Hardback
Densifying the City?
Global Cases and Johannesburg
9781789904932 Edward Elgar Publishing
Providing an in-depth exploration of the complexities of densification policy and processes, this book brings the important experiences of densification in Johannesburg into conversation with a range of cities in Africa, the BRICS countries and the Global North. It moves beyond the divisive debate over whether densification is good or bad, adding nuance and complexity to the calls from multilateral organisations for densification as a key urban strategy.
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Critical Acclaim
Contributors
Contents
More Information
Providing an in-depth exploration of the complexities of densification policy and processes, this book brings the important experiences of densification in Johannesburg into conversation with a range of cities in Africa, the BRICS countries and the Global North. It moves beyond the divisive debate over whether densification is good or bad, adding nuance and complexity to the calls from multilateral organisations for densification as a key urban strategy.
Using empirical work in a comparative frame, Densifying the City? examines how densification policies and processes have manifested often in unanticipated or contrary ways. It offers important insights into resident-led densification and the processes and motivations that drive these activities.
This will be an invigorating read for urban studies and urban planning scholars looking to move beyond a basic understanding of densifying cities to understanding the strategy behind it and its successes. Urban policy makers will also appreciate the use of key case studies throughout the book.
Using empirical work in a comparative frame, Densifying the City? examines how densification policies and processes have manifested often in unanticipated or contrary ways. It offers important insights into resident-led densification and the processes and motivations that drive these activities.
This will be an invigorating read for urban studies and urban planning scholars looking to move beyond a basic understanding of densifying cities to understanding the strategy behind it and its successes. Urban policy makers will also appreciate the use of key case studies throughout the book.
Critical Acclaim
‘This collection is a recommended read for people who seek an excellent overview of South African urbanism and beyond with an interest in urban socio-technical instruments. Given the breadth of analytical genres and the empirical richness of this book, it will help urban practitioners, scholars, and students to explore the relationship between theoretical and practical considerations of urban densification and to advance both for a more just and sustainable urban future.’
– Hung-Ying Chen, Eurasian Geography and Economics
‘Densification is increasingly positioned as vital to cities and the global urban future. This collection of cases, from across the urban world, offers an invaluable critique of the politics and geographies of densification, and provides a set of progressive routes forward.’
– Colin McFarlane, Durham University, UK
‘Urban densification has long been one of those enduring “wicked problems” which has long perplexed urban planners and policy experts. By offering a balanced analysis that unpacks the costs and benefits of compact cities, the contributors critically engage with the reigning conventional wisdom that densification is a central ingredient for urban sustainability and smart growth.’
– Martin J. Murray, University of Michigan, US
– Hung-Ying Chen, Eurasian Geography and Economics
‘Densification is increasingly positioned as vital to cities and the global urban future. This collection of cases, from across the urban world, offers an invaluable critique of the politics and geographies of densification, and provides a set of progressive routes forward.’
– Colin McFarlane, Durham University, UK
‘Urban densification has long been one of those enduring “wicked problems” which has long perplexed urban planners and policy experts. By offering a balanced analysis that unpacks the costs and benefits of compact cities, the contributors critically engage with the reigning conventional wisdom that densification is a central ingredient for urban sustainability and smart growth.’
– Martin J. Murray, University of Michigan, US
Contributors
Contributors: A. Appelbaum, R. Behrens, K. Brown, S. Charlton, S. Cooke, S. Croese, S. Denoon-Stevens, K. Dörmann, K.M. Güney, K. Harrison, P. Harrison, L.B. Howe, M. Huchzermeyer, P. Jenkins, R. Keil, R. Khoza, G. Klein, K. Letsoalo, M. Maina, C. Malavolti, S.S. Mayson, J. Mottelson, K. Moyo, A.K. Nakano, V. Nel, A. Parker, L. Poulsen, P.S.N Rao, M. Rubin, G. Searle, M. Silverman, A. Todes, I. Turok, M. Üçoğlu, Y. Yang, T. Zack, P. Zanon, M. Zuidgeest
Contents
Contents:
SECTION A DENSIFICATION IN A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE
1 Thinking density through selected international case cities 2
Philip Harrison, Alison Todes, Margot Rubin and Alexandra Appelbaum
2 Thinking densification from and through Johannesburg 17
Alison Todes, Philip Harrison, Margot Rubin and Alexandra Appelbaum
3 Density, informality and the urban premium 40
Ivan Turok
4 The challenges of planning and managing urban density in the city of
São Paulo, Brazil 52
Anderson Kazuo Nakano
5 Successes and challenges of densification strategies in Curitiba, Brazil 63
Garth Klein and Priscila Zanon
