1
Belhar
Michael de Beer
precinct intervention
2
University of Cape Town
Faculty of Engineering & the Built Environment
School of Architecture, Planning and Geomaics
University of Cape Town
Rondebosch
Cape Town
7701
Telephone: + 27 (0)21 650 2362
+ 27 (0)76 484 2417
Fax: + 27 (0)21 689 9466
Class of 2014 Masters in City & Urban Design
Sponsored by Naional Research Foundaion
Scarce Skills Scholarship
All rights reserved. Except for the inclusion of brief quotaions in
a review, no part of this publicaion may be reproduced, stored
in a retrieval system, or transmited in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
without the writen permission of the publisher.
Sponcered by the Naional Research Foundaion: Scarce skills
scholarship
First published in June 2013.
Author: Michael de Beer
3
4
Contents
1. Introduction
I. Purpose of report
II. Terms of reference
III. Methodology
IV. Limitations
2. Analysis & Context
I. Positioning Belhar
II. Introducing the suburb
III. Spatial Analysis
IV. Conclusion & Approach
3. Typology: An Aproach to housing
I. Typology; Socail Housing & Development
II. Meduim Density | Fine Grain
III. Meduim Density | Course Grain
IV. High Density
V. A Public Realm
VI. Design Coding
VII. Incentivised Zoning
4. Intervention
I. Introduction
II. Intervention
III. Incremental Growth
VI. Conclusion
5. Bibliography
5
Introducion
The report has been formulated as part of a semester long invesigaion into the underdeveloped train
staion precincts within Cape Town. The project has
focused on two key points that are relevant to current pressures and iniiaives the City of Cape Town
is experiencing. These two points are; the renewed
emphasis on developing train staions precincts to
become key nodes within the city as well as looking
at housing opportuniies within the city which has
been drawn into quesion as recent developments
have threatened the extension of the urban edge.
The report evaluates the current and past circumstance and characterisics of the chosen precinct,
Belhar. The process has ideniied a criical precinct
of intervenion and informed the development of an
intervenion that is appropriate for the area ideniied. The report has been compiled ater the inal
review of the project and addresses several issues
raised in the review process.
Terms of reference
The legacy of Apartheid’s segregaion planning policies has remained entrenched within the post-apartheid urban landscape. These policies underpinned
by modernist planning principles enforced ‘a way
of life’ that sought to difereniate living, working,
moving and recreaion as separate elements within
the city. The implicaions for a colored suburb such
as Belhar meant that it was conceived as dormitory
suburb with litle or no economic acivity, while being formed under great pressure to provide housing.
The circumstance, which the report will go into detail about, remains entrenched today.
The project atempts to reconcile these condiions
while fostering incenivised development to simulate diversity and ‘civic life’. The aim is to focus on
how urban form may change socio-economic relaionships within the area.
Methodology
The process which was followed, adheres to igure 4
(Methodology of project approach (Moughin,1999))
however the process of monitoring cannot take place
as this phase is dependent on the implementaion of
the project.
Figure 2: Planing Process
The introducion ideniied two goals, namely providing housing within the urban edge and re-envisaging
the development of train staions as key nodes in the
city. The project has taken an iteraive process which
has drawn on analysis, explored alternaives and criiqued these in regard to the analysis and goals. The
constant review has culminated in single approach
which will be presented in the report hereater.
This method has largely been aligned to Dewar’s
(NP) non-programmaic approach:
1.
The irst is against the maximizaion of the
parts as to rather deal with the whole, in avoiding
compromises.
2.
The Second focuses on the accommodaion
and celebraion of human acivity in space as opposed to the focus on land use.
3.
The third is the ethical two pillar (humanism and environmentalism)approach as to thinking
from the irst principles, people on foot, and thus
not making assumpions about technology.
4.
The forth is not determining “the spaial distribuions of acivity through autocraic top-down
direcives but through manipulaing the logic of access, to which all aciviies respond, in order to generate broadly predictable outcomes” (Dewar, NP).
5.
The ith is a non-prescripive approach that
afords choice instead of deining the ‘good urban
life’.
Limitaions
The project’s limits are the ime constraints under
which it was conceived and understandably the process of a scheme of such magnitude must be done
over a length of ime. This would enable the process
to engage with the communiies, government and
parastatles which would help to develop a well accepted plan that has been evaluated over several
stages and has ideniied key stakeholders and the
roles in regard to the projects implementaion. In
miigaing the pracicality of this theoreical exercise’s ime constraints the project has chosen a speciic precinct of Belhar that would form as a precedent for further implementaion.
6
ANALYSIS
& CONTEXT
7
Positioning Belhar
Belhar is situated in ‘no mans land’ in regard to city
development as can be seen in the City of Cape
Town’s MSDF prioriies extract below. Current trends
of development have also highlighted signiicant
investment beyond the urban edge of Cape Town, argue
that there is litle or no space for development within
the city boundaries. This has had a severe impact as
even district and local area plans propose minimal
intervenions in Belhar. This project proposes that Belhar
has high potenial for development if strategic public
development is implemented to restore investor
conidence into a forgoten apartheid
suburb that is pleniful in vacant
land and incredibly well
connected.
