School of Built Environment and Development Studies

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An analysis of housing provision among refugees in Edmonton city - Canada.
(2023) Alalade, Oluwagbemi Adejare.; Chipungu, Lovemore.
The global influx of refugees and asylum seekers has significantly impacted cities and towns, leading to increased pressure on housing resources, host communities, and governments. This study addresses the complex issue of housing provision among refugees, focusing on Edmonton City, Canada. Recognizing the critical role of housing in successful refugee integration, this research investigates the challenges faced by refugees in securing adequate and affordable housing and explores potential solutions. Using the spatial assimilation theory with a mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews, this study delves into the multifaceted dimensions of housing provision. The quantitative analysis, based on surveys conducted with refugees in Edmonton City, highlights the pressing concerns of affordability, accessibility, and adequacy. Qualitative insights from interviews with key stakeholders, including government officials and housing service providers, shed light on existing policies and initiatives aimed at addressing refugees' housing needs. The findings reveal significant challenges faced by refugees, including financial constraints, language barriers, discrimination, and inadequate living conditions, all of which hinder their successful integration into Canadian society. In response, this study advocates for a comprehensive strategy that includes increasing the availability of affordable housing designated for refugees. It emphasizes the necessity of enhanced support services to aid refugees in their housing search and settlement processes. Moreover, fostering collaboration between government agencies, housing providers, and community organizations is essential for effective coordination and resource allocation. Furthermore, this research underscores the importance of awareness campaigns and antidiscrimination measures within the housing market. By creating an inclusive environment, refugees can find suitable housing, promoting their overall well-being and integration. The study's recommendations provide actionable insights for policymakers, housing providers, and community organizations, offering tailored solutions that consider refugees' unique cultural, linguistic, and socio-economic backgrounds. In conclusion, this research contributes valuable insights to the academic discourse on refugee integration, emphasizing the pivotal role of housing in facilitating successful resettlement and community integration, using the Spatial Assimilation theory. The insights provided serve as a foundation for stakeholders, guiding their efforts toward creating inclusive, affordable, and sustainable housing solutions for refugees, not only in Edmonton City but also in other communities across Canada.
Assessing the sustainable urban development-urban liveability-inclusive physical development nexus in selected cities in north-central Nigeria.
(2022) Blamah, Nunyi Vachaku.; Magidimisha, Hangwelani Hope.
The continuous increase in the urban population worldwide has exacerbated the intensity of urban land use conversion and spatial consumption. This motivation for a better urban space led to the evolution of sustainable urban development, urban liveability, environmental awareness, inclusivity, and urban governance. Therefore, this research aimed to establish the intricate links between sustainable urban development, urban liveability, and inclusive physical development in selected cities in North-Central Nigeria. The theories examined were Citizen Participation, Dependency, Modernisation, and Infrastructure. The selected cities were Lokoja, Lafia, and Minna, all incidentally equidistant to Abuja, the Federal Capital City of Nigeria. This research employed a mixed-methods approach by collecting both qualitative and quantitative data. These data sets ranged from satellite imageries used for the spatio-temporal analysis and urban growth simulation through ArcGIS, Q-GIS, and the Artificial Neural Network. The extent of infrastructure provision and their methods were appraised using the instrumentality of the nearest neighbour analysis and the partial least square analysis using the SmartPLS. The research also appraised the stakeholders’ perceptions and methods of infrastructure provision through a word cloud analysis using NVivo analytics. In analysing the provision and condition of the infrastructure in North-Central Nigeria, educational infrastructure was found to be inadequate and poorly maintained; inadequate budgetary allocations exacerbated the problem of urban infrastructure overuse; illegal developments often overtook sites reserved for infrastructure; and funding, vandalism, and project continuity were cited as critical factors. The infrastructure that suffered the highest maintenance neglect was the urban water supply, education infrastructure, and the health care facilities. Political motivation and the population played the most significant roles in the region's urban infrastructure or project development. The triad of consumption, access, and equity was used to evaluate Hangwurian City Development's (HCD) proposed sustainable urban infrastructure development plan. Convergent validity was strong in the region, where the AVE was significant at 0.56 or more. A compact development model was found to be a valuable indicator for qualifying the cities. It was found that the challenge of planning regulation and siting of infrastructure could be addressed effectively, however, the public and private sector promoters of projects had to stick to their parts of the bargain. Cities across North-Central Nigeria had to undertake citizen-focused infrastructure planning and development. Therefore, the researcher concluded that city development and urban growth could be moderated through the instrumentality of adequate infrastructure provision and planning to prioritise the needs and desires of residents. This is achievable by adopting the Hangwurian City Development Model, which helps to promote cities without ills.