6 Form, function, density: understanding the legacies of a century of
modernist planning and urbanisation in Istanbul 73
Murat Üçoğlu, K. Murat Güney and Roger Keil
7 Densities in Delhi, India: evolution, process and policies 83
PSN Rao
8 Drivers of density change: the case of Beijing, China 93
Philip Harrison and Yan Yang
9 Vibrancy and instability: grappling with tension in the densification
trajectory of Nairobi’s multi-storey tenement districts 103
Marie Huchzermeyer
10 Understanding density in unplanned and unregulated settlements of
peri-urban Africa: a case study of Maputo, Mozambique 114
Paul Jenkins and Johan Mottelson
11 Government policies and accelerating densification in Sydney 125
Glen Searle
SECTION B EXPERIENCING DENSIFICATION IN JOHANNESBURG
12 Densification through intensification: sub-letting in the inner city of
Johannesburg 136
Tanya Zack, Sarah Charlton, Rirhandzu Khoza, Kwena Letsoalo and
Chloé Malavolti
13 Residential alienation or the right to the city? ‘Rooms’ and ‘spaces’ as
a mode of densification in Johannesburg and Cape Town 147
Kayla Brown and Simon Sizwe Mayson
14 Densities, enclaves, and the daily lives of migrants in Johannesburg 159
Khangelani Moyo
15 Urban compounds: densifying bungalows in Johannesburg 168
Kirsten Dörmann
16 Densification processes in comparison: Alexandra and Marlboro South 179
Lindsay Blair Howe
17 Living with strangers: backyarding, density and intimacy in Johannesburg 190
Margot Rubin and Sarah Charlton
18 On the defensive: the residential strategies shaping densification in
Johannesburg’s northern suburbs 202
Alexandra Parker and Alexandra Appelbaum
19 Three emerging medium-density housing types in Johannesburg:
improving their spatial performance 213
Lone Poulsen and Melinda Silverman
SECTION C DENSIFICATION THROUGH TRANSIT-ORIENTED
DEVELOPMENT: JOHANNESBURG’S CORRIDORS OF FREEDOM
20 Densifying through TOD: international experience with BRT 225
Sylvia Croese
21 Implementing transit-oriented development in Sandton Central:
ambitions and realities 235
Miriam Maina
22 Density, access and public transport finance 246
Sean Cooke, Roger Behrens and Mark Zuidgeest
23 The politics of TOD: the case of Johannesburg’s Corridors of Freedom 256
Philip Harrison and Margot Rubin
24 Developers, density and the dreams of the Corridors of Freedom 266
Kirsten Harrison and Alison Todes
25 Proactive rezoning to promote inclusive densification 276
Stuart Denoon-Stevens and Verna Nel
Index 284
SECTION A DENSIFICATION IN A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE
1 Thinking density through selected international case cities 2
Philip Harrison, Alison Todes, Margot Rubin and Alexandra Appelbaum
2 Thinking densification from and through Johannesburg 17
Alison Todes, Philip Harrison, Margot Rubin and Alexandra Appelbaum
3 Density, informality and the urban premium 40
Ivan Turok
4 The challenges of planning and managing urban density in the city of
São Paulo, Brazil 52
Anderson Kazuo Nakano
5 Successes and challenges of densification strategies in Curitiba, Brazil 63
Garth Klein and Priscila Zanon
6 Form, function, density: understanding the legacies of a century of
modernist planning and urbanisation in Istanbul 73
Murat Üçoğlu, K. Murat Güney and Roger Keil
7 Densities in Delhi, India: evolution, process and policies 83
PSN Rao
8 Drivers of density change: the case of Beijing, China 93
Philip Harrison and Yan Yang
9 Vibrancy and instability: grappling with tension in the densification
trajectory of Nairobi’s multi-storey tenement districts 103
Marie Huchzermeyer
10 Understanding density in unplanned and unregulated settlements of
peri-urban Africa: a case study of Maputo, Mozambique 114
Paul Jenkins and Johan Mottelson
11 Government policies and accelerating densification in Sydney 125
Glen Searle
SECTION B EXPERIENCING DENSIFICATION IN JOHANNESBURG
12 Densification through intensification: sub-letting in the inner city of
Johannesburg 136
Tanya Zack, Sarah Charlton, Rirhandzu Khoza, Kwena Letsoalo and
Chloé Malavolti
13 Residential alienation or the right to the city? ‘Rooms’ and ‘spaces’ as
a mode of densification in Johannesburg and Cape Town 147
Kayla Brown and Simon Sizwe Mayson
14 Densities, enclaves, and the daily lives of migrants in Johannesburg 159
Khangelani Moyo
15 Urban compounds: densifying bungalows in Johannesburg 168
Kirsten Dörmann
16 Densification processes in comparison: Alexandra and Marlboro South 179
Lindsay Blair Howe
17 Living with strangers: backyarding, density and intimacy in Johannesburg 190
Margot Rubin and Sarah Charlton
18 On the defensive: the residential strategies shaping densification in
Johannesburg’s northern suburbs 202
Alexandra Parker and Alexandra Appelbaum
19 Three emerging medium-density housing types in Johannesburg:
improving their spatial performance 213
Lone Poulsen and Melinda Silverman
SECTION C DENSIFICATION THROUGH TRANSIT-ORIENTED
DEVELOPMENT: JOHANNESBURG’S CORRIDORS OF FREEDOM
20 Densifying through TOD: international experience with BRT 225
Sylvia Croese
21 Implementing transit-oriented development in Sandton Central:
ambitions and realities 235
Miriam Maina
22 Density, access and public transport finance 246
Sean Cooke, Roger Behrens and Mark Zuidgeest
23 The politics of TOD: the case of Johannesburg’s Corridors of Freedom 256
Philip Harrison and Margot Rubin
24 Developers, density and the dreams of the Corridors of Freedom 266
Kirsten Harrison and Alison Todes
25 Proactive rezoning to promote inclusive densification 276
Stuart Denoon-Stevens and Verna Nel
Index 284
