the gauteng spatial development framework - Gauteng Online

node is characterised as being a place of good accessibility; particularly with regard todiffering modes of public transport (rail, bus and minibus-taxi) and supportingsecondary road access (usually in the form of a grid-network). This is where public andprivate investment tends to concentrate, yielding mixed land-use activities (office,retail, residential, entertainment etc) with supporting social amenities and public facilities.It is complex in nature, with multi-ownership, mixed development density and higheruse intensity. A node includes an integrated open space and a pedestrian-orientatedenvironment with supporting public spaces (parks, piazzas and squares). An innercore/peripheral core characterises the physical structure of the node. The more accessiblethe node is, in terms of the type of movement routes and level of public transport, thelarger it is likely to be. In essence, nodes are intense concentrations of activities, containinga mixture of uses such as retail, office, entertainment, community facilities and adjoiningresidential component. The identified nodal hierarchy comprises local, neighbourhood,district, metropolitan and regional.corridor realises a complex interweave of point-related and extensive district uses. Thisin turn forms a complex interrelationship of urban scale and 'local', 'neighbourhood','district' and 'metropolitan' id entities, without very extensive 'turfs'. Within this urbanmilieu a very complex range of socio-economic profiles are established and enabledto co-exist in a mutually supportive manner.• Urban Void: The urban void urban structure element comprises expansive areas(or discontinuities) within the urban system that remain or are under- and/or undevelopedfor very specific reasons. These typically include extensive agricultural holdingsand mining areas, as well as land used for military purposes. Some areas remainundeveloped due to their potential threat to human safety and health, for exampleunstable geotechnical conditions due to the formation of sinkholes and previousmining activity, and industrial activity/production which prohibits urban developmentin close proximity to the factory.• Point-related development: The point-related development urban structureelement is situated at the major intersection of two routes and is characterised by goodaccessibility, public transport and/or road access. Often comprises of a large, single-usesite (retail, office, commercial), normally with a single ownership, low intensitydevelopment and simple in nature. It can occur at different scales with largerdevelopments being at more major intersections. It can also be the start of thedevelopment of a node depending upon the nature of the use.• Urban Corridor: The largest of the urban structure elements, as it consists ofa combination of structuring elements at the metropolitan and regional scale of theurban environment. It is often geographically defined and/ or confined by eitherridges, mountain ranges, river systems and water courses. It is typically a linear elementof 30km and more in length, linking two metropolitan nodes, showing that it is originand destination driven (i.e. it goes from somewhere important to somewhere important).A corridor of this nature is complex in profile and has a mix of uses, resulting in varyingdevelopment intensity and a width ranging from 2km to 5km. The urban corridoris structured on a series of multi-stranded and multi-modal movement systems withsupporting infrastructure services and social facilities. The physical nature of an urban• Urban Morphology: Urban morphology is the study of the city as human habitat,which comprises the accumulation and outcomes of human actions (andreactions), collectively and individually, shaped and influenced by economic, social,cultural and environmental forces over time. Three fundamental componentscharacterise the study of urban morphology, form, resolution (scale) and time.Urban form consists of three fundamental elements, namely buildings, their relatedopen spaces and land parcels, and streets or movement systems. Urban form can beunderstood at various levels of resolution (scale), namely from the site and building,to the street or block, the suburb or precinct, to the wider metropolis or city, andto the region. Urban form can only be understood in the context of time, as theelements continually undergo transformation and replacement.Urban Structure: The typical physical pattern(s) and/or element(s) that characterisethe urban system, as identified through the practice of urban morphology, as wellas through the application of urban and environmental planning.ANNEXURE E: GLOSSARY OF TERMSGAUTENG SPATIAL DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK 2011GAUTENG GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT AGENCY208