6.2 Interpreting the success or failure of spatial integration in Cornubia phase 1A
6.2.1 Spatial integration
One of the leading objectives for the Cornubia phase 1A housing project is to counteract previous apartheid government segregatory land-use patterns. To achieve this, residential units were to be spatially, economically, socially and functionally integrated, which would in turn provide beneficiaries with access to important services and facilities that are normally provided in city centres. During the interview Mr Bheki Shongwe, the planning and land-use executive at Tongaat Hulett Developments (THD) defined integrated development as development that is spatially integrated and which have more than one use.
Prior to the development of Cornubia phase 1A, the site was used as a buffer strip to create a separation between the surrounding areas namely Waterloo, Phoenix, Verulam, Mt Edgecombe and Umhlanga. The separation of these areas typifies the lack of spatial integration in South African low-income housing projects. According to Mr Kamalin Gounden, a town planning specialist in the IYER Urban Design firm, the Cornubia site provided an ideal opportunity to bring these areas together, in other words improve the physical integration between neighbouring surrounding communities (see figure 1 which illustrates the Cornubia phase 1A project and adjacent areas). The roads in Cornubia connect to Umhlanga, Waterloo, Phoenix and Dube Trade Port North of the King Shaka International Airport. The N2/M41, R102 road and bridge towards Ottwa-Blackburn Link are the major roads which pass through Cornubia.
Figure 3: Cornubia phase 1A and neighbouring areas
Source: Site visit (2018)
79 Mr Shongwe added that the Cornubia phase 1A housing project site was purposely selected due to the convenient serviceability of the site and municipal ownership. The site is owned by the eThekwini Municipality and is easily serviced due to its close proximity to the built areas of Phoenix and Ottawa. Basically providing services to Cornubia phase 1A was not a difficult task as municipal bulk services such as energy, water and sanitation, and roads from Phoenix and Ottawa were simply extended to the adjacent Cornubia phase 1A area. This was further reiterated by the fourty-nine beneficiaries as they mentioned that they all have electricity and water and sanitation facilities in their houses.
Asked if and how spatial integration principles have been applied to the layout of Cornubia phase 1A, Mr. Gounden asserted that a compact urban environment was applied in Cornubia.
One of the key design principles applied in the phase 1A housing project was that of accessibility. According to Mr. Gounden, there was a need to facilitate access and convenience to essential services and amenities to beneficiaries of the units. In order to facilitate connectivity and spatial integration to surrounding areas, Cornubia phase 1A contained a series of roads which not only connected residents of surrounding areas but also extended access to employment opportunities to the residents of Cornubia phase 1A by providing direct transportation routes to surrounding areas where jobs are rife.
In addition, the town planner added that there was also emphasis placed on the connections between blocks of resident’s houses. The layout in figure 2 demonstrates that the housing project made provision for internal routes which are used by taxis yet placed priority on pedestrian friendly routes. This was done through the insertion of walkways and pathways within the Cornubia phase 1A site (see figure 3). Mr Gounden went on to say “we tried to ensure densification and aimed to create a courtyard development to ensure a community type of approach. We further tried to move away from a normal suburban type layout township development which has a single building on a single plot”.
80 Figure 4: Layout plan of Cornubia phase 1A,
Source: IYER (2011), adapted by researcher Figure 5: Pedestrian walkways
Source: Site visit (2018)
6.2.1.1 Primary and secondary education
One of the indices for successful spatial integration was whether residents had access to educational facilities. There is one primary school that was planned for as part of the project which is available for children in Cornubia phase 1A. The school is known as Solomon Mahlangu primary school and has been operational since 2015. The school is currently being run from temporary prefab ‘container’ structures. Parents indicated that the classrooms were often overcrowded and sometimes up to forty children were seated in each classroom. However in terms of the CSIR guideline for a school the size of Solomon Mahlangu, class sizes should be up to 40 learners at a time. Moreover the school is located approximately 20 - 300 metres away from resident’s houses which meets the 10 km travelling distance as set out by CSIR.
81 There were twenty-five respondents who participated in the beneficiary household questionnaire who indicated that there were minors residing with them at the household. Nine out of twenty-five respondents indicated that the child/ children are currently attending the Solomon Mahlangu primary school. Six respondents indicated that the minor children attended an educational facility outside the area of Cornubia whilst ten respondents indicated that the minor child did not attend any educational facility at all.
All fourty-nine respondents also said that there are no secondary schools located in Cornubia.
Those that wish to complete their secondary education have to travel to Phoenix or Verulam.
As a result, many students drop out of school once their primary education is completed.
According to planning standards set by the CSIR (2015) at least one secondary school should be constructed for a community that contains 2500 people. In this case, the establishment of a secondary school is not justifiable by the population threshold of Cornubia phase 1A which constitutes of 482 dwelling units with an average is 2000 to 2400 people.
