Project Title: Pretoria CED (Central Environmental District)

Project Location: Pretoria 

Project Focus Area: Landscape Architecture, Design Ecologies 

Supervisor(s): Assoc Prof Ida Breed 

Project Description:

The project Pretoria CED (central environmental district), explores the connections and relations between humans and nature in Tshwane's urban environment. Currently known as Prince's Park, the chosen site lies along the Steenhovenspruit in Pretoria Central. The park exists in a community facing urban challenges and realities such as the heat island effect, poverty, informal housing and networks of informal trade. By introducing green infrastructure, riverbed restoration and infrastructure for small economies, the project aims to reintroduce urban biodiversity, mitigate the heat island impact and create small economy-scaled public spaces attracting people to reconnect with nature in the urban environment. The proposed design focuses on interventions in the park including ecological restoration, water filtration, activated pedestrianised routes and nodes alongside community involvement to foster stronger human-nature relationships. This subsequent activation of public space creates platforms for people to connect to each other as well as their environment towards a resilient mutually supportive urban ecosystem. Research question: How can nature based solutions form infrastructure frameworks for small economies in the urban domain towards a resilient urban environment for stronger human-nature relationships?