14 minute read
Exceeding targets
Oxford Parks, Rosebank
Oxford Parks – an extension of Established Rosebank
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EMBRACING THE VISION FOR AN INCLUSIVE CITY
Situated in the heart of the Rosebank Metropolitan Node in Region B of the City of Johannesburg is Oxford Parks.
Bounded by Oxford Road, Jellicoe Avenue, Bompas Road and Cradock Avenue, Dunkeld, Oxford Parks is a 300 000 m2 mixed-use development planned in partnership between the City of Johannesburg, the local community and precinct developer Intaprop.
As far back as 2009, the City recognised the need to reimagine and increase land-use mix and densities in close proximity to and in support of public transport initiatives, including the Rosebank Gautrain station. This – when combined with the City’s vision to densify and optimise the use of existing infrastructure by expanding the nodes, specifically in the north-south growth corridor – positioned Oxford Parks as a major City Policy intervention.
The City approved the vision, the detailed precinct plan, public realm
The first phase piazza with Life Healthcare on the right and 8 Parks Boulevard on the left
design manual and traffic model for Rosebank’s expansion into Oxford Parks in 2014, paving the way for the commencement of the construction and development roll-out of Oxford Parks.
Intensified, integrated land use
The vision for Oxford Parks, aligning with the Nodal Review policy, is to densify and intensify land use. Using a combination of traditional town planning controls and form-based codes incorporated into the respective property’s Amendment Schemes, Oxford Parks is designed to create active street-level land uses, integrated, landscaped and well-lit pedestrian and cyclist pavements, and streets designed in terms of the City’s Complete Streets Policy.
Oxford Parks is strategically located and well integrated with the surrounding urban area. It is highly accessible from the local and regional road, rail and public transport networks, and is located just 6 km from Johannesburg’s inner-city apartment lifestyle districts.
Construction commenced in 2017 and the brownfield development – comprising a hotel, five office buildings complete with ground-floor retail in a well-designed, pedestrian-oriented environment – has to date created construction employment for over 3 000 people.
The first phase of Oxford Parks (approximately 15% of total development) has attracted companies that bring approximately 2 000 people/jobs into the Rosebank area.
Once completed, Oxford Parks will increase the current non-residential floor area of Rosebank by almost 30% and has the potential for an additional 2 000 residential units.
Responsible development
In support of the increase of intensity of land use, the City has entered into an Engineering Services Agreement with the developer to ensure that the supporting services and infrastructure are being upgraded in line with development and operational requirements.
This development has attracted companies who invest in ESG (environmental, social and governance) principles and are looking for city environments that reflect their investment in their staff, their concern for the environment and their social responsibility, as well as uphold the principles of good governance in a well-managed, economically and environmentally sustainable manner.
Managed as a city improvement district by the Oxford Parks Management District (OXMD), Oxford Parks is aligned with best practice urban principles in terms of its mandate to incorporate ESG management into the precinct.
Oxford Parks has achieved a 100% green building rating, with a 6 Star, zero-carbonrated building, four 5 Star green-rated buildings, and one 4 Star green rating. In addition, the public environment has been developed to be green rated.
OXMD is tasked, inter alia, with the dayto-day maintenance, event promotion, security, cleaning and greening of the public environment, liaison with the City of Johannesburg, and the implementation of the infrastructure upgrades as provided for by its Engineering Services Agreement with the City.
Rosebank, incorporating Oxford Parks, is maturing into a diverse, cosmopolitan residential, entertainment and business destination that is highly accessible, caters for an inclusive demographic population, and provides a range of housing and accommodation typologies, all at a walkable scale.
Oxford Parks vehicle intersections allowing for secure and formalised pedestrian movement
Exceeding targets
In the City of Johannesburg’s 2021/22 mid-year review of its Service Delivery and Budget Implementation Plan, it was found that a number of service delivery goals had been surpassed, enabling the City to increase certain targets for the remainder of the financial year.
