Masters Degrees (Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences (former Departments))

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Browsing Masters Degrees (Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences (former Departments)) by browse.metadata.advisor "Claassen, P."

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    Formal retail as a strategy to enhance the quality of life in marginalized communities
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2002-12) Coetzee, Gerrit; Claassen, P.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Economic & Management Sciences. Dept. of Town and Regional Planning.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Of all the strategies available to help eradicate poverty and enhance the quality of life of people living in marginalized communities, the provision of a formal retail centre would not stand out as a number one strategy. Nevertheless, the Nomzamo Business Centre was built as part of a local economic development initiative to help local businesses to develop. The primary goal of this study was to establish whether the residents of Nomzamo perceived the development of the centre as a contributing factor towards improving the quality of their lives. Although the retail sector is well represented in these marginalized communities, in the form of spazas and other informal businesses, these businesses desperately lack the bearings of formality. The Nomzamo Business Centre provides a formal business premises at affordable rates, for local business people and gives them the opportunity to develop skills through business training courses and the provision of information. As the study concludes, the residents of Nomzamo perceived the centre as an enhancement towards their quality of live, even though many of them still do not make use of the centre. Established shopping habits are hard to brake especially if the centre does not provide any real magnetism. The centre failed to attract an anchor tenant and although Eskom's presence at the centre does provide some form of attraction, the benefits have not yet spilled over to the other shops. At this stage the Nomzamo Business Centre cannot be deemed a success. The centre fails to compete with local informal businesses. What is needed in most of these communities however is a change in the local economic structure. Local economies in most cases are retail based, with no or little representation in sectors like manufacturing. Although the Nomzamo Business Centre will not contribute much towards a more balanced local economy, it does provide the foundation for future changes to take place.
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    Die skep van aanvaarbare behuising binne die konteks van volhoubare ontwikkeling
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2002-12) Terblanche, M.; Claassen, P.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Economic & Management Sciences. Dept. of Sustainable Development Planning & Management.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: South Africa has a housing backlog of approximately 900 000 houses. The government and non-government organizations tries to provide housing for the disadvantage people of our land through sustainable development in an attempt control the housing crises. This study makes the point that sustainable development not nessereraly means the same as acceptable development. In order to provide acceptable housing with in the contexts of sustainable development, it is necessary to give more in depth and equal consideration to the social, economical and environmental aspects of sustainable development. This study focus on what is meant by the above mentioned aspects of sustainable development and what the direct and indirect impacts will be if it is not taken into consideration during the planning and construction faze of low-cost housing. Even though this study doesn’t provide the solutions to providing acceptable housing, it does make a few suggestions on how to obtain acceptable housing, not only for the people directly involved but also for the greater community of South Africa. One of the suggestions that, according to this study, should strongly be considered is the use of alternative building methods such as straw and clay, not only for the obvious environmental benefits but also for the economical and social benefits.