Public Place-Making in Enkanini (MArch Thesis UCT)

8/7/2019 Public Place-Making in Enkanini (MArch Thesis UCT)

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Public Place making in enkanini a socio-sPatial

methodology for intervening on the informal


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submited in partial ullment o the reuirements or the degree o

MASTERS OF ARCHITECTURE (PROFESSIONAL)

Tiago Rocha Damasceno|DMSTIA001|MArch(PROF)2010|UCT


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awI ould lie to than all the residents o Enanini thatcontributed to m research b alloing me to understandtheir everda lives. I ould lie to than John, Beto,Charlie and Simphie or the support and time spent ith

this project.To our lecturers Jo Noero, Francis Carter, Alta Steenampand Nic Coeter a ver appreciated than ou or theirguidance and input.

I must also than the The Bareoot College and Eie Rosagor providing inspiration and support to this project.

Lastl I ould lie to than m amil or the support giventhroughout this ear, speciall m ather or moral andeconomic support.


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contents aw 3

introduction 7

theoretical framing 8

i 8

P w 9

IMPORTANCE OF THE INFORMAL 9THE FAILLURE OF MASTERPLANS 10ROLE OF THE ARCHITECT 12LIMITS OF DESIGN 13INTERVENING IN PUBLIC SPACE 15

methodology 16

t p 16

c i 17

app 18

s 19

BACkGROUND 19

My ENkANINI: ACTIVITy ON THE PUBLIC REALM 20

A: LHAzE THE CIRCLE 22VACCINATION PROCESS 23ECONOMICAL END OF THE PATHwAy 24LIFE AT THE CORNER 25NAMkOS NyAMA STAND 26FISSURE ON THE BOUNDARy 27

B: PATHwAyS 28SHABEEN PUBLIC SPACE 29CROSSING GqABI 30UNDIzE 31


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wHAT BECAME THE BRIDGE 32

C: OTHERS 33CONCRETE BOxES MAkE PLACE 34LIVING wITH(OUT) THE TOILETS 34GARBAGE-DUMPING PLACES 35THE NATURE RESERVE 36LIVING IN THE NEw zwE-zwE 37SIGqI 38THE COMMUNITy MEETINGS 39CRCHE 40DEFINING THE STATIONS PRECINCT 41

AT NIGHT 42

SUMMARy OF PERCEPTIONS 43

My ENkANINI: TECHNOLOGy ON THE PRIVATE REALM 46

HOUSE RATHER THAN A HOME IN ENkANINI 47

CASE STUDIES 481 STRUCTURE OF HOUSES 492 CLADDING TIMBER VS METAL 503 BASE EMBANkMENTS 514 INTERIOR FLOORS 525 ENTRANCE 526 NEwSPAPER IN GAPS 537 CEILING BOARDS 548 TwO LAyERS ON THE ROOF 559 HOLES ON THE ROOF 5610 PROTECTING THE ROOF 5711 FIRE HAzARDS 5812 BOUNDARy wALLS 5913 SAND CONTROL 6014 PRIVATE TOILETS 6115 wATER DRAIN 6216 ELECTRICITy 63

SUMMARy OF PERCEPTIONS 64

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methodology illustrated on: 68

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THE ExISTING 69SERVICES: TOILETS 69SERVICES: RUBBISH CONTAINERS 70SERVICES: STREET LIGHTS 70SERVICES: MOVEMENT ROUTES 71COMMUNITy GATHERING SPACES. 72INFORMAL BUS STOPS AND ROUTES 72


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THE HILL 73SIGqI AND THE STATION PRECINCT 74zwELITSHA 74DENSITy 75

PROPOSED INTERVENTIONS 76PHASE 1 76PHASE 2 77PHASE 3 77PHASE 4 77

PRINCIPLES FOR URBAN INTERVENTION 78

p 79

THE ExISTING 80

INTERVENTIONS 82STREET DEVELOPMENT CONCEPTS 82STREET SPATIAL CONDITIONS 84

APPLICATION FACILITIES 88

PRINCIPLES FOR PRECINCT INTERVENTION 90PARTICULAR TO THIS PRECINCT 90GENERAL PRECINCT PRINCIPLES 91

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ExISTING 93PATHwAy, SOCIAL SPACES, PRIVATE GARDENS AND LACk OFSERVICES 93INFORMAL BUS STOPS 98COMMUNITy GATHERING SPACE 102CRCHE 107

PROPOSALS 108STREETS, SOCIAL SPACES, PLOTS AND SERVICES 108BUS STOPS AND PUBLIC SqUARE 112COMMUNITy GATHERING PLACE 121COMMUNITy HALL 124

PRINCIPLES 128PARTICULAR PRINCIPLES 128

STREET IMPLEMENTATION 128BUS STOPS AND ITS PRECINCT 130COMMUNITy PLACE 132SPACE OF IMPORTANCE AS AN ExTENSION TO THECRCHE 133

GENERAL PRINCIPLES 134

conclusion 137

bp 138


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introduction

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introduction

Sstematic planning as oten assumed onl at thelevel o master plans inormed b estern assumptionsthat have little correspondence to realit. (Simone2002, 15)

Architectural and urban design projects implemented oninormal settlements tend to neglect the local eistingpatterns o living. As a result, these projects imposene social and spatial conditions that are otennot liberating to the communities that the serve.

As an alternative, this thesis proposes a methodologthat contrasts ith this approach, a process that aimsat understanding the socio-spatial conditions o aparticular area in order to inorm spatial intervention.

For this purpose, this thesis ill incorporate a stud o thegeneral conditions that dene Enanini, an inormal settlemento Cape Ton. Such conditions ill conseuentl inorm here, hoand hen one must implement interventions on this settlement.

The outcome o this thesis ill conseuentl not be the ormaldesign o a singular building; but rather a series o e conceptsthat ould guide strategic spatial intervention in Enanini.


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THEORETICALFRAMING_8

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theoretical framing

For a ver long time I have had an interest in theunderprivileged part o the societies that surround me.This interest has developed, through the ears that I havespent in the school o architecture, to be an interestin spatial character. I have been concerned about maingarchitecture that could reach the people that orm thispart o societ ith the intention o bettering their lives.

Through m studies, I have eperienced sstems that

believe in the poer o people to develop themselves.The most important o these eperiences ill be a periodthat I have spent in the Bareoot College, an Indiannongovernmental organiation that is based on the localnoledge o villagers and helps their sel-development.

The Bareoot Colleges approach is set in the belie that anrural development to occur in a successul and sustainablea must be oned and managed b its villagers. (Ro n.d.)Their aim is, thereore, to empoer the local noledge bspreading and developing it throughout the villages andtheir inhabitants. The college orms Bareoot Proessionalsin various areas through interchange o local noledge,not depending, this a, on urban oreign approaches. TheBareoot College has come to be an international eampleo this sel-empoerment philosoph o development.

From eperiences lie those and rom the education I havegathered in the school o architecture, I have developedan interest in the natural development o underprivilegedsocieties. This interest has particular relevance inthe contet o Cape Ton or this cit holds a largepercentage o its population in inormal settlements.The spatial character and ualities o these inormalsettlements ill be the object o stud o this thesis.

There is a tendenc to deal ith this issue b eradicatingan eisting sstem o living and b replacing it ithcomplete ne ones: rational, organied, planned. I ant,ith this thesis, to rest m ocus on understandingthe eisting ualities o these organic settlementsand studing as o creating development rom ithin.

Bareoot College Housing project - usersdesigned the houses themselves - b author


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THEORETICALFRAMING_9

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IMPORTANCE OF THE INFORMAL

The eistence o economic opportunities in bigger South Aricanurban settlements encourages people to immigrate to theseregions. when arriving in an urban region these oreignerssettle herever there is an opportunit to do so. These smallsettlements merge to orm a larger, inormal settlement.

Because the inormal settlements are developed naturall,ithout interventions o master plans, the have a

character that is someho dissimilar rom the morepredesigned areas o South Arican cities. This naturala o spatial developing I ill term as undesigned.

The undesigned areas o South Arican cities are spaceshere spatial control or rules are not codied. These areareas here the inormal development has created a senseo place dierent in man as to the one observed inormall designed areas. A development eercised on a da-b-da basis rather than a major plan design aimed atpredicting its groth is oten reerred to as organic.

Parallel to this idea is the concept o emergence theoriedb Nabeel Hamdi and created b scientists hich is described as

()the abilit to organie and become sophisticated,to move rom one ind o order to another higher levelo order(Hamdi 2004, vii).

An emergent societ ould then be one that evolves in a natural a.It is a societ that evolves ithout a prior planning, through aprocess o sel-organiation responding to need. (Hamdi 2004)

The undesigned settlements perorm a ver important rolein the econom o South Arican cities. These are theentrance points to the migrants that ant to be parto this much bigger econom. Migrants are seen here aspeople that are not originall rom the cit and mostreuentl come rom rural areas or oreign countries.