Number of mixed housing units constructed
2021/22 target: 1 100 Proposed revision: 2 500 Why? Developers have accelerated their housing delivery programmes and, as such, more FLISP-subsidised units will be achieved
Number of social housing units completed
2021/22 target: 257 Proposed revision: 349 Why? The increase was as a result of the Roodepoort Social Housing project, which is set to reach completion in FY 2021/22
Number of lane km of road resurfaced
2021/22 target: 56 lane kilometres Proposed revision: 70 lane kilometres Why? Previous targets were exceeded and the new targets are subject to proposal for additional budget to be approved
Number of gravel km upgraded and surfaced
2021/22 target: 5 km Proposed revision: 12.5 km Why? The City allocated budget to unfunded projects, and upgrade service-level agreements were approved
Number of kilometres of open stormwater drains converted to underground systems
2021/22 target: 1.5 km Proposed revision: 3 km Why? The City allocated budget to unfunded projects, and upgrade service-level agreements were approved
Number of Mayoral Izimbizo hosted
2021/22 target: 8 Proposed revision: 25 Why? In total, 25 Izimbizo/ community engagements have been hosted since the start of the financial year, far exceeding the cumulative target of eight Izimbizo for 2021/22
Percentage total electricity losses
2021/22 target: 28.9% Proposed revision: 22.4% Why? The quarterly and annual targets are to be updated on the business plan to align to the targets after budgetary approval
Number of individuals participating in e-learning programmes in City libraries
2021/22 target:
55 000
Proposed revision:
75 000 Why? The online digital literacy skills programmes are the only safe way of delivering library services to patrons and participating in the programme
ASPHALT AND BITUMEN QUALITY ASSURED
World-class development and testing facilities enable AECI Much Asphalt and subsidiary AECI SprayPave to offer clients consistently high product quality from design to delivery and placement.
This is no easy task, as local laboratories must conform to international best practice while also meeting the specific demands of the local industry, points out Joanne Muller, Manager: Gauteng Regional Laboratory, AECI Much Asphalt.
AECI Much Asphalt’s Central Laboratory at the Cape Town head office and its Gauteng Regional Laboratory in Benoni are fully equipped for Sabita’s recently updated Manual 35 guidelines on the design and use of asphalt in road pavements. With the focus on SprayPave’s product offering, both also offer full performance grading capability on binders in line with SATS 3208:2019.
To operate optimally and offer industry the best quality control possible, AECI Much Asphalt also offers testing capabilities that surpass current industry requirements on aspects such as moistureinduced sensitivity testing, as well as bond strength testing, to name a few.
“We are one of three industry stakeholders capable of analysing the chemical composition of bitumen by means of a SARA analysis and one of only two with Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy capability,” explains Morne Labuschagne, Technical Manager: AECI Much Asphalt. “The FTIR technology is used mainly to determine oxidation levels as well as polymer concentrations and types of bituminous binders.”
Capacity squeeze
Muller says industry uptake and implementation of Sabita Manual 35-based performance asphalt designs have been slow and staggered since its initial publication in 2015. “Significant capital outlay is required to gear up for these designs and AECI Much Asphalt started the process immediately. The capacity that would be required was largely unknown, so many commercial laboratories in South Africa delayed the capital investment. It has become clear that more capacity is needed, and many laboratories are only now establishing this test capability.” Accelerated Sabita Manual 35 design implementation on contracts over the last two years has placed tremendous strain on the AECI Much Asphalt facilities, as there are more designs required than equipment to perform them, Muller adds. “Certain tests, such as four-point bend fatigue testing, are very time intensive, which compounds the problem.” AECI Much Asphalt has added fatigue testing devices in both laboratories to enable increased throughput and stay ahead of the curve. The company has also commissioned more gyratory compactors and vacuum-sealed devices at its production facilities in the past year to align process control and Manual 35 design activities. A new gyratory compactor at the Central Laboratory not only increases capacity in arriving at the final answer once compaction is completed, but enables observation during the compaction process, using sophisticated torque transducers built into the device.
“This functionality helps us to understand the compaction behaviour of asphalt mixtures, evaluate the risk of material breakdown during compaction, and optimise mixtures for workability, for example,” says Muller.
Constantly evolving
The AECI Much Asphalt Central Laboratory will commission an epifluorescence microscope at the end of April 2022, taking polymer modification to the next level in terms of product quality and process efficiency.
“Global technology is always changing and improving, and our technical team continuously assesses how we can look at things differently to make the puzzle pieces fit,” says Muller. “We are currently exploring testing and the associated equipment required for semi-circular bending as a possible fatigue quality control measure, as well as binder shear ratio testing as a fatigue predictor.”
In a move to expand the group’s design and testing footprint, a new laboratory is being set up at the AECI SprayPave plant in KwaZulu-Natal to complement the services in Gauteng and the Western Cape.
A dynamic shear rheometer, used to characterise the behaviour of asphalt binders at high temperatures, has been commissioned here and laboratory staff are being trained. The new laboratory will be fully operational by mid-2022.
Galileo gyratory compactor
Four-point bending beam for fatigue testing
FTIR microscope and ATR
THE FOURTH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION:
It works for UJ
As an academic institution of excellence, the University of Johannesburg is spearheading developments at the forefront the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
For people like Robert Westwood, or a rural nurse in Limpopo, or Banele Hlengethwa from Daveyton, the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) – as it is being embraced at the University of Johannesburg (UJ) – has a meaning far beyond anything they could have imagined. It’s not just that it’s making their own lives and work better and more productive but, above everything else, it’s providing tangible improvements in the lives of others.
