RESOURCE PRODUCED BY CSIR BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY & CSIR ROADS AND TRANSPORT TECHNOLOGY
RESOURCE PRODUCED BY CSIR BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY & CSIR ROADS AND TRANSPORT TECHNOLOGY |
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Improving transport accessibility for people with disabilities A cost-benefit approach to the identification of well-located land for low-income housing developmentWater services: is franchising feasible? Improvement of the aggregate interlock equation used in the cncPave software package Building quality index for houses CSIR's fire investigation team in demand SB'04 Africa - Regional Conference on Building and Construction Sustainable building workshops CSIR's Dr Sharon Biermann nominated for prestigious national award E N Q U I R I E S |
Since completing the watershed National Housing Spatial Investment Potential Atlas for the national Department of Housing, which prioritises housing subsidy investment on the basis of housing need and location suitability, Biermann has played a leading role in a project investigating the infrastructural and energy consumption implications of alternative locations for low-income housing development in South African urban areas. Funded by the Housing Finance Resource Programme, on behalf of USAID, this empirical study challenges the commonly held view that peripheral developments are more costly and unsustainable than more centrally located developments. "We concluded that in terms of development costs, dictating a specific urban form i.e. compact city, with the implicit requirement that function follow form, is not the way to achieve sustainable urban environments," she explains. "Rather, the ensuing urban form should be a consequence of the implementation of a myriad of actions, each contributing in their own way to reducing costs and maximising benefit within the context of sustainable development, where the social, economic and biophysical realms are in balance, with, as far as possible, one not being achieved at the existing or future expense of the other," Biermann concludes. She also played a leading role in the development of eHouse, a decision-support tool to assist Gauteng Housing in the development of municipal and provincial housing development plans and a longer-term provincial housing strategy. "The long-term nature of housing delivery to meet the need, the complexity and volatility of the national, provincial and local planning context, and the realities of resource constraints, require both short- and longer-term strategic approaches and policy responses to housing provision in the province," says Biermann. "We developed housing policy scenarios for Gauteng up to the year 2030, providing a range of plausible futures for housing development. These scenarios are translated into quantitative inputs to the eHouse tool to enable the "what-if" testing of the implications of various policy stances to provide feedback to decision-makers on appropriate housing strategies to meet the need, within the context of resource constraints," she explains. Biermann is currently leading a further initiative for Gauteng Province, an integrated project driven by the heads of department of public works and transport, housing, provincial and local government and agriculture, conservation, environment and land. The project investigates the costs and benefits of housing location in the province with the aim of supporting infrastructure delivery that is less costly and more beneficial to both households and government in the long-term. Enquiries:
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E M A I L
The work of the CSIR's Dr Sharon Biermann, a geographer and leading expert in sustainable urban development, is highly relevant within the context of South Africa's national priorities. Her outstanding contribution to this field was recognised earlier this year when she was nominated as one of four finalists in the science and technology category of the prestigious 2004 Shoprite Checkers / SABC2 Women of the Year Award. The award identifies and pays tribute to the most exceptional women in the country, whose unswerving commitment and dedication have made a tangible difference to their communities and society as a whole.
