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Contents
of October 2010
COMMENT
Take
ownership
UPFRONT
What
is new and happening?
GREEN BUILDINGS
Massive volume of water saved
By
implementing water harvesting and recycling initiatives, a major car-rental company has
saved over 75 Ml of water so far.
GREEN BUILDINGS IN BRIEF
CITY
VISIT
Transport infrastructure transforms Braamfontein
Jo’burg’s
inner city is turned around through the provision of new public-transport infrastructure.
ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING & DESIGN
Durban’s beachfront decluttered
A
“less is more” approach to urban design results in a safer public realm for
Durban.
WASTE & POLLUTION MANAGEMENT
Wasted
spaces reduced
Space-saving strategies for landfill sites investigated.
WASTE & POLLUTION MANAGEMENT BRIEFS
INSPIRATION
Public space remake in Jo’burg
INSULT
Ripped up and dangerous roads
VIEWPOINT
The
need for heritage impact assessments
-----
COMMENT
Focus on sustainable maintenance
Municipalities
need to take ownership of their newly designed spaces and places as ongoing maintenance is
needed to ensure long-term sustainability.
It
is almost 15 years since Urban Green File was founded a decade and a half in which I have
noticed remarkable progress in the design of South African cities. Undoubtedly, our cities
are better off today than they were in 1996. Massive strides have been made in the
provision of basic services such as water and sanitation. In general, the public
environment has received better attention.
Today our cities boast new public precincts and infrastructure such as BRT systems and
even the Gautrain! The 2010 FIFA World Cup played a key role in this regard. Durban and
Cape Town are certainly better off with their upgraded parks, sidewalks and promenades.
Inner cities have also had wide-scale improvement. Johannesburg, for example, is
undergoing a remarkable rebirth.
However, one aspect needs more attention: urban management and maintenance. It seems that
South African cities are at the forefront when it comes to reimagining the landscape.
Whether or not it is an awe-inspiring new stadium, or a small pocket park, only the best
is provided. Nevertheless, it seems that no one is willing to take ownership. The
consequence is that many remade public spaces fall into disrepair over the years only to
have to be rejuvenated with another costly makeover in a decade’s time.
Perhaps part of the problem lies in municipalities relying on outsourcing to get anything
done. When it comes to the construction of new spaces and places, South Africa has a
remarkable skills set so we excel at new projects. But when it comes to maintenance and
management, either the municipalities outsource to contractors who are not experienced in
the job or they fail to make a plan at all.
What makes this matter worse is the fragmented nature of municipalities. This is
especially true when it comes to fixing or reinstalling infrastructure. In Johannesburg,
countless upgraded pavements have been dug open to fix a pipe or cable and not properly
reinstalled. In the process, the original costly investment is wasted.
My wish for the next 15 years of Urban Green File is for South Africa’s
municipalities to take ownership of their spaces and places. A greater focus on
sustainable maintenance and management is needed rather than rolling out new construction
projects only.
Passing the baton
It is my privilege to introduce Urban Green File’s new editor –
Vicky Rae Ellmore. She is also the editor of our sister series of facilities-management
journals: JFM Sports Facilities, JFM Transport
Facilities and JFM Business, Retail &
Leisure Facilities. Her knowledge of facilities management places her in the ideal
position to put pressure on municipalities to ensure ongoing upkeep of city
infrastructure. I shall continue to write a regular column for this magazine but, in the
interim, I would like to thank all of our loyal readers for their input over the years.
Your letters and the ensuing thought-provoking debates have been a constant source of
inspiration!
-----
UPFRONT
‘Outcome 10’
envisages better environment
“Environmental
assets and natural resources which are valued, protected and continually enhanced” is
outcome 10 of the 12 outcomes envisaged for the country by the South African government.
Minister of Water & Environmental Affairs, Buyelwa Sonjica, committed her departments
to this outcome by signing a delivery agreement recently. The agreement is between her and
the MECs responsible for the environmental portfolio in each province. Sonjica stated
that, although South Africa makes up just 2% of the global land area, it is home to almost
10% of the world’s plants, and 7% of reptiles, birds and mammals. Sadly, much of our
terrestrial ecosystems and over 80% of our river systems are threatened.
“We rank among the world’s 20 biggest greenhouse-gas emitters and we are the
highest emitter on the African continent. Unaddressed, these issues could seriously
undermine South Africa’s ability to pursue a sustainable-development path and our
ability to address developmental challenges. Spatial-planning and spatial-development
decisions are still fragmented and there is still a need to address competing land uses
and to ensure that industry and infrastructure-development programmes facilitate the
long-term sustainability of natural systems and the environment.”
Sonjica hopes to address four critical problems in order to achieve the “outcome
10” – these include:
*unsustainable use of wateras the quality and quantity of water resources are in decline;
*greenhouse-gas emissions which impact on climate change and pollute the atmosphere
*lack of systematic open-space planning and waste management undermines the quality of
human settlements and the environment; and
*insufficient protection of biodiversity and ecosystem services.
Large-scale
tree planting
Retail
giant Game hopes to plant 40 000 indigenous trees through its Let’s Grow project. The
programme kicked off on September 1 when 2 000 indigenous trees were planted at Siphiwe
Samangwe Primary School near Loskop in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands.
Acid
mine drainage acknowledged
“The
Chamber of Mines is aware of the hazards emanating from acid mine drainage. which has been
decanting over a period from derelict and abandoned mines,” says Zoli Diliza, chief
executive of the chamber. “We are also acutely aware of the enormity of the
challenges faced by government to address the issue. The industry is, therefore, prepared
to work with government to find solutions which would not only deal with underground
flooding but also eliminate potential harm to people in a sustainable manner. We,
therefore, wish to express our support and commitment to Minister Buyelwa Sonjica and the
Department of Water Affairs in addressing these issues and hope that the experts appointed
to look into this matter will accord the industry an opportunity to make meaningful
input.”
-----
GREEN BUILDINGS
75 414 000 l saved
Recycling
and water-harvesting initiatives have been implemented by Avis South Africa primarily in
response to environmental considerations. The company has saved 75 414 000 l in 2010.
Because
of the nature of the business, water consumption by Avis is substantial with an average of
between 1 000 to 1 500 cars washed at the company’s three main depots a day at about
186 l per car. “We are well aware of the huge amounts of water which the car-rental
industry uses on a daily basis. So, when we decided to upgrade our turnaround facilities,
we took the opportunity to ensure that our new facilities complied with the highest
standards of water conservation and set up an intensive water-recycling programme,”
Jessica Branco, sustainability manager: corporate social responsibility for Avis Rent A
Car, comments. She informs Urban Green File that the focus on water efficiency forms part
of the company’s Avis Cares philosophy, noting that “Avis management always has
the environment top of mind in its developments and processes, and we engage with the
local communities within which we operate”.
Although Wayne Duvenage, chief executive of Avis Rent A Car South Africa, discloses that
the company has saved more than R1-million in water costs over the past two years from its
water-recycling efforts, he reiterates that the economic savings are a secondary benefit.
“Taking action to reduce the impact on the environment was triggered by the moral
imperative to do the right thing,” he says.
Recycling system traps
and reuses
Three Avis sites have been equipped with automatic drive-through car-wash
systems which encompass a basic recycling system three at the existing facility in Isando
near Johannesburg, and two each at the new facilities in Durban and Cape Town.
David Jones of Garage Equipment Service notes that the machines were imported from the US
and came with a basic recycling system. “Being a drive-through, as opposed to a
roll-over with a frequently repeated programme, the time it takes to do the wash depends
on how slowly or quickly the car is driven through the wash bay. In the ideal situation,
this would be about 90 seconds from driving in to driving out, and it is possible to have
more than one car in the system at the same time. So the quantity of water, electricity
and detergent used is not fixed.”
The basic water-recycling system, as supplied by the manufacturer, reduces water use by
about two thirds. However, Avis requested additional steps to reduce water consumption
further so the consultants carried out modifications to the standard equipment. Sensors
have been installed to detect when a car is in exactly the right position before fresh
water is sprayed onto the car and the water is switched off automatically as soon as the
car leaves that point. “The car-wash equipment is modular,” says Jones.
“Firstly, there is a high-pressure side blaster to wash down the sides of the car
where mud and dirt are thrown up. This uses a fairly high volume of water. Then there is a
rinse-arch which sprays a pre-soak chemical onto the car to start breaking the dirt down.
Next, a series of brushes wash the car; breaking down the surface tension with detergent
which is biodegradable. Water is sprayed continuously through these brushes through
nozzles so that the car is kept wet. Finally, there are two rinse arches and a
dryer.”
All of the initial stages from the
high-pressure side blaster to the brushes use recycled water. The two rinse arches have
been set up using municipal water to flush off the recycled water and ensure a quality
wash. The car then moves through a dryer which blows the water off the vehicle.
