VOLUME 1 HUMAN SETTLEMENT PLANNING AND ... - CSIR

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GUIDELINES FOR HUMAN SETTLEMENT PLANNING AND DESIGNINTRODUCTIONThe purpose of this chapter is to provide a guidingframework for settlement-making. The chapterprovides a brief overview of planning and design inSouth Africa, which expresses the need for a newframework, before setting out the two centralconcerns - namely human and nature-centreddevelopment - which form the basis of the framework.The starting points to achieve positively performingsettlements are provided before performancequalities, clarifying the desired achievements insettlement formation (guided by developments in theplanning policy arena) are identified. These areapplicable to all the subsequent planning andengineering chapters. Finally, the importance ofstructure in the planning of human settlements isdescribed.BACKGROUNDFor some fifty years, the planning and design ofsettlements in South Africa has been dominated by thepolitical ideology of separate development and theplanning ideology of modernism.A central theme of the modernist movement is its basisin functionalist thought, which is dominated byconcerns with efficiency and technology. Efficiency islargely defined in technological terms, with urbansettlements seen as “machines”. Urban life iscompartmentalised into broad categories of activity(live, work, play, move), resulting in spatial separationof these activities.These ideologies have lead to the development ofmono-functional settlements, often fragmented andenvironmentally sterile. These settlements -particularly those created for the disadvantagedmembers of our society - are characterised by lowlevels of service and high levels of inconvenience; theygenerate enormous amounts of movement at greatcost in terms of money, time, energy and pollution;they are expensive for inhabitants, and the quality oftheir public environments is appalling. There is littleevidence of a cohesive spatial environment whichintegrates urban activities and structures.With the advent of the “new South Africa”, it isnecessary to reverse the effects of these ideologies.The challenge is to create a framework for settlementmakingwhich will enrich life in settlements and serveas an instrument of urban reconstruction anddevelopment. This has already been accepted in policyterms. The government’s Urban DevelopmentFramework (South Africa 1997) calls for “the physical,social and economic integration of our towns andcities” and stresses the need for higher density, morecompact and, in terms of land use, more mixed-usesettlements. Similarly, the Development FacilitationAct, No 67 of 1995 (South Africa 1995), inter alia, callsfor environments which• promote the integration of the social, economic,institutional and physical aspects of landdevelopment;• promote integrated land development in rural andurban areas in support of each other;• promote the availability of residential andemployment opportunities in close proximity to orintegrated with each other;• optimise the use of existing resources, includingresources relating to agriculture, land, minerals,bulk infrastructure, roads, transportation andsocial facilities;• promote a diverse combination of land uses, also atthe level of individual erven or sub-divisions ofland;• discourage the phenomenon of “urban sprawl” andcontribute to the development of more compacttowns and cities;• contribute to the correction of historically distortedspatial patterns of settlement in the Republic andto the optimum use of existing infrastructure; and• encourage environmentally sustainable landdevelopment practices and processes.This framework should begin to move us in thisdirection. It is based on the integration of the humanand nature-centred approaches to settlement-making.CENTRAL CONCERNSThe human-centred approach emphasises that a centralpurpose of planning is to ensure that thedevelopmental needs and activities of people living insettlements are catered for and, in particular, thatopportunities for people to achieve their full potentialthrough their own efforts are maximised. Thisapproach, rather than being purely cost - ortechnologically-driven, is people-driven and democratic.The nature-centred approach recognises that naturalsystems interact in highly synergistic ways, which mustbe respected if breakdowns in them are to beprevented. Human actions on the landscape, such assettlement-making, must thus be sensitive to ecologicalprocesses. Therefore, rather than imposing settlementdevelopment on the environment, this approachemphasises design with nature, thereby creatingsynergy between man-made and ecological systems.A framework for settlement-making Chapter 21
GUIDELINES FOR HUMAN SETTLEMENT PLANNING AND DESIGNTHE STARTING POINTSThere are three starting points for achieving positivelyperforming settlements.• The first is the importance of pedestrianmovement. A fundamental dimension of scale isrelated to movement on foot. The pedestriancondition describes the reality for the majority ofresidents in towns and cities in the country. Largenumbers of people do not, and will not in theforeseeable future, own private motor vehicles.Obviously, though, settlements cannot be onlypedestrian-based.Settlement growth brings with it higher orderopportunities, services and movement systems.Consistent with the principle of equity, particularlyin communities with low levels of car ownership,public transport becomes a necessity once thepedestrian scale is exceeded.• The second starting point is the importance ofthinking spatially. In pedestrian-scaledenvironments the public spatial environmentshould be viewed as the highest level of socialinfrastructure. In these environments a great dealof activity occurs in the public spaces, with theresult that the quality of the public-spatialenvironment profoundly affects the quality of life.Thinking spatially, in this context, requires that allpublic spaces, particularly streets, be viewed aspublic space.• The third starting point is the importance of aminimalist approach to settlement-making. Thisrequires that the basic structure and mostimportant actions required to create thepreconditions for a positively performingsettlement be defined at the outset of thesettlement-making process. Over-design of theprocess reduces spontaneous settlement-makingactivities.WHAT WE SHOULD BE TRYING TOACHIEVE: PERFORMANCE QUALITIESThe integrated approach on which the framework forsettlement-making is based, makes it possible toidentify performance qualities, which should guideplan-making and against which plans and settlementscan be monitored and measured.Environments reflecting these performance qualitieshave the following physical characteristics:• they are scaled to the pedestrian, althoughcommonly neither the pedestrian nor the motor carhas absolute dominance;• they are compact, having relatively high buildingdensities;• their structural elements are integrated and thecomposite parts reinforce each other;• they have a strong spatial feel, with well-definedpublic spaces; and• their spatial structures are complex, offeringchoices in terms of intensity of interaction, privacyof living conditions, lifestyles, housing options andmovement systems.Efficiency of resource useThe development of settlements requires the use of awide range of resources, including land, money,building materials, manpower, energy and water. As ageneral principle, it is essential that resources be usedas efficiently as possible.Opportunity generationPeople come to settlements to improve their personalwelfare. The opportunity to improve one’s lot derivesfrom the economic, social, cultural and recreationalopportunities resulting from the physicalagglomeration of people in settlements. However, thecapability of settlements to generate opportunities isnot only determined by numbers of people, it is alsoaffected by how settlements are ordered and made.Of importance to developing countries, such as SouthAfrica, is the need to create opportunities for smallscaleeconomic activity. The reality is that, within theforeseeable future, large numbers of people will notbe absorbed in the formal economic sector and willhave to generate their own survival activities, via thesmall-scale - and often the informal - economic sector.There are a number of ways in which spatial conditionsin settlements create opportunities for economicactivity.• The first is intensification. This requires thepromotion of higher unit densities than is the normunder the current model of settlementdevelopment. The case for increasing densities restson a number of grounds. Higher densities createmore opportunities for interaction, a climate inwhich economic activity - and small-scale economicactivity, in particular - can thrive. A further effect ofincreased densities is an increased local demand forgoods and services, promoting increasingspecialisation and diversification in the smallbusiness sector.2Chapter 2A framework for settlement-making
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