Exploring the use of self-help housing as a tool for community identity construction: a case study of Abaqulusi Local Municipality.
(2023) Dlamini, Nontsikelelo Felicitus.; Ntlhe, Daphne.
The relationship between housing, identity, social cohesion and community identity is becoming prominent in academic research. The main of this dissertation is to explore self-help housing to promote community identity in neighbourhoods where people use this method to build their own houses. In self-help housing, households plan and build their own houses depending on their sweat and equity contribution. The process is perceived to have a potential to create an environment where residents can identify with their local area due the personal elements that they have assigned on their houses and the neighbourhood. Secondary and primary data have been used to answer the main research question and meet the studies objective. A survey was used to gather primary data that will assist in contextualizing the study locally while secondary data will be used for international context of the study. Tajfel and Turner (1979) social identity theory and Turner (1976) self-help housing theory were used to guide the study’s investigation. The study found out that there is a link between self-help housing and community identity. The activities that are performed during self-help housing construction result in the community creating an environment that they assign their individual personal elements which are linked to their individual identity. The study make a contribution in the existing literature which explore the social dynamics of self-build housing in South Africa and hope to play a role in assisting role players who are interested in finding solutions for the current situation wherein community identity and unity are practically non-existent in most communities.
Planning and Social Housing in the context of spatial justice and right to the city in Alexandra Township, South Africa: 2001 TO 2016.
(2022) Mndze, Siphumeze.; Mchunu, Koyi Humphrey.; Myeni, Sithembiso Lindelihle.
This study aims to investigate the manner in which social housing contributes to spatial justice and the right to the city. It shows that social housing does not create spatial justice and the right to the city, although it contributes to them. The study applies concepts such as spatial justice, social justice, integration and participation. The theories that are applied constitute critical theory, Rawls’ theory of justice, new urbanism and smart growth theory. The concepts and theories help in guiding the argument in terms of investigating the manner in which social housing contributes to spatial justice and the right to the city. A mixed-method approach was used as the research methodology and design. Semi-structured interviews and questionnaire surveys were conducted with social housing beneficiaries in Alexandra Township, which is in the City of Johannesburg in South Africa and was used as a case study. The research findings demonstrate that in Alexandra Township there has been a noticeable but limited contribution of social housing to spatial justice and the right to the city. Through construction of social housing apartments, people had access to shelter and services such as water, electricity, and sewerage, but many still do not have access to sustainable job opportunities. Additionally, there is no consistent access to services such as sewerage, water, and electricity, with frequent outages and blockages in water pipes and sewerage. The rate of crime is high, and people do not enjoy access to amenities and facilities because of fear of being attacked by criminals. The thesis recommends that for social housing to contribute to spatial justice and the right to the city, consultation and participation with the beneficiaries must be undertaken; there needs to be alignment of policy and legislation to facilitate the contribution of social housing to spatial justice and the right to the city; spatial inequality in the cities must be dealt with; and urban safety and security must be improved. This study contributes to academic discourse by providing perspectives about social housing in terms of spatial justice and the right to the city. The research provides notions about re-conceptualisation of social housing policy and legislation in terms of the ideas of spatial justice and the right to the city. Additionally, the study provides notions and a platform for the scrutinisation and discussion of social housing within the context of spatial justice and the right to the city. Finally, this study presents a framework for social housing in relation to spatial justice and the right to city. The framework outlines organised thinking and orientation about social housing regarding its contribution to spatial justice and the right to the city. This thesis argues that future research needs to adopt a broader contextual approach to investigate and understand the urban planning processes leading to limitations of social housing in contributing to spatial justice and the right to the city for beneficiaries. Such future research should utilise procedural planning theory because it deals with making and implementing plans. Additionally, a comparative study which may assist in investigating, analysing, and evaluating social housing in different cities must be undertaken to detect similarities and differences. This must occur to compare social housing in terms of contributing to spatial justice and the right to the city in various cities. This may assist to broaden the thinking and understanding of the way social housing contributes to spatial justice and the right to the city.
