Intervention Location

Within the Juta Street, Braamfontein area I have selected my intervention location/site on the block surrounded by de Korte, Bertha, Juta and de Beer Streets.

On the South-West block of the site are the Pikitup Offices, on the South-East corner of the block 'The Milner Park' - which is one of the oldest surviving buildings in Braamfontein, and 'Kitchener’s Carvery Bar' on the ground floor is officially recognised as the second oldest bar in Johannesburg. There is a high-rise student accommodation building in the North-West quadrant of the block, Pikitup rents out the parking under this building for its staff and has the parking East of its offices for visitors.

My specific intervention location can be seen by the hatched area on the image below.

Intervention Location

Keret House

Weekend House Alley

Recent History of Braamfontein

As of 2002 Braamfontein was in desperate need of attention. It had problems ranging from street level - such as broken and filthy pavements and inadequate refuse removal - to rife homelessness/informal traders to massive traffic congestion and unauthorised taxi ranks. In 2004 the City Improvement District (CID) was established as the most viable intervention to reverse the downward spiral.

Liberty Group, Sappi and Nedbank Safety Initiative started the project along Ameshoff and Simmonds streets. Sappi, the JD Group, Liberty Group and Apex-Hi decided to upgrade the entire Hoofd Street area and the Civic Precinct in a joint venture with the Johannesburg Development Agency. Plans for future improvements in Braamfontein include a gateway feature to the university campus, pedestrian linkages through to Constitution Hill, upgrading the alleyways between buildings, providing public art, re-opening of the historic Alexander Theatre and new pavement coffee shops.

The Braamfontein Management District (BMD) is bounded by Hoofd, Bertha, Loveday and Juta streets, and the services undertaken by the BMD are supplementary to those provided by local council. The initial step for BMD is securing the improvement district and creating a clean, well-managed environment. The squad comprises 39 patrol officers and one controller, co-ordination is done from the control room situated in Leebram Building, 42 Biccard Street, Braamfontein, which is in radio and telephone contact with the security force officers and the police.

The BMD marketing programme aims to improve the overall image of the business district through branding, collaborative promotional strategies, market research and a communications campaign.The BMD management team ensures that the quality of services provided and the vision of the area is implemented. If you have comments, questions or queries please contact them.

In 2004 the City Improvement District (CID) was established as the most viable intervention to reverse the downward spiral. Liberty Group, Sappi and Nedbank Safety Initiative started the project along Ameshoff and Simmonds streets. Sappi, the JD Group, Liberty Group and Apex-Hi decided to upgrade the entire Hoofd Street area and the Civic Precinct in a joint venture with the Johannesburg Development Agency.
Plans for future improvements in Braamfontein include a gateway feature to the university campus, pedestrian linkages through to Constitution Hill, upgrading the alleyways between buildings, providing public art, re-opening of the historic Alexander Theatre and new pavement coffee shops.

The Braamfontein Management District (BMD) is bounded by Hoofd, Bertha, Loveday and Juta streets, and the services undertaken by the BMD are supplementary to those provided by local council. The initial step for BMD is securing the improvement district and creating a clean, well-managed environment. The squad comprises 39 patrol officers and one controller, co-ordination is done from the control room situated in Leebram Building, 42 Biccard Street, Braamfontein, which is in radio and telephone contact with the security force officers and the police.

The BMD marketing programme aims to improve the overall image of the business district through branding, collaborative promotional strategies, market research and a communications campaign.The BMD management team ensures that the quality of services provided and the vision of the area is implemented. If you have comments, questions or queries please contact them.

More information.

Concept

Serendicity

[ser-uhn-dis-i-tee]

Serendicity is a word I use to describe the serendipitous routes through the city. These are routes that: differ from person to person, could be planned or intuitive, well used or neglected and include any mode of transport/movement; but they are all experiential and engaging to the specific user, on either one or many levels.

If you were to take a random group of people and give them the task of making their way through the city to a specified destination on foot, what would they do? Some people would take out their cellphones and use them to navigate themselves, others would just take-off and 'wing it' and a few might know the way already.

If you took that same group of people but this time gave them the task of finding the most interesting place/object in the city, what would they do? Again some people would take out their cellphones and web search for something, some would just walk until they found something and the same few would know where something interesting is.

