As in the case of many industrial areas, de-industrialisation in the Melbourne Street area has "resulted in the closure of once profitable enterprises which are now redundant" (Feinstein 1996, 173). As with other parts of the city, the Melbourne Street area has been affected by the changes that have arisen in the process of occupation and succession.
I MAP 1 I
LOCATION OF THE STU DY AREA IN RELATION TO ITRUMP AN D SOUTH DURBAN BASIN
Research Question
The research question is "What are the dynamics and processes that have caused the Melbourne Road area to decline and what would be the most effective and appropriate interventions to facilitate urban renewal there?".
Selection of the study area
Although the study area is too small to provide any city-wide trends, its justification lies in containing an interesting variety of activities that reflect some of the processes of industrial change that have taken place in the last decade or so.
Research methodology
- Interviews
What is the distribution pattern of peak and off-peak traffic in the Melbourne Road area. The aim of the women's group was to gain the views of wOplen staying in the Melbourne Road area.
Conclusions
The questions for this group were similar to the questions for the other groups. The main aim was to find out whether men who live alone see the area differently than other groups.
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK 1 Introduction
- Evolution of Industrial Location Theories - A Brief Overview
- Industrial Location Theories
- Industrial Location Dynamics in Durban
- The Impact of Economic Restructuring and Globalization
- What is Globalization and how does it impact on industry?
- The Impact of Globalization
- Urban Renewal
- Factors Leading to Urban Renewal
- Different Types of Urban Renewal
- Conclusion
On the other hand, financial institutions are located in the central core of cities such as New York (Manhattan), Johannesburg (Sandton). Since the 1990s, Durban has had some of the most expensive industrial land in the country.
THE MELBOURNE ROAD AREA CASE STUDY 1 Introduction
- Background and history
- Present Situation
- The Melbourne Road Area - Built Environment
- General Character of the Area
The history of the Melbourne Road area is inextricably linked to the history of Durban. The Melbourne Road area is also marked by blighted flats and the Dalton Hostel, both of which house some of the working population of the inner city. Some of the buildings have been illegally subdivided using dry walling.
A number of the buildings are occupied by homeless individuals (often job seekers) and street children. The land use survey aimed to identify the extent of land uses and the conditions of the buildings. This part of the research focused mainly on Banshee Lane, Melbourne Road and Sydney Road.
A rundown building, which is an indication of bad condition
- Public Environment
- Access Roads
- Business Owners and Managers
The following security companies are active in the area: Chubb Services, Magnum Shield Services, Khulani Services, Enforce Services, Impi Yethu 'Our Battle' Services and ADT Services. The range of economic activities identified in the study area can be better explained by a table indicating the type of economic activity that was investigated in the Melbourne Road area. Most of the products made in the area were for the local market, although there were a few, such as the Kwa-Zulu Natal Crafts Industry, which specialized in the production of picture frames for export.
Most of the drivers said they had been in the area for more than 30 months. Some firms in the printing industry were quite new to the area, but other firms such as OTIS had been there since 1975. While most of the managers interviewed had no problem with their premises and premises, they had concerns about their external areas complained.
CADASTRAL BOUNDARY I~
Satisfaction with the levels of service in the area
Reasons for firms leaving the area
Improvements made by the business owners
The main complaint was about the extent of filth, dirty streets and the lack of adequate cleaning of public areas and insufficient public toilets. In terms of what improvements were needed, it emerged that the majority felt that some roads such as Melbourne Road, Canada Road, Banshee Lane and Cuckoo Lane should be widened to facilitate better access for delivery vehicles. Some respondents believe that the level of service in terms of infrastructure should be increased.
However, for the purpose of the study, there were twenty street vendors, with whom the researcher spoke directly to try to gain insight into the area and understand their needs. The responses, shown in Figure 1, show that more than half of respondents (58%) believed that street vending gave the area a bad image, while 21% thought this did not. They reported that the presence of the hostel increased crime due to internal and external activities in the hostel.
Professional Town Planners
- Changes in the area
- Factors considered to have contributed to the dereliction
- The suitability of Melbourne Road area industrial as an industrial area
All respondents agreed that Dalton Hostel has a negative impact on investment in the area. An anomaly is that the Melbourne Road area falls within the Southern Industrial Basin redevelopment initiatives, but no initiatives appear to have been put forward to revitalize the area. Some of the firms from the area have migrated to neighboring industrial parks such as Springfield, Umngeni and Prospection.
Many small and medium-sized companies and craft industries were also established in this area. Market forces will determine whether it is cost-effective for industries to locate in the area. However, they were cautious about the ability to redevelop the area to easily accommodate high-tech industries.
