Chester Mashaba : 672482. Constitutional Hill.

Locality Map

Introduction

 In this page i will be analyzing one of the public space in Braamfontein namely Constitution Hill. Constitution Hill is a city precinct, anchored by the South African Constitutional Court – the highest court in the country on constitutional matters.It is also the site of Johannesburg’s notorious Old Fort Prison Complex,where thousands of ordinary people were brutally punished before the dawn of democracy.

History of the site 

Constitution Hill Precinct in Braamfontein Johannesburg has a very complex history going back to 1892 when the Old Fort was built under the Zuid Afrikaanse Republiek. Functioning as a prison, except for the brief period of the South African War (1899-1902) when it was a military defence post, new buildings were added to the site in the late 1900s and early 20th Century: the so-called Natives’ section and isolation cells known as Sections Four and Five where black male prisoners were held, a Women’s Prison (1907), and an Awaiting Trial building (1920s). The prison complex of the Fort has impacted deeply on hundreds of thousands of ordinary South Africans lives as it was essentially a transitory prison where prisoners were held until they were sentenced before being transferred to serve their prison terms elsewhere

One of the aspects which gives this site its distinctive unique layout is the existence of public art which displays some of the activities which took place previously in the precinct.I will also argue that this precinct serves as both tourism destination and a landmark since Kevin Lynch describes landmarks external physical objects that can be used as point of reference.

Some of the exhibitions and museums you can engage with at Constitution Hill include the following:

The Number Four.

The journey to Number Four, the dark heart of Constitution Hill, deepens the visitor's understanding of what it means to be placed at the bottom of the racial hierarchy and how the apartheid system made criminals of black men. Prisoners such as Mahatma Ghandi, Robert Sobukwe, Nelson Mandela and the Students of the 1976 uprising know this prison all too well.

The Old Fort

 

 Built in 1893, this is one of Johannesburg's oldest buildings and was used as a fortress by Paul Kruger during the Anglo Boer War. This was a prison for white male prisoners, with Nelson Mandela being the only black prisoner to be held in this "whites only" prison.

The Women's Jail

The grace of this Victorian-style building belies the pain and suffering that occurred within. This is the place where the likes of Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, Albertina Sisulu, Fatima Meer and many other political activists were held.

Constitutional Court

South Africa's highest court, the guardian of the basic human rights and freedom that so many imprisoned here had fought for and won, also houses a collection of artworks by eminent South Africa artists. A tour through the court gives a visitor a chance to experience a real court case from the visitor decks.
In addition to the guided tours, Constitution Hill also offers a range of meeting, banqueting, conferencing venues, and locations for film shoots. A full calendar of public programmes, temporary and permanent exhibitions bring the site to life and enables the public to connect with the activities of the Constitutional Court.

References 

http://www.constitutionhill.org.za/what'sup@ConHill

 

Shaheil Rajkumaar 670978 - Badplaas, Mpumalanga (Holiday Destination))

 

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Badplaas offers an excellent variety of facilities. One of the most popular holiday destinations, with walks, horse riding, game viewing, super tubes, hot mineral pools, roller-skating, bowls, play parks and river rides.

Award winning Forever Resorts Badplaas has a superb Hydro Spa set in a game reserve in warm Mpumalanga. The Resort has 37 hotel rooms but is primarily self-catering with almost 150 log cabins and chalets.

A wide range of leisure activities is available and the resort has a restaurant and bar facilities; supermarket; kiosk; curio shop; liquor store and more.

Explore the 1 500 hectare Emanzana Nature Reserve accompanied by one of our rangers with a game drive, walks, horseback rides, sundowners or a bush braai. The reserve is also a bird-watchers paradise with ±300 species of birds.

