This research examines the case study of the Cornubia Housing Project in the Northern Municipal Planning Region of eThekwini Municipality. It is submitted for the degree of Master of Development Studies in the School of the Built Environment and Development Studies, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa.
Overview of Research
The Cornubia Framework Plan and LAP have been designed and produced from two different perspectives. Brenner (2009, p. 62) explains “the composition of social space continues to be woven through various processes of restructuring... As Lefebvre recognized in the early 1970s, space is always being produced and transformed under capitalism; it is never fixed, static or predetermined.” This perspective is also important to frame this research, as an economic one.
Research Rationale
The impact of globalization, the effects of global market forces and South Africa's reintegration into this market have had an effect on development. The influence of capitalism as an economic ideology on planning has been particularly significant.
Aims and Key Research Questions
How have types and sources of knowledge and exchange of knowledge contributed to the preparation of spatial development plans for Cornubia and by what process. How have the power relations and the interaction between the many role players within the physical plan development for Cornubia affected knowledge production.
Structure of Dissertation
To understand the conceptualization of Cornubia development, it is important to discuss the project in relation to global ideologies and discourses. Two of the main post-apartheid planning debates are postmodernism and new urbanism, which have influenced the discourse themes found in the planning literature.
Broader Societal Discourse
According to Giddings et al (2002), people have different worldviews about sustainability and this has created a range of meanings that have led to sustainable development becoming. Swart et al (2004) argue that although definitions of sustainable development can vary widely, there is consensus on the importance of maintaining the resilience of environmental and social systems.
Knowledge, Spatial Knowledge, and Participation
He advocates that there are three concepts of space: "Material space (spatial practices), representational space (perceived space) and representational space (the space of the everyday lived world)" (Baud, et al., 2011, p .5). . Therefore, the production and exchange of spatial knowledge is essential to achieve equitable, economically and environmentally sustainable development processes (Pfeffer, et al., 2013).
Planning
This urbanization happened rapidly with the apartheid government failing to 'control' the movement of the black population. So in short, "the planner must reconcile not two, but at least three conflicting interests; to 'grow' the economy, to distribute the growth fairly and in the process not degrade the ecosystem" (Campbell, 1999, p. 252).
Planning Discourse in South Africa
- Spatial Discourse
- Social Transformation
- Economy and the Market
- Sustainability
The definition given by Marais (2011, p. 339) is that “the developmental state refers to a model of economic growth and social redistribution in which the state, with varying degrees of autonomy, acts as an important variable that promotes that growth and determines the pattern and ensuring social development”. According to Whebell (1969, p. 1), a strong proponent of the corridor theory, in the international literature “the term corridor applies to a linear system of urban places together with the connecting surface transportation media.
Summary
Moreover, with the dual system it is not clear whether better decisions are made and whether the development outcomes are sustainable (Harrison, et al., 2008). The EIA process also takes up to nine months for approval so it can delay the planning process and decisions (Todes, et al., 2009).
Introduction
Durban pre-2000
EThekwini Municipality
Hierarchy of Plans
This hierarchy shows a 'nested' development of plans with large-scale broad concepts, with the SDF at the top of the hierarchy descending in scale to the more detailed area plans. The eThekwini Municipality SDF (refer to Figure 3.3) provides a wealth of information and was created by imposing different knowledge to produce the plan. Some of the key features of the plan are: the urban development line, the 55 decibel noise contour (this will be further explained in Section 3.5);.
Northern Municipal Planning Region
- The urban development corridor
- KSIA and Dube Trade Port
- Development and megaprojects in the Northern Municipal Planning Region
- Northern Urban Development Corridor project
The land adjacent to the Aerotropolis is owned by THD and therefore plays an important role in the development of the Aerotropolis. THD has adopted this concept and collaborated with DTP. Many of the car dealers that were based in the CBD a decade ago have also moved north to the Gateway district. The Northern Urban Development Corridor (NUDC) project was conceptualized in an initiative called: “The basic planning of alternative route alignments of the R102, including connections to the Dube Trade port; and the Local Development Plans for the Northern EThekwini Urban Development Corridor” (EThekwini Municipality, 2011a, p. 1).
Cornubia
- Location
- History
- Cornubia Housing Project
- Plans and Design
- Noise Contours
- Political Significance
Another difference is the vision for light industry and the business components of the concept. The noise contours measured from the KSIA had a significant impact on the development of the Cornubia Framework Plan. The municipality owns 281 ha of land in this delineated area, which was intended for low-cost construction.
Summary
The NMPR is a concentration of development driven primarily by THD, the main landowner in the area. Most of the constructions in NMPR are business and residential buildings of a higher price class (mainly fenced settlements), whereby the planning principle of integration with existing development is undermined. This allowed the conceptual design to incorporate business activities in a mono-functional style along the main spine of the city, which was discouraged by the eThekwini municipality in the NUDC project.
