Browsing by Author "Ewing, Kathryn"

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    A city walkable: [Re]Imagining spatial justice through access and public space in North End, East London
    (2023) Hendricks, Lerys; Ewing, Kathryn; Crooijmans, Hedwig
    A city walkable is about re-imagining spatial justice through access and public space in North End, East London, South Africa. The research questioned the state of East London's public space, its inner-city decay, and its vehicular dependency. East London lacks good quality public space that is walkable and accessible. A city walkable has streets that are comfortable, safe, interesting and offer choice. The urban environment must foster walkability. Before Apartheid, North End was a mixed-race community that was spatially integrated with the city because of its proximity to the CBD and its urban fabric. North Enders never needed to own a vehicle to access amenities. People could access their everyday amenities on foot and felt safe walking day or night. North End was a walkable, mixed-use neighbourhood. However, due to the Group Areas Act of 1950, people were forcibly removed from the city and relocated to what is now known as townships. Due to this removal people are forced to rely on public transport or private vehicle for mobility. Townships are not mixed-use, and streets do not foster walkability. By removing people from the city, Apartheid removed walkability. The fundamentals of living in a city are access to the convenience of amenities and work. Denying access to the city is a spatial injustice. This denial has resulted in a lack of walkable streets, unsafe public spaces, and car dependency. Since the forced removals of 1950' North End has been rezoned as a light industrial area. The research aimed to unlock the potential for walkability in East London. North End is re-imagined not only a walkable neighbourhood, but as a neighbourhood that is integrated with both township areas and the CBD. The links used to create linkages are a series of urban mixed-use corridors. Thus, creating a city that is spatially just. This makes North End a strategic place in the city which has the potential to become East London's 'knuckle'. Through various interventions, spatial strategies, and framework a more just, walkable city is envisioned.
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    [Apart] space valuing community: focused on incidental learning and wayfinding thresholds
    (2025) Sithole, Lunga; Ewing, Kathryn
    The study aims to reimagine and intervene in the space of Khayelitsha. The intentions are to integrate and alter current smart parks designs by the City of Cape Town. To offer social empowerment to the surrounding context, residents by tempting to provide a detailed design which could offer a space of economic generative platforms/facilities within the landscapes. I've tasked the study also with the aim to uplift all age groups and a target of providing a safety spine moving to and from space, providing a network of movement spaces. The incorporation of pillars aimed at learning by attempting to go into detail with the design of outdoor educational learning spaces intended at structuring the youth mind-set to the current workspace paradigm linked to the forth-industrial revolution. The learning pillars to be triggered in space are Visual, verbal, social, physical, aural and Solitary. The space aims to provide a link for the youth to young professionals in the spaces where they will be facilitated for in the container spaces. To start-up new businesses, allowing for an innovation hub which could generate an ideal cosmos for networking and offer a pulse to activate the green corridor. There will also be the exposure to 24/7 video tutorials in the space allowing for a link to stimulate the mind to future career paths in the global market. The issue of crime in the space is also one I wish to engage with by providing a street language by reading into the literature of street DNA (Simpson,2018) coupled with human desirability links along walkways to best attract the highest amount of foot traffic in space to allow for the safety in numbers approach. The ideas of adding WI-FI hotspots along space and assessing the current desire lines of space for the best accommodation of the masses. The title 'Apart-space', disassembled links the “apart” to the Apartheid ideology denoting on the spatial formation of the township of Khayelitsha, hinting at how it was formed as an influx zone with no much spatial planning for recreational use taken into account. The dash composing the ideology of transformation in post-apartheid South Africa. The “space” denoting to the green corridor (lost space) that had been left as buffer zones by the planners of the time in the spaces
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    Bellville reborn exploring infrastructural transformation as a mechanism for designing sustainable environments - the case for Bellville
    (2025) Mills, Ruan; Ewing, Kathryn