On a site where no recycling is done, this rinse water would pass through oil-separator
pits into the municipal sewer system. But, in this case, the water flows through a drain
and oil-separator pits, and is then held in tanks and reused. Only the excess water passes
out through the sewer system. To enable this process, the oil-separator pits are built on
a bigger scale than usual to enable more water to be trapped and reused. According to
Jones, it is necessary to top up the small amount of water lost to evaporation and
run-off, and left on the car when it leaves the wash bay.
Supplementing through
harvesting
The rainwater-harvesting component of the project started in Cape Town with the
new turnaround facility which opened there about 18 months ago. Underground tanks store
roof run-off rainwater which is used to replace municipal water for the final rinse in the
car-wash process. This system has also been built at the new King Shaka International
Airport in Durban. The capacity in Cape Town is around 150 000 l and it is about 120 000 l
in Durban. At Isando, the system includes a header tank of about 10 000 l which is used to
pump harvested rainwater from underground tanks at the lowest point of the site up to the
car wash and as an additional groundwater-harvesting component to supplement the municipal
supply. This means that the water-harvesting component will not be entirely dependent on
the rainy season. Frank Jaucot of FJ & Associates, architect on the Isando facility,
says: “Further to the recycled component of the project and harvesting from the roofs
of the surrounding buildings, we were able to supplement the water supply using an
existing groundwater problem on site. The existing building is about 35 years old, and has
a system of sumps and drains to drain the basements from a natural aquifer which runs
through the property. We found the amount of water pumped from these considerable so we
are putting that water to good use. We collect it from a series of sumps and pump it to
the underground tank for use in the car-wash process. The water has been tested by an
independent laboratory and is of a good quality. The test we did showed that, optimally,
we can obtain about 12,4 kl/day from this groundwater.” Jaucot adds that filtering
harvested and recycled water to a point where it is good enough to use on the final rinse
cycle, is very expensive energy-wise and in terms of filtration equipment so the last part
of the car-wash cycle has to rely on municipal water supply which is then supplemented
with harvested water.
Challenging
implementation
The
team had to go to great lengths to implement the water-harvesting systems, particularly in
Isando. In addition to encountering rock in excavating for the water tanks, the site had
existing infrastructure and was very constrained in size. “The site constraints were
exacerbated by the fact that the client’s normal operations continued throughout the
construction process,” Jaucot comments. “And, as a small site which has grown in
bits and pieces over the years, it also presented problems in terms of optimising the flow
of traffic around existing structures and adhering to the necessary health and safety
regulations. There is a lot of traffic in the area there were times when there were up to
800 cars being dispatched for the airport in the morning. From a construction point of
view, that made the site difficult to run.” Craig Naude, area manager: Isando
despatch, notes: “Cape Town and Durban had the benefit of operating from old sites
and building on new sites. We didn’t have that luxury. We had to fence off certain
areas where construction was happening, and soil and materials were being stockpiled.
“So, although we started first, we will finish last because of the phased
implementation. We had to sit down and plan the whole process carefully.” The current
phase of the upgrade to Isando involves a new fuel facility. It was costing too much to
maintain the existing infrastructure which was over 35 years old and this infrastructure
was becoming an environmental hazard, given the age of the equipment. Challenges involved
time constraints concerning the EIA process for the repositioning of the fuel tanks and
installing new fuel tanks while the old operation was still in progress. The next phase
will involve commissioning the new fuel tanks and decommissioning the old ones.
Ironing
out metering issues
“To
estimate the actual usage, Avis asked us to install water meters on the fresh and recycled
water lines,” says Jones. “However, we soon encountered a problem in that the
residual dirt in the recycled water clogged up the meters which then gave us incorrect
readings of the amount of water being recycled. So, at each of the three locations, we
have converted one machine to run entirely on municipal water. This will set a benchmark
and enable us to take more accurate readings to show how we have reduced water
usage.” The capacity calculated is based on the rainfall catchment areas and, in
Johannesburg, on the additional groundwater supply. Ground run-off from the paving is too
dirty to use and presents too many filtering issues. The recycled and harvested water goes
through a basic filtering process which is trial and error at the moment. Jones says that
more time is needed to establish the overall quality of the water and whether or not the
quantity harvested from the roofs in Durban and Cape Town will be adequate for the washing
process all year round. He does mention, though, that Avis certainly benefited from using
harvested water for several days each month during the most recent wet season in the Cape.
Lessons
learned
According
to Duvenage, lessons learned include: “If building new facilities, it is easier to
design the water recycling into the plans than to retrofit and to keep
rainwater-harvesting reservoirs below the ground.”
Jaucot adds: “Bearing in mind that Avis is reducing its carbon footprint in Isando
just by recycling the building itself and that building from scratch would have a far
greater environmental impact, the lesson to be learned is to plan systems in advance.
Designing energy-efficient buildings and setting up equipment is far more effective when
done right from the start rather than retrofitting later. By investigating the
rainwater-harvesting options available in South Africa at the moment, we believe that the
same principals can be applied to other buildings and developments which are committed to
reducing water consumption. Branco says: “Cost is normally a deterring factor but,
once companies do the calculations, they will realise that the payback period is minimal
and they will soon be saving money by recycling water and saving South Africa millions of
litres of valuable water.”
In terms of expanding water efficiency to other activities, Jaucot says: “We are,
firstly, looking at existing infrastructure as many of our buildings are old with
inefficient infrastructure, leaking water pipes and fittings. Then we will replace
inefficient equipment with new systems, like dual-flush cisterns and infrared-activated
taps, and only have cold water in the bathrooms with hydroboil units in the kitchens
rather than geysers. We are also investigating solar heating, and are currently
implementing energy-efficient lighting and occupancy switching to all buildings. We will
also be looking at solar water heating.”
Scarce resource
appreciated
In an industry with extraordinarily high water consumption, located in an area
where water can be viewed as a scarce resource, Avis has taken the first valuable steps
towards minimising municipal water usage and maximising the utilisation of naturally
occurring on-site water resources.
Additional greening
projects
“We are constantly looking at ways to reduce energy consumption, waste
generation and greenhouse-gas emissions,” Jessica Branco, sustainability manager:
corporate social responsibility for Avis Rent A Car, tells Urban Green File. “We have
extended this to an internal programme, which incorporates our staff members in our
‘greening’ initiatives, called Earth Champions. Our Earth Champions drive
various energy-reduction, recycling and greening projects which include being water wise
where we encourage staff to look for ways to reduce consumption and give suggestions for
improvement.”
EnviroServ Waste Management has also been brought on board to help Avis in coordinating
its different greening initiatives. The company reports on water consumption, waste
recycling and management, and energy efficiencies; coordinating the various people doing
the different initiatives to ensure effective and timeous implementation.
The waste-recycling programme includes separation at source using different bins in the
offices, and staff members are encouraged to bring in waste from home. All recyclable
material is sorted on site into the different categories, including oil and hazardous
waste. This is to minimise the amount of waste sent to landfill and to promote recycling.
This process also poses its own industry related challenges and awareness and education
programmes were required at all levels. For example, the disposal of oily rags to
hazardous-waste sites is not a simple matter. If these rags are thrown into the general or
recyclable waste bins, the entire batch of waste becomes hazardous. As there is quite a
large cost associated with sending waste to landfill and hazardous sites, focusing on
minimising waste streams saves costs in terms of transport and actual disposal, as well as
creating job opportunities at the on-site recycling facility.
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GREEN BUILDINGS BRIEFS
Sustainable buildings celebrated
While
the winner of this year’s AfriSam-South African Institute of Architects Award for
Sustainable Architecture was Koop Design’s Dalton Compound which is set in a game
reserve, Urban Green File was delighted that various urban buildings received
commendations. These included, among others, Hillbrow’s Ekhaya Project (design by
Savage & Dodd Architects), Lifestyle Garden Centre (design by Nsika Architecture &
Design) and the Lynedoch Community Centre at Spier (design by ARG Design).
First
as-built green stars
South
Africa’s first building to achieve a four-star Green Star SA “as-built”
rating is Nedbank’s Phase 2 development in Sandton, Johannesburg. This is in
accordance with the Office v1 rating tool of the Green Building Council of South Africa
(GBCSA). In 2009, the same building was the first in South Africa to achieve a Green Star
SA design rating.
Commenting on this milestone, Nicola Douglas, CEO of the GBCSA, says: “Nedbank has
shown incredible commitment to the green building movement in South Africa by following up
its achievement last year of being the first design-rated project to also claim the first
Green Star SA as-built rating. The GBCSA commends the entire project team on this
significant achievement.”
