A framework for enhancing social sustainability through the planning of Third Places : a South African approach

Abstract

Social sustainability, a dimension of sustainable development, has become increasingly influential in the urban planning context. However, there is limited research to guide urban planning approaches towards enhanced social sustainability, especially within the South African context. Although existing policy and legislative frameworks support the notion of sustainable development in South Africa, specific implementation strategies are absent. The lack of practical application of planning approaches has resulted in the widening of the theory-practice gap and alternative approaches should be considered to enhance social sustainability within the urban fabric. This research reflects on the importance of social sustainability in the urban context and the role of the Third Place in facilitating social sustainability. The concept of Third Places, established by Oldenburg (1999:16), is considered and introduced as any space other than our homes (First Place) or work (Second Place), manifesting as a component of well-defined public places designed to enhance civic identity, quality of life, social capital and community revitalisation, whilst improving economic development (Alidoust et al., 2015:2; Camp, 2015:2; Liu et al., 2007:1). The Third Place concept is thus introduced in this research as an umbrella concept combining the physical realm and design of the social space. This research considered the notion of Third Places from the perspective of three purposefully selected planning approaches, including the place-making approach, the lively planning approach and the green urbanism approach. These approaches were collectively employed as part of a qualitative enquiry to inform a theory-based framework to enhance social sustainability through the planning of Third Places. The three approaches were selected based on their responses to social problems in the urban context, emerging from the policies that the physical environment can positively influence well-being and quality of life (De Jong, 2014:84, 127-130; Karacor, 2014:253). Theory-based sampling was applied and involves selecting cases according to the extent to which they represent a particular theoretical construct. Purposive sampling (Palys, 2008:297) was in addition applied as the population of the particular theoretical construct is difficult to determine, as in this case referring to limited theoretical guidance on the planning of Third Places. The proposed framework was refined through qualitative and quantitative empirical approaches and translated to the South African planning context. The first phase of the empirical investigation reflected on five international case studies to identify best practices relating to the planning of Third Places for enhanced social sustainability. The second phase comprised of an expert-survey, including the views of 30 purposefully selected experts relating to the planning of Third Places and the importance thereof within the South African context. The data of the expert-survey was statistically analysed and interpreted to inform a framework for enhancing social sustainability through the planning of Third Places in South Africa. This research contributes to the academic discourse on social sustainability by reflecting on the role of Third Places to augment objectives of social sustainability. A contribution of new knowledge is evident in terms of the proposed framework for enhancing social sustainability through the planning of Third Places in the South African context