Local Residents and Workers
- The hostel and other residential options
Most of the respondents stated that they had stayed in the area for more than five years, although they often visited the house at the end of the month and during holidays. Some of the women stated that their husbands support them, although they do informal street trading to help their husbands who work in the area. Some even stated that staying at the hotel can now be considered as their second home.
At the same time they stated that staying in the area enabled them to do small businesses. When asked about residential preferences, most men stated that they did not mind where they lived as long as the area was close to where they worked. They were unhappy about the increasing rate of neglect of the public environment and drinking on the streets of the area.
Summary and Key Issues
Interestingly, this group also commented on the negative impact of crime, making the area unpleasant and dangerous, and reducing opportunities to work overtime. Respondents felt that the only way to clean up the area was to cooperate with business owners. However, they felt that there was little chance of this working unless the municipality played a facilitating role in promoting cleanliness in the area.
A dirty environment threatens the health of people who work and stay there. The filth has deterred investors from investing in the area; this can be attributed to the fact that most industries are conscious of the appearance of their premises. Some people who are attracted to the area are looking for employment, while others are looking for accommodation.
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
- Dynamics and processes of change in the Melbourne Road area
- Reasons for Changes and Vacancies
- Current Land Use and Conflicts
- Challenges for Industrialists
- Challenges for Residents
- Recommendations
- Conclusion
Those who do not find employment may become involved in crime in the area, while at the same time crime and other negligent behavior in the area increases. The lack of suitable housing in the area is another factor forcing people to occupy the industrial properties. This perpetuates the level of filth in the area and also makes the area a hive of illegal activities.
Economic development workers all agreed that urban decay is the most pressing problem in the Melbourne Road area. Furthermore, increased business closures have led to greater levels of desperation among the working class, increasing levels of 'urban poverty' and unemployment. As for urinating on the sidewalks and walls, the municipality should reduce the number of taverns in the area.
LIST OF REFERENCES
A, (1966) Urban Renewal and the Future of the American City, Chicago: Edwards Brothers, Inc. 1990) Structural Change in the World Economy, London: Routledge. Futwa, Z.L. Planning Implications for Change of Use of Industrial Land from Formerly Large Scale to Smaller Units of Light and Service Industry' MTRP Dissertation, University of Natal. 2000) Land Use Development Planning and the Concept of Sustainable Development: Exploring Constraints and Facilitations in the English Planning System, in Journal of Environmental Planning and Management.
1987 'Zoning and Socio-Economic Differentiation in Urban Areas of Papua New Guinea', in Housing Actions Against Refuges in Asia and the Pacific. McLachlan, G and Butts, MS (eds) (1977) Framework and Plan for Planning: The Use of Information in the NHS: Papers, London: Oxford University Press,. Ntuli B K, (2003) Appropriate use of land use schemes in tribal rural areas: a case study of Cez, University of Natal.
WEB SEARCHES
Department of Urban Affairs Michigan State University, (1998) Urban Revitalization, available. http://www.michiganlanduse.org/resources/councilresources/JulY UrbanRevitalization.p df. Frank Southworth, Technical Review of Urban Land Use - Transport Models as Tools for Evaluating Vehicle Travel Reduction Strategies, (July 1995), available at http://www.michiganlanduse.org/resources/councilresources/July UrbanRevitalization.p df. 1999), and Sustainability and Economic Recovery: Report to the Local Government Association and the Improvement and Development (University of Hull) September 1999. Available at. 2003) CBD Durban with special emphasis on Warwick Junction, see. 1999), Innovations and industrial renewal in Finland (Back to basics in innovation studies, Paper prepared for the DRUID summer conference on Innovation Systems June 9-12, 1999 by VTT Group for Technology Studies, available at http://www.druid.dk / conferences/summer1999/conf-papers/lemola palmberg.pdf.
Martinez, S.T (2004), Development Policy for the Greater Jamestown Empire Zone, available at, (http://www.greaterjamestownez.com/buildings new.htm128/06104). Mathur, O. P, (2003). National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, Delhi cited from http://www.financialexpress.com/feJull_story.php. About Prakash Mathur, National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, Delhi quoted from, http://www.financialexpress.com/feJulestory.php.
APPENDIX
Location number Land use Street address Building use Building function (24/12/6 hours) Building age. What do you think the municipality should do to positively influence the transformation of the area in order to reduce the increase in vacancies and abandonment in the area. What have been the recent trends in terms of investments in industry (business) in the area.
Do you think crime has an impact on the decline in investment in the area? Do you think a decline in infrastructure investments will affect vacancy/neglect? How do you think economic restructuring on a metropolitan scale has affected areas as they should be locally?
