An evaluation of housing strategy in South Africa for the creation of sustainable human settlements : a case study of the eThekwini region.
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Date
2011
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Abstract
Given that access to adequate housing is defined under South Africa's constitution as a
fundamental human right, it is understandable that the post Apartheid government
focuses significant time and expense on establishing human settlements intended to
redress the historically unequal distribution of wealth and resources. This thesis is
concerned with looking at why, in spite of this attention, the government has
underperformed in delivering low income housing projects that evolve into socially
sustainable and integrated communities. Since there is no substantial evidence that a
comprehensive study of the consolidation of human settlements has been done in
South Africa, this research and the recommendations it engenders will be an important
resource for planning truly sustainable and integrated human settlements in the future.
Both theoretical and applied research methodologies were utilised in this thesis to
examine specifically six human settlements in the KwaZulu-Natal Ethekwini region,
selected for their diversity in terms of social, economic and location characteristics, as
well as the differing historical circumstances surrounding their establishments. That the
analysis included three settlements with Greenfield and social housing projects
developed during the Apartheid regime and three settlements established after the 1994
democratic elections, permits comparisons to be drawn and so facilitates a deeper
understanding of the successes and failures of the creation of sustainable housing
settlements. A thorough review of the limited literature in South Africa in this field and an
assessment of strategies contained in the National Housing Policy, was complimented
by a more practical approach, including the use of a Delphi survey method, which was
conducted with experts in the housing field, policy makers and settlement inhabitants,
and extensive on site data collection.
This investigation shows that, paradoxically, the Apartheid housing settlements,
designed to entrench racial segregation and inequality, have in fact flourished as
consolidated communities, in comparison with post Apartheid housing projects. The
thesis draws the conclusion that in the Apartheid settlements inhabitants are using their
housing units as an invaluable asset to improve their living conditions and to create a
sustainable environment. However, in the settlements developed by the post Apartheid
regime, inhabitants are struggling to use their home as an asset to improve their living
conditions and to create a convenient and sustainable environment. Consequently,
poverty, social exclusion and vulnerability of the beneficiaries of low-cost housing are
deepening. While this does not justify the Apartheid policy of enforced removals or the subsequent social evils, the sense of ownership that ensued from forcing inhabitants to
thererafter pay for their dwelling based on a calculated proportion of household income,
is key to understanding this disparity. In comparison, post Apartheid housing policy,
framed within a socialist agenda, does not allow for equitable distribution based on
income levels and so for the mainly poor and economically inactive inhabitants, there is
an absence of this same ownership incentive to either care for or improve the dwellings
that they are given.
Furthermore, the current National Housing Policy fails to take a holistic approach to the
issue since its priority is simply meeting short-term high demand to eradicate the most
visible effects of Apartheid. Subsequently, the National Housing Policy has failed to
consider how access to education facilities for children, availability of consumer goods
and the proximity to commercial activity, jostle with the need for shelter as high priorities
for low income households, which fundamentally affects the success of any housing
policy. For this reason, several beneficiaries of post Apartheid housing units have sold
their homes to raise income to meet more pressing needs.
All social housing settlements that formed the sample of this research study have long
term viability issues and so replicating any model is problematic. The thesis suggests
therefore, that in the future, legislators and policy makers look towards cultivating mixed
use housing settlements centred around vibrant commercial, business and retail sites
with connecting public transit and pedestrian networks, and various tenure options,
including rentals, rent-to-buy and outright purchase. Development initiatives taking into considerations the reforms and recommendations outlined in this thesis could be
implemented on housing projects that use developed buffer zones of land that were left
over from the Apartheid era housing policy or on "lost spaces" within existing human
settlements. The advantages of such a new approach for creating sustainable housing
settlements provides an opportunity to link spatially and economically dislocated
communities while ensuring beneficiaries and stakeholders in housing settlements meet
a wider variety of needs.
The conclusion that this thesis draws is that South Africa needs a post Apartheid
approach to create sustainable human settlements. The Delphi Study reveals that the
strategy to be adopted should represent the expectations of both policy-makers and
beneficiaries. Consequently, this thesis proposes a sustainable housing development
model and has developed guidelines and processes that take into consideration the
many issues affecting housing policies and so becomes a workable tool for future housing professionals. Consolidated and integrated settlements that evolve into socially
sustainable communities then becomes a real possibility.
Description
Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2011.
Keywords
Housing--KwaZulu-Natal--eThekwini Municipal Area., Human settlements--KwaZulu-Natal--eThekwini Municipal Area., Sustainable urban development--KwaZulu-Natal--eThekwini Municipal Area., Theses--Housing.