Abstract
This paper investigates the diversification of housing development in South Africa as a means to promote socio-economic integration in urban human settlements. The need to encourage the establishment and improvement of diversified housing developments in urban areas has been widely recognised as an appropriate measure to ensure that people from different social and economic groups share the same neighbourhoods. In South Africa, socio-economic diversity in towns and cities was introduced in the early 19th century as an attempt to put people from different backgrounds in one place in order to address the inequalities which existed as a result of the past settlement planning system. Furthermore, the strategy was meant to limit the degree of isolation that the poor are faced with due to the past urban planning in order to maintain community stability, social bond and cohesion within human settlements. Theoretically, the paper argues that socio-economic diversity of housing developments have the ability to promote economic integration, social cohesion and community stability in urban human settlements. The pragmatic effects of housing development diversity can be realised through measures such as densification, mixing of different building structures that accommodates people from different backgrounds and equal accessibility to infrastructure, amenities and services, among others. The paper concludes that socio-spatial diversity within urban housing developments can be used as strategy to bring together people from different social and economic backgrounds in order to address inequalities that are associated with segregation. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n25p44
Highlights
IntroductionIn reaction to the continuous challenges posed by the past social and spatial segregation in current towns and cities, there has been an increasing call for greater socio-spatial integration and mix in housing developments and neighbourhoods in recent years (Ge & Hokao, 2006; Jacobs & Appleyard, 2007; Putnam, 2007; Talen, 2008; Denisova, Eller, Frye & Zhuravskaya, 2012; Sharma, 2012; Gądecki, 2014)
What would it mean to say our neighbourhoods and housing developments are socio-economically diverse? Or on what do people base statements that there is a lack of integration within housing developments or within neighbourhoods? It is against this background that this paper theoretically investigates the effects of diversification of housing developments in South Africa as a means to promote socio-economic integration in urban human settlements
This paper explained the planning and design principles of diversity through spatial interventions in order to provide an understanding of how it can be used for socio-economic integration in towns and cities
Summary
In reaction to the continuous challenges posed by the past social and spatial segregation in current towns and cities, there has been an increasing call for greater socio-spatial integration and mix in housing developments and neighbourhoods in recent years (Ge & Hokao, 2006; Jacobs & Appleyard, 2007; Putnam, 2007; Talen, 2008; Denisova, Eller, Frye & Zhuravskaya, 2012; Sharma, 2012; Gądecki, 2014). Good quality of the environment, which is realised through planning and design, supports various economic, social and cultural activities within a society (Ge & Hokao, 2006; Bailey et al, 2006; Adhvaryu, 2010) Certain resources such as human, financial and natural resources, among others, are needed to achieve the desired state of our urban environment which is meant to promote diversity. The purpose of the two approaches is to ensure that development is people-driven and democratic, and, to ensure that there is synergy between man-made and ecological systems, respectively (CSIR, 2002) In this context, according to the CSIR (2002), planning and design must ensure that human settlements use resources efficiently and effectively at all times in order to achieve sustainability, diversity and integration. The physical principles, characteristics, interventions and requirements of social and economic diversity within urban housing developments include liveable streets and neighbourhoods; density of residential developments and intensity of land use; and, public spaces that are defined by the built environment and are discussed in the sections to follow
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