Another Nedbank building, this time in KwaZulu-Natal and developed by Zenprop, is Nedbank
Ridgeside Umhlanga which has also been awarded an “office design version 1”
four-star rating recently, Urban Green File can disclose.
Another
rating tool on the cards
A
rating tool for multi-use residential (MUR) buildings is now being developed by the Green
Building Council of South Africa, Urban Green File can disclose. The development process
for this tool is being co-sponsored by Menlyn Maine Investment Holdings. The tool will be
based on the Green Building Council of Australia’s Green Star MUR rating tool but
localised to suit South Africa’s climatic, regulatory and commercial environments.
After passing the necessary pilot phases, the Green Star SA MUR rating tool is expected to
be launched officially in May 2011.
Liveable
urbanism
A
shift from “green urbanism”, which involves minimisation of environmental
damage, to “liveable urbanism”, which focuses on the restoration of life, is
necessary so said Prof Mark Swilling of Stellenbosch University’s Sustainability
Institute at the 2010 Green Building Council of South Africa Conference.
Swilling added that an alignment was needed between energy-efficient buildings,
transportation and the management of urban infrastructures in order for cities to be truly
sustainable. He also argued for the rate of economic growth to be decoupled from the rate
of resource consumption. He enthused: “If cigarettes were labelled in the way that
green buildings are, people would think smoking light cigarettes would make them
healthier!”
Pavilion
on the move
The
AZA Pavilion, displayed on Mary Fitzgerald Square in Johannesburg during the recent AZA
2010 conference and events, will be relocated to Thinasonke and rebuilt as a community
centre reportedly the first permanent structure in the settlement. The structure has been
designed by architects Sarah Calburn and Dustin Tusnovics while a team of women and young
men from the Thinasonke informal settlement on the East Rand has helped with its initial
construction – all belong to the Federation of the Urban Poor.
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CITY VISIT
Transportation transformation
Will
the outlook for Johannesburg’s inner city finally be turned around with new
investment in public-transport infrastructure?
Johannesburg’s
inner city is discovering a new identity. People no longer orientate themselves from
street to street. Instead, iconic Rea Vaya stations have become the navigating form with
which urban dwellers come to understand and experience their cityscape. Now they hop on a
Rea Vaya bus the city’s bus rapid transit (BRT) system at Library Gardens Eastbound
en route to Johannesburg Art Gallery Station, the busiest in town, to meet up with friends
in Joubert Park, grab something to eat at Jabulani Fast Food and head for home in
Hillbrow.
According
to Sharon Lewis, executive manager: planning and strategy at the Johannesburg Development
Agency (JDA), up to 34 000 people are already using the Rea Vaya buses on a daily basis.
She informs Urban Green File that station names are already becoming the landmarks by
which people familiarise themselves with the city. Other public-transport initiatives,
such as the Gautrain and upgrades to Park Station, are also set to reshape
Johannesburg’s inner core.
In urban-planning theory, it is accepted that a truly “green” city is
underpinned by an efficient public-transport network. Public transport reduces reliance on
private vehicles, it reduces the need for travel, minimises emissions and thus cramps the
entire carbon footprint of the city into a well-functioning and resourceful whole. A green
city prioritises a pedestrian- and cycle-friendly environment and supports mixed-use
developments.
But, with the implementation of the Rea Vaya BRT system and the Gautrain in their
“baby shoes”, Urban Green File sets out to ask how much transformation the
Johannesburg inner city has already witnessed as a spin-off from new public-transport
infrastructure. Will the charmingly chaotic city finally be transformed into a dense,
liveable, vibrant and green community as a result of these projects?
The theoretical reshape
In the 1990s, Bogotá in Colombia was gradually transformed into a more
functional, liveable city. This came about as a direct spin-off from the implementation of
a BRT system. The concept was first developed and implemented by urban revolutionist,
Jaime Lerner in Curitiba, Brazil, and then duplicated by Mayor Enrique Peñalosa in
Bogotá with great success.
Years later, the same tried-and-tested model was assessed and considered by a team of
professional consultants for cities in South Africa. Some critics argued that the Bogotá
model was shoehorned into South African cities without proper planning and development
interventions.
However, Lisa Seftel, the City of Johannesburg’s executive director of transport,
points out that the Rea Vaya system comprises a single route at the moment, and is still
to become a fully developed network. “Once the system moves from one route to a
network, the full effectiveness and urban impact will become more evident. Rea Vaya is a
phased project and it is still in its relative infancy.”
The BRT station might be a cut-and-paste job, some may argue, but it has already started
to act as a catalyst, by its very existence, for private developers to cluster commercial
and residential nodes around it. A brand-new McDonald’s was recently built near the
BRT station in Joubert Park and, according to Lewis, one can observe how business owners
have started to upgrade shopfronts and window façades around the new Rea Vaya stations to
attract the new influx of people.
Catalyst for inner-city
rejuvenation
One specific property-development company which views public transport as a
major catalyst for inner-city development is South Point Properties. The company is
undertaking several projects in Braamfontein. Rob Lowdon, its CEO, claims this area is the
most “functional and dynamic mixed-use precinct” in Johannesburg.
Here South Point has, among others, developed a series of high-density student
accommodation blocks, a vibey boutique hotel and a plush lounge to cater specifically for
young city dwellers. “As a company, we have the objective to create a more liveable
CBD where young urban professionals and students can live in a mixed-use set-up with
accommodation that is community- and lifestyle-based,” Lowdon tells Urban Green File.
Transport infrastructure in and around Braamfontein is one of the core motivations for
these projects, he points out. “Transport infrastructure is a strong catalyst for
future development and we find the new transport projects very exciting,” says
Lowdon. “The accessibility of inner-city precincts from a transport point of view is
critical. In future, Braamfontein is likely to become one of Africa’s busiest
international transport hubs with nodes such as Park Station, the adjacent Gautrain
station and the connecting Rea Vaya BRT stations. This interconnectivity is paramount to
our future development objectives”.
A natural phenomenon
Urban regeneration as a result of public-transport investments is a natural
phenomenon. Transport systems will, naturally, create positive spin-offs for a city.
The local authority is providing an investment which will, fundamentally, change the way
people think about their environment. This will happen unintentionally and be driven by
commercial interest. “Property developers will exploit the public-transport
infrastructure to have an edge over their competition,” remarks Anton Comrie of Green
Inc Landscape Architects.
Public transport with the huge amount of people it attracts at a single point in time
provides a solid competitive edge and proactive developers will capitalise on this fact.
Seftel, therefore, argues that it is possible that the low-cost, single-storey houses
adjacent to the Marlboro Gautrain station, for example, will be reaped by commercial
developers or the areas around Gautrain
stations will be turned into more functional, multi-use spaces.
Comrie points out that the critical question one needs to ask, however, is whether or not
authorities are establishing the processes and policies to untap the potential of these
destinations and to create sensible, pedestrian-friendly public spaces around them? He
observes that, with its mining legacy, the City of Johannesburg does not own a lot of
public land which means that the municipality will have to rely, by and large, on
commercial powers to develop pedestrian precincts and public spaces around transport
nodes. But, in order to do so, the private sector must be incentivised.
Seftel adds that, if property developers take on greenfield sites, they are required to
contribute to the introduction of electricity and sewage services. A well-located
inner-city space, set on a busy transport node, therefore, naturally acts as an incentive
for development.
Municipal support
required
Lowdon
concurs. “Transport projects are, by default, catalysts for development. However, we
believe that the municipality does not focus enough on the requirements of private
developers to develop functional precincts, and doesn’t pay sufficient attention to
this.” He cites the pedestrian quality of Braamfontein as an example. “The
existing actual street and pavement infrastructure is completely dysfunctional for the
precinct as it is today, and how it is likely to be over the next five years. The streets
start and end nowhere with four or five lanes dedicated to cars. My biggest concern is
that greater preference is given to the private car than to the pedestrian. Often
pedestrians have to walk on narrow, poorly maintained, life-threatening pavements which
affect the walkability and liveability of the precinct”.
According to Lowdon, the urban-development frameworks for Braamfontein were limited and
did not specify any guidelines for the utilisation of open spaces. “We presented a
plan to widen the pavements, to make the roads more multi-functional and to plant trees as
well as start greening in certain areas within the precinct.”
Car vs Pedestrian
The car paradigm, which is part of South Africa’s historic background,
still affects the planning processes and, more importantly, the political decisions taken
to “improve” our cities.
This is an argument raised by Ibrahim Seedat, who is the director of public-transport
policies for the Department of Transport. According to Seedat, the trajectory for South
African cities was to take off from the US in the 1950s. Similar to America, the
middle-class white South Africa of the 1980s was built for cars, he recently commented in
one of Urban Green File’s sister publications, JFM Transport Facilities. Calling our
cities “glorified road departments”, Seedat argued that the successful
implementation of the BRT system relied on strong-willed politicians (such as Lerner and
Peñalosa) who supported concepts such as “densification”,
“walkability” and “pedestrianism” not only in rhetoric but also in
practice.