Figure 4: Extract from Spaial development Framework for the city of Cape Town
8
Figure 5: Extract from Spaial development Framework for the city of Cape Town, with focus on Belhar
9
Introducing Behar
The 1950’s Group Area Act set in moion a policy
to separate four ideniied ethnic groups. It aimed
to reorder the city and deine rights to these areas and people. A vision drawn from early modernist principles set the stage for not only the
separaion of racial groups but aciviies of living;
namely live, work, play and move. Its manifestaion remains entrenched in South African ciies
and the storey of Belhar is one that relects both
the incepion and failure of the Apartheid City.
The following introducion aims to illustrate the
primary processes and pressures that formed Belhar while outlining the current condiions evident
in the suburb today.
District Structure Plans preceded the demarcaion of suburbs and growth of the city. Their purpose was to spaially and legally guide the development of ciies and in doing so relected racial
policies of the ime. As in the case of Belhar these
plans demarcated key infrastructure routes that
would be developed overime. The townships
would then be planned within the guidance of the
plan. The result as can be seen in Belhar are the
land reserves and implementaion of high order
connecing infrastructure which has created large
segments of vacant land and lost space.
Erica, the irst planned area of Belhar 1969 (green)
epitomised the city envisaged for the coloured
(mixed race) populaion. The neighbourhood
characterised as middle class provided a suburb
for employees of the newly established University of the Western Cape and Cape Peninsula
University of Technology campus’s (blue) as well
as principals of nearby schools and members of
the Coloured Representaives Council to be later
situated nearby. The area demonstrated the naional housing code of 1960 which provided different condiions for the alternaive racial areas
based on income expectancies. Implemening the
standardisaion of net density principles (whites
25DU/Ha, coloured 40 DU/Ha, blacks 50 DU/Ha),
plot sizes, building lines, services, infrastructure,
faciliies and ameniies for the areas in quesion.
Figure 6: Development of Belhar
Erica (17 DU/Ha gross) thus became a suburb with
an established middle income populaion and a
variety social ameniies including parks, schools,
religious buildings and community centres. The
suburb also was designed with no economic funcion as it was purely seen to be a residenial area.
10
The lots were sold to individuals and amounted
to two months of pay for a principal at a school
while the housing was self-build by the resultant
owners which has led to a variety of typologies in
the area.
Eric laid the ground work for the suburb to come
and with it a Guide Plan was formulated in order
to give guidance to the future implementaion
across Belhar. The area planned ater Erica, 1975,
took the form of two separate approaches of implementaion. The irst had been the implementaion of the same typology and layout of the suburb as Eric and the second, Belhar 1 (30-40 DU/Ha
gross), formed part of an invesigaion into Social
Housing by the Urban Problems Research Unit at
UCT, championed by Roelof Uyetenbogaardt.
Belhar 1 was rendered as a great success becuase
its design was centred on community life by creaing shared public spaces connected via pedestrian walkways which were primarily framed by
two housing typologies; a 150-200m2 plot with
a single storey 75m2 building and a 100m2 plot
with a double storey 75m2 loor space. Vehicular
movement was limited to a single road with parking spaces which served the community in the
predominatly pedestrianized plan. The buildings
were designed in a manner that allowed for incremental development in the future.
Figure 7: Belhar 1 by Roelof Uyetenbogaardt
In understanding the diference between the two
areas, the applicaion of the standardised norms
in contrast to the intenions and objecives of
the two models, is represented in the diference
between net and gross densiies in Erica and Belhar 1 respecively. Net density refers to the plots
and buildings excluding the roads, public spaces
and other public faciliies and ameniies, while
gross density refers to the total dwellings and all
11
other funcions and open space within a hectare.
Both typological outputs, namely Erica and Belhar 1, achieve a net density of 40DU/Ha however
the gross density is vastly diferent with Belhar1
achieving 30-40DU/Ha gross while Erica achieves
17 DU/Ha gross. The diference can be atributed
to the approach to public open spaces, roads and
faciliies.
sulted in rural migraion of coloured people to
Cape Town in search of opportunity. The situaion
had created increased need to house predominantly poor individuals whom could not necessarily buy housing such as in Erica and Belhar 1.
Rental schemes were set up and densiies were
increased while a focus on providing housing on
mass was emphasised by local government.
The success of Belhar 1 led to Uyetenbogaardt
revisiing the guidance plan and developing the
third and larger spaial plan for the Belhar. Two
signiicant issues impacted the realizaion of the
project to be implemented.
The growth seen in igure 5, from 1982 to 1989
was the beginning of a neglected space. Uyetenbogaardt’s guidance plan was only truly implemented at one intersecion while the rest of the
suburb’s layout began to house a predominantly
poor populaion that had been either forcibly removed and allocated housing or come to the city
in seek of opportunity. The resultant area began
to be seen as a failure due to crime, violence and
gangsterism begining to manifest.
The irst had been that the Belhar 1’s plan did
not apply to rules and regulaions set out in the
Guidelines for the Provision of Engineering Services for Residenial Townships, 1983, referred to
as the Blue book due to its blue cover. The Blue
book raionalized the applicaion of the naional
housing code along with engineering speciicaions namely, traic engineering, as a set of normaive principals that could be set out spaially. It
insituted guidance to general layouts of suburbs
with regard to densiies and plots sizes as well
as creaing hierarchical order of roads and the
spacing of intersecions on the diferent roads. It
also sipulated details in regard to width of pavements, layout of pavement at intersecions, raios
of faciliies to populaion amongst other things.
