The Role of Urban Planning in Counteracting Segregation: The Case of Pinelands, South Africa
(2022) ASBM05 20221Department of Architecture and Built Environment
- Abstract
- Segregation is a common phenomenon arising worldwide. Residential segregation has been shown to have several negative consequences for people living in less wealthy neighbourhoods, such as health-related setbacks and being less likely to cope with school. South Africa is an especially well-suited country to study segregation and methods to counteract it to achieve better integration and more harmonious communities. This follows as South Africa has had a history of institutionalised racial segregation, known as apartheid, which ended in 1994 and where there has now been near 30 years of work to counteract the ethnic and socio-economic segregation that had previously been established by law and a perverse sort of urban planning.
This... (More) - Segregation is a common phenomenon arising worldwide. Residential segregation has been shown to have several negative consequences for people living in less wealthy neighbourhoods, such as health-related setbacks and being less likely to cope with school. South Africa is an especially well-suited country to study segregation and methods to counteract it to achieve better integration and more harmonious communities. This follows as South Africa has had a history of institutionalised racial segregation, known as apartheid, which ended in 1994 and where there has now been near 30 years of work to counteract the ethnic and socio-economic segregation that had previously been established by law and a perverse sort of urban planning.
This thesis evaluates methods to promote integration between different groups (as defined by socio-economic status and ethnicity) through urban planning. A case study approach is used whereby various planning initiatives and strategies applied in the South African suburb of Pinelands, situated just outside central Cape Town, form the basis for a specific evaluation. The lessons learned from this place are also evaluated for their potential broader relevance and application. Thus, the thesis aims to distinguish which strategies are believed to be most efficient in counteracting segregation. Site visits and interviews were conducted, and the results show that some of the most critical aspects of achieving an integrated and inclusive society are housing location, affordability and a good range of public spaces where people of different socio-economic statuses and ethnicities can meet.
The results suggest that an integrated society could be reached by providing different forms of tenure and different rental housing types (both subsidised rents and market-driven rents) in the same building. Moreover, enabling social interaction when designing urban areas could be an efficient tool in promoting an integrated society, since interactions between different groups of people seem vital in creating higher levels of social cohesion and trust. The results also show that complex laws and regulations, combined with inadequate communication between the public sector and the residents, result in NGOs playing an essential role in improving coordination between the city and its residents. (Less) - Abstract (Swedish)
- Segregation är ett vanligt fenomen som uppstår över hela världen. De negativa konsekvenserna av boendesegregation har visat sig vara många för de som bor i mindre välbärgade stadsdelar. Bland konsekvenserna finns bland annat hälsorelaterade motgångar, men även sämre förutsättningar under skolgången och i det framtida arbetslivet har konstaterats. Sydafrika lämpar sig väl för att studera segregation och metoder för att motverka den och därigenom uppnå bättre integration och mer harmoniska samhällen. Detta eftersom Sydafrika har haft en historia av institutionaliserad rassegregation, känd som apartheid, som upphörde 1994. Under närmare 30 år har landet arbetat för att motverka den etniska och socioekonomiska segregationen som tidigare... (More)
- Segregation är ett vanligt fenomen som uppstår över hela världen. De negativa konsekvenserna av boendesegregation har visat sig vara många för de som bor i mindre välbärgade stadsdelar. Bland konsekvenserna finns bland annat hälsorelaterade motgångar, men även sämre förutsättningar under skolgången och i det framtida arbetslivet har konstaterats. Sydafrika lämpar sig väl för att studera segregation och metoder för att motverka den och därigenom uppnå bättre integration och mer harmoniska samhällen. Detta eftersom Sydafrika har haft en historia av institutionaliserad rassegregation, känd som apartheid, som upphörde 1994. Under närmare 30 år har landet arbetat för att motverka den etniska och socioekonomiska segregationen som tidigare etablerats genom lag.
