This thesis is a decolonial feasibility study on the National Department of Housing’s (now National Department of Human Settlement) policy of eradicating informal settlements by 2014. In this thesis I argue that the policy intent of eradicating informal settlements by the proposed date of 2014 cannot be feasible without transcending the structure that produce these informal settlements in the first place. This is why even though we are towards the end of 2014 there is not yet clear evidence that the informal settlements are being eradicated or will be eradicated in the near future. In this dissertation, I argue that informal settlements are a product of a global power structure of coloniality (multiple forms of colonialisms that survive the demise of apartheid) that produces inequalities among human beings including the habitat sphere. I deploy the experience of Mshenguville informal settlement to demonstrate that the experience of informal settlement is just but a marker or sign of inequality among human beings in the age of Western-centred modernity. Thus those in informal settlement are considered to exist on the darker side of modernity as opposed to those in splashy suburb who experience the brighter side of modernity. / Development Studies / M.A. (Development Studies)

South Africa is plagued with a staggering housing backlog (estimated at approximately 2.1 million units at present) due, in part, to the poor planning principles advocated by the Apartheid regime. Concerted efforts were made by the newly elected government since 1994 to provide houses for the urban poor who were previously disadvantaged. As such, a subsidised housing scheme in South Africa was introduced as a method to provide adequate housing to citizens who could not afford to do so themselves. However, despite the construction of approximately 3 million dwellings over the past 19 years, the backlog today is larger than the initial backlog experienced in 1994. Two questions were therefore raised in this research: 1) Whether the current approach to subsidised housing provision is sustainable, given the socio-economic conditions present in South African cities and 2) Which planning principles could be applied with regards to subsidised housing in order to ensure the development of sustainable human settlements. In order to address these issues, research regarding sustainable human settlements, and the South African context in terms of housing provision, was done in the form of a literature review and empirical study. The literature reviewed shed light on (a) urban models, (b) the elements of sustainable human settlements, (c) policies and legislation relating to subsidised housing provision in South Africa and (d) the criticisms against the South African policies and the current method of subsidised housing provision in South Africa. Information gained during the literature review phase was used to compile a set of criteria by which housing provision for the urban poor could be evaluated. This evaluation took the form of an empirical study which consisted of structured questionnaires and interviews, and a comparative analysis of international and local pilot studies. The following subsidised housing projects were scrutinised to establish best practices that may be applied to the South African context: * Bairro Carioca and Taroni Condiminiums in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, * Haram City in October 6 City, Egypt, * Cosmo City, South Africa, * Community Residential Units in Potchefstroom, South Africa, and * Reconstruction and Development Program Units in Potchefstroom, South Africa. Through the critical evaluation of the above mentioned projects, it became clear that the typical South African method of subsidised housing provision, in which beneficiaries receive a loose standing dwelling house on a single erf, is in fact unsustainable, and that this approach is not facilitating the formation of sustainable human settlements. Alternative methods of housing delivery that can be implemented in the South African context were identified and led to the formulation of planning related recommendations in terms of sustainable subsidised housing provision, focussing on (1) increased densities, (2) improved location and (3) providing a range of household types. Mention was also made of non-planning related recommendations such as (4) alternative services delivery, (5) including different forms of tenure and (6) increasing financial responsibility. / MArt et Scien (Urban and Regional Planning), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