Virtual training, real expertise
When Robert Westwood was called out as an emergency care practitioner in the wind and rain to rescue a German tourist who had fallen 15 m on the Kingfisher hiking trail at Wilderness, despite the inaccessibility of the location and the extremely adverse weather conditions, he knew exactly what to do. When he was lowered into the crevice where the injured man was lying with his pelvis splintered, his body temperature plummeting and his level of consciousness slipping, Robert was drawing on all the thorough and extensive simulation training that he had received while studying for his Bachelor of Health Sciences degree in Emergency Medical Care at UJ.
Among all the other exercises and technology that Robert was exposed to, he had also been among the first cohort of students to spend a full weekend at the Gariep Dam where rescue missions were simulated with combinations of aviation, small-boat rescue and the use of a fully equipped temporary hospital set up specifically for the training.
And it was there that he learnt how to build the high-angle system he used in Wilderness to lower himself and his partner down to the injured hiker.
Simulations include the use of drones, GoPro cameras and high-tech command posts. There are mannequins so sophisticated that they can breathe, bleed, cry and vomit, or vibrate if they are experiencing a seizure, and they can respond immediately to any real medication administered intravenously. With this kind of state-of-the-art 4IR technology at UJ, the use of simulations is proving not just effective – but lifesaving – in real emergencies.
Artificial intelligence, real diagnosis
Meanwhile, for that nurse in rural Limpopo, who for the first time is confronted with a young woman presenting with a painful lump in her breast, what would have been a complex and dangerous situation fraught with inexperience, delays and frustrations, will be capable of resolution within minutes. Despite a lack of specialist training, and the distances and time-lags involved if the young woman were to have to seek a diagnosis from a radiologist and oncologist, all the Limpopo nurse needs to do is to upload the information to the database being built by Professor Qing-Guo Wang at UJ’s Institute for Intelligent Systems. This system makes use of artificial intelligence (AI) to produce accurate, immediate diagnoses from an analysis of the 20 000 cases from the archives of the Charlotte Maxeke Academic Hospital that have been placed in the database.
With a PhD in industrial automation, Professor Wang is an internationally renowned researcher in multiple engineering-related fields. He is passionate about exploring ways in which AI can advance technology and improve services so that people can access a better quality of life.
For the many millions of South Africans like the young Limpopo woman, who don’t have medical aid or easy access to medical expertise and specialists, remote diagnostic systems – like the one being developed at the Institute for Intelligent Systems – can literally save lives. They can dramatically circumvent the need to wait weeks or months to see a doctor in the public health system, and completely eliminate the often lengthy, expensive and uncomfortable journeys required to get essential and authoritative initial help. Even for a nurse with only rudimentary training, a full, accurate and timely diagnosis will be possible. It’s nothing short of revolutionary.
Digital work, real employment
And a revolution is what has happened in the life of Banele Hlengethwa, a 25-year-old diesel mechanic graduate who had worked part-time in retail and promotions during his student years, when he was recruited as a fieldworker in a Quality of Life Survey being conducted by UJ’s Process, Energy and Environment Technology Station (PEETS).
One of the university’s most advanced such surveys, it made use of an app that had been developed at PEETS so that it could geolocate the fieldworkers, time the questionnaire process, and identify any misleading or fraudulent responses or activities. With automated quality control processes eliminating errors and discrepancies, the result was an authentic, reliable and dynamic set of data on which the Gauteng City-Region Observatory could rely.
Banele’s leadership qualities quickly brought him a role as a facilitator, then, in succession, positions as a quality distribution agent, assistant in logistics planning and map population, and finally, as a supervisor.
Learning about the quality of other people’s lives through state-of-theart 4IR technology has dramatically changed the quality of his own. In 2018, Banele started Yenzokuhle Social Enterprise and Skills Village, with the aim of addressing issues such as crime, gangsterism, alcohol and drug abuse, and teenage pregnancies in his community. And at the core of it all is the 4IR technology he learnt to work with through his association with UJ through PEETS.
Reimagining tomorrow
As a leader in academic thought and research in Africa, UJ has embraced the technology that is shaping our future, not just on our continent, but globally. And it’s doing this in myriad ways – applying it in both teaching and learning, using it to advance not just ideas, but skills, expertise and capacity. People everywhere will be able to see real benefits and a meaningful and positive change in their lives, both as developers and recipients, of everything that 4IR has to offer.
UJ is driving 4IR solutions that are nothing short of revolutionary in the provision of primary healthcare
