The N2 Gateway Development is located directly adjacent to the N2 freeway, as one enters Port Elizabeth from the west. The site has been identified in the metropolitan planning frameworks as a key gateway to the city, and as an urban node. The development is envisaged as a high density urban area, encompassing a full range of land uses from retail and office, and middle to high density residential development.

The proposed development is to be structured by the main public spatial elements: the road network, the pedestrian systems, and the natural open systems. A fine grain pedestrian network incorporating intimate public squares and green streets serves as a key ingredient in the public spatial structure. The pedestrian links serve to tie the various precincts of the development with the central shopping centre and commercial zones, and with the proposed green system.

The site harbours a number of conservation worthy areas, such as seasonal streams and wetlands containing a variety of red data species. The proposed spatial structure seeks to protect and activate these areas. A continuous urban park uses these protected areas as a core, while using the required buffer zones as parklands and recreational areas. The urban parks serve as important ecological corridors, linking the sensitive areas to the metropolitan open space system.

The spatial structure is designed to provide a level of flexibility for the development, allowing development to accommodate future market requirements, while securing the quality of the public environment, and thus the value of the development.

context

concept plan

diagrams

public spatial system

river system

site development plan