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HIJACK
Start, as a Journalist.
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Pocket gun guy.// in jeppe
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Photo from: red ants.co.za
As we all know that Johannesburg is the most developed city in South Africa. I explored the city this summer. I was surprised to find Johannesburg is such a highly hijacked city among the world as well, which includes hijacked cars, hijacked buildings and hijacked life. Hijackers’ activities have strongly affected the normal life in the city. You can hardly imagine that there are more than 400 buildings being hijacked by hijackers.
It was winter in South Africa. But it was warm because of the strength of the geography Temperature was comfortable, humidity was nice and the sunshine came out from the sky every exploring day. I value my design as a tool to find most comfortable life in the world. I play three roles in the whole process. Start as a journalist, promote as a designer and participate as a resident. That’s my way to explore the city. Jeppestown is a suburban neighborhood in the city. I made a local friend on the first day I arrived Jeppe. His name is Jabu and actually I knew a lot of local news from him. He led me to the topic of hijack building. I never thought that the life can be so different because of the social problems and the local governance.
Things seemed very differently when I looked into two hijacked areas in Jo.Burg city: Hillbrow and Jeppestown. They made me to decide my theme of the project.
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Time conflict and building
Diary memory and finding
Episode life and dream
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Hearing interview and idea
infusion new prototype of building and structure
role people and paticipatation
future view and phasing
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standing on Bjala Studio Roof
almost
60%
buildings have been hijacked in Jeppestown.
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time conflict and building
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more than
400
hijack buildings existing in Jo.Burg city.
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Hijack Block From the government report of 2014-2015, the number of hijacked buildings is still increasing rapidly mainly because no legal and effective methods to control this. And nothing has ever been implemented to stop the hijackers. 15
FIRE The trace of flame has been left since the fire which made hundreds of people homeless.
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Hijack Building As given the first glance at this term, you may think it is an usual event that some people occupy an “abandoned“ building. However, the hijack building in Jo.Burg city is not so simple. The buildings were originally clearly owned and managed by investors. They were mainly underused light industrial buildings and then were hijacked by people who did not own the property.
VACANT BUILDING people were forced to move out of the building by the fire.
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UNMAINTAINED WINDOW No one ever maintain the appearance of the building.
ABANDONED BUILDING Buildings abandoned and then hijacked by hijackers.
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UNMAINTAINED FACADE Zero maintainance windows and facilities.
SELF-BUILT INFILL Selfbuilt living space by shacks.
Hijack Facade Hijackers are members from a group identified as the Mzansi Progressive Movement. And which involed in the corruption of the government. Due to the zero maintainance of the facilities of hijacked buildings. Facade and the self-built inside became the dependence of many low-income people.
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LIFE AND CLOTH Peple use the facade to air their clothes.
SELF-BUILT INFILLED Selfbuilt living space by shacks.
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Within the original facade, people built their space inside with some simple tents. And as the time went by, people start to build shacks by using woods or plastic boards which were collected from outside.
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Hijack Street In Jeppestown, not only the single object can be hijacked, the object of the hijackers can be a street and even the whole city. The good car parking on the street belongs to the building “owner�.
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Hijack Cars Every year, there will be a report coming out annoucing ten kinds of car brands which are most likely to be hijacked in Jo.Burg city. And such kind of hijacked cars would be seperated by selling to panelpittzers.
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Most people living in the city do not own their houses.
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Even the infrastructures are in such a bad condition, Most people living in the city still do not own their houses with just very little rent. People rent their house from hijack building “owners” at about R300.00/month (about 21 dollars). However, the “house” people renting is just a less than 30sf space and no interspace.
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diary memory and find
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24/06/2016 in Jeppe This is the day that I first know about the reason why people continuously come into Jeppe even though so many people want to move out. There is a strong relationship between the perception and the city. Even the city has been more and more occupied by hijackers, there are still many people who have no education skills coming into the city. According to Malibongwei, a community member, many people come here just because Jo.Burg city itself has become a perception of “gold city”. In many outsiders’ minds, “the city is rich and you can find the opportunity to make money as long as you come here.”
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At beginning, people who live in the hijack building seperate the space by themselves and occupy their own space by the sequential order they came. They used tents, cloths and the material they have. And they put all of their items and property inside their small space without any additional security. That is one reason that the hijack building is dangerous and unsafe.
