to
make energy efficiency compulsory
Responding to power-supply shortages in Johannesburg, a set of basic requirements for
energy-efficient development will be considered in the adjudication of all development
applications submitted to council.
“All
building plans and site development plans will, in future, be evaluated in terms of
measures to promote low energy-consumption buildings,”
Philip
Harrison, the executive director of development planning and urban management, has
informed UGF.
The approval
of new building plans will specifically consider two criteria: natural heating provided in
winter through north-facing buildings and buildings allowing eave overhangs of at least
700 mm on north, east and west façades; facilitating shade in summer and sun penetration
in winter.
Other
measures that will be strongly encouraged include solar water-heating systems, roof
insulation, energy-efficient light fittings and motion or timer sensors on lights,
air-conditioners and geysers.
The new
system will force property developers and home builders to ensure greater energy
efficiency and cut demand for electricity. This system will apply to city-initiated
projects and private-sector developments.
Initially,
the new set of laws will rely on voluntary compliance but Harrison confirmed it would soon
be regulated.
-----
CITY VISIT
West
Wits - planning in retrospect
The West Wits mine
village is applying for incorporation into Merafong City. What are the complexities
involved in this “retrospective township” application?
AngloGold
Ashanti Southern Africa Division’s West Wits Operations will probably not close until
2040. Nevertheless the groundwork, if you’ll forgive the play on words, has already
begun on reshaping the mining village into another suburb of Merafong.
Situated
about 60 km west-south-west of Johannesburg on the N12 highway near the border with North
West Province, is the local municipality of Merafong City. West Wits falls within Merafong’s
borders and exists because of AngloGold Ashanti’s mining operations in the area.
Merafong has
a population of 51 504 (2005 national census) while the mining settlement is home to about
6 792 people.
Although the
mining company is deepening the mine, (the life-of-mine stretches to 2040) it doesn’t
change the inevitability of the mine’s closure.
When this
happens, what will happen to the village? This question is being addressed by AngloGold
Ashanti and the municipal town planners for the City of Merafong.
‘Ghost town’
avoided
The Mining Charter stipulates that mining companies must have a closure plan to ensure
long-term sustainability of mine villages.
The idea is
to avoid the old “ghost town” scenario: when a mine closes, everyone walks away
and all the infrastructure and land, more or less, goes to waste.
Mines and
their villages close to urban areas are particularly obligated to make a concerted effort
to rehabilitate the area or find alternative use to make sustainable utilisation possible.
At West
Wits, this involves incorporating the mining village into the surrounding local
municipality, Merafong City, specifically the towns of Carletonville and Fochville, which
are both approximately 10 km away.
Both sides
have to come together to make this plan work. It requires, perhaps, less physical work to
link the two than the much more considerable paperwork and agreements that bind the two
into a single entity.
Future mine closure
requires planning
Although set within the boundaries of Merafong City, the AngloGold Ashanti Southern
African Division’s mine village (West Wits) does not fall under the jurisdiction of
the municipality. In terms of legislation that was in place at the time of the
establishment of the village , mines were free to develop their own infrastructure without
having to comply with the planning policies of surrounding municipalities. In the case of
West Wits, however, AngloGold Ashanti is working in tandem with local government to get
the village incorporated into the municipality. This will ensure sustainability even long
after the mine has reached closure.
Planning law flawed in
case of mine villages?
– Opinion by Gerald
Garner
It somewhat baffles the mind that a mine village, such as AngloGold Ashanti’s
West Wits, could be home to 6 792 people and yet not proclaimed a town. Mining land has
always been excluded from the jurisdiction of municipalities. As a consequence, mine
villages and related infrastructure, scattered throughout South Africa and now all within
the boundaries of democratic South Africa’s municipalities, are not related to the
planning and development priorities of the municipalities. Urban Green File is encouraged
by the initiative of AngloGold Ashanti and Merafong City at West Wits – a mine has
found a solution to the requirements for sustainable closure plans while the municipality
has found land it desperately needs for expansion. It is this magazine’s opinion that
local authorities and mines throughout the country should learn from the West Wits
experience and come together to explore synergies. However, where new mines and related
villages are developed, planning should, from the outset, be done in conjunction with the
municipality. There is little value in conducting environmental impact assessments in
retrospect when an existing village, such as West Wits, is applying for recognition as a
township. By then it is impossible to rectify initial planning and design mistakes.
Although mines may own the land on which they develop housing and supporting
infrastructure, there is no reason this development should be exempt from basic planning
principles.
Village centred around
a mine
1 The development of the mine was a catalyst for surrounding infrastructure
development. However, with eventual closure forecasted for 2040, it is important to plan a
sustainable future for the mine village.
2 Various housing typologies, including luxury residences on large stands, can be found at
West Wits.
3 Could the mine’s single quarters be redeveloped into rentable or section altitle
apartments once the mine is no longer operational?
4 Married quarters provide comfortable housing for mine workers. Could this accommodation
be sold as private residences within a suburb of Carletonville?
5 Although not officially a town, West Wits operates as a ”mini municipality”
with its own service provision from waste management to parks and recreation. However
Merafong City is beginning to take over some service provision.
Township
application required
“Basically, it starts after we’ve agreed on the principle as we’ve done
with the mines,” says Albie Nieuwoudt, Merafong City’s director of sustainable
development.
“Then
we have to present a township application.” This is where the real work begins with
geotechnical studies, environmental impact assessments and then engineering services
assessments. Jaun Evans, manager: spatial planning and environmental management for
Merafong City, says: “It’s a long process; it’s not a quick solution”.
She is involved in the more technical and detailed aspects of the West Wits township
application. “You’ve got this situation where the mining operations and the
residential development are integrated into one village. The challenge is to try and
separate the residential area from the mining operations.”
Certainly,
this is a process that takes several years. For West Wits, the first feasibility studies
were conducted and the strategic decision was made in principle during 2003. Five years
later, the town has not yet been incorporated but all parties agree the job is on track
– largely because of the efforts of all parties to keep the process transparent.
Mining land not under
jurisdiction of cities
Some Merafong City maps show vast areas of land owned and managed by mining companies. In
these areas, the municipality has almost no jurisdiction. The rules and regulations that
apply to Merafong do not apply to the mine-owned land.
Like all
mining land, AngloGold Ashanti owns the land on which it operates and, historically, mines
are not subject to the same by-laws and requirements applied to public land. For this
reason, they’ve been free to potentially conduct business unconcerned about
repercussions. This means, in practice, they could build where they liked, and establish
infrastructure at will. Mine workers lived on mine land in residences or other types of
accommodation – whatever the mining company provided – at limited cost to the
workers. Basic services, such as water, waste collection and electricity, were customarily
provided at cost or free of charge.
