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The Design of an Urban Open-space Network for the City of Durban (South Africa)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 August 2009

Debra C. Roberts
Debra C. Roberts
Affiliation:
Manager: Environment, Urban Development Department, PO Box 680, Durban 4000, South Africa. Formerly Lecturer, Department of Geographical and Environmental Sciences, University of Natal.
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Extract

Global urbanization is proceeding at an alarming rate and is threatening the long-term survival of many important biological resources. Planners in the City of Durban (South Africa), cognizant of this impending environmental crisis, have designed an urban open-space network aimed at preserving a representative and functional example of the previous indigenous landscapes now under threat as a result of development.

Biogeographical principles have been used to produce for Durban a system characterized by maximized reserve size, continuity, and overall minimized system linearity with the lowest edge-to-area ratio possible. Emphasis has also been placed on economic viability and on the importance of community acceptance and participation within the system.

Type
Main Papers
Information
Environmental Conservation , Volume 21 , Issue 1 , Spring 1994 , pp. 11 - 17
Copyright
Copyright © Foundation for Environmental Conservation 1994

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