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ball and Bible. in Jeppe
26/06/2016 in Jeppe When a fire came... The hijack building has gone through the experience of cutting the electric lines, water pipes and a big fire. People lived in before had to transfer their accomodation. Because of the fire, many people lost their homes and the fire left them nothing.
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WOOD SELF-BUILT The trace of flame has been left since the fire which made hundreds of people homeless.
WOOD SELF-BUILT The trace of flame has been left since the fire which made hundreds of people homeless.
TENTS INFILL Tents and living infrastructures can be seen through a series of square windows.
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SELF-BUILT WINDOW Windows are made by soft plastic board.
WASTE INFILL The rubbish could raise up to two floors in the courtyard due to no management.
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REAL SPACE INSIDE
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The narrow space inside the building has seldom lights. Most corridors are immersing in the darkness. People hang their clothes on the pods at the first floor where just next to the tap water area.
It can be clearly seen that the rubbish throwed everywhere because of the lack of waste management. The courtyard has been occupied by the rubbish which cause the enormous health problems among the residents.
Abandoned electrocity
Light bulb
Sleep and cook inside
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Door
episode life and dream
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Hijacked roof life.//in Jeppe
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Hijackers never stop their hijacking activities. When they hijacked the buildings, they even hired the so called “security company� to force residents to pay rents or shot the residents who do not pay the money.
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The lack of employment and job opportunities left residents depression. In order to earn a living, they started their small business as informal econoic acitivities: vendors, cleaners, sorters or security.
One day, I came into a hijack area, Hillbrow, where the tall Ponte building stands. There was an open space on the top of the hill. Many religions gathered here. People did their pray and ceromony here. It is not a very safe and friendly place compare to other inclusive district.
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Kids were chasing on the street at noon.// in Jeppe
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Children play with guns. // in Jeppe
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The day I went to a hijack builidng. It was said the day was a holiday. Kids were playing outside. the girl was smearing some red material onto her face using the rearview mirror of the car. Boys were playing with the toy guns and learning to shot someone else. After we got the permission, we went into the building and we saw the public office keys hanging on the wall, 49
Keys hanging on the board. // in Jeppe
hear interview and conclusion
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They. // in Jeppe
community member: malibongwe
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“I love the place and I hope the place will become better in the future.“
He lives with his mother. He has a strong feeling and warm heart to surrounding people. He cares about the children there very much and always gives the best food and things to others.
Malibongwe is a formal worker in Bjala studio at Madison street. Even so, he still cannot afford for the high rent in Bjala, so he rent his house in Maimai Market where is a very small area that he put all his furnitures and neccisity inside: his bed, television, album, kitchen and closet, washing tools as well.
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Material sorter: james He lives in Hustel in Jeppe. Hustel is like a hotel but without paying or paying very little to have a sleep inside. He need to do the sorter works which is informal but could support himself. I still remember the moment we shaked our hands. I thought his hand would be hard and cold. However, I was totally wrong. They were really soft and warm hands and I can even feel the hope and the dream inside the sorter man.
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A sorter was pulling his cart along the street when we walked along the John Page Drive.
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He hanged a driving license plate on the back of his cart. With the help of the reflecting light, it can help him keep safe during the night.
“Shot me, please.� I always heard the word from people sitting along the street. They wants photos.
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Drawings on the wall It is common that children like drawing everywhere as they want. The drawings shown on the outside wall of the hijack building are the interior kitchen plan. With simple brush stroke, it expressed the idea of the kitchen from the heart of kids. An ideal kitchen consists by a big table in the middle and other infrastructures arounded.
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feeling summary in person
memory
Crime
Economy 58
Light limits
Security
Authority
Dirt
darkness
disappointment
Surrounding infrastructure zero development
concerns
sanitation 59
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conclusion
the housing issue need to be solved the ownership of the buildings need to be clarified the job opportunities need to be completed the infrastructures need to be improved the current living environment need to be improved and changed
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infusion new prototype of building structure 62
facade
infrastructure
parcels
self-built
floor and structure
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GOLD MINE RIDGE
GOVERNMENT HUSTEL
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what can I do
FACTORY
WAREHOUSE
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ROOF LIFE
to change this
vision Jeppe will be a neighborhood that providing health and safe selfbuilt housing. It, Jeppestown, will be a neighborhood that where each social group can build their own house, live, work and benefit from the improved infrastructure systems. The neighborhood will develop fast 66
based on its promoted living condition, the increased job opportunity and the convenient accessibility to the public space.
barter system
material logistic system
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idea n
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Hiding the informal inside the formal city.
