Urban Space Interpreters

Wednesday, 4 April 2012

LINDIWE GUGUSHE: PRIVATE BUT FUN!!!

The space i have chosen is a fun spot for South Point residents, where braais, parties and picnics are held. It is located within the Clifton residence which is part of the South Point Residence Company. Clifton is located along the De Korte street, Johannesburg.

There are three main words to describe this space: PRIVATE, ENCLOSED and COMFORTABLE. What i like about this area is that it is private, therefore making it safer. According to Mark Francis private spaces are enclosed and seperated from other spaces and this creates some "social control which protects and guards the space from undiserable entries". Relating to this statement, the fun spot is enclosed as it is suituated within Clifton and outside like a public park. This enclosure forms a restriction of public movement into the area, that is only Clifton residents( and people who relate to them) can use the space. It is therefore not classified as an open space because it is not acccesible to everybody(Kevin Linch).

The high walls act as hard edges which automatically form an enclosure. The wide space available allows for easier movement and can accomodate many people. The colourful, round sitting areas, green patches and vegetation brings about comfort. The comfort of a place is defined by its vegetation and sitting areas, according to William Whyte, this is useful "for design and management."

Lerato Ratau: Home Is A Taxi Away( Noord Taxi Rank)

(http://www.googlemaps.com/)

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This space is one of the spaces that most people have to encounter when leaving Johannesburg to go to their designated areas/homes. Firstly I personally believe that this space is not safe at all, because it seems as though its an expected norm to hold your bags tighter and closer when in this space and a lot of incidents have happened whereby people got mugged and lost their possesions. Although often there is a gap between real and perceived crime that restricts a person's use of the public environment its better safe than sorry (Francise 1987). The taxi rank is also suppose to be an accessible public space but because of the hundreds of people there it is difficult to pass through from one destination to another. I would not classify this space as an open space because space is considered open only when it is publicly easily accessible ( Lynch 1960). Noord taxi rank is a very uncomfortable space because there are no adequate and seating spaces( Francise 1987) Everyone is on the move and no priviledge is given to the physically disabled or elderly.

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The rank is also not democratic at all the last time young girls wore mini skirts they were attached by the taxi drivers which resulted in women protesting in their miniskirts against harrassment by taxi drivers to women in miniskirts.

(lerato, 2012)

The maintenance and of the rank was unacceptable, there, is litter everywhere and in most cases space maitanace and the condition of a space can be misread and used to justify inappropriate actions(Jacobs A)

(http://www.googleimages.com/)

ZINTATHU MAZAMANE 677183
I would relate the space to Gordon Cullen's theory about OPTICS, PLACE and CONTENT. The view of of the city is spectacular when you are walking to town.The different heights, colour and texture(content) of buildings give your eye something to enjoy and the colour of the bridge kind of activate and bust your mood as well as different visuals to remember the place. Unlike when you have buildings of the same height and colour because then you have nothing interesting to remember the place with and there is completely nothing unique about that. The tightness of the pedestrians path may give one an uncomfortable feeling of insecurity because of the intense movement of people up and down in both directions.
The Mandela bridge is a pathway or a link between two routes and it can also be considered a landmark. Even though the bridge is named after an icon that provided safety and equality in our country, I feel the security is not guaranteed for the security guards do as they like and not their jobs.

Sunday, 1 April 2012

Joburg NightScape

The Cityscape: I think the concept is interesting to many urban planners because this is our realm, our 'laboratory' and understanding and improving it is our primary concern. The above image I took is a portion of the west from Braamfontein shows part of downtown Johannesburg and Newtown. The reason for the time of day being it is more intriguing at this time, it has a particular atmosphere which appeals to the viewer. As Cullen, G. notes in The Concise Townscape that to achieve a unique sense of wholeness is achieved through diversity upon a visual framework.Within this place there are individual elements and features that advocate a sense of visual diversity rather than conformity. In the background there changing building height and architectural style telling the view that though in close proximity the activities taking place might be different, this is clue for looking at the city (Jacobs: 1985, Looking at Cities). The void in the middle ground is the railway which is presents a hard metallic feel to this environment and shifts the colour perspective in the view from the bright lit areas. The railway is a very hard edge in Lynch's terms because they definitely demarcate one region from another.
The Mandela bridge plays a number of roles in this environment for the observer. From the point of view from of the moving person it signals the linkage of one district in the city to another, it is a landmark because it is a distinct physical object which means it is a point of reference for locals. The design of the bridge is very unique and a modern bridge. A walk over the bridge will introduce you to a number of views of parts of the city which is why the location is very articulate.The use of light on the bridge is is culturally significant-red, green, yellow and blue are all colours on the national flag. I like this space for the above mentioned reasons.