When the
land is incorporated into the municipality, this will have to change. The property may be
AngloGold Ashanti and publicly-owned but the municipality wants this to be a temporary
situation so the land will be sold for residential, commercial and industrial use.
Residents will have to pay for basic services such as water, electricity and municipal
services. It will be a big transition for everyone.
Mine provides services
“We provide all the services,” Jacques Wessels, AngloGold Ashanti’s
property manager, says. “All the bulk services and all the municipal services.
Clearly, after incorporation, it becomes the responsibility of the local authority. So
AngloGold Ashanti will shed a major load off its infrastructure.”
Evans and
Nieuwoudt point out that neither residential property nor bulk services are part of the
core function of a mining company so it makes sense to offload these services but the two
sides are careful to plan together.
“We try
to align the local authority’s priorities with ours and vice versa,” says
Wessels. “We do concept planning. We’ll say: ‘We’ll convert that
building into a school’, for example, but, if there’s no town surrounding it, a
school simply doesn’t make sense. We’ve got to get that alignment and planning
right.”
This is
where the municipality’s integrated development plan (IDP) comes in.
Working with
independent planning consultants, the two sides use this document to ensure their
priorities are aligned with each other, and with provincial and national bodies.
“If you
can’t show that the incorporation plan is sustainable, you won’t be able to
succeed,” says Lynette Groenewald of Urban Dynamics. She is one of the urban planning
consultants hired to help the two parties align their priorities. Groenewald is helping
both sides wade through all the paperwork and existing mining lease areas in order to
categorise them and facilitate transfer wherever necessary.
Some services already
transferred
In some cases, some services have already been transferred. The municipality already
manages all waste collection in West Wits but AngloGold Ashanti still pays the tariff and
not the residents who occupy the properties at this stage. Bulk water is also a major
issue in the mine village.
Until
recently, Merafong was not involved at all in water-service provision in West Wits
although it should have been.
The
municipality is the Water Services Authority (WSA) for the region and, as such, should
effectively be the middleman between the bulk supplier – in this case, Rand Water
– and the customer, which is still AngloGold Ashanti. However the mining company has
been buying water direct from the bulk supplier and providing the associated
infrastructure and maintenance for such a long time that, understandably, it doesn’t
want to pay municipal rates without the council taking over the responsibilities for the
provision of the service.
There has
been a positive spin-off, Wessels adds: water use has declined as people realise the cost
of unlimited use.
In terms of
infrastructure, the municipality must also ensure piping meets required standards before
approving the West Wits township application. Indeed, piping is just one in a long list of
items that need to be assessed and documented in a detailed engineering report.
Mine
needs guarantees
The report,
which is due out around the middle of 2008, will provide information on the state of
infrastructure in West Wits. The city and the mining company hit a bump, however, when
engineers preparing the report asked for more detailed information than the mine was
providing in order to assess the infrastructure properly.
Without the
engineer’s report, the township application is considered incomplete and the town can’t
be incorporated into the municipality.
Therefore
AngloGold Ashanti has embarked on a programme, via the consulting engineering company, to
obtain the necessary information.
“AngloGold
said it was fine; it will take care of the money but, in order not to have unauthorised
expenditure, it wants us to approve the township application first subject to engineering
service level agreements,” Evans says.
A compromise
on both sides is to draft a pre-proclamation agreement that outlines, in detail, the
conditions of approval and states that approval will be given if – and only if –
all conditions are met. Both sides say this agreement is satisfactory.
Carletonville needs
land
Incorporation of the town satisfies AngloGold Ashanti’s requirement for a
mine closure plan but what about Carletonville? What good is a suburb 10 km away? Why is
the municipality chasing this? It turns out that Carletonville and West Wits need each
other. Clearly, West Wits needs the infrastructure and nearby services Carletonville can
supply but Carletonville is severely constrained by its geotechnical conditions and does
not have room for growth.
“The
dolomite surrounding Carletonville does not allow us to expand,” Evans points out.
“We have reached our limit.” The Khutsong resettlement project, adjacent to
Carletonville, takes up all available non-dolomitic land.
The plan is
to leapfrog over the dolomite on the periphery of Carletonville and begin developing in
and around West Wits. Outside West Wits, there is more AngloGold Ashanti land, which will
also need to be identified for alternative use or rehabilitation. The municipality seems
to have its sights set on the West Wits area – not only for the moment but for the
long term.
“Carletonville
is sitting on a safe zone but it can’t expand. West Wits is the only really safe
ground that can develop as Carletonville grows,” Wessels says
Much interest from
developers
Nieuwoudt expects the town to grow. “From here upwards to Johannesburg,
there is very, very little available land,” he says. “In the past couple of
months, there’s been keen interest in Merafong City from a development point of view.”
Developers as far away as the Western Cape have begun looking at the area and making
inquiries with the municipality. This fits in perfectly with Nieuwoudt and Evans’s
long-term outlook as it provides opportunity to find the right mix of business,
residential and industrial before the sod is turned.
But there
are more than 6 000 people in West Wits already and their needs come first. Groenewald
says people initially doubted the merits of transforming a mine village into a suburb.
“People had a poor perception initially but the mine will be doing upgrades and has a
maintenance agreement,” she says. “It has to work. We have to implement measures
to make it work.”
The IDP is
the key document that will move all parties through the process, hopefully, with the least
amount of pain. For AngloGold Ashanti, the IDP is important as the Department of Minerals
& Energy recognises only projects included in it. “I could implement the best
idea in the world but, if it’s not acknowledged in the IDP, it’s as if it never
happened. It’s not integrated.”
For
Merafong, generally, and Carletonville, specifically, the IDP guarantees growth. It also
provides a road map for the process. It clarifies the needs and locations of green spaces,
schools, medical clinics and other basic services, as well as guiding commercial and
industrial development. Groenewald believes West Wits is an ideal model for other mine
villages.
-----
ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING & DESIGN
Gautrain precincts
– a better cityscape in the offing
In coming years,
Gautrain’s station precincts will radically alter the urban environment. Will this be
for greater good? Urban Green File takes a closer look at the Rosebank and Sandton
stations.
It is a
given that the Gautrain will have a massive impact on the urban environment.
Pedestrian
and vehicular access to the stations, as well as associated retail and commercial
opportunities, need to be carefully considered so that development activities contribute
to a sustainable, quality environment.
To date,
urban development frameworks (UDFs) have been prepared for the City of Johannesburg. These
examine the spatial dynamics influencing Sandton, Rosebank, Marlboro and Zonki’ziswe
(Midrand) stations and make proposals towards further integrated development.
