DISCLAIMER:

Use of Space Planner Results and Interpretation and Contextualisation of the Standards Included in the SPACE PLANNER Tool

The use of the Space Planner is subject to reading and understanding the limits of the application as set out below and understanding the context of the facility provision standards that are packaged with the tool.

I understand that the outputs of the Space Planner should not be applied without due consideration of local context.

I understand that the outputs are subject to input parameters such as standards which I need understand and modify with due consideration.

I acknowledge that the results of the Space Planner should be used for indicative planning purposes and that neither the CSIR, nor any other parties involved, accept any liability for the correctness of the results. This site and these results are for guideline purposes only.

I acknowledge that I have read and understood the information below.

THE STANDARDS SHOULD BE REGARDED AS A WORK IN PROGRESS AND SUBJECT TO REGULAR REVIEW AND UPDATING AS EACH SECTOR REFINES OR ALTERS ITS STANDARDS, AND AS POLICY CHANGES OCCUR AT A CITY, NATIONAL OR PROVINCIAL LEVEL WITH RESPECT TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF STANDARDS.

The base sets of standards used in the Space Planner tool are taken from the Social Facility Guidelines and Standards documents available on the CSIR web site. These sets of guidelines will be expanded over a period of time for a range of contexts. The first set is most suitable for metropolitan areas and is not differentiated for different settlement types. The standards and guidelines are intended to provide guidance on the quantitative provision and distribution of social facilities and recreational spaces in towns and cities in South Africa. Standards are provided with respect to demand thresholds and accessibility targets in terms of travel time or distance by preferred mode. They also provide a framework for debating appropriate site sizes within a range of contexts.

The Space Planner tool calculates the demand for facilities based on a population parameter. It is not a spatial tool and neither does it take into consideration any existing facility capacity. Should you require a spatial analysis and audit of current supply of facilities with respect to a specific population distribution please contact the CSIR for more information: cgreen@csir.co.za/ gmans@csir.co.za.

The Space Planner, developed by the CSIR, can be used to calculate a total facility demand which could be compared to known supply data. The tool calculates gross social facility and recreational space demand associated with residential development for an entire city, town or a new development application.

The standards included are neither mandatory nor enforceable standards for any of the facilities concerned. The standards presented should be used for guideline purposes for a) evaluating facility space requirements for forward planning, and b) for evaluation of facility backlogs and service delivery targets.

In all cases, the site sizes used are indicative and should be adjusted by the user to suit specific requirements and contexts.

Clustering and the multiple-use of certain facilities present considerable potential for cost savings and efficiencies, however this is only possible under conditions of good design and management. Standards for this are as yet not available, however, the outputs of the Space Planner calculation can be used as a departure point for negotiation with respect to land provision/ acquisition and facility consolidation and sharing of these facilities.

The standards should be applied over a broad area. Each development, however small, should be required to contribute proportionally towards larger facilities. The Space Planner tool provides the means to determine such contributions. The contribution can be either through land – if appropriately located in terms of the overall district plan – or through a financial or other contribution.

The Guidelines and Standards with respect to the size, location and number of facilities to be provided are the starting point for developing sustainable and integrated communities. The quality and capacity of facilities, in offering the right range of services for a specific community profile and operated by competent staff, together with good maintenance of the facilities, however, remain critical to the effective delivery of services.

The standards should not be regarded as prescriptive “blue-print” planning. Nevertheless they provide normative and quantifiable standards which enable planners and developers to calculate social facility requirements and to measure and compare levels of provision to determine current and future facility needs.

What the standards are:

• A strategic guide for space allocation of facilities at a neighbourhood, district and metropolitan scale;  

• A working tool for forward planning which is informed by regular review and updating;  

• A yardstick for comparing districts with respect to facility equity and for measuring progress on service delivery;  

• A tool for motivating for new facility requirements and investment to achieve a minimum level of service;  

• A starting premise for negotiation with developers and various local, provincial and government departments with respect to land allocation;  

• A set of commonly acceptable rules and guidelines for allocation of shared space within the community;  

• Input parameter for measuring accessibility of people to a range of facilities.  

What they are not:

• Recipes for detailed planning of a district without consideration of local needs and context and applicable policies;  

• Exact standards to be applied irrespective of context or proper planning processes and consultation;  

• A blue-print for development.  

In summary the standards and guidelines are applicable with respect to four planning components:

• Forward planning – providing an equitable basis for allocation of land and capital budget resources together with limited locational guidelines for distributing various types of facilities and public spaces;  

• Development control – they provide guidance on the number of facilities required, and their scale and site requirements;  

• Plan implementation – providing a yardstick to measure sufficiency or need of facilities on a broad scale;  

• Improving quality of life – ensuring that a full range of facilities and recreational spaces is accessible to all communities, thus contributing significantly to improving the quality of lives in communities.  

Irrespective of the overarching facility norms applied to allocate land resources or to establish facility backlogs and budgets, when undertaking the detailed planning of neighbourhoods the planners should also make use of the guidelines for the development of individual facilities as outlined in the “Redbook”– Guidelines for Human Settlement Planning and Design (which is freely available online at http://www.csir.co.za/Built_environment/RedBook/) or consult the applicable line department documents. The facility provision should be tailored to and take into consideration local population demand profiles and other contextual factors that impact on the quality, location and scale of facilities. The normative standards included with the Space Planner tool and the Social Facility Guidelines and Standards documents can, however, be applied for the purpose of land budgeting, capital budget programming and analysis with respect to facility supply or rationalisation.

The standards in the Space Planner should ideally serve two purposes, namely to:

1) determine the threshold populations for facilities and the basic land requirements; and

2) serve as a departure point for negotiations with respect to land provision between developers and local councils.

The standards included provide typical values and the guideline documents and local context should be used to adjust the base standards in the Space Planner or create new sets as required. The Social Facility Guidelines and Standards document sets upper and lower limits to assist in this process. In most cases, the facilities’ population thresholds are given in terms of the number of people within the area being served which takes the density aspect into consideration. The impact of other specific contexts on facility provision (excluding density) is indicated where relevant.