It is in these undesigned spaces that the rst economicalopportunities start to be created or the nel urbanisedpeople. Such opportunities rise eactl rom the actthat these settlements are not ormall and rationall

planed, the are rather developed in an organic ashoing the concept o emergence. The undesigned spaces,as ill be seen later, are a refection o the emergentsociets needs and solutions. These spaces incorporatereal problems but also reveal conseuent solutions.

As a result I deend the position that the emergent societas a condition o certain South Arican urban spacesshould be ept and not ought against. Attached to thisemergent societ is an undesigned space that refects theneeds and constructs o this societ. This space shouldbe built on, rather than eradicated eactl because itrefects the character o the resident emergent societ.

This position must not be associated ith the positionthat the inormal spaces are ideal and do not needinterventions. It rather sees this inormal conditionas an eisting one, a condition tpical o ne cities

and thereore part o the process o development o thecit itsel. It is a condition that is not ideal andthereore needs improvement in order to reduce the gapbeteen it and the condition o the adjacent ormal cit.

An undesigned cit - Esahan - Google Earth

It is in these undesigned spaces that the

frst economical opportunities start to be

created or the newly urbanised people

Diagram: inormal urban as opportunit area or nel urbanied people


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THEORETICALFRAMING_

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THE FAILLURE OF MASTERPLANS

It is argued that governments in post-colonial Arica tend to loo don on the emergent sstems thatare eistent in these undesigned spaces. The otenconsider such areas to be negative and ignore theirsocial and economical importance. (Simone 2002, 15)

Conseuentl, these same governments tr to melioratesuch areas b creating interventions that eradicate the

eisting patterns o living and impose master plans basedon estern assumptions. These assumptions are oten provednot to be in parallel ith the realit o the societtoards hich the intervention is aimed. (Simone 2002, 15)

Toda it is clear to hoever visits khaelitsha thathousing projects are being developed on a massive scale.These projects, olloing a political campaign to providehouses to everone, run b the national government,eempli, in m vie, the to points eplained above. Ban inormal observation this can be seen in the processo production o these houses hich runs as ollos:

Land is occupied as an inormal settlement (a natu-1.ral organiation alread eists)

Government taes a census o the number o people2.that need houses

People and built sstems are removed rom the area3.

A master plan is implemented4.

Government builds streets (orthogonal sstem), or-5.dering and dening in this a the individual plots; aterand seage pipes are also placed and eposed outside

The people get allocated to a plot, reuentl6.placed in a dierent location

People move in and build an inormal shelter; build7.a toilet around ater source

Government builds concrete toilet8.

Government builds house9.

It is proven, in the act o removing people and built sstems,that the government does not believe in the poer o theeisting social and economical orces. As a conseuence othis mistrust, the government ipes out the eisting sstemsin order to create a blan page. This act refects the lac otrust b the government in the people and their a o living.

On the other hand, the government imposes an orthogonalstreet plan, ith occasional Cul-de-Sacs, on the previouslcleared site. This happens ater erasing the eistentnaturall developed sstem o spatial orders. This is anintervention that borros the estern ideas o rationalurban design as opposed to using the eisting localstrategies. Thereore, the eample o the khaelitshahousing projects refects the position posed b Simone.

The gap that eists beteen the esternied rationalassumptions and the realit that those assumptions ailto meet, is seen as a potential ground or the ailureo such projects. Hence, this idea constitutes a critiueo the strategies o the South Arican governmentparticularl ith regards to the RDP housing projects.

It is important to avoid the imposition o predeterminedplans hen designing or emergent sstems. (Hindes and Osman2005, 59) B practicing these impositions in projects liegovernmental housing, the natural order o priorities thatis observed in undesigned spaces gets deormed. (Turnerand Fichter 1972, i) The priorities set b the natural

development o the societ are suddenl replaced b oreignpriorities hich do not respond to the needs o that societ.

Conseuentl, the users o the space ormalised lose thecontrol over their on environment. The product imposed inthese interventions becomes one ith material value onl.This astes and destros the original social charactero the delling societ. (Turner and Fichter 1972, vii)

The eradication o this social character is o an etreme costthat is more than just economic. These radical interventionsdestro the core o the civil societ, their value sstemand their natural construct. The bring the progress odevelopment bacards to an embronic phase. This proves tobe etremel costl in human social terms. (Lo 2008, 16)


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As such, alternative sstems have to be imagined. One o suchis a sstem that engages ith the emergent societ and buildsupon it. It is onl sensible and rational to build on thecollective isdom o people and organiations on the ground those ho thin locall and act locall (Hamdi 2004, viii).B upliting the eisting social and economical conditions,projects have better chances o success. It is about buildingupon the continuum o development rather than restarting it.This a o oring acilitates emergence and the conseuentdevelopment o a social structure. (Hamdi 2004, viii)

Parallel to this idea is the importance o vernaculararchitecture. The noledge provided b this orm o materialdevelopment is one that inorms the needs o the resident societ.The vernacular architecture is a collective statement, not anindividual one lie the housing projects are. (Leson 1990)

Departing rom these points o vie I propose thatinterventions in the inormal areas should acnoledgethe eisting conditions o the settlement and tr tolearn rom them in order to improve their condition.

interventions in the inormal areas

should acknowledge the existing conditions

o the settlement and try to learn rom

them in order to improve their condition

Diagram: architect concerned ith learning rom the inormal

process o housing deliver


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ROLE OF THE ARCHITECT

It is about building densel interconnected netors,crating linages beteen unliel partners and organi-ations, and maing plans ithout the usual preponder-ance o planning (Hamdi 2004, i).

The everda user o the undesigned space is the e orthe emerging societ. Individual contribution and need,hen added to that o others, mae the character o theemergent societ. what the everda user lacs, though, isthe capacit to see the lins beteen the individual andthe rest o the communit. Hamdi, in the passage above,is reerring to this abilit o seeing the detail roma broader perspective and argues that it should be taenorard as a tool to mae constructive interventions inemergent spaces. He proposes that interventions are ocusedon intensiing the relationships beteen the actors o thiscondition. Through his boo Small Change he translates theseideas into architecture terms b giving eamples that havedone this densication in a spatial manner. (Hamdi 2004)

Although his theor can onl occasionall be lined toarchitecture, the argument is more ocus on anthropological

and economical issues. Borroing rom Hamdis argument on anintervention inormed b an outside perspective I ill theorieanother position o the architect toards this condition:

Lets imagine each user o this undesigned space and hisspatial needs and contributions as a dot. Each contributionand need ill have dierent and similar characteristicsrom one another. Hoever, the all orm part o thesame emergent societ and thereore ill depend on eachother to develop. Conseuentl there is a netor ointerdependenc beteen the dierent spatial elements othis societ that is denser as more dots are added to it.The architect, hen introducing himsel to the euationbased on the principles presented b Hamdi, can have arole in the densication o these spatial netors. Theaptitude o the architect is to understand space criticallrom a broader perspective. He can understand and identithe positive and negative spatial characteristics o the

netor. In addition he can also provide alternatives thatcan promote (or not) the densication o the netors.

Conseuentl, the role o the architect in this case is toimagine spatial interventions that start reordering theeisting undesigned space. The reordering o the undesignedshould unuestionabl be a refection o a spatial andsocial analsis o the area. It must be a response tothe eisting problems and enhance eisting solutions. Theintervention ould be aimed at creating opportunities orthe development o the societ b providing spaces orsocial interchange. Thus, it ould be an inrastructureor social interpretation and conseuent emergence.

the role o the architect is to

imagine spatial interventions that startreordering the existing undesigned space

Diagram : individuals, theirnetors and architecturalintervention


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LIMITS OF DESIGN

At this point the uestion hat are, thereore, the limits odesign? arise. Ho much does one intervene to allo or theinormal to develop itsel? At hat point does the interventionstop being productive and starts being oppressive to emergence?

() that those ho have been trained to support andenhance such undamental human eorts as housing, edu-cation and health care have claimed possession o thoseactivities, orgetting that a basic human right is theright to do or ones sel hat one is uite able todo. (Turner and Fichter 1972, viii)

The passage introduces to this document a concept that isver important to the interventional approach o architecturetoards undesigned spaces. The notion o sel help is notseen here as an imposition or a dut toards the users othese spaces, it is rather seen as their right to determinetheir on development. Proessionals oten tend to stealthis right and impose their a o thining onto the usersliestle. (Turner and Fichter 1972, viii) This critiuecan, again, be applied to the Housing projects produced inSouth Arica b the government. Turner calls the activito housing a undamental human eort hich is clearl adierent perspective than the one o South Arican governmenti e loo at the eamples shon in the previous section.

Goete, in a critiue o the housing situation in United States,reers to a tendenc that eists orld-ide. This tendenc is to

do things or the have-nots rather than help-ing them construct their on sel development. (Goete1972, 53)

This essa is a comparison beteen to housing projectsin similar social and economical conditions but that hadcompletel dierent approaches and thereore dierentresults. The uote above summaries the dierence beteenthe to approaches. Goete deends, ith this essa, thepositive outcomes o a participator approach as a strategor sel development. He critiues the rst approach heredevelopment is planned and imposed b proessionals.(Goete 1972) In a sense it is much more constructiveto suppl the resources or development than it is to

provide the development itsel. A charit approach is notnecessaril positive to the construction o the societ.