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Facilities
* Supermarket
* Restaurant
* Hydro Spa & Treatments
* Coffee Shop
* Curio Shop
* Liquor Store
* Butchery
* Chemist
* BP Filling Station & Shop
* Hotel Dining Room & Bar
* Chip & Putt Bar
* Kiosk
* Laundromats
* Auto Teller Machines
* Garage
* Car Wash

Activities
Facilities and leisure activities include:
* Swimming pools - 2 x heated + 1 x baby pool and 1 x cold
* Supertube pool
* Rinkhals (tube rapids) pool
* Go-carts
* Guided quad bike tours in game reserve
* Paintball
* TV and Video arcade
* Pool tables
* Roller-skating
* Rinkhals (tube rapids)
* Super tube
* Foefie Slide
* Four Wheelers for children un 10 yrs
* Playparks for children  

 

Jabulile Mahlangu 548835: Jorrissen Street: A Livable Street?

figure 1: locality

Introduction

The public space that I will be analyzing is a street known as Jorrissen Street. Jorrissen Street is located in Braamfontein which is a central suburb of Johannesburg in South Africa. The street boasts variety and diversity in users and uses where its majorly offices or residential on top and businesses at the bottom (figure
2). There is also high volumes of traffic,both vehicular and pedestrians particularly during peak hours. This is due to the many intersections that the street has with other streets as well as the through traffic that passes through the street. The variety of uses is what brings the high volumes of pedestrians to the street.

figure 2: Mixed land-Use existing on Jorrissen Street

In a few of the academic readings related to planning principles the notion of public spaces tends to be romanticized. For example according to Appleyard (1980) streets should be redefined as sanctuaries, livable places, communities, resident territory, place for play, greenery and local history. Of course ideally this is how one would like a street to be however in some cases that is just not possible. According to Francis (1987) a livable street is the movement that recognizes the street environment as a important element to the social life of cities. I pose this question. Is Jorrissen Street a livable street?

Jorrissen Street has become a symbol of student life in an urban area. One of the problems/threats harming the livability of of the street is the pedestrian and vehicular traffic which brings noise pollution to the street (figure 3). According to Appleyard (1980) traffic takes away direct involvement of residents to the street. This makes the street a unpleasant environment for residents to spend time on.

figure 3: High volumes of pedestrian and vehicular traffic

One gets the feeling that vehicles take priory on the street. This is because the main function of most streets in Braamfontein before its renewal was office space. Therefore pedestrians use was never a priority or catered for hence you find that the side-walks are not proportional to the pedestrian traffic. It becomes a uncomfortable,if not frighting experience walking along the congested side-walks of Jorrissen street. In addition certain users such as people in wheel-chairs and bike riders are excluded from using the street. However such negative aspects have not hindered the vibrancy of the street because Jorrissen Street performs important functions for those who live on it.

The street is narrow,a one way and robots are located at each intersection. All these elements play a role in slowing down the traffic movement on the street hence making it a less threatening experience for pedestrians using the street.

The variety of shops is the main pull that keeps the street so continually active.The fact that shops that have the same function are located around the same area makes the street legible.These business become places to bump into friends, share news and obtaining whatever necessary good they want to purchase. Street lights are provided to enhance the perception of safety on the street; and because businesses such as bars, McDonalds and KFC -which are located on the street-operate till late hours;there is human activity even at night.According to Jacobs (1961) "eyes on the street" enhances the levels of safety/security for users because generally people feel more safe when they see other people in a public environment. 

figure 4: Variety of businesses bring vibrancy and life to Jorrissen Street.

The street is well maintained which attracts more users. Benches are provided for pedestrians to keep them on the street. Trees have been implemented to improve the ecology of the street. The trees not only provide shade but are also a means of making the street more aesthetically pleasing. There is also public art on the street that give it more character but that can also serve as a landmark enhancing the legibility of the street Lynch (1960).

 figure 5: Aspects that add character to the street.
 

   As one can see there are many layers to Jorrissen street but is it a livable street?In my opinion the high volumes of vehicular traffic will always be a hindering factor to the livability of the street making it difficult for residents to want to live there.However is the street being recognized as an environment where social interaction can take place?By looking at all the elements found on the street- that you would not find in any other streets in Braamfontein- I would say yes it is. So the answer to whether this street is a livable street or not is that depending on a individual it could be a yes or a no.

