Kathryn Ewing | University of Cape Town (original) (raw)

Papers by Kathryn Ewing

The Journal of Public Space, 2022

To understand the concept of public space within the African context, we need to unpack the terms... more To understand the concept of public space within the African context, we need to unpack the terms 'public' and 'space'. Public space can't be seen in isolation from the action that takes place within the urban space, the everyday culture that influences public life. The opportunity lies in reviewing the idea of public space from a conventional meaning into one of understanding the fractions of space as co-produced, negotiated, and occupied places in constant change, driven by a continual process and not a desired end-product. In some instances, the fractional space is connected and creates a mesh or network of social infrastructure; in others, the spaces remain individual and active. The short essay offers a series of photo stories to reveal the concept of fractional urban space. The images illustrate a switch in foreground concepts versus the background realities and actions in urban spaces experienced in fragile neighbourhoods in Cape Town, South Africa. Four spatial frames are interpreted. Firstly, fractional space is described. Secondly, a space of practice remarks on a strategic, and transformative project as a lesson for incremental area-based development. Thirdly, a space of exchange, reveals the social function and production of space within an extraordinary and overlapping micro-space of the city. Fourthly, a space of learning, reframes a critical pedagogy of engaged teaching and learning beyond the academy, co-designed and situated in a 'real' public space project. The images offer reflections of fractional urban space in context.

Urban form in African cities is dynamic, unpredictable and in constant flux. Urban morphology rem... more Urban form in African cities is dynamic, unpredictable and in constant flux. Urban morphology remains mostly undocumented in Southern Africa as an emerging region. Current processes of informal land occupation, changing suburbia and incremental settlement transformation patterns present fragile, yet interesting morphological characteristics that are worthy of interpretation. How are we understanding, representing, and anticipating changing southern urban form and what is the value-add of understanding urban morphology in Southern Africa? In the absence of any formalised network of ISUF in Southern Africa, there is the potential to make a meaningful contribution to urban morphology and its associated processes and agents. Three case study perspectives from practice, research and teaching are explained to understand urban form in South Africa, as follows: 1). community-led data collection on urban form and social practice based on evidence from experiences in Cape Town townships; 2). area-based partnerships based on examples from informal settlement upgrading in Khayelitsha; and 3). deliberate and engaged teaching and learning currently taking place in the urban design programme at the University of Cape Town. Urban morphological approaches in the global south must be multi-scalar, relevant, valuable, and most importantly, affordable. This requires stripping out of irrelevant principles and techniques and focusing on low-cost, low maintenance and sustainable AI and labour-intensive of understanding the changing city. The future development of African cities needs to take a significant stand on the role of socioeconomic realities, political action, local agency, and their relationships with urban form.

˜The œJournal of public space, Dec 31, 2022

The majority of urban poor households strive for a secure, sufficient and decent livelihood that ... more The majority of urban poor households strive for a secure, sufficient and decent livelihood that they have reason to value. The utmost priority for an urban poor family is to ensure physical and social well-being in a push towards poverty reduction. Taking the basic social unit of the 'household' as the strategic point of departure, this research reviews two key complex, yet interrelated variables of the land-housing debate: Firstly, the perceptions and implications of household security, centring on the meaning of security of the territorial base of the family; and Secondly, the momentum it gives to spatial occupation, household consolidation processes, use of space and development of the home and the home-based enterprise. The objective of this thesis is to readdress the term 'security' in the context of contemporary Southern Africa. The focus moves away from broader macro-level investigation of land reform, but addresses the spatial, urban household security ...