On a lecture given in April 2009, in UCT, Forja saidthat the government o South Arica ased him or adviceabout the best strateg to deal ith inormal settlements.Forja responded to this uer b saing that hat shouldnot be done is the provision o government subsidiedhousing. (Forja, 2009) Forjas position is, also inparallel to Goetes one, that development should notbe given or ree, almost lie a charit action. Thedevelopment o the inormal should not be done b providingmaster plans, but b providing structure or development.

() development occurs in the minds and hearts oman or it does not occur at all. Housing roads, bridges,dams, are necessar but not sucient conditions. De-velopment ithout sel-help is an impossibilit. (Fath1976, )

Hassan Fath introduces another point to this discussion thatsupports hat has been said.His uote shos an understandingo the importance o structure given b architecture.Simultaneousl it stresses that this ill not be enough ithere is no engagement beteen this structure and the societ

it is meant to serve. As such it is essential the incorporationo the soul o the societ in a project because ithoutit, development ill not happen. (Fath 1976, ) In a sense,it is not possible or development to happen i the usersociet does not root itsel and tae the decision to maethat development. This is relevant because it puts the roleo development in the user and not in one single developer.

At the same time, it is essential not to all into theidea that architecture is irrelevant to development.The role o architecture, and o other sorts ointerventions, can be constructive toards the act osel-help and natural groth. The aim is not to penetratetoo much on planning the development o the emergence.

Diagram : structure or development

The development o the inormal should

not be done by providing master plans, but

by providing structure or development


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The graphic alongside claries this position theoreticall.The natural groth bar represents the sel-help developmento an emergent societ. Parallel to this is the bar thatshos the amount o intervention done b an outside orce,taen here as architectural design. The graphic shos threedierent amounts o intervention b an outside orce andtheir correspondent results o sel-help development. One cansee that there is a point here the combination o the to isconstructive (2). In this point one orce eeds the other in asmbiotic a and another opportunit is set or development.

This point becomes clearer hen reading Hamdis or.He compares the groth o inormal settlements to thedevelopment o simple cells into a large more sophisticatedorganiation. The cells, he uotes Danah zohar,

have no ull ed identit until the are in a re-lationship. () All o natures comple sstems are attheir most creative hen the are delicatel poised be-teen edness and unedness poised at the edge ochaos (Hamdi 2004, vii)

This dichotom beteen the ed and the uned is hatgives the balance to natures comple sstems in generaland to inormal societies in particular. There is a slightdierence though hen looing at the human developmentprocesses rather than natural biotic sstems. Human processesneed a structure that inorms occupation, the need a set ovalues that provides a binding orce beteen the dierentelements o the hole; (Hamdi 2004, vii,viii) the needhat I ould call culture. In a sense, there is a bindingorce that provides unit to the societ. This bindingorce is, at the same time, a set o limits or constraintsthat orce a certain direction to the development othe societ. The unction o design is to construct onthese sets o values and limits and provide opportunitiesor development ithout inhibiting personal reedom,ithout disabling the natural processes o emergence. Theaim is to nd a balance beteen the creativit o theemergence and the stabilit o design. (Hamdi 2004, viii)

This point is eemplied in a project that Hamdi describesin his boo Small Change. He tals about introducing a busstop in a communit. This intervention identies a placeand invites people to start engaging ith it. The stopgraduall starts having people that use it to ait ora bus. Conseuentl, inormal commerce starts happening

around the bus stop. This one space becomes an importantsite or communit development, it becomes the beacon atnight, it becomes the meeting spot, etc. Suddenl, onespace has a huge infuence on ho this societ lives the da.

when looing at local eamples one can learn rom a projectoccurred in Imiamo yethu, a tonship adjacent to HoutBa. Here, on the highest limit o the tonship, eistedsome taps that provided ater to the communit. The areaaround the taps as not ormalied at all alloing orrivers o used ater to run donhill into private areas.

A project as set up to intervene in this space in order to

upgrade it. The intervention intended to create opportunitiesor more unctions to happen in this space directl relatedto the alread eisting one o ater suppl. No the areaserves as a ater suppl, a ashing area, toilets andseating. with the placement o structure that alloedor these activities to happen, the residents o Imiamoyethu started to use the space. Soon this area became notonl used or ater related unctions but also or socialinterchange. The area became a place. On it the residentsmeet, sit, chat, firt and socialise. The intervention assubtle but simultaneousl important or the development othe social construct o the inhabitants o this settlement.

These interventions bring the discussion o limits odesign into a phsical solution. The intervention asminimal and concise taing the role o the designer and/ordeveloper and used the most o its potential. The projectprovided a service that as needed in the communit, and

ith it, a reinterpretation b this same communit. witha succinct intervention, the project provides ground orinhabitants to produce their on development. These areeamples o the provision o conditions that encourageemergence to tae place. As such, these conditionsbecome catalsts o development. (Hamdi 2004, 73)


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INTERVENING IN PUBLIC SPACE

This essa has ore grounded the notion that the architecthas an education to see the spatial characteristics andtheir netors rom a broader perspective than the usersperspective. The architect can also critiue the eistentconditions and propose solutions or an intended change.On the other hand, it has been said that interventions areto be minimal, concise and productive encouraging socialengagement and conseuent emergence. In a parallel, the

private realm is not to be invaded b the architect; controlo the private realm is rather a right that the user has.

As a result o the theoretical oundations o the paper,the architecture addressed ill be ocussed on the publicrealm. Architecture is seen here as a tool or socialengagement and development, a a o increasing the densito social and economic netors. Since these netors eistin the public realm, the architecture that is aimed attheir intensication must be practiced in the public realm.

Diagram : architecture must ocus on public realm

Architecture is a tool or social

engagement and development and thereore

must be practiced in the public realm.


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methodology

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methodology

t p

The set o ideas suggested above allo this paper to positionitsel through a belie that the inormal has the poer togenerate its on sel-development. It also shos that theaim o an intervention toards this condition is to enhancethe alread eisting sstem o development. Hence, thepaper theories ho to intervene onto tangible spaces. Itbecomes necessar to depart rom the theor and engage itha situation here the social orces have a phsical andmeasurable result in orm o space. There is a need to starta project here these ideas can be eplored in more phsicalterms, responding to real problems and eisting conditions.

what ollos is a methodolog developed to test these theorieson a more practical situation and to propose a dierentorm o aproach to design projects on inormal settlements.

The area chosen to appl this test as Enanini, an inormalsettlement o Cape Ton that has ver little ormal input.

The methodolog is intrinsicall related to eldor and to therelations made ith the local communit as part o the studo the area. This activit plas a major role at understandingho the communit ors on a dail basis and on having arelationship to the site in stud. with this approach one canunderstand general relevant acts o the histor o the areaas ell as specic places o importance to the communit.

Enanini ill be eplained through three laers that rangerom general to specic. First ill be a broad understandingo the histor and location o Enanini giving a sense o

methodolog diagram

its character as a hole. Then, there ill be a stud o thepublic areas o the settlement. This ill be a stud that isocused on particular sites but that eplains the spatialcharacter o public space in Enanini. The third ill be astud done on private technological practices seen in thearea. This stud ill inorm ho public space infuencesthe private realm rom a technological point o vie.

All these studies ill then be compiled into a series oconclusions that summarie the spatial conditions o thesettlement. These conclusions ill be an important startingpoint or the net phase o the methodolog. This subseuentphase is ocused on dening a general set o principles thatshould drive the planing o interventions or Enanini.

Picing up rom these principles begins the designphase. The designer has no a general understanding othe socio-spatial construct o the area. when ocusingon a particular site, though, the designer has to restartthe methodolog process b conducting a ocalised eldor. This a the methodolog process completes a ccle.

Hence, the aim o this methodolog is to stress thevalue o local inormation in guiding the decisionmaing process or design interventions on the inormal.Regardless, this methodolog still ollos the designapproach principles set above. These principles illbecome clearer on the design part o this document.


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methodology

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c i

It became essential to dene the guidelines o a programand to nd a site that ould respond to the theor soar developed. A set o pre-reuisites ere establishedin order to nd a suitable site and a set o conceptsere put orard to point the programs direction.

To eplore the concepts being put orard a design ouldhave to deal ith the inormal. The site, thereore, ould

have to contain a settlement o inormal character thathad developed ith minimal or no planned intervention.The rational structure o the site ould be slender orineistent being undermined b the organic structure othe settlement. The population should be dense and inconstant increase. Onl a site dominated b emergentorces and lacing the intervention o the government ouldsuit the point that this project is tring to achieve.

The program ould comprise a subtle (or a series o subtle)intervention aimed at a strategic need o the site. In thissense, research done on the site ould inorm the charactero the intervention to be used as a catalst or development.The project ould be aimed at the public realm and ouldaddress to the needs in terms o acilities and services.

These program guidelines ere dened in a conceptual manner notto have commitments just et toards the design o the project.