In both these situations above there were very different solutions to the task, but which was correct? One could say that, in the first situation, the person who reached the destination first won, but did he? Perhaps he walked right past the free coffee stand because he was so focused on getting to the destination first. In the second situation, how do you judge what the most interesting object or place is? Interest is a personal experience, that being said everyone would have found the most interesting object/place. However, what if they stopped looking as they found something mildly interesting, what are they missing out on?

This idea of engaging with a route/space in the city and coming across something that intrigues you, or something that you have never experienced before is an notion that, I feel, Braamfontein - around Juta Street - has begun to take on.

In Braamfontein there are alleys in the middle of city blocks, paved and lawn open spaces, avenues of trees, education institutes/offices, commercial offices, retail stores, exhibition spaces, coffee shops and markets. Some of these are open to the street with parking and a front door, well others are up a ramp, around the corner, through the alley or 'landlocked' by shops.

Mapping

Site

Road Names

Roads

The roads in Braamfontein are a rectangular grid of one-ways and two-ways, except for Smit and Bertha Streets, which borders acts as the border between Braamfontein and the train station. This grid is an efficient and effective layout for vehicular traffic, with Smit and Bertha Streets contrasting that with a more engaging route as a result of the train station.

Alleys

Braamfontein has a relatively unique aspect of alleys running sequentially in the middle of city blocks. This produces a path that is suited better to pedestrians, on foot is the best way to experience a city, and so this is a key to making a where experience is important.

Trees

Many cities around the world have special green belts in the city to bring in the much needed vegetation. However Braamfontein has scattered trees with a part of Juta Street being relatively dense.

Open Spaces

Apart from the alleys, there are a number of open spaces around the site. These open spaces include paved and lawn, and comprise of some public parks/paths and private areas that are open to the streets.

Places of Interest

The places of interest around the site are incredibly diverse: from transport stops to hotels and hardware stores to restaurants. Excluded from this map are the many education institutes/offices scattered around the site.

Site Selection

44 Stanley   vs   Juta Street   vs   Maboneng Precinct

The urban enclaves that engage with 44 Stanley seem to be the more 'Northern Suburb' type of people; they are there only to be entertained on a commercial level and not venture into the city more than they have to. Whilst there are a large amount of students and creative people that go to 44 Stanley, a lot of them appear to go there for convenience, proximity or the commerce.

Juta Street in Braamfontein is home to urban enclaves, yet these enclaves aren't independent of eachother  These enclaves mix and are mutually beneficial to different enclaves, which vary by the day/hour. They commercial side of Juta street is engaging to the vast quantity of people that 'pound the pavements' on a daily basis (not only on the weekends).

The Maboneng Precinct also has urban enclaves, but these seem to be a more tourist/weekend type of person, someone who only engages with the space intermittently and from a distance. The precinct appears to treat itself as an island, separating itself from its context, even though there have been attempts to break these boundaries.

Based on research and personal experience of each site, I came across exciting challenges and opportunities in all three. However, I decided to select Juta Street as my site due to its atrributes like alleys in the middle of city blocks, paved and lawn open spaces, avenues of trees, retail stores, exhibition spaces, coffee shops on the street and markets in garages being a way to improve cities in a way that I want to engage with.

History of Johannesburg

Timeline

1806 - Gold is indicated to be in the approximate vicinity of either the Witwatersrand or the Magaliesberge.

1852 - Gold is found near Krugersdorp.

1853 - Discovery alluvial gold in the Jukskei River.

1884 - The Struben brothers find the Confidence Reef north of present-day Roodepoort.

Langlaagte, the farm where gold was first discovered.
Wikipedia. History of Johannesburg.