The implicaions of the regulaions set forth, limited Uyetenbogaardt’s ability to realise many of
the lessons learnt in Belhar 1, to such an extent
that when Uytenboogardt had presented the
inal scheme, the department of housing highlighted that the design did not comply with the
Blue book. The outcome of this meant that his
scheme was passed onto engineer’s to raionalise in accordance to the book. The layout eventually implemented remains reminiscent of the
original design layout however many of the key
techniques namely the focus on public space and
the typologies supporing them had been altered.
This has led to inacive and unsafe public spaces
which are not supported by the envisaged community life.
The second issue had been the 1983 Coloured Labour Preference Policy that applied to Cape Town
which occurred at the same ime as when forced
removals had reached its peak. The policy sipulated that all employers had to employ coloured
labour unless permited otherwise, which re-
The failure of the area had been atributed by authoriies to the manner in which housing had been
provided, negaing the issue that forced removals
had separated social ies and broken up families
that lead to social problems that impacted the
ability of the area to form a sense of civic life and
community. It also negated the spatail layouts
failure to implement the lessons learnt in Belhar
1. The following developments in the suburb seen
in igure 5, 1992, had been formed from a sites
& serves perspecive, giving prospecive owners
the ability to buy serviced lots and build their own
housing. The area today is well established with
a variety of typologies absent of gangsterism and
violence.
The following twenty years since 1994 Belhar has
seen litle change in regard to spaial intervenions from local government, however private
investment has occurred. Evidence of an acive
property market illustrated in alteraions, sales
and subdivions has occurred in Belhar except for
the area planned out between 1982-1989. Here,
leading gangsters have taken a philanthropic approach by invesing in developments, donaing
to religious insituions and sponsoring the local
sports teams. Their work however cannot be seen
without acknowledging their destrucive contribuion through claiming territories and dealing
in drugs. There are many instances where families have been drawn into debt to the gangs and
forced to sell property at extremely low prices
which the gangs use to bolster their assets.
Further investment has been seen in the recent
investment of 1.4bn by Calgro to develop a large
segment of land as well as the establishment of a
large mall along the Stellenbosch arterial and the
potenial expansion of the CPUT campus. These
projects have introduced economic acivity which
have long been absent in the suburb.
In concluding on this introducion the layout of
the suburb has been afected by many external
factors which has characterised it as being disconnected with insular pods of housing which new
investments in the area is not addressing. Thus
any future intervenions ought to criically invesigate the role of the suburb and how best to begin changing the legacy of the Aparthied spaial
plan.
Figure 9: Analysis of Belhar
The analysis has introduced the pressures that
have formed the current condiions of the suburb
as well as spaially analysed the suburb in order
to inform the intervenion to be proposed. The
precinct of intervenion has been ideniied as
key area of implementaion due to the a variety
of condiions it exhibits. The primary objecives
within this precinct is to miigate the negaive
social condiions experienced there, establishing
economic acivity while emphasizing the need to
create a dynamic train staion precinct. However
the project aims to use the ideniied precinct’s
intervenion as a precedent for implementaion
beyond the precincts boundaries.
As deined in the introducion to the project, Dewar’s non-programmaic approach is used in deining the intervenion. The aim of the approach
is to insill opportunity and the ability to change
through incremental development while focusing
on basic principles as the man on foot. Key issues
which inform this approach are incremental development, housing, lost space and reconnecion,
economic aciviies, roles of train staions, civic
life, the public realm and the role of the suburb in
the greater Cape Town.
The projects proposal is broken into two secions; Typology and Intervenion. Typology forms
part of an invesigaion that focuses on typology
types, social housing and incenivized areas to be
implemented. The Intervenion secion applies
the principles and types to the precinct deined
in the analysis.
Figure 8: Lost Space
18
Conclusion &
Approach
TYPOLOGY INVESTIGATION
19
Typology;
Social Housing &
Development
Lessons learnt from the analysis and history of Belhar has emphasised typology and social housing
as key factors to deining the success of an areas
future development. Belhar 1 sets a precedent for
how public space is able to be successfully deined
to characterise a space while achieving adequate
densiies and insigaing incremental development. However a key point is drawn in terms of
the applicaion of such spaces in a greater area. A
space of such public nature ought to be applied in
areas that ought to be public in nature, unlick the
posiion of Belhar 1. The second lesson learnt is
access to housing and incremental development
which is emphasised between the diferent models applied to the Belhar area. As a key point has
been drawn in regard to how housing is provided
as this fundamental element deines the populaion, character, economic class, social dynamics
and ulimately diversity and variety.
Thus the aim of the following secion draws on
how people are able to access housing and the resultant typologies aligned to accessability to housing which aim to deine a public realm and simulate incremental development. This is followed by
incenivised zoning which is underpinned by urban design coding that maintains and simulates
the future growth of the suburb.
20
Government Subsidies
Three housing types
Figure 11: Subsidies & Typologies
Figure 12: Secion of proposed typologies situated in Belhar
21
Medium Density | Fine Grain
Incremental development:
Stage 2
In this scenario the house has
gone under a much more extensive renovaion which has extended into the backyard to include
two new rooms on the ground
and 1st loor while an extra room
has been added as a 2nd storey
extension.
Incremental development:
Stage 1
In this scenario the house has
made minor alteraions to the
threshold space altering it into
a spaza shop and closed of balcony space. The raional behind
this may be to gain extra income
for the family while creaing a
semi public-private space for the
home.
