Re-thinking Healthcare in Cities

Neighbourhoods, Public Space, Communities and Primary Care Service

Professor Phil Astley

The four day intensive workshop with Prof. Astley was centred around healthcare and well-being. However, the principles involved in this were extracted and reinterpreted into out current projects, under their respective topics. Many principles came out of this workshop, with the most relevant to my work being:

• Scenario Planning
• Structure with apparent Chaos
• Planning Networks
• Integration of existing networks and services
• Interim projects on site
• Using art for ownership
• Project definition
• User paths
• Stakeholders vs. Users
• Soft Processes
• Complexity Theory
• Reflexivity Theory
• De-centralisation
• Urban Agriculture

User Paths

Factors of Change

Factor Timeline

Information and Communications Technologies (ICT)

Pecha Kuch Presentation

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Thesis Site

26°10'10.1"S 27°58'20.0"E

The site is situated in Newlands, Johannesburg, South Africa. It is a refuse disposal site that has been closed for over three and a half years. 

Since 2006 the site has received a revamp, promises of a public open space with a soccer pitch, an upgrade to recycling and disposal facilities, a shopping centre, permanent closure, proposed mixed land-use development, and the site for the proposed townships of Albertville Extension 5-12.

With the history of a refuse disposal site, in conjunction with the river and wetland on the north edge of the site, provides the opportunity for a landscape rehabilitation intervention. 

In contrast to this landscape intervention, the site is home to tens of ‘Work Seekers’ (men that wait all day, every day, in the hope of finding piece work). This also creates the opportunity for a socio-economic intervention – or societal rehabilitation. It is the juxtaposition and amalgamation of these two distinct intervention opportunities, each exciting in their own right, which gives this site and project the value that it has.

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Thesis time