Attitudes and preferences towards elements of formal and informal public green spaces in two South African towns
- Authors: Manyani, Amanda , Shackleton, Charlie M , Cocks, Michelle L
- Date: 2021
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/402203 , vital:69830 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2021.104147"
- Description: Different types of public urban green spaces (PUGS) contain various natural (such as trees, pools, flowerbeds) and artificial elements (such as benches, play equipment, fountains) which contribute to the enjoyment and experience of users. However, which elements users most require, appreciate or notice has rarely been examined as the basis of their choice for specific PUGS, especially in poorer neighbourhoods and countries, where formal PUGS may be limited. The study was carried out in two towns in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa, both characterized by high poverty and unemployment levels, low literacy rates and many people living without basic infrastructure and services. To understand the meanings people, have for specific PUGS elements, formal and informal PUGS and peri-urban municipal commonages were assessed with respect to the natural and artificial elements present. A survey of 360 households was conducted across two towns by targeting PUGS users and households within 100 m from the designated PUGS. Approximately 63% of the respondents visited PUGS, with informal PUGS being the most frequented. However, they were strong negative feelings towards some natural elements because of their unkempt nature. Issues of safety, cultural restrictions and lack of recreational facilities were mentioned as some of the specific deterrents against visiting the closest PUGS among different user and age groups. Most respondents emphasized the need for PUGS that are well laid out with maintained lawns, recreational facilities and open vegetation. Thus, the current design and available features within the studied PUGS do not meet local preferences and needs and thus do not contribute to enjoyment as much as they could. Attention needs to be given to understand and incorporate the elements that invoke positive attitudes among urban residents.
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- Date Issued: 2021
What are social-ecological systems and social-ecological systems research
- Authors: Biggs, Reinette , Clements, Hayley , de Vos, Alta , Folke, Carl , Manyani, Amanda , Maciejewski, Kristine , Martin-Lopez, Berta , Preiser, Rika , Selomane, Odirilwe , Schluter, Maja
- Date: 2021
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , book chapter
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/433900 , vital:73008 , ISBN 9781000401516 , https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/49560
- Description: The period since the Second World War has been marked by rapid and accelerating changes to many aspects of human society and the environment (Clark, Crutzen, and Schellnhuber 2004; Steffen et al. 2011; Steffen et al. 2015a). There is accumulating evidence and rising concern about the potential consequences these changes hold for key Earth system processes at a global scale, and human well-being and prosperity into the future (Krausmann et al. 2013; Steffen et al. 2015b). The Anthropocene, as this new era of extensive human impact on the Earth has come to be known (Crutzen 2006), manifests in a closely intertwined set of social and ecological changes. Technological advances, increasing human population, rising levels of wealth and consumption, and the institutional arrangements we have developed to govern our economies and societies interplay with one another, and drastically affect the Earth’s climate, biological diversity, fresh-water and biogeochemical flows, and levels of novel pollutants in the environment (Steffen et al. 2015a). These environmental changes, in turn, contribute to increasingly frequent and severe droughts (Dai 2013; Trenberth et al. 2014), floods (Milly et al. 2002; Nicholls 2004), heatwaves (Guo et al. 2018; Oliver et al. 2018) and the emergence of novel pathogens such as SARS-CoV-2 (Everard et al. 2020; O ’Callaghan-Gordo and Antò 2020; Schmeller, Courchamp, and Killeen 2020) that can lead to massive societal disruption and hardship, especially among the poor (Wheeler and Von Braun 2013; Barbier and Hochard 2018).
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- Date Issued: 2021
Decolonisation of nature in towns and cities of South Africa:
- Authors: Cocks, Michelle L , Shackleton, Charlie M , Walsh, Lindsey S , Haynes, Duncan , Manyani, Amanda , Radebe, Dennis
- Date: 2020
- Language: English
- Type: text , book
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/175720 , vital:42618 , ISBN 9781000215182
- Description: Ways of conceptualising the world around us and being in this world are defined by an ontological understanding. Within a Eurocentric ideological understanding, nature is positioned to be opposite to culture, ie, nature is considered as “other” of which humans are not a part. Modernity is perceived as the antithesis of nature as processes of production, metabolism and expansion of modern cities represent attempts to tame and control nature. In turn, cities have become viewed as agents of development and change, promoting ideals of progress, thinking and innovation (Jayne 2005). Eurocentric ideals are framed as the forerunners of these processes and have come to influence international policies, global governance, alliances and networks which have in turn informed the design and governance of cities and influenced all aspects of urban liveability (Bouteligier 2011), including how urban natures are defined and constructed and the wellbeing benefits derived from them.
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- Date Issued: 2020
How do urban dwellers identify with features within urban green spaces in the Eastern Cape?
- Authors: Manyani, Amanda
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Land use, Urban -- South Africa , Greenbelts -- South Africa , City planning -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/95596 , vital:31174
- Description: Public urban green spaces contain natural and artificial features which play crucial roles in supporting urban social-ecological systems, a fact now recognized globally. The various natural and artificial features contained in public urban green spaces are said to be key contributors to the quality of life and well-being of urban dwellers. Nevertheless, this has been largely ignored in urban design in South Africa, especially in the poorer township and Reconstruction Development Program (RDP) areas. At the individual household and community levels within the poorer communities, the provision of green spaces and trees, as well as recreation facilities, is well below world standards, and much less than what is available in the more affluent areas of South African towns. Additionally, most research on the links between nature and human well-being in urban contexts comes from developed world contexts which adopt a westernized view of the relationship. Yet, in many societies of the Global South, including South Africa, worldviews and experiences of nature in green spaces and use of other recreational features takes on different meanings to those of the Global North. To show these differences, a combination of methods was used in this study, different types of green spaces were assessed and evaluated by structured observations so as to record the features present within the spaces. A survey of 360 households was conducted by targeting green space users and households within 100 metres from a green space. Results indicated that, across all the green space types, formal green spaces had a low cover of shrubs, trees and herbs whilst having high lawn cover. Furthermore, vegetation had poor rating across all the green spaces since the vegetation was either overgrown herbs, dense thickets of shrubs and mostly alien trees that were either diseased or forked. Similar to the disparity in the composition and structure of vegetation within the green spaces, there was a wide variability in the composition of recreational features and amenities across the green spaces. The formal green spaces had the most amenities like play equipment, shelter and seating. Informal green spaces and commonages had little or no recreational features available. The attributes of these spaces therefore influenced the reasons for visiting as more than 90 % of the respondents simply used the spaces for transit. With regards to attitudes and preferences towards particular features, they were emerging sense of strong negative feelings towards natural features. Most respondents emphasized the need for green spaces that are well laid out with maintained lawns, recreational facilities and open vegetation. Thus, the current design and available features within the studied urban green spaces do not meet local needs and aspirations and thus do not contribute to better well-being and quality of life as much as they could. Specifically, the various health benefits linked with being in contact with nature in the public green spaces were not evident in this study. The South African specific context in green space use, perception and people’s preferences is thus crucial for urban planning and sustainability.
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- Date Issued: 2019