Subsidy House
A house is provided as build
to the tenant. It is 75m2 with
a 50m2 courtyard roof and a
threshold space on the ground
level of 2.5m deep. The roof and
the threshold space allows for future alteraions.
10 x 10 Site
The 100m2 site is deined as
the minimum size of plot of this
type.
Figure 13: Meduim Density ine grain incremental growth
22
The buildings are primarily derived from Uyetenbogaardt’s original row housing implemented in
Belhar 1 with the only diference being the courtyard roof and the extension of walls onto the 2
storey to support future alteraions. With reference to the lower illustraion the typology is to be
predominantly pedestrianized and situated in areas of a public nature. As a medium density type
that is ine grained it is permeable, rich in public
space and ofers surveillance. These atributes
give it a unique condiion which other typologies
do not have.
Figure 14: Meduim Density ine grain the public realm
23
Medium Density | Fine Grain
A typology for the
public realm
Medium Density | Course Grain
Instigating variety
& diversity
Medium density course grain development is seen
to occur in a city block format with emphasis on
street frontage and a courtyard typology. The city
blocks are segmented by 1m wide strips that run
the depth of the site. These are bought by prospecive landowners with a minimum of 6 adjacent slots making a 6m wide plot as the minimum
size of a plot is 90m2. The applicaion of such development aims to produce diversity as it allows
for a variety of potenial owners from diferent
economic brackets to apply for sites dependent
on street frontage.
Although this approach is not limited to subsidised applicants the following three scenarios
presented in the document takes a sites and services approach to providing land and housing to
subsidised individuals. The three scenarios are; a
minimum plot size with a totally build house; a
larger plot size with minimum build; and lastly the
larger plot size that is only serviced. These three
alternaives allow for applicants to purchase both
housing and plots dependent on their inancial
capabiliies.
Alternaively plots are able to be bought on the
free market or reserved for the insituional program. These would be sold using the same method and would resemble the third scenario where
the prospecive owner applies for a serviced plot
of x meter frontage and develops its. A key part
of this method of development gives the iniial
buyer of the plot the ability to zone and apply for
uses which would best suite the developers needs
within reason (ie. excluding the industrial zoning
packages.)
The developments that are undertaken are required to follow speciic design guidelines. The
aim of this is to create a courtyard typology with
zero build to lines and allowing for developers
to build a threshold space as an entrance to the
building. These guidelines are illustrated in the
scenarios however will be elaborated on later as
they apply to all new developments and alteraions within the suburb.
Figure 15: Plan of city block illustraing the lots system
24
Scenario 1
The following secion proposes a typological output which is founded on people’s ability to access
housing and while fostering an urban realm. The
basis of the proposal takes three subsidies and
applies them to a social housing iniiaive that
aims to create a diverse urban landscape. The
housing outputs are primarily aimed at increasing densiies while establishing varied condiions
characterised by the speciic typological output.
The aim of this secion is to inform the applicaion
of housing within the precinct deined.
This scenario illustrates how family units/
individuals may be able to access housing
with limited personal inancing through a
subsidy. The minimum lot size is allocated
while providing a fully serviced building
and a backyard. The intenion of this scenario is to provide for those that cannot
aford to rent or build and purchase housing. The subsidy which would primarily
apply to this scenario would be the Housing subsidy.
NOTE: The depth of the plots proposed here are
15m however this would be ulimately determined during the planning of the intervenion
and may be increased.
Incremental
development:
Stage 1
In this scenario the house
has made minor alteraions to the threshold
space while adding an
extra loor to the building.
Subsidy House
A house is provided build
to the tenant.
6 x 15 Site
The 90m2 site is deined as
the minimum plot size.
Figure 16: Meduim Density Course Grain Scenario 1 incremental growth
25
Medium Density | Course Grain
Three Scenarios
Medium Density | Course Grain
Scenario 2
The scenario illustrates an intermediate housing soluion for family units/ individuals with the economic means to develop their
holding within the near future. The lot size provided is more than
the minimum lot size while providing services and infrastructure
needed for future alteraions and a core unit with the minimum
requirements for habitaion. The occupants use the infrastructure
provided to build temporary informal housing in the interim while
invesing overime in building a formal structure to replace the
temporary building.
Incremental development:
Stage 3
Further alteraions are made to the
building by including an extra loor.
Incremental development:
Stage 2
A formal structure is incrementally
erected to replace the informal
structure on the site.
Incremental development:
Stage 1
A temporary informal structure is
erected to provide for a large living
space in the home as well as a potencial rentable unit in the back to
gain extra income which would aid
formal development.
Subsidy House
The lot size provided is more than
the minimum lot size while providing services and infrastructure
needed for future alteraions and
a core unit with the minimum requirements for habitaion.
9 x 15 Site
135m2
Figure 17: Meduim Density Course Grain Scenario 2 incremental growth
26
This scenario illustrates the largest lot sized subsidy for family units/ individuals which are able to
build housing from personal inances and are able
to live elsewhere in the interim period. The subsidy only provides a large property with services.
It is assumed that individuals oping for this opion would be able to access inances to develop
the site independently.
Incremental
development:
Stage 3
An extra loor is added
to the inial extension.
Incremental
development:
Stage 2
The inial building is
extended .
Incremental
development:
Stage 1
A building is erected
using personal inances
that follow the areas
design coding and
regulaions.
