Abstract
Africa has experienced the fastest urban growth rate in the last 20 years and is currently the continent with the highest urbanisation rate in the world – estimates indicate the urbanisation of approximately 1,3 billion inhabitants by 2050 (Cornelius, Viviers, Cilliers and Niesing 2017:1; Cobbinah, Erdiaw-Kwasie and Amoateng 2015:62; Jung and Threlfall 2017:14). Cilliers and Cilliers (2016:22) construe that South Africa is facing similar challenges where settlements are increasingly established in ecologically sensitive areas, directly ascribed to limited space for urban expansion. However, a cadre of specialists are of the opinion that the design principles of green urbanism may be applied in achieving a balance between these urban and natural functions; especially through nature-based solutions (Samora-Arvela, Ferrão, Ferreira, Panagopoulos and Vaz 2017:178; Girling and Kellett 2005:19; Mansor, Said and Mohamad 2012:258). The article ensuingly examines the potential implementation of green fabrics and green networks, as determinants of green urbanism, with an emphasis on derelict South African (SA) settlements. The article aims to investigate the daily challenges these settlements encounter in determining whether green fabrics and green networks could be implemented in derelict SA settlements, as a possible solution to intercept the continuous degradation of the natural environment, and ultimately improve the residents’ quality of life.
A case study research approach with a qualitative research design (Jacobs and Cornelius 2022:111) is employed, firstly allowing for an extensive literature review to comprehend the current environmental realities of derelict SA settlements and secondly, to identify the rationale for and principles of green fabrics and green networks (Almalki 2016:291). The overarching objective of the literature review is to employ an open coding process (Creswell 2014:247–50; Cohen, Manion and Morrison 2018:644, 673) whilst analysing the literature, ultimately deriving themes deemed inherent to green fabrics and green networks. This process involves the funnelling of literature codes into indicators of green fabrics and green networks and then, with the assistance of a follow-up coding process (Berends and Johnston 2005:373), into themes for incorporation into an assessment matrix. The matrix is established for the purpose of cross-tabulation and correlation with the purposefully selected case studies (Cohen, Manion and Morrison 2018:679). This approach allows the researcher to correlate the selected case studies with the selected indicators and subsequent themes of green fabrics and green networks (Yin 2018:224). Following the multiple case study assessment, recommendations are made that may well be conducive towards the implementation of green fabrics and green networks in derelict SA settlements.
The literature study finds that derelict SA settlements became prominent after the apartheid regime due to the segregation of different racial groups, where non-whites were deliberately forced to live in disadvantaged locations (Goodness and Anderson 2013:468; Israel 2018:42; Stull, Bell and Ncwadi 2016:370). These locations were characterised by sub-standard housing, basic services and limited infrastructure, as well as little to no natural resources for sustainable consumption (Christiansen 2013:226; Mokotjomela and Nombewu 2019:4; Stull, Bell and Ncwadi 2016:370). While an increase in derelict SA settlements was experienced during the post-apartheid era due to an accelerated urban influx of formerly disadvantaged residents who migrated to urban areas in search of employment opportunities, authorities struggled to stay abreast with intercepting the demands for better living conditions (Beinart 2012:13; Dinkelman 2015:1906; Govender, Barnes and Pieper 2011:336; Graven 2013:1040). This resulted in residents inhabiting derelict settlements. Since this phenomenon is still ongoing, the rate of expanding derelict settlements is expected to increase rapidly in the foreseeable future (Castells-Quintana and Royuela 2015:293). Regrettably, the natural environment is threatened by the relentless pace of settlement expansion, demanding intervention to promote human well-being and to safeguard the natural environment through appropriate urban and natural functions (Cilliers and Cilliers 2016:22; Leonard 2013:17).