This view is supported by Comrie who believes that it is vital for someone within the
municipality to, holistically and sustainably, address the direct impacts of public
transportation on the urban form from a multi-disciplinary perspective someone who gives
these concepts more political clout. He argues that, when compared to Bogotá and
Curitiba, the implementation of the BRT is different in South Africa because the
environmental objective of a “healthy, liveable” city was not the main
objective.
To tie in with the inherited public-car argument, Seftel says that the City of
Johannesburg is challenged by clashes between disorganised public transport and
residential developments. She cites the work done by the Affordable Housing Company in
Doornfontein as an example. “We get complaints that taxis are parking everywhere,
that there is no mobility and that people cannot move their cars. At the moment, there is
still a clash of objectives and a lack of adequate space to accommodate public transport
in the inner city.” Lewis also confirms that the introduction of the BRT presented a
lot of challenges in this regard, and the municipality is still confronted with conflict
between cars, buses and pedestrians. “However, as more people move to public
transport, this conflict can be minimised,” adds Seftel.
Athens wasn’t
built in a day
Despite the obvious private-car challenge, Lowdon highlights that the City of Johannesburg
is very approachable with new ideas to improve the urban form and address problems faced
by private developers. “We have very positive lines of communication with the
municipality. They are easy to deal with, and they are a lot more proactive than they used
to be. A paradigm shift is taking place.”
He also acknowledges that it is still very early for the implementation and uptake of
public transport in the city. “The municipality put a lot of effort into the 2010
FIFA World Cup so the incentives weren’t that evident. We’re hoping that this
drive and intent will become more evident now that the city can channel its resources in a
more balanced way,” says Lowdon.
He highlights how the inner city of Athens was completely transformed after the 2004
Olympic Games as a result of public transport. “Prior to the Olympic Games, the
transport infrastructure in Athens was a disaster. The games acted as a medium for
revival. Around all the stations arose the most exciting mixed-use areas and, for a period
of 10 years, there was significant growth and development in the inner city. Without the
new transport systems it would not have happened.”
It is evident that the City of Johannesburg views public transport and the improvement of
pedestrian quality as a priority for the future. Lewis says: “The JDA recognises the
need to improve the overall pedestrian experience. We aim to create intensity of
activities around the bus stations by improving the environment, creating public squares
and improving paving conditions so that pedestrians feel safe to walk to and from
public-transport services. It’s also an important objective to increase the
connection points and linkages between the bus stations and other places of importance,
such as high-density residential neighbourhoods, Park Station and taxi facilities like
Metro Mall.”
In Braamfontein, the JDA is upgrading the Commuter Links Precinct. This project will
address the pedestrian quality of a large part of southern Braamfontein and strengthen
pedestrian links into the CBD. The objective
is to improve and widen pavements, to increase the walkability on Queen Elizabeth Bridge,
and to conduct general greening and landscaping interventions along the streets. Lewis
informs Urban Green File that the project will be undertaken by Ikemeleng Architects and
the tender for construction will go out in the near future.
Lewis mentions several other projects tasked to the JDA: improvement of the Twist/Troye
Street Bridge which leads to Hillbrow and involves complicated design and public
consultation. The bridge needs to be widened to create more space for pedestrians and to
reduce conflict between them, traffic and traders. A major public-environment upgrading
project is also being planned around the Westgate Rea Vaya stop and the Westgate Station
in the southwest of the city. New public spaces will also be created around
public-transport nodes in Orlando East and Kliptown.
In terms of freeing up land to use for public space, a major plan in the pipeline, driven
by the City of Johannesburg’s Department of Economic Development, involves decking
the railway lines (see article in the April 2010 edition of Urban Green File). This is a
long-term plan but it will deliver open space for greening and high-density development
along the railway lines around Park Station. The area of land to the west of Nelson
Mandela Bridge, some of which belongs to Transnet, also offers an opportunity for
residential and open-space developments.
Transit-oriented
developments
In 2008, the South African Cities Network (SACN) identified sustainable public transport
as a central and important theme for exchanging knowledge between its member cities. This
was achieved in partnership with the Transformation Towards Sustainable & Integrated
Transport for the Urban Environment (Tran:SIT) programme implemented by Sustainable Energy
Africa. According to Lewis, a two-day SACN-hosted seminar was held in Cape Town in August
2008 and, out of the workshop, a comprehensive report Sustainable Public Transport 2009
was developed. The workshop supports the weight of sustainable transport in the
transformation of South African cities.
The report is a comprehensive summary of the information and opinions shared during the
two-day workshop. It addresses the key questions of how South African cities should tackle
public transport in a sustainable manner in future, and highlights the concerns as well as
the successes achieved thus far.
During the workshop, Prof Philip Harrison, the City of Johannesburg’s executive
director of development planning and urban management, said that this municipality was in
the process of implementing transit-oriented developments (TODs).
TODs will, typically, address issues such as maximum parking ratios, higher density
mixed-use developments and the design of areas around public-transport facilities for
improved access.
A liveable city the
future?
At the moment, the majority of public transport in the CBD of Johannesburg is
used for outbound travelling people stay outside of the city and only enter to work during
the day.
The Johannesburg inner city is still an isolated and dead place at night an indication
that it is not yet the healthy, liveable environment that it could become. “A city
that operates on a 24-hour basis is a sufficient city and I believe that Johannesburg is
slowly leaning towards this,” says Lowdon. The Gautrain will make it attractive for
people to live in Johannesburg and travel to Sandton or Pretoria for work. “Urban
regeneration happens in very long cycles,” observes Comrie. “And you cannot
expect that it will happen overnight. I am extremely positive about the effect that public
transport will have on Johannesburg’s CBD. The motivation might come from the wrong
perspective but there will be an uptake and it might happen sooner than what we all
expect.”
Essentially, the uptake of public transport faces challenges in terms of the dominant
private-car paradigm and a poor urban-design legacy as a result of apartheid. It requires
strong leadership which supports a vision for a truly “sustainable city”.
However, it is clear that the City of Johannesburg has a vision to support its new
transport investment with focus on more pedestrian-friendly environments and inter-nodal
linkages. It is evident that a paradigm shift is starting to take place. It is also
encouraging to see that foresighted developers are using public transport as a driving
force for new developments. With the private and the public sector working collectively to
improve the inner spaces of Johannesburg, a denser, more liveable city might be in the
future.
Successes
and challenges
New public-transport infrastructure has resulted in
several new property developments in Johannesburg. However, many urban-renewal challenges
remain.
1 New landmarks
The Rea Vaya buses are used by up to 34 000 people daily and station names are already
becoming the landmarks by which people familiarise themselves with the city.
2 Lifestyle-focused
development
The focus of South Point developments is community- and lifestyle-based,
including high-density residential accommodation, hotels (such as Lamunu above), gyms,
bars and lounges (such as Randlords left).
3 Clustered on
transport nodes
A new commercial-development cluster has developed around key public-transport
nodes because of the high buying power of commuters. The new McDonald’s in Joubert
Park possibly proves that the surrounding BRT stations are drawing and attracting more
people which acts as a catalyst for commercial development.
4 Public-space
improvement needed
The improvement of public space around Art Gallery Station in Joubert Park
would be critical if the impact of public transport is to have its full effect.
5 A liveable city
envisaged
With the private and the public sector working collectively to improve the
inner spaces of Johannesburg, a denser, more liveable city might be in the future.
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ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING & DESIGN
Durban “de-cluttered”
By
removing the clutter along Durban’s beachfront a more pleasant and safer public realm
has been established.
As
South Africa’s premier seaside holiday destination, Durban’s beachfront has
always been top of mind for city officials and holidaymakers alike. Over past decades, the
beachfront, previously known as the Golden Mile, was developed to boast many amenities
swimming pools, play parks, cable-car rides and restaurants dotted the Marine Parade along
the beachfront. However, as more and more structures were added, sightlines towards the
ocean were blocked and dark, dingy spaces between the various buildings started to attract
unwanted elements. Naturally safety concerns arose.
It is somewhat ironic that the municipality’s continued investment into the
beachfront eventually caused its decline. No amount of playful yellow-pole lights, palm
trees, paved promenades and fun rides could restore the beachfront’s desirability.
Once the urban decline commenced, there was no end to it.
However, fast forward to 2010 and one finds a revamped beachfront complete with a
promenade stretching all the way from Ushaka Marine World to Moses Mabhida Stadium. It is
packed with pedestrians, cyclists, runners and holidaymakers, and is clean and feels safe.
What has brought about this change?
