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Item Open Access Logbook, Ethiopia in a timeline: the school, the book, the town(Department of Urban and Regional Planning, University of the Free State, 2015) Kotzé, PaulAbstract not availableItem Open Access Compiling a land audit in large rural areas: results from the methodology applied in the non-urban areas of the Matzikama municipal area(Department of Urban and Regional Planning, University of the Free State, 2015) Stephenson, Garth; Donaldson, Ronnie; Van Niekerk, Adriaan; Du Plessis, DanieEnglish: To compile a comprehensive land audit in large, mainly rural-based municipalities such as the Matzikama Municipality in the Western Cape warrants an alternative methodology than that conventionally done through exhaustive property visits. This study attempts to showcase such an alternative methodology to compile the land audit for the municipality. The end result of the audit was a geographical information system (GIS) database that contains a wide variety of information required for spatial planning and land use management purposes. Each of these elements required a unique data-collection methodology that included spatial data collection; aerial photography and satellite image pre-processing; mapping of property boundaries; defining area of interest; determining land ownership through property valuation rolls; establishing the status of access roads and routes; mapping current land uses, and overlaying land use control measures in order to infer land uses and deriving potential land use zoning. The methodology applied succeeded in successfully linking land parcels as follows: valuation data: 3 731 out of 4 176 (89.3%) were linked; state land audit: 378 out of 4 176 (9.1%) were linked, and deeds data: 1 680 out of 4 176 (40.2%) were linked. The study found that creating and updating land audits require advanced skills in GIS and it is recommended that municipalities employ suitably qualified officials in this regard. Working with outdated planning scheme legislation/ policy can become a time-consuming and costly exercise for municipalities.Item Open Access Some perceptions and preferences of residents' use of community neighbourhood parks in Mitchells Plain, Cape Town(Department of Urban and Regional Planning, University of the Free State, 2015) Willemse, LodeneEnglish: Urban parks help enhance the value of urban settings and provide dynamic recreation facilities for citizens; however, environmental injustice is still noticeable throughout South Africa regarding the unequal distribution of urban parks. This article provides an overview of community neighbourhood park (CNP) conditions in five subsections of Mitchells Plain (Beacon Valley, Portlands, Rocklands, Tafelsig, and Woodlands). Results indicate that 18% of the respondents in Mitchells Plain have to walk further than the accepted norm of 15 minutes to reach CNPs. This negatively influences the CNP usage patterns, and the time spent in CNPs. The most important concerns influencing CNP non-use include safety and improper maintenance (mostly experienced in Portlands), and a lack of facilities and natural features (mostly experienced in Tafelsig). The ways in which CNPs can be improved echo the concerns for not visiting CNPs frequently. Significant policy implications for the City Parks Department are also discussed.Item Open Access An assessment of the quality of shared outdoor spaces in three South African social housing complexes(Department of Urban and Regional Planning, University of the Free State, 2015) Sebake, Nosizo; Breed, Ida; Kruger, TinusEnglish: This article presents a study that assessed the extent to which the quality of shared outdoor spaces in social housing complexes in the City of Tshwane conformed to specifications of the Social Housing Policy. To conduct this assessment, criteria and indicators were identified from a literature review. Specifications for guiding this assessment were also identified from the Policy. These criteria, indicators and specifications were used to develop an assessment framework. The study found that the quality of the shared outdoor spaces in three case studies only conformed to some extent to the specifications in the Policy. The study concludes that, despite good intentions, the Policy does not contain sufficient detail to guide this assessment and is too ambiguous to have a noteworthy impact on the development of goodquality shared outdoor spaces in future and existing social housing complexes. Recommendations are made related to further research that could possibly address this shortcoming.