Back to where it all began …? Reflections on injecting the (spiritual) ethos of the Early Town Planning Movement into Planning, Planners and Plans in post-1994 South Africa

Mark Oranje

doi:10.4102/hts.v70i3.2781

Abstract

Recent developments in South Africa in the field of planning, the domain of plans, and the world of planners, would suggest that planning and plans are viewed in a positive light, the local planning profession is in good shape, and these instruments and actors can play a meaningful role in the development and transformation of the country. In this article, these assumptions were explored through the lens of the attributes and convictions that gave birth to and drove the early ‘town planning movement’ in the industrial cities of North America and Western Europe. A key theme in this analysis was the role played in the early town planning movement by compassion, passion and care for progressive change, and the conviction that it was possible to do so through the application of reason, technical ability and ingenuity. Based on this analysis, the argument was put forward that, while planning, plans and planners in South Africa could potentially play a crucial part in the crafting of a different country, a number of crucial changes would need to be made. The challenges associated with effecting these changes were subsequently explored, and the article concluded with a proposal for doing so by tapping into the metaphors as deployed, and the drive and passion as displayed by those in the early town planning movement.

Highlights

Over the last few years, a series of highly publicised long-term development plans were adopted, the long-awaited national Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act was passed, and job advertisements for planners and calls for proposals for planning-related work have increasingly tended to include registration with the South African Council for Planners as a requirement
It could be assumed that planning and plans are held in high regard, the planning profession is in good shape, and planning and plans are viewed as vehicles for ‘bringing about a better future’ for the country
It could be likened to a ‘secular religion’ displaying both Catholic elements in its recognition of sin and the need for remorse and repair, and Protestant virtues in its approach to taking responsibility for failure and for ‘setting things right’. This spirited, creative and reason-fuelled singularity would over time lead to the creation of a distinct area of work (‘urban/town planning’) with as its workshop and place of focus the cities of late nineteenth and early twentieth century North America and Western Europe (Cullingworth 2006; Culpin 1913; Hall 2002; Jack 1912; Robinson 1911; Ward 2004)

Summary

Introduction

Over the last few years, a series of highly publicised long-term development plans were adopted, the long-awaited national Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act was passed, and job advertisements for planners and calls for proposals for planning-related work have increasingly tended to include registration with the South African Council for Planners as a requirement (see City of Tshwane 2013; Gauteng Provincial Government 2014; National Planning Commission 2012; Republic of South Africa 2013). This spirited, creative and reason-fuelled singularity would over time lead to the creation of a distinct area of work (‘urban/town planning’) with as its workshop and place of focus the cities of late nineteenth and early twentieth century North America and Western Europe (Cullingworth 2006; Culpin 1913; Hall 2002; Jack 1912; Robinson 1911; Ward 2004).

Results

Conclusion