The results of the literature review suggest that the implementation of both new urbanism and green urbanism urban design approaches is important to integrate urban and natural functions (Dovey 2012:356; Girling and Kellett 2005:14; Mansor, Said and Mohamad 2012:258). Effective integration of urban and natural functions may be attained through the implementation of green fabrics and green networks, as they are deemed determinants of new urbanism and green urbanism. Both these design approaches strive towards the promotion of human well-being and the promotion of the natural environment (Dovey 2012:356; Girling and Kellett 2005:14; Mansor, Said and Mohamad 2012:258). This dualistic promotion may be achieved through the successful integration of green fabrics and green networks, where the term “fabrics” refers to spaces that are distributed between “networks”, or spatial corridors, connecting these “fabrics” (Ceccato 2011:6; Fusco and Araldi 2018:1314). The aim is, therefore, to integrate the natural environment and natural functions, with their associated grey components comprising urban functions and human well-being (Ernstson, Barthel, Andersson and Borgström 2010:1; Samora-Arvela, Ferrão, Ferreira, Panagopoulos and Vaz 2017:178). “Green” refers to natural functions and “grey” to urban functions (Viana, Strano, Bordin and Barthelemy 2013:6). Traditional land uses (for example residential, commercial and industrial) are characterised as grey fabrics and streets as grey networks (Steiner and Butler 2007:153). Public open spaces and vegetation, on the other hand, are classified as green fabrics and the natural corridors (for example streams and rivers) as green networks (Mansor, Said and Mohamad 2012:258). It is important to perceive that “fabrics” and “networks” in nuances of green and grey do not function separately in attaining the simultaneous promotion of human well-being and the natural environment within settlements (Girling and Kellett 2005:19). Girling and Kellet (2005:19) also emphasise that one component of the “fabrics” and “networks” of green and grey may not dominate the other and that successful integration of green fabrics and green networks is reliant on the harmonious implementation and functioning between the various elements. It is argued that all four of these elements are necessary for the successful integration of urban and natural functions to protect the natural environment (Girling and Kellett 2005:19).
Urban planners are, as part of a team of multi-disciplinary experts, inter alia responsible for the development of strategies to implement these four elements of green fabrics, green networks, grey fabrics and grey networks and therefore play an important role in the protection and promotion of human well-being and the natural environment (De la Barrera, Reyes-Paecke and Banzhaf 2016:217; Ng, Chen, Wang and Yuan 2012:256; Zhibin, Haifeng, Xingyuan, Dan and Xingyang 2015:98). Consequently, urban planners have the opportunity to consider both human and natural interests as equals and accordingly focus equivalently on both in the creation of a harmonious future for humanity and nature on, as Luger and Barnes (2015:119) states, the only known habitable planet in the universe.
As alluded to, a process of coding was employed in the preceding literature study with the aim to identify and extract indicators of green fabrics and green networks. These indicators were further organised and grouped into themes to determine possible interfaces of the indicators and themes of green fabrics and green networks with three selected case studies (Gog 2015:39; Maccallum, Babb and Curtis 2019:51), namely Kya Sands, Ruimsig and KwaMakhutha. The case studies were purposefully selected since they are considered to be derelict SA settlements in which efforts are currently being made to protect the natural environment. The selected indicators and themes were subsequently correlated with the case studies through cross-tabulation and the use of an assessment matrix to determine whether green fabrics and green networks may be applicable in derelict SA settlements. The nominated interfaces arising from the assessment matrix signify that the themes of green fabrics and green networks may well be implemented in derelict SA settlements since a significant majority of the indicators in the matrix display a correlation with the case studies. Kya Sands and KwaMakhutha both exhibited a high overall correlation of more than 70%, indicating that green fabrics and green networks may well be implemented effectively in derelict SA settlements. Ruimsig, conversely, displayed an overall correlation of 57,14%, denoting that the indicators and themes of green fabrics and green networks have not yet been implemented efficiently here. The study ultimately finds that, although the prepared assessment matrix is not necessarily exhaustive, it may already contribute as an emerging tool that, in its development stage, may be employed by urban planners to address and intercept the increasing deterioration of the natural environment in derelict SA settlements.
Keywords: derelict South African settlements; green fabrics; green networks; green urbanism; nature-based solutions; natural environment; natural functions; urban functions
- This article’s featured image was created by OpenClipart-Vectors and obtained from Pixabay.