Legislative Framework Influencing Public Space Development The South African Experience of Racial Based Segregation Legislation and its impact on Public Space Development

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Cover image: A public space in Johannesburg. Credit: GIZ VCP, Inclusive violence and crime prevention programme.
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Published: Dec 31, 2022
DOI: https://doi.org/10.32891/jps.v7i1.1612
Keywords:
public space development legislation South Africa

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Puvendra Akkiah
eThekwini Municipality

Abstract

People-Centred Public Spaces are attentive to the needs of communities, democratic, and responsive to the spatial environment of cities. Public space is a key component for cities in sustaining a viable people-centred public realm. This article provides an insight into the legislative framework that influenced the expression of public space on the spatial footprint of South African cities. Whilst Legislation does provide an enabling framework for spatial development including that of public spaces, in the South African Context there are contrasting examples of spatial development due to the impact of Apartheid-Related legislation. This article delves further into the impact of legislation that enforced physical separation of race groups on the development of people-centred public space as well the transition to developmental Local Government. 

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How to Cite
Akkiah, P. (2022) “Legislative Framework Influencing Public Space Development: The South African Experience of Racial Based Segregation Legislation and its impact on Public Space Development”, The Journal of Public Space, 7(1), pp. 395–408. doi: 10.32891/jps.v7i1.1612.
Issue
Vol. 7 No. 1 (2022): Public Space and Placemaking in African Cities
Section
Non Academic / Case study
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Author Biography

Puvendra Akkiah, eThekwini Municipality

Mr Puvendra Akkiah studied at Durban University of Technology. He is a qualified and a professional Town and Regional Planner coupled with more than 20 years of experience within Africa and Central Africa at a local, national and international level. Mr Akkiah is a bi-lingual and fluent in English and Afrikaans. He has an extensive experience in strategic planning coupled with land use planning, socio-economic studies, database design, aerial photography analysis preliminary and feasibility studies, technical/ field surveys, statutory planning (Rezoning and Special Consent Applications) and conceptual layout design. He also has Senior Management experience at a local municipal level in strategically preparing, monitoring and management of the Spatial Development Plan for the South Durban Basin (SDB).  In 2017 he was shortlisted for the UN Habitat Scroll of Honor Award and the National Skill Development Award-Category Ministers award for Outstanding Individual. He is a sought-after facilitator, presenter and moderator and together with the City of Durban hosts annual master classes on Urban Strategic Planning. Mr Akkiah has co-authored the Global Policy Framework for Public Spaces and various public space learning publications. He is currently working on the alignment of the SDG’s to the municipal strategy. He was appointed by the Minster or Rural Development and Land Affairs as a Board Member of the South African Council of Planners, he was previously a National Board Member of the International Society of City and Regional Planners (ISOCARP). He was a member of the UN Advisory Committee for the World Urban Forum 10 and part of the team that developed the WUF 10 declaration. He is also one of the 3 appointed SDG Champions in eThekwini Municipality. He has also contributed to 3 of the UN Expert group on Public Space, Implementation of the SDG11 and Post Covid Recovery, of which the latter two reports would be presented to the High-Level Political Forum of the UN in July 2023. More recently Mr Akkiah was invited by the President of the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations as a member of the Multi-Stakeholder Advisory Group for the 2023 ECOSOC Partnership Forum.

 

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