Subsidy
A large serviced lot is
provided
13 x 15 Site
195m2
27
Figure 18: Meduim Density Course Grain Scenario 3 incremental growth
Medium Density | Course Grain
Scenario 3
High Density
Incremental Development: Stage 4
This stage illustrates further alteraions to the
buildings facades while an extra storey is added
for apartments and commercial use due to the
introducion of a lit in the previouse phase.
Incremental Development: Stage 3
This stage illustrates a beginning of a transformaion in the building as the original apartments on
the let hand side are consolidated for commercial use and an alternaive entrance is introduced
to access this area. During this renovaion other
alteraions are made to the apartment wing to
make way for a potancial lit as well as changes to
the retail ground loor of the building.
Incremental Development: Stage 2
This stage illustrates further alteraions by tenants and a large investment by the body corporate to provide a communal roof space that can
be used for various funcions.
Incremental Development: Stage 1
This stage illustrates the transformaion of an insituional program building ater the 4 year period when tenants are ofered the opportunity to
purchase the apartments. The stage illustrates
alteraions made to the building by the new
owners and body cooperate while tenants of the
ground loor retail space change to introduce a
cafe.
Figure 19: High Desnity four storey walk-ups illustraing
incremental growth
The insituional housing scheme
in the form of a four storey walkup
28
The Institutional Programme
The insituional programme has been formed
with the aim of providing alternaive housing
measures for individuals in the GAP market who
cannot aford to purchase housing or qualify for
a subsidy. The programme provides developers
with capital to build and maintain rental stock
to these individuals ill such ime that they are
able to purchase the apartments from the developer. This method has proven very successful due to the method of implementaion which
fosters to build communiies and responsible
tenants and owners.
Changing the typology
The Insituional Programme has thus far aligned
itself to a typological model that is comparable
to the gated estate as it aims to control both
access and conduct in the development. This
model has thus manifested as large sites that
has situated a variety of housing types, single to
three stories, around courtyards within a gated
development. Although this has proven to be a
successful method of development the project
has ideniied this typology as being a negaive
form of development that undermines the urban realm and communiies the development
is situated within as it does not engage or interact with its peripheral environment.
The project thus has taken the stance that the
security needs of the development as well as
the need to form a beter urban realm by engaging in the peripheral environment is best suited
to a four-story walk-up typology. This typology
ofers security as apartments enter through a
single stair case while addressing threshold
condiions and providing acive street fronts.
An Urban Realm
The four storey walk-up typology fosters an
urban realm by introducing both the needed
densiies while facilitaing acive streets and
building communiies. The drawing incremental development drawing on the previous page
illustrates how dynamic these projects could
be due to the manner in which they are implemented allowing for proper management of
the building. This dynamic nature creates an
environment that is responsive to economic
trends within the greater area which many of
the current typologies in Belhar do not allow
for. Thus the applicaion of this typology is seen
to be placed as means to create a precursor for
future economic transformaion in the areas
ideniied as having economic opportunity.
Figure 20: High Desnsity four storey walk-up perspecive
29
High Density
A High Density Typology
A PUBLIC REALM
Nolly’s map of Rome, a gesture to deine
the public realm. The map is not deined by
the edge of the site boundary but rather the
accessible space open to the public comprising of courtyards, backyards, arcades
and the internal structure of buildings. It
highlights the importance of public and private space and essenially the maturity of
the urban fabric and civic life. This is a long
natural process that cannot be imposed on
new setlement or young suburbs like Belhar, 60 years old. Yet, the project takes the
stance that one is able to envisage a future
and program its possibility into the future
growth. The diagrams bellow illustrate how
nolly’s map could be achieved through incremental development and design coding.
Figure 21: Nolly map
30
31
Incremental Development of the City Block
Figure 22: incremetal growth of the city block
The series of illustraions intend to highlight how
a strong public realm is achieved through maturity. The illustraion begins from the let which exhibits a low density city block which overime begins to densify while ownership paterns change.
As these paterns change the nature of the block
begins to change as new uses begin to locate
within the block. Towards the end vested interests are outweighed by common iniiaives that
open up the city block to increase permeability
and density. The inal illustraion is a morphological response by the internal building fabric which
is drawing on the newly established desire lines
and opportuniies.
Design Coding| City of Cape Town
An Urban Approach to Guiding Development
The Urban Design Document
of Cape Town
The Urban Design Policy of the City of Cape
Town has been drated to guide and regulate
development and assess development applicaions against these policies through the land use
planning and building plan approvals processes.
The document outlines core pillars/ strategic focuses that development ought to be cognisant
of and follow. The policy has drawn on exising
regulaions allowance for applicaions to be approved or denied on the grounds of desirability
which the urban design policy has formed clarity upon.
Three primary objecives underpin by the policy
are:
The greater public good refers to ciies being
a place of collecive enjoyment and access for
all which all developments either public or private ought to achieve. This is done by engaging
in sustainable development that results in the
improvement of environmental, social and economic condiions.
The “whole” above the “parts” refers to development being mindful of the greater urban fabric as the opimisaion of a single element may
be detrimental to its surrounding areas. The
aim of this objecive is to maintain a dynamic
equilibrium. Thus developments ought to consider not only the short term gains but the long
term outcomes.
Idenity, Context and Place making refers to
the noion that ciies are mulivalent spaces
which are characterised by natural, historical,
social and economic atributes. Any developments which do take place must be cognisant
of their context in order to understand its role
and not be at risk of being irrelevant, inappropriate or of compromising the performance and
quality of the whole.
These three objecives give guidance to the policies proposed which govern a large range of attributes which developments ought to follow.
