Thesis (MBA (Business Management))--Stellenbosch University, 2008. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study focuses on the inclusionary housing policy (IHP), a concept introduced to incorporate the private sector in actively contributing to the delivery of affordable housing as a by-product of higher income housing delivery, in an effort to promote socio-economic integration and to eradicate informal housing by 2014. The IHP stipulates that between 0% to 30% of new residential developments, measured in units, need to be inclusionary in nature. This means that a unit may be sold from R50,000 to R350,000 or rented for R600 to R3,000 per month to beneficiaries earning between R1,500 and R7,500 gross income per month. The policy will be implemented in a phased manner with two complimentary strategies, namely the town planning compliant approach and the Voluntary pro-active deal driven approach. To off set financial burdens, the government has made available six incentives and the concepts of off site compliance and inclusionary stock credits. The national government has set the requirements and parameters of the inclusionary elements and based on this a number of the possible effects that this IHP might have on residential developments, when looking at the interactions of supply, demand and price,were discussed as well as the views of industry experts. Inclusionary housing will result in social benefits but unwanted social costs as well. Benefits and costs were discussed and even though this policy is not Pareto efficient, based on the Kaldor-Hicks criterion, it is efficient in that the members of society that are made worse off can be compensated by the beneficiaries due to the fact that surrounding property prices that may rise and developers get incentives they would otherwise not have had access to. This study also looked internationally at the key success factors that were identified in case studies focussing on the United States of America, United Kingdom, Malaysia and China. From this international study, recommendations were made for South Africa's IHP. Because of various cultures and economies, success factors can not purely be copied but the recommendations should add to sustainable inclusionary developments. Ad hoc recommendations, also inferred from international lessons learnt, were discussed briefly and based on the above findings and recommendations, the accusations made by industry experts were readdressed. Although some areas still remain grey, many were found to be questionable. No concrete inferences can be made from this study pertaining to the supply, demand or price of residential developments but the following predictions can be made. The IHP is not necessarily going to drive property prices down and the requirements may be accepted by higher income households and therefore socio-economic integration may be successful in South Africa. This is only if the policy remains in its current form and not become law. This is in order to adapt to changing external variables and to incorporate success factors as they become known; if the IHP gets implemented transparently; if suggestions are incorporated from all stakeholders i.e. beneficiaries, developers, governmental spheres and third parties such as financial institutions and if this policy is phased into the market timeously. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die studie fokus op die insluitende behuising beleid (IBB), 'n konsep wat bekend gestel is om die privaat sektor aktief betrokke te maak by die voorsiening van lae koste behuising as 'n by-produk van die voorsiening van hoër inkomste behuising in 'n poging om sosio-ekonomiese integrasie te bevorder en informele behuising teen 2014 te verwyder. Die IBB bepaal dat tussen 0% en 30% van nuwe residensiële ontwikkelings, gemeet in eenhede, insluitend van aard moet wees wat beteken dat eenhede vir tussen R50,OOO tot R300,000 verkoop en verhuur vir tussen R600 en R3,000 per maand aan begunstigdes wat tussen R1,000 tot R7,000 bruto inkomste per maand verdien. Die beleid sal trapsgewys toegepas word met twee komplimentêre strategieë naamlik 'n vrywillige pro-aktiewe gedrewe benadering en 'n dorpsbeplanning voldoeningsbenadering. Om finansiële belassings te voorkom het die regering ses aansporingsbonusse beskikbaar gestel en die konsepte van lewering op ander land en insluitende handels krediete. Die nasionale regering het die vereistes en limiete van die insluitende elemente bepaal en gegrond op dit is 'n aantal van die moontlike uitkomste, wat die IBB op residensiële ontikkelings mag hê, gegrond op die interaksie tussen aanbod, vraag en prys, bespreek asook die sieninge van sektor deskundiges. Insluitende behuising sal sosiale voordele en ongewenste sosiale nadele tot gevolg het. Voordele en nadele was bespreek en alhoewel die beleid nie Pareto optimaal is nie is dit effektief gegrond op die Kaldor-Hicks kriterium deurdat die lede van die samelewing wat slegter af gemaak word, gekompenseer kan word deur die begunstigdes deur eiendomspryse wat kan styg en ontwikkelaars wat aansporingbonusse ontvang wat hulle andersins nie toegang tot sou gehad het nie. Die studie het ook internasionaal gekyk na sukses faktore wat geidentifiseer was deur te kyk na gevalle studies wat gedoen is in Verenigde State van Amerika, Verenigde Koningkryk, Maleisië en China. Aanbevelings vir Suid-Afrika se ISS, algelei van die internasionale gevalle studies, is gemaak. As gevolg van verskillende kulture en ekonomiese faktore kan sukses faktore nie bloot gedupliseer word nie maar die aanbevelings behoort by te dra tot volhoubare insluitende ontwikkelings.

