Security-conscious SA embraces new urbanism
06-04-2005
New urbanism in the form of self-contained villages in metropolitan suburbia offering a mix of residential, retail and office space, schools, and both indoor and outdoor recreational activities, is fast becoming a trend in South Africa.
As decentralised shopping centres spread worldwide, after originating in the USA more than 60 years ago, the “hybrid centre” with its retail/residential, indoor/outdoor mix is the latest American phenomenon likely to be emulated in many countries.
A number of new urban villages comprising mixed-use facilities such as residential accommodation, private schools, offices, retail stores, lifestyle centres, sporting facilities and medical clinics all in one secure, enclosed environment, have already been constructed in the Witwatersrand and Cape Peninsula areas.
Rode & Associates CEO Erwin Rode says it is no surprise that security-conscious South Africans are embracing this type of new urbanism. “Developers are responding to demand, and the demand for security complexes is a direct result of the crime wave.”
With the prospects of a significant reduction in crime and/or better policing remote, Rode sees this type of self-contained village in the heart of suburbia as the way of the future for this country. For South Africans, demoralised by many years of exposure to high levels of crime, it is a natural security step up from the popular combination of cluster-home complexes close to an under-one-roof regional shopping centre. Now homeowners can work, shop and play without stepping outside the confines of their “village”.
Rode points out that South Africa’s poor public transport system and lack of culture in using public transport, is another reason why cluster complexes and urban villages are proving to be so popular here. With the economy now into third gear, South Africans know that traffic clog-up is bound to get worse.
Make no mistake, says Rode, there is also a downside to living in village complexes. “Owners now have less freedom of decision-making regarding prosaic things like the colour of the house, where you may erect a satellite dish, where you may park, the size of your pets, etc. Village-living is a compromise, and middle and upper-class South Africans wouldn't opt for this type of living if there wasn't a perceived need for this.”