1886 - Prospecting licenses are taken out. Gold is discovered on the Witwatersrand.
1887 - An official market is opened on Market Square.
1888 - The first telephones are installed on the Rand.
1889 - ZAR Government establish a tramway system network.
1890 - The first Hospital building is opened.
1891 - Six kilometres of tramway track are opened in Johannesburg with a terminus located in Fordsburg.
1892 - The first train from the Cape reaches Johannesburg.
1893 - An outbreak of a smallpox epidemic affects those living in Johannesburg.
1894 - A bye-law is passed prohibiting ‘Natives’ from using the Johannesburg city pavements.
1895 - The railway line linking Johannesburg to Durban is opened.
1896 - A shunting locomotive reverses into two railway trucks containing 1955 tons of dynamite on a siding in Braamfontein.
1897 - The first motorcar drives through Johannesburg.
1898 - The Rissik Street Post Office is opened.
1899 - Outbreak of hostilities between Britain and the ZAR.
1900 - Johannesburg is shaken by a large explosion, at the sabotaged Begbie's Iron Foundry.

Begbie's Foundry.
Johannesburg Heritage Plaques.

1901 - Town Council nominated under the interim British Military Administration takes office.
1902 - A peace treaty is signed in Pretoria, officially bringing hostilities to an end.
1903 - The Rand Water Board is established. The area of Johannesburg increases to 211 square kilometres.
1904 - Outbreak of bubonic plague at the Johannesburg Brickfields leads to the removal of its residents to a sanitary camp at Klipspruit.
1905 - The Native Affairs Commission criticises the living conditions that Johannesburg's Black citizens are forced to live under.
1906 - Pass Laws for Indians are promulgated in the Transvaal. Johannesburg's horse drawn trams are replaced by electrically powered units.
1907 - Elections are held for the first Transvaal Parliament.
1908 - The Indigency Commission criticises living conditions of Johannesburg's Black citizens.
1909 - The Johannesburg Municipal Commission urges that surveyed land be made available to 'natives' and other 'non-Europeans'.
1910 - The Union of South Africa comes into being despite the strong objections.
1911 - Johannesburg's tramway workers refuse to begin services, the first of many labour disputes which resulted in the General Strike of 1922.
1912 - The South African Native National Congress (SANNC) is formed in Bloemfontein.
1913 - White miners declare a strike at the New Kleinfontein mine. Industrial action spreads and by July the miners are preparing to declare a general strike.
1914 - The Railwaymen's Union orders a strike.
1915 - Johannesburg's’ new Town Hall is used for the first time.

New Town Hall. Postcard.

1917 - Johannesburg Town Council rents an unused mine compound from the Salisbury Jubilee Mine, which is converted to a hostel for 1000 men.
1918 - 152 strikers are arrested and sentenced to two months hard labour for breach of contract under the 'Masters and Servants Act'.
1919 - Around 70, 000 Black miners go on a peaceful strike, government troops break up workers' meetings, killing 11 people.
1920 - Black miners go on strike. Riots break out.
1922 - White coal miners go on strike. The University of the Witwatersrand is inaugurated.
1923 - First official radio broadcast takes place in Johannesburg. The ‘Native Act' is passed.
1924 - Extensions to the Western Native Township are begun.
1925 - The Prince of Wales, later King Edward VIII, visits Johannesburg.
1926 - The Eastern Native Township is also established.
1927 - The first traffic light is installed in Johannesburg.
1928 - Johannesburg is accorded city status. Johannesburg Council appoints a Committee to deal with Native Affairs.
1930 - The number of houses built at Western and Eastern Townships reaches a total of 2625.
1931 - Britain abandons the gold standard, leading to a rise in the gold price.
1932 - The Union of South Africa abandons the gold standard.
1933 - Municipal water supply is provided to Newclare.
1934 - Klipspruit Location is renamed Pimville.
1935 - 27 water taps are installed in Sophiatown where water is sold by the bucket.
1937 - A fall in the value of gold shares on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), many businesses and individuals go bankrupt, which beame known as 'Black Friday'.
1939 - The total number of houses for Black residents provided by the Johannesburg City Council reaches 8700.
1944 - 4042 breeze block shelters are erected in an area known as 'Shantytown', located between Orlando East and Orlando West.
1946 - The Moroka Emergency Camp is laid out, providing 11, 000 sites, 6x6m in size.
1947 - Baragwanath Hospital is taken over to serve the needs of the Black community.
1948 - 1800 patients are moved to Baragwanath Hospital from the Johannesburg General Hospital.
1949 - The gold price rises by 44%.
1950 - The ANC calls for a general strike. The police kill 18 people in Alexandra.
1951 - The Bantu Building Workers Act is passed.
1953 - In Johannesburg 35, 000 sites 12x21m each are surveyed.
1954 - The Johannesburg Municipality creates the Housing Division as a separate department.
1955 - A Resettlement Board is formed to undertake removal of Blacks from Johannesburg's western areas.