Research Approach
Interviews were conducted with professionals directly involved in the formulation of the Verulam-Cornubia Local Area Plan (LAP) and the Cornubia Framework Plan, as well as with independent consultants and members of a community that will be affected by the development. This chapter provides the rationale behind the methodology and covers the methods used in conducting the study, how the data were collected and analyzed, and some reflections from the researcher on the methodology process.
Qualitative vs Quantitative methods
Case Study Methodology
However, case study research is becoming an increasingly popular approach in qualitative research (Hyett, et al., 2014). The case study methodology used in this research is based on the constructivist paradigm in which constructivists “claim that truth is relative and dependent on one's perspective.” However, Stake (1995, cited in Hyett, et al., 2014) would describe the Cornubia case study as intrinsic, as it is used to understand the issues of a single case rather than what it represents.
Data Collection: Semi-structured Interviews
In relation to the research study, the story of the conceptualization of Cornubia was communicated during the interviews through the exploration of the respondents' understanding of the social world. The interviews were audio-recorded with the respondents' permission and fully transcribed by independent transcribers. The reason why the interviews were split into two periods was primarily because the respondents were available and that new respondents were selected when other key people declined to be interviewed.
Sampling
Profile of Respondents
It is interesting to note the combined years of experience of the development professionals, which contributed to the rich data collected in the interviews.
Conduct of Interviews
Advantages and limitations of interviews
Other disadvantages are that interviews: are time-consuming; can be intimidating for respondents as interviews are artificial situations; may be considered an invasion of privacy; can be challenging in terms of reliability as consistency is difficult to achieve.
Transcriptions
Data Analysis
As each interview unfolded, there was a level of analysis and patterns in the responses began to become clear. Once the entire data set was collected and transcribed, the responses were color-coded according to the themes that emerged in each of the broad categories. A mind map was created for the responses for each theme, and common ideas, views and opinions were aggregated and analyzed, allowing patterns in the data to emerge.
Reflections
For each of these, individual responses were then extracted and combined together with a numerical code that identified the respondent. This chapter discusses the findings of the study in the context of spatial knowledge and is based on information gathered from interviews with respondents who were purposively selected for their knowledge of developments in the northern sub-region of eThekwini and Cornubia municipalities. city. The chapter is presented in three sections: the first explores broad developments in the North; the second part deals with spatial plans in more detail;
Broad development in the Northern Municipal Planning Region
- Changing Vision and Objectives
- Spatial developments in the north
- Stakeholder Conceptualisations
- Roles of Government
- Stakeholder Reflections
According to the respondent, development in the north should always take place, with or without the airport. On the other hand, the respondent does not believe that the views of the various stakeholders are the same with regard to the development in the north. The success of development in the North will be determined by how the various spheres of government (national, provincial and local) interact with the expansion of this area.
Spatial Plans
- Influence and process
- Theory and concepts
- The two plans: similarities and differences
- External Input from Stakeholders
- Local Contextual Issues
Both the planning process for the Framework Plan and for the LAP began with an examination of the physical ecological components of the site. Since the municipality owns part of Cornubia, it actively participated in the creation of the framework plan. ETA also played an advisory role to THD on the transport aspects of the framework plan (respondent.
Knowledge, Participation, and Space
- Knowledge Exchange
- Public Participation
- Public/Private Partnerships
- Representation of Space
Furthermore, the respondent adds that the locality's topography is also limiting, and this has determined where some of the land uses must be placed. The development of the municipality's ideas in the north was one of the aims of the LAP process. Furthermore, the LAP has been completed and the development of the Cornubia area will now be guided by the framework plan.
Summary
The problems in South Africa are deeply structural with excessive poverty and inequality as well as high unemployment. Added to these inherited structural problems is the reintroduction of South Africa into the global arena, with pressures from globalization and the market affecting decision-making and policy. The shift to more neoliberal political ideals and the influence of the market on development has exacerbated poverty, inequality and the spatial patterns of apartheid in South Africa.
Reflecting on the research questions
These principles have been interwoven with the discourses unique to the country's context. These interests highlight the chronic needs that exist in many of the communities in South Africa. The value of the remaining part of the land has been reduced due to the impact of the type of agriculture (monoculture of sugar cane) on the land in the past.
Further Research
This type of development has never before been considered by THD as they usually focus on the high-end segment of the market.
Conclusion
Apartheid, Urban Segregation and the Local State: Durban and the Group Areas Act in South Africa. Ideology, discourse and the geography of hegemony: From socialist to neoliberal development in post-apartheid South Africa. In search of public-private partnerships for local economic development in South Africa.
The urban politics of a large-scale housing investment: The case of the Cornubia housing project in Durban, South Africa. The relationship between environmental planning and management in South Africa: The case of KwaZulu-Natal.
