Side stepping poor infrastructure: enabling environments in developing countries

Abstract

The paper applies the concept of inclusive environments to an urban area in South Africa. It shows that urban space is not only used to access facilities but also accommodates a wide range of other activities. The study found that technologies were being created, the built environment modified and user behaviour adapted in order to occupy and use urban environments in unexpected ways. It suggests that access is only one of many functions that should be supported in urban environments in developing countries and argues that the symptoms of the additional demands being made on urban environments should not be ignored. In stead these demands should define how environments can be pro-actively adapted to meet a wider range of needs for a larger proportion of the population. The paper shows how the concept of inclusive environments can be broadened to reflect the way in which urban environments are being adapted to accommodate a wider set of activities and proposes an Enabling Environment framework. This describes and measures the performance of an environment in terms of the extent to which socially and economically inclusive by catering for a wider set of activities identified in the study.