Thesis (MDF)--Stellenbosch University, 2008. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: High interest rates on credit products in South Africa are not unusual. This would be beneficial to the South African consumers if the cost of incurring these credit products was lower than the benefit derived from incurring them .This is unfortunately not the case to the majority of the South African population. The unlikelihood of this situation is a direct result of the lack of access to appropriate savings and insurance products to a large number of South Africans. Most South Africans use credit, in the form of microloans to augment their consumption patterns. The majority of South Africans do not have a culture of saving; therefore they use credit as a substitute for the lack of savings when consumption patterns exceed income. Using credit as a substitute for the lack of savings becomes extremely costly for low income earners. The result is a perpetual dependence on credit, lack of accumulation of wealth and a lack of improvement in their standard of living. The perpetual dependence on credit has brought about unscrupulous lenders who take advantage of the low income earners dependency on credit for their daily existence. It is due to such exploitations that the South African government through its Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) intervened to bring normality in the South African credit market. This intervention was done through the promulgation of the National Credit Act (NCA), Act No.34 of 2005. The purpose of this study is to focus on a sub set of the credit providers in South Africa known as housing microfinance (HMF) lenders. The study explores the impact of the National Credit Act in the South African credit industry. The Act’s intentions are elaborated and the reality of the implementation of the Act on the drivers of profitability for the housing microfinance institutions is measured. The finding is that housing microfinance institutions have to restructure their business processes in order to be profitable and sustainable in the ambit of the National Credit Act. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Vir menige finansiële produkte in Suid-Afrika is rentekoerse wat wissel tussen 80 en 150 persent is nie ongewoon nie. In ekonomiese terme kan verbruikers slegs voordeel trek uit hierdie hoë rentekoerse as die koste om hierdie krediet te verkry laer is as die voordeel wat voortspruit uit die aangaan van die koste. Hierdie situasie is hoogs onwaarskynlik in die oorgrote meerderheid van gevalle in Suid-Afrika. Die onwaarskynlikheid van hierdie situasie is die direkte gevolg van die gebrek aan toegang tot toepaslike spaar- en versekeringsprodukte vir ‘n groot aantal Suid-Afrikaners. Die meeste Suid-Afrikaners gebruik krediet (naamlik mikrolenings) om hulle verbruikerspatrone aan te vul. Die gebruik van krediet as ‘n plaasvervanger vir spaargeld word uitermate duur vir die lae-inkomste verdiener. Die gevolg is ‘n ewigdurende afhanklikheid van krediet, geen akkumulasie van welvaart nie en ‘n gebrek aan verbetering van lewenstandaard. Die ewigdurende afhanklikheid van krediet het gewetenlose uitleners geskep wat die lae-inkomste verdieners uitbuit wat afhanklik is van krediet vir hul daaglikse bestaan. Dit is as gevolg van hierdie tipe uitbuiting dat die Suid-Afrikaanse regering deur sy Departement van Handel en Nywerheid tussenbeide getree het om normaliteit te bring in die Suid-Afrikaanse kredietmark. Hierdie intervensie is gedoen deur die uitvaardiging van die Nasionale Kredietwet, Wet No. 34 van 2005. Die doel van hierdie studie is om te fokus op ‘n onderdeel van die kredietverskaffers in Suid-Afrika bekend as die behuising-mikrofinansiering-uitleners. Die studie ondersoek die impak van die Nasionale Kredietwet in die Suid-Afrikaanse kredietindustrie. Die Wet se oogmerke word uiteengesit en die realiteit van die implementering van die Wet op die drywers van winsgewendheid vir die behuising-mikrofinansiering-instansies word gemeet. Die bevinding is dat behuising-mikrofinansiering-instansies hulle besigheidsprosesse moet herstruktureer ten einde meer winsgewend en volhoubaar te wees binne die strekking van die Nasionale Kredietwet.