South Africa is plagued with a staggering housing backlog (estimated at approximately 2.1 million units at present) due, in part, to the poor planning principles advocated by the Apartheid regime. Concerted efforts were made by the newly elected government since 1994 to provide houses for the urban poor who were previously disadvantaged. As such, a subsidised housing scheme in South Africa was introduced as a method to provide adequate housing to citizens who could not afford to do so themselves. However, despite the construction of approximately 3 million dwellings over the past 19 years, the backlog today is larger than the initial backlog experienced in 1994. Two questions were therefore raised in this research: 1) Whether the current approach to subsidised housing provision is sustainable, given the socio-economic conditions present in South African cities and 2) Which planning principles could be applied with regards to subsidised housing in order to ensure the development of sustainable human settlements. In order to address these issues, research regarding sustainable human settlements, and the South African context in terms of housing provision, was done in the form of a literature review and empirical study. The literature reviewed shed light on (a) urban models, (b) the elements of sustainable human settlements, (c) policies and legislation relating to subsidised housing provision in South Africa and (d) the criticisms against the South African policies and the current method of subsidised housing provision in South Africa. Information gained during the literature review phase was used to compile a set of criteria by which housing provision for the urban poor could be evaluated. This evaluation took the form of an empirical study which consisted of structured questionnaires and interviews, and a comparative analysis of international and local pilot studies. The following subsidised housing projects were scrutinised to establish best practices that may be applied to the South African context: * Bairro Carioca and Taroni Condiminiums in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, * Haram City in October 6 City, Egypt, * Cosmo City, South Africa, * Community Residential Units in Potchefstroom, South Africa, and * Reconstruction and Development Program Units in Potchefstroom, South Africa. Through the critical evaluation of the above mentioned projects, it became clear that the typical South African method of subsidised housing provision, in which beneficiaries receive a loose standing dwelling house on a single erf, is in fact unsustainable, and that this approach is not facilitating the formation of sustainable human settlements. Alternative methods of housing delivery that can be implemented in the South African context were identified and led to the formulation of planning related recommendations in terms of sustainable subsidised housing provision, focussing on (1) increased densities, (2) improved location and (3) providing a range of household types. Mention was also made of non-planning related recommendations such as (4) alternative services delivery, (5) including different forms of tenure and (6) increasing financial responsibility. / MArt et Scien (Urban and Regional Planning), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

The post war years have seen a steady flow of inmigration into the rural hinterlands of conurbations, eminating both from the surrounding rural areas and from the urban complexes themselves. By 1981 over one fifth of Britain's population was resident in a rural district, the majority falling within zones close to urban centres. This study, based on one year's participant observation in seven settlements within southern Staffordshire, part of the rural hinterland of the West Midlands Conurbation, and southern Hampshire, adjacent to the Southampton - Portsmouth axis, the South Hampshire Conurbation, assess this process. Using the technique of Cluster Analysis, three broad groupings of settlement are identified: the small agricultural settlement, the urbanised commuter village, and settlements in a process of transition between the two. The development of the case settlements, representatives of these three groupings, is assessed in relation to their historical and geographical context, with emphasis being placed on land tenure and local planning policy. An analysis is undertaken of the "hinterland population", the diverse populations now resident within the rural hinterlands. Nine broad groupings emerge from this population, identifiable with reference to socio-economic characteristics and ways of life, and these are examined in relation to their use, their environments, social networks and patterns of behaviour, and perceptions of their place of residence. These groups are represented in various proportions within each settlement type, in relation to the dominant housing class found there. As a result a variety of community forms are seen to be developing, with a polarisation of settlements along class lines. Running concurrently with this, two theoretical concepts are introduced based on the approach of Symbolic Interactionism. These are the Triadic Relationship, and Place Centredness, which provide a more humanistic framework for the analysis. The inclusion of these concepts enables an assessment to be made of the notions of "rurality" and "truly rural population".

The research reported here arose from perceived lacunae regarding archaeological understanding of mesolithic settlement in eastern Scotland. Historically this area, for a number of reasons, has seen 1ittle archaeological research in comparison to the maritime west of the country, a bias that requires redressing. The characteristics, problems and potentials of available data are assembled for the first time and critically assessed. Discussion of methodologies appropriate to this material is developed, and small-scale fieldwork undertaken within this framework presented. Any introduction of a new range of data is, in part, a construction of that data, and the particular interpretative and thematic stresses of the thesis arise from the argument that narratives of gatherer-hunter communities in the past have objectified those groups, consequently hindering comprehension of them. To this end an approach to a social archaeology of the mesolithic is developed, stressing the importance of examining skills and routines that, through thei; extension in particular contexts, may have structured an agent's experience of landscapes in the past. In order to flesh out these arguments and introduce the material evidence in more detail, a series of overlapping case studies is developed exploring in turn, the relationships between mesolithic folk and woodlands, the significance of salmon fishing, the inhabitation of the coast, and stone tool procurement, production and discard. These varied narratives incorporate the results of a range of small-scale desktop projects and fieldwork designed to test the potential of this approach to a social archaeology of the period. Whilst these studies are at present fragmentary, it is contended that they demonstrate that accounts of gatherer-hunter communities in the east of Scotland can aspire to a meaningful level of engagement with human lives in the past. The project scholarship was funded by Historic Scotland.

