Suburban Urbanism; Discovering a South African Suburbia
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Suburban Urbanism: Discovering a South African Suburbia Muneebah Kara A research report submitted to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment: University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Development Planning Johannesburg 2014 Declaration I, Muneebah Kara declare that this research report is my own unaided work. It is being submitted for the Degree of Master of Science in Development Planning, in the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. It has not been submitted before for any degree or examination to any other University. Signed on this, the ……………. day of ………………………………..2014 Muneebah Kara Abstract There is a consensus amidst the planning community that we are currently experiencing a sweeping paradigm shift; which has over the last forty-years gained rapid momentum. Postmodernism is proposed to have prompted a return to ‘the small is beautiful’ and the revaluation of people as the critical and central receptors of the spaces that past and present planners produce. An emphasis on the everyday and lived experience of the urban population is just another symptom in the argument for postmodernism. As perhaps is common with all paradigm shifts, along with the transformation has come a flurry of some new terminologies and a redefining of others. Suburban neighbourhoods have experienced an interrogation of terminology; and epistemological and phenomenological value. The identification of inner-circle suburbs is just one of the many terms to describe a uniquely urban space within the once blanketing term ‘suburbs’. Inner-circle suburbs are often the oldest suburbs in an urban area and are located closest to the Central Business District. A revitalised inquisition in suburban spaces has prompted new and creative ways of exploring the suburbs; with our own locally grown urbanists showing interest and producing knowledge on the dynamics of South African suburban neighbourhoods. Needless to say, this is still a relatively young topic that favours an investigation into spatial form and structure over the significance of the lived practice. This research report is an attempt to coalesce the spatial form and practiced living into a single coherent snap-shot of the lives of northern inner-circle suburban dwellers. i Desiderata To my Mother who taught me… …Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should… (Max Erhmann 1692, Desiderata) …to my father who showed me ii Acknowledgements First and foremost I must thank my parents, Aneesia and Yousuf Kara, my brothers: Muneeb and Usaamah - and the integral network of family that has been there to see me through one of the greatest adventures of my life. It is to this amazing group of people that I owe my strength, tenacity and unrelenting perseverance in the face of what could have been crippling challenges; not only during my research but, throughout my entire academic career. Then, to an individual without whom none of this would have been remotely possibly, I must thank my supervisor Nqobile Malaza for her patience, support, dedication and investment in me. ‘Thank you for starting this with me and… thank you Nqobile; for finishing it with me’. A very special thanks to Marisa Sauls and Siphokazi Makhaye for all your hard work, dedication and never hesitating to go that extra mile. Undoubtedly your keystone presence in the School of Architecture and Planning kept me sane… A special thanks to my friends; for consistently being there - who are too-many to name but whose presence and assistance, did not go unnoticed. Lastly, but certainly not least - I thank all those who participated in the research; your contributions are what made this project complete. iii List of Figures Figure 1: Early Development of Johannesburg. Figure 2: Early division of the city into Northern and Southern Suburbs. Figure 3: Distribution of Northern Suburbs in Johannesburg. Figure 4: Map describing the spatial relationship of Greenside to major economic nodes. Figure 5: Early establishment of Northern Suburbs and the subdivision of Emmerentia Farm. Figure 6: Historical development of Northern Suburbs. Figure 7: Ward 87 Demarcation. Figure 8: Regional demarcation map of Johannesburg. Figure 9: Highlighted commercial strip along Gleneagles road, Greenside (a). Figure 10: Highlighted commercial strip along Gleneagles road, Greenside (b). Figure 11: Still Life; Greenside Residential (a). Figure 12: Still Life; Greenside Residential (b). Figure 13: Still Life; Greenside Residential (c). Figure 14: Still Life; Greenside Residential (d). Figure 15: Still Life; Greenside Commercial Strip (a). Figure 16: Still Life; Greenside Commercial Strip (b). Figure 17: Still Life; Greenside Commercial Strip (c). Figure 18: Still Life; Greenside Commercial Strip (d). Figure 19: Suburban Urbanism (a). Figure 20: Suburban Urbanism (b). Figure 21: Conceptual Framework of the research report. Figure 22: Illustration Imagining a Teleology of Urban Development. Figure 23: Model of identity formation. iv Figure 24: Field site for case study separated in quadrants. Figure 25: Movement of People from Greenside to places of work. v List of Graphs and Tables Graph 1: Ratio response between Greenside residents and non-residents. Graph 2: Response rate per gender. Graph 3: Distribution of age categories amongst respondents. Graph 4: Racial profile of response rates. Graph 5: Relationship status of survey respondents. Graph 6: Percentage of children attending Greenside Primary and Greenside High School. Graph 7: Tenure status of survey respondents. Graph 8: Years of residency. Graph 9: Modes of transport used by survey respondents (a). Graph 10: Modes of transport used by survey respondents (b). Graph 11: Percentage of Tweets per post-category. Graph 12: Number of tweets posted about Greenside per day (21 days). Table 1: Typologies of Suburbia Table 2: Perceptions of Greenside Residents Table 3: Consolidated Matrix vi Abbreviations AGM – Annual General Meeting GRA – Greenside Residents Association vii Contents ABSTRACT ..............................................................................................................................................................I DESIDERATA ........................................................................................................................................................ II ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................................................. III LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................................................... IV ABBREVIATIONS.............................................................................................................................................. VII CONTENTS ........................................................................................................................................................ VIII 1. THE SOUTH AFRICAN SUBURB; MYTHS, FACTS AND INTERPRETATIONS. ............................. 1 1.1. INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH REPORT ...................................................................................................... 1 1.2. THEORISING NEIGHBOURHOODS IN PLANNING ......................................................................................... 2 1.3. A BRIEF HISTORY ON NORTHERN SUBURBAN DEVELOPMENT. ................................................................. 4 1.4. CONTEXTUALISING GREENSIDE ................................................................................................................ 8 1.4.1. SERVICES AND AMENITIES ................................................................................................................... 3 1.4.2. SERVICES AND AMENITIES PARTICULAR TO GREENSIDE ...................................................................... 3 1.5. THE PRODUCTION OF SPACE AND THE PRODUCTION OF THE EVERYDAY .................................................. 8 1.6. THE SUBURB’ OR ‘A SUBURB’ ................................................................................................................... 9 1.7. RATIONALITY AND PROBLEM STATEMENT ............................................................................................... 9 1.8. PERSONAL MOTIVATION ......................................................................................................................... 12 1.9. AIM OF THE RESEARCH ........................................................................................................................... 12 1.10. RESEARCH QUESTION AND SUB-QUESTION ............................................................................................ 13 1.1.1. SUB-QUESTIONS ................................................................................................................................. 13 1.11. KEY CONCEPTS AND RESEARCH DIAGRAM ............................................................................................. 14 1.12. UNDERPINNING ELEMENTS OF CORE ARGUMENT ................................................................................... 15 1.13. STRUCTURE OF THE RESEARCH REPORT ................................................................................................. 16 1.14. CONCLUSION