VOLUME 1 HUMAN SETTLEMENT PLANNING AND ... - CSIR

GUIDELINES FOR HUMAN SETTLEMENT PLANNING AND DESIGNTable 5.4.3: Guidelines for the planning and design of generic forms of soft open space(continued)LOCATION (continued)Playspaces • Wherever possible, playspaces should be incorporated with other public open spaces (forreasons of multifunctionality).• Playspaces can be located within clusters of primary schools and close to pre-school andday-care facilities, in order to facilitate the shared use of these amenities as safe andstimulating play-time areas.• Playspaces can be located within parks, relatively close to entrance points (but awayfrom busy perimeter roads) and traversing pathways, so that they are areas of greatestpublic surveillance and safety.Urban • Urban agriculture can be practised on land located next to sources of irrigation water,agriculturein the form of rivers and stormwater retention ponds.• In instances where lower-income farmers need to walk to the cultivated lands on a dailybasis, urban agriculture should be located close to residential areas.• Where appropriate, urban agriculture should be located close to markets.• Urban argriculture is a useful way of productively utilising residual under-utilised landsuch as servitudes.ACCESSParks • As larger parks serve sub-metropolitan as well as local users, maximum distances willsometimes be greater than maximum walking distances (i.e. ± 500 m or 10 min). Theimplication of this is that parks will often need to be accessed by bicycles or public transport.• As smaller parks are likely to be used on a daily basis by children, elderly people andworkers, and are accessed by foot, they should be located within 300 m to 700 m ofusers. The maximum time spent walking to a smaller park should therefore beapproximately 10 min.Sportsfields • School sportsfields should be located within easy walking distance (i.e. ± 300 m) ofschool buildings - with primary schools requiring closer locations than secondary schools,and should be located within 500 m to 1 500 m of other user groups (e.g. sports clubs).Playspaces • Playspaces should be located within easy walking distance (i.e. ± 300 m) of primary schoolbuildings and créches, and should be located within 500 m to 1 500 m of other users. Asplayspaces sometimes serve children from surroundings areas, maximum distances willoccasionally be greater than maximum walking distances (i.e. ± 500 m or 10 min.).10Chapter 5.4Soft open spaces