Browsing by Author "Van Eeden, Amanda"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    The application of an Urban Sprawl Index : comparing towns and cities in the Western Cape Province, South Africa
    (CONSAS, 2018) Horn, Anele; Van Eeden, Amanda
    The incidence and effects of urban sprawl have been the subject of a great many academic research mainly as a result of the challenges posed by continued urbanisation, especially in developing countries (see inter alia Jenks, Kozak and Takkanon 2008; Mander, Brebbia and Tiezzi 2006; Jenks and Burgess 2000; and Soja 2000). South Africa witnessed a proliferation of legislation and spatial policies to limit urban sprawl and contain the physical expansion and development of urban areas during the last two decades in response to exponential post-apartheid urbanization. In 2005, the Provincial Spatial Development Framework of the Western Cape Province, South Africa stated that “an Urban Edge shall be drawn around all villages, towns and cities in the province with the primary function to contain outward growth of urban settlements” (City of Cape Town, 2009) and in parallel the Provincial Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning published the Western Cape Urban Edge Guideline document assisting all municipalities in the province to delineate urban edges to be included in municipal Spatial Development Frameworks (SDF) thereby illustrating intent on maintaining urban footprints that are compact and limit developments that could be considered urban sprawl. Subsequently municipal urban edges have been delineated and are presently reflected in most municipal Spatial Development Frameworks in the province. This paper presents an Urban Sprawl Index as a tool to comparatively analyse the extent of urban sprawl between cities and towns of different sizes, making use of cadastre, land use and population data over time. The Urban Sprawl Index (USI) for the Western Cape put forward by this research will enable the comparative measurement of the extent of urban sprawl proportionately between the Metropolitan and local municipalities in the province and thereby aid in understanding the impact of planning instruments such as urban edges in the context of development dynamics and pressures experienced by individual cities.
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    Are the walls giving way to fences? Is racial integration within Kwadukuza municipality leading to income-based class segregation?
    (CONSAS, 2017-10) Singh, Vishanth; Van Eeden, Amanda
    The racial and development imbalances created by apartheid have made a profound impact on the urban and social landscape in South Africa. Despite it being 20 years into the dawn of a new South Africa, many parts of society are still bearing the brunt of the harsh impacts of apartheid. The first democratic elections in 1994 heralded a new era of hope and optimism for a better life in a racially integrated country. However 20 years into democracy, it is essential to monitor changes in integration. Literature suggests that, in the absence of legally enforced segregation as with apartheid, society will segregate itself on class or other factors. The purpose of this study is to measure whether the changes in racial integration are leading to class-based segregation in KwaDukuza, South Africa. The Neighbourhood Diversity Index was used to investigate how the racial patterns changed over the years and a Geographic Weighted Regression (GWR) model was used to determine if there is a relationship between racial integration and income that could explain transference from racial to classed-based segregation. The study found that low levels of racial integration have taken place but certain areas of the municipality have become increasingly segregated. The GWR model found a positive relationship between income and racial segregation in certain areas. This study further highlights that politicians, decision makers, and town and social planners face a long and socially demanding challenge in redressing past imbalances and promoting integration by breaking down the current trend of class-based segregation.
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    Identifying the challenges of creating an optimal dissemination geography for census
    (CONSAS Conference, 2015-02) Verhoef, Helene; Van Eeden, Amanda
    The importance of census data in government and private-sector planning cannot be underestimated. However, the geographic level at which it is made available for different users, is a highly debateable issue. It is crucial that census data is disseminated in such a way that it satisfies most user needs as far as possible, to ensure that there is optimum use of the information and that maximum value for money is provided. In the past, Statistics South Africa disseminated data at the same geographic level created for data collection. This causes problems for data users and calls for the creation of a separate output geography rather than using the original collection geography. The research was done on two levels: first, an overview of output geographies, as well as examples of developed and successfully used tools to generate these areas within a geographical information system. Some of these could be used in the South African milieu. Secondly the paper discuss aspects such as the population size variation of EAs, in order to inform the criteria for the creation of the ideal small area (SA) layer to satisfy the majority of user needs. Lastly the paper describes briefly the challenges faced to create the 2011 output geography. The results indicate a strong resemblance between the two EA population size patterns of 2001 and 2011, influenced by the EA demarcation rules. The challenges identified in the process of creating the SAL as a census output geography need to be taken into consideration to enable a more useful and user-friendly output.
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    Spatial variation in school performance, a local analysis of socio-economic factors in Cape Town
    (CONSAS Conference, 2014) Naidoo, Arulsivanathan Ganas Varadappa; Van Eeden, Amanda; Munch, Zahn
    Poor pass rates of matric learners at secondary schools in South Africa has been a concern for quite some time. Despite large government spending on education, research has shown that the South African schooling system is struggling to convert resources to student performances and failing to promote social equity. The poor performance by South African students prompts further investigation into the factors contributing to educational outputs. The focus of this case study in Cape Town is twofold, firstly to determine if there are any spatial patterns among the matric pass rates of secondary schools and secondly to determine if there are any relationships between the matric pass rate of the school and the socio-economic attributes of the school feeder areas. Key findings of this research suggest that Cape Town schools are clustered in terms of school performance with high performing schools grouped together and many low performing schools also clustered together. There were a few exceptions where within a cluster of low performing schools there was one high performing school and vice versa. Outcomes of the research into spatially varying relationships point to selected socio-economic factors of the community, particularly parent and household characteristics, influencing the learner’s school performance.