the gauteng spatial development framework - Gauteng Online

ANNEXURE A: THE 5 GIS-BASED MODELSUrban structure refers to the physical form in which the urban system is manifested andthe relationships existing between the component parts that make up this physical urbanform. It encompasses the pattern or arrangement of development blocks and land parcels,the public space areas, the movement systems and streets, the buildings and built form,the open space, natural environment and landscape, and the associated service infrastructure.The resultant urban form is the spatial manifestation of the complex interaction of theaforementioned urban processes and systems, and the human activity associated with these.The urban structure approach provides the foundations for the establishment of a developmentdirection and design of the constituent elements. It enables the creation of a coherentframework, which forms the basis for future development and the decision-making processesaround it (i.e. policy, resources, socio-economic), by a diversity of actors, in order to achievethe following:• Integration, i.e. connection and overlap;• Functional efficiency, so that individual elements work together as a whole;• Environmental harmony, creating development processes and forms that areenvironmentally sustainable;• A sense of place, creating a place that is recognisably distinct, strengthens localidentity, and simultaneously plays its role within the wider urban system; and• Socio-economically sustainable, is viable, enabling economic growth andexpansion and supports all social activities and the development of its communities.THE URBAN SYSTEM: AN INTERWOVEN SET OFMORPHOLOGICAL ELEMENTSThe morphological model recognises that the urban system is structured into a pattern withuneven development intensities, varying concentrations of activity, a diverse mix of activitiesfrom mono-use to intense mixed (even conflicting uses at times) and diverse residentialdensities from low density sub-urban sprawl to high density high-rise apartment clusters.The current urban pattern still reflects the 'apartheid city structure' of each of the metropolitanareas that comprise the province. The latter is aptly described in the City of Johannesburg'sGrowth and Development Strategy (2006):“The logic of apartheid was to keep people of different races apart physically. Thisimpacted negatively on the efficient form and design of the city. In its pathologicalcommitment to keep people of different races separate, apartheid spread the city out,laying the foundations for a low density residential and retail-strip sprawl. Thiswould reproduce itself over time, especially through the self-reinforcing effect ofprivate vehicle-based transport to wealthier suburban developments on the outskirts,and an irrationally designed public transport system that then could never reachviability because of the lack of population density (and in turn usage) onany routes.Apartheid created sweeping dormitory townships which had limited functionalityexcept to house a (hopefully temporary) labour force, and which were deliberatelylocated far from any real opportunities for shopping or entertainment. As the economyrestructured with thedecline of mining and manufacturing and the rise in importance of services, theprimary location of economic activity also shifted to those parts of the city with adjacenthigh-amenity residential areas where the necessary skills and buying power wereconcentrated. This increased the distance between dormitory townships and jobs. Itadded worsening locational disadvantage to the burdens of that part of the populationalready more vulnerable as a result of employment decline in the primary andsecondary sectors of the economy.Over the past decade, some progress has been made in re-integrating the city spatially,both in terms of where people can locate, and how easy it is for them to movearound to jobs or places to shop. Despite this progress there is still a long wayto go. Worryingly, settlement development to accommodate fast population andhousehold growth has often been on the edges of the city, reinforcing apartheidpatterns and worsening locational disadvantage”.81 GAUTENG SPATIAL DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK 2011 GAUTENG GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT AGENCY