Colonial conceptions and space in the evolution of a city: evidence from the city of Bloemfontein, 1846-1946

dc.contributor.authorVan der Westhuizen, Diaan
dc.date.accessioned2012-10-05T14:11:47Z
dc.date.available2012-10-05T14:11:47Z
dc.date.issued2011
dc.description.abstractMainstream understanding of how the urban form of South African cities developed over the past century and a half is often traced back to the colonial town plan. Writers argue that the gridiron and axial arrangement were the most important ordering devices. For example, in Bloemfontein—one of the smaller colonial capitals in South Africa— it has been suggested that the axial arrangement became an important device to anchor “the generalist structure of the gridiron within the landscape to create a specific sense of place”. Over the years, the intentional positioning of institutions contributed to a coherent legibility of the city structure in support of British, Dutch, and later apartheid government socio-political goals. During these eras, it was the colonial conceptions of space that influenced the morphological evolution of the city. This paper suggests that an alternative process guided the expansion of Bloemfontein. Drawing on the theory of natural movement, I suggest that Bloemfontein grew mainly as a result of its spatial configurational properties. Using longitudinal spatial mapping of the city from 1846 - 1946, empirical data from a Space Syntax analysis will be used to construct an argument for the primacy of space as a robust generator of development. The paper offers an alternative interpretation of the interaction between urban morphology and the process of placemaking in a South African city.en_US
dc.description.abstractDie ontwikkeling van die Suid-Afrikaanse stad oor die afgelope eeu en ‘n half word verstaan vanuit die oogpunt van die generiese koloniale stadsplan. Skrywers het reeds die belangrikheid van die roosterpatroon en die aksiale planuitleg oortuigend beklemtoon. Bloemfontein, een van die kleiner koloniale hoofstede in Suid-Afrika, word beskryf in terme van hoe die assestelsel die stad anker, deur middel van “. . .the generalist structure of the gridiron within the landscape . . .” en hoe dit verder ‘n sin van plek tot gevolg het. Oor die jare het die strategiese plasing van institutionele geboue ‘n bydrae gelewer tot die samehang en leesbaarheid van die stadstruktuur, wat verder ook die Britse-, Nederlandse-, en later apartheidsosiaal-politieke doelwitte ondersteun het. Gedurende hierdie eras is die morfologiese evolusie van die stad sterk beїnvloed deur die koloniale begrip van ruimte. Hierdie artikel beskryf ‘n alternatiewe proses wat aanleiding gegee het tot die uitbreiding van die stad, Bloemfontein. Deur gebruik te maak van die teorie van natuurlike beweging, stel ek voor dat die stedelike groei hoofsaaklik plaasvind het as gevolg van die eienskappe van ruimtelike ordening. Die argument is geformuleer in terme van ruimte as ‘n primêre generator vir stedelike ontwikkeling deur gebruik te maak van historiese stadskaarte vanaf 1846 – 1946 wat geanaliseer is deur middel van “Space Syntax” tegnieke. Die argument in die artikel bied ‘n alternatiewe blik op hoe ons die interaksie tussen stedelike morfologie en die maak van plek in terme van die Suid-Afrikaanse stad verstaan.af
dc.description.librarianai2013en
dc.format.extent14 pagesen_US
dc.format.mediumPDFen_US
dc.identifier.citationVan der Westhuizen, D 2011, 'Colonial conceptions and space in the evolution of a city : evidence from the city of Bloemfontein, 1846-1946', South African Journal of Art History, vol. 26, no. 3, pp. 90-103. [http://www.journals.co.za/ej/ejour_sajah.html]en_US
dc.identifier.issn0258-3542
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/20050
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherArt Historical Work Group of South Africaen_US
dc.rightsArt Historical Work Group of South Africaen_US
dc.subjectUrban formen_US
dc.subjectSpace syntaxen_US
dc.subjectEmpirical spatial dataen_US
dc.subjectBloemfonteinen_US
dc.subject.lcshCity planning -- South Africa -- Historyen
dc.subject.lcshCity planning -- Bloemfontein -- Historyen
dc.subject.lcshColonial cities -- South Africa -- Historyen
dc.subject.lcshSpace (Architecture) -- South Africa -- Bloemfonteinen
dc.titleColonial conceptions and space in the evolution of a city: evidence from the city of Bloemfontein, 1846-1946en_US
dc.typeArticleen_US

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