VOLUME 1 HUMAN SETTLEMENT PLANNING AND ... - CSIR

GUIDELINES FOR HUMAN SETTLEMENT PLANNING AND DESIGNof their use;• integration of different communities;• a reduction of inequalities in the provision offacilities;• the provision of greater security; and• the offsetting of transport costs.ParkingDramaCommunityart centreMusicSchoolThe hubSchoolGymsCommunityrecreation& phys edFunctional clustersAnother concept which is becoming increasinglypopular in terms of public facility provision is thecreation of functional clusters of facilities. Theconcept applies to all functional categories ofpublic facilities; however, most research hasfocused on educational and related facilities. As aresult, the proposals detailed below referspecifically to education. They could, however, beapplied to other functional categories of publicfacilities.Current thinking proposes to externalise theprovision of educational facilities from within localareas and cluster them together around a hub ofshared specialised facilities. In terms of this concepta number of educational buildings are looselyclustered together with residential and commercialfacilities, around a hub of specialised facilities. Thehub is easily accessible in terms of public transport.The specialised hub is a communal facility that canbe used by the entire community. The schoolplaygrounds and fields are shared among theschools and are also available for use by thecommunity after hours and on weekends.Individual schools within the education cluster canbe enclosed separately if so desired, but the sharedfacilities should be easily accessible to the publicand should be integrated into the builtenvironment. These shared facilities need not bephysically attached to individual schools but shouldalways be easily accessible - not more than a fewminutes’ walk.The functional cluster concept is illustrated inFigure 5.5.2.ParkingSchoolFigure 5.5.2: Educational facility cluster(after Leggett et al 1977)The advantages of clustering functional facilitiesare summarised as follows:• convenience, as all services are located in onecentre;• the sharing of high-cost elements can reducecosts considerably (e.g. specialised facilities likelaboratories and space-extensive facilities likelibraries) ;• exposure for public facilities and theencouragement of their use;• the integration of different communities;• a reduction in inequalities in the provision offacilities;• the offsetting of transport costs;• a cutting down on the amount of land required;• the promotion of full use of buildings;• lower building costs;• lower running costs;SchoolPlayfields• minimum maintenance costs;• a large catchment area, less susceptible tolocalised demographic changes.Public facilities Chapter 5.55