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The Sustainable Human Settlements (SHS) research group promotes and supports the development of efficient, effective and environmentally sound human settlements, focusing in particular on aspects related to the planning and design of the built environment.
Current research initiatives focus on a range of areas, namely:
- Resource efficient technology alternatives that support the development of sustainable human settlements, particularly appropriate water and sanitation technologies, and the relationship between these technologies and the people using it.
- Housing options and urban development, including medium-density mixed housing, gated communities and integrated settlement design for sustainability.
- The relationship between crime and the physical environment, involving certain aspects of crime prevention through environmental design, environmental criminology, crime science and situational crime prevention.
See CSIR case studies on sustainable building transformation in the South African housing sector.
See a fact sheet on medium-density mixed housing.
The members of the team represent a range of disciplines including architecture, urban design and the social sciences. The specialised skills and competencies enable the team to provide national, provincial and local government as well as built environment professionals, NGOs, CBOs and other organisations with a range of services involving the following:
- Monitoring and evaluation
Designing and implementing project and programme evaluations
- Research and analysis
Conducting primary and secondary research projects utilising a range of methodologies and techniques including participatory action research, household surveys, focus group workshops, spatial analysis, etc.
- Policy/strategy analysis and development
Recommending policy interventions based on research and analysis
- Training and capacity building
Developing targeted training programmes and conducting capacity building workshops and technology transfer sessions
- Guideline preparation
Developing user-friendly manuals and guideline documents
- Technical and functional support
Providing specialised decision-making support with respect to the planning and design of sustainable human settlements. |
