Surface-deep : designing an ecologically healthy waterscape to support identity, ritual and meaning in Atteridgeville

Abstract

South Africa is currently facing a water crisis caused by a variety of factors. This includes insufficient water infrastructure maintenance and investment, recurrent droughts driven by climatic variation, inequities in access to water and sanitation, deteriorating water quality, and a lack of skilled water engineers (Viljoen & van der Walt, 2018). In 2018, the National Water and Sanitation Master Plan identified a water supply deficit of 17% by 2030. At least 9% of the country’s population draw their water from polluted rivers and springs, while more than 37% of our drinking water is lost through leaking pipes and other infrastructure failures. Nearly half of all the country’s water bodies have poor water quality because of pollution and the destruction of river catchments (National Water and Sanitation Master Plan, 2018).

Because of this water crisis, there have already been noticeable impacts on the economic growth of the country and the well-being of everyone in it. This predicament would only be worsened if not addressed with urgency. There is the potential to confront these effects through the design of public open spaces that bring people closer to urban ecology, specifically the water system, while facilitating a range of economic, social and educational activities.

The challenge for Atteridgeville, and South Africa, as a water-scarce country, remains the transformation of its unsustainably resource-intensive economy whilst also addressing the legacy of Apartheid (DWA, 2013). This challenge has a deeply historical dimension to consider. The Apartheid regime saw the provisioning of unequal access to quality public space for the majority of non-white South Africans. During the planning and building of townships, such as Atteridgeville, Saulsville and Lotus Gardens, spatial segregation was emphasised through minimal allocation and maintenance of these public spaces. In post-Apartheid South Africa, the ‘public space deficit’ still exists, affecting lower income areas, such as informal settlements on the urban periphery. Interventions in spaces such as the Ga-Mothakga Resort can help improve the perception of safety and security and address the social and ecological potential of urban green spaces (SaferSpaces, 2022), including their value or connecting people to water.

The development of the resort has obstructed the natural flow of stormwater runoff leading to ponding of stagnant water in undesirable locations and the general disruption of the natural ecological system. This has led to the identification of the resort, the Skinnerspruit and the open green space surrounding, as the selected site for this project.

Through the intensive research, planning and design proposals for the site, the intention of this dissertation is to address issues such as climate and flood regulation, sense of place and landscape identity, while responding and building on broad-based existing spatial frameworks. In line with green infrastructure design considerations, a series of wetland ponds are designed to integrate with the natural topography of the site, as well as encouraging the system to use the natural energies, such as gravity flow, to facilitate the infiltration and movement of water through the ecological system. A boardwalk through this space allows users to participate in an immersive spatial experience with the water in a variety of ways, creating and strengthening their connection with water.