The impact of land assembly for social housing development on spatial restructuring: case study of the Aloe Ridge social housing project in Msunduzi Municipality.
(2023) Nyadzani, Fulufhelo.; Chipungu, Lovemore.
Determined to untangle the spatial conundrum orchestrated by the Apartheid government, the African National Congress (ANC) led a myriad of government instituted programmes to address the spatial inequality that continued to subjugate low-income class communities and left them in intolerable living conditions within urban centres. The Social Housing Programme was envisioned as one of the promising measures with which to address the lack of low-cost rental stock. This programme was furthermore viewed as a facilitator of spatial restructuring by enabling the marginalised and spatially deprived communities’ access to prime housing locations and afford tenants access to commercial and social opportunities. Discourse on the effectiveness of the Social Housing Programme in tackling spatial restructuring within urban centres has amassed over the last ten years, however, propelled by the limited impact that social housing projects have had as a social mobility tool to uplift the poor. The research sought to analyse the factors impeding the ability of the Social Housing Programme to fulfil one of the core mandates of the state; to reverse the spatial imbalances engineered during the Colonial and Apartheid periods. The research utilised a mega social housing project, the ‘Aloe Ridge Social Housing’ project located in Pietermaritzburg, to assess the limitations of the Social Housing Programme. The research utilised the Right to the City concept, Location and Smart Growth theories as the foundation for the provision of adequate housing to comprehend the intricate systems of locational choice of the housing projects and to map potential solutions to address the urban centres’ inefficiencies. The study approached data collection and analysis by employing a mixed-method approach. It utilised respondents from the Aloe Ridge Social Housing project and key informants from the public sector responsible for housing and planning to measure the outcome of the project. The outcome of the data collect ion noted the positive attributes of social housing in the provision of suitable housing to the low-income community, however, the spatial analysis indicated minimal integration with the main commercial nodes, while the land market and grant limitations hindered the acquisition of suitable land for housing. The study recognised the importance of supporting inclusionary housing to improve housing access, while advocating for the review of restructuring guidelines, subsidy readjustment and introduction of incentives and penalties to stimulate the land assembly process.
Traditional governance structures and uptake of housing allocation policy in eThekwini Municipality.
(2023) Lengolo, Mahlomola Cyprian.; Ngcoya, Mvuselelo.
This research study examines traditional governance structures in the eThekwini Municipality and its uptake on their housing allocation policy and policy feedback. It further explores how the dual governance system impacts on state subsidised housing allocation within the eThekwini Municipality particularly in traditional authority areas. The delivery of houses has become a highly politicised mandate with some beneficiaries sidelined due to their political affiliations. Policies are developed to guide service delivery initiatives however the question of proper consultation with the relevant stakeholders has been raised extensively in recent times with some key stakeholders lamenting that they have been left out of service delivery initiatives that are affecting their constituencies. Document analysis on the existing traditional governance literature, municipal administration and policy feedback was necessary to draw views on how traditional structures of government implement a policy that they did not formulate, a principle that they feel is contrary to the democratic values of South Africa and an infringement of their rights as enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa. This study utilized primary and secondary data collection methods targeting traditional leaders, municipal officials, Ward Councillors, and residents to draw conclusive analysis. Primary data was collected using semi-structured interviews from 20 participants. Findings from the study show that while traditional leaders and Ward Councilors sounded reconciliatory about working with each other for the benefit of service delivery, however city officials made it clear that the housing allocation process has become a political havoc. Research findings also highlighted that service delivery beneficiaries are caught up in this policy conflict and there is not much that they can do. Traditional Leaders emphasised that they are not willing to give up their roles as indigenous leaders further stating that unlike Councillors, they are not appointed or voted on five-year terms. As a result of, balance of power sharing equilibrium needs to be struck soon especially in areas under Traditional Authorities. The effects of this policy conflict between the municipality and traditional governance structures on low-cost housing provision has exacerbated the already dire housing allocation process in traditional authority areas located in the outskirts of the eThekwini Municipality.

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