Table Of Contents
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………………….2
2 Sketch of Land Uses in Blouberg……………………………………………………………3
3 Blouberg……………………………………………………………………………………………………….4
3.1 Reasons for Location…………………………………………………………………….4
3.2 Land Uses in the Settlement……………………………………………………..4
3.3 Population Stats of Blouberg……………………………………………………..5
3.4 Erosion of the Beach………………………………………………………………..5-6
4 Interview………………………………………………………………………………………………....7-8
Interview 1………………………………………………………………………………………...7-8
Interview 2………………………………………………………………………………………….…8
5 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………………………..9
6 Aerial Photograph of Blouberg………………………………………………………………..9
Introduction
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Blouberg is a suburb situated on Table Bay’s coastline. It is an urban
settlement located in Cape Town, South Africa. It is located near the
ocean and it attracts tourists to the beautiful beaches. Where it is
located also has access to clean water and electricity therefore it
being a planned settlement.
Blouberg is an idyllic place to spend your day since the ocean caters to
a lot of water activities such as paramotoring, kitesurfing, stand up
paddling and surfing. You also have a beautiful view of Table Mountain
one of Cape Town's signature landmarks.
Blouberg has a lot of restaurants with a wide variety of food, going
from South African to even French. It also has a lot of cafés and bars
for you to enjoy some refreshments. If you are new to the area you
can also take a tour through the beautiful land.
Blouberg
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.1 Reasons for Location~
Blouberg is located near two main roads for easy access and is located
quite far from the CBD. This is because it is a mainly residential area
and people drive to their work. It is also located along the coast so
3.2 Land Uses in the Settlement~
The main land uses are residential, commercial and recreational:
Blouberg is home to a lot of modern houses and flats with ocean views.
There are also some larger houses too but the majority are medium
houses and flats. The land value is quite high in this area because of
the view and beach. Many people in the area live here but travel for
work. Blouberg accommodates housing to a lot of people having most of
the land being residential.
The land is also used for recreational purposes such as restaurants,
water activities, beaches, parks, movie theaters, malls, bars, cafés etc.
and scattered among these, some commercial purposes. Since Blouberg
is such a beautiful area, recreational facilities are important to make
the area more touristic. The beaches themselves provide many water
activities such as surfing, kitesurfing and stand up paddleboarding.
There are also a lot of schools which make it a good area to live in and
opens job opportunities to the area
3.3 Population Stats of Blouberg~
In 1996 the total population in Blouberg was 151 223 and increased to
161 322 in 2001. But, in 2011 the total population of Blouberg was
175 085, and decreased to 172 601 in 2016.
3.4 Erosion of the Beach~
The ocean has been eating away at the sand from the beaches along
Cape Town. This puts beachfront houses in danger of all the land in
front of their houses being consumed by water. The houses along small
bay are already being affected by this and one of the roads have
already been closed because of the water. This is making residents
worried because they fear for their house. Meetings have been held
among the residents in this area to make a plan about a way to stop or
at least to weaken this problem.
At first, everyone thought that it was the sea levels rising so when
they added new sand and half of it washed away they decided to
conduct a study to see what the problem was. They plan to start adding
certain barriers to try to decrease the amount of sand washing away.
They found out the reason for this is because we used to have waves
coming from North to South in the winter, bringing sand from
Melkbosstrand to table bay. And then in the summer the waves would
go from South to North bringing sand back to Melkbosstrand. But now,
the waves come to the shore at a 90° angle and are being more
destructive than constructive taking away the sand from the beaches
and not returning it to the shore. So now instead, in summer the waves
take the sand to Melkbos but, in winter the beaches aren't being built
up again.
Interview
--------------------------------------------------------------
Interview 1~
Me: Are you being affected by the coast erosion?
Person 1: Yes, although my house isn’t being affected at the moment,
this affects everyone because it is devaluing the property and a
road is already closed. It also cause transportation problems by
closing roads.
Me: Do you have an idea of how we can fix it?
Person 1: We could add barriers to prevent the water from removing
the sand from the beaches and so that the waves hit the
barriers so they have less strength.
Me: What effect do you think it will have on people living in the area?
Person 1: It will be very costly since the water will damage houses and
they might even have to move. Moving will also be very costly
since nobody will buy the land because of the water therefore
they would not be able to sell the land so it would be very
expensive to buy a new house.
Me: What effects has it already had in the area?
Person 1: A road has already been closed and the park by small bay is
also closed
Me: What do you think is the cause of this problem?
Person 1: The tide changing direction has prevented the beaches from
being built up again.
Interview 2~
Me: Are you being affected by the coast erosion?
Person 2: Yes. It is taking away the beach which i usually go to, to go
boogie boarding with my family.
Me: Do you have an idea of how we can fix it?
Person 2: Put up barriers for the waves.
Me: What effect do you think it will have on people living in the area?
Person 2: A lot of people living by the beach chose to live here because
they like to spend time at the beach but because of the erosion there
won't be a beach to spend time at.
Me: What effects has it already had in the area?
Person 2: Small bay has been closed down.
Me: What do you think is the cause of this problem?
Person 2: I think its the rise in sea level.
Conclusion
--------------------------------------------------------------
In conclusion, when I started the project I knew a lot about the area
and i knew what was happening with the beaches but, i always thought
that it was because of the ocean levels rising. It turns out it is because
of the direction of the water and how the waves have become
destructive that the beaches are being eaten away.
Aerial Photograph of Blouberg
--------------------------------------------------------------