Less is more
The
eThekwini Municipality adopted a philosphy of “less is more” when it recognised
the need to redevelop the beachfront many years ago. However it simply did not have the
funds available. The strategy to clear out the clutter, though, commenced with the
demolition of the old snake park and Sea World Aquarium to establish a new beach.
Furthermore, rather than adding more structures, landscaping elements and focal points
along the promenade, eThekwini Municipality’s Strategic Projects Unit (SPU) set out
to do the opposite. The SPU’s brief was clear: remove unnecessary structures and
improve views of the ocean and sightlines across the space in order to improve safety. In
addition, it was tasked with adding effective public lighting to ensure that the area
would be safe.
The resultant revamped beachfront demonstrates an important lesson that needs to be
learned by any municipality embarking on a public-space improvement initiative and by the
landscape architects, architects or urban designers involved in such projects: simplicity
is the key to success. And, although this may seem easy to achieve, the eThekwini
experience proves that it is, in fact, very difficult to attain simplicity in design. It
seems to take far greater design effort than the “design-per-square-metre”
approach so often followed.
Pedestrian-friendly
city
Urban Green File has had the privilege of visiting Durban three times in recent
months once prior to the 2010 FIFA World Cup, once during the World Cup and once after the
event. In each case, it was impressed with the pedestrian-friendliness of the streets and
especially with the ever-stretching beachfront promenade. Here is a city in which it is
possible to walk! Urban Green File, therefore, set out to uncover how this city makeover
has been achieved.
Secret of success
Brandon Robertson, of Michael Tod Architects, tells Urban Green File that the
project focused on the reduction of clutter “the removal of redundant structures, a
proliferation of poles, bins, benches and signs”. This was a result of Julie-May
Ellingson’s request, as head of the SPU, to clear out the clutter and to provide 150
m-long uninterrupted sightlines across the entire promenade. Ellingson wanted to provide
views from the OR Tambo Parade (previously known as the Marine Parade) across all the
public space, including the promenade and beach itself. In addition, activity nodes had to
be provided at 300 m intervals without detracting from the views and beach amenities. She
argued that activity nodes would, in turn, improve safety. The SPU also needed to provide
new high-mast lighting, area lighting, as well as street furniture and public showers
along the beachfront.
Questioned about the secret of this project’s success, Mike Andrews, of the SPU,
points out that people are now hailing the change brought about, but it was a difficult
construction process which caused a lot of inconvenience for beach users and surrounding
residents. By the time of the World Cup, people’s scepticism started to make way for
a “wow” response.
The success, Andrews believes, lies in the short construction period from February 2009 to
June 2010. “We had a set deadline in the form of the World Cup and this meant that
everyone municipal departments, consultants and contractors had a stake in the
project’s success. They worked day and night with the attitude that this was being
done for South Africa.”
The project has certainly been catalytic in nature. Ellingson enthuses: “We have seen
a spontaneous reaction of surrounding building owners upgrading their facilities. We have
also experienced a significant drop in crime and destructive activities such as
graffiti.”
Importantly, from an urban design and management point of view, the beachfront upgrade
represents a significant shift in policy. Part of the funding came in the form of the
city’s budget for non-motorised transport. It is, indeed, refreshing to see a
municipality prioritising the needs of pedestrians, cyclists and runners above that of
cars.
Management considered
When Urban Green File visited the beachfront recently, it was clean and one
certainly felt safe walking there. However, maintenance and management is an ongoing
concern. In a period of drought, it seemed as if the lawns were under strain. According to
Andrews, maintenance and management of the space is the responsibility of various
municipal departments whereas landscape maintenance has been subcontracted to a landscape
contractor for one year. “In this period, we will establish the maintenance
requirements for the area, and the SPU is investigating alternative institutional models
to ensure integrated management across the entire beachfront.”
1.
Beach and urban edges integrated
ADDINGTON NODE
An
unobtrusive building accommodates the site’s steep slope.
“Our
primary aim was to mediate the one-storey drop between the street and the beach at
Addington Node,” Ian Sherman of Koop Design Architects tells Urban Green File.
“We wanted the building to integrate the roadway with the beach and to introduce a
new urban edge that defines the public open space.”
The solution involved a pair of striking and semi-transparent pavilions set atop an
underground services “bunker” that opens up to the beach promenade. Sherman
explains that Addington Beach is popular among families and especially children learning
to surf or paddle ski. “The beach has been home to the Marine Surf Lifesaving Club
with its surf ski club and surf school. Our new building provides ample space for club
gatherings upstairs and the storage of surfboards and skis downstairs.” Ablutions are
also hidden in the “bunker” but, in order to ensure safety, these are completely
open to the promenade.
Due to the harsh environment conditions, Koop has designed a robust,
concrete-frame-with-infill building. The building is flexible and can accommodate
different uses over time. The infill brick skin is playful in that it envelopes the frame
and, in places, it forms a colourful artwork made from glazed bricks. The building is
positioned to frame the fabulous views. “Large roof overhangs provide shade and no
air-conditioning is required,” remarks Sherman. “Mechanical equipment would
certainly rust.”
The Addington Node is not only a building but rather a public park of rolling green lawns.
“Going to the beach is not all about sea and sand,” Sherman points out. “It
is important to provide lawn areas for picnicking by the seaside.”
2.
Host to sports events
NEW BEACH NODE
Most
structures were removed in order to reconnect the city and the sea.
New
Beach has always hosted Durban’s main beach sports events such as volley ball and
soccer. Over the years, the city council built various structures and facilities.
“The result was tons of inappropriate objects on the beachfront,” Dean Jay of
Jay & Nel Architects tells Urban Green File. “My immediate response was to remove
as many of the structures as possible in order to reconnect the city with the sea.”
“We, therefore, demolished most of the structures that formed a barrier between the
parade and the sea, and in their place provided a linear and transparent low-key pavilion.
To keep this sense of openness, we integrated most facilities the management office, first
aid room, kitchens, toilet and changing rooms, for example into buildings set into the
ground. From the city side, one arrives above the roof level of these buildings and has a
clear view of the node whereas the promenade interfaces with the façades of these
buildings on the lower level. As many as 80% of the facilities in this node are
underground.”
The only building that rises above ground level when viewed from the city side is a
pavilion that will host one of the restaurants that the municipality plans to operate
through a public lease/tender system.
Jay says: “The concept for this building is that it is not a room but more like an
umbrella or sun-screening structure. The doors on all four sides can open fully and slide
away. A restaurant patron must feel as if he is sitting outside on the beach and not in a
structure removed from the sea. I envisage the restaurant operator only closing the doors
on the side exposed to wind at any particular time. In addition, there are no blinds as
the emphasis is on experiencing the environment.”
Apart from the pavilion and improved pedestrian link to the CBD beyond OR Tambo Parade,
work at New Beach Node involved cosmetic upgrades to the existing children’s pool and
playground. Another significant aspect involved the provision of new trader shelters which
were carefully designed so as to ensure surveillance across the entire space and not to
block views with safety in mind.
3.
Versatile event space
DAIRY BEACH NODE
A
large events area is combined with a series of reshaped and refurbished pools.
Robertson
tells Urban Green File: “As one of Durban’s most popular central beaches, Dairy
Beach Node has to accommodate a gamut of facilities. This posed a significant design
challenge in that the requirement for two new restaurants, a café and retail outlet, as
well as a public piazza, had to be married with the client’s wish to eliminate visual
and physical clutter.”
Major interventions at Dairy Beach include new parking, a new restaurant building and
trader stalls. However, it is the reconfiguration of the Rachel Finlayson Pool that has
transformed this node.
Robertson says: “The pool used to be an island between the upper and lower parades;
hidden behind walls and screens. The result was a visual blockage between OR Tambo Parade
and the promenade. The original 90 m-long pool was divided into three separate pools a
children’s paddling pool, a constant 1,2 m-deep aerobics/learn-to-swim pool and a 50
m lap pool. They are separated by 3 m-wide walkways which facilitate east-west
access.”
A new rectilinear building houses a coffee shop and retail outlet at ground level and a
restaurant above and defines the northern edge of the piazza which opens out to the pool
area and the fountain. This fountain forms the centre of an event space created through
the demolition of the former Ocean Sports Centre and the northernmost pool.
“The fountain provides a civic focus to the space as well as an animated
entertainment opportunity for children and visitors,” Robertson points out. “In
addition, by working closely with AMAFA, the attractive Spanish Revival-style deckchair
storage building was recycled into an open restaurant space. The roof structure has been
exposed, the eastern façade was substantially opened up and a large wraparound deck has
been added for patrons.”
4.
Green precinct
BAY
OF PLENTY
Open
park space provides clear views of the promenade and ocean.
