Housing design, urban design and multi-layered environments

Abstract

A wealth of knowledge on housing has not influenced actual implementation and housing environments remain untransformed. Housing landscapes in South Africa evolved into sterile, regimented and inefficient settlement patterns; the massive machine of the state continues to dominate housing delivery, in the process limiting interventions by other potential role-players. Emerging from the experience of the 33rd World Congress on Housing held at the University of Pretoria September 1, 2005, various concepts that surfaced are brought together and reconciled with previous knowledge on housing, illustrating those concepts with some examples of housing projects.