Protest march against forced removals from Sophiatown

to Soweto. The making of Soweto.

1956 - 14 000 Johannesburg Mining Houses are built.
1957 - The ANC organises the Alexandra Bus Boycott campaign.
1948 - 1800 patients are moved to Baragwanath Hospital from the Johannesburg General Hospital.
1949 - The gold price rises by 44%.
1950 - The ANC calls for a general strike. The police kill 18 people in Alexandra.
1951 - The Bantu Building Workers Act is passed.
1953 - In Johannesburg 35, 000 sites 12x21m each are surveyed.
1954 - The Johannesburg Municipality creates the Housing Division as a separate department.
1955 - A Resettlement Board is formed to undertake removal of Blacks from Johannesburg's western areas.
1956 - 14 000 Johannesburg Mining Houses are built.
1957 - The ANC organises the Alexandra Bus Boycott campaign.
1960 - Some 69 residents of Sharpeville are massacred by police during a Pan African Congress (PAC) protest meeting.
1961 - South Africa becomes a Republic.
1962 - Liquor becomes legally available to the Black community.
1964 - Permission is granted for the construction of a direct access road to Soweto.
1976 - School-children in Soweto go on strike, over 1000 people are killed in the clashes.
1980 - 53 clergymen are arrested in Johannesburg and charged under the Riotous assemblies Act.
1981 - The Sowetan hits the streets.
1982 - A mother and her 4-year-old daughter are killed when council efforts to demolish a neighbouring building crash onto them.
1983 - A bomb explodes in a synagogue in Johannesburg a few hours before State President Viljoen is due to attend a ceremony.
1984 - The new constitution comes into effect on 1 September.
1985 - PW Botha announces proposals to release Nelson Mandela, Mandela turned down the offer of release.
1986 - An explosion at a police station in Johannesburg is thought to have been caused by a bomb.
1987 - A bomb explodes in a department store in Johannesburg.
1988 - 17 anti-apartheid organisations are banned, including the UDF, Azapo and Cosatu.
1989 - The NP wins the election in September and FW de Klerk becomes the President of SA.
1990 - Nelson Mandela is released from prison after 27 years in captivity.

Nelson and Winnie Mandela upon his release from prison.

1991 - Black school-children are admitted to 205 of 2000 previously Whites-only schools where parents have voted for integration.
1994 - First democratic elections
1997 - ‘Triomf’ reverts its name back to ‘Sophiatown’

1999 - Gandhi Square construction is completed.

2001 -  Johannesburg Development Agency (JDA) is founded.

2003 - 44 Stanley and adjacent developments founded. Nelson Mandela Bridge built, improving the connection between the city and Braamfontein

2007 - The Alexander Theatre re-opens in Braamfontein.

2009 - Arts on Main and Maboneng founded

2010 - World Cup comes to South Africa. Gautrain phase I is launched. 70 Juta Street and Randlords in Braamfontein are launched

For a more detailed timeline of Johannesburg follow the following links:

1800-1899

1900-1976

1980-1991

Site Selection

Task one

Task one of the brief asks for the selection of one out of the three available sites. A choice that should be based on my understanding of the entire brief, a response to the history of Johannesburg and a community identity/individual as the user.

Site options - Johannesburg, Gauteng

Unpacking the Brief

History|Meaning

This project investigates a series of 'Urban Enclaves'. Through an analysis of history and meaning, past and present we are tasked to unwrap any evident and disconnected linkages with the context and meta-narratives within Johannesburg. Part of the analysis a focus on both perceived and actual communities, as well as their associated and definitive landscapes/nodes.

I proceeded to extract the really engaging ideas, ideals and guides out of the brief. I took these words and connected them with relevance to the brief as a whole. This revealed some principles, links and foci to take forward to the site selection and analysis.

Brief Unpacking Web

Urban enclaves, connections to surrounding fabric, perceived and actual communities, communal gathering space, trade fringe, history and meaning, public function, information point and route and their associations/links are the principles that will form the fundamental drive going forward in this project.