The
Bay of Plenty, with its historic sunken gardens and amphitheatre, afforded
designworkshop:sa the opportunity to introduce a park precinct along the promenade while
also integrating and upgrading the existing skate park and “mini town”.
“As was the case with the entire promenade and the other nodes, our primary focus was
on the removal of barriers in order to open up views towards the sea,” says Carina
Strauss of design-workshop:sa. “Through carefully planned earthworks, we introduced a
single grade across the sloping site between the upper and lower parade. The challenge was
then to define spaces in order to accommodate families wanting to enjoy a picnic or play
cricket on the lawns. We created circular platforms on the lawns that are free of trees
for this purpose while placing palm trees on an 8 m x 8 m grid on the remainder of the
lawns. The circular platforms are also able to accommodate marquees for big events while
the revamped and paved amphitheatre can accommodate concerts hosting as many as 7 000
people.”
Because of the heritage value of the sunken gardens, they could not be removed even though
the goal was to minimise barriers and clutter. “What we did instead was to remove
some of the hedges and reduce the slopes in order to open up views and improve
surveillance. Other structures, such as the old ablutions, were demolished and new
facilities were integrated with the restaurant and lifesavers building adjacent to the
skate park. This building has a grass roof which provides a great view of the promenade
and beach.” To create a harmonious link between the promenade and the new buildings
in this node, designworkshop:sa specified similar materials but used them in different
ways for instance, it used Corobrik pavers turned on their sides around the entrance. The
façade of the restaurant building is transparent as in the other nodes but a smart
balustrade design provides a unique identity the balustrade doubles up as a sunscreen
device for the windows below.
While the restaurant is designed to spill out onto the promenade, a sunken courtyard
behind the building provides protected exterior space in the case of a windy beach day.
Glass on both sides ensures that a customer will be able to marvel at the ocean view even
if seated in this courtyard.
Pedestrians
first!
Comment
by Gerald Garner
With pedestrians receiving priority, Durban’s
promenade can be sure of success.
1 At first
glance, Durban’s upgraded beachfront does not look dissimilar to what was there
before. Yet, it is radically different and a million times more successful. Why? Firstly,
because the basics are right: for people to feel safe in a public space they must have
clear views of everything around them. Feel fenced in and uncomfortable about who is
hiding behind an obstacle and one is sure to avoid the area.
2 Secondly,
the new beachfront provides a much-needed and uninterrupted connection between different
landmarks. Now it is possible to walk from uShaka Marine World to Moses Mabhida Stadium
and back. It is also possible to go for a 5 km run or to cycle along the same route while
enjoying the sea breeze.
3 Thirdly,
and maybe most importantly, the new beachfront has reconnected the sea and the city.
Previously, the hotels along OR Tambo Parade were cut off from the ocean by the many
structures that blocked their view. Since its makeover, Durban is once again a city by the
sea and this is clear in the way residents are returning to the beachfront for a late
afternoon stroll or coffee at a street cafe overlooking the ocean.
4 Fourthly,
the introduction of proper high-mast lighting has created a sense of safety. Now the many
hotel rooms and apartments along the parade can play their role in the safety of the area
as people can see what is happening along the promenade throughout the night.
5 What I
like most about the beachfront upgrade is how the municipality has managed to avoid
monumental architecture. The focus has been on the public space with buildings playing a
secondary role. What better solution than to hide most of the buildings underground where
they cannot obstruct views!
6 Also
commendable is that fact that the focus has not been on the improvement of the human
habitat only but also the ecology itself. This has involved the provision of reinforcing
along the promenade in the form of layers of sandbags as well as an extensive dune
rehabilitation initiative.
7 Lastly, it
is clear that South African municipalities are able to create a quality public environment
despite the many challenges they face. In this case, the role of a dedicated city
implementing agent, such as eThekwini’s SPU, cannot be underestimated!
Ambitious plans
Future plans to extend the promenade northwards to Blue Lagoon are currently
under way in collaboration with eThekwini Municipality’s SPU. According to Michael
Tod Architects, “this would give Durban an uninterrupted 7 km promenade and link the
Point development to the northern suburbs by way of the M4 Highway viaduct. The promenade
upgrade and the new extension have been a legacy vision project for Durban for a number of
years with the hope of creating an inheritance for future generations of Durban, the
eThekwini Municipality and greater South Africa.”
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WASTE & POLLUTION MANAGEMENT
Space lost to waste reduced
Conventional
landfill-site operations are being questioned specifically with regard to the space they
take up. Urban Green File looks at some space-saving strategies.
Historically, disposal of waste has been relatively straightforward in South Africa. It is
the general belief that space available for landfill sites abounds so landfilling is
regarded as the cheapest and easiest method of managing and disposing of waste. Hence the
reduction in the size and impact of landfills is not accorded widespread priority.
In contrast, due to the much higher population density of European cities, and limited
space as a result, municipalities and governments have been forced to start considering
ways of managing waste more effectively. Major companies, such as AE&E in Austria, for
example, have made big strides in finding ways to deal with waste. As a result, recycling
is commonplace now.
Many critics claim that South Africa cannot be compared to Europe, citing the fact that a
lot more space is available locally and there is a lot less money to deal with waste.
However, as landfill costs are rising, South Africa will have no choice but to follow the
European, and worldwide, example of reducing waste and maximising space usage.
Costs rising, space
diminishing
Sim van Niekerk, division and landfill manager for The Waste Group, notes that
the cost of land for landfills is, indeed, rising and has risen considerably in recent
years. “Whoever owns a landfill at this stage is fortunate because acquiring land is
becoming increasingly difficult,” he tells Urban Green File.
As South Africa’s cities continue to expand, large municipalities for example
Johannesburg and Tshwane will need to discover new methods of dealing with the significant
amounts of waste they generate. Rising pressure on municipalities and landfill owners to
clean up their practices, in a manner of speaking, also adds to the argument that the time
has come to seriously consider alternatives to the traditional method of dumping waste.
7
space-saving strategies
As landfill space is becoming a scarce commodity, Urban
Green File investigates a number of ways to save it.
1 Buffer zones reconsidered
Kenneth
Cameron, director of Cameron Cross Incorporated, believes that the traditional method of
creating buffer zones around a landfill site should be re-examined. The old method of
authorising landfill sites involved the requirement to establish a buffer zone of 500 m to
800 m around a new site where residential or other developments were restricted.
Cameron, however, believes that this methodology has little merit, with the result being
the excessive sterilisation of land. He argues that the random imposition of buffer zones
may pose an excessive financial burden on the landfill developer. Instead, he has devised
a system in which the individual environmental aspects of the landfill are assessed
separately to enable the creation of a more accurate buffer zone. Effective legal
management tools are then used to establish and maintain the buffer zone. The potential
for groundwater contamination can be assessed, for example. It may be found that
groundwater on one side of the landfill is affected but not on the other sides. The buffer
zone should then be moulded accordingly.
“Land within this groundwater buffer zone can be used for any purpose that does not
require the use of groundwater within that zone,” Cameron explains. Similarly, a
buffer zone may be created to account for contaminants in the air around the landfill. This buffer zone will take the shape of the
air-dispersion modelling results. “There is no logical, legal or scientific reason
for a buffer zone to be concentric,” he remarks.
2 Sterile land reduced
Cameron’s system also takes the nominal nuisance and visual impacts on the
landfill’s existing or future neighbours into account. Where the sum of the impacts
clearly has no potential for adverse health effects, it is perfectly feasible to negotiate
suitable monetary compensation without imposing a setback over such areas. Title-deed
nuisance endorsements, impact-specific servitude registrations and written compensation
agreements form the central mode of control and regulation of all the elements of the
buffer zone. Importantly, he claims, this system also ensures the survival of the buffer
zone beyond change in property ownership.
Cameron points out that, if someone buys the affected land after the fact, the newcomer is
generally not entitled to further compensation as the title restrictions and initial
compensation are offset against a concomitant land-value reduction. Assuming proper
monitoring practices are followed, the landfill developer can, therefore, establish a
self-sustaining buffer zone. “Of course the science behind this method must be
accurate and conservative. Using this method, we have found that the buffer zone around a
landfill can become significantly smaller and we have a lot less sterile land. An
enforceable and scientifically based buffer zone is established that not only protects
current and future neighbours but also the landfill developer.”
3 Consistent compaction
required
Effective use of landfill space comes down to compaction and four factors
determine its success: layer thickness, the number of passes by the compactor, the slope
and moisture content.
The most important of these factors, according
to Walton, is the thickness of the waste layer being compacted. Ideally, this should be
about 0,6 m to 1 m thick and spread loose prior to compaction. Once the waste has been
spread out, the compactor makes several passes over the loose layer. Usually, three to
five passes are more than enough. More passes are unlikely to increase the compaction
ratio, Walton claims.
