Healing landscape : regenerating the cityscape with regard to healing potential of the biophysical environment

Abstract

The chosen project is a response to the need of human beings to connect with nature. It demonstrates how landscape architecture can help to develop recreational open space that improves the natural systems within the city and ultimately enhance human and ecological wellbeing. The proposed solution will investigate the relationship between population growth, urbanisation, open space requirements and how to fulfil the need to connect with an ecologically sound environment in order to create responsive landscape architecture. The aim is to steer away from a monofunctional landscape but to design ecologically functional spaces that will address the public need and be the intermediate biophysical connection. Open space typologies are investigated in relation to their functionality within the urban environment. Spatial requirements according to the CSIR guidelines are used in order to determine whether existing open spaces provision is adequate. The scales of investigation range from microscopic research to the implementation of the design. Recreational facilities should be included according to the need thereof. The proposed facility is thus composed out of various different programmes, each with its own specific requirements. The composition of the open spaces is according to the CSIR’s settlement development requirements, proposals done by Encha Properties and MDC (Pty) Ltd. A proposal by Tshwane identifies open spaces in general and to complete the intermediate biophysical connection the design propose a general programme assigned to other unidentified adjacent spaces along the Apies River. The spaces can broadly be divided into recreational open space, educational recreation, sports recreation, cultural recreation, and some mixed use spaces. The Apies River serves as connector between spaces, as an opportunity to create a green corridor along which people, plants and animals can migrate