An Exploration of the Dimensions of Place-Making: A South African Case Study
Place-making is viewed here as an empowering process in which people represent, improve and maintain their spatial (natural or built) environment. With the above-mentioned in mind, place-making is multi-dimensional and include a spatial dimension (including visual properties or the end product/plan), a procedural dimension during which (negotiation/discussion of ideas with all relevant stakeholders in terms of end product/plan) and a psychological dimension (inclusion of intrinsic values and meanings related to a place in the end product/plan). These three represent dimensions of place-making. The purpose of this paper is to explore these dimensions of place-making in a case study of a local community in Ikageng, Potchefstroom, North-West Province, South Africa. This case study represents an inclusive process that strives to empower a local community (forcefully relocated due to Apartheid legislation in South Africa). This case study focussed on the inclusion of participants in the decision-making process regarding their daily environment. By means of focus group discussions and a collaborative design workshop, data is generated and ultimately creates a linkage with the theoretical dimensions of place-making. This paper contributes to the field of spatial planning due to the exploration of the dimensions of place-making and the relevancy of this process on spatial planning (especially in a South African setting).
[1] C. Hague and P. Jenkins, P., “Background to place identity, participation and planning in Europe” Place identity, participation and planning, Routledge: Taylor and Francis Group, London, UK, 2005, pp.57-78.
[2] T. Jordaan, K. Puren and V. Roos, "Exploring place-making in the Vredefort Dome, South Africa: a mixed-method approach." Stads-en Streeksbeplanning= Town and Regional Planning, 55, Sabinet Online, 2009, pp. 3-15.
[3] M. Arefi, “Non-place and placelessness as narratives of loss: Rethinking the notion of place” Journal of urban design, 4(2), 1999, pp. 179-193.
[4] E. Relph, Place and placelessness. London: Pion, 1976.
[5] J. Hou and M. Rios, “Community-driven place making: the social practice of participatory design in the making of union point park”, Journal of Architectural Education, Vol. 57 No. 1, Routledge: Taylor and Francis Group, London, UK, 2003, pp. 19-27.
[6] S. Aitken and G. Valentine, (eds). Approaches to Human Geography. SAGE Publications: London, Thousand Oaks, New Delhi, 2006, pp. 31.
[7] R. Sampson and S. M. Gifford, "Place-making, settlement and well-being: The therapeutic landscapes of recently arrived youth with refugee backgrounds." Health & place 16, no. 1, Elsevier, 2010, pp.116-131.
[8] T. Nirarta Samadhi, "The urban design of a Balinese town: placemaking issues in the Balinese urban setting." Habitat International 25, Elsevier, 2001, pp.559-575.
[9] M. Germen, “Istanbul Gezi Park Resistance Movement as Public Engagement in the Making of Place”, Reflections on Creativity: Public Engagement and The Making of Place, Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 184, Elsevier, 2015, pp. 13-21.
[10] E. Thomas, S. Pate and A. Ranson, “The crosstown initiative: Art, community, and placemaking in Memphis”, American journal of community psychology, 55(1-2), Elsevier, 2015, pp.74-88.
[11] A. M. Madureira, "Physical planning in place-making through design and image building." Journal of Housing and the Built Environment 30, no. 1, 2015, pp. 157-172.
[12] E. J. Cilliers, W. Timmermans, F. Van den Goorbergh and J. Slijkhuis. "Green Place-making in Practice: From Temporary Spaces to Permanent Places." Journal of Urban Design, 20, Routledge: Taylor and Francis Group, London, UK, no. 3, 2015, pp. 349-366.
[13] R. Behrens and V. Watson, Making Urban Places: Principles and Guidelines for Layout Planning, UCT Press, Cape Town, 1997.
[14] CSIR, Guidelines for Human Settlement Planning and Design, CSIR Building and Construction Technology, Pretoria, 2000
[15] J. Schofield and R. Szymanski, “Sense of place in a changing world”, In Local heritage, global context: cultural perspectives on sense of place, J. Schofield and R. Szymanski (Eds.), Surrey: Ashgate Publishing Limited. 2011, pp. 1-11.
