3.2 The Compact City Approach
3.2.2 The South African Context
The emphasis is on public transport to reduce private car use. Furthermore, from an economic perspective, connection and accessibility are key ideas that lead to concepts such as concentration, corridors and metropolitan networks. The Compact City is also linked to density and intensity since it strives towards the concentration of buildings, people and activities.
Westerink, et al (2013) described density as a measure used to define urbanity i.e. the denser the more urban. It can be defined as the number of people per hectare, the number of addresses or dwelling units per hectare, square metres per hectare or urban volume. High densities do not only mean high rise buildings since it may be viewed as inefficient because it limits access to natural light to lower storeys. Whilst density represents a quantitative unit of measurement, intensity addresses the use of space and is therefore a qualitative measure of urbanity however; both are often used as synonyms.
Williams (1996, cited in Westerink, et al, 2013) defined intensity as being related to both built form and activity. Built form intensification includes redevelopment of existing buildings and sites or on undeveloped properties. Intensification of activities is defined as an increase in the existing use of land and buildings. The principle of high intensity implies multilevel and multifunctional use of urban land and buildings. Haccou et al (2007, cited in Westerink, et al, 2013) listed four types of multi-functional land use namely: interweaving, intensifying, layering and timing. Interweaving combines functions on the same land, intensifying increases effectiveness and efficiency of land use. Layering involves the mixing of land uses in a vertical dimension and timing uses the same building or space for different uses and different times.
because it proposed the integration of activities within urban areas and indicated that this objective plays a central role to urban performance. Theorists and planners also accepted the corridor development concept as the primary and most effective tool that could facilitate a compact integrated urban environment.
Chobokoane and Horn (2015) stated that spatial structure and form of the current pattern of South African cities were inequitable, and unsustainable. The call for greater urban compaction and integration was made almost thirty years ago when the government committed itself to promote the restructuring of cities. This ideology was embodied in a number of acts and policies from national and provincial government departments extending across various sectors that guide and direct the spatial and functional restructuring of South African cities. A summary of legal and policy frameworks included the Development Facilitation Act (DFA) (No. 67 of 1995). This law was intended to combat sprawl and facilitate towns that are more compact and cities through a number of actions, which included the promotion of smaller subdivisions, encouraging walk-up dwelling units, promotion of infill policies and new growth areas to be contained within the existing urban fabric as opposed to creeping beyond the urban edge. Other policy frameworks and guidelines that promoted the compact city were the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP, 1994). Du Plessis (2014) argued that the RDP called for densification and unification of the urban fabric whilst Chapter One of the DFA resource document outlined basic principles of integration. This concept embraced three dimensions namely; the integration of social, economic, institutional and physical sectors; integration of rural and urban areas in support of each other and integration of places of live, work and recreation in close proximity to each other. Furthermore, these concepts remained central to the planning and policy agenda up to the National Development Plan (NDP) 2030.
Chobokoane and Horn (2015) further listed the following policies namely:-
The Growth, Employment and Redistribution (RSA 1996);
The Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa (ASGISA, 2007);
The New Growth Path (2010);
The National Growth and Development Strategy;
The National Spatial Development Perspective;
The Integrated Rural Development Strategy;
The National Physical Development Framework;
Spatial Guidelines for Infrastructure Investment and Development;
Planning Framework for Republic of South Africa;
The Green Paper on Spatial Planning which served as a foundation for the White Paper on Spatial Planning and Land-use Management;
The Urban Development Strategy and the Urban Development Framework Source: Pieterse, 2007; Harrison et al 2008, Oranje and van Huys (2007).
The White Paper on Local Government was another policy framework, which mandated municipalities to draft Integrated Development Plans (IDP) to guide and inform planning, budgeting, management and decision-making. The promulgation of the Municipal Systems Act (MSA) (No. 32 of 2000) provided the legislative framework to make this mandatory.
In terms of the MSA, the IDP is to include a Spatial Development Framework (SDF), which must provide basic land use guidelines for land use management. All SDFs are to be linked and informed by National and Provincial development and framework plans. The recent plans that have emerged propose to integrate and compact towns and cities with corridors, nodes and urban growth boundaries. The intention is to channel public investment with economic growth potential into these target areas. The National Development Plan (2011) included strategies to increase urban density. The government also published the Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act (SPLUMA) (No. 16 of 2013) which came into effect on 1 July 2015. It provides a framework for planning and land use management that is inclusive, developmental, equitable and efficient in terms of spatial planning. It stipulates that the compaction of South African cities should be based on principles of diversity and choice. This approach allows for a range of opportunities to diverse groups and that offers various options to different populations. It intends to cater for the needs of various income groups with different preferences ultimately striving towards a more compact-integrated city.
Turok (2013) documented that the main objective of the South African government since the advent of democracy has been to integrate the dispersed-fractured urban form of cities. This objective found expression in various policies and legislation relevant to local government, land-use planning, housing, transport and environment that repeated the objective to integrate, restructure and connect the urban landscape to create a viable, socially and economically integrated communities with easy access to health, economic, educational and social amenities. Numerous reports and speeches of political leaders
have acknowledged and recognised that there has not been a great deal of progress made in transforming the inherited distorted spatial patterns in the quest to address the structural problems of unemployment, poverty and inequality and that spatial integration has proved elusive. Furthermore, this aftermath of Apartheid had not disappeared due to the durability of the skewed built form. The National Development Plan 2030 that was published in August 2012 also reiterated that the Apartheid spatial divide continues to dominate the South Africa’s landscapes, which now presents major challenges to municipalities, planners and politicians.