The net step ould be to nd the site that respondedto the parameters set above. Being a oreigner in thecountr, I had little noledge o the inormal situationin Cape Ton. I chose a personal a to achieve thisgoal and olloed the lins created b a group ocompatriots that lived in an inormal area. I reachedEnanini, a settlement placed at the end o khaelitsha.

Enanini became the appropriate site or this research. Itis a airl ne site hich implies that it is dominated binormal settlement and has ver little input b governmentalorces. Enanini has no electrical poer, no canaliedater or seage sstem. The aste collection sstem is eaand the public toilet situation constitutes a big problemithin the population. There is one main road Lhae -that crosses the area built beore the settlement started.The khaelitsha train line has recentl been etended until

Enanini. This, in itsel, provides an opportunit oremergence around the station precinct in particular andor the hole area in general. On the other hand, theraila line splits a pocet o the settlement out o themain area. The population eists in a densit that canaccommodate groth comortabl. At the same time it isenough to give anthropological support to occasional changes.

Enanini is situated in the urthest end o khaelitsha inrelation to Cape Ton and about 15 ilometres rom Somersetwest. It is edged on the North b the khaelitsha train line,on the East and South b the Baden Poell drive and on thewest b a settlement called kuasa. It is situated relativelclose to the beach, close enough or this to be part opeoples recreational activit. Currentl the train linethat lins khaelitsha to Cape Ton reaches Enanini. It isbelieved, though, that it ill be etended to Somerset west. Enanini, an inormal area ith no services or ormal input

Enaninis location - Cit o Cape Ton 1989

General concept o hatsite to choose

General concept o hatprogram to ollo


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app

what ill ollo ill be results o a research conducted inthe area o Enanini during the period o March, April andMa o 2010. The research involved various visits to the siteand numerous conversations ith the inhabitants o Enanini.

The research as carried out in an inormal a ith theintention o not interering ith the hopes and aspirationso the population. The intention as also, to tr to get themost natural and accurate response rom the people ratherthan getting a response that ould suit a government ocial.

The or eposed here ill come rom the notes taen onthese consecutive site visits and have no reerence toedited or unless it is eplicit. The inormation comes,thereore, rom the people and rom m analsis, as astudent o architecture, o the area. The document triesto be as true as possible to the realit but it illcontain a personal perspective and a creative favour.

sit and tal - inormal eld research doneb engaging ith the residents o Enanini


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s

BACkGROUND

It as 2004 hen the rst people decided to use Enanini asa destination or settlement. The area as virtuall virgin,the landscape as shaped b pathas created b decades ooccasional alers. The area as near inormal settlementsthat ere in the process o getting ormalised, Mahaa andkuasa. These became instantaneousl the inormants or

the patterns o settling. The closest corners to kuasaand Mahaa received the rst house plantations. Here,there ere more opportunities o development because itas an etension o the social and economical blanet thatcame rom these areas. The area uicl gre out o thesecentres using the original pathas as streets and buildingon the areas that ere still controlled b bush plants.

The land, some sa, as destined to be developed into industr

but the enhane settlers ere not going to give up theirnel acuired land. This character o stubbornness as hatgave the area its name, Enanini. The people ere coming romall over khaelitsha, some rom other parts o the countrand some even rom other countries. The ord as out that ane area had been discovered to have accessible settlement

opportunities. From amil member to amil member, romriend to riend, more and more people came and constructedtheir little houses. The government seems to have realisedthat this as happening, but it as too late. The ent aroundnocing houses don and grating xs on the alls o thenet houses to be noced don. But the people ould rebuildand rebuild and sho their communal poer to sta in an areathe chose to be because it as not being used thus ar.

Enanini gre bigger, denser and stronger ith a variet oreligions, cultural origins, languages and people. Despitethe reshness o this hbrid societ, the population stillregards themselves as the bottom o the chain. The levelo ormalit seems to be o etreme importance to the sel-esteem o the settlement and currentl this sel-esteem is

undervalued. The population o Enanini, similarl to therest o the tonships in Cape Ton, has developed a hierarcho settlements according to their level o ormalit. Thus,Cape Ton is the top, olloed b Cape Flats, Gugulethu andLanga, khaelitsha, Mahaa, kuasa and in the bottom o thelist Enanini. The inhabitants o this place eel unhapp orliving in an area dominated b inormalit and ait, ith greatepectation, or a housing project to illuminate their lives.

Hierarch o settlement seen in the dierence o scale o delling unit and organiing structure - images compared at the same scale

Role o kuasa and Mahaa in dening thedensit o Enanini

Private houses ith the gratied


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My ENkANINI: ACTIVITy ON THE PUBLIC REALM

what ollos represent the stud o the public space

o Enanini. Beore these are presented there is aneed to dene the general characteristics o the area.

The settlement o Enanini is bordered b to oldersettlements, kuasa on the west side and Mahaa on theNorth side. The South-East side is edged b Baden PoellDr and has nothing but unoccupied land beond that road.

Enanini is subdivided into ve neighbourhoods. Eachneighbourhood has an organied communit that dealsith the communal issues and that have dened thearea into the dierent suburbs as in this page.

As mentioned beore there has recentl been an etension othe khaelitsha raila line hich opened a station on thegrounds o Enanini. The Raila line itsel constitutes abarrier beteen Enanini and Mahaa or being edged itha concrete ence. On the other hand, the station has beendeveloped to accommodate a precinct. This, as ill be seen

later, constitutes an opportunit or development in the area.

The settlement has one main road that is o relevance as acorridor. Lhae is a structure that eisted in this area beoreit as called Enanini. No it is one o the busiest corridorso the settlement and ill be, thereore, object o this stud.

On the other hand Enanini is characterised b the eistenceo a netor o pathas. These, etended to accommodate thepassage o cars, constitute an important part o the publicspace because ever deller o this settlement uses it toreach their houses. Their organic shape and the orm that thedellers use it ill also be an object o stud in this paper.

The range o Public spaces eistent in Enanini could not beullled i onl studied through the as o movement. There area e other areas o relevance that ill be studied in order tobetter understand the ualities o the settlement as a hole.

As it as set out beore the intention o the project isocused on the public spaces. The research o the area illbe conseuentl a result o this decision. The documentcomprises the stud o to tpes o streetscape eistentin the settlement. It refects on the conditions eistenton each other and the contributions that the have ortheir inhabitants. The stud is taen in spatial termsbut enriched ith anthropological perspectives acuiredrom conversations ith the residents. The documentincludes also a stud on important public spaces and theircharacteristics and contribution or the social construct.

Borders o Enanini

Enanini neighbourhoods

Plan o movement routes in Enanini


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A: LHAzE

Lhae is a piece o tar road that has eisted in this areaor a long time as a lin rom the area o khaelitsha to

the Baden Poell Dr. when the settlers came to Enaninithe used the road has an inormant to construct theirhouses. The ept this space as public as it as beore,just changing the densit o people that delled around it.

Ater the settlement as established the walter SisuluRd, also coming rom khaelitsha, as etended to meetLhae, and conseuentl the R310. This happening made Lhaebe the onl lin to ever vehicular eit rom Enanini.

Noadas Lhae has a ver important economic andtransport unction or the societ o Enanini andthis ill be epressed through the stud that ollos.

Lhae the onl tared road in Enanini

points o stud in Lhae


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THE CIRCLE

Patrice used to live in Enanini. No hehas moved to the Location, in Site B. Hecame to Enanini on a visit and noticeda big change in the a things looed.

Patrices house as near the in thatthe main road does on the East side oEnanini. The area used to be dense

ith houses that managed to survivethe orces o the eviction. That inas lled ith neighbourhood storiesoten related to these struggles. Inact the road that dened that area oEnanini as not particularl imposingto the lives o its inhabitants, it asrather benecial. when the moved in,the road alread eisted, so it asseen as a limit to private propert.

Toda things seem to be dierent.Patrice is visiting that same cornerand does not even recognie it. Thehouses, hich ere his neighbours, havedisappeared to be substituted b an emptarea. walter Sisulu road got etendedand met the road he ne as main road

eactl on the corner here he used tolive. No this corner is a circle thatlins our sides o movement routes.

In a sense, Patrice thins, thishas a great deal o opportunit orthe residents here, having a roadthat allos or transport to reachEnanini can onl be a positive thing.

On the other hand Patrice elt ratherunsatised ith the sense o scale loston that urban project. The sie o thoseroads and circle became so big that thepeople rom one side are not even ableto coeist ith the other side. Thiscreated a separation that is itnessedb the denition o to dierent

areas, Chris Hani and La Benedilale.Patrice just remembers the das henall ere together ghting or the sameprinciples and eels that despite thepossibilities that this project brought,there are some negative aspects as ell.

Subdivided neighbourhoods + space dranbac on the side o walter Sisulo

circle as gatea to the eterior o Enanini

Patrices House Toda he does not even recognie it

Patrices House in 2006


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VACCINATION PROCESS

Toda is in Enanini.

