The Urban Future: Enclosed Neighbourhoods?

URBAN FUTURES CONFERENCE Johannesburg, South Africa 10 – 14 July 2000 Focus of conference: Aspects of city life Identifying key issues facing metropolitan structures in the new millennium THE URBAN FUTURE: ENCLOSED NEIGHBOURHOODS? By Karina Landman CSIR Building and Construction Technology Abstract: In many neighbourhoods in South Africa, especially Johannesburg, residents have acted in an apparent attempt to prevent crime in their areas. In several instances this results in enclosed neighbourhoods with controlled access. These people firmly believe that life within an enclosed neighbourhood provides a solution to crime and an improved quality of life. Yet, conclusive evidence of its effectiveness is lacking. City planners are being confronted with requests for permission to enclose entire neighbourhoods. The question is however, what the implications of these types of developments are for future urban environments. Karina Landman CSIR Building and Construction Technology Tel: +27 12 841 2084 Fax: +27 12 841 3400 B O U T E K Email: [email protected] The Urban Future: enclosed neighbourhoods? CSIR Building and Construction Technology has been conducting INTRODUCTION: THE research on crime prevention through environmental design for the past three WRITING ON THE WALL? years and is currently engaged in attempting to understand the effects and effectiveness of enclosed neighbourhoods in South Africa. This In many neighbourhoods in South paper will address the occurrence and African cities, especially in impact of enclosed neighbourhoods in Johannesburg, residents have acted in this country. It will focus on the heritage an apparent attempt to prevent crime in of the past, the fear of crime, and the their areas. In several instances this prevalence of neighbourhood resulted in enclosed neighbourhoods enclosures in South Africa at present, a with controlled access. These people possible future scenario and the believe that life within an enclosed implications of neighbourhood village or neighbourhood provides a enclosures on the urban future. solution to crime and an improved quality of life. But does it? Conclusive In South Africa, despite many attempts evidence of the effectiveness in South at reconstruction, cities still reflect the Africa is lacking. footprints of the past in their spatial and use patterns, which serve as constant Several municipalities and local reminders of a past of inequity and authorities across South Africa are segregation. Many questions remain receiving proposals and requests from unanswered, and almost unwillingly one groups of residents to close off their has to face the message expressed in neighbourhoods or local roads and to the growth of gated communities in this control access into these areas. Some country. The question is whether these groups even enclose roads without are signs of an inevitable urban future. formal permission. Despite all the Are they only a temporary reaction to requests, a limited number of Local crime and the fear of crime, or is the Authorities have any form of policy in writing on the wall? place to address this issue. Meanwhile, the phenomenon is escalating daily and there is a great need for a proper debate around this issue. THE PAST: MILESTONES Internationally, especially in the United OF MISFORTUNE States, enclosed neighbourhoods and security villages have raised several questions. These questions address issues such as the legal implications of Town planning approaches and political enclosing public space, the values of ideologies can be very powerful. This properties within the enclosed area, the has also been the case in South Africa. fragmentation of urban areas, the Not only have they shaped the privatisation of public functions such as country’s cities, but they also have a road maintenance and its implications major influence on the lifestyles and for taxes, the loss of social contact and urban use patterns of the residents of the effectiveness of territorial control to these cities, up to the present day. establish a sense of community. Another important issue relating to Modern town planning ideas were used neighbourhood enclosures is the very effectively to create the “apartheid perception of safety versus actual city” in South Africa. Many of these reports of crime in these areas. ideas originated in England and the USA. As a consequence of the massive 1 The Urban Future: enclosed neighbourhoods? changes that took place in England during the Industrial Revolution, the Garden City concept1 developed. This, Townships along with the neighbourhood unit2 Suburbs model from the United States, had a CBD definite influence on planning and development in South Africa. Together Informal these concepts provided the paradigm settlements for South African cities, which aimed to achieve community convenience through the careful balancing of Figure 1: Typical development pattern of th internally exclusive community facilities; SA cities in the late 20 century. the separation of uses, particularly by green space; and low densities, with each dwelling unit surrounded by open Planning ideas and political ideologies, space, to ensure adequate light and air however, have not only shaped the (Dewar et al. 1990). country’s cities, but also had a major influence on the lifestyles and urban Protagonists of apartheid also saw in use patterns of the residents of these this paradigm an opportunity to cities. Even today, many South African implement their own ideology. With the cities are characterised by aim of separation and segregation, fragmentation and spatial dislocation, different neighbourhoods were separation and mono-functional zoning, allocated to and planned for different as well as low-density sprawl. The race groups. These manifested in the result is a city of inequity and in many form of separate (through buffer-strips cases an environment of fear. in the form of open space or rapid transport routes) and internalised neighbourhoods for different groups, ranging from well-developed suburbs THE PRESENT: FORTS OF around the CBD to poorly developed FEAR dormitory townships along the city periphery. Later many informal settlements also grew around the townships (see Figure 1). In the nineties there has been a move towards the post-apartheid city in South It is this city form that became known Africa. Current planning and as the “apartheid city” - a product of development policies reflect this separation policies and government attempt to change. Two of the main control that dominated the country for policy documents regarding planning almost forty years. and development, the Green Paper on Development and Planning (1999) and the DFA (Development Facilitation Act 1 of 1999) both advocate an integrated The Garden City concept was formulated by Ebenezer Howard in England and described in and holistic approach to planning and his book, “Tomorrow: A Peaceful Path to Social development in South Africa. Reform” (1898). 2 The neighbourhood unit concept initially The aim of integration emerged in the USA in response to rapid urbanisation. It was based on the following principles: 1) separation of residential land-use; The DFA introduced a new paradigm 2) self-contained and “inwardly orientated” for planning and development by residential areas; 3) “buffer strips” around these providing the basis for a coherent areas; 4) limitations on the number of people framework for land development, living in each area; and 5) access to green space (Dewar et al. 1990). according to a set of binding principles. According to the DFA, the term 2 The Urban Future: enclosed neighbourhoods? “planning” is concerned with the The Green Paper endorses all the following objectives: principles formulated in the DFA and · Promoting equity attempts to provide ways in which these · Promoting efficiency principles can be implemented in · Protecting the public good practice. · Ensuring the good use of scarce resources The Green Paper therefore endorses · Protecting the environment (1999: the whole approach set out in the DFA. 5). “The DFA sought to place a set of principles, central to the planning In the later part of the DFA the central system [which] apply to all land concerns of the principles are development and spatial planning in highlighted and the first concern refers South Africa. They are intended to bring to “a need to create new forms and radical changes to the characteristic structures for South African settlements form and structure of South African to improve their performance” settlements. They represent an outright (1999:11). One way to achieve this is rejection of the low density, sprawling, through “positively performing fragmented and largely mono-functional settlements”. One of the aspects of forms of development, which resulted positively performing settlements refers under apartheid in both urban and rural to “the central significance of areas. They call for more compact, integration” (1999:12). In this regard the integrated and mixed-use settlement DFA explains: “The term ‘integration’ is forms” (1999:36). one of considerable importance in the principles. It calls for a rejection of past practices of fragmentation and separation. The term evokes the Both the Green Paper on Planning and principle of reinforcement. All parts and Development and the DFA therefore elements of a settlement should call for a paradigm shift and advocate reinforce and complement each other. a more integrated approach to A number of forms of integration are planning and development in South inherent in

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