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / Having inherited a huge housing shortage from the previous apartheid regime, the government of the newly liberated Republic of South Africa embarked on an ambitious programme to resolve the problem, as was required of it by its constitution. The government’s approach was (and is) to offer a once-off subsidy, which has become increasingly generous over the years, to qualifying households. Twenty years later, some three million dwelling units have been built, but there remains a shortfall of some two million houses, which is growing annually. Having regard to the size of the problem and the fact that it is growing despite Herculean efforts on the part of the government, it is clear that intervention by the private sector and civil society is required. The private sector, however, is constrained by the fact that profitability in the affordable housing market is small. In the absence of reasonable profit margins, and in the context of the fact that there is a dire need for adequate shelter, the question arises why corporations who have a long history of donating to social causes, do not allocate more of their corporate social investment budgets to organisations involved with the problem? The answer is that the need is for a private good that is already receiving significant government support, with the result that corporate social investment is crowded out. In addition, corporations are increasingly recognising the need to align their social investment strategies with their business strategies. This is not happening in the housing context partly because corporations are struggling to conceptualise the relationship between the two strategies, and partly because there is no framework within which to do so. Corporate social investment strategies are meaningful and justifiable when they open new markets and opportunities for the company. Successful human settlements exist where economic and social opportunities are integrated seamlessly. Should the government’s housing policy use the principle of integration as a point of departure, it could encourage corporations to channel moneys to social causes. The ideal vehicles for the corporations to employ in such endeavours are social enterprises, because these are non-profit organisations that are managed in a business-like manner. They bring focus to the investment and assurances that moneys are spent well, and their entrepreneurial approach makes them self-sustaining over time.

Thesis (MDF)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Housing, specifically for low-income households in Botswana, has been observed to be one of the housing challenges encountered in the housing sector in Botswana. A number of this population group in the Gaborone area still live in very poor housing conditions, while some are renting in townships where few housing units are of proper quality. The availability of government schemes such as SHHA, which provides housing finance to low and middle-income groups, does not make the significant impact required to alleviate this. As few make use of the scheme, questions have been raised as to whether there are any constraints that hinder low and middle-income households in the use of the scheme, as well as the extent of the impact made by the scheme in delivering affordable housing in Gaborone. The objective of this paper is therefore to examine the SHHA housing finance scheme and further, to assess its effectiveness in housing delivery to low-income urban households. In order to ensure that the findings are reliable, the study examined the plot applications patterns in the SHHA area in Gaborone, the number of funds applications, and the amount disbursed, as well as the status of the SHHA housing projects. All the information is relevant to the past 5 years for SHHA applications, and 10 years for plot application. Commercial financial institutions financially exclude the low-income households, hence their need to access their own housing finance specific to their financial ability. In examining the SHHA scheme, the findings indicate that the main challenge lies in the land allocation, without which one does not have access to SHHA housing finance. There is a huge backlog for land allocation and the lack of plot ownership (due to a shortage of serviced land) means that low-income individuals are not able to effectively use the scheme, and this in turn hinders urban expansion in Gaborone and surrounding areas. Furthermore, there is less availability of housing finance programmes specific to the low-income population in Botswana. The government alone cannot afford to supply funding without a partnership with other private housing developers. The limited number of SHHA loans is making a small change, but is not effective enough to end poor shelters in Gaborone city. To conclude the study, it is recommended that improvement in land and housing policies is the only way to improve conditions. The policies should focus on the target group, and be specific about the partnership between the government and private developers and companies in order to attract them into housing development which will result in a slum-free Gaborone. The legal framework, and the land and housing policies, as well as the Housing Act should directly address private sector participation in housing development for both land use planning and housing.