At the time
of writing, the UDF documents for Rosebank and Sandton had been submitted to the city
council for final approval which is expected at the end of April. Prepared by Akanya
Development Solutions with assistance from architecture and urban design firm studioMAS,
as well as transport engineers Karabo Consulting and Space Syntax, the UDFs are designed
to put policies in place to guide land use decision making as well as infrastructural,
architectural and landscape development.
The
landscaping guidelines that form part of the Gautrain System Identity (GSI) and developed
by Gautrain Architects Joint Venture (comprising Siyakha Architects, Bentel Associates
International and TPSP Architects with Newtown Landscape Architects, state: “It is
the intention of the Gautrain to incrementally augment the development of the station
sites over the operator concession period. Initial budgets will be small and the outcomes
on site will be minimal. However a commitment to long-term urban design plans should see
the station precincts flourish”.
Pierre
Swanepoel of studioMAS says: “At the moment, Johannesburg is specifically geared
towards cars. With the Gautrain, a pedestrian-rich environment becomes necessary. People
will be walking to the stations and a whole new infrastructure needs to be put in place
that includes emergency telephones, dustbins, decent lighting, vegetation and walkways.
“This
is not a nice-to-have but essential for the spaces to work. The city council, therefore,
has to reconsider the zonings taken up in the Regional Spatial Development Frameworks
(RSDFs) for all precincts within an 800 m radius of stations – an easily walkable
distance and the capture zone for public transport.”
Pedestrian-orientated
city
The development approach that has been put forward for Rosebank and Sandton in the
proposed UDFs has been based on transit-orientated development (TOD) principles.
The
principles support objectives that aim to optimise the use of the new public-transit
infrastructure to ensure
*
public
transport-supportive land use;
*
mixed-use activities,
including residential use;
*
high-density
developments;
*
a pedestrian-friendly
environment;
*
a sense of place and
identity; and
*
well-managed public
and private transport facilities.
“Significant
interest has been shown in developing the station areas and our proposal is to get
supporting policies in place and have a viable framework for the future,” comments
Edna Peres of studioMAS.
“TOD
principles, which have been implemented worldwide, take the focus off cars to give spaces
back to people by creating ‘walkable’ cities and encouraging urban regeneration.
It’s about learning from history, and designing for activities like walking and
cycling.”
According to
the Space Syntax study incorporated into the proposed UDFs, “The pattern,
arrangement, shape and size of street blocks, plots and their buildings can produce very
different results in terms of permeability, connectivity and accessibility.
These
patterns have a direct influence on route choice preference, ease of movement and
legibility within urban environments.
Certain
kinds of block sizes and arrangements lend themselves better to certain kinds of land use.
Research has found that the grain of streets is usually finer around busy shopping streets
and coarser in more residential areas. This is because smaller blocks maximise the
available surface for display and interaction while minimising journey length. This
pattern helps support successful retail, catering and leisure activities. Such ‘grid
intensification’ is an important property of urban centres and sub-centres.”
The study
determines the accessibility of various roads. Accessibility plays a role in the
distribution of land uses as those that rely on high footfall tend to site themselves in
more accessible locations. Oxford Road would be an appropriate location for retail and
commercial activities. Similarly, the accessibility of roads could be improved to
encourage commercial use, such as extending Illovo Boulevard to improve the accessibility
of Jellicoe and Tyrwhitt.
Existing
alternative vehicular networks are also identified that can operate if, for example,
Oxford Road becomes more pedestrian-oriented.
Sidewalks should be
vibrant public spaces
The UDF proposal states: “Quality is achieved by increasing the quality of
experiences.
Spaces that
are easy to reach are user-friendly and those that have a rich diversity of uses increase
the opportunities available to users and, therefore, provide space with higher public
support. In order to encourage the use of the transit infrastructure, there is a need to
create safe, accessible and well-used pedestrian environments”. Pedestrian access,
safety and comfort are limited in Rosebank and almost non-existent in Sandton. With
greater focus on transport, this needs to be addressed.
Pedestrian
sidewalks have potential to be vibrant public spaces. Pedestrian safety within multiple
transport roads must also be prioritised. Traffic-calming interventions can include raised
intersections, roads with on-street parking and ”no-car” zones.
Active
frontage around public spaces, such as shop and restaurant entrances, encourage pedestrian
activity by contributing to the natural surveillance and, therefore, to the safety of a
street.
“Around
these nodes, the focus is really on the pedestrian,” says Peres. “In terms of
safety, there needs to be passive surveillance of public spaces – active street
fronts like coffee shops and restaurants – and there needs to be management in the
form of security guards and adequate street lighting,” she adds.
Measures
have also been advocated in the landscaping guidelines to make the station surrounds more
attractive to pedestrians.
These
include:
*
articulating facades
to provide visual interest for the pedestrian;
*
integrating the
sidewalk layout near the stations with neighbouring areas with good links to nearby nodes;
*
appropriate lighting,
in level and quality, to help orientation and assist in identifying the stations;
*
ensuring favourable
microclimatic conditions (sunlight and shade) for the proposed use of the public spaces;
*
committing to quality
and durable street furniture and ongoing long-term maintenance of spaces; and
*
encouraging people of
all abilities to use the stations by introducing consistent and well-designed tactile
surfaces and step-free routes.
Densification within
800 m-radius zones
Peres informs Urban Green File that the study areas for Rosebank and Sandton were
determined by establishing an 800 m-radius boundary from the station nodes.
This is an
easily walkable distance of about 10 minutes. Based on the road-network analysis and
through a public participation process, this boundary was morphed into something more
realistic and organic. “The idea is that densification takes place within that
boundary, close to most public amenities, so that more people can get access to public
transport and don’t have to rely on individual vehicles.”
The study
proposes new links to make Sandton and Rosebank more accessible and, correspondingly, more
walkable.
“Sandton
is well-positioned but the urban blocks are large and discourage walking.
Emphasis in
this precinct will be to reduce block size. The Rosebank area has good global but poor
local access. The intention in this precinct will be to reinstate the broken links to
Oxford by eliminating road closures and creating more local linkages off Oxford into the
Rosebank area.”
Rosebank significantly
densified by 2020
According to the UDF proposal, the “Rosebank Box”, which has been
identified through stakeholder consultations for further high intensity mixed-use
development roughly consists of the area between Bolton, Jan Smuts, Jellicoe and Oxford.
Heights of six to 10 storeys will be considered with higher intensity uses of 10 - 15
storeys permitted on the western side of Oxford Road. In addition 15 - 20 storey buildigns
will be supported adjacent to the Gautrain and bus rapid transit stations.
