From red to green, green to amber, and back to red: A critque of South African layout planning

Abstract

A document providing layout planning and engineering service guidelines, which has become known as the “red book”, was recently prepared by the CSIR and issued by the Department of National Housing. The guidelines in the “red book” relating to layout planning are based upon: (1) errone­ous assumptions around levels of car ownership, fiscal resources, the antici­pation of road functions and the func­tional linkages of households, (2) a narrow set of concerns around motor car access, pedestrian safety and the creation of spatially defined communi­ties, and (3) inappropriate layout planning concepts in the form of neighbourhood cells, functional road hierarchies and closed road geome­tries. The current South African con­text necessitates a reformulation of these guidelines. As the metaphorical title of the paper suggests, the “red book” has not changed considerably from its preceding “blue” and “green” books, and concerns relating to traffic remain paramount. There is a need for layout planning guidelines which prioritise place making, public trans­port and pedestrian access, the inte­gration of urban environments, the facilitation of economic opportunity, and a more collective and systemic approach to facility and service provi­sion.