Figure 23: Urban Framework, condiion to consider
32
Figure 25: Heritage
Urban Design Policy & the Belhar
Interventionand and typological focus
The Urban Design Document which outlines
the policies aims and objecives ofers a broad
understanding of approaches and objecives
for developments within the City of Cape Town
to adhere to. However, in the case of the Belhar
Intervenion Project, typologies which do not
follow City of Cape Town zoning scheme regulaions have been proposed. The project recommends through the use of incenivized zoning
and the guidance of design coding the typology
not only can be implemented in the area but
future development would need to adhere to
the new design coding proposed for the area.
The illustraions presented here, extracted from
the City of Cape Town Urban Design Document,
are indicaive of the atributes which developments ought adhere to. These are primarily
focused on guiding developers to introduce a
buildings with zero setbacks while placing signiicant consideraion on the façade; threshold
spaces (the threshold is a space which developers may use on the pavement for entrances
and serves which are of a public nature) ; courtyards and acive edges (street fronts).
The objecive of such a bold intervenion which
conlicts with current standards is to introduce
an urban typology which may serve as a precedent for the area of intervenion and potenially
the greater Cape Town. If such alternaives are
not explored on a regular basis the City would
have no comparison to judge the success of
current policies and zoning schemes. The new
typology proposed here does not conlict with
zoning law or building pracices and merely
tests the alternaive regulaions which the City
of Cape Town are able to amend.
Figure 26: Secion of a street that serves as an ideal layout
33
Design Coding| City of Cape Town
Figure 24: Facade perspecive
Incentivised Zoning
Guidance
Incenivised Zoning Areas form part of the zoning
scheme for Cape Town. Although very few exist
and only over small porions of land, these zones
are intended to aford special rights and restricions to a designated area. The Project draws on
this policy to enable specialized zones that are designed to perform speciic funcion which would
aid in the implementaion and future growth of
the Belhar area.
The Incentivesed
Zones
Density Zone
Aimed to increase density and subdivisions by offering tax incenives making development more
afordable. This is applied in areas which are
deemed either of low density or if the area is
needs to increase the density to reach a criical
mass that is supporive of areas deined as civic
or economic ‘centres’.
Economic Zone
This zone is aimed at creaing an amicable area for
economic funcions to take form through design
coding. Emphasis on the roles of buildings with
the public realm as well as incenivizing provisions
for oice, retail or light industry are a priority.
Civi Zone
This zone is primarily aimed at the public realm
and those buildings which engage with it. Using
design coding relaionships between buildings
and public space are formed while also prioriizing acive edges.
Genral Zone
This zone is placed over Belhar as an amendment to the City zoning regulaions speciically to
change the typology in the area to the condiions
exhibited on this page.
34
INTERVENTION
35
Figure 27: A collecive core; morphology and proposed access routes intersecions
Figure 28: Conceptual sketch the collecive core
36
A Spatial Intervention
The Analysis and the Typology invesigaions in
the project has informed clear aims and objecives
for the spaial intervenion. This can primarily be
informed by two key pillars which is the need to
iniiate and bolster civic funcions and community life in responding dire social condiions while
introducing vital economic nodes and funcions
that are lacking in the area. The project uses a variety of techniques to achieve these objecives. A
primary approach that has underpinned this has
been the need to uilise lost space, in the form of
vacant land, in reconnecing the suburb. However,
this brown ield development is accompanied with
an approach to guidance which aims to inluence
exising typologies through creaing precedent
and insituing incenivised zoning. Thus the project has needed to consider the impact it may have
over a signiicant period of ime.
The common thread, illustrated to the let, serves
as the primary civic core corridor of the suburb. It
has been envisaged to perform the role of a civic
centre to surrounding communiies and interacts
directly with the surrounding morphology. The
idea of a corridor is not that a man would necessarily walk the length of this corridor on a daily basis but rather that the corridor serves as a key element for orientaion and place making within the
suburb as it begins to amalgamate a segregated
suburb.
Figure 29: Conceptual layout of the intervenion
37
Economic cores been approached in a manner
which is cognisant of ime and investor interest as
simply placing economic funcions in the suburb
would not work due to a lack of investor conidence
and economic capacity in the suburb. Thus, the
approach has been that the typologies employed
in these areas would be programmed in such
a manner to be able to convert from residenial
stock to commercial stock overime. This informs
an interesing dynamic as the one cannot pin point
where or when commercial precincts would begin
to develop irst or at all. Thus the applicaion of
economic zones to the ideniied economic areas
has been applied loosely to atempt to simulate
acivate from residents within the area that would
begin to restore conidence for investors.
The diagram below illustrates the applicaion of
these approaches to the prescient, with civic being ideniied as red and economic blue. The intervenion on the following page will ofer clarity
in regard to how these general approaches have
been underpinned by iner detailed intervenions
which also respond strong ly to exising and proposed desire lines.
Figure 30: refernce image for locaion
Public and Private investment
Public and Private investment are key to the
project. Public works consist of building key
infrastructure and civic natured buildings such
as the upgrade to the train staion, schools,
libraries, parks, squares, sports faciliies as well
as roads and NMT or pedestrian infrastructure.
This will also take the form of preparing
land, selling property and building subsidy
houses. The manner in which this is able to
be implemented will ulimately deine the
communiies that will live in the community.
