GGH_2602 Case Study Assignment.

GGH_2602 Case Study Assignment. Johannesburg Municipality Region A: Ivory Park The Johannesburg Municipality is a metropolitan municipality, it executes all local functions and in the city of Johannesburg. Ivory Park is a densely populated township founded in the early 90s. I chose Ivory Park for my case study because it is often identified as an informal settlement, yet it is a township with vibrant residents from different cultures, with a sense of togetherness. Ivory Park has come a long way in terms of service provision since it was founded in the early 1990sand still has a long way to go to improve service provision. This residential area is home to a police station, two libraries, five clinics, a shopping complex, and two community. Johannesburg is a capital city of the Gauteng province, located in the highlands of South Africa known as the Highveld. It is situated south of the Witwatersrand, and the terrain falls of the north and south. Located at 26 ⁰12′ 16″ S latitude and 28⁰ 2′ 44″ E longitude, the municipality of Johannesburg stretches from the Midrand in the north to Orange Farm in the south, covering a total area of 1645 square kilometers. Ivory Park is a municipal area serviced by the Johannesburg municipality and falls under Region A (formerly Region 2), the residential area is located at 25⁰ 59′ 56″ S latitude and 28⁰ 11′ 46″ E longitude in the east of Johannesburg. IVORY PARK SKETCH MAP 3 The availability and accessibility of service facilities is very essential in order to improve urban and rural development and growth. These service facilities have functions that support different activities in the communities, hence the adequate provision of service facilities is necessary to ensure the improvement of the quality of lives of residents in the community. The ivory Park residential area follows a nucleated pattern, this allows easy access of service facilities. The service facilities in Ivory Park are surrounded by houses and are located near the main roads to allow residents to have access with little or no hassle. The Ivory Park Police and Fire Station; community hall and Library are midway Ivory Park’s extensions 6,7,8,9,10,12 and 13. Most of the time, residents walk in order to access these facilities instead of driving or using public transport. Ebomini Primary School is located in extension 13, which is a walking distance from extensions 8,9,10 and 12, providing service to learners around these areas, Mikateka Primary School is in extension 8 and caters for learners in extensions 6,7,8,9,10. Ivory Park Secondary School is located in extension 15 (not always referred to as an extension, but site 15), along the Riverside Road which connects Kaalfontein and Ebony Park residential areas to Ivory Park. It services learners from extensions 8, 9,10,12,13 and Umqhele Secondary School services learners from extensions 6, 7, 8 and 12. This however does not mean that learners are limited to attend schools in or near their area, learners from as far as Ebony Park can sometimes be admitted in any of the schools provided space is available. Previously, learners could choose which school they wanted to attend, however the Department of Education introduced a new policy in 2016. When pupils apply on the department’s online website, they are allocated space in schools that are near their homes for easy access. The Kopanong Shopping Centre is located in Ivory Park extension 15, it hosts 3 grocery and clothing stores, a cosmetic store, the Ivory Park pharmacy, a bottle store, a dentist and general practitioner, a fast food outlet, various ATM machines for different banks, an electronics and cellular store, the Ivory Park taxi rank and a shoe store. It is located near the Kopanong Sports Ground, this makes it accessible to all the residents in Ivory Park, and also has public transport that is readily available. The Mpumelelo Municipal Clinic in Ivory Park provides services to residents in extension 11, 13, and 15 while the Bophelong clinic serves residents in Ext 6, 7, 8 and 12. However, in the Mpumelelo Municipal clinic underwent an upgrade and residents had to make use of the Bophelong Clinic, this resulted in long queues and residents would be sent home without being attended to. In general, the service facilities in Ivory Park are easily accessible, though service may sometimes be slow due to high demand, these services are centered around in the residential areas. In Ivory Park, the streets are characterized by dust when it is windy and mud when it rains and residents are often forced to stay indoors when it rains because of the mud. Main roads are tarred, however due to heavy rains most have potholes. The potholes damage cars and have led to accidents at night. In 2014, the Ivory Park Gravel Roads Improvement Project was founded, aimed at improving the road infrastructure, however to date, most of the streets are still gravel and only main roads were upgraded. The provision of water has improved in recent years, almost every household in Ivory Park has access to clean and running tap water distributed by Johannesburg Water, and flushing toilets connected to sewerage systems. Residents in Themba Khoza and Baghdad informal settlements in Ivory Park use basic sanitation units and public taps. No single household in these settlements has access to its own toilet facility and tap, they have to share the facilities with the entire population and this causes the blockage of the toilets, causing foul smells and making it unbearable to use the toilet units provided. 4 In 1994 when the democratic government came into power, the provision of electricity was one of its fundamental developmental objectives. Under the slogan “access to electricity for all” the new government made the provision of electricity to the disadvantaged one of the cornerstones of its development policies (Davidson and Mwakasonda 2004:29). In Ivory Park, most households have access to electricity and have prepaid meter boxes, electricity is distributed by City Power and generated by Eskom. Some households still use candles while most of those without electricity have tuned to connect 5 electricity illegally in the informal settlement with the assistance of permanent home owners who have access to electricity. Illegal dumping and solid waste mismanagement are a major challenge in Ivory Park. Solid waste is collected once a week by Pikitup- a waste collection entity under the Johannesburg municipality, however, it is sometimes not collected for 2 mores or mores during labor strikes. Residents dump their waste in street corners and open spaces in attempts to rid their homes of the solid waste, some individuals collect plastic bottles and tin from the dumped waste for recycling to support themselves and their families. Paper, glass and leftover food and other solid materials are often left scattered on the ground and await to be collected by the waste collection workers. The mismanagement of waste by residents degrades the environment, sometimes the waste contains chemicals and hazardous substances that cause damage to the air and soil, leaving the environment untidy and having a foul smell. The health of the public is also threated by this behavior, broken glass materials can cause injuries (to children especially) and the sustained cuts could cause infections.