Lisa is a public-health orer and is parto the ree vaccination program run b thegovernment. She is also rom khaelitsha but notEnanini. Toda, and or the ee the ill beappling vaccines to the children in this area.

Lisa has been doing this program or a hile

and has visited Enanini a e times. She nosthat Lhae is the one and onl road that crossesEnanini and thereore provides the lin beteenthis settlement and the rest o the orld. Shenos that Lhae is one place that the holeEnanini population nos and goes through ontheir dail basis. It is onl clear that theVaccination taes place in a point o this road.

what Lisa also nos is that the area hereLhae crosses walter Sisulu road the circle is here there is more densication o streetlie. She believes that it might be becauseo the proimit that this area has ith theneighbouring settlement, Mahaa. Mahaasprivate houses suppl electricit to someo the buildings in Enanini. The proimitto this settlement provides an opportunitthat is seldom in this area electricit.

Since the vaccination place has been decided,hat ollos is an advertisement campaign tolet people no that this is happening. Forthat Lisa organies ith the kuasa policeto drive a car ith a megaphone aroundEnanini hile she shouts out the inormation.

The da ill be split into to parts taing lunchas a brea beteen them. In the morning thearrive and loo or a spot to seat and perormtheir unction. This spot must be in shade andmust be able to accommodate a ueue that ill beormed b ids and mothers. Through the unlinearedge o the buildings that rame Lhae, Lisa andher colleague ound a spatial pocet big enoughto t a long ueue. Actuall the ound to, one

on each side o the road, right in ront o eachother. It sounded perect. In the morning theould set the unction on the east side o thestreet, here the shado as. In the aternoonthe ould move across the road to the est side.

Ever da or that ee Lisa set her table net to ahouse in the morning and to the Enanini Church inthe aternoon. Everone ne here the vaccinationas happening. The vaccinated close to 2000children proving the mission to be a success.

Diagram: unlinearcharacter o public

space in Lhae

to open spaces here lisadecided to do her vaccination

setch o shaded placehere vaccination occured

Figure Ground o Lhae


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ECONOMICAL END OF THE PATHwAy

He ound a nice spot.

Papa David used to or in Somerset west. Eventuall,lie in ever stor told in this area, his bossdidnt need him anmore. He became unemploed.

But Papa David is not one o those that dellin miser; he rather taes decisions and maesmoves. He decided to open a vegetable shopand he had alread the perect site or it:

Lhae, the main road, here the Chris Hanipatha joins, here there is alread somecommerce happening. Right in ront o the path,positioned lie a cit hall there is a shabeencalled Bus Corner. This one has a second foorconstruction net to it that identies the holecorner as an important one. Right net to itthere is a barber shop. This one has a dierenta o promoting itsel; it has a loud soundsstem that runs on electricit borroed romMahaa. On the other side o Davids availablesite there is the Somalis shop, popularplace because it sells virtuall everthing.

The competition might sound rough or some.Hoever, in this case it seems more lie itis providing a hub here commercial activithappens rather than being a negative aspect othe area. That might, actuall, be the reasonh Papa David chose this site. This cornermust be said to have great potential. It sitsin the end o a patha that is basicallthe higha o one o the neighbourhoods oEnanini - Chris Hani. Ever Chris Hani dellergoes through that corner to get to his house.

Vegetables it is! Everone eats vegetablesin Enanini! David gets his in khaelitsha,here the centre is. Comes bac and sellsthem or a slightl higher price. Butmabhujang, the pu-red-ni-nacs, is hathe sells the most. The ids love it!!! Sohen he introduced this product in his shop,it became populated ith oung children.

His business has a great infuence not just rom

the ids but also rom some oungsters andadults as ell. The shop to hich Papa Davidsone is attached, is a barber shop that has musicplaing constantl. There are lots o peoplethat just hang around on the outside o thatshop because it provides something that otherplaces do not provide, some entertainment.

The combination o all these actors providedPapa David to have his shop in a ver alive spot.His shop brings him a limited amount o income, butthe income it does bring is due to its location.

Sections shoing Lhaes spatialconditions in this particular corner

Plan shoing economic acilities inrelation to both Lhae and the patha

A perspective o Papa Davids shop


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LIFE AT THE CORNER

Bonga is in a tai coming rom Site B. He illarrive in Enanini in 5 min. He receives a callrom his school riend Mi. The are at the stopaiting or Bonga. Theve been there the hole dastanding b the corner here the patha joins Lhae.

when Bonga arrives Mi tells him about an attractiveoman that passed b, oooo!!! is all he replbac. Bonga leans bac against the all and spends

some time ith his riends looing at the passersband commenting here and there on their appearance.

Soon Mi has to leave. He has to get some meator his house. He crosses the patha and meetsSishle on the Nama stand. The alls are coveredith the soot rom the ood re , but it smellsgood. There are at least 6 people aiting or oodso the chat about common riends hile aiting.

when the meat is right Sishle leaves Mi and goes outto get some vegetables on the stand net door. Thepavement is lled ith vegetable buers. Once insideshe sees potatoes, tomatoes, onions hanging rom thealls. Ater picing up hat she needs she realiesthat she has no mone let. So she sees her uncleMpaa and ass him to help her ith the groceries.Mpaa has been a long time ithout visiting hisamil so he decides to go ith Sishle to her house.

when the al toards the patha leading to Sishlehouse the see Bonga. A uic hello and a sh ee-locing pass beteen the to. Sishle leaves thepatha corner and als bac home ith her uncle.

Bonga is happ to see her and runs ater Mi. Mihad crossed the road alread to bu some beeror his athers dinner. The shop sells a bit oeverthing, it resembles a minimaret. when Bongagets there he is still ehibiting his smile, hichleads Mi to deduct that he has seen Sishle. The busome cigarettes hile chatting about Sishle on theshop but uicl Bonga realies that he as late.

He had stopped on that corner ith the tai sothat he could pic up his little brother romthe crche on his a bac home. Mi goes ith

him to the crche, the cross the patha pic upkuhle. kuhle as plaing outside the toilets othe crche because his riend as hiding in them.His shoes ere lled ith sand rom the crchescourtard and had to be cleaned beore the alhome. The three o them aled on the patha,aa rom the intersection toards Bongas house.

Ater a e hours, the lie on that corner hadgraduall moved to the individual houses. Bonga hadbeen there on the busiest hal hour o the da. At thattime, the corner as a stage or social encountersand or economical activit. It as the place to be.

Bonga arrives

Bonga chat ith Mi

Sishle meets Bonga

Sishle als homeBonga meets Sishle inthe nama stand Sishle meets her uncle

Bongataes hisbrother

home

Bongaetches hisbrother atthe creche

Bonga meets Mi to tal about Sishle

12 3

4

5

6

7

8

1

2 3

4

5

6

78

Illustration o Lieat the Corner Stor


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NAMkOS NyAMA STAND

She is aling along the est side o Lhae. She justmoved to Enanini and is looing or a place to installher meat shop. Her name is Namo and, here she staedbeore, she used to sell meat on the side o the road.

The place must have a lot o people, and she is aarethat this might onl happen at rush hour hen theorers return home. It helps having the shop net toa tai or bus stop, but it is not strictl necessar.

As she als along the est side o Lhae, she identiesto dierent conditions on that part o the street.

One, that it is a predominantl residential area.The street is edged b to sides o dense buildingabric, the majorit being houses. There is verlittle room or a ne building there. Besides,there is alread a nama stand there, so itould not be a good idea to set up her shop here.

To, that this is here Lhae is not onl the mainroad but also one o the edges to an area calledSigi. As such, one o the sides o the road isdominated b private houses but the opposite side,here Sigi is, has little development. EdgingSigi are a e shops alread established. Thesehave varied unctions related to the opportunit oaccess to electrical poer borroed rom kuasa.

It seems to her lie a nice place to set up shop. There arealread other businesses here so she decides to ollothe trend and set base there. She builds her shac acingthe road and starts her business. As time progressesshe starts realiing h people had set up shop there.

Firstl, it as an empt area that no one anted tobuild on. The conditions o Sigi dene this area as aninappropriate area or residential construction hichlet the grounds unoccupied (read Sigi). Secondl,there is a lot o pedestrian movement that comes romMahaa and goes through that part o Lhae to reachtheir houses. The empt area near Sigi is the onlone ith enough space or shops to be built becausethe rest is occupied b residential development.

In contrast, this edge is non to be dangerousbeond the sun lit areas. Thieves tae theopportunit oered b the shaded areas providedb the shops and o the vastness o the area oSigi to operate here. It is most dangerous duringthe night and in the earl hours o the morning.

Because Namo onl receives her suppl ater 10 am, she isnot bothered ith this situation. Hoever, she is etracareul hen she leaves at night ater closing the shop.

Although the area is less densel built than mostplaces in Enanini, the shop does ell and Namo planson staing on this spot or a hile. She has alreadestablished her shop and has a regular clientele.

aerial o west side oLhae - Cit o Cape Ton

Section through Lhae on Sigi side

Section through Lhae residential side


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FISSURE ON THE BOUNDARy

It is hal past our in the aternoon.The school bell rang not so long ago. Thechildren have let the school and are ontheir a home no. The mae this momento the da a big part. On one hand, itsa moment o reedom and relie, and onthe other hand, its the last opportunitto be ith their riends or the da.