Project Logistic
formal Government will first offer the structure of the building. Then the government will offer all the infrastructures.
Government will define the detailed zoning and rules of the space.
informal Let people come into the building and start the self-built projects. People can buy the space or rent the space with a low price inorder to solve a gap group of housing.
informal+formal People will fill in all the space inside with the formal and urban facade.
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material service
church Arts on Main
fox commercial street
TOD AREA Jeppe Station
material dispatch
church
church
Jeppe Park
Maimai market
Bjala square hijack block
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COLLECTION SPOT
Abandoned building before Collecting building materials and sort Energy Center
goal Material Logistic System Connecting Jeppe park, Maimai market, Arts on main and Jeppe station these four most important parts
property occupancy negotiation Connecting Jeppe park, Maimai market, Arts on main and Jeppe station these four most important parts
property occupancy negotiation Connecting Jeppe park, Maimai market, Arts on main and Jeppe station these four most important parts 71
property occupancy negotiation Connecting Jeppe park, Maimai market, Arts on main and Jeppe station these four most important parts
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logistic system Dispatching the building materials and furniture service and collecting furnitures and building materials, then recycling back to the neighborhood.
Arts on Main Jeppe Station
Maimai market
hijack block
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COLLECTION SPOT
Energy Center
Developed arrow Connecting Jeppe park, Maimai market, Arts on main and Jeppe station these four most important parts
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hijack building location Hijack buildings are mostly distributed in the south part of Jeppe.
Ticket
Book+Wifi
Food
Necessaries
Room for sleeping Education + Wifi Room for sleeping
Food
Health
Food
Barter Program People can get barter programs in the neigborhood which would help them get free food or ticket by doing something.
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new proyotype of self-built building
LOCATION//PLAN//STRUCTURE CORNER 21M*18M
5F 21
m
76
m
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ATTACHED BUILDING 42m*18m
42 m 18m
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ONE-side Facade Building 36m*15m
36 m 15m 78
TWO-sides Facade Building 42m*15m
m 42 15m
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SPECIAL BLOCK SHAPE 39m*36m 39m
m
36
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A QUARTER BLOCK 36m*36m
36 m
m
36
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Air Flow All the self-built room need open a window towards the outside facade.
Light Corridors need to be left for the light come in.
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Parcels Each family will have a certain boundary to do the building project.
regulation and rules
people Flow The corridor need to be connected and circulated with the emergen
Extrance All the doors need to be opened inside rather than next to the outside facade in order to keep a clean outbound circulation.
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Height The height of the project need to be confirmed while people buy the space.
Water supply All the water will be supplied as a circle and each floor will have a big washing space.
public space All the orange corridors are public space which can not be occupied with any reason.
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Electricity All the people living in the building will enjoy the free electricity fee.
regulation and rules
Waste go All the waste will go directly to one spot which will directly transferred the waste to the first floor.
Corridors Corridors will face the windows on the outside facade in order to ensure the light can be sent into the corridors.
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Education program Every family who needs to start the project will need to take a architecture training supported by the neighborhood.
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Housing Type 1
Housing Type 2
Bathroom Typology
Housing Type 3
Housing Type 4
1 single-bed
1 double-bed
public bathroom
multi-beds room
multi-beds room
9 square meters
13.5 square meters 18 square meters
36 square meters
36 square meters
Rent: R250/month
Rent: R450/month
Rent: R1000/month
Rent: month
R1000/
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building design analysis
role neighborhood people paticipation 88
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Further step in the neighborhood MANUFACTURING
JeppesArt
Self-built Building
furniture manufacturing
local art and music stage
9 self-built buildings’ sites are located here
15%
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15%
28%
9%
12%
21%
AFTER-WORK MARKET
EDUCATION CENTER
Jeppe PARK
retails free market gathering informal vendors
self-built and job training
biggest open space in Jeppe
1,000,000 sf
Self-built buildings are actually not seperate from the outside social activities. As I mentioned above, the foundation of the self-built building is the material logistic system, which would be supported in the neighborhood. On the other hand, the job opportunity is another important issue to be solved since the self-built project would bring more people come into the neighborhood. The connection between these two aspacts is the furniture and the building materials.