Residential
densification of four to six storeys will be supported in the area defined by Jellicoe,
Rosebank and Keyes roads. The development framework also promotes the development of low
to medium mixed uses in the area defined by Oxford, Bompas, Cradock and Rosebank roads.
In addition,
opportunities have been provided for the creation of an activity street along Tyrwhitt
Avenue, east of Oxford Road, with street cafes and small shops on ground level and
residential apartments above.
The size of
the Rosebank nodal area has been increased significantly to include Dunkeld, parts of
Melrose, Houghton Estate and Saxonwold for the purpose of improved urban management and
intensification of uses.
Peres says:
“Looking at land use, the central part of Rosebank is already predominantly
commercial and will be extended further along the main roads of Glenhove, Oxford and Jan
Smuts.
Educational
institutions within the area are very important to retain. If you are densifying, you need
public amenities and green open spaces. Parks and other civic spaces also need to be
maintained.
It’s
quite a long-term vision. Regarding densification and the rezoning of land use, the
immediate vision from now until 2012 is the Rosebank triangle and a stretch of Illovo
Boulevard; by 2020 the area to the south along Glenhove; and by 2050 parts of Dunkeld,
Saxonwold and Melrose Arch.”
Enhancing
pedestrian activity and identifying more possibilities for civic spaces within the
existing urban fabric is also being encouraged. Oxford Road, Tyrwhitt and Jellicoe avenues
are all seen to be pedestrian-based movement routes, and the idea is to persuade
developers to incorporate a public space as a critical aspect in new projects.
Sandton – smaller
block sizes essential
Sandton is very different from Rosebank, which has a fine-grained, more cosmopolitan feel.
Over time, the character of Sandton has changed from residential, with a legacy of large
city blocks, to commercial. Now a mixed-use component, including residential, needs to be
brought back, in alignment with TOD principles. This, together with higher densities,
means that pedestrian and vehicular access needs to be improved.
“The
existing blocks need to be cut up to improve accessibility,” states Peres. “We
have tried to align new roads to cadastral boundaries and new developments might have to
include servitudes that allow for access through their sites. It’s a long-term
process but it ensures the area becomes more usable.”
Other
changes include street-level activity and movement, through the introduction of retail at
ground level, which will create a much safer and more vibrant environment.
On a global
scale, additional links into Sandton have also been proposed from Wynberg to accommodate
pedestrians from Alexandra.
Densification
around parks and other civic spaces, with a focus on residential developments, will allow
more people to benefit from the psychological advantages associated with green spaces. In
these instances, 18 m distances are being proposed between buildings, planted up with
trees as buffers, to retain a sense of privacy and security.
Catalysts
for improvement of adjacent areas
According to
the landscaping guidelines, “transportation nodes can strongly influence the
perception of the area, and fostering their vitality is essential to encourage future
growth and development in the area. This integration should set high development standards
and catalyse the improvement of adjacent urban areas”.
Massive mixed-use
development opportunity in Sandton
Initially the podium area above the Sandton Gautrain station and Public Transport
Interchange (PTI) was earmarked as a parking area. As this land has extremely high value,
this was seen as a wasted investment opportunity.
StudioMAS
was brought in to propose almost 200 000 m² of high-density mixed use around a central
public square above the station podium. This included suggesting a top structure to
establish what the loading on the station structure below might be. Once this proposal has
been approved by the JPC, it will go out to tender for a private developer.
“The
idea is to create a multifunctional development at ground level with a public square
linked to the more private Nelson Mandela Square,” André van der Westhuizen, also of
studioMAS, tells Urban Green File.
“The
whole thing is designed for pedestrians – it is supposed to be a space that everyone
who comes to Sandton will experience.
Pedestrian
links will cut this block up into smaller areas so it becomes more accessible on foot.
There will be shops with canopies at ground floor, for scale and protection, so façades
are permeable – very much in contrast to present-day Sandton. Fairly specific
guidelines have been provided for each street façade to make a good environment for
pedestrians. These include orientation, solar angles and the shadow lines of buildings so
that the square will always have sunlight, as well as balconies to provide for
surveillance of street level. We have also put together landscaping guidelines for the
future developer in terms of types of appropriate greening for the spaces and façades.
And there is
a policy to retain a certain amount of stormwater on site. This will be stored in an
underground reservoir then released slowly back into the system. Initially this was a
challenge as all the ventilation shafts for the parkade and station spaces had been
designed to come out at street level. These had to be moved up a floor so that they expel
over street level.
These vents
should protrude over the street edge to provide protection below and we have proposed
laser-cut covers to make them more visually acceptable.”
Landscape architecture
will improve legibility
Successful public spaces are used by many different types of people, day and night, and
can contribute greatly to comfort and the quality of urban lifestyle. To achieve this,
designs must be robust and fringed by mixed use. Soft landscaping also adds to the
well-being of communities by creating shade and thus reducing neighbourhood mean
temperatures; managing and retaining stormwater; mitigating hail damage; attenuating wind
force; releasing oxygen; and filtering environmental pollutants.
“The
idea is to be more guiding and respond to the sense of place of the individual sites and
the surrounding landscape between the stations,” says Johan Barnard of Newtown
Landscape Architects, master landscape architects for the Gautrain. “The landscape
guidelines are more concerned with aspects like the micro climate and visual concerns of
the development, and the response will, therefore, vary along the alignment of the
stations. The landscape guidelines try to ensure the end users will enjoy a very legible
environment where pedestrian routes are clearly defined with shady resting and seating
areas in an open and secure area.”
In general,
the landscaping guidelines advocate that plants are to be drought- and frost-tolerant with
the percentage of indigenous species to exceed 90%. The ”under storey” of
vegetation will be kept open for ease of surveillance and no large shrubs will be used due
to safety issues. At least 50% of the plants will be of a flowering variety. The
guidelines state: “Trees are to be used to create architectural space and provide
shade in seating/waiting areas.
Evergreen
trees are to be used in areas where screening of adjacent residential areas is required.
Precincts are to be identified by a predominant tree species to complement the
architectural theme. Where trees are removed they must be replaced as per the agreed
municipal ratio.”
The
guidelines also promote a number of measures to take resource efficiency into account.
These include considering the life cycle and maintenance of materials; verifying the
efficiency of street lighting in terms of energy consumption and light-pollution control;
adopting ”zero runoff” drainage principles wherever possible in order to limit
surface run-off and discharge into drains; and incorporating recycling facilities with
compact units in accessible locations.
An
opportunity to pre-empt change
One thing is
certain, the urban fabric and density of nodes such as Rosebank and Sandton will
inevitably change over coming years. This is the nature of a city like Johannesburg that
attracts more residents and visitors every year.
