ABSTRACT

South African cities are rapidly changing in response to urbanization and migration, declining rural and urban economies and increasing inequality and insecurity. The chapter examines the transition of a number of contemporary public spaces in the City of Tshwane through patterns of degradation, mitigation and adaptation, based on multiple case studies of public spaces carried out across the country between 2014 and 2017 and interviews with urban designers and planners. Cities in Africa experience three major challenges, namely overcrowding, disconnection, and high development costs. The physical degradation of public spaces is characterized by litter, graffiti, broken lights and windows, and signs of vandalized infrastructure and polluted rivers. The public spaces are used by a variety of users for various activities, some that are considered to be contributing to social degradation. While some spaces have degraded and others managed to mitigate patterns of decline, a number of spaces have adapted to the changing conditions in South African cities.