[16] J. Friedmann, “Place and place-making in cities: a global perspective” Planning Theory & Practice, 11(2), 2010, 149-165.
[17] P. Healey, Collaborative planning: Shaping places in fragmented societies, UBc Press: Vancouver, 1997.
[18] N. Gallent, M. Juntti, S. Kidd and D. Shaw, Introduction to rural planning, Routledge: Taylor and Francis Group, London, UK, 2008.
[19] Republic of South Africa, “The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996” Pretoria: Government Printer, 1996, p.24.
[20] Republic of South Africa, “Spatial planning and land use management Act, 16 of 2013 (SPLUMA)” Pretoria: Government Printer, 2013.
[21] South African Presidency, “n.a. Growth and Development Summits: guidelines for district and metropolitan municipalities”, http://www.thepresidency.gov.za/docs/pcsa/planning/gdsguidelines.pdf. Date of access: 31 May 2013.
[22] CSIR, “Guidelines for Human Settlement Planning and Design (The Red Book)” Pretoria: CSIR, 2005.
[23] P. Siyongwana and T. Mayekiso, “Local community and stakeholder participation in post-apartheid urban renewal development projects in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.” Africa insight, 41(3), 2011, pp.142-156.
[24] B. Maharaj, “Apartheid, urban segregation, and the local state: Durban and the Group Areas Act in South Africa” Urban Geography, 18(2), 1997, pp.135-154.
[25] P.E. Raper, Dictionary of South African place names, 2nd ed. Johannesburg: Jonathan Ball Publishers, 1989.
[26] S. Silberberg, K. Lora, R. Disbrow, and A. Muessig, Places in the Making: How placemaking builds places and communities, Boston: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2013
[27] J. Lepofsky and J. C. Fraser, “Building community citizens: Claiming the right to place making in the city” Urban Studies, 40(1), 2003, pp.127-142.
[28] R. K. Jarvis, “Urban environments as visual art or as social settings?”, Town Planning, 1980.
[29] K. Lynch, Managing the sense of a region. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press Review, 51(1), 1991, pp. 50.
[30] B. Lang and P. Sakdapolrak, “Violent place-making: How Kenya's post-election violence transforms a workers' settlement at Lake Naivasha.” Political Geography, 45, 2015, pp.67-78.
[31] J. Schupbach, “creative placemaking”, Economic Development Journal, 14(4), 2015, p.28.
[32] S. Feuchtwang, “Theorising Place. In S. Feuchtwang, Making Place: State Projects”, Globalisation and Local, Responses in China, Hoboken: Taylor and Francis, 2012, pp.3-30.
[33] Wilfred Yang, W 2015, 'Remaking Guangzhou: Geo-Identity and Place-Making on Sina Weibo', Media International Australia (8/1/07-Current), 156, pp. 29-38, Communication & Mass Media Complete
[34] Jiven, G., & Larkham, P. J. 2003. Sense of Place, Authenticity and Character: A. Journal of Urban Design, 8(1), 67-81.
[35] N. M. Ardoin, "Toward an interdisciplinary understanding of place: Lessons for environmental education." Canadian Journal of Environmental Education (CJEE) 11, no. 1, 2006, pp.112-126.
[36] A. Rapoport, Human Aspects of Urban Forms. Oxford, U.K.: Pergamon Press., 1997.
[37] A. Rapoport, “Development, culture change and supportive design”, Habitat International, 7(5), 1983, pp.249-268.
[38] D.R. Williams and J. J. Vaske, J. J. “The measure of place attachment: Validity and generalizability of a psychometric approach.” Forest Science, 49(6), 2003, pp.830-840.
[39] D. Trudeau, “Politics of belonging in the construction of landscapes: placemaking, boundary-drawing and exclusion” Cultural Geographies 13, 2006, pp.421-443.