The
Gautrain, and its associated frameworks, provide an opportunity to pre-empt this change
and to guide development so that the inherent character of the station precincts is
retained and possibly improved. This is an opportunity for the parties involved to engage
in thoughtful design, to achieve a more manageable, sustainable and efficient urban fabric
in these areas.
Success will depend on
detail design
— Comment by Gerald Garner
Never before have Gauteng’s three major cities – Johannesburg,
Tshwane and Ekurhuleni – been in such a favourable position to fix the planning
mistakes of the past. With the development of the Gautrain comes the opportunity to change
the collective city from its sprawling and car-dominated character into a cosmopolitan and
pedestrian-friendly haven. But this will only happen if the basics are in place right from
the beginning. Opportunities that exist upfront cannot be recreated later on. The urban
design and planning principles discussed in this article appear to be the right ones and,
in many ways, Urban Green File is excited about what it hears.
Perhaps, one
day, city dwellers will be able to take a leisurely stroll along wide, tree-lined
sidewalks and through enticing public spaces towards Gautrain’s stations. The public
spaces will be flanked by high-density and mixed-use developments where careful
consideration has been given to the street interfaces. But, to achieve this outcome, many
challenges have to be overcome.
Who will
enforce the urban design frameworks and ensure that all development is in keeping with the
pedestrian-oriented goal? More importantly, who will manage and maintain the various
public spaces? Even the best designs will be flawed if daily upkeep is not up to standard.
Gautrain
offers an immense opportunity to provide South Africa’s prime urban area with genuine
public spaces – something that is sorely lacking at the moment. But Urban Green File
is concerned about the low budgets, which dictate that most of the precinct development
will have to follow in the years after completion of the train system.The success of the
train itself depends on attracting sufficient numbers of commuters. Urban Green File
believes potential commuters will not easily switch from cars to the train if they are
faced with unattractive wastelands around stations where cars are parked in the blazing
sun. While, in the cases of Rosebank and Sandton, developers probably have enough
commercial interest in ensuring proper public space is created, one wonders what the
quality of other station precincts will be.
Also do not
forget the devil is in the detail. While frameworks and policies are important, it is the
detailed landscape design that will render public spaces popular or not. It is good to
know that there is a master landscape architectural firm and urban designers involved in
the overall planning. However it is imperative for each relevant municipality and property
developer to engage its own landscape architects and urban designers to make the vision of
the overall plan come true at local level. This begs the question: Will the custodians of
the urban environment be willing to commit the budgets needed to change the city –
will they be willing to spend money on public art, large trees, proper paving designs,
appropriate street furniture and the like?
-----
WASTE
AND POLLUTION MANAGEMENT
City-wide recycling achievable?
Cape
Town is embracing recycling in order to save costly landfill space. But, is this
initiative finding its feet in the war against waste, asks Sheelah Gullion.
Some people
in this world have grown up with recycling programmes, and have never known what it is to
throw everything in one bin. Yet, in South Africa, we have a long way to go before
reaching that point. But we must begin walking towards this target. In Cape Town,
recycling has progressed beyond the pilot-programme stage and the lessons the city has
learned can inform urban and rural municipalities all over South Africa.
Cape Town
Metro is making progress in resolving the teething problems in its recycling programme as
it begins rolling it out in major parts of the city. The municipal workers strike
notwithstanding, recent press reports on the city’s efforts to recycle have been
largely critical and overshadowed the positive results achieved by the city’s solid
waste department. As with the implementation of any major municipal infrastructure
programme, the actual situation is complex.
Cape Town
has been running various pilot programmes in recycling for years; trying out different
ideas in an effort to find out what works. Drop-off points have been available for a long
time in the city, initially enabling the public to drop off garden waste for composting,
with some recently expanding to include areas for recyclable packaging wastes such as
glass, plastic and cans. Concurrently, the big commodity companies in paper, glass and
aluminium were buying back recyclable materials for reprocessing.
Alison
Davison, recently appointed head of waste minimisation in the city’s department of
solid waste, explains the complexity of this situation using a flowchart to understand the
status quo and to work out how the municipality’s programmes could influence the
existing structure of recycling to make the system work more smoothly.
Initial tenders
involved mistakes
The first of the city’s contracts that mandated recycling ended up costing
everyone involved. There are lessons to be learned from Cape Town’s initial tenders
as some of the mistakes were born out of inexperience.
The first
contracts that included recycling were primarily for waste collection. The city included a
clause that stipulated recycling might need to be included in the collection services but
no additional specification was given. According to Keraan, the waste-collection industry
was, at that time, embroiled in fierce competition and profits were already at a minimum.
The waste companies holding the contracts were unfamiliar with recycling and, more than
likely, didn’t anticipate those extra services being rolled out – but they were.
When this
happened, several of the collection companies found themselves overstretched. Although
they attempted to uphold their contracts, they found themselves trying to pick up general
waste and a bag of recyclable waste using a single truck. If this didn’t work, they
used two trucks and delivered to more than one location – the landfill and a
recycling point. From the perspective of the contractors, they were trying to do two jobs
for the price of one and they couldn’t make it work.
Recycling came to a
halt
In November 2007, after only two months of recycling, the situation came to a
head, and recycling and waste collection came to a halt in the Helderberg area when the
contractor for the area, Wasteman, ceased providing the service. About two weeks later,
the same thing happened in the South Peninsula although this time the service provider,
Millennium Waste, continued its normal refuse-collection service.
This is the
problem with outsourcing: if the service provider runs into problems, the municipality
takes the hit. The positive aspect of outsourcing for better cost-effectiveness is lost if
and when the profit-making entity breaks the contract because it’s losing money.
New risk-and-reward
model
Before these problems even came to light, however, a second set of contracts
had been drafted and signed for recycling in the Atlantic suburbs. It was very different
to the first set of contracts. Bertie Lourens of WastePlan, one of the service providers
that received this second contract, comments: “It’s a lucrative contract for us
if we reach our targets,” he says. “If we do not, there are heavy penalties. So,
there’s a high risk with high reward. I think it’s a brilliant model.”
The new
contract to which WastePlan is bound requires a 50% participation rate, meaning that, in a
residential area, 50% of the homes must participate in the programme. In order to reach
this target, the city has stipulated in its contract that the service provider must set
its own minimum budget for public awareness and communication.
In the
suburbs covered by this contract, the city has calculated that roughly 25% of the waste in
the waste stream is recyclable.
A 50%
participation rate means that 12,5% of the total waste stream should be recycled. Service
providers that don’t hit that 50% participation rate will be penalised, but if the
contractor manages to recycle more than the 12,5%, which is equal to a greater than 50%
participation rate, the city will pay extra for every kilogram collected. It is,
therefore, in the contractor’s best interests to recycle as much as possible for the
most profit.