    It has been noted and widely documented over many years already that the rapid urbanization of cities, in particular cities located in the global south, poses a huge problem for such cities - specifically due to the lack of sufficient developable1 land that could accommodate the urbanization phenomenon. To this end, spatial planning (in it's various forms - i.e. town and regional planning, urban design and architecture) is seen as central to fixing the challenges which come about due to this rapid urbanization. Unfortunately in African cities, planning is often seen as a failure. One mechanism which forms an important component of a set of tools, generally used for planning cities, regions, towns and even neighbourhoods, is urban infrastructure. Infrastructure, is considered one of the most important ways in which organs of state and or government structures, work to materially shape urban environments. This research project seeks to investigate the possibility of using existing infrastructure in conjunction with developable land, as a means to respond positively to or maybe even reverse the disparity that infrastructure was required to create initially during the apartheid era
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    Bridging the divide: Integrating the metro South East to the rest of the city through design
    (2019) Walker, Charne; Ewing, Kathryn
    Cape Towns current spatial construct still reflects the apartheid and modernist city planning regime. The result of this can be seen in the fragmented urban and social fabric of the city today. The apartheid planning regime had created a city of boundaries which was divisive and psychotic (Mbembe, 2008). The main objective of both apartheid and modernist spatial planning ordeals were to divide the city and restrict access and the freedom of movement based on race. It was a racial city (Mbembe, 2008). The act of place-making translated into race-making (Tayob, 2019) The marginalised population had been restricted access in all forms, physical, spatial and social. Access to economic opportunity, civic and recreational facilities, educational facilities land, and sufficient infrastructure had been restricted, and at times, dimished. Through the use of harsh infrastructure, such as railway lines and higher order roads (highways and freeways) certain portions of the population and the city were segregated and enclosed. This was a dominant determinant of of the present fragmented urban and social form. Decades after the abolishment of apartheid, very few advances have been made to systematically challenge the way the city's constructed and knit the city back together (Grutman & Patel, 2016). Cape Town still faces a huge disparity when it comes to social and economic inclusion. The marginalised urban poor still live on the periphery of the city having to travel great distances to access opportunity. Majority of economic opportunity sits within the CBD and large portion of Cape Town's population reside within the Meto South East. A large amount of movement happens towards to the CBD from the South East on a daily basis, resulting in traffic congestion and a large strain on the already limited public transport system. The formation of the current city alludes to very unequal, unjust and inaccessible city. This research project investgates the notion of 'Bridging the divide'. It explores ways in which we can spatially integrate the South East Metro to the rest of the city through spatial frameworks and design interventions at the sub-metro and precinct scale. One that allows integration across harsh infrastructural barriers in order to create a more socially and economically inclusive urban environment This allows for the creation of a spatial design model that can be implemented across the city, alluding to a polycentric model concept. This research explores theories from Susans Fainsteins 'Just City' (2011), David Harveys 'The Right to the City' (2004), David Crane's 'Capital Web' (1960) and Nabeel Hamdi's 'Small Change' (2004). Through the application of these theories, this reseach project adapts spatial Executive Summary Bridging the Divide concepts from each and applies them into its concept and design strategies. These theories promote the idea and vision of a just and equitable city which my narrative and aims alludes to. The aim of this research project is to create viable linkages across harsh infrastructural divides and connect the present urban fragmentation through a spatial design framework. In order to integrate the marginalised Metro South East, I look upon Hamdi (2004) and his theory on incrementality. Providing an interconnected framework that allows for infill from the every day life. Through these small changes and an adequate framework it can allow for access to the rest of the city through the idea of horizontality, networking and linkages. Through the creation of permeable networks and linkages, the city thus becomes inclusive and just, tapping on the theory from Fainstein (2011) and Harvey (2004) which will be further explored within this research project, and more specifically, this document. These linkages, spatial frameworks and design guidelines will connect adjacent suburbs across harsh infrastructural divides that will allow for the freedom of movement and equitable access. These principles and strategies will draw people into the MSE, towards these unique nodes. These linkages will consist of educational linkages, ecological linkages, recreational and civic linkages and movement / access linkages. The spatial model which consists of these linkages will create self sufficent nodes which work around the train stations throughout the city. These stations allow for that critical point of integration across the rail. This allows for the distribution of functions from the CBD to the rest of the city. Less of a skewed, monocentric economic hub, to a more