Browsing by Author "Mafame, Thendo"

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    Transit-oriented development (TOD) as a facilitator for urban development integration: case study: Du Toit train station precinct, Stellenbosch
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2017-03) Mafame, Thendo; Swilling, Mark; Krygsman, Stephanus; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. School of Public Leadership.
    ENGLISH SUMMARY : There is a need for academic research to focus on solving or contributing to solving real-world societal problems. Transdisciplinary research (TDR) provides a way to produce functional and applicable research findings, which can be used to advance developmental causes. This TDR study explores ways in which South Africa’s spatial divide, entrenched through decades of discriminatory planning policies, can be restructured to bring about equitable access to places of employment, business, leisure and service for previously marginalised South Africans. It does by exploring the potential of the transit-orientated development (TOD) model to restructure and revitalise urban spaces in a collaborative model. The study focuses, through a case study, on the Du Toit station precinct in the town of Stellenbosch, on the peri-urban edge of the city of Cape Town, South Africa. The TOD model is increasingly viewed as an effective strategy for creating sustainable urban redevelopment initiatives, and it has been deployed successfully in other parts of the world. The model, which emphasises development density, diversity of land-use and infrastructure and transformative design, is customisable to a variety of country contexts. The study aims to answer questions related to the extent that the diverse stakeholders with interests in the Du Toit station precinct (such as the municipality, researchers, business owners and community members) could collaborate and use TOD principles to redevelop the precinct; and could the redevelopment of the precinct using the TOD approach facilitate urban mobility and spatial development integration. The study explores the historical legislative framework that encouraged segregation, presents the correlations between public transport planning and land-use activities, and describes the steps taken to establish the Bird Street/Du Toit station precinct urban district infrastructure improvement forum. The forum hosted a series of collaborative discussions focused on a future vision for the precinct. These discussions combined with the findings of focus group discussions and one-on-one interviews formed the basis for the drafting of a long-term strategic plan for redeveloping the precinct. TDR principles were used to design a case study approach that used mixed methods to collect and analyse data. Various research methods were used, including the abovementioned focus group discussions and interviews, as well as observation, transect walks and three software programmes: QRS NVivo, Tableau and ArcGIS. The TDR approach enabled the emergence of a structured and practical approach to the setting up of the forum. The outcomes are categorised as correlational findings on the relationship between public transport and infrastructure development, explorative findings that outline a detailed approach to establishing a multi-stakeholder discussion forum, and descriptive findings that provide the rationale for choosing the Du Toit station precinct as a suitable site for TOD implementation. In addition, the research presented detailed insights as to the process of collaborative vision creation. Research findings were triangulated using the software programmes to increase the validity and reliability of the findings. This research contributes to the professional development of TDR studies that are focused on urbanisation issues.