References: Appleyard, D. (1980) Livable Streets, Protected Neighbourhoods, Annals of American Academy of Political and Social Science.
  Francis, M. (1987) The making of Democratic Streets, in Moudon, A. (1987) Public Streets for Public Use, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York.
Lynch, K. (1960) The Image of the Environment and The City Image and Its Elements from The Image of the City in Larice, M and Macdonald, E. (2007) The Urban Design Reader. Routledge, London.
Jacobs, J. (1961) The Death and Life of Great American Cities. New York: Vintage
http://www.goole.com/images/jorrissenstreetbraamfontein

PATIENCE BOSAKA: WITS AMPHITHEATRE AS A SOCIAL PRECINCT

 

Figure 1: The university of witwatersrand's east campus district(After google earth)


INTRODUCTION
I will be analyzing the use and function of the Amphitheatre, situated in the east campus(also known as the main campus) district of wits which is enclosed broadly by the major edges M1, Jorissen street, and Jan smuts ave.When one observes figure1 it is seen that the amphitheatre is the focal point located in the center(heart) of the district,this does not only feed vitality to the adjecent precints it also acts as a central point of relaxation and entertainment for students.Bomgardner (2000) defines an Amphitheatre as an oval or round designed open space, having seats gradually  rising outwards. It is used as a social precinct where activities such as performances and entertainment take place. The wits Amphitheatre is of importance to me because it is a space that i observe everyday of my schooling days and i also use it for relaxation and watching promotions, i will further discuss the success of the wits amphithetre and how this space is influenced and influences student life on campus.

Wits amphitheatre serves as an opening of a continous green belt that starts from the greathall stairs until the wits swimming pool(see locality map), the green belf creates a soft space and a focal area from the hard spaces of the surrounding educational precincts, it is a social node where students gather during lunch time for a variety of reasons. The matrix retail node feeds vitality to this social node such that, students buy their lunch from the matrix and sit and eat at the amphitheatre. I consider this space functional and significant to the east campus district because, it is also used as a platform for external campanies and organizations to host promotions and awereness programs to the Wits students. The continuity of trees provide adequate shelter on the paths of the amphitheatre which encourage pedestrian movement along the path during hot days, the surrounding dust bins also promotes a clean environment. However the weakness in the design of the amphitheatre is that, the tress along its  path are not big enough to provide shade on the sitting area and this results to fewer people sitting on the amphitheatre during hot days, hence people cluster outside the matrix where they can find shelter (see figure2).Another source of vitality to the function of the amphitheatre is the Wits swimming pool,it brings a sense of refreshing environment to its surronding and people use the amphitheatre to sit and observe the swimming sport.


REFERENCE LIST
Bomgardner, G.L. (2000) The story of the roman Amphitreatre, Routledge, Tylor and francis group,p(32).
http:\\www.google earth.com\jorrisen street

Edwin Ndlovu 682603: POTHOLES OR FISHING SPOTS

                                                       Downtown CBD of Johannesburg
The Johannesburg CBD is one of the busiest and dirtiest area in the entire Joburg municipality. The visible aspects of poor maintenance is the amount of potholes found in the city streets. The street width shows that it was built along time ago, and evidence of this is the buildings surrounding the streets(Jacobs, A). the curbs help the taxi stay on the road and not on the pavement where people usually commute. Maintenance according to Jacobs shows that streets are not taken care of due to high level of taxi's and cars, causing the potholes to occur(Jacobs, A)

References
1)Jacobs, A. (1985) Looking at cities. (Chapter 3 Clues). Harvard University Press

DIEPKLOOK PARK (zintathu mazamane)

DIEPKLOOF PARK situated in Soweto before you reach Bara taxi rank is my favourite place in Joburg and it makes me relax and feel free because of the exposure and there is a lot of space to move around. The park is divided into three sections. On the first section there is a big screen television where people can watch the soccer games together as a society. This then reminds me of what Cullen classify as the PLACE. When one enters in the three different spheres, the spirit and emotions change because of the environment they are in and when you go to the next section of the park, the atmosphere changes again because of the different environment from the previous one.
The second part has games where children can play and where parents sit and watch their children play, some people use the sport to have their picnics and enjoy each others company. What i like about this park is the view and because the topography is at an incline and differs in all three sections, it allows one to observe and enjoy the different views of the place.

link between pathways

socialising and watching children

 I feel that the park makes children feel safe because there are security guards, many people using the park as path or a link into different pathways, the trees surrounding the park and the houses are facing to the park, all of those make the Diepkloof park a safer place compared to the other parks I know.The cars move slowly when they reach there and the are speed humps as well.