The neighborhood design choose the site from John Page Drive in the east to the Maimai market in the west, which goes straightly through the Jeppe Park and along the Fawcus street. The site is about 1,000,000 sf big. It is also a good opportunity to break the dead area behind Madison street and to fill in the gaps in these blocks.
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Abandoned building
Bad quality building
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Hijacked buildings
choosing building 2. ATTACHED ONE-SIDE TO STREET CORNER The buildings I choose from the neighborhood1.will at least meet one of these requirements: vacant,3.abandoned or hijacked attached to a existing building one side to the park small size and more flexible structure buildings.
1,000,000 sf
Vacant building
Hijacked buildings
2. ATTACHED
1. CORNER
attached to a existing building
small size and more flexible structure
3. ONE-SIDE TO STREET one side to the park
1,000,000 sf
93 6. QUARTER BLOCK 1/4 block big size inside residential neighborhood
4. TWO-SIDES TO STREET two facades need to be fit into the urban context
Substitude typology The site would be suitable for all the six new building typologies.
5. TRIANGEL BLOCK special block typology
pavement open space
canal
soft open space
park
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openess in and out The open space is divided as two sides: soft grass patterned and the hard pavement ground space. This is “out” and “in” means the self-built itself is one kind of soft design but the building facade is the hard one.
Drinking water spot sports plaza trail
Health Care Clinic bike lane
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Drinking water spot
fee t
Healthy before and after Combining the health care clinic with the former physical exercise in order to prevent the illness and health issues in advance.
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ground floor plan
Park street
library
Fawcus stree
et ark im ima Ma
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Julie street
studio
retail
restaurant
office
office
0
Janie street
Gus street
Jo hn
Pa ge
0 50
100 feet 50feet 100
Dr .
et
Madison street
residential
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studio
park
residential
commercial
residential
residential floor plan
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roof plan
6F 5F
3F
100
6F
6F
0
50
100 feet
5F
5F
4F
7F
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property line
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0
50
100 feet
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STREET TYPE
Park St.
Durban St.
NEIGHBORHOOD STREET
Auret St.
Betty St.
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Macintyre St.
Maritzburg St.
Fawcus St.
MAIN STREET
Jo hn
RESIDENTIAL STREET
Dr .
Hans St.
Janie St.
Gus St.
Madison St.
Julie St.
Pa ge
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education system
Self-built Education
Manufacturing Industry
Job Training Center
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Manufacturing Industry
Primary E
Education warehouse office
0
50
100 feet
Kindergarten
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material logistic system
Furnitures Recycling Spot
Church Donation Spot
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0
50
100 feet
Material Dispatch Center Building Material Recycling Spot
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section a-a’ A
B
B’’ B
A’
multi-use space
roof life
Fawcu 110
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multi-use space
outdoor parking
backyard
us street 111
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60
bedroom
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restaurant
roof life
section b-b’
A
B
B’
A A’
bus station
Jeppe park
bike lane
trail
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Janie street
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20
5
5
future view and phasing
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bird’s eye view Jeppe Station
free market
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Maimai market
church
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perspective
3 2
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1
1
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2
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3
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project phasing 01.boost manufacturing and complete the infrastructure Creating more job opportunities.
02. develop housing First test in self-built housing based on the people flow and investment.
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03. develop logistic system Creating more jobs and boosting local material logistic industry.
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warehouse office
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w reh ware ehouse office o f e
04.commercial investment Increasing cash flow and attracting people
05. revising the park Improving the life quality
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03. retriving local culture Completing education system and entertainment.
REFERENCE
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1. http://mg.co.za/article/2014-09-18-joburg-residents-battle-red-ant-evictions; 2. http://spacesofconflict.blogspot.co.za/2015_02_01_archive.html; 3. http://www.enca.com/coverage/crime-statistics-2014; 4. http://buzzsouthafrica.com/not-only-cars-buildings-are-equally-hijacked-in-south-africa/ 127
Hiding the informal in the formal. Author: Jiawei Gao Photographer: Jiawei Gao 128
06.2016 // in Johannesburg
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