A sense of place and belonging : creating good neighbourhoods through productive social infrastructure

Abstract

The township in the South African context is a unique consequence of Apartheid spatial planning. Envisaged as settlements for black labourers on the outskirts of the city, they have become home to many South Africans. Mamelodi was established as an effectively designed township for labourers working in Pretoria, and grew at an exponential rate, leading to a sizeable demand for housing. A mass provision of housing was implemented then and, post 1994 to meet this demand. The same strategy of housing is still continuing through the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP). This provision of housing has not been complimented by a provision of public amenities and has led to monotonous neighbourhoods filled with housing and no public space. The ever growing community of Lusaka, in the east of Mamelodi, is a community with a landscape of housing without public amenities and public spaces. This neighbourhood has large amounts of people moving in and out, with some people seeing it as a place of permanence and some as a temporary detour. This influx of people and the duality of temporality and permanence creates a very dynamic society, one that the current architecture cannot respond to. The new architecture has to address the above mentioned issues, providing the community with access to public amenities and public spaces that add value to their environment. The solutions derived can be discussed and used to address similar problems plaguing townships around South Africa.

Informele nedersettings in die Suid-Afrikaanse konteks is 'n unieke gevolg van Apartheid se ruimtelike beplanning. Oorspronklik in die vooruitsig gestel as nedersettings vir swart arbeiders het hulle 'n tuiste vir baie Suid-Afrikaners geword. Mamelodi was gestig as 'n effektief ontwerpde informele nedersetting vir arbeiders wat werk in Pretoria en het teen 'n eksponensi?le koers gegroei wat gelei het tot 'n groot aanvraag vir behuising. 'n Massa voorsiening van behuising was toe en n? 1994 ge?mplementeer om hierdie aanvraag te voorsien. Dieselfde strategie van behuising word steeds voortgesit deur die Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP). Hierdie behuisingsvoorsiening was nog nie aangevul deur 'n voorsiening van openbare geriewe nie en het gelei tot eentonige woonbuurte wat gevul is met behuising en geen openbare ruimte. Die steeds groeiende gemeenskap van Lusaka, in die ooste van Mamelodi, is 'n gemeenskap met 'n landskap van behuising sonder openbare geriewe en openbare ruimtes. Hierdie woonbuurt het groot getalle mense wat in en uit beweeg, met sommige mense wat dit sien as 'n plek van blywendheid en ander as 'n tydelike ompad. Hierdie instroming van mense en die dualiteit van tydelikheid en blywendheid skep 'n baie dinamiese samelewing, een wat die huidiglike argitektuur nie op kan reageer nie. Die nuwe argitektuur moet die bogenoemde kwessies aanspreek om die gemeenskap toegang te bied tot openbare geriewe en openbare ruimtes wat waarde toevoeg tot hulle omgewing . Deur dit te doen kan die oplossings wat afgelei is bespreek en gebruik word om soortgelyke kwessies aan te spreek wat informele nedersettings regoor Suid-Afrika teister. Argitektuur is vir die mense