The housing debate is by no means a novel phenomenon. Low-income housing and informal settlements... more The housing debate is by no means a novel phenomenon. Low-income housing and informal settlements have been hotly debated in the past four decades on international ground [1]. However, the urgency of the basic need for shelter and the plight of the urban poor cannot be ignored in the current inadequate housing response, continual overcrowding and growing number of informal settlements in Cape Town, South Africa. This paper seeks to present an Urban Design Framework (UDF) for Joe Slovo, one of the N2 Housing Gateway Projects. The argument examines appropriate design responses for low-income housing. Housing is not seen in isolation from the complex layers of urban society [2], but rather as an integral component to the totality of settlement. A key concern is that housing cannot be considered in isolation of other fundamental urban imperatives, including land, capital, financial resources, technology, transport, communication systems, people and energy. Access to these vital resource...

Dramatic and devastating spatial, economic and social change occurred in Zimbabwe during the wint... more Dramatic and devastating spatial, economic and social change occurred in Zimbabwe during the winter months of 2005. Evictions which were activated by the Zimbabwean Government to carry out “Operation Murambatsvina” 1 have resulted in the authoritarian system destroying, torching and dismantling the homes of the urban poor living and working in poverty stricken urban areas 2 . Two adjacent settlements that were victims of the evictions are Hatcliffe Extension Holding Camp and Hatcliffe New Stands, located on the northern periphery of Harare. These two settlements each had a unique and powerful spatial identity in their relatively short existence. This paper explains the power of the emergence of habitable sustainable environments built by the people in comparison to the destructive implications of undemocratic social engineering. My focus centres on the occupation of space and consolidation processes at settlement scale in Hatcliffe New Stands before the evictions took place. This pa...

South African cities, particularly Cape Town, experience rapid urban growth on the periphery. The... more South African cities, particularly Cape Town, experience rapid urban growth on the periphery. The result is often one of insecure living conditions in low-income expanding informal settlements, coupled with high crime rates and poor service delivery at the margins. Less attention is given to the space in-between buildings or the public space, ensuing left-over, dangerous urban spaces in these areas. The case study expands on experimental learning and examples from the Violence Prevention through Urban Upgrading (VPUU) programme reviewing the co-creation, activation and monitoring of [in]formal public space through smart learning networks. A methodology for socially activated, safe public spaces based on the VPUU Urban Design Guidelines forms the framework for design, maintenance, information and communication technology for development (through the CitySpec/CheckIT app), and intervention with community, government and stakeholders. This chapter describes VPUU’s approach to discovery...

Shelter for the urban poor is often viewed in isolation from the valuable public assets that cons... more Shelter for the urban poor is often viewed in isolation from the valuable public assets that constitute an urban public environment. In low-income housing areas the primary spatial structure should consist of positive public spaces, green systems, transportation networks with emphasis on non-motorised transport, community amenities and human-scale local interventions for informal and formal economic and social activities, where there is potential for mixed-use opportunities. Core gathering points and public spaces promote and reflect the democratic city and often form the social and economic heart of many communities. However, projects related to the public realm and associated facilities are often the first to be eroded from the public budget programme. Within a 10 year period of South African democracy the Government has delivered 1.6 million houses nationally based predominantly on the one-house, one-plot scenario [1 & 2]. The authoritarian emphasis on housing has been related to...

... The quality of public space is inclusive of edges, paths, landmarks, platforms, pedestrian zo... more ... The quality of public space is inclusive of edges, paths, landmarks, platforms, pedestrian zones, trees and landscaping, community gathering points and facilities as positive public ... Development parcels and plots: The desired housing typologies, mixed use possibilities ...

... Most of the people are former Churu Farm squatters.” It is noted that there were no certifica... more ... Most of the people are former Churu Farm squatters.” It is noted that there were no certificates provided to the people, but they were verbally 'allocated' stand numbers. ... Development as Freedom. Oxford: Oxford University Press. [3] Friedmann John & Douglas Michael (Eds ...

Making urban spaces and places for all ... Second Economy Strategy: Addressing Inequality and Eco... more Making urban spaces and places for all ... Second Economy Strategy: Addressing Inequality and Economic Marginalisation ... An initiative of the Presidency, hosted by TIPS ... 2. A position on the Second Economy and what this means for city making .................................................... ...

