[Co]Building for A displaced community: the conduction of place-making strategies as a means of addressing spatial segregation

Davids, Ismaeel

[Co]Building for A displaced community: the conduction of place-making strategies as a means of addressing spatial segregation

Master Thesis

2023

Abstract

The provision of adequately -designed housing alone will not eradicate poverty, and on its own, will not completely change the quality of life of people living in the Cape Flats area. The dissemination of houses has marginalized its recipients and disrupted communities through prescriptive and homogenous development that was brought about through Apartheid spatial planning. The appalling planning of housing typologies and poorly defined residual spaces that make up most of the Cape Flats have resulted in a series of neighbourhoods that sorely lack a sense of place. This dissertation examines the topics of: resilience, claiming the right to space, amenities and place-making in the face of adversity within Hanover Park. My aim is to draw inspiration from the existing infill spaces that subsequently manifests into a speculative design proposal to harness ideas of polyvalency and heterogeneity which will aid in alleviating the cycle of poverty. How can Hanover Park's poorly defined residual spaces within the existing stagnant built form be improved to enable communities to participate in the process of place -making? Further, how can a reimagination and adaption to existing fabric be modified to allow for sensitive and careful expansion in support of creating well-defined public and private spaces? The conclusions drawn from this line of enquiry should lend itself to a clearer understanding of the opportunity that lies within Hanover Park's unheld residual spaces to house the diverse pool of micro-enterprises and activities that transpire in the community. Further, it heroes a system of community-embodied spatial design as an act of resistance to histories of forced removals and displacement.