Living on Durban's fringe : a study of the leisure styles of shack and peri-urban youth.
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Date
1994
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Abstract
The study explored the leisure styles of peri-urban youth living on the fringe
of the city of Durban. Little is known about the leisure patterns of this
marginalised segment of the urban population and an aim of this study was
to begin to develop a knowledge-base using a holistic or multi-theme
approach. Data was collected on the leisure activities, attitudes and the
leisure setting of shack youth. Such information would be helpful in
understanding the role which leisure plays and could play in the social
development of shack youth.
The research methodology, comprising qualitative interviewing in phase one
(to gather contextual data) and a survey in phase two (to explore leisure
patterns quantitatively), complemented the holistic focus by examining
actors' leisure experiences and the wider leisure context.
To interpret the research findings, socio-psychological models of leisure
explained respondents' styles of leisure at the interpersonal level whilst at
the macro-spatial level, findings were contextualised in an apartheid city
'framework to show the way the historical context has shaped present
leisure patterns.
In the context of shack life, leisure was found to be a strategy for survival
and an alternative route to the satisfaction of higher order needs. Despite
environmental constraints, respondents identified socio-spatial opportunities
for leisure activities which they perceived to be freely chosen and enjoyable.
The study concluded that leisure is a valuable tool which social policy
makers and planners could use to develop the latent potential of young
shack dwellers.
Description
Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1994.
Keywords
Leisure--South Africa, Youth, black--Recreation--South Africa., Squatter settlements--Durban metropolitan area., Theses--Geography.