The Journal of Public Space, 2022

To understand the concept of public space within the African context, we need to unpack the terms... more To understand the concept of public space within the African context, we need to unpack the terms 'public' and 'space'. Public space can't be seen in isolation from the action that takes place within the urban space, the everyday culture that influences public life. The opportunity lies in reviewing the idea of public space from a conventional meaning into one of understanding the fractions of space as co-produced, negotiated, and occupied places in constant change, driven by a continual process and not a desired end-product. In some instances, the fractional space is connected and creates a mesh or network of social infrastructure; in others, the spaces remain individual and active. The short essay offers a series of photo stories to reveal the concept of fractional urban space. The images illustrate a switch in foreground concepts versus the background realities and actions in urban spaces experienced in fragile neighbourhoods in Cape Town, South Africa. Four spatial frames are interpreted. Firstly, fractional space is described. Secondly, a space of practice remarks on a strategic, and transformative project as a lesson for incremental area-based development. Thirdly, a space of exchange, reveals the social function and production of space within an extraordinary and overlapping micro-space of the city. Fourthly, a space of learning, reframes a critical pedagogy of engaged teaching and learning beyond the academy, co-designed and situated in a 'real' public space project. The images offer reflections of fractional urban space in context.

Urban form in African cities is dynamic, unpredictable and in constant flux. Urban morphology rem... more Urban form in African cities is dynamic, unpredictable and in constant flux. Urban morphology remains mostly undocumented in Southern Africa as an emerging region. Current processes of informal land occupation, changing suburbia and incremental settlement transformation patterns present fragile, yet interesting morphological characteristics that are worthy of interpretation. How are we understanding, representing, and anticipating changing southern urban form and what is the value-add of understanding urban morphology in Southern Africa? In the absence of any formalised network of ISUF in Southern Africa, there is the potential to make a meaningful contribution to urban morphology and its associated processes and agents. Three case study perspectives from practice, research and teaching are explained to understand urban form in South Africa, as follows: 1). community-led data collection on urban form and social practice based on evidence from experiences in Cape Town townships; 2). area-based partnerships based on examples from informal settlement upgrading in Khayelitsha; and 3). deliberate and engaged teaching and learning currently taking place in the urban design programme at the University of Cape Town. Urban morphological approaches in the global south must be multi-scalar, relevant, valuable, and most importantly, affordable. This requires stripping out of irrelevant principles and techniques and focusing on low-cost, low maintenance and sustainable AI and labour-intensive of understanding the changing city. The future development of African cities needs to take a significant stand on the role of socioeconomic realities, political action, local agency, and their relationships with urban form.

˜The œJournal of public space, Dec 31, 2022

The majority of urban poor households strive for a secure, sufficient and decent livelihood that ... more The majority of urban poor households strive for a secure, sufficient and decent livelihood that they have reason to value. The utmost priority for an urban poor family is to ensure physical and social well-being in a push towards poverty reduction. Taking the basic social unit of the 'household' as the strategic point of departure, this research reviews two key complex, yet interrelated variables of the land-housing debate: Firstly, the perceptions and implications of household security, centring on the meaning of security of the territorial base of the family; and Secondly, the momentum it gives to spatial occupation, household consolidation processes, use of space and development of the home and the home-based enterprise. The objective of this thesis is to readdress the term 'security' in the context of contemporary Southern Africa. The focus moves away from broader macro-level investigation of land reform, but addresses the spatial, urban household security ...