Private investment is highly reliant on the public
investment to serve as a measure which would
deine investor interest. Once investment
does take form its serves as a precedent and
begins to deine an acive economy where by
a coninued interest in the area will simulate
both growth and change of uses and typologies
as well as potenially jobs.
Figure 31: intervenion
Current Context
The illustraion to the
right represents the current morphology of the
precinct.
First Phase
This phase is predominantly
focused on developing the
core anchors of the scheme.
These consist of the redevelopment of the exising train
staion; focus on educaional
infrastructure and the supporing housing typologies;
iniiaing the development of
the local sports precinct and
strengthening the established
civic core in the southern district (let porion middle).
Second Phase
This phase builds on the iniial
development of the irst
phase. Poignantly the development of this phase begins
to focus on the ideniied
economic areas development
as well as introducing criical
mass into the housing populaion.
Third Phase
The Third phase is the inal
morphological outcome of
the area with a newly established train staion and clear
development corridors. This
phase represents the inal implementaion of the scheme’s
proposed project however
the intenion is not that this
would be the inal phase of
development for Belhar but
this would be the beginning
of a method of implementaion across Belhar.
Figure 32: incremental growth of the suburb intervenion broken into three phases
40
Incremental Growth
Incremental Growth is a criical part the proposal
and has manifested at many scales and through varied principles and techniques. The diagrams to the
let illustrate the staged implementaion of the project. This has formed a criical step in understanding
the schemes feasibility and potenial to simulate
growth in the suburb. A key part to this understanding is the diference between public and private investment as the success of the scheme requires both
to succeed.
edent for other business and ulimately the viability
of economic acivity in the area. Another example
of this technique is used in the placement of light
industry that serves as a commercial ‘savings bank’.
The idea is that when a demand increases for either
residenial stock or commercial stock the building
would slowly transform as seen in the igures below.
This is raiied by the ability of both commercial and
residenial property be able to ask for high prices
than industrial property could.
Public investment has largely taken the form of invesing in core civic infrastructure and the preparaion for land sales. This phase is of the utmost
importance as it is the success of this phase that
establishes investor interest and ulimately private
paricipaion. The land which is bought or subsidised
returns to private interests yet without the public investment litle would be seen in progressive community building, which underpins the scheme. Communiies form the bedrock and character of the suburb
and deine the iniial phasing of the project to begin
forming the required private developer interests.
In concluding the scheme is reliant on the ability of
public investment on behalf of the city and other government bodies to successfully implement the larger
scheme. However, this needs to be applied prudently as investor conidence which will ulimately be the
measure of the success of the scheme relies on the
manner in which public works are completed and
the resultant communiies created therein.
The typologies designed for change allow for the
developer interests to be able to manifest overime
within the proposed, then exising, urban fabric.
These developments will then be seing the prec-
Figure 33: Industrial development serving as a ‘savings bank’ ,
illustraing the ability for change to occur when demand exists.
41
Figure 34: incremetal growth of suburb third
and ‘inal stage’
42
Conclusion
This project has dealt with several key issues relevant
to South African planning in the post-Apartheid
landscape that has remained a challenging task for
local government. The core problem, deining an
approach which goes beyond the current dogma
of inding housing, has manifested as large scale
green ield development that is monotonous, of
inadequate densiies, lacking sorely needed civic life
(infrastructure and public space) as well as economic
acivity.
This had led to the noion that suburbs disadvantage
by Apartheid planning have not yet recovered as
they remain dormitory ‘towns’ with the very same
characterisics that new setlements are being built
with. Thus the approach had seen this as gross
misuse of public investment and ideniied Belhar
as a post-apartheid suburb that needed investment
and holds plenty of space, yet overlooked due to the
dogma described above.
This approach combined these issues in an atempt
to argue for a beter applicaion of public funding.
This had manifested into a scheme which not only
sought to provide housing but improve areas in
dire need of change, combining the two ideniied
problems into one soluion.
The analysis informed a posion that typology is a
criical element in a suburb and is able to deine its
future. This resulted into a typological study that
atempted to fulill this brief through programming
incremental development into subsidised social
housing typologies with a focus on the resultant
public realm and later private investment. Ulimately
the study informed a core underpinning noion that
would deine the resultant project as a balance
between public and private investment and the
43
element of ime. This had ofered the potenial
for insituing change into setlement building and
brings the post-apartheid city into a new era.
In order to achieve this vision the project criically
analysed Belhar and the ideniied precinct to
deine a method of implementaion. A mulifaceted
project took form, as the applicaion of the new
typologies had not been enough. An integrated
approach uilised varied techniques to guide future
development while a spaial planning component
focused on two primary pillars, namely civic life and
economic acivity. This was planned for in a manner
that could be feasibly realised through phased
development and later private investment with an
emphasis on establishing a livable city with thriving
communiies.
A inal core principle to the project was that it was
not a means to an end of apartheid planning but a
step in the right direcion proposing that during and
ater implementaion the plan ought to be revised.
This gives the ability for coninued development that
would lead to the maturity of the morphology and
ulimately an urban realm. The obvious need for this
form of development is reinforced by contemporary
planning theorists, for example Watson and Peiterse
focus on the failure of planning, post-Apartheid.
In concluding the project has engaged in the needs
of the Belhar community establishing a viable
beter future however goes above beyond this to
emphasise a need for a paradigm shit in planning
in South Africa.
44
Bibliogrphy
Books, Documents & Websites
Figures
-2011 Census Suburb Belhar. (2014).