[40] W. Strydom and K. Puren. "A participatory approach to public space design as informative for place-making." Challenges of Modern Technology 4, 2013.
[41] W. J. Strydom and K. Puren. "From Space to Place in Urban Planning: Facilitating Change Through Participatory Action Research." WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment 191, WIT Press: UK, 2014, pp. 463-476.
[42] Google Maps API Terms of Use, Available at: https://www.google.co.za/maps/@-26.71394,27.0506988,12.25z?hl=en, accessed on 2 September 2016
[43] N. Mfene, and D. Taylor, “Enhancing the Leadership of Ward Councillors through Emotional Intelligence”, Africa Insight, 45, 3, 2015, pp. 16-30.
[44] E. S. McLaughlin, “Language Policies and Voter Turnout: Evidence from South Africa” Journal of African Elections, Published by EISA 14 Park Road, Richmond Johannesburg South Africa, 14., 2015
[45] J. Mouton and E. Babbie, The practice of social research, Cape Town: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 2001
[46] J. W. Creswell, Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications, Inc.P. D, 2003
[47] P. D. Leedy and J. E. Ormrod, Qualitative research. Practical research: Planning and design, Pearson Education International: New Jersey, 2014, pp.141-172.
[48] C. Robson, Real world research: a resource for users of social research methods in applied settings, Chichester: Wiley, 2011
[49] J.A. Maxwell, Qualitative research design: An interactive approach. Vol. 41. Sage publications, 2012
[50] N. K. Denzin and Y. S. Lincoln, (eds.), The SAGE handbook of qualitative research. 4 edition, Sage Publications Inc. USA, 2011, pp. 100-583.
[51] A. Markusen and A. Gadwa, A. “Arts and culture in urban or regional planning: A review and research agenda” Journal of planning education and research, 29(3), 2010, pp.379-391.
[52] M. Terre Blanche, K. Durrheim and D. Painter, (Eds.), Research in Practice: Applied Methods for the Social Science, Cape Town: UCT Press, 2006.
[53] G. Nelson, J. Ochocka, K. Griffin, and J. Lord, “Nothing about me, without me: Participatory action research with self-help/mutual aid organizations for psychiatric consumer/survivors”, American journal of community psychology, 26(6), 1998, pp.881-912.
[54] J. Ochocka, R. Janzen and G. Nelson, “Sharing power and knowledge: Professional and mental health consumer/survivor researchers working together in a participatory action research project”, Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 25, 4, 2002, pp. 379-387.
[55] J. Ochocka, E. Moorlag and R. Janzen, “A framework for entry: PAR values and engagement strategies in community research. Gateways”, International Journal of Community Research and Engagement, 3, 2010, pp.1-19.
[56] T. Winkler, “University Engagements and Planning Education - At the Coalface: Community”, Journal of Planning Education and Research, Sage publications, 2013, pp.213-228.
[57] M. Grønkjær, T. Curtis, C. de Crespigny and C. Delmar, “Analysing group interaction in focus group research: Impact on content and the role of the moderator” Qualitative Studies, 2(1), 2011, pp.16-30.
[58] P. Reason and H. Bradbury, The Sage handbook of action research: participative inquiry and practice. 2nd ed. Sage publications. The romweel press, 2008, pp. 20-427.
[59] T. Kvan, “Collaborative design: what is it?”, Automation in construction, 9(4), 2000, pp. 409-415.
[60] I. Holloway and S. Wheeler, “Ethical issues in qualitative nursing research” Nursing Ethics, 2(3), 1995, pp223-232.
[61] R. Trancik, Finding lost space: theories of urban design. John Wiley & Sons, 1986.
[62] H. Lefebvre, The production of space, vol. 142, Blackwell: Oxford, 1991.
[1] C. Hague and P. Jenkins, P., “Background to place identity, participation and planning in Europe” Place identity, participation and planning, Routledge: Taylor and Francis Group, London, UK, 2005, pp.57-78.