In keeping with the guidelines by CSIR, the average travel distance to secondary schools is 10 km’s one way. Although there is no secondary school located within the area, the closest school located to Cornubia phase 1A is approximately 6.5 km’s which does adhere to the CSIR guideline of a ten km travelling distance to secondary schools. Therefore it can be said that Cornubia phase 1A planners were aware that the distance to a high school would not be an issue for the Cornubia phase 1A residents due to the fact that they do have easy access and are in close proximity to primary and secondary schools.
6.2.1.2 Transportation facilities
Access to transportation services as mentioned earlier in the study, is another element that should be considering regarding the successfulness of spatial integration. When asked about transport facilities, residents pointed out that there are no buses available and the only form of public transport accessible to them is taxis. Forty-five out of forty-nine respondents indicated that they use taxis as their primary transportation mode. Four respondents indicated that they use a private car to travel.
The taxis are available for residents from Monday to Sunday between the hours of 05h00 to 19h00. According to residents Racheal Bullisamy, Nontokozo Stolisa and others, the taxis are easily available to them and the taxi ranks are located within close proximity to their residential units. More precisely the taxi pick up points are located between 30 to 390m away from
82 resident’s households which meets the 400m travelling distance specified in the CSIR planning guideline. The taxi route connects residents to all surrounding areas such as but not limited to Umhlanga, Waterloo, Phoenix, Dube Trade Port, Verulam and Durban Central and costs approximately R10-00 per trip and R20-00 for a return trip. This is evidence that residents of Cornubia phase 1A have easy access to public transportation services in the form of taxis.
These taxis travel to various neighbouring areas and the cost of using a taxi to commute is not expensive. It can be said that the mobility of residents in the housing project is good as they can commute to various areas throughout the day, every day.
6.2.1.3 Police station
The easy accessibility and availability of a police station was also considered as an element to achieve spatial integration in the study. When asked about police stations, residents were all in agreement that there is no police station located in the Cornubia area. Residents are required to travel to Phoenix or Verulam which is approximately 10-15 minutes away by use of a motor vehicle from Cornubia phase 1A in order to access a police station. In accordance with the CSIR guideline of 2015 the threshold population of Cornubia phase 1A does not warrant a fully-fledged police station. The CSIR guideline quotes “one police station per 60 000 people.
If the threshold is smaller than the 1:60 000 ratio, a SAPS Contact Point may be established”.
Furthermore in areas beyond 24 km’s away from a police station, a SAPS Contact Point may be established.
Residents did however indicate that the crime level within Cornubia phase 1A is very low.
Residents feel safe and do not require police assistance frequently. There are police patrol vehicles that drive within the area to ensure the safety of residents. Thirty-eight residents claimed that they were aware of only two incidents that have occurred in the past 3 years, whereby residents were robbed of their cell phones whilst waiting for a taxi. There have been no reports of any other criminal activities since then. Residents feel safe within the Cornubia phase 1A area. Although there is no actual police station in the area, the presence of patrol vehicles is ever present within the area. This is evidence that spatial integration has taken place as neighbouring areas have extended their services to the Cornubia phase 1A project site.
6.2.1.4 Shops
As seen from the layout (page 76, figure 2), there are three local shops within the area.
According to CSIR guideline local tuck-shops should be situated 100 to 300 meters one way from households. In Cornubia phase 1A, tuck-shops are located 10 to 250 meters away from
83 residents which does adhere to the CSIR guideline in terms of average travel distance to shops.
All forty-nine residents indicated that they purchase their daily necessary goods from the local tuck-shops located within the Cornubia phase 1A area. However they had to travel to Cornubia Mall, Gateway, Phoenix or Verulam in order to purchase other monthly groceries and clothing items.
One 51-year-old female, Penny Adams, travelled to Durban CBD twice a month in order to purchase goods such as rice, flour, meat, clothing items, etc. The cost of travelling to Durban Central Business District (CBD) amounts to a sum of R14-00 for a one-way trip and R28-00 for a round trip. Due to her age and ill health, she is assisted by her nephew who accompanies her to the CBD to carry the goods to and from the taxi rank. This results in her having to pay a sum of R56-00 for a round trip for both her nephew and herself.
It can be said that in terms of purchasing daily essential goods, residents have easy access to local tuck shops located within the area. However the tuck shops are small and do not offer a wide range of products. Residents are still obliged to travel outside the area to access bigger retail stores for goods. According to CSIR guideline, the location of shops is influenced by the nature of the area in respect of density and community size. In Cornubia phase 1A the population size is not big enough to sustain a fully-fledged shopping centre within the housing project area itself. Although residents have to commute out of Cornubia to access bigger retail stores, they are still partially integrated into the city as they are located in close proximity to areas such as Phoenix, Umhlanga and the Cornubia mall which are areas that do offer services in terms of larger retail outlets.