1st ed. [ebook] Stats SA. Available
at:
htp://www.capetown.gov.za/en/
stats/2011CensusSuburbs/2011_Census_
CT_Suburb_Belhar_Proile.pdf [Accessed 8
Mar. 2014].
1. Document Cover: produced by Michael de
-City of Cape Town Zoning Regulaions.
(2012). 1st ed. [ebook] Cape Town: City of
Cape Town. Available at: htps://www.capetown.gov.za/en/Planningportal/Documents/LUM_ENGLISH%2018%20November%202013%20smart%20small%20ile.pdf
[Accessed 12 Apr. 2014].
4. Extract from Spaial development Framework for the city of Cape Town: produced by
-Shmidt, R. and Van Steenbrugge, S. (2014).
CAMPUS AND THE CITY Belhar, mapping
and re-imagining a Cape Flats space. 1st
ed. [ebook] Cape Town: Department of Architecture and Planning UWC. Available
at: htps://www.academia.edu/5446242/
Campus_and_the_City._Belhar_mapping_
and_re-imagining_a_Cape_Flats_space [Accessed 8 Mar. 2014].
-Tilman, H. (1998). Housing Generator. 1st
ed. NAi Publishers
-Tygerberg District Plan. (2009). 1st ed.
[ebook] Cape Town: City of Cape Town.
Available at: htp://www.capetown.gov.za/
en/sdf/Documents/Tygerberg_Executive_
Summary_s.pdf [Accessed 8 Mar. 2014].
-Urban Design Policy for the City of Cape
Town. (2013). 1st ed. [ebook] Cape Town:
City of Cape Town. Available at: htps://
www.capetown.gov.za/en/Planningportal/
Documents/Urban%20Design%20Policy.pdf
[Accessed 14 Mar. 2014].
-Westerncape.gov.za, (2014). Subsidies and
Assistance | Western Cape Government.
[online] Available at: htp://www.westerncape.gov.za/directories/services/852 [Accessed 11 May. 2014].
-Moughin. C (1999) Urban design method
and techniques. Reed Elsevier plc group
Beer the Author of the document
2. Planning process: Moughin. C (1999) Urban
design method and techniques. Reed Elsevier plc
group
3. Analysis & Context Cover: produced by Michael de Beer the Author of the document
Michael de Beer the Author of the document
5. Extract from Spaial development Framework for the city of Cape Town, focus on Belhar: produced by Michael de Beer the Author of
the document
6. Development of Belhar: Shmidt, R. and Van
Steenbrugge, S. (2014). CAMPUS AND THE CITY
Belhar, mapping and re-imagining a Cape Flats
space. (edited by Author )
7. Belhar 1 by Roelof Uyetenbogaardt:
Shmidt, R. and Van Steenbrugge, S. (2014). CAMPUS AND THE CITY Belhar, mapping and re-imagining a Cape Flats space.
8. Lost space: produced by Michael de Beer the
Author of the document
9. Analysis of Belhar: produced by Michael de
Beer the Author of the document
10. Cover Typologies: produced by Michael de
Beer the Author of the document
11. Subsidies & Typologies: produced by Michael de Beer the Author of the document
12. Secion of proposed typologies situated
in Belhar: produced by Michael de Beer the Author of the document
13. Meduim density ine grain incremental
growth: produced by Michael de Beer the Author of the document
14. Meduim density ine grain the public
realm: produced by Michael de Beer the Author
of the document
15. Plan of city block illustraing the lots system: produced by Michael de Beer the Author
of the document
16. Meduim density course grain scenario 1
incremental growth: produced by Michael de
Beer the Author of the document
17. Meduim density course grain scenario 2
incremental growth: produced by Michael de
Beer the Author of the document
18. Meduim density course grain scenario 3
incremental growth: produced by Michael de
Beer the Author of the document
45
Figures continued
19. High Density four storey walk-ups illustaing incremental growth: produced by Michael de Beer the Author of the document
20. High Density four storey walk-ups perspecive: produced by Michael de Beer the Author of the document
21.Nolly Map: sourced from piet de Beer archive, edited by Michael de Beer
22. Incremetal growth of the city block:
produced by Michael de Beer the Author of the
document
23. Urban Framework, condiions to consider: Urban Design Policy for the City of Cape
Town. (2013) pg. 14
24. Facade perspecive: Urban Design Policy
for the City of Cape Town. (2013) pg. 12
25. Heritage: Urban Design Policy for the City of
Cape Town. (2013) pg. 16
26. Secion of street which ofers an ideal layout:
Urban Design Policy for the City of Cape Town.
(2013) pg. 14
27. A collecive core; morphology and proposed access routes intersecions: produced
by Michael de Beer the Author of the document
28. Conceptual sketch the collecive core:
produced by Michael de Beer the Author of the
document
29. Conceptual Layout of the intervenion:
produced by Michael de Beer the Author of the
document
30. Refernce image for locaion: produced by
Michael de Beer the Author of the document
31. Intervenion: produced by Michael de Beer
the Author of the document
32. incremental growth of the suburb intervenion broken into three phases: produced
by Michael de Beer the Author of the document
33. Industrial development serving as a ‘savings bank’ , illustraing the ability for change
to occur when demand exists : produced by
Michael de Beer the Author of the document
34. Incremetal growth of suburb third and
‘inal stage’: produced by Michael de Beer the
Author of the document
46
47
Michael De Beer