The al bac to Enanini is lled ithconversations and occasional groupjoes about their absent riends. InMahaas school the alls have ears,so the gossip happens on the a home.

As the arrive at the Gabi bridge, thegroup splits; some tae the loer routeand some tae the bridge. The bantercontinues even ith the participantsbeing at dierent height levels.

The ones on the bridge descend on the Enaniniside. As the tae the ramp to reach theirhouses, the see the ounger ids plaingthe sipping-the-rope game. The tpicalbulling happens on this cemented space andthe older bos carr on to their houses.

At the same time, on the other side, therest o the group is crossing the railaline. The get in through a gap on theence that as made b la students. Thecross the line aling on the alreaddened shortcut hile continuing thetal ith the group crossing the bridge.

As the leave the government propert, thend themselves in Lhae. A e meters romthis entrance is the intersection o oneo the Meninis pathas ith Lhae. Thecorner allos the group to stop and nalisetheir conversations ith the elements othis neighbourhood. Ater a hile the groupcontinues its journe bac home throughthe pavements and street corners o Lhae.

At this time o the da, this end oEnanini is lled ith lie, shouts, games,conversations. It is the gatea thatsmbolies home or the returned students.For the rest o the da, the area under thebridge has ver little value or its residents.

Montage shoing the patha that crosses the raila,the entrance in Lhae, and the ramp here ids pla

spping the rope - photo taen rom the bridge

abstract draing shoing the spaceso the process described in the stor


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B: PATHwAyS

Beore the people settled in Enanini, the area as designedb a series o pathas. The bush, that dominated the landscapeo the site, had been cleanedaled through creating, thisa inormal patterns on specic lines, created bthe ground.

when the people started constructing their houses in Enanini,one value seems to have prevailed, the value o preservingthose pathas and use them as inormants to their settlement.

As such, the pathas seen toda are the same as the ere20 ears ago. The dierence is that these are ide enough

no, to accommodate or car movement as ell as pedestrian.

The pathas are the onl urban structure o the area oEnanini ecepting Lhae road. These are the streets that denehere the houses are built, the are the onl access to thesehouses. Thereore, the pathas are lled ith an occupationthat is tpical o residential areas. The inhabitants usethe patha to reach their houses, but also to engage iththeir neighbours and orm part o the Enanini societ.

what ollos is a stud that represents thischaracter or the patha public space. It is aimedat shoing ho people use it and or hat purposes.

Some o the major pathas o Enanini

Patha points here studies ere carriedin this paper Enanini in 2010 - original pathas as

urban structure o todas settlement

Enanini land in 1999


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SHABEEN PUBLIC SPACE

It has been a hard ee! Beto has laid his hands on 4cars in the last 4 das, all o them ith that urgentcharacter. He cleaned the rust, sanded it don, appliedthe paste and painted it bac again. This one car hada problem in the engine; it ouldnt even turn on. Itturned out to be a piece that as broen and needed tobe imported rom ton. So thats a job or anotherda! Toda is Sunda and Patrice has come all the arom Site B to visit. Beto has not seen Patrice or

at least a ear. Its 9am and the go meet the rest othe riends in Thulis Place. Thuli managed to createthe most successul business b opening a tavern inone o the pathas selling beer, ood and essentialgroceries. But hat reall attracts people is themassive sound sstem that he uses to pla local kaito andinternational RnB. This is a eature that distinguishesThulis Place because this area has no electricit.

Thulis Place is lled ith earl driners, and mosto Betos riends are there alread. Patrice taes thechance to see old riends but the choose not to chillon the premises o the shop. Rather Beto and Patrice,ater getting their beers go to the street here theirother riends are. Charlie brought his baie and paredin ront o the shabeen, opened the bac and made a niceseat or his riends. The group gre bigger and gotaround the car. Eventuall more cars came around and

the space that the shabeen as serving became massive.

Edging this space ere little shops that bloomed aroundthe area because there as alas so man people. Oneo them sells the best Fat-coo o the vicinit.Patrice had been thining about them or months andent to bu a e or the group. when he came bache sa one o the drun people urinating on theall o a house. He observed attentivel and asedhimsel i there ould be people living right at theedge o such a live public space. There seemed tobe a eeling o emptiness about that habitation, butone thing as sure, that one building gave a niceedge to the space, even i it as to go tae a piss.

Beto carried on chatting ith Patrice. This time as aconversation about their ids. The had just sent Betosdaughter to get some cigarettes on the shop and thats

hat spared the conversation. The girl as plaingaround here her ather as enjoing some good time ithhis riends. Patrice commented to Beto that since he hadmoved to the ne house in the location his ids had notbeen as connected to him as the had been in Enanini.His ne area did not have a shabeen here he could goand spend some time ith his riends and simultaneouslatch his ids pla. He as eeling nostalgic.

Patrice and Beto and all their riends ended thatda beore the sun as set. It as a good riendshiprevival. Patrice in particular returned homeremembering the times that he used to live in Enanini.

Section through public Shabeen place

perspective plan o publicShabeen place shoing volume

plan o public Shabeen placeshoing activit


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CROSSING GqABI

Maeee is 26 and ons a vegetable shop on one o thebusiest corners o this area. He lives in zelitsha 4on the patha that separates this area rom Menini.

And hat a bus patha! He tried to open a shop on it aboutto ears ago. He as eeling positive because there ere,and still are, so man people passing through that patha.But soon Mas realied that he as in the rong spot.

About a hundred meters rom his shop as the point hereEnanini ends and kuasa starts; it is a road called Gabi.

He ne Gabi. The corner ith this road is a taistop or the tais that lin both kuasa and Enaninito the rest o khaelitsha. There is so much morepeople and so much more lie in this corner thanthere is on the patha! Mas decided to move there.

His shop is eactl on the corner, on the kuasa side.Behind him are some RDP houses hich orm a nice bacdrop

or his shop. In ront is a tar road, something that Masas not used to. This ended up being positive becauseit contributed to less client complaints about sand inthe vegetables. On the opposite side o his shop isthe most reuentl used recreational area o Enanini.Here, there is constantl someone plaing soccer.

The lie on this corner is dierent rom the one on thepatha. Business runs solidl or 8 hours o the da,

rom the morning until late in the evening. Late in theaternoon is hen there are more clients going bac homerom their job and passing b to get some vegetables.

Another advantage o being here is the ease ith hich one canget electricit. kuasa has a permanent electricit sstemalread. Previousl, hen his shop as on the patha, Mashad a cable pulled rom kuasa to his shop. No he loos atthe roo o electrical cables over Gabi and eels good to not

have to be part o that sstem. This also brings to his sidea host o other activities that did not eist on the patha,lie hair salons and phone booths. Having these businessesaround contributes toards bringing clients to his shop.

Maeee is concerned ith one thing onl. The soccereld toards hich his shop is oriented oten has someundesired activities. when it is dar that area is not verelcoming and oten people get mugged in it. Since his shop

is right in ront o it, this constitutes a problem or hiseconomical activit. Mas has thereore decided to openhis shop onl ater the sun rises, even though there is apotential or business in the earl hours o the morning.

Maeees vegetable shop has much more success in thiscorner than it did on the patha. This corner is liea gatea beteen Enanini and kuasa on a small scale,and ith the hole o khaelitsha on a larger scale.


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UNDIzE

1 2 3 4

Lihle counts

5 6 7 8

All the other ids run.

Its a renetic run to nd the perect spot. The have to be hiddenrom Lihle hen she stops counting and its not too ar rom no.

10 15 20

Lihle is on 23, and is counting ast. Lie nds himsel aspot behind his neighbours tin dressed house. Its hot!The sun has shined on that all the hole morning Itsorth it though, he can see Lihle but she cant see him.

On 29 Portia hides behind the ater tap. He lies don under the thicgre cement base o this public inrastructure. He thins to himsel,Lihle ill never come here. And i she comes, she ont recognie mebehind the orest o plants that gre up rom this lie ountain.

On 34 Thabi moves rom her original hidden spot behind the thichedge o her house to the other side o the patha. She thought:all o them are on this side, i she moves here I can go andcount-me-out rom the other side. She goes around Lihle, sloland uietl to enter a toilet room o one o her neighbours. Itas the perect spot, through the holes eistent on the rusttin door she could be aare o hat as going on in the patha.

At 45 Lihle stops counting, IM COMING she shouts. She crosses thepatha, up and don but alas ith the guard o her counting spot.Her shoes are lled ith the sand that orms this ala. She eelsrather orgetul o this act, she is ocused on other things no.

Lie hesitates, Lihle sees him in the corner o her eeand she crosses the patha again to count his name. Liealso runs intensel and jumps to the timber plan that bothstructures Lihles house ence and denes her counting spot.The jump as incredible, lie the ones ou see in Americanbaseball games hen its touch don. He didnt mae it though.