Thesis (MDF)--Stellenbosch University, 2015. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The non-availability of funding for low-cost housing is a major stumbling block in the provision of housing for the poor in South Africa (Moss, 2001). Banks and other commercial institutions are generally reluctant to fund construction companies in this industry in view of the high level of risk involved. The Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa is a development finance institution that is involved in the financing of construction companies. This study looked at the effectiveness of IDC in financing construction companies that are involved in low cost housing development. The study also looked at whether the IDC's strategiC objectives of promoting job creation had been achieved by providing funding to the construction companies. Only those companies involved in low-cost housing as the only or part of their business activities have been chosen for the study. A qualitative method of research analysiS has been selected as the best way of analysing the research findings in this paper. The empirical analysis indicated that generally the respondents are satisfied with the funding provided by the Industrial Development Corporation, but have serious concerns regarding the turnaround times for credit approvals, completion of legal agreements, disbursement of funds and the fees charged.

published_or_final_version / Urban Planning / Master / Master of Science in Urban Planning

This study is a secondary analysis of survey data collected in fall 2000 from patients of a safety-net hospital and its eight community health outreach clinics in Fort Worth, Texas. The study examined three objectives. These include explaining the utilization of Pap smear tests among the sample who were low-income women, by ascertaining the determinants of using these services. Using binary logistic regressions analyses primarily, the study tested 10 hypotheses. The main hypothesis tested the race/ethnicity/immigration status effect on Pap smear screening. The remaining hypotheses examined the effects of other independent/control variables on having a Pap smear. Results from the data provide support for the existence of a race/ethnicity/immigration status effect. Anglos were more likely to have had a Pap smear, followed by African Americans, Hispanic immigrants, and finally, by Hispanic Americans. The persistence of the race/ethnicity/immigration status effect, even when the effects of other independent/control variables are taken into account, may be explained by several factors. These include cultural differences between the different groups studied. The race/ethnicity/immigration status effect on Pap smear screening changed with the introduction of age, usual source of care, check-up for current pregnancy, and having multiple competing needs for food, clothing and housing into the models studied. Other variables, such as marital status, employment status and health insurance coverage had no statistically significant effects on Pap smear screening. The findings of this study are unique, probably due to the hospital-based sample who has regular access to subsidized health insurance from a publicly funded safety-net healthcare network and its healthcare providers. Given the importance of race/ethnicity/immigration status for preventive Pap smear screening, public education efforts to promote appropriate Pap smear tests among vulnerable populations should target specific race/ethnicity/immigration status groups in the U.S. within the cultural context of each group. Furthermore, publicly funded health programs for underserved populations such as the John Peter Smith Connections and Medicaid should be maintained and strengthened.

This thesis focuses on problems that have resulted from the increasing pressure facing urban and suburban land use in South Africa, brought on by a number of different factors including the political and historical background of the country, as well as by rapid urbanization. The objective of this thesis is to present the perspectives applied in the analysis of the built environment in selected case studies, in which different theoretical and methodological approaches have been developed to address the research questions. The empirical part of this thesis consists of four case studies, in which selected low-income housing projects are analyzed from a perspective of how to facilitate higher densities. A central question addressed is whether the provision of housing structures built at higher densities, maintain, improve, or aggravate spatial qualities; and whether the application of these types of projects can be considered as possible alternatives to address the problem of urban sprawl in South Africa. The study finds that the house types analyzed address the density dimension of urban sprawl, thus reducing the amount of land consumed. There is room for increasing densities and overall urban land use efficiency, to which the housing types analyzed in this study may contribute. This implies that cities such as Cape Town and Johannesburg, which suffer from urban sprawl, have the possibility to grow in terms of population without having to expand further in terms of land use. The analysis of spatial qualities shows the studied types maintain positive spatial qualities, and have the possibility of increasing living standards. Nevertheless, a number of other dimensions need to be included when addressing urban sprawl conditions, in order to consider the possibility of replicating these housing types. Furthermore, this study advances approaches in terms of methodologies and concepts applied, which aim to contribute to an increased understanding of the current knowledge in the housing and urban planning fields focusing on questions of urban sprawl in general / <p>QC 20100909</p>

This mixed methods study investigated the influence of a career development program attended by low income, first generation, college bound students. Phase I took place in 2006 and 2007 when the students participated in the Upward Bound summer Bridge program. During Phase II in 2009, follow up interviews were conducted. Phase III was completed in 2014 and also included follow-up interviews. Career Identity (CI) scores from My Vocational Situation and Holland codes from the Self Directed Search were obtained during each phase. Changes in measured career identity scores and codes were interpreted by taking into account the students’ experiences. Interviews examined common themes demonstrating the career development of the participants.