Waste also has high moisture content. This is either from the waste itself or from
moisture due to rainfall. Walton points out that, even after compaction, waste can store
up to 65% moisture. After a major downpour, this moisture content can be as high as 80%.
Higher moisture content results in higher compaction densities as the moisture weakens the
bridging strength of the waste. If too much moisture is present, however, the extra water
ends up at the bottom of the landfill in the form of leachate.
To aid compaction, Walton states that a rapid in-place decay process, as at Perdido
Landfill in Escambia County, Florida, US, might be an option. Adding the right amount of
water or other chemicals to the waste could increase the rate of decomposition
significantly; freeing up airspace more rapidly. “As a result of the waste-mining and
recovery project, the Escambia County landfill increased operation by an additional 26
years,” Walton says.
Van Niekerk says that, at The Waste Group’s Mooiplaats landfill in Tshwane, one of
the biggest frustrations in the compaction of waste is the presence of plastic bottles
which can withstand a lot of pressure and are nearly impossible to compact. “The
solution is simple: the cap must be left off a bottle when it is thrown away. However,
almost invariably, they put the cap back on. I have made it a rule in my house to separate
the bottles from the caps.”
Apart from compaction, not much else can be done to save landfill space, Van Niekerk
claims. He points out that the key to getting the most out of available space is to
minimise the amount of waste reaching the landfill in the first place.
4 Waste minimisation is
key
Walton states that compaction efforts on site reduce the volume of waste
deposited on the working face by 50%. Every tonne diverted from a landfill by recycling or
other waste-reduction methods, therefore, results in a significant amount of airspace
being preserved. According to Walton, the amount of waste generated per person per day in
South Africa ranges from 0,2 kg to 1,2 kg and in excess of 60% of waste generated in
households is recyclable.
Van Niekerk states that recycling needs to take place before waste reaches the landfill.
“It all comes down to the available space. If the waste reaches our site and we still
need to process it for recyclables, we will need to store it temporarily. On a typical
landfill site, there is simply not enough space available to do that.”
The Waste Act of 2008, which requires municipalities to approach waste management
differently by moving away from traditional end-of-pipe solutions to a holistic integrated
approach, is adding impetus to the reduction of waste.
The Waste Act places emphasis on reusing, recovering and recycling. However, the recovery
or recycling of the waste must use fewer natural resources than disposal. The Act also
stipulates that the minister or MEC may require a person, category of persons, industry or
organ of state which produces waste to prepare and submit an industry waste-management
plan.
The penalties for non-compliance are substantial. A person convicted of certain offences
for example, failure to conduct a site assessment could face a fine not exceeding
R10-million, imprisonment for a period not exceeding 10 years or both.
5 Methane-gas
extraction opportunity
Another way to minimise waste is to convert it into some form of energy.
“Waste-to-energy operations bring significant benefits of reducing waste volumes
ultimately going to landfill by up to 95%,” Walton says.
The first and simplest method of converting waste to energy involves methane-gas
extraction. Stan Jewaskiewitz, president of the Institute of Waste Management in Southern
Africa, explains how gas extraction works: “It is a simple process. An existing
landfill is covered with a capping and allowed to decay for a length of time. Once enough
methane has built up in the waste pile, gas wells are constructed to extract the gas. The
methane is then either burnt in a flare or fed to a gas engine in order to generate
electricity.”
Virtually any conventional landfill generates methane gas and is, therefore, a viable
option for methane extraction, Van Niekerk adds. However, the process is costly and the
funds required for the construction of infrastructure, extraction of gas and generation of
electricity are simply not available to every municipality. The eThekwini gas-to-energy
project at the Mariannhill and Bisasar landfills has a total project cost of approximately
R150-million, for example.
6 Bioethanol
alternative
A recently launched company, Stellenbosch Biomass Technologies (SBMT), is
researching ways to convert waste organic materials into bioethanol. One of the company
founders, Prof Johann Görgens, notes that the key lies in the process of breaking down
the ligno-cellulose contained in fibrous plant biomass. More cellulose can be extracted
from plant materials and fermented to create ethanol.
Another of the company’s founders, Professor WH van Zyl, says that, once the process
has been perfected, SBMT can start looking towards waste products, such as recycled paper,
pulp from paper mills and garden refuse, as possible sources of bioethanol. Van Zyl points
out, however, that this technology is limited to mediums containing very few contaminants
so mixed waste will not be a viable source. SBMT aims to have a demonstration plant up and
running in 2011.
Once again, the human element plays a role in how effective this technology will be in
South Africa; keeping in mind that waste flows are constant. One snag or delay in the
system can have major ramifications for a multi-million-rand operation.
7 Pyrolysis possibility
Another option Jewaskiewitz puts forward is pyrolysis and gasification.
Effectively, this involves the thermal
treatment of waste without burning it directly. Even though the incineration process has
gained a bad reputation over the years, owing to the emissions involved, he says that the
various thermal treatment technologies have advanced and the secret to making this
technology more environment-friendly is in the pre-treatment of waste.
Jewaskiewitz provides the ArrowBio process, developed in Israel, as an example. This
process integrates liquid-based separation technology and a high-rate anaerobic digestion
process which effectively eliminate the need for prior separation or classification of
mixed waste streams. During the first stage, water is added under high pressure. The
organic material in the waste is disintegrated down to fibre size to form a thin slurry.
Heavy components, such as broken glass, batteries, stones and metal parts, sink to the
bottom and are separated from the slurry via a discharge chamber.
In the second stage, the organic slurry is pumped into a bioreactor or fermentation tank
for anaerobic digestion of the organic phase. Naturally occurring microorganisms start the
fermentation process and transform the complex organic material into simpler compounds,
such as organic and fatty acids. Finally, the liquids leaving the first-stage reactor are
heated to 40°C and pumped into the second bioreactor for anaerobic degradation of the
organic materials. Biogas is formed which can, in turn, be used as a source of fuel with a
relatively small carbon footprint. While this technology seems particularly suited to
South Africa, Jewaskiewitz wonders whether or not it will be considered seriously.
Landfill economics
Regarding space saving, using airspace (the three-dimensional capacity of the
site) to its fullest potential is paramount. Theresa Walton, Gauteng regional manager for
EnviroServ Waste Management, states that the extremely high initial cost associated with
landfill construction makes the economics of the waste-management industry unique. In
addition, one has to consider monitoring and closure costs, including ongoing laboratory
and reporting costs.
“The fixed capital costs associated with landfill construction and the installation
of various engineering components such as liners, leachate collection and treatment
systems are directly related to the landfill area. Landfill profitability, therefore,
depends on the maximisation of landfill density by compacting the waste into the available
airspace as much as possible.”
Sim van Niekerk, of The Waste Group, says that the daily running costs of an average
landfill alone can amount to as much as R800 000. “Transport of waste is a
significant expense in itself and the fluctuating cost of diesel means that we now
calculate its cost on a quarterly basis.” He points out that the distance between a
potential landfill site and a city or main hub needs to be considered as the
transportation of waste can amount to tens of thousands of rand per month.
Van Niekerk agrees that airspace on a landfill is all-important not only from a cost point
of view but also in terms of safety. “Naturally, getting rid of the air pockets in
the landfill allows you to dump more waste on the site. It is also important in order to
prevent fires. Heat, fuel and oxygen are needed to support a fire and two of those are
already present on any landfill a fuel source and, because of the immense pressure, heat.
Add oxygen to this mix and a landfill could easily catch fire.”
Recycling offers
business opportunities
Walton notes that large-scale recycling provides ample opportunity for the
creation of alternative revenue streams and jobs. “On a per tonne basis, the sorting
and processing of recyclable materials alone can sustain 10 times more jobs than landfill
or incineration operations,” she claims.
Furthermore, making new products from waste creates the greatest economic pay-off,
according to Walton. New recycling-based manufacturers employ more people and at higher
wages than sorting. Some recycling-based paper mills and plastic manufacturers, for
example, employ 60 more people per tonne than landfills, Walton comments. She adds that
product reuse is even more job-intensive as it is a knowledge-based industry with a
premium on accurate sorting, pricing and inventory management. In addition, it has been
proven that the indirect impact of recycling on support industries, such as accounting and
office-supply companies, is measurable and sustainable.
Technology over human
pickers
“The Waste Group is in the process of building a recycling centre,”
Van Niekerk informs Urban Green File. He contends that the role of human pickers in a
centre like this should, however, be minimal.
“We have to face the fact that the human element in any system is fallible, as well
as relatively slow and expensive,” he says. Van Niekerk maintains that one has to
keep in mind that waste flows into these centres at a constant rate. Problems with
personnel, such as strikes, could cause the entire system to fall behind and fail
completely.