Recycling
and waste management handled separately
Davison says
the success of WastePlan’s contract stems from its co-operation with Marthinus Waste
because the two companies are complementary.
“Some
of the other tenders were done by a waste collector whose core business doesn’t
include recycling,” she says. “What could work well is if separate, but
collaborating companies tender for waste collection and recyclable collection.”
Polokwane targets in
doubt
For Keraan, the next big link in the chain is the legislation of extended producer
responsibility (EPR). “Part of the reason we decided to roll out recycling was that,
from an industry perspective, we need the waste management companies to start thinking
about waste in a different way,” he says. Other industry sectors also need to begin
taking financial responsibility to ensure that the waste they produce is recycled.
Internationally,
EPR has helped formalize and has developed a market for recyclable material where none
existed previously. In South Africa, this market still does not exist but the Polokwane
Declaration on Waste Management has, as its goal, the reduction of waste disposal by 50%
by 2012 and the development of a plan for zero waste by 2022. In Keraan’s view,
“you need to legislate recycling; you need to legislate EPR and, without it, we’re
never going to hit the Polokwane targets”. The piece of legislation that could assist
in this regard is the National Waste Bill, which could help enforce recycling, or at least
kick-start that end of the supply chain.
Success measured by
empty landfill space
In the meantime, Cape Town measures its success in volumes of empty space.
Every month, the solid waste department reports to the utility services portfolio
committee on the cubic metres of landfill space saved by recycling.
Davison is
involved in putting together new tenders and, concurrently, advising businesses and some
residential areas on how to minimise waste. One strategy involves targeting high-density
areas, for example blocks of flats to start recycling and in so doing reduce the number of
wheelie bins of waste per week. The money saved on monthly payments for these bins is
channelled into setting up in-house recycling initiatives. All it takes is showing people
how to save money.
Sea Point example
As an example, Davison cites one initiative in Sea Point. A block of 49 flats
reduced the number of wheelie bins it used by 10, which, because they were charged R54 per
month for each, immediately freed up R6 480 annually. The property manager then purchased
12 bins for recycling, arranged for collection of recyclables by the city’s
outsourced contractor and, after one year, the recycling bins were paid off and the extra
savings paid for improvements to the property.
In
initiatives like this, the city is taking charge. Davison says they’ve burnt their
fingers on more than one occasion by giving funds and grants to entrepreneurs who bit off
more than they could chew and got away clean.
Lessons for
municipalities
What works in Cape Town may not work in other big metros, says Keraan, and
definitely not for small metros and rural municipalities where transport becomes the
biggest issue of all. Each municipality must consider its advantages and disadvantages.
If a
municipality has plenty available land, drop-off points may work better than curb-side
collection. In agricultural areas, a high percentage of organic waste can kick-start
centralised composting.
The lesson
is simply to get started. In order to, one day, become a country where people grow up
never knowing what life was like before recycling, we have to get over the hump and dump.
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PLANNING
PERSONALITY
Strijdom van der
Merwe: a ‘land artist’
The land as art
“Land
artist” Strijdom van der Merwe probably needs no introduction to Urban Green File
readers. Growing up on a farm near Meyerton in Gauteng, Van der Merwe dreamt of becoming a
farmer but, as the youngest of four boys, he was way down the succession line. He studied
fine art at the University of Stellenbosch instead and, ultimately, succeeded in combining
his love of the earth with his chosen field by practising “land art”.
An art
movement spawned in the 1960s and early 1970s, land art does not attempt to represent the
landscape; the landscape becomes the very means of creation. The artist’s materials
include elements of nature to emphasise the landscape.
The work of
art, therefore, exists only because of the landscape.
As a land
artist, Van der Merwe uses the materials on a particular site. His sculptural forms take
shape in relation to the landscape. It is a process of working with the natural world
using sand, water, wood and rocks. He shapes these elements into geometrical forms that
participate with the environment; continually changing until their final, probable
destruction. He observes the fragility of beauty but does not lament its passing.
Often the
remains are a photographic image; a fragment of the imagination. Van der Merwe is
passionate about his work, which strives to remind people of the capacity, however feeble,
of an individual to alter the universe by embracing ever-changing nature; actively
contributing to it and, in so doing, modulating and beautifying the outcome.
“To
talk about the role of land art is probably as comprehensive as talking about the role of
art,” says Van der Merwe. “I think, over the past two to three years, the art
form has played an increasingly important role in people’s appreciation and
observation of the landscape against a background of global warming, desertification,
melting ice caps and the like,” continues Van der Merwe. “Land art represents,
visually, what statistics in newspapers and academic lectures are trying to explain. And,
of course, the art form shows the beauty and subtlety of the landscape; illustrating the
place of human beings in the bigger picture.”
A few
decades ago, land art was interpreted as protest against the artificiality and ruthless
commercialisation of art, especially at the end of the 1960s in America. The museum and
the gallery were rejected as settings of artistic activity.
The idea was
to develop projects that were beyond the reach of the commercial art market. Another
appealing aspect of land art is its ephemeral nature, which emphasises the fragility of
beauty. ”There is a certain charm to the ephemeral aspect of land art,” says Van
der Merwe. “The impact lies in the fact that the work creates the idea that it forms
part of a natural cycle. Most land artists are not interested in enforcing their own
identities on nature but in forming part of a greater cycle. The landscape impacts on the
artist rather than the other way round.”
Urban
place
Van der
Merwe believes land art has a place in the urban landscape as not all land art is
ephemeral. Depending on the message the work attempts to convey or a client’s
preference, it can also be permanent. “I think the urban dweller has an increasing
need to connect with nature and the land artist can play an important role in forming a
cityscape that enables people to live a more balanced life. I believe land artists have an
understanding of the natural landscape and an ability to introduce this into the urban
setting.”
Art has a
very important role to play in our cities, especially in the aesthetic education of
people. “Only people who are interested in art actually go to galleries and
exhibitions,” Van der Merwe points out.
“What
about the ordinary man on the street? We need to teach people to have an appreciation of
what is beautiful. If people are not able to see it, they will not think about it. If we
use more aesthetic objects in our cities, we will stimulate sensual experiences and this
will, ultimately, contribute to peoples’ ability to improve their own circumstances.
The ideal would be to have educated, participating urban dwellers.”
The
responsibility lies with everybody: developers, architects, contractors, government
officials, town planners and artists. But the role of our educational institutions cannot
be downplayed. We will not be able to enforce art on grownup people.
As an
internationally-acclaimed artist, Van der Merwe has worked and lived in many cities
worldwide.
