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This thesis is an ethnographic study of place-making in a war-altered landscape. It describes over a decade of resettlement efforts in a village in northwest Cambodia. As war drew to a close in the late 1990s, land on the former frontlines was allotted to those willing to risk occupancy on possibly mined terrain. Area resettlement was driven by need, forged by hope, and fraught with physical risk and material dangers. Food security and the prospect of acquiring land rights required settlers’ physical presence in and active engagement with the materialities of a forested landscape strewn with the remnants of war and the ruins of earlier settlements. Residents' conceptual and corporeal engagements with place were influenced by longstanding Khmer depictions of the srok, the ordered and cultivated landscape of agriculture and human dwelling, and the prai, the wild and fecund landscape of the forest, replete with powerful but often malevolent spirits. The srok was the landscape that the inhabitants of Handsome village longed to dwell within and struggled to create. The area’s pre-war reputation as a famously fertile agricultural zone had drawn many of its residents to risk the hazards of resettlement. The dream of the srok drove residents' actions in the actively dangerous, ever fluctuating terrain. In addition to being envisioned, the place was intimately known and directly experienced through the corporeal bodies of its inhabitants and their engagements with its material assemblages. Making the srok involved arduous physical effort in a constantly shifting material environment along with concentrated social and conceptual work. Resettlement did not merely entail hewing fields out of forests and removing mines and ordnance, but also encompassed attempts to transition into peacetime—to move from soldiering to farming, to come to rest after years of mobility and displacement, and to recreate social and moral order. This study analyzes successes and failures in place-making processes, illustrating how different aspects of landscape posed both affordances and constraints to these processes. Particular attention is paid to the ways in which material assemblages contributed to uncertainty in place-making efforts, illustrating that the material dimensions of landscape may resist as much as they acquiesce to human alteration. On a material level, place-making was a struggle that pitted human agency and will against an active and agentive landscape. Village residents were interacting with material environs in a constant state of change and becoming. The unsettling material traces of the past and the continuing threat some remnants posed in the present contributed to the ongoing indeterminacy residents experienced about the state and contents of the once famous ground. The landscape that residents sought to form and fix was always in danger of undoing its formation and categorization and revealing itself to be something else. Yet despite their failures at establishing and fixing the srok in the constantly shifting landscape of Handsome village, residents maintained their quest to transform the present configuration of place into the landscape and the future that they desired.

Depuis la deuxième moitié du XXe siècle, un renouveau des fonctions et des représentations s'impose dans les campagnes européennes. Malgré la pluralité des dynamiques territoriales, elles sont devenues des espaces attractifs et accueillent de nouvelles populations aux profils hétérogènes. Ces installations s'insèrent dans un contexte sociétal de mobilité et peuvent être motivées par la recherche d'aménités environnementales, mais aussi suivre des logiques économiques. Elles recomposent les espaces ruraux et introduisent de nouveaux modes de vivre les campagnes. Par la comparaison de deux territoires ruraux, l'un en Limousin, à proximité de la Montagne limousine, l'autre dans le sud de l'Aragon, dans la Sierra de Albarracín, ce travail analyse les rapports spatiaux qui se développent dans des espaces ruraux investis par des flux migratoires. L'accent est mis sur les modalités de cohabitation et les relations au territoire qui structurent un espace partagé par des groupes sociaux qui l'habitent, le pratiquent, y tissent des liens de manière différente, laissant apparaître des clivages. Cette hétérogénéité ressort par l'analyse des mobilités spatiales, qui influencent les représentations territoriales et est source de nouvelles formes d'inégalités. Dans un contexte où la mobilité redéfinit les relations aux territoires, les ancrages deviennent réversibles, mais de nouvelles formes d'investissement apparaissent et permettent de construire et légitimer l'« être d'ici ». Ces évolutions représentent un enjeu croissant pour les territoires ruraux et pour les politiques d'accueil, qui font face à de nouvelles formes d'inégalités et de stratification sociale. / Since the second half of the 20th C. rural zones in European countries have undergone a revival insofar as concerns their function and designation. Despite the diversity of their territorial dynamics these rural areas have attracted new populations of a very mixed profile. These newcomers insert themselves into a socially mobile context, the motivation for which can be the pursuit of environmental amenities but can also follow an economic logic. They reconstruct these rural areas and introduce a new way of life into the countryside. Comparing two rural territories, the one in the Limousin region next to the Limousin Mountains, and the other in southern Aragon, in the Sierra de Albarracín, this work analyses the spatial relationships which develop in rural areas having experienced migratory influx. The accent is placed on the means of cohabitating and relating to the territory which creates a space shared by the different social groups which inhabit it, live it, and weave attachments to it in different ways, opening the way for breaches to appear. This heterogeneity comes to light through the analysis of spatial mobility which affects the territorial designation and becomes a source of new forms of inequality. In the context where mobility redefines the relationship with the territory, foundations become reversible with new forms of commitments appearing, permitting the reconstruction and legitimization of who can say “I belong here”. These developments create new stakes for the rural territories and their politics concerning newcomers, faced with new forms of inequalities and social stratification.