[2] T. Jordaan, K. Puren and V. Roos, "Exploring place-making in the Vredefort Dome, South Africa: a mixed-method approach." Stads-en Streeksbeplanning= Town and Regional Planning, 55, Sabinet Online, 2009, pp. 3-15.
[3] M. Arefi, “Non-place and placelessness as narratives of loss: Rethinking the notion of place” Journal of urban design, 4(2), 1999, pp. 179-193.
[4] E. Relph, Place and placelessness. London: Pion, 1976.
[5] J. Hou and M. Rios, “Community-driven place making: the social practice of participatory design in the making of union point park”, Journal of Architectural Education, Vol. 57 No. 1, Routledge: Taylor and Francis Group, London, UK, 2003, pp. 19-27.
[6] S. Aitken and G. Valentine, (eds). Approaches to Human Geography. SAGE Publications: London, Thousand Oaks, New Delhi, 2006, pp. 31.
[7] R. Sampson and S. M. Gifford, "Place-making, settlement and well-being: The therapeutic landscapes of recently arrived youth with refugee backgrounds." Health & place 16, no. 1, Elsevier, 2010, pp.116-131.
[8] T. Nirarta Samadhi, "The urban design of a Balinese town: placemaking issues in the Balinese urban setting." Habitat International 25, Elsevier, 2001, pp.559-575.
[9] M. Germen, “Istanbul Gezi Park Resistance Movement as Public Engagement in the Making of Place”, Reflections on Creativity: Public Engagement and The Making of Place, Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 184, Elsevier, 2015, pp. 13-21.
[10] E. Thomas, S. Pate and A. Ranson, “The crosstown initiative: Art, community, and placemaking in Memphis”, American journal of community psychology, 55(1-2), Elsevier, 2015, pp.74-88.
[11] A. M. Madureira, "Physical planning in place-making through design and image building." Journal of Housing and the Built Environment 30, no. 1, 2015, pp. 157-172.
[12] E. J. Cilliers, W. Timmermans, F. Van den Goorbergh and J. Slijkhuis. "Green Place-making in Practice: From Temporary Spaces to Permanent Places." Journal of Urban Design, 20, Routledge: Taylor and Francis Group, London, UK, no. 3, 2015, pp. 349-366.
[13] R. Behrens and V. Watson, Making Urban Places: Principles and Guidelines for Layout Planning, UCT Press, Cape Town, 1997.
[14] CSIR, Guidelines for Human Settlement Planning and Design, CSIR Building and Construction Technology, Pretoria, 2000
[15] J. Schofield and R. Szymanski, “Sense of place in a changing world”, In Local heritage, global context: cultural perspectives on sense of place, J. Schofield and R. Szymanski (Eds.), Surrey: Ashgate Publishing Limited. 2011, pp. 1-11.
[16] J. Friedmann, “Place and place-making in cities: a global perspective” Planning Theory & Practice, 11(2), 2010, 149-165.
[17] P. Healey, Collaborative planning: Shaping places in fragmented societies, UBc Press: Vancouver, 1997.
[18] N. Gallent, M. Juntti, S. Kidd and D. Shaw, Introduction to rural planning, Routledge: Taylor and Francis Group, London, UK, 2008.
[19] Republic of South Africa, “The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996” Pretoria: Government Printer, 1996, p.24.
[20] Republic of South Africa, “Spatial planning and land use management Act, 16 of 2013 (SPLUMA)” Pretoria: Government Printer, 2013.
[21] South African Presidency, “n.a. Growth and Development Summits: guidelines for district and metropolitan municipalities”, http://www.thepresidency.gov.za/docs/pcsa/planning/gdsguidelines.pdf. Date of access: 31 May 2013.
[22] CSIR, “Guidelines for Human Settlement Planning and Design (The Red Book)” Pretoria: CSIR, 2005.