Denna studie utvärderar metoder inom stadsplanering som syftar till att främja integration mellan olika grupper (enligt definitionen av socioekonomisk status och etnicitet). För detta ändamål används en fallstudiemetod, där olika planeringsinitiativ och strategier som tillämpats i den sydafrikanska förorten Pinelands, belägen strax utanför centrala Kapstaden, utgör grunden för en specifik utvärdering, och där lärdomarna från denna plats utvärderas med avseende på deras potentiella bredare relevans och tillämpning. Studien syftar således till att urskilja vilka strategier som anses vara mest effektiva för att motverka segregation. Platsbesök och intervjuer har genomförts, och av resultatet framgår att några av de mest kritiska aspekterna för att uppnå ett integrerat och tryggt samhälle är bostadsläge, överkomliga bostadspriser och ett bra utbud av offentliga platser där människor med olika socioekonomisk status och etnicitet kan mötas.
Resultatet tyder på att ett integrerat samhälle skulle kunna nås genom att tillhandahålla bostäder med olika upplåtelseformer och hyresnivåer (både subventionerade och icke- subventionerade) i samma byggnad. Dessutom kan möjliggörandet av social interaktion vid utformning av stadsområden vara en effektiv strategi för att främja ett integrerat samhälle, eftersom interaktioner mellan olika grupper av människor verkar avgörande för att skapa högre nivåer av social sammanhållning och tillit. Resultaten visar också att komplexa lagar och regler, i kombination med bristfällig kommunikation mellan den offentliga sektorn och invånarna, resulterar i att icke-statliga organisationer får en viktig roll i att förbättra samordningen mellan staden och dess invånare. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9090288
- author
- Tarras-Wahlberg, Emmy LU and Larsson, Emmy LU
- supervisor
-
- Laura Liuke LU
- organization
- course
- ASBM05 20221
- year
- 2022
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- Segregation, integration, socio-economic status, spatial planning, urban planning, affordable housing, social housing, inclusionary housing
- language
- English
- id
- 9090288
- date added to LUP
- 2022-06-17 15:04:14
- date last changed
- 2022-06-17 15:04:14
@misc{9090288,
abstract = {{Segregation is a common phenomenon arising worldwide. Residential segregation has been shown to have several negative consequences for people living in less wealthy neighbourhoods, such as health-related setbacks and being less likely to cope with school. South Africa is an especially well-suited country to study segregation and methods to counteract it to achieve better integration and more harmonious communities. This follows as South Africa has had a history of institutionalised racial segregation, known as apartheid, which ended in 1994 and where there has now been near 30 years of work to counteract the ethnic and socio-economic segregation that had previously been established by law and a perverse sort of urban planning.
This thesis evaluates methods to promote integration between different groups (as defined by socio-economic status and ethnicity) through urban planning. A case study approach is used whereby various planning initiatives and strategies applied in the South African suburb of Pinelands, situated just outside central Cape Town, form the basis for a specific evaluation. The lessons learned from this place are also evaluated for their potential broader relevance and application. Thus, the thesis aims to distinguish which strategies are believed to be most efficient in counteracting segregation. Site visits and interviews were conducted, and the results show that some of the most critical aspects of achieving an integrated and inclusive society are housing location, affordability and a good range of public spaces where people of different socio-economic statuses and ethnicities can meet.
The results suggest that an integrated society could be reached by providing different forms of tenure and different rental housing types (both subsidised rents and market-driven rents) in the same building. Moreover, enabling social interaction when designing urban areas could be an efficient tool in promoting an integrated society, since interactions between different groups of people seem vital in creating higher levels of social cohesion and trust. The results also show that complex laws and regulations, combined with inadequate communication between the public sector and the residents, result in NGOs playing an essential role in improving coordination between the city and its residents.}},
author = {{Tarras-Wahlberg, Emmy and Larsson, Emmy}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{The Role of Urban Planning in Counteracting Segregation: The Case of Pinelands, South Africa}},
year = {{2022}},
}