Restructuring the Fragmented Gauteng City Region: Could Smart Shelters be the Answer?

Abstract

Cities are traditionally built along a high-capacity public transport backbone, thus increasing opportunities at points of accessibility. The Gauteng City Region (GCR) is not built on a strong mass transit backbone, there is an expansive road network and the spatial economy is fragmented. The minibus taxi industry has established due to the sprawling urban form, carrying 67% of national commuters, although the industry receives no subsidy funding (Venter, 2018). Legibility of the public transport service is constrained for the commuter and tourist, because there is negligible integrated timetables and ticketing between transport operators. Public transport infrastructure is insufficient, where bus shelters have no spatial relevance or timetable information displays. The informal and on-demand taxi operation lacks supportive commuter infrastructure within the expansive and undefined urban landscape. If affordable, private car use and Uber (e-hailing taxi service) are preferred means of transportation. Urban and transportation policies (such as the Metropolitan Spatial Development Frameworks and Transport Masterplans) are complex, and implementation of such plans are drawn out and financially and construction-time intensive, such as bus rapid transit (BRT) infrastructure. The contradiction to the high commuter share of taxis, is that BRT’s and the Gautrain carry 2% and 1% of the national population respectively, and receive R15.12 (BRT) and R63 (Gautrain) per trip in subsidy finance (Venter, 2018). There is a need to act with urgency and democratise the playing field for city inhabitants. Urban acupuncture and smart city applications offer a smart and incremental way of intervening problems the urban region represents. This paper interrogates the status quo of the GCR’s urban structure and urban systems, as well as case study examples of urban acupuncture and smart city applications. A physical and technological solution is then suggested to bridge of the gap between the current fragmented city region, and the future progressive, democratic and enabling city region. The solution offers an immediate support structure, a Smart Shelter, to the current lacking commuter infrastructure. Smart Shelters are built at strategic locations along two pilot urban corridors, near to high-pedestrian foot traffic, such as corporate and retail buildings, and major intersections. Depending on the success of the Smart Shelter, the city region could become a progressive city with consequential socio-economic benefits, such as education, health and employment.