Design on the margins: Architectural design & early childhood development in vulnerable communities - a case study in woodlane village informal settlement in pretoria, South Africa

Abstract

Most of the children in Woodlane Village in Pretoria, South Africa, are not attending preschool due to poverty and economic priorities of their caregivers. There is limited access to positive cognitive stimuli and the conditions of the streets pose multiple hazards for the children. Growing up being exposed to adversities such as poverty, discrimination, neglect, etc. will trigger the body’s stress response and can cause long term stress which can have negative consequences for their future development. One of the most effective ways to build resistance towards toxic stress is for the child to have a responsive and reliable relationship with their primary caregiver, usually the mother. The capability to provide this is affected by exposure to serious stress brought on by health issues, financial insecurity, and other hardships. This study aims to investigate how architectural design and participatory processes can empower the mothers and children of Woodland Village. Through workshops, interviews, and observation I was able to map the community, focusing on the threats, needs, and wants for the children and their caregivers in the Village. The data collected was used to [1] Create a design proposal with the purpose of designing opportunities for learning and interaction in public spaces and [2] Design a process for social and financial empowerment for the mothers through skill-building. During interviews with the mothers, they expressed that the three most important qualities for their children to learn is how to share, be respectful and compassionate. When we talked about educational skills, they emphasized the importance of learning English. Not only for their children, but also for themselves. This led to the conclusion that the core purpose of the design intervention had to be to encourage social interaction and collaboration together with opportunities for language development. The main answer to the research question of how architectural design can be used to empower the children and women of Woodland Village is that there is a need for a placemaking design where the children can interact with each other and their mothers, while also focusing on independence and empowerment of the mothers.