Notre recherche a comme objectif de déterminer si le statut d’immigrant agit comme modérateur de la relation entre l’état de faible revenu et ses déterminants au Canada. Elle est basée sur les données du Recensement de 2006. Notre étude cherche à comprendre s'il existe des différences selon l'appartenance à la population immigrante ou à la population native quant à la probabilité d’être dans un état de faible revenu. Également, nous avons accordé une attention particulière à la région d'origine des immigrants. Nos résultats soutiennent qu'effectivement l'effet des déterminants retenus sur la probabilité de connaître l’état de faible revenu varie entre les immigrants et les natifs ainsi qu’entre les immigrants selon leur région d'origine. C'est surtout chez les immigrants issus des pays non traditionnels que l'écart dans l'effet des variables est le plus marqué et ce, par rapport aux natifs. Les immigrants issus des pays traditionnels se trouvent dans une situation intermédiaire, soit entre les deux groupes. Par exemple, l'éducation a un effet négatif moins important sur la probabilité d’être dans un état de faible revenu chez les immigrants originaires des pays non traditionnels comparativement aux natifs et aux immigrants originaires des pays traditionnels. Par contre, l’appartenance à une minorité visible, le statut d’étudiant et l’intensité de travail produisent un effet plus important sur la probabilité en question chez les immigrants issus des pays non traditionnels comparativement aux autres groupes. La connaissance des langues officielles du Canada produit un effet négatif bien plus important dans le cas des immigrants issus des pays non traditionnels. C’est surtout les immigrants bilingues qui sont les moins exposés à l’état de faible revenu, alors que ceux qui ne parlent aucune langue officielle du Canada sont les plus touchés. Nous retrouvons les mêmes effets chez les immigrants issus des pays traditionnels, mais dans une moindre mesure. En somme, cette étude apporte des nouvelles connaissances dans le domaine et permet d’arriver à une meilleure compréhension de l’état de faible revenu chez les personnes âgées de 15 ans et plus au Canada. / The goal of our research is to determine the role that immigrant status plays towards the incidence of low-income status in Canada and to identify the determinants of such status. This research is based on data collected as part of the 2006 Canadian census. Our study will attempt to illustrate the different factors involved in a heightened propensity for immigrants to find themselves in a state of low-income in comparison to the occurrence of the same situation in the native population. In addition, we have chosen to focus our attention on these incidences with relation to the country of origin of the immigrants. The markers we have identified which seemed to increase the probability of lower income status were not the same for immigrants and natives. Incidentally, immigrants experienced specifically distinct circumstances according to their country of origin. The variety of possible effects of each variable studied differed notably in the case of immigrants originating from non-traditional countries, in comparison with the situation of immigrants from traditional countries and that of natives. The situation of the immigrants originating from countries from where people traditionally emigrate to Canada tended to fit an intermediate position between natives and immigrants from countries where people emigrate less frequently to Canada. For example, we found that the level of education of immigrants had a relatively small effect on the probability of finding themselves in a low-income status among non-traditional immigrants, whereas it had a somewhat more important effect in the case of natives and of immigrants from traditional countries. On the other hand, being part of a visible minority, being a student or having a high-work intensity job appeared to have a greater effect on the probability of low-income status among non-traditional immigrants than it did in the case of the two other groups. We also discovered that knowledge of the two official Canadian languages played a major role – and increasingly so in the case of immigrants of non-traditional origin. This was confirmed by the experience of bilingual immigrants, who happened to suffer much less from low-income status than immigrants who spoke none of the official languages of Canada and were the most affected. Regarding knowledge of the official languages, we observed similar effects among immigrants from traditional countries but with a significantly lesser impact. In short, this study introduces a new vision in the matter and provides better understanding of the factors directly affecting the incidence of low-income status among the Canadian population aged 15 and up.