What is his
opinion of the South African urban landscape? “I think after Ora Joubert’s
comments on the use of the Tuscan style of architecture in South Africa, the man on the
street began to view architectural styles differently. Wonderful things are happening at
the moment, particularly in the tourism industry, especially in places like game lodges. I
believe we are moving towards styles that are becoming ‘signature South African’.”
International acclaim
Strijdom van der Merwe studied art at the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa and
Hooge School voor de Kunste in Utrecht, Holland, as well as the Academy of Art,
Architecture & Design in Prague, Czech Republic, and the Kent Institute of Art &
Design in Canterbury, England. Since 1996, he has worked as a full-time artist. Among
other accolades, he has been awarded the Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant, the medal of
honour from the South African Academy of Arts & Science and he was nominated for the
2008 DaimlerChrysler prize for sculpture in public spaces.
He has been
invited to exhibitions and he has been commissioned in South Korea, Turkey, Belgium,
France, Sweden, Lithuania, Japan, Australia and Italy. He has had many exhibitions in
various art galleries over the years and his work has been bought by numerous private and
public collectors locally and abroad.
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BATTLE OF THE ‘BURBS
Brooklyn v Linden
Development pressures balanced
Two established residential suburbs located in
different metropolitan areas might have more in common than meets the eye.
Brooklyn (in
Pretoria) and Linden (in Johannesburg) were established in the very early 20th century. As
suburbs, they have been two of the staunch survivors in everchanging cities, mostly
retaining their original residential function. Today, they are sought-after high-income
residential locations, which are concurrently subject to pressure for development.
According to Mike Robson of the land-use management department at the City of
Johannesburg, this should not come as a surprise as “any centrallylocated suburb is
under pressure”.
Fortunately,
the planning departments involved appear to be aware of the pressure experienced in
Brooklyn and Linden. Planning theorist, Howell Baum, argues that “at its best,
planning is an inventive art, concerned with diminishing at least the consequences of
uncertainty while holding open possibilities for acting”.
Brooklyn
borders on main arterials, such as Lynnwood Road and Brooklyn Road, and the University of
Pretoria, immediately to its north, has had a major influence on the neighbourhood. As has
the ever-growing Brooklyn retail and office node towards the south west of the suburb.
Linden is
conveniently located near the regional shopping node of Cresta, which plays an influential
role in the broader Linden area, while the struggling former Randburg CBD might also have
an impact on development in the future.
Land use Brooklyn: 7/10
Linden: 6/10
In the case of Brooklyn, the university has a major influence – the most obvious is
the presence of Sonop men’s residence, which seems to have a good-enough relationship
with the local community. Other student housing arrangements in the area have been a
headache to residents. In response, a socalled “commune policy” has been
drafted. When it becomes official council policy, it will allow for student accommodation
to provide for no more than six people to reside on the premises. Also the large number of
guest houses in the area could, in many cases, be directly traced to the presence of the
university.
Another
major influence is the Brooklyn retail and office node. According to the most recent
Spatial Development Framework (still in draft format), the node is developing into one of
the financial nodes of Gauteng – a function traditionally fulfilled by the inner
city. This trend will inevitably have an impact on neighbouring Brooklyn – this
impact is in the form of increased demand for office space or greater traffic volumes.
The
framework suggests the extension of the node along Duncan Street, up to and including
Charles Street, should be the subject of detailed investigations. The introduction of
high-density residential uses around the node is supported.
Several
arterials pass Brooklyn; posing opportunities for retail exposure. The illegal
establishment of home offices have been problematic over the past decade but the council
now has a policy, which clarifies the localities where this type of use will be supported.
For instance, home offices are allowed along Duncan Street but not along Charles Street.
Linden is an
older, established residential area in close proximity to the Cresta regional node,
according to the Regional Spatial Development Framework (RSDF) of 2007/2008. Although
residents probably do most of their shopping elsewhere, local needs are well accommodated
in terms of local neighbourhood nodes. From 5th to 8th streets, along 3rd and 4th avenues,
there are a lot of business activities, mostly in the form of small shops. Council views
these as existing neighbourhood nodes. The RSDF determines that these uses need to be
contained.
A few
restaurants and coffee shops have been established and some envisage the Linden area might
develop a café culture.
As is the
case in Brooklyn, there is a tendency to convert residential structures along major
arterials into home businesses.
According to
Robson, the main focus in the area is to preserve the residential character of the suburb
while accommodating densification and home business development in identified areas only.
“Development
should be concentrated along main movement spines. We will be supporting higher densities
while, at the same time, protecting the mobility function. Access should, therefore, be
provided from side roads,” says Robson.
There are a
variety of schools and churches in Linden, and people commute from elsewhere in
Johannesburg to make use of the facilities.
Differing
from Brooklyn, Linden does not only have single residential and cluster housing as
options. Within the community nodal areas, blocks of flats broaden the typology options
available to residents.
Accessibility Brooklyn:
6/10 Linden: 7/10
Brooklyn’s accessibility has probably been one of the major reasons for
its perennial popularity but, on the flipside, it has also been the prime reason for
continuous pressure exerted on the neighbourhood. Eastern Pretoria has experienced major
development in recent years.
But the
inner city remains a significant node for business.
Movement
between the eastern suburbs and the central areas does not abate. Brooklyn is in between
and roads that once served the local area now serve a definite mobility function.
According to
the RSDF, the mobility function of Charles Street is very important between the
metropolitan cores of Menlyn, Brooklyn and the inner city. Development must be facilitated
in a way that does not compromise mobility. Marais says Charles Street and Brooklyn Road
also have a mobility function and form part of the public transport network. Higher
densities in excess of 40 units/ha will be encouraged to maximise the benefits of public
transport, specifically along Lynnwood Road from Brooklyn Road to Roper Street. Lynnwood
Road will become part of Tshwane’s proposed Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) route. The
character of this road and land use will change accordingly. Public transport in the area
is provided by a bus service around Brooklyn and major arterials.
Linden has
excellent access, contributing to its residential popularity and, increasingly, business
development. Access is provided by Beyers Naudé Drive, passing Cresta, and Malibongwe
Drive and Bram Fisher Road, from the former Randburg CBD. According to Robson, the RSDF
classifies Beyers Naudé and the Barry Hertzog extension as “mobility spines”
while “mobility roads” in Linden are represented by 3rd Avenue and 5th Street,
which take you towards Northcliff Corner. The thrust of the RSDF is to concentrate
development along main movement spines. The mobility functions of streets will be
protected by providing access to adjacent land use by means of side roads. The simple grid
layout, combined with the active neighbourhood nodes and higher-density housing, make the
area more conducive to pedestrianisation.
Development potential
Brooklyn:7/10 Linden:8/10
Although, in Brooklyn, the pressure for development is relatively high, the possibilities
are not that varied if the character of the neighbourhood is to be preserved. Erven used
to be about 2 552 m² but subdivisions were allowed and, today, many sites are about 1 250
m² in size. It is still a reasonable size and more pressure for densification might be
expected in future.
If all goes
according to plan, future development will be focused on nodes and corridors, with
densities on Charles Street probably increasing.
Also, says
Marais, the area around the Brooklyn retail and office node will have to accommodate
offices and higher density residential uses to serve as a buffer for the existing
residential areas.
A plan for
the Brooklyn node was commissioned by the City of Tshwane in terms of which development
applications are considered. The plan has, generally, been accepted as being supportive of
the broad goals and objectives of the RSDF work and will, hopefully, become official
council policy in the near future.
Sense of community
Brooklyn:8/10 Linden: 8/10
Within Brooklyn, open spaces are well-maintained albeit somewhat unimaginative and
old-fashioned. Niemeyer Square, Malcolm Nicholson Park and Brooklyn Square Park all have
potential to be lively community nodes. Maybe local needs for public open space will
increase as densities increase. Brooklyn Primary is a central part of the neighbourhood,
and extra-curricular activities contribute to the vibe.
The
tree-lined streets provide a specific character to the neighbourhood. It has been argued
that the Jacaranda trees along Charles and Lynnwood streets have made a significant
contribution to the image that people have of the greater Pretoria region.
Brooklyn has
some very active residents’ associations, including the Brooklyn Conservation
Association and the Eastern Areas Citizens’ Association.
Although
crime statistics are notoriously difficult to come by, judging by the number of security
guards on duty in the area, as well as the crime prevention mechanisms evident everywhere,
crime is a real concern.
Linden has
little formal or even informal open spaces, but, according to Robson, the residents
probably make use of the nearby Emmarentia Dam. A local swimming pool and limited sports
facilities are provided in Pistorius Park. The schools in the area have extensive
facilities that are also used by residents.
A stronger
‘sense of community’ is found in the nodal areas of the neighbourhood with the
established residential areas sporting the traditional high walls and electrical gates.
Interestingly
enough, quite a few town planners work and live in the area, and hints that people ‘in
the know’ might believe in a blooming future for Linden.
As with
Brooklyn, the crime situation in Linden seems on par with other metropolitan suburbs.
However, the community has set up a password accessed website where residents can note any
irregular behaviour in the neighbourhood.
The website
is linked to the local police station.
Conclusion Brooklyn:
28/40 Linden: 29/40
The respective authorities could not have avoided the pressures that Brooklyn and Linden
are experiencing. Although not all of the government responses were timeous, the overall
perception is that, with the local residents on board, planning has managed to at least
begin “diminishing the consequences of uncertainty while trying to keep possibilities
for action open”.
-----
INSPIRATION
Innovative detail design
It is most
encouraging to see a shopping centre that looks different to the ‘copy-book
architecture’ we have become accustomed to.
In recent
years, retail centres have become much more than places for shopping. In South Africa
today, they form an integral part of community life and people spend considerable leisure
time there. Urban Green File is, therefore, encouraged to notice an increasing number of
shopping center developers paying attention to the quality of the urban environment.
In Atholl,
Johannesburg, the new Blu Bird shopping centre is inspirational.
Firstly,
because it is not surrounded by a sea of parking space – most parking is underground,
hidden from the eye, where it cannot create a massive heat island around the centre.
The
architecture by Boogertman & Partners and landscape architecture by Alan Dixon,
installed by Life Landscapes, is also refreshing – modern and clean. The use of
gabion baskets and timber plant boxes at the edges of the small, central parking lot
defines the interface between this area and the building itself. Indigenous trees provide
shade and, although the groundcover parking is exotic, it is, nevertheless, well-designed.
Detailed
design makes this space – from the innovative steel artwork that forms a defining
street “fence” to the reflective lights in the parking area and building
signage, all have been carefully designed to fit together.
Restaurants
and coffee shops create a vibrant street café culture. Perhaps the developer was inspired
by nearby Melrose Arch? One thing is certain, this part of Johannesburg is undergoing a
massive improvement in terms of the quality of the urban environment.
-----
INSULT
Out of scale!
Five storeys in a
countryside village should be out of the question.
Clarens, as
one of South Africa’s best-known picturesque villages, is often mentioned in the same
breath as Rhodes, Prins Albert and Dullstroom. However, after a recent visit, Urban Green
File feels there is cause for concern. The village is known for its countryside appeal
with most buildings at one- or two-storey height. This is true even for the many shops,
galleries and restaurants lining the main street and village green.
Yet a new
hotel is going up and its scale is completely out of context. It has been,
unsympathetically, placed on the slope with one façade rising five storeys!
One could
argue the hotel is less of a problem than the many new housing estates causing sprawl and,
therefore, destroying the inimitable character of the village. Soon Clarens could look
like any suburban area in a South African city. It could be argued that densities are
increasing within the village itself while the “urban edge” is protected. Was
this, perhaps, the thinking behind the hotel?
But Urban
Green File argues the hotel could have been designed to blend in with its surroundings.
Surely a lower-storey design, centred around a courtyard, would have been more in keeping
with the village character? Perhaps the choice of site is part of the problem?
A taller
building would have been better placed flanking the village green rather than neighbouring
residential buildings.
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TREE OF THE ISSUE
Trichilia
emitica
Urban forester
In
warm areas, town councils should consider the Natal Mahogany (Trichilia emitica) as a
‘street tree’.
It is
surprising the Natal Mahogany with its darkgreen, lush leaves is not specified more often
as a “street tree”. Although sensitive to frost and, therefore, not appropriate
for the Highveld, it can be grown successfully in more temperate regions, such as
Pretoria, the Bushveld, the Lowveld and, certainly, KwaZulu-Natal. It could be planted in
coastal towns with great success.
The pictured
specimen was planted by a resident of Pretoria beside a street adjacent to the CSIR. In
this case, Trichilia specimens are interspersed with Celtis (white stinkwoods) to form an
attractive tree-lined avenue.
The Natal
Mahogany grows to a very large size and can be pruned to allow for traffic and telephone
lines. It grows fast and is able to survive drought but will do much better if regularly
irrigated.
As it is a
distinctive tree and not widely used in South African cities, it can be applied to great
effect to create a unique sense of place. Perhaps the designers of the Gautrain station
precincts should consider this tree as an option for avenues or parking areas in Pretoria?
—
This is the second time Trichilia emitica has been chosen as Urban Green File's “tree
of the issue”. After 12 years of publishing, we thought it apt to revisit some “stalwart”
trees that make a significant difference in urban greening.
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