Abstract
“Every public space, whether religious or political or ethnic in character, displays a variety of symbols, inscriptions, images , monuments not as works of art but to remind people of their civic privilege and duties and tacitly to exclude the outsider”.- John Brinckerhoff Jackson, Discovering the Vernacular Landscape (1894) South Africa, Johannesburg has approximately 3 296 898 million people living with special needs, namely sight, movement and hearing challenges. Differently abled people have minimum physical participation in society and equal access to public play spaces (STATSA 2011). This thesis aims to contribute to the emerging field of universal-access and leisure by examining patterns of access among people with special needs in South Africa. Specifically focusing on sight, hearing, movement and touch, the project is situated in Gold Reef City theme park, which is relevant in light of the increase in the number of differently abled people and their ability to access leisure spaces in Johannesburg. Whilst suggesting theme parks as tools for reintegration through participation. JB Jackson’s suggests that spatial organisation aims to classify things/ occupations and people and separate them (Jackson 1984:13). This thesis investigates implications for universal- access for all people in line with requirements of Sustainable Development Goals 10 and 11 by analysing activities, information and resources of Gold Reef City Theme Park ( Akkar 2005:85). Leisure is essential for the mind, body and spirit which Burke states must not “be in a state of constant tension” with work (Burke 1995:5). Theme parks engage with the mind, body and spirit, where time and space are manipulated and the users are immersed in fantasy (Massey 2005:9). This will be the lens used to question the physical boundaries of Gold Reef City and the national legislative laws. On an individual scale, I have visited several theme parks and am challenged whilst living with a condition called hyperhidrosis. Drawing on my own experience as a person with hyperhidrosis, this thesis will use the five senses to investigate the challenges faced by differently abled people. The theoretical framework is informed by Torkildsen’s (1986) framework model that addresses four specific aspects: perceptual, physical, financial and lastly social accessibility with emphasis on the “ability to participate” for differently abled people. How can we as spatial practitioners be conscious of the issues around universal access and how can the quality of Theme Park be made ideal for inclusivity and connectivity? Do differently abled people want to be in theme parks? Is universal access attainable? And can theme parks be viewed as public spaces? (Habitat III. 2021:13) The relationship between disability and leisure is complex; stereotypes have created norms around disability as a factor that needs a cure/ care. Differently abled people are often expected to conform to their socially contracted ideas which project them as second-class citizens, and Theme Parks allow resistance to these ideas (Balogun et al 2019:165). The White Paper ¬on disability similarly states and categorises differently abled people under social welfare, which deemed them as social issues alongside, the poor, immigrants and criminals (Disability…, 2011:85).Therefore, applying theories of animism and neuroscience which act as tools that will inform African leisure whilst drawing on ritual processes to address the lack of inclusivity and the fixed nature in Theme Parks. African leisure rituals are also tied to the environment and draw on animism through the five senses and placemaking (Morojele 2019). The primary research method will include personal observations, site visits, photographic and secondary written texts. Fundamentally addressing restricted growth, sight, hearing and zoning in on touch. Furthermore, I draw on the research of the popular theme park Disneyland and Morgan’s wonderland. Disneyland offers insight as one of the earlier Theme Parks that shaped the assumptions around the social functions of public spaces (Marling 1997:19). Furthermore, Morgan’s Wonderland is one of the top amusement parks for differently abled people. The research will be expressed through a combination of visual narratives and mapping. Mapping will aid in the taming of the disruptiveness of space and time and visual narratives, namely photography and image series to bridge the textual research (Massey 2005:13). The thesis speculates on universal-access design interventions in Gold Reef City. This MDP will develop a set of principles in a visual and audio guide book that can be used to design future play space landscapes across Johannesburg (Dee, 2004:23).
M.Tech. (Architecture)