There exists much controversy as to whether international migration in general, and migrant's remittances in particular, increase or decrease economic welfare at origin. Our research contributes to the international discussion on remittances by presenting novel insights on the basis of theoretical and empirical analysis. Analysis of remittances from macro-economic as well as micro-economic point of view reveals that remittances not only have growth enhancing effect but also have an equalizing impact on income distribution of the recipient economy. The first chapter shows how large flows of remittances not only help the receiver to accumulate necessary savings but also reduce the critical level of wealth needed to get access to the capital market to instigate entrepreneurship. The second chapter reveals that the measured impact of remittances on business investment have significant country heterogeneity; remittances facilitate entrepreneurship in those countries where the lenders of the capital market can predict smooth and increasing flow of remittances. The third chapter proposes that remittances work better than aid in enhancing growth of the recipient country and the reason is that remittances are more effective than aid in augmenting capital accumulation.

This study explored the perceptions of beneficiaries of the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) with regard to the role that RDP houses play socially, psychologically, and physically in the lives of occupants after moving from an informal settlement into RDP houses. Given that the said housing programme targets disadvantaged people, it was important to understand their own perceptions of these houses. The study also explored the perceptions of government officials in regard to their experiences relating to RDP houses. A case study approach was adopted and Bronfenbrenner‟s ecological theory of human development was used as the theoretical framework to guide this study. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with two groups of participants. First, Group A comprised three RDP participants who lived in an informal settlement before relocation to their RDP houses. Second, Group B comprised three participants from the national, provincial and local offices of the governmental human settlements departments respectively. Data were analysed and four main themes as well as the subthemes emerged from the analysis. The four main themes are the bolstered sense of psychological well-being; access to basic services, amenities, and benefits of an improved infrastructure; pride of ownership; and ownership as a form of personal economic development or empowerment. Findings suggested that the participants reflected expressions of joy, a sense of permanence, a feeling of being home, hope for the future, and an absence of worry. These meanings and interpretation of home ownership reflect how the participants identify with their RDP houses and how pleased they are to own a house. Basic services enhance their overall quality of life in relation to their psychological, physical and social well-being. Interestingly, access to socio-economic services and amenities such as connected water and electricity inside The Experience of Moving from an Informal Settlement to a Secure Stable Home 4 the houses, the availability of schools and clinics, transport services, and a habitable environment, were found to play an important role in the lives of the participants. However, factors which hamper the success of RDP housing and compound the hopelessness of living in an informal settlement as well as the problems that RDP home owners encounter, which restrain their pride of ownership are: ambivalence over restrictions or limitations imposed by building regulations, the size of the houses, the poor quality construction, and envy at improvements made to subsequent RDP houses. In conclusion, the findings add to a greater theoretical understanding of the factors contributing to human development and the factors that impede the effectiveness of the housing programme. These factors draw attention to a number of important issues regarding RDP housing, which may assist housing practitioners, and in particular, policy developers, in developing policy that may be more useful in meeting the needs of the people. This could enhance the existing housing programme as well as alert the housing practitioners to existing shortcomings and offer them the opportunity to become acquainted therewith. These factors that impede RDP ownership suggest a need for the government and other relevant stakeholders to engage in the issues that prevent the successful implementation of the housing programme thereby maximising the effectiveness of the housing programme, primarily in order to strive to improve the lives of previously disadvantaged people. / Social Work / MA SS (Psychology)