The housing debate is by no means a novel phenomenon. Low-income housing and informal settlements... more The housing debate is by no means a novel phenomenon. Low-income housing and informal settlements have been hotly debated in the past four decades on international ground [1]. However, the urgency of the basic need for shelter and the plight of the urban poor cannot be ignored in the current inadequate housing response, continual overcrowding and growing number of informal settlements in Cape Town, South Africa. This paper seeks to present an Urban Design Framework (UDF) for Joe Slovo, one of the N2 Housing Gateway Projects. The argument examines appropriate design responses for low-income housing. Housing is not seen in isolation from the complex layers of urban society [2], but rather as an integral component to the totality of settlement. A key concern is that housing cannot be considered in isolation of other fundamental urban imperatives, including land, capital, financial resources, technology, transport, communication systems, people and energy. Access to these vital resource...

Dramatic and devastating spatial, economic and social change occurred in Zimbabwe during the wint... more Dramatic and devastating spatial, economic and social change occurred in Zimbabwe during the winter months of 2005. Evictions which were activated by the Zimbabwean Government to carry out “Operation Murambatsvina” 1 have resulted in the authoritarian system destroying, torching and dismantling the homes of the urban poor living and working in poverty stricken urban areas 2 . Two adjacent settlements that were victims of the evictions are Hatcliffe Extension Holding Camp and Hatcliffe New Stands, located on the northern periphery of Harare. These two settlements each had a unique and powerful spatial identity in their relatively short existence. This paper explains the power of the emergence of habitable sustainable environments built by the people in comparison to the destructive implications of undemocratic social engineering. My focus centres on the occupation of space and consolidation processes at settlement scale in Hatcliffe New Stands before the evictions took place. This pa...

South African cities, particularly Cape Town, experience rapid urban growth on the periphery. The... more South African cities, particularly Cape Town, experience rapid urban growth on the periphery. The result is often one of insecure living conditions in low-income expanding informal settlements, coupled with high crime rates and poor service delivery at the margins. Less attention is given to the space in-between buildings or the public space, ensuing left-over, dangerous urban spaces in these areas. The case study expands on experimental learning and examples from the Violence Prevention through Urban Upgrading (VPUU) programme reviewing the co-creation, activation and monitoring of [in]formal public space through smart learning networks. A methodology for socially activated, safe public spaces based on the VPUU Urban Design Guidelines forms the framework for design, maintenance, information and communication technology for development (through the CitySpec/CheckIT app), and intervention with community, government and stakeholders. This chapter describes VPUU’s approach to discovery...

Shelter for the urban poor is often viewed in isolation from the valuable public assets that cons... more Shelter for the urban poor is often viewed in isolation from the valuable public assets that constitute an urban public environment. In low-income housing areas the primary spatial structure should consist of positive public spaces, green systems, transportation networks with emphasis on non-motorised transport, community amenities and human-scale local interventions for informal and formal economic and social activities, where there is potential for mixed-use opportunities. Core gathering points and public spaces promote and reflect the democratic city and often form the social and economic heart of many communities. However, projects related to the public realm and associated facilities are often the first to be eroded from the public budget programme. Within a 10 year period of South African democracy the Government has delivered 1.6 million houses nationally based predominantly on the one-house, one-plot scenario [1 & 2]. The authoritarian emphasis on housing has been related to...

... The quality of public space is inclusive of edges, paths, landmarks, platforms, pedestrian zo... more ... The quality of public space is inclusive of edges, paths, landmarks, platforms, pedestrian zones, trees and landscaping, community gathering points and facilities as positive public ... Development parcels and plots: The desired housing typologies, mixed use possibilities ...

... Most of the people are former Churu Farm squatters.” It is noted that there were no certifica... more ... Most of the people are former Churu Farm squatters.” It is noted that there were no certificates provided to the people, but they were verbally 'allocated' stand numbers. ... Development as Freedom. Oxford: Oxford University Press. [3] Friedmann John & Douglas Michael (Eds ...

Making urban spaces and places for all ... Second Economy Strategy: Addressing Inequality and Eco... more Making urban spaces and places for all ... Second Economy Strategy: Addressing Inequality and Economic Marginalisation ... An initiative of the Presidency, hosted by TIPS ... 2. A position on the Second Economy and what this means for city making .................................................... ...