Born in the Isle of Man of Irish/Welsh parentage, Noel Stuart nursed no other ambition than to work with animals. His lifelong passion and his interest in complimentary medicine combined to culminate in his eventual choice of career as a veterinary surgeon. His work as a vet and second career as a writer is a rich tapestry of down to earth practice alongside a sense of healing power beyond science. This is balanced by a great sense of humour running a sparkling thread through all that he writes. He can claim distinction as being one of the earlier vets to treat fish and has the dubious honour of force feeding "Daisy" an eight foot alligator. He has enjoyed being a 'lollipop man', school governor and Rotarian as well as being a choir member. The first two books "It's a Dog's Life' and 'Man and Beast', using local marketing have both had reprints. In his third book he is able to look back over his life from his origins in the Isle of Man, education in Ulster, despite the U-boat menace until his graduation as a vet in Dublin and meeting the love of his life. Together with Margaret, their adventures in practice take them to Loughborough, the Isle of Man and across Canada until they finally end up in Devon and Cornwall. During their life in Cornwall Noel becomes involved in fish diseases, homoeopathy and dowsing to complement general practice.

Born in the Isle of Man of Irish/Welsh parentage, Noel Stuart nursed no other ambition than to work with animals. His lifelong passion for all creatures and his interest in complementary medicine for humans and non-humans alike combined to culminate in his eventual choice of career as a veterinary surgeon. Noel's work both as a vet and his second career as a writer is a rich tapestry of down-to-earth practice alongside a sense of healing power beyond science. This is balanced by a great sense of humour running a sparkling thread through all that he writes. Noel has studied such unusually diverse directions as dowsing and the effect of ley lines on cattle. He can claim distinction as being one of the earliest vets of his generation to treat fish and once had the dubious experience of counting an alligator as one of his patients! Noel now enjoys an active semi-retirement in Cornwall. He turns his hand enthusiastically to a wide range of endeavours from 'lollipop man' to school governor and Rotarian. He may be found working with the local writers' group, or travelling the world and being a guru to his many grandchildren.

Born in the Isle of Man of Irish/Welsh parentage, Noel Stuart nursed no other ambition than to work with animals. His lifelong passion and his interest in complimentary medicine combined to culminate in his eventual choice of career as a veterinary surgeon. His work as a vet and second career as a writer is a rich tapestry of down to earth practice alongside a sense of healing power beyond science. This is balanced by a great sense of humour running a sparkling thread through all that he writes. He can claim distinction as being one of the earlier vets to treat fish and has the dubious experience of treating "Daisy" an eight foot alligator. He has enjoyed being a 'lollipop man', school governor and Rotarian and also is a choir member. His first book, "It's a Dog's Life" using local marketing has sold out, and since then he has had a reprint. He is looking forward to similar success with "Man and Beast". In veterinary practice he has been faced with topless ladies in the consulting room and becoming bogged down in a dung heap whilst fleeing for his life. For millennia domestic animals have trained us to wait upon them hand and foot. Does your dog ever remind you that it is time for his morning walk? They even help us to live longer with their soothing ways. Children and animals by their nature always cut us down to size. Rachel Carter's children and dogs made sure of that. John Cregeen's cows also had him well trained to attend to their needs. All this adds up to a rich pot-pourri of life.

This book provides a theoretical and practical foundation needed to change the practice of land use management in Southern Africa.

It presents an overview of alternative land use management system for South African municipalities that is economically, socially, and environmentally more sustainable than many of the land use schemes in effect at present. Land use management is a component of spatial governance that controls the nature and extent of development to prevent harmful impacts on people and the environment. As the current system with its colonial/modernist planning and regulatory mechanisms were never designed to deal with rapid change, urbanisation, and informality, a different form of land development and land use management is necessary. This timely book reflects the culmination of many years of practical experience and research into various aspects of land use management by the authors and studies undertaken by their master’s and doctoral students. The book goes beyond an analysis of the problems and suggests concrete proposals that can be applied throughout Southern Africa based on a rural-to-urban transect.

This book is directed to a broad range of readers interested in spatial planning and land use management. It will be of interest to those in the fields of geography, urban studies, urban design, planning, and architecture.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction

Change required

Land use management

Argument for change

Changing values

Democracy in South Africa

Local government transition

Complexity and general resilience

Structure of the book

2. Evolution of land use management

Early rules and generative codes

Regulation based on zoning codes

First zoning controls: France, 1810

German approach

Spread of zoning

Brief overview of the evolution of land use management in South Africa

Early beginnings

Influence of the discovery of diamonds and gold

First provincial planning legislation

Planning legislation 1900–1994

Situation prior to 1994

1994–2013: From development control to land use management

Development Facilitation Act, 1995

Draft Green Paper

2001 White Paper on Spatial Planning and Land Use Management

Land use management bills, draft provincial legislation and SPLUMA

Current land use management system

3. Planning theory and its applicability to the Global South

Introduction

Procedural Northern planning theories

Modernism and planning

Collaborative and communicative planning

Critical Northern theories

Marxism, power, and planning

Diffusion of power

Social justice and inclusion

Spatial theories: Smart growth, new urbanism, transit-oriented development, and liveability

Sustainability

Northern theories in an African context

Towards theories for planning in Africa

Sustainability

Tactical urbanism

Informality

Informal settlements

Informality and livelihoods

Complexity

Conclusion

4. Why the current system is inadequate for the South African context

Introduction

Problems of African land use management

Inequality and exclusion

Overview of the inadequacies of the current system

Traditional areas

Lack of recognition of African cultures

Urban areas

Informal livelihoods

Informal settlements

Backyard dwellings

Sprawling, poor quality, and unsustainable urban form

Control-orientated

Causes

Power, politics, and corruption

Conflicting and competing rationalities

Customary land tenure and contested leadership

Capacity, bureaucracy, and the aspirations’ mismatch

5. Principles and options for a land use management system to support sustainable and equitable settlements

Introduction

Principles

Acknowledge and work with change

Land use regulations can change

Regenerative sustainability

Social justice and inclusion

Economic development and livelihoods

Context matters

Other land use management systems

Restrictive conditions and covenants in title deeds

Plan-based controls

Site development plans

Form-based codes

Performance standards

Nomocracy

Basket of rights

Discretionary system

Conclusion

6. A Southern approach to sustainable land use management

Simplifying the system

Current system

Options to simplify the system

Rural regions

Natural areas

Commercial farming areas

Traditional rural areas

Urban spaces

Small towns

Peri-urban regions

Townships

Informal settlements

Suburbia

Central areas

Special areas

Industrial

Renewable energy

Mining

7. Conclusion

Glossary