[23] P. Siyongwana and T. Mayekiso, “Local community and stakeholder participation in post-apartheid urban renewal development projects in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.” Africa insight, 41(3), 2011, pp.142-156.
[24] B. Maharaj, “Apartheid, urban segregation, and the local state: Durban and the Group Areas Act in South Africa” Urban Geography, 18(2), 1997, pp.135-154.
[25] P.E. Raper, Dictionary of South African place names, 2nd ed. Johannesburg: Jonathan Ball Publishers, 1989.
[26] S. Silberberg, K. Lora, R. Disbrow, and A. Muessig, Places in the Making: How placemaking builds places and communities, Boston: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2013
[27] J. Lepofsky and J. C. Fraser, “Building community citizens: Claiming the right to place making in the city” Urban Studies, 40(1), 2003, pp.127-142.
[28] R. K. Jarvis, “Urban environments as visual art or as social settings?”, Town Planning, 1980.
[29] K. Lynch, Managing the sense of a region. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press Review, 51(1), 1991, pp. 50.
[30] B. Lang and P. Sakdapolrak, “Violent place-making: How Kenya's post-election violence transforms a workers' settlement at Lake Naivasha.” Political Geography, 45, 2015, pp.67-78.
[31] J. Schupbach, “creative placemaking”, Economic Development Journal, 14(4), 2015, p.28.
[32] S. Feuchtwang, “Theorising Place. In S. Feuchtwang, Making Place: State Projects”, Globalisation and Local, Responses in China, Hoboken: Taylor and Francis, 2012, pp.3-30.
[33] Wilfred Yang, W 2015, 'Remaking Guangzhou: Geo-Identity and Place-Making on Sina Weibo', Media International Australia (8/1/07-Current), 156, pp. 29-38, Communication & Mass Media Complete
[34] Jiven, G., & Larkham, P. J. 2003. Sense of Place, Authenticity and Character: A. Journal of Urban Design, 8(1), 67-81.
[35] N. M. Ardoin, "Toward an interdisciplinary understanding of place: Lessons for environmental education." Canadian Journal of Environmental Education (CJEE) 11, no. 1, 2006, pp.112-126.
[36] A. Rapoport, Human Aspects of Urban Forms. Oxford, U.K.: Pergamon Press., 1997.
[37] A. Rapoport, “Development, culture change and supportive design”, Habitat International, 7(5), 1983, pp.249-268.
[38] D.R. Williams and J. J. Vaske, J. J. “The measure of place attachment: Validity and generalizability of a psychometric approach.” Forest Science, 49(6), 2003, pp.830-840.
[39] D. Trudeau, “Politics of belonging in the construction of landscapes: placemaking, boundary-drawing and exclusion” Cultural Geographies 13, 2006, pp.421-443.
[40] W. Strydom and K. Puren. "A participatory approach to public space design as informative for place-making." Challenges of Modern Technology 4, 2013.
[41] W. J. Strydom and K. Puren. "From Space to Place in Urban Planning: Facilitating Change Through Participatory Action Research." WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment 191, WIT Press: UK, 2014, pp. 463-476.
[42] Google Maps API Terms of Use, Available at: https://www.google.co.za/maps/@-26.71394,27.0506988,12.25z?hl=en, accessed on 2 September 2016
[43] N. Mfene, and D. Taylor, “Enhancing the Leadership of Ward Councillors through Emotional Intelligence”, Africa Insight, 45, 3, 2015, pp. 16-30.
[44] E. S. McLaughlin, “Language Policies and Voter Turnout: Evidence from South Africa” Journal of African Elections, Published by EISA 14 Park Road, Richmond Johannesburg South Africa, 14., 2015
[45] J. Mouton and E. Babbie, The practice of social research, Cape Town: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 2001
[46] J. W. Creswell, Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications, Inc.P. D, 2003
[47] P. D. Leedy and J. E. Ormrod, Qualitative research. Practical research: Planning and design, Pearson Education International: New Jersey, 2014, pp.141-172.
