The role of architecture in promoting sustainability in the inner city: towards a skills development centre for street children in Durban (CBD)

Abstract

For decades Apartheid has been a political and social regime that segregated South Africans. Despite the fall of this system in 1994, the city of Durban still suffers repercussions: spatial apartheid. This spatial fragmentation then poses the problem; where people from rural landscapes seek economic freedom and access to basic human amenities from the urbanized setting of Durban. However, these aspirations fall short, as the city life does not accommodate for people with little to no exposure to technology, infrastructure, education or skills training. Thus, often offsetting these individuals to the streets. This study then adopts a qualitative research approach that examines the influences of street children on architecture and how the built form can serve as a mediator that filters street children back into society. The analysis of primary and secondary data is unpacked through the ideologies of: rights to the city, sustainability and empowerment towards the design of a Skills Centre for street children in the Durban CBD.