Lihle departs again ith a victorious laugh that her parentscan hear on the other side o the patha. She is gettingcloser to Portia. He stands up and starts running. In themean time, Thabi taes the chance and maes a run as ell.

On this emotional process o ining attempts, Portia tripson an embanment o sand covered b grass. He alls, and

in the process, unintentionall, trips Lihle. The are bothon the foor hen Thabi reaches the pole and saves them all.

Lihle is not impressed. She does not nd this air, anddecides to go and pla a sipping-rope game ith the others.Her three riends are not happ ith this decision eitherand go discuss the issue ith the elders. Lihles mom andsome o her riends are sitting in a shado o one o thehouses that surrounds this patha. She consults the otherelders across the patha. There is a short discussion aboutit, and most o the people o the area tae part on it.

It becomes a communal decision to let the ids decide or themselves.

Lise hides behindhis neighbours house

Thabi as original behindthe thic hedge

Portia hides behindthe ater tap

Thabi hides in the toilet

Lihle counts

Patha being used or a Hide-and-See game


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wHAT BECAME THE BRIDGE

Lunge arrived in Enanini in Januar 2004 ater being evictedrom her previous house in Philippi. She and her amil ereone o the rst amilies to move to this ne settlement.

when the government decided to etend the khaelitsha railaline until Enanini, the evicted thousands o amilies inorder to mae space or the raila line to be built. Lucil,Lunges house as situated just outside the area o eviction.

Her house, the one that survived the eviction, assituated near the patha that crossed Enaninirom north to south. Because she as at this cornershe could observe the evolution o this space.

Beore the raila, the patha as a continuous routethat as used b man to reach the neighbouring settlement

o Mahaa. As the raila invaded the space, the pathaas interrupted, breaing the continuum o street lie.

To provide the lin interrupted b the ne raila line,the government built a bridge over the raila. The peopleo Enanini uicl ound a a o bpassing this sstemand crossing the raila through government propert.

The end result o this development is a ailed space.Lunge no lives in a place here there are no houses, noneighbours and no one to loo ater her neborn children.Moreover, this space is overhelmed b the bridge structure,hich provides the opportunit or illicit activities.

Montage rom the top o the bridge looing at thespace created rom the intervention

perspective o the situation under the bridge


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C: OTHERS

Enaninis public spaces cannot be summaried bonl looing at the to as o movement in thesettlement. There are areas that are o importanceto the understanding o Enanini as a hole and hichill be relevant to dene strategies or intervention.

As such, hat ill ollo is a stud o a e communal areasthat have relevance or the everda lie o the deller.

Some o the areas are noticeable because the constitutepocets here there is no eisting settlement. Theseare areas that have geographical conditions thatorce or this situation to happen. Hoever thebecome important spaces or the opportunities thatthe provide eactl because the are not inhabited.

The government position toards the inormal charactero Enanini has phsical repercussions. The services

provided (or not) have spatial implications. Some othese spatial implications ill be illustrated here.

Also o interest is the spaces used b the communit as ahole. The eistence o these spaces is o relevance becausethe do not come rom an individual need lie the houses do.Rather the are ormed out o a communal need. Their spatialcharacteristics and conditions ill be part o this research.

Once these studies are completed one has an understanding othe conditions that inorm the everda lie o the Enaninipopulation. The stud eplains here, ho and hen the peopleuse public space in general, and the ones studied in particular.

Areas o stud in this chapter


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CONCRETE BOxES MAkE PLACE

Pilisie is seventeen and happ. She is living those beautiultimes o adolescence. Toda she ound out about one o herriends aair and she is desperate to share this inormationith Sishle, her best riend. She als out o her housetoards the main road o Enanini. There she nds Sishlechilling ith all the gus. The are on the south side o theLhae main road, some standing some sitting on the pavementith their eet on the road. The group is telling storiesand joes about their past ee in school. Pilisie arrives,

greets them all and alls into the conversation uicl. Thedistraction caused b her riends conversation made herorget hat she as there or but uicl she remembered.

Pilisie pulled Sishle aa and dragged her to the other sideo the road. There the stood leaning on the concrete allsthat provided the onl public inrastructure o the main road- the toilet alls. The leaned on those alls completelindierent to the negative connotation normall attachedto them and the gossiped. The gossiped about school, thegossiped about the people passing b, the gossiped about thebos across the road. It seems to be a custom or this groupo riends to come to these alls and spend the da gossiping.

Pilisie as satised that aternoon hen she ent homebut this procedure does not alas happen on the toiletalls. The toilets installed in Lhae b the governmenthave little maintenance. Once installed, the are loced

ith a rust locer and the es given to a group oamilies that lives around. One o the es is held bPilisies amil but the dont tae responsibilit overthe toilet. It is a shared propert there is no moneto invest in a communal belonging! Oten these toiletsget broen ithin si months o their lietime and then,es, the become a negative space. when a toilet ismalunctioning Pilisie and Sishle run aa rom that smellall and nd other places to gossip and meet their riends.

LIVING wITH(OUT) THE TOILETS

Cnthia does not live in Lhae nor does she live in one othe main pathas that cross the neighbourhoods o Enanini.She lives in one o the sideas, on a path that onl she andher neighbours no. No one there has access to a toilet, onlthe Lhae inhabitants do. In these earl ears o EnaniniCnthia has to go to the bush to perorm her necessitiesand at night this can be dangerous. Folloing complaintsdone b the communit the government brought and placedblue plastic toilets on nearb pathas to Cnthias house.

wrong decision!

The people elt happ at rst to have toilets close to theirhouses. But it soon proved to be a nightmare to have such dirtobjects near their premises. No one too onership o thesetoilets. The became dirt, smell and disgusting and startedinterering ith the everda lie o the neighbourhood.

dierent tpes o solutions provided b thegovernment or the toilet situation in Enanini


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Cnthia moved the toilet positioned near her house to anotherplace. She couldnt handle the smell and nor could her children.The toilet as moved rom corner to corner until the oundan opened space ar enough rom ever house not to have itinterering ith the private lives o its neighbours. A eo the blue plastics got so despised that some o Cnthiasneighbours too it to their on house and claimed it as theirs.

The situation as unbearable even though the had ounda temporar solution or it. The issue as taen to thecommunit meetings and then to the government. This one came

ith another temporar solution. It as a toilet bo givento each household that could be taen inside, be privatiedand then thron aa. There ould be pic up points here agovernment truc ould pass through ever 3 das to collectthe boes and suppl ne ones. No one seemed to be strictlopposing this solution hen it as implemented. But it asstill a temporar solution hich as costl or the government.

As a conseuence, Cnthia is no seeing a ne set o toiletsbeing placed near her house, the same toilets that eistalong Lhae; the toilets that have a limited lie spano 6 months onl; the toilets that hen ault become aountain or a river o aste ater. Cnthia is not atall happ ith this issue and nor are her neighbours. Butthe construction is going through and ever da there isa ne group o toilets placed around her neighbourhood.

For no the cant do much. The live in the hope oreceiving a plot o land organied b streets andoccupied ith a house and a toilet, a private one.

GARBAGE-DUMPING PLACES

The ere installed to provide a service to the communit.There is one garbage container in almost ever intersectiono patha in Enanini. The sstem is simple: theresidents put the rubbish inside these containers anda municipal truc collects its contents ever to das.

The containers installed b the municipalit in the areao Enanini are supposed to or ecientl, but the actis that the do not. On one hand, the municipalit blamesthe residents or being la and not dumping their rubbishinside. On the other hand, the residents nd the containersloced and are orced to dump the rubbish on the street.

whatever the reason is, the containers o Enaniniare associated ith negative and lth spaces,hich constitute a problem in their vicinit.

The residents living in close proimit to thesecontainers nd as o dealing ith this situation.Since the cannot move the structure because o itseight and sie, the people move their houses to thepoint in their plots urthest aa rom the container.

The conseuence o this is that corners lac edges and immediatelsurrounding buildings. The corner thus becomes a negativespace, and the residents avoid it rather than engage ith it.

Positioning o Pilisie and her riends

Rubish containers push residents aa: negative space

Vie on the rubsih situation


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THE NATURE RESERVE

welcome to the Hill, he sas. M ees ere blindolded but Ine eactl here I as. It as that mound at the end o Enanini.

He had taen me b mistae, I told him that. He

ouldnt listen. I couldnt do anthing else but pra.I as, ver unortunatel, passing b his house hen a

man shot his car. The man obviousl ran aa, and I didntno hat to do, so stupidl I remained standing there.

The oner as a Tsotsi, one o those ne ones that didnt noeactl hat as going on but anted to mae an impression insociet. He pointed his shotgun at me and I roe ith ear.

M ace as covered and I as pushed into a car. we drove, not ortoo long, and e stopped. He pulled me out, I ought bac but mhands ere tight and I didnt no hat to do. I as in a panic.

we started aling up. It as a steep hill and a dicultal. I must sa m emotions ere not helping, but thatsand as just too loose to allo me or an movement.The smell as euall disturbing it elt lie I asin the dumpsite o all o Enanini apparentl I as.

we reached the top. He said those obvious ords that Istarted this stor ith and uncovered m ees. The vieas splendid; the hole o Enanini as in ront o mees lit b the moonlight. At least I had a nice lastimage in m mind beore I ent to see m oreathers.

