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How spatial planning can enable pathways to the implementation of sustainable urban drainage systems in the city bowl, Cape Town

The dramatic global trend of population growth has led to a rapid urbanisation, resulting in unprecedented land cover change. The incarnation of accompanying developed has typified impermeable surfaces. These surfaces have disconnected the stormwater component of the natural hydrological cycle, disr...

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Main Author: Harvey, Catherine
Other Authors: Klizner, Tarna
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: School of Architecture, Planning and Geomatics 2018
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access_status_str Open Access
author Harvey, Catherine
author2 Klizner, Tarna
author_browse Harvey, Catherine
Klizner, Tarna
author_facet Klizner, Tarna
Harvey, Catherine
author_sort Harvey, Catherine
collection Thesis
description The dramatic global trend of population growth has led to a rapid urbanisation, resulting in unprecedented land cover change. The incarnation of accompanying developed has typified impermeable surfaces. These surfaces have disconnected the stormwater component of the natural hydrological cycle, disregarding it as a nuisance and designing it to be rapidly removed from urban areas. Utilising Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS) offers opportunities in urban areas to recycle the water and challenge the perception that stormwater is a nuisance and of no value. The current context of drought experienced by Cape Town has highlighted the need for less reliance on surface water resources; implementing SUDS could be a way of reconnecting the hydrological urban water cycle. It could also help to repair the human disconnect from nature that is prevalent in urban areas. The research question explored the role of spatial planning in enabling the implementation of SUDS in the City Bowl, Cape Town. While conceptual and technical frameworks have been developed for SUDS in South Africa, at present there is no spatial guide as to how these interventions could be realised in a specific context and area. This research utilise s the tools of spatial planning to re-imagine the City Bowl in relation to water. The case study methods used, enabling a detailed understanding of the site. This was complemented by interviews with various planning professionals in order to understand the current role spatial planning plays in terms of implementing SUDS. The research suggest is that whilst SUDS has many constraints, the opportunities that they provide for improving water quality and quantity, and surrounding amenities, suggests that this is one which has to be embraced if the City Bowl is going to respond innovatively and sustainably to the drought. It also highlights the need to improve coordination across different spheres and departments of governance, and emphasises the need to value local community knowledge. A prevalent silo approach to complex problems is no longer acceptable. The implications of the research are that implementing SUDS in the City Bowl requires planners to embrace a water literacy approach to spatial plans, and in doing so, return the focus to water
format Thesis
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institution University of Cape Town (South Africa)
language eng
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:31:28.055Z
license_str Not specified — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
publishDate 2018
publishDateRange 2018
publishDateSort 2018
publisher School of Architecture, Planning and Geomatics
publisherStr School of Architecture, Planning and Geomatics
record_format dspace
source_str UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
spelling oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/28179 How spatial planning can enable pathways to the implementation of sustainable urban drainage systems in the city bowl, Cape Town Harvey, Catherine Klizner, Tarna City and Regional Planning Urban Water Management The dramatic global trend of population growth has led to a rapid urbanisation, resulting in unprecedented land cover change. The incarnation of accompanying developed has typified impermeable surfaces. These surfaces have disconnected the stormwater component of the natural hydrological cycle, disregarding it as a nuisance and designing it to be rapidly removed from urban areas. Utilising Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS) offers opportunities in urban areas to recycle the water and challenge the perception that stormwater is a nuisance and of no value. The current context of drought experienced by Cape Town has highlighted the need for less reliance on surface water resources; implementing SUDS could be a way of reconnecting the hydrological urban water cycle. It could also help to repair the human disconnect from nature that is prevalent in urban areas. The research question explored the role of spatial planning in enabling the implementation of SUDS in the City Bowl, Cape Town. While conceptual and technical frameworks have been developed for SUDS in South Africa, at present there is no spatial guide as to how these interventions could be realised in a specific context and area. This research utilise s the tools of spatial planning to re-imagine the City Bowl in relation to water. The case study methods used, enabling a detailed understanding of the site. This was complemented by interviews with various planning professionals in order to understand the current role spatial planning plays in terms of implementing SUDS. The research suggest is that whilst SUDS has many constraints, the opportunities that they provide for improving water quality and quantity, and surrounding amenities, suggests that this is one which has to be embraced if the City Bowl is going to respond innovatively and sustainably to the drought. It also highlights the need to improve coordination across different spheres and departments of governance, and emphasises the need to value local community knowledge. A prevalent silo approach to complex problems is no longer acceptable. The implications of the research are that implementing SUDS in the City Bowl requires planners to embrace a water literacy approach to spatial plans, and in doing so, return the focus to water 2018-05-29T10:33:15Z 2018-05-29T10:33:15Z 2018 Master Thesis Masters MCRP http://hdl.handle.net/11427/28179 eng application/pdf School of Architecture, Planning and Geomatics Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment University of Cape Town
spellingShingle City and Regional Planning
Urban Water Management
Harvey, Catherine
How spatial planning can enable pathways to the implementation of sustainable urban drainage systems in the city bowl, Cape Town
thesis_degree_str Master's
title How spatial planning can enable pathways to the implementation of sustainable urban drainage systems in the city bowl, Cape Town
title_full How spatial planning can enable pathways to the implementation of sustainable urban drainage systems in the city bowl, Cape Town
title_fullStr How spatial planning can enable pathways to the implementation of sustainable urban drainage systems in the city bowl, Cape Town
title_full_unstemmed How spatial planning can enable pathways to the implementation of sustainable urban drainage systems in the city bowl, Cape Town
title_short How spatial planning can enable pathways to the implementation of sustainable urban drainage systems in the city bowl, Cape Town
title_sort how spatial planning can enable pathways to the implementation of sustainable urban drainage systems in the city bowl cape town
topic City and Regional Planning
Urban Water Management
url http://hdl.handle.net/11427/28179
work_keys_str_mv AT harveycatherine howspatialplanningcanenablepathwaystotheimplementationofsustainableurbandrainagesystemsinthecitybowlcapetown