The InforMALL: Shopping malls as infrastructures to support small-scale informal businesses

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dc.contributor.advisorSilverman, Melindaen_ZA
dc.contributor.advisorIsaacs, Fadlyen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorFerrandi, Simon Jamesen_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2018-05-08T14:05:12Z
dc.date.available2018-05-08T14:05:12Z
dc.date.issued2018en_ZA
dc.description.abstractMy dissertation inquiry focuses on the informal economic sector within the emerging economic area of Delft. This was born out of a personal fascination with the concept of informal or 'alternative-formal' economics. The existence of this concept was first brought to my attention through the Spaces of Good Hope Design + Research Studio (SoGH) in my BAS (Hons) year of 2016. Through site visits to the Delft, I became increasingly aware of an economic environment characterized by complex socio-spatial relationships. These differ from multi-layered, highly-mechanized business operations associated with more formal enterprises. The more time I spent observing business practices within Delft, the more I became aware of the sophistication of the sheer magnitude of the social networks which were the lifeblood of the embedded informal economy there. Admittedly, I found the whole system slightly overwhelming, struggling to understand how such apparent chaos could hide such a sophisticated economy, so different in shape and practices from the formal economy. It was during a SoGH plenary given by property economist, Francois Viruly, on the topic of the informal housing sector within South Africa, that I discovered how significant the informal economy is in sustaining livelihoods for a substantial portion of the country's population who cannot find jobs within the formal sector. Speaking frankly, Viruly, a highly regarded expert within the field of property economics, stressed that in spite of the prevalence of the informal economy within the South African context, both as a viable source of employment and a significant contributor to our formal economy, there is a distinct lack of understanding of the nature of the interface between formal and informal. The reality is that the existence of either formal or informal is dependent on the presence of the other, and sometimes, as is exemplified in the relationships between spazas, shebeens, and the corporate giants Coca-Cola and SAB-Miller within emerging economic areas, the links between survivalist enterprises and big corporates are critical. Clearly, economics, urban design and architecture need to come closer together - they need to inform each other. The spatial aspects of the economy require much more attention. Viruly posed an important question: "Can we create a built environment that starts at survivalist level and is sufficiently flexible to accommodate a fast-moving economy?"en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationFerrandi, S. J. (2018). <i>The InforMALL: Shopping malls as infrastructures to support small-scale informal businesses</i>. (Thesis). University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Engineering & the Built Environment ,School of Architecture, Planning and Geomatics. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/28026en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationFerrandi, Simon James. <i>"The InforMALL: Shopping malls as infrastructures to support small-scale informal businesses."</i> Thesis., University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Engineering & the Built Environment ,School of Architecture, Planning and Geomatics, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/28026en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationFerrandi, S. 2018. The InforMALL: Shopping malls as infrastructures to support small-scale informal businesses. University of Cape Town.en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Ferrandi, Simon James AB - My dissertation inquiry focuses on the informal economic sector within the emerging economic area of Delft. This was born out of a personal fascination with the concept of informal or 'alternative-formal' economics. The existence of this concept was first brought to my attention through the Spaces of Good Hope Design + Research Studio (SoGH) in my BAS (Hons) year of 2016. Through site visits to the Delft, I became increasingly aware of an economic environment characterized by complex socio-spatial relationships. These differ from multi-layered, highly-mechanized business operations associated with more formal enterprises. The more time I spent observing business practices within Delft, the more I became aware of the sophistication of the sheer magnitude of the social networks which were the lifeblood of the embedded informal economy there. Admittedly, I found the whole system slightly overwhelming, struggling to understand how such apparent chaos could hide such a sophisticated economy, so different in shape and practices from the formal economy. It was during a SoGH plenary given by property economist, Francois Viruly, on the topic of the informal housing sector within South Africa, that I discovered how significant the informal economy is in sustaining livelihoods for a substantial portion of the country's population who cannot find jobs within the formal sector. Speaking frankly, Viruly, a highly regarded expert within the field of property economics, stressed that in spite of the prevalence of the informal economy within the South African context, both as a viable source of employment and a significant contributor to our formal economy, there is a distinct lack of understanding of the nature of the interface between formal and informal. The reality is that the existence of either formal or informal is dependent on the presence of the other, and sometimes, as is exemplified in the relationships between spazas, shebeens, and the corporate giants Coca-Cola and SAB-Miller within emerging economic areas, the links between survivalist enterprises and big corporates are critical. Clearly, economics, urban design and architecture need to come closer together - they need to inform each other. The spatial aspects of the economy require much more attention. Viruly posed an important question: "Can we create a built environment that starts at survivalist level and is sufficiently flexible to accommodate a fast-moving economy?" DA - 2018 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2018 T1 - The InforMALL: Shopping malls as infrastructures to support small-scale informal businesses TI - The InforMALL: Shopping malls as infrastructures to support small-scale informal businesses UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/28026 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/28026
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationFerrandi SJ. The InforMALL: Shopping malls as infrastructures to support small-scale informal businesses. [Thesis]. University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Engineering & the Built Environment ,School of Architecture, Planning and Geomatics, 2018 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/28026en_ZA
dc.language.isoengen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentSchool of Architecture, Planning and Geomaticsen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Engineering and the Built Environment
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.subject.otherArchitectureen_ZA
dc.titleThe InforMALL: Shopping malls as infrastructures to support small-scale informal businessesen_ZA
dc.typeMaster Thesis
dc.type.qualificationlevelMasters
dc.type.qualificationnameMArch (Prof)en_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceThesisen_ZA
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