As I thought this, he pulled his cell phone to mace. He eamined me and remared, But, ou are notthe gu that shot m car!? what are ou doing here?

I am sure that that moment as controlled b m ancestors. Inan case, I managed to survive it but that hill ill remain ascar in m heart. Ever da I loo at it and remember that night.

section through the Hill:separator o areas, area secluded

Photo montage o the Hill: seenrom everhere in Enanini


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LIVING IN THE NEw zwE-zwE

zola bought a pint o beer. Its a hot da and his riendsare all helping him out. There is a good reason to be happ.zola is installing ne cladding in his old house and ishapp b the act that the are doing this in his ne plot.

zola as one o the rst residents o Enanini to receive a houserom the government. He is living in zelitsha 1, a neighborhoodthat as, rom the beginning, intended to be developed as housing.

The area is to ollo an urban design that is starting to beimplemented. Toda, zola has a plot o land dened b a tarroad. On one end o his plot he has a ater pipe sticing outo the ground. This is meant to serve the toilet that ill be

placed here soon. In act, a cemeter (or a birth bed) o pre-cast toilets occupies the group o plots opposite zolas house.

The tar roads design seems to be an orthogonal spider eb itha single escape route. zola relates it to the houses builtin kuasa, here he sometimes gets lost hen he visits them.

That, hoever, provides no reason or disappointment. Thedream o having a solid house is nall being materialied- thereore there are onl reasons to celebrate.

The area o zelitsha has been set aside or housingprojects. The inormal groth o the Enaninisettlement has not spilled over this neighbourhood.

Photo o zelitsha in the process o being constructed Photo o zelitshas concrete toilet storage nearzolas house

An image o the uture o zelitsha, the housing project on the neighbouring comunit kuasa


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SIGqI

Sigi is a depression in the landscape o Enanini,an area unoccupied b houses but ith a air amounto ame among the residents o this settlement.

Sigi is seen as an inappropriate area or settlementsince the ver beginning o Enanini. Even though itis situated right at the corner o Mahaa and kuasa,

it is characteried b a small valle hich creates theopportunit or ater to pool during the rain season,thus the peoples decision not to build on this land.

On the rst o three sides that delimit Sigi, there eiststhe raila lines concrete ence. Even though this barrieras constructed, the people o Enanini overcame it b openinggaps on the parts o the ence that bloced the alreadeistent pathas. On the second edge o this space, thereis a patha that separates Sigi rom a line o privateloned houses. These provide the onl source o surveillanceto this space hen no one occupies it. The third and lastedge is a slim piece o land along Lhae road, used bentrepreneurs o this settlement to run their businesses.

Sigi has a varied character hen related to the actionsthat happen in its space. To start ith, this is an area thatis not oned b anone, neither the municipalit, nor the

residents around it. Conseuentl, the area is prejudicedb the dumping o rubbish b the neighbouring residentsand the discharge o a seage pipe o a part o Mahaa.Sigis scale does not allo or this to become the majorproblem, but it sure adds to the character o the site.

Because the valle is a no-mans land, at night itbecomes a dangerous area or inhabitants to pass b. Itis dar and, again because o its scale, is not easilseen rom the surrounding edges. Sigi becomes an areaappropriate or thet and other illegal activities.

Sometimes, hen a thie has been caught in the area, theresidents tae him to Sigi in order to give him a communaljudgment or his acts. I the police does not interveneon time, this oten ends in a practice non as nec-lacing o the suspect, hereb the suspect is placed insidediscarded rubber tires, doused ith petrol and set alight.

In act, the area o Sigi has been, since the beginning o thesettlement, used as a communit gathering space. when thereis a need to carr out a meeting about issues that infuencethe ull etent o the communit, this meeting occurs here.

The epansiveness o the area euall allos or children topla the games that reuire ider spaces than the pathas herethe live in. During the da, as the ids pla, other peoplecross Sigi attempting to shorten their travel distance.

The area is positivel used hile there is sunlight,but as the moon rises or the rain alls, this space istransormed to be one ith negative connotations attached.

Montage o a vie over Sigi. one can identi thethree dierent sides to it-residential, economicand raila line - and have a perception o thescale o the site

the three dierent edges

Section through Sigi


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THE COMMUNITy MEETINGS

Cnthia is a member o the communit committeeo Ar. Her attitude to lie is simpleand her house and children refect this.

Her husband, Let, and her, had a meeting ith thecommunit last Sunda. It happened at 9 in the morningon the idest area o the path that runs past theirhouse toards the est part o Enanini. The communithall is an open space in a sand patha ith oneo the sides slightl raised b an accumulation osand. It is edged b private plots that are encedb single lines o ire supported b o cut pieceso erected timber. To plastic temporar toiletssupplied b the government are situated on one othe edges. Being abandoned, these provide normalla negative space on the pathas o Enanini. Herethe derelict toilets provide another edge to thecommunit space on this East-west ais o Ar.

There as a set o speaers on the little raisedpart o the space. Cnthia and Let had chairs,

and hen the spoe the stood up to be seen andto be understood better. On the fat part o thesite here all the other residents, some standing,some ith their private chairs, some even leaningon the alls o the surrounding building structures.

The main subject under discussion as a disputebeteen a member o the committee and a member othe communit o Ar. The latter had brought a amilmember to build a house in the area ithout givingritten notication to the Committee inormingthat this ould be happening. Its inclusion in themeeting as an attempt to resolve it on that Sundamorning beore it ent to court in the ne centre okhaelitsha. Additionall to this issue, the meetingdiscussed a set o toilets that as being built bthe government on this neighbourhood, one o hichas 10 meters aa rom Cnthia and Lets house.

The people decided in avour o the committeeor the rst case. The toilet discussion ashoever more livel, because everone pitchedtheir on interpretation o the situation.

Cnthia and Let staed behind ater the meeting ended,and so did a e others. The space as no occupiedb various little groups o riends and acuaintancesgiving a much more inormal use o that communal area.

when it became too hot to be in the sun, Cnthia andLet returned home and continued the conversationith their riends in a more protected area.

The meeting happening in a part o the patha that allosor more people to gather, here the patha opens up


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CRCHE

Most o the ids have let the building no. It as a bus daor Sie. Because it as a nice da, the ids anted to plaon the courtard o the crche the hole da. The ence aroundthis courtard as the onl limit to these ids ildness!

No Sie has to get the crche read or the Saturdacommunit meeting. She has to move all the mattressesout o the room and create space or the 200 members othe communit that ill come tomorro. There is a lot oor to be done, but she has her to children to help

her. Once the job is done, the all go home to coodinner and sleep to recharge energies or the net da.

On the olloing da the people start arriving or thecommunit meeting. The are all et because it is pouring ithrain outside. Sie ne that this ould happen; in act, itsbecause the predicted rain that the meeting as held in hercrche and not on the patha. So she organied a et areaor the jacets to be stored or the duration o the meeting.

Cnthia as there ith her husband Let. The issue under discussionthis time as dierent rom the last meetings. The ereorried about the gunshots the heard on the hill the previouswednesda and ere determined to nd out hat had happened.

Ater the discussion, hen the meeting nished, theparticipants let the crche. Toda there as no ater-meeting gathering because Sie needed the crche

space. That aternoon, she ould have the part o oneo her students in there. She needed, once again, toorganie the hole crche to accommodate or the part.

Some o the students parents that came to the meetingstaed behind to help Sie getting the part read. Assoon as the ere nished the ids started arriving.

The crche as ull again ith the eact same childrenthat Sie sees ever da. The eather had changed, ithad become sunn again. Outside, in the courtard,the environment as again lled ith lie and pla.This part had a dierent character rom the everdacrche session because the parents ere part o it.

Sie had a bus but great da. She as not done et though.Ater the ids part, Sie had still to prepare the space oranother unction. Ever Sunda the Adventists church rentsher crche to perorm their service. Her on children are

ehausted rom such an eventul eeend but the still helptheir mother getting the space read or the church service.

Sie does not go to church. Instead she decided to spend someualit time ith her children. That aternoon the ouldhave to get the rooms read or the crche on Monda again.The eeend as unusuall bus, but Sie and her amil areused to having communit unctions happening in their crche.

Church on Sundas; communit centre on Saturdas

Creche during the ee

One eample o a Creche ith and enclosed area, aset o toilets and an open space


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DEFINING THE STATIONS PRECINCT

The people call him Tatu Mbeli. He is the communit leadero the area o Chris Hani. He moved to Enanini hen thisarea as still starting to be occupied. He alas hadmanagement sills and that helped him to be here he is no.

when Mbeli moved to Enanini there ere ver e housesconstructed. Soon he itnessed the uic buildingdensication that happened here. The diverse communitthat blossomed around his house as something thatMbeli as not used to but elt someho happ about.

The

Public Place-Making in Enkanini (MArch Thesis UCT)

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