The operationalization of sustainable construction [SC] practice poses a challenge in South Africa. Seemingly, there is an overt concentration on some SD dimensions during decision-making by project managers. Yet, successful operationalization requires the incorporation of all SD dimensions in an integrated manner with trade-offs made to accommodate project peculiarities. To date, a paucity of literature eliciting perspectives of project management professionals within Bloemfontein on the consideration of economic sustainability in SC practice has been observed. This study seeks to explore the perspectives and understanding of project managers on economic sustainability and to identify the factors influencing the prioritization of economic sustainability aspects to secure satisfactory trade-offs. A qualitative case study research design using semi-structured interviews was used to elicit data from a purposively selected sample of project managers working within Bloemfontein. Qualitative content analysis (QCA) was utilized for data analysis. Findings confirmed that although project managers have an appreciable level of understanding concerning economic sustainability in SC, they lacked an understanding of how to motivate for its prioritization when compared to environmental and social dimensions. It is expected that these studies’ findings will contribute to the growing literature on the incorporation of sustainability dimensions within the construction projects.

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Several studies have investigated the extinction of urban public open spaces in South Africa. However, a fixation by such studies on well-established primary cities has been noticed, whilst limited attention has been paid to emerging major cities. In addition, findings from these studies have resulted from the perspectives of either planning entities' representatives or representatives of the communities associated with open space encroachment. This implies the absence of a systemic and multistakeholder engagement. This article contributes towards bridging these observed gaps through the elicitation of multi-stakeholder perspectives on the enablers of urban public open space encroachment in major cities, using a Mangaung Metropolitan exemplar. Adopting a qualitative case study research design, data were gathered using semi-structured interviews and focus-group interviews. Participants were purposively recruited from Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality planning department and community members residing in Freedom Square township, Bloemfontein. The data were analysed using thematic analysis. Significant enablers identified include low levels of sustainability literacy, low levels of citizen participation in the planning process, and planners' inability to manage extant value conflicts. The findings from this study contribute to a broader study that seeks to develop an urban open space planning and management framework for forestalling the incidence of encroachment in major cities. Accordingly, this study's findings have practical implications for relevant planning stakeholders who are keen on curbing the incidence of urban open space encroachment in South African townships.

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Fostering community participation by planners in South African municipalities poses a challenge during planning processes. Different levels of public apathy have been observed, and they continue to undermine the quest of municipalities to provide sustainable neighbourhoods. Also, value conflicts from different urban stakeholders resulting from this apathy can be ameliorated through improved participation of the communities in the planning processes. In bridging this gap, the paper seeks to explore different Crowdsourcing techniques to be employed in Mangaung to enable urban stakeholders’ participation in planning projects. As such, crowdsourcing, as a new web-based business model, is inclusive in the 4th Industrial Revolution and can be used as the best solution for community participation in planning projects. Based on the foregoing, this paper employs a case study research design and a coterie of techniques: semi-structured interviews and document reviews for data elicitation. Interviewees comprise of purposively recruited town planning and other municipal officials involved in planning projects. The emergent data will be analysed thematically. Expectedly, the findings hold immense implications for planning practitioners as well as other professionals and policymakers working within the urban planning and socio-economic development praxes in South African Municipalities.