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Urban Compaction and Densification in Bloemfontein, South Africa: Measuring the Current Urban Form Against Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality’s Spatial Planning Proposals for Compaction

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Abstract

Bloemfontein developed in a similar manner to most South African cities in terms of its informants of historic urban form as well as past and current spatial development policies. It therefore exhibits an urban form very similar to other South African cities and consequently faces the same challenges to achieve compaction as most South African urban areas. The paper ascertains the level of compactness and densification achieved in Bloemfontein against proposals for achieving compactness made by its spatial frameworks. To do this, the paper uses the 2001 and 2011 South African Population Census data to develop an index of densification, intensification and compaction using Burton (Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design 29:219–250, 2002)’s framework for freestanding compact cities.

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Notes

  1. namely the data from four quarters of 2011 of the Quarterly Labour Force survey (Stats SA 2012);

  2. Bowness 1992; Mashalaba 2002; RSA 1995; African Institute for Community-Driven Development 2005; Tonkin 2008; MMM 2011a, b; SACN 2011; MMM 2012; Toba et al. 2012; Stats SA 2012; http://www.policeroadstransport.fs.gov.za

  3. This standardises the values across indicators to have a mean of 0.0 and a standard deviation of 1.0 with negative scores for areas with below average performance and those with positive scores, an above-average performance. The size of the score shows the extent to which the area is below or above average. Averaging the z-scores then ensures that all indicators are of equal importance (Burton 2002).

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  1. Statistics South Africa: Free State, Pretoria, South Africa

    Ntebaleng Chobokoane

  2. Centre for Urban and Regional Innovation and Statistical Exploration, University of Stellenbosch, Stellenbosch, South Africa

    Anele Horn

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  1. Ntebaleng Chobokoane
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  2. Anele Horn
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Chobokoane, N., Horn, A. Urban Compaction and Densification in Bloemfontein, South Africa: Measuring the Current Urban Form Against Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality’s Spatial Planning Proposals for Compaction. Urban Forum 26, 77–93 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12132-014-9233-5

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