No description available.

L'état de Sonora se situe au nord-ouest du Mexique. S'étalant sur 184 934 km2 c'est le deuxième plus grand état du pays de par sa superficie. Sa condition d'état frontalier du nord du Mexique, ainsi que son accès au golfe de Californie lui confère une place unique au niveau géostratégique et géopolitique dans le continent américain. Les particularités géographiques, historiques et économiques de la région de Sonora, éloigné du Centre du pays, rendent nécessaires une analyse du rôle des acteurs locaux et fédéraux dans l'évolution de la dynamique urbaine et industrielle. La présence, dans l'état de Sonora, de zones désertiques associée à des ressources hydrauliques limitées imposent donc la nécessité d'un regard croisé pour comprendre les particularités de l'aménagement de son territoire. Depuis la fin du XXème siècle et la signature du traité de libre-échange nord-américain (ALENA), les acteurs de la région s'emploient à faire de Sonora une région dynamique et prête pour les défis engendrés par la mondialisation. / The state of Sonora is located in northwest of Mexico. Spread over 184,934 square kilometers, it is the second largest state in the country. Its border state condition in the northwestern Mexico and its access to the Gulf of Ca|ifornia,gives Sonora an important geostrategic position in the American continent. The geographical, historical and economic characteristics of the region of Sonora, distant from the center of the country, imply to measure and understand the role of the local and federal actors in the evolution of urban and industrial dynamics. The presence of desert areas associated with limited water resources impose the need for an original and sustainable approach and allows to understand the peculiarities of the development of this territory. Since the late twentieth century and the signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the different actors are working to build a dynamic region, able to face the challenges posed by globalization.

A prevailing urban phenomenon of the 21st century is that more people than ever before are living in informal settlements. As residents of informal settlements, the majority of shack dwellers can be considered socially, economically and politically marginalised citizens. The combination of poverty, marginalisation, and precarious living conditions has in many cases given rise to a vicious cycle. In this cycle, shack dwellers lack an effective voice and are unable to participate in political decision-making processes that affect their lives, leading to deepening deprivation and marginalisation. To break this cycle, the development of a genuine political voice of shack dwellers is essential. However, the process of developing a political voice in shack dwellers has only received scant academic attention and is poorly understood. One aspect of this process is the role of information communication technologies (ICTs) in enabling political voice. This has received some attention and has become a salient topic in academic study and development policy. Despite growing adoption of certain ICT tools by marginalised individuals, there is little evidence of their meaningful use for political voice. Access to ICTs is not the same as meaningful use of ICTs for political voice. Only a few studies have examined the issue of meaningful use of ICTs for political voice. This dissertation explores the factors influencing the processes by which marginalised individuals are able to develop a political voice, with a particular focus on the role of two increasingly ubiquitous ICTs – mobile phones and internet. A qualitative case study of a shack dweller grassroots organisation in South Africa (Abahlali baseMjondolo (AbM)) is used to explore different types of political voice. The case study looks at the circumstances under which members of AbM are able to develop individual and collective forms of political expression, and the role that the use of ICTs play in this development. Data collected from semi-structured interviews and participant observation for this study suggests that, individual differences in combination with entrenched traditions and social structures based on patronage may undermine the development and or expression of political voice. However, active engagement in a grassroots organisation was found to be useful to overcome these limitations and for some individuals to develop their political voices. AbM members were able to engage in collective processes which led to the development of social bonds, trust, self-confidence, and critical reflection. Both the internet and mobile phones were found to play an important role in the development of political voice of AbM members. However, interaction between the use of ICTs and the development of a political voice is complex. In many instances the technology has enabled mobilization, as well as given individuals a feeling of security. Where this has happened, the appropriation and re-purposing of ICTs to fit the needs of AbM members has come about as a result of attaching meaning to these technologies, which did not exist before AbM. ICTs can facilitate the development of political voice, in particular by facilitating collective processes (e.g. mobilization), channelling support and trust, as well as raising self-confidence. Yet, as the case of AbM demonstrates, ICTs have not operated as a political equalizer within AbM. The use of ICTs for political voice might have even created new barriers for the development of political voice of some members. This dissertation brings together disparate stands of literature dealing with ICTs, political voice, social movements, empowerment, community psychology, and participation to conceptualise the development of a political voice. Moreover, a framework is devised to analyse the nature and the process of this development in marginalised individuals, as well as the role played by ICTs in this process. This dissertation aims to bring an understanding of the complex relationship between ICTs and political voice of marginalised individuals. An understanding of the process can provide important inputs to devise more effective design and implementation of policies and projects aimed at increasing political participation of an ever-growing population of disenfranchised and marginalised people living in informal settlements.