[48] C. Robson, Real world research: a resource for users of social research methods in applied settings, Chichester: Wiley, 2011
[49] J.A. Maxwell, Qualitative research design: An interactive approach. Vol. 41. Sage publications, 2012
[50] N. K. Denzin and Y. S. Lincoln, (eds.), The SAGE handbook of qualitative research. 4 edition, Sage Publications Inc. USA, 2011, pp. 100-583.
[51] A. Markusen and A. Gadwa, A. “Arts and culture in urban or regional planning: A review and research agenda” Journal of planning education and research, 29(3), 2010, pp.379-391.
[52] M. Terre Blanche, K. Durrheim and D. Painter, (Eds.), Research in Practice: Applied Methods for the Social Science, Cape Town: UCT Press, 2006.
[53] G. Nelson, J. Ochocka, K. Griffin, and J. Lord, “Nothing about me, without me: Participatory action research with self-help/mutual aid organizations for psychiatric consumer/survivors”, American journal of community psychology, 26(6), 1998, pp.881-912.
[54] J. Ochocka, R. Janzen and G. Nelson, “Sharing power and knowledge: Professional and mental health consumer/survivor researchers working together in a participatory action research project”, Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 25, 4, 2002, pp. 379-387.
[55] J. Ochocka, E. Moorlag and R. Janzen, “A framework for entry: PAR values and engagement strategies in community research. Gateways”, International Journal of Community Research and Engagement, 3, 2010, pp.1-19.
[56] T. Winkler, “University Engagements and Planning Education - At the Coalface: Community”, Journal of Planning Education and Research, Sage publications, 2013, pp.213-228.
[57] M. Grønkjær, T. Curtis, C. de Crespigny and C. Delmar, “Analysing group interaction in focus group research: Impact on content and the role of the moderator” Qualitative Studies, 2(1), 2011, pp.16-30.
[58] P. Reason and H. Bradbury, The Sage handbook of action research: participative inquiry and practice. 2nd ed. Sage publications. The romweel press, 2008, pp. 20-427.
[59] T. Kvan, “Collaborative design: what is it?”, Automation in construction, 9(4), 2000, pp. 409-415.
[60] I. Holloway and S. Wheeler, “Ethical issues in qualitative nursing research” Nursing Ethics, 2(3), 1995, pp223-232.
[61] R. Trancik, Finding lost space: theories of urban design. John Wiley & Sons, 1986.
[62] H. Lefebvre, The production of space, vol. 142, Blackwell: Oxford, 1991.
@article{"International Journal of Architectural, Civil and Construction Sciences:74087", author = "W. J. Strydom and K. Puren", title = "An Exploration of the Dimensions of Place-Making: A South African Case Study", abstract = "Place-making is viewed here as an empowering process in which people represent, improve and maintain their spatial (natural or built) environment. With the above-mentioned in mind, place-making is multi-dimensional and include a spatial dimension (including visual properties or the end product/plan), a procedural dimension during which (negotiation/discussion of ideas with all relevant stakeholders in terms of end product/plan) and a psychological dimension (inclusion of intrinsic values and meanings related to a place in the end product/plan). These three represent dimensions of place-making. The purpose of this paper is to explore these dimensions of place-making in a case study of a local community in Ikageng, Potchefstroom, North-West Province, South Africa. This case study represents an inclusive process that strives to empower a local community (forcefully relocated due to Apartheid legislation in South Africa). This case study focussed on the inclusion of participants in the decision-making process regarding their daily environment. By means of focus group discussions and a collaborative design workshop, data is generated and ultimately creates a linkage with the theoretical dimensions of place-making. This paper contributes to the field of spatial planning due to the exploration of the dimensions of place-making and the relevancy of this process on spatial planning (especially in a South African setting).
", keywords = "Case study, place-making, spatial planning, spatial dimension, procedural dimension, psychological dimension.", volume = "10", number = "10", pages = "1332-9", }
