Streetscaping Beitbridge Central Business District for Public Space Quality Enhancement

Abstract

This study unravels processes and approaches towards external urban environment quality enhancement from a streetscaping standpoint using the case of Beitbridge Central Business District. It acknowledges that the built environment’s public space ought to be enhanced from multiple dimensions. One among them is the streetscape concept. Despite the known benefits of a high-quality public space, there is a dearth of scholarly investigation of this in Zimbabwe. A mixed-method approach that involved detailed surveys aided by structured observation of the streetscape and its usage, key informant and general interviews, and desk review of secondary sources constituted the methodology of this study. Despite substantial work towards the improvement of the urban environment, this study discovered that there is still a significant mismatch between the existing image of the town and the societal expectations from the southern face of Zimbabwe. This call for the prioritisation of public space designing, by the responsible authorities, whose ultimate aim is to enhance the quality of urban environments for maximum value derivation. The study concludes that a ‘street’ is more intimate to humanity due to its threedimensional nature that integrates buildings, the sidewalk, the traffic surface, furniture and other infrastructure while a ‘road ’ is merely a two-dimensional traffic surface that is more intimate to vehicles. The ‘streetscape concept’ is promising to produce inclusive, smart and human responsive urban public space.