This research explored the process of creating a shared future and the evolution of cooperative collective endeavours in a regional rural community through a bottom-up planning process that involved professionals, public leadership and residents of a rural region in Israel. Using the MT rural region in Israel as a case study, the research was an interpretive exploration of how this community changed the way it collectively functions to achieve individual and shared aspirations. It examined how the community restructured its patterns of interaction, changing the social dynamics – which people interacted with each other, how they interacted with each other, and who felt committed to whom. The motivation for this inquiry stemmed from my desire as a practitioner to better understand the processes by which communities learn to function cooperatively. What are the elements that contributed to enabling a community to create the conditions for collectively utilizing and sustaining common resources rather than dividing them up for private consumption and exploitative narrow interests? What type of cooperative mechanisms enabled people to accomplish together what they cannot accomplish alone? Specifically, there are three research questions: how the change process was initiated in MT, what was significant in the nature of participation in the planning process, and how the mechanisms for regional community cooperation evolved. It was a case study of the planning and development process that I facilitated in MT from 1994-1999 (prior to my intention to undertake research) and is based mainly upon recent interviews of the participants (in that process), their recollections, and retrospective interpretations of that experience. The case has been explored from the theoretical perspective of viewing society in general, and community life in particular, as processes of constructing shared social realities that produce certain collective behaviours of cooperation or non-cooperation (Berger and Luckmann, 1967). This research was about understanding the process of making social rules that incorporate shared meanings and sanctions (Giddens, 1986) for undertaking joint endeavours (Ostrom, 1990, 1992, Wenger, 1998). Specifically two primary insights have come out of this case analysis: 1. In the MT case there was a mutually reinforcing three-way interplay between the strengthening of commitments to mutual care on the regional level, the instrumental benefits from cooperative/joint endeavours, and the envisioning of a shared future. 2. The community development process was owned by the community (not by outside agencies) and they (the community members) set the rules for community involvement. They structured the social interactions which formed the basis for creating shared understandings as a collective to achieve their common future. These insights shed light on how a community's structuring of its interactions and development interventions influenced its ability to act in a collectively optimal manner. By looking at the interrelation between trust as a function of social esteem (Honneth, 1995) and risk taking linked to instrumental benefits of cooperation (Lewis, 2002; Taylor, 1976; White, 2003) we can better understand what contributes to the way some communities continue to miss opportunities (Ostrom 1992), while others are able to promote their collective development and mutual wellbeing. By examining the process of designing (not only the design itself) community development programmes (Block, 2009) and by observing participation not as technique but as an inherent part of the way a community begins structuring its social interactions with their tacit (Polanyi, 1966) and explicit meanings, we can better understand the role of practitioners. And finally, perhaps the elements of chance and opportunity that bring certain combinations of people together in a given time and space may need to be given more weight in what remains a very unpredictable non-linear field of professional practice.

The study of the integration of the children of migrants—the so-called ‗second generation‘—is a recent trend in migration literature. Their integration is thought to be an important indicator of the degree of integration of immigrants in general into a specific society. This thesis is the first full-length comparative study of the Albanian second generation. Using a variety of field methods, it compares the ethnic identities, transnational ties and integration pathways of Albanian-origin teenagers in three European cities—London, Thessaloniki and Florence—by focusing on intergenerational transmission between the first and the second