This study explored the perceptions of beneficiaries of the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) with regard to the role that RDP houses play socially, psychologically, and physically in the lives of occupants after moving from an informal settlement into RDP houses. Given that the said housing programme targets disadvantaged people, it was important to understand their own perceptions of these houses. The study also explored the perceptions of government officials in regard to their experiences relating to RDP houses. A case study approach was adopted and Bronfenbrenner‟s ecological theory of human development was used as the theoretical framework to guide this study. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with two groups of participants. First, Group A comprised three RDP participants who lived in an informal settlement before relocation to their RDP houses. Second, Group B comprised three participants from the national, provincial and local offices of the governmental human settlements departments respectively. Data were analysed and four main themes as well as the subthemes emerged from the analysis. The four main themes are the bolstered sense of psychological well-being; access to basic services, amenities, and benefits of an improved infrastructure; pride of ownership; and ownership as a form of personal economic development or empowerment. Findings suggested that the participants reflected expressions of joy, a sense of permanence, a feeling of being home, hope for the future, and an absence of worry. These meanings and interpretation of home ownership reflect how the participants identify with their RDP houses and how pleased they are to own a house. Basic services enhance their overall quality of life in relation to their psychological, physical and social well-being. Interestingly, access to socio-economic services and amenities such as connected water and electricity inside The Experience of Moving from an Informal Settlement to a Secure Stable Home 4 the houses, the availability of schools and clinics, transport services, and a habitable environment, were found to play an important role in the lives of the participants. However, factors which hamper the success of RDP housing and compound the hopelessness of living in an informal settlement as well as the problems that RDP home owners encounter, which restrain their pride of ownership are: ambivalence over restrictions or limitations imposed by building regulations, the size of the houses, the poor quality construction, and envy at improvements made to subsequent RDP houses. In conclusion, the findings add to a greater theoretical understanding of the factors contributing to human development and the factors that impede the effectiveness of the housing programme. These factors draw attention to a number of important issues regarding RDP housing, which may assist housing practitioners, and in particular, policy developers, in developing policy that may be more useful in meeting the needs of the people. This could enhance the existing housing programme as well as alert the housing practitioners to existing shortcomings and offer them the opportunity to become acquainted therewith. These factors that impede RDP ownership suggest a need for the government and other relevant stakeholders to engage in the issues that prevent the successful implementation of the housing programme thereby maximising the effectiveness of the housing programme, primarily in order to strive to improve the lives of previously disadvantaged people. / Social Work / MA SS (Psychology)

This thesis demonstrates that constraints on displacement as a consequence of gentrification can be complex. It suggests that some of the barriers to leaving an area that households face have been under-emphasised in previous research. It analyses the behaviour of households dealing with housing stress in a Scottish local authority area, East Lothian. This is a ‘pressured area,’ as defined by the Scottish government, where the ‘Right to Buy’ council houses has been suspended in most parts because of lack of affordable housing. The thesis uses qualitative methods to examine in depth how households respond to housing problems when their options for solving them are restricted. It investigates first, the kinds of problems that they face. These include unsustainable housing costs, overcrowding, antisocial behaviour and poorly maintained or unsuitable houses. Their attempts to improve their housing are then shown. The households are asked why they think they have been unable, so far, to solve their accommodation problems. They describe the housing market in East Lothian and they explain how they think it has impacted on their housing aspirations and choices. Gentrification theory predicts that, usually, pressured households will move to lower housing cost areas to meet their housing needs. In this study, the majority of the participants were resisting displacement. Their reasons for resistance are analysed and it is proposed that the role of ‘place attachment’ in holding back displacement has been under- emphasised in previous research. It is suggested moreover that households may be reluctant to leave because they believe that the government and local authorities have a duty to provide affordable housing in their own area, and expect them to do so.