Browsing by Author "Cirolia, Liza"

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    A critical review of the housing policy and the State's intervention in mining towns in South Africa
    (2018) Manenzhe, Thiathu Darriyl; Cirolia, Liza
    Since 2012, there has been increasing government interest in mining towns. This interest was occasioned by the Marikana shooting. This interest, led by the presidency through Inter-ministerial Committee on the Revitalisation of Distressed Mining Towns and Communities has had impact on human settlements. This dissertation provides an overview of the Mining Towns Programme and its evolution, identify some of the major pitfalls and assumptions of the programme, and propose an alternative. It also provides and reflects a sustained critique of the approach of the state in the creation of human settlements and the provision of housing in mining towns. Furthermore, the dissertation attempts to assess the efficacy of human settlements approach to mining towns. In doing this, I argue that despite the increased interest, the approach adopted has fundamental weaknesses. These weaknesses range from the fundamental departure from the original intention and focus of the programme, the over-reliance on the existing but inappropriate human settlements delivery instruments and the ignorance of and the weakened role of local government in the programme. In its reliance on the existing human settlements delivery instruments, the implementation and delivery of houses has not addressed the problems faced by mineworkers. Moreover, the state has also overlooked the deep historical challenges of mining towns, both in terms of context and practice and this has undermined the effective implementation of the programme. There are also other institutional and socioeconomic problems associated with mining towns and this has not been properly assessed. The dissertation critically evaluates the approach and the shortcomings of the Mining Towns Programme against these challenges and posits some alternatives.
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    Culture-led urban regeneration: The case of Maboneng
    (2017) Meek, Louise Gardner; Cirolia, Liza
    This dissertation utilizes a case study of Maboneng in Johannesburg central business district (CBD) to make a case for culture-led urban regeneration in South Africa. The City of Johannesburg is still to a large extent locked into Apartheid-era spatial planning whereby most neighbourhoods' reflect the Group Areas Act's racial profiles of the past. Given this historical context, a more nuanced approach to culture-led regeneration is required in assessing the complexity of urban regeneration in South Africa. This dissertation analyses to what extend Maboneng has undergone a process of culture-led urban regeneration, examining the transformation in terms of social, physical and economic outcomes. It also seeks to uncover to what extend the case of Maboneng aligns with global literature- and to what extent it departs? Chapter 2 introduces the research method, which is case study based, and relies on Propertuity company data for the purposes of this paper, which is outlined as a gap that could be addressed in a future study of the area. Chapter 3 defines culture-led urban regeneration and focuses on a literature review, with Florida's (2002) creative class theory at the core of the discussion around urban regeneration, which is critiqued by Peck (2007) who believes it leads to further prioritization of the middle class at the expense of the poor. Moulaert, Demuynck & Nussbaumer (2004) suggest a nuanced perspective to culture-led urban regeneration that adopts a socially-rooted view which values the multi dimensional role of culture in urban development. The case of Maboneng uses this nuanced perspective from the literature as a framework to categorise the data in chapter 4, and analyse the data in chapter 5, using the three dimensions of urban regeneration (namely social, physical and economic transformation) in order to assess the culture-led urban regeneration in Maboneng. The findings highlight that Maboneng is socially-rooted in its approach to both the social and economic transformations that are occurring in the neighborhood with success in the establishment of a mixed-race neighbourhood that is reflective of the City of Johannesburg racial profiles, as well as the establishment of a local economy. It is argued that more could be done to ensure the physical dimensions and aesthetics of place that are less 'curated' by the property developer and more focused on cocreation of aesthetics.
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    Questions of resilience in municipal finance response to a shock event: a case study of the Cape Town drought
    (2019) Cooke, Kayleen; Cirolia, Liza
    The gaining prominence of resilience in urban policy has meant that urban decision makers are increasingly being asked to exhibit foresight and preparedness in how the urban system is planned and managed. The City of Cape Town has accepted this principle of resilience as a key means of driving collective understanding and action within the urban system in a time of growing uncertainty. Cape Town recently experienced the worst natural disaster in the history of its city-dom, in the form of a three-year drought. The impact of this drought on the municipal budget has been formidable. In terms of expenditure, considerable adjustments to the planned expenditure had to be made in order to source the funds required for large-scale infrastructure projects designed to increase resilience within the municipal water supply. In terms of revenue, there is significant concern around the fiscal sustainability of the municipality as more and more households are developing their own water supply in the form of rainwater tanks and boreholes, which is anticipated to decrease the municipal revenue gained from water tariffs dramatically (CCT, 2018f). The story of how the municipal budget system was affected by and reacted to the drought provides an opportunity to observe the application of the City’s understanding of resilience to a complex system, where many actors undertake simultaneous and independent activities, and the impact of these activities is evident at multiple levels and across multiple systems and sub-systems.