polycentric city form. These nodes will be unique and self-functioning and will host various economic, educational, recreational, residtential and economic opportunity. To implement this spatial design strategy and model this design research works around the implementation of the Blue Downs Rail by using the new Rail and proposed train stations as a point of intergration and intervention. to “Bridge the divide” in a literal and theoretical sense. The study area is focused in Blue Downs, an area lacking integration and nodal activity. This design research devises a spatial development framework that will guide and inform the urban design rationale the precinct scale. This design research project then translates and tests the design strategies at the precinct scale further testing the notion of “Bridging the Divide” through the physical creation of social. educational, ecological and urban linkages
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    Bridging the past and the present “Rediscovering Prieska's forgotten cultural landscape”
    (2025) Goeieman, Deidre Danielle; Ewing, Kathryn; Crooijmans-Lemmer, Hedwig; Truter, Georgina Jani
    The phrase “place of the lost she-goat,” derived from the Koran and associated with the Khoi people, originally referred to a location where farmers settled after rainstorms. This area, overseen by a village management board since 1882 and granted municipal status in 1892, became known for its semiprecious stones and as a vital crossing point for travelers (C K Rumboll & Partners, 2018). Historically, many locals worked at the nearby Koegas mine, which extracted blue asbestos. However, a phenomenon termed the “lost generation” has led to shifts in marginal spaces, with the Korana community noting rural-to-urban migration that diminished daily activity in these neighborhoods. Geospatial analyses suggest that the location of the lost she-goat has the potential to reshape the social geography and character of Prieska, a small town in the Northern Cape, which is the focus of this research. The physical and economic developments along “Loots Boulevard” (Main Road)—the main route to and from Prieska, crossing the Frans Loots Bridge—may serve as an urban spine, aiming to elevate the town's status relative to its surrounding areas. This study seeks to uncover Prieska's forgotten spaces, which are essential to its identity. These “lost spaces” (Trancik, 1999) include undeveloped areas in the town center, neglected pedestrian paths, abandoned railways, riverbanks and unmaintained memorial and aloe gardens. Key factors contributing to the town's fragmentation include outdated zoning policy, institutional neglect of the public urban environment and the abandonment of central industrial and military sites (Trancik, 1999). The research conclude in a design approach for a 2040 Framework, focused on reclaiming everyday spaces for Prieska's residents. Utilizing a family tree spanning four generations, the project emphasizes my personal childhood experiences through a narrative dialogue with family members. This study explores the complex process of reimagining Prieska—rich in cultural heritage yet marred by neglected sites—by transforming underutilized areas into vibrant, functional spaces that reflect and preserve the town's unique identity. The strategy aims to restore the town's physical environment while awakening the shared stories that define it
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    Bubbles of Exclusivity: Bursting the bubble around private development in uMhlanga, Durban
    (2023) Moodley, Vahira; Ewing, Kathryn
    All around the world, cities are making a move towards a more inclusive city, while smaller towns like uMhlanga, Durban are speeding into the world of exclusion. Durban itself continues to be developed along the lines of exclusion, with the previously racially motivated segregation being supplanted by economic division. The road infrastructure which consists of major arterial routes has alienated and separated the very development sectors that they are meant to link. Large-scale private developments are emerging at a rapid rate, further dividing the town into these bubbles which do not interact with one another. The reliance on private investment and development has resulted in developers having the power to decide who is included and who is not. Government and municipal leaders are buying into these developments as promises of pushing the economy upwards are their biggest priority. In contrast, developments of these exclusive natures should not be considered at all. The design component of this research aims firstly, to identify the effects of a specific development on a context and identify the levels of exclusion present. Secondly, to achieve a connection between the different areas within the neighbourhood that currently operate in isolation. Thirdly, to explore how the site could be used otherwise, and how taking a more inclusive approach to design can result in a more suitable and accessible space for a larger group of users. There is a dire need for collaboration between the private sector and the public sector to tackle issues facing our cities and communities. The increase in urbanisation has opened a door for the private sector to help address the challenges of rapid urbanisation through partnering with different levels of government, communities, and academia to develop and deliver sustainable urban developments in our cities.
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    Centering the periphery: Re-framing East London central business district towards social & spatial equality
    (2024) Ntuntwana, Siyabulela Keith; Ewing, Kathryn
    This research addresses the social and spatial inequality in East London Central Business District (CBD), a challenge mirrored across South Africa. Focusing on redefining and re-framing 'Bufferzones', the study aims to integrate peripheral communities and vulnerable groups into the city center, whilst forging connections with adjacent neighborhoods. This strategy situates marginalised communities near essential resources and services while improving access to the CBD. The historical legacy of colonialism and apartheid, coupled with current spatial planning, has perpetuated racial divisions, exacerbating social and spatial inequality. By incorporating peripheral communities, the study seeks to create a more inclusive and equitable urban environment, bridging gaps caused by urban fragmentation and racial segregation. The mixed-methods approach of quantitative and qualtiive research seeks to develop a comprehensive mixed-use urban design strategy to foster a inclusive CBD. This research further aims to catalyse the rejuvenation of East London CBD from its current derelict and decaying state, encouraging social and private investment back into East London CBD.
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    Creating water sensitive places in Hangberg
    (2021) Smith Mari; Ewing, Kathryn
    The neighbourhood of Hangberg has had a long and intimate relationship with water, the neighbourhood is located around the Hout Bay harbour where the fishing industry provides the main source of employment and residents depend on clean water for their daily needs. This relationship has however been put under strain as urban development has affected the natural and urban water cycle resulting in flooding, soil erosion, pollution and water shortages. Urban spaces and residents have become detached from water as infrastructure tends to be hidden underground and water is seen as a nuisance rather than an asset. Even though we depend on water resources, it is often not a priority in the design and development of our urban spaces. We need to relook at the relationship between water and urban space to provide a solution that integrates the urban water cycle with good qualities of urban design to create a liveable neighbourhood
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    Daily migrations in a shifting landscape: Facilitating a circular economy on the south peninsula
    (2024) Macarthur, Emma; Ewing, Kathryn
    The Noordhoek Valley encompasses the residential areas of Noordhoek, Masipumelele, Sun Valley, Ocean View and Kommetjie. The valley is emblematic of the challenges and opportunities present at South Africa's urban fringe. The valley is dominated by natural systems, with settlement pinched between fragments of a national park, and the dramatic topography of the mountains and ocean. As a resident of the area, I have noticed this sleepy corner of the greater Cape Town Metropolitan area move through the quiet desperation of the COVID-19 pandemic and into a highly desirable semi-gration destination. This residential boom is dramatically changing the social character of the communities and is revealing the spatial pressures this new density is placing on the sensitively balanced urban and natural systems. This research project investigates these pressures in an in-depth study of the valley. The project produces an intervention to lay the foundations for an adaptable framework plan to meet the demands of the coming developments. This is achieved through reaffirming and establishing spatial character through public space interventions. The project connects across planning divides through walkable perforations of hard urban divisions. It improves resilience through a network of safe public spaces within effective lighting and activation for around the clock utility. The project also provides dignified access to sanitation, waterpoints, educational and medical centres. These strategies develop a robust urban fabric, shifting the patchwork of spatial use from divided areas to an integrated form where new land use and intensification of existing commercial activities unlock the economic potential of the valley. This strategy of perforations to develop access and shifting edge conditions to facilitate active public space can be deployed throughout the valley to nurture the community's circular spatial, commercial and ecological economies.
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    Disruptive adaptations: An urban design approach to youth socio-economic resilience, a case of Havana in Katutura, Windhoek - Namibia
    (2024) Nangula, Soini En; Ewing, Kathryn
    The youth in marginalized communities, such as Havana in Katutura, grapple with substantial unemployment due to limited formal opportunities. To sustain their livelihoods, they resort to the informal economy, working as street vendors or establishing small survivalist enterprises for income. Through a qualitative research methodology, this study delves into the stories of informal youth vendors to understand the innovative strategies they employ daily as they navigate the challenges they face, how they appropriate public spaces to meet their needs, and how they create socioeconomic opportunities for themselves, even though these may not be sufficient. The analysis and exploration of the study bring to light aspects related to the negotiation of space in highly contested spaces, as well as the power dynamics inherent in urban design, planning policies, and urban developments. Havana, as an urban informal settlement, is experiencing rapid growth accompanied by the complexities that come with urban expansion, including a lack of basic services, inadequate sanitation, improper waste management methods, and insufficient infrastructure and public spaces, particularly youth centered. This study seeks to address the question of whether urban design can serve as an effective approach to creating improved socio-economic opportunities for the majority of residents in Havana Informal Settlement. The approach adopted is incremental, and through the design process of this study, an adaptive urban design framework has been developed—one that is flexible and adaptable to address the identified challenges. In conclusion, the study presents a set of spatial guidelines that can be implemented in similar contexts.
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    Elsieskraal: River restoration as urban catalyst
    (2024) Moss, Dennis; Ewing, Kathryn
    Water is one of the main issues of the 21st century. Climate change and biodiversity loss, driven by human development, underscore the need to restore a harmonious relationship with the planet. The current global action plan to achieve this is the United Nations' 2030 Agenda, which outlines specific goals (SDGs) to promote sustainable development. Sustainable development cannot be achieved without “significantly transforming the way we build and manage our urban spaces” (United Nations, 2015). As urban practitioners, we have a large role to play in SDG 11, with its mission to “make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable” (United Nations, 2015). This requires a comprehensive understanding of the human- and natural capital available to us, and the ways in which these resources can be employed at different scales and varying contexts. With half of the world's population now living in cities, it is in the urban environment where intervention is most crucial. Africa, in particular, is set to undergo rapid urbanisation, with estimates that its population of 1.1 billion will double by 2050 (WWF, 2020, p. 4). This will require strategic planning. Rather than contributing to the problem, resilient cities can be “the source of solutions” (UN General Assembly, 2016, p. iv). How we manage water will be key to this success. This research project will explore the effects that river restoration can have on urban transformation. The focus will be the Elsieskraal River, which flows from the Tygerberg Hills to the Black River, through “the most diverse and densely populated range of suburbs” in Cape Town (Brown, 2009, p. 135). A series of design interventions, guided by a multi-disciplinary, systems-based approach, and informed by theory, best practice and policy, will test the potential catalytic impact of river restoration in an urban setting.
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    Enhancing livelihood and community diversity through wetland- approach to living with the wetland
    (2025) Malapile, Malose; Ewing, Kathryn; Crooijmans-Lemmer, Hedwig
    Numerous scholars studying urban informal settlements unanimously acknowledge the interconnected challenges these settlements face, encompassing health issues, hazardous natural surroundings, accidental human-induced fires, deficient public health infrastructure, limited social and shared spaces, and high crime rates, among other concerns. Despite multiple research and policy initiatives, there remains a limited understanding of informal settlements, often located in inadequate environments without the same services as wealthier urban areas. This enduring disparity highlights the stark contrast in living conditions between urban poor and rich communities. Masiphumelele, as one such informal settlement, encounters inadequate service delivery, exposing its residents to health and safety threats. This research project responds to these issues by delving into the quality of life in Masiphumelele. The primary goal is to explore the key factors influencing the community's well-being and to comprehend the intricate obstacles hindering spatial improvement. The research aims to investigate the spatial, social, and cultural dimensions of informal settlements, seeking to unravel the underlying causes and challenges faced by the community. Employing methods such as interviews with open-ended questions, guided walkabouts, analysis of archived newspapers, and engagement with both the community and the NGO, the research seeks a comprehensive understanding of the issues shaping the quality of life in environments that are unsafe and hazardous.The research culminates in several spatial design suggestions and proposals, offering potential solutions to enhance the quality of life in Masiphumelele
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    Everyday citizenship: people, place and politics in Philippi
    (2023) Maurtin, Leigh; Ewing, Kathryn; Croojmans, Hedwig
    In the South African context, political and universal rights of citizens have been expanded since liberation but the basic services and livelihoods have eroded (Miraftab, 2009). Marginalized citizens have created their homes through auto construction, and self-making, in the post-apartheid city (Caldeira, 2017). This is evident in spaces like Philippi, where areas of Neoliberal planning practices remain as exclusionary imaginaries of city and citizenship that promote collective amnesia (Miraftab, 2009). Insurgent planning scholarship calls for collective memory and looks to liberating planning imaginaries and histories of marginalized people as strength in knowledge (Miraftab, 2009). Through ways of being and social spatial production practices, people are infrastructure (Simone, 2004). The social practices and community agencies inform a type of infrastructure. Amin (2014) speaks of the liveliness of infrastructure. The term infrastructure is used loosely. It indicates the bigger infrastructural elements like transport infrastructure, yet to come in Philippi, as well as other more basic infrastructure like water, sanitation, and electricity, which are often void in spaces in Philippi. Amin (2014) highlights the politics of community and institution, and visible and invisible infrastructure (Amin, 2014). Networks of social gathering spaces, such as economic trade and eating areas, and physical space, like places of water collection and sanitation, give a rendering of the urban poor experience. As part of the experience of these infrastructures, the sensory landscape of urban places holds collective memory and social outlook (Amin, 2014). Acknowledging and paying homage to this helps an understanding of the noteworthy social, cultural and spatial rituals of place and self-built placemaking in Philippi. Through investigating planned and self-built places and their everyday practices, this study has attempted to collect spatial practices, to inform a framework that considers this narrative and the interventions it suggests. The collection of information has been used to guide and inform design principles for interventions at various scales. The starting point of the inquiry is the pavement. A universal everyday place that all actors engage with. In Philippi, the pavement and walkways offer many everyday practices. The pavement is the most common public space of movement, social exchange, and public and private interface, and the investigation of the street in Philippi has informed other areas of design intervention.
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    Fighting the sprawl: restructuring the seam between the rural and urban landscapes through consolidation, integration and intensifcation in Cape Town
    (2025) Louw, Pieter; Ewing, Kathryn
    The central theme of this research project is the relationship between humanity and the environment. Specifcally where this relationship is at its biggest confict, where settlements and open space meet, on the peripheries of cities. Traditionally, the settlement form of the Cape maintained a dynamic balance between the landscapes of society, wilderness, rural and urban. This balance was disrupted through Modernism and Apartheid planning which lead to segregated, fragmented and low-density urban landscapes. Through outdated planning policies, engineering standards and speculative development models, this balance is still increasingly disrupted, manifested in the form of lateral sprawl. The urban landscape, which is considered by the status-quo as the dynamic landscape, places growing pressure on the rural and wilderness landscapes. The need to restrict the lateral growth of cities is globally recognised and one unsuccessful tool utilised in the Greater Cape Town Metro to prevent urban sprawl, is the urban edge policy. This research project argues that a line that exists only on paper, such as an urban edge policy which promotes compaction, is not a suffcient mechanism to address urban sprawl. Compaction is only one aspect of mitigating sprawl. It argues that the edge is a landscape, not a line and explores the notion that a spatial proposition is necessary that consolidates and integrates the rural and urban interface zone and restructures the peripheral urban landscape. That this landscape could, through consolidation, integration and intensifcation, target and mitigate the drivers of sprawl
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    Forgotten Places: Points of confluence in existing urban frameworks
    (2019) Lenton, Scott; Ewing, Kathryn
    The notion of Forgotten Place within the urban realm is very intriguing as a narrative from which the revitalization of dilapidated and under-utilized space can be given a new importance. This dissertation addresses the design challenge of revitalizing and reshaping spaces within an existing urban context using specific theoretical principles to help make the legibility of the proposal clear. Currently in our cities, designers face the challenge of generating outdoor environments as communal, inclusive spatial frameworks that propagate new development. Pedestrian connections between important destinations are often disjointed and disturbed, where walking can be a disorienting experience. Identifying these gaps in spatial continuity, then using a set of design principles, these Forgotten Places can be filled with a framework of buildings and interconnected open-space opportunities that will generate new interest and use. These misused spaces have underlying themes which link to the authentic identity of local communities. It is suggested that this meaning is culturally immensely significant, and that remembering these definitions allows for a more integrative and inclusive set of city-making components. Forgotten Places in the existing urban fabric of Port Elizabeth provide an exceptional opportunity to reshape a deteriorating and underused place, so that it attracts people back into powerful places of cultural significance and helps restore communities
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    Forgotten Places: Points of confluence in existing urban frameworks
    (2019) Lenton, Scott; Ewing, Kathryn
    The notion of Forgotten Place within the urban realm is very intriguing as a narrative from which the revitalization of dilapidated and under-utilized space can be given a new importance. This dissertation addresses the design challenge of revitalizing and reshaping spaces within an existing urban context using specific theoretical principles to help make the legibility of the proposal clear. Currently in our cities, designers face the challenge of generating outdoor environments as communal, inclusive spatial frameworks that propagate new development. Pedestrian connections between important destinations are often disjointed and disturbed, where walking can be a disorienting experience. Identifying these gaps in spatial continuity, then using a set of design principles, these Forgotten Places can be filled with a framework of buildings and interconnected open-space opportunities that will generate new interest and use. These misused spaces have underlying themes which link to the authentic identity of local communities. It is suggested that this meaning is culturally immensely significant, and that remembering these definitions allows for a more integrative and inclusive set of city-making components. Forgotten Places in the existing urban fabric of Port Elizabeth provide an exceptional opportunity to reshape a deteriorating and underused place, so that it attracts people back into powerful places of cultural significance and helps restore communities
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    Hidden gems reimagining the public realm along independence avenue to sustain the local economy in the Windhoek central business district
    (2025) Persaud, Gwen; Ewing, Kathryn; Crooijmans-Lemmer, Hedwig
    This urban design research project investigates the reimagining of the public realm along Independence Avenue to sustain the local economy in the context of the Windhoek Central Business District (CBD). The research seeks to explore how the public spaces can be transformed to support local businesses, foster Small, Medium, and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) and stimulate overall economic development and growth. The research question drives this research to understand 'How can the public realm sustain the local economy?'. Through qualitative methodologies such as critical theory analysis of the relationship between economies and the public realm, rhythm analysis for field observations and semi-structured interviews, this research examines the current state of the public realm along Independence Avenue. The research analyses the role of urban design concepts like placemaking and human-centred design in shaping local economic activity. The findings highlight the untapped potential of “hidden gems” as clusters of local economic innovation that can be reinforced. The research highlights the significance of accessibility, connectivity, optionality and placemaking principles in creating a vibrant and thriving public realm that empowers both local businesses and the broader community. By contextualising this CBD regeneration to a postcolonial urban environment, this research contributes to an existing body of knowledge on urban regeneration and local economic development. It provides actionable recommendations for stakeholders and policymakers to enhance the public realm in a way that promotes sustainable economic growth in the Windhoek CBD. In doing so, it also presents valuable insights into how urban design can play a key role in fostering economic resilience and innovation in the context of Windhoek
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    INFLOW: Spatially Integrating Local Water Capture into Gugulethu and Surrounds, Cape Town
    (2018) Mclachlan, Julia; Ewing, Kathryn
    function. A severe drought in recent years has placed pressure on the water supply infrastructure, with dams at times, precariously low. To address this, stormwater harvesting is being considered as part of diversification strategies aimed at augmenting the current water resources. This local water capture strategy however, needs to be spatially integrated into settlement, as argued by Dewar (2017). Stormwater infrastructure systems have however, generally been considered as purely utilitarian public works services, designed to drain water as rapidly as possible from impermeable surfaces of built up areas. They are not spatially integrated into urban settlements and ultimately create barriers that divide space and segregate communities. Buildings have in response, turned their backs on these channels and they have become dumping grounds, unsafe and neglected. It is therefore necessary to design sustainable stormwater infrastructure systems that not only capture and store water, but also serve as multi-functional public open space systems that are integrated with the fabric of the urban settlement. The research explores the notion that lines of movement are flows of energy. A continuous uninterrupted line however, acts as a barrier as it limits crossings, interaction or access. Conventional stormwater and vehicular networks are continuous lines of flow, focussed on uninterrupted movement, whether of vehicles (in mobility routes) or surface water run-off (in canals). They act as barriers, limiting crossings and impeding spatial integration. They create along their edges, what Jane Jacobs refers to as 'border vacuums' (Mehaffy, et al, 2015:206). To remove these barriers of flow, the research design proposal applies the 'accessibility surface' (Dewar and Louw, 2016:25) to movement and surface water systems (including stormwater) as a means of removing barriers and generating access, opportunity and spatial integration. In this water sensitive urban design approach, stormwater infrastructure functions as a hybrid system, serving 'cultural, social and ecological functions' (Morrish and Brown, 2008:141) within settlements, providing varied opportunities as part of a multi-purpose public open space. The term 'Inflow', is applied to define and encapsulate the approach: the movement of both water and people into space in the pursuit of place-making opportunities. To test the hypothesis, the design research applies the 'accessibility surface' of movement and surface water systems to the Zeekoe Catchment of Cape Town. The study area is focused on the Big Lotus 'River', a canal constructed to drain water from Cape Town International Airport as well as the areas of Gugulethu, Nyanga and surrounds. It devises a spatial development framework that guides and informs the three-dimensional spatial aspects of an urban design framework. It further tests this notion of 'inflow' at a precinct scale exploring various details. The design research concludes that an 'Inflow' approach that stitches the surface water systems (including stormwater) into the settlement as part of an 'accessibility surface' provides a suitable basis for structurally and spatially integrating local water capture into settlement. Furthermore it addresses the problem of barriers of flow that spatially segregate and reduce accessibility by providing greater permeability and accessibility according to a hierarchical system. 'Inflow' therefore creates the opportunities for stopping or pause moments that allow for permeability and improved access to opportunity