He is reluctant to disclose more detail about The Waste Group’s recycling centre
apart from stating that highly advanced technology is being installed. As a consequence,
little human intervention will be required to operate this centre. “The technology
allows one to sort waste quicker and more effectively than any human can,” he
comments.
Van Niekerk points out another consideration for a successful recycling centre:
“The demand for any recyclable, be it paper, glass or metals, fluctuates and even
dies down at times. The all-important key to the profitability of a recycling centre is to
have the facilities and funds in place to allow one to stockpile recyclables.”
Here to stay but…
“In
the end, one could most definitely make an argument for more effective forms of waste
management,” says Van Niekerk. “It is inevitable that we will need to start to
work on effective waste-management solutions in order to get back some of the space we
have lost to waste. There will, however, always be a degree of waste which cannot be
processed, converted or recycled. Landfill sites will, therefore, never really die out but
they just might last a lot longer.” There are a number of ways to save space on these
landfills and prolong their lives but, currently, they mostly involve large capital cost.
Hopefully, as the technologies aimed at waste management develop, these strategies will
become more cost-effective. The environment-friendliness of these strategies can also be
questioned with waste minimisation, once again, coming to the fore as a pressing issue.
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WASTE & POLLUTION MANAGEMENT BRIEFS
Compliance inspected
A
six-month-long campaign to inspect compliance with environmental legislation has been
launched by the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA). The DEA’s Environmental
Management Inspectorate (EMI), commonly known as the “Green Scorpions”, is
carrying out the assessments throughout the country.
Urban Green File can disclose that a total of 40 environmental authorisations as well as
20 waste licences will be inspected throughout the campaign.
According to the DEA, the main objectives are to monitor adherence to conditions
stipulated in environmental-management plans and waste licences, and to improve the
general status of compliance by taking proper enforcement actions in the event of non
compliance. The EMI has prioritised and clustered specific environmental assessments per
province and it will dedicate a week to conducting inspections in each province. In the
Western Cape, facilities which will be assessed include the Eskom Safari Substation in
Paarl, upgrading of East Fort Water Scheme by Knysna Municipality, development of a
reverse-osmosis project in Port of Saldanha by Transnet, and construction of a sub-station
and relocation of power lines in KwaNokuthula by Bitou Municipality. The Section 31L
compliance notice, issued to the Department of Public Works for illegal construction of
storage facilities in the sea or within 100 m inland of the high-water mark, is also on
the list. Inspections will take place in KwaZulu-Natal, the Free State and the Eastern
Cape in December 2010, January and March 2011.
Cape
Town exceeds target
According
to the Institute of Waste Management in Southern Africa (IWMSA), the City of Cape Town
exceeded FIFA's Green Goal waste-management targets. A 20% reduction in waste volumes was
required by FIFA but Cape Town achieved 25%.
IWMSA informs Urban Green File, however, that “disappointingly, in the instance of
the four public viewing areas, recycling ceased within a week due to limited or no
participation by the public. Fortunately, where recycling measures were successful at the
Fan Fest, stadium, Fan Walk and St George’s Mall, a massive 58% reduction of waste
was reported.”
Apparently, recycling, in the form of dual litter bins, will continue around the Grand
Parade, stadium, Adderley Street and St George’s Mall, and the success of this
venture will determine the future roll-out of the dual litter-bin recycling system in
other areas of the city.
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INSPIRATION
Park reinstated
A
once-cherished park in the Jo’burg inner city is making a comeback.
Not
long ago, doomsday naysayers cried foul about every aspect of Johannesburg’s inner
city. A Google search for Ernest Oppenheimer Park, for example, produces countless
listings of a blog entitled Death of Johannesburg. On this page, many people who worked in
the CBD in the past lament the decline of what they regard as a once first-class city. It
is, indeed, sad to hear how many buildings deteriorated over the years and how
much-cherished parks became waste dumps.
However, what they they fail to mention is that many of these buildings and places have
been restored. They also fail to comprehend the complex reasons for the city’s
decline in the 1990s and early new millennium.
They need to understand that the city was morally indefensible. It was designed and built
to be the exclusive domain of white office workers. The city, therefore, personified the
indignity of apartheid. No wonder those public spaces fell into disrepair during the
period of normalisation in the 1990s.
The inner city’s new, multi-racial population was keen to explore the opportunities
on offer but, at the same time, they felt alien among structures which personified
apartheid. It took over a decade for city residents to embrace it as their space.
If you take a walk through town today, though, it is clear that change is in the air.
Buildings are being renovated en masse, public-transport systems are being rolled out and
public spaces are being embraced for the quality they add to life.
Recently, the Johannesburg Development Agency (JDA) undertook the rejuvenation of Ernest
Oppenheimer Park on Eloff Street between Market and President streets. This park was once
the proud home of Jo’burg’s famous leaping Springbok sculpture. Today, it is
positioned in Main Street Mall in front of the Anglo American offices as it was vandalised
in its original position.
Urban Green File is excited to say that Ernest Oppenheimer
Park has now been rejuvenated and is probably better looking than it was in its so called
heyday. It now boasts a basketball court and ample space to relax to read a book or drink a coffee on a park bench
away from the city hustle and bustle. The park also boasts a new ablution block and the
design caters for a variety of public art as well as sculptures.
The park looks splendid even though some artworks have yet to be installed. It tells the
story of a revived Jo’burg in which its people take pride! The JDA and Ekemeleng
Architects are worthy recipients of this edition’s “inspiration” award.
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INSULT
Ongoing destruction
How
can a municipality allow this destruction of its infrastructure under the supposed banner
of outsourcing maintenance work
In spite of extensive health, safety and environmental legislation, as well as many
municipal by-laws, local government continues to break its own laws. A case in point is
the City of Johannesburg. In the suburbs of Craighall Park, Dunkeld and Parkhurst, a
contractor has been sent out to fix or replace pipes. But the job is only half done, with
holes left open for weeks on end, and road surfaces left, not only unrepaired, but so
severely damaged that they are a hazard to any motorist, cyclist or pedestrian.
Worst of all is a massive hole in Buckingham Road, Craighall Park. The heap of soil
extends across an entire lane of this busy thoroughfare. Yet not a single safety or
warning sign is provided. It would be easy to drive straight into this void at night. And
consider that the hole is filled with water. An unsuspecting pedestrian, particularly a
child, could easily fall into this unsafe pit and drown!
Is this acceptable urban management? Urban Green File certainly does not think so. We,
therefore, award an “insult” to the City of Johannesburg, especially the
contractors, for poor workmanship! If this happened on a mine, the health-and-safety
officers would certainly be fined or even jailed. Why can’t government uphold its own
laws or a municipality protect its own, expensive infrastructure?
-----
VIEWPOINT
Seek heritage advice upfront
With
inner-city refurbishment projects on the increase, it is important for investors to seek
heritage advice before embarking on a new development.
In
recent years, major CBDs in South Africa have transformed before our very eyes. Today
investors and property developers continue to rush towards city centres with the aim of
converting old and often dilapidated buildings into sound property investments. The
driving force behind this resurgence is the improved transport-service infrastructure
– for example the Rea Vaya BRT system and the Gautrain. Contributing factors are
tighter security measures and promised tax incentives within identified cities’ urban
development zones (UDZs).
In UDZs, investors and developers often face the challenge of having to deal with historic
buildings or sites of cultural significance such as settlements or landscape features like
old roads, bus stops and pavements. However, this does not have to be a major obstacle as
concerns can be addressed with the right advice from heritage specialists. It could
involve either incorporating heritage resources and sites into new developments or
application for a permit, in order to undertake alteration, restoration and/or demolition,
from the relevant heritage-management authorities.
According to Section 34 of the National Heritage Resources Act (25 of 1999), any building
which is older than 60 years, occupies more than three stands or a land parcel of over 5
000 m2, is of unique architectural style and historic or scientific significance is, by
law, protected as one of South Africa’s cultural-heritage resources. This legislation
plays an important role in influencing many of the cities’ by-laws and integrated
development plans in terms of the management of heritage resources.
With regard to city developments, this means the encouragement and realisation of
synergies between the past, present and future face of African cities. New developments
have to complement historic landscapes and architectural features which have, over time,
come to characterise most of the cities in South Africa.
For investors and developers, it is important to fully understand the nature and character
of each building or block of buildings which they intend to develop. Cities, such as
Johannesburg, which subscribe to the “world-class city” agenda and use heritage
as one of their branding tools apply strict measures when it comes to developments which
are not sensitive to heritage resources. At times, when developers are found to have
transgressed the heritage law, Court interdicts are issued to stop development until
relevant processes are followed. This may put any development under strain and even taint
the image of the developer. It is, therefore, important that investors and developers seek
heritage advice before they make an investment in a place which may contain historic sites
and buildings. |