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    Interface: The search for legibility of urban form for African migrants in Cape Town, South Africa
    (2019) Mutia, Kevin Ngumbao; Ewing, Kathryn
    In moving, fleeing or travelling to a different country for a myriad of reasons, migrants find themselves in new contexts, new worlds sometimes completely different from the places they come from. This makes them a vulnerable proportion of society in the urban spaces they find themselves in. Further this added complexity in understanding a new context comes as a concern in terms of navigating new urban spaces, seeking shelter, and creating livelihoods in these 'new worlds'. A plethora of borders and barriers to integration and adaptation exist in the host urban setting. From language barriers, to financial and cultural exclusion, host community xenophobic attitudes, further to being a foreigner in a foreign land with different urban structures and ways of life. In the quest to seek shelter and find settlement and creating livelihoods, migrants find themselves navigating new urban structures and forms which are unlike where they come from. From creating Lynch's mind maps to assist in mental mapping of one's physical spaces, migrants identify paths, nodes, edges, districts and landmarks from their own perspectives that create a layer of urban space that in most cases lacks to be incorporated in urban planning and design consideration for our cities that are 'worlding' (Ong, 2011; 10) by becoming more diverse by the day. The two outermost tips on the continent of Africa present two different cites with similar themes of exclusion of migrants in accessing the proverbial 'better life'. From Mellila's exclusionary borders, high-fence, razed wire barriers to Cape Town's exclusionary urban structure, migrant narratives from the north to the south of Africa are riddled with stories of exclusion, fear and being 'othered'. In seeking to address notions of acceptance, integration and adaptation. The project aims to provide a leeway in addressing the plights of the African migrant in urban space in cities on the continent by focusing on a case example in Cape Town to assess how strategic interface locations in the city can allow for 'worlding' by celebrating diversity and enabling rights to the city for all including the 'other'. Hence this research project seeks to gain an understanding into the lived experience of African migrants in the production of urban space through everyday migrant urbanism in Cape Town.
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    Open Access
    Lateral communities, vertical cities: understanding the nature of the livelihood strategies utilized by former residents of the Pine Road informal settlement in the pickwick transitional housing development
    (2025) Made, Ayanda; Ewing, Kathryn
    In addressing the lack of affordable housing in South Africa, 15% of South Africa's 14.45 million households earn enough to secure a mortgage, and 60% earn less than R3500.00 a month and can qualify for state housing. The remaining 25%, including most teachers, nurses, police officers and soldiers have had access to neither (Marutlulle, 2021). This leaves a missing rung in the housing ladder due to the nature of South Africa's unemployment rate. Social Housing is currently the only housing model available and leaves many South Africans unable to access the resource exacerbating the existing backlog. Currently, South Africa doesn't have an established transitional housing model that caters to households on very low and inconsistent incomes earning between R0 - R3500. It is not an official government policy, nor does it have an established funding stream or programme. In its current state, it exists either as a developing practice or a compelling concept. (Development Action Group, 2022) For these households, formal government-subsidised or private housing options in suitable areas do not exist. The Development Action Group (DAG) together with the City of Cape Town (CoCT) and the National Association of Social Housing Organisations (NASHO) established the Pickwick Transitional Housing Facility in Salt River, Cape Town. This is the first attempt to provide transitional housing on well-located land close to the city centre (DAG, 2022). This type of housing model can form one element of broader psychosocial and economic support programmes for people who earn very low and inconsistent incomes, therefore the aim of the research is to assess if and how moving from the Pine Road informal settlement in Woodstock to the formal Pickwick Transitional Housing development in Salt River has possibly impacted the livelihood strategies of the residents. In order to inform the development of a transitional housing model that responds to the South African context built around supporting the livelihood strategies of very low, inconstant income and/or unemployed households. The study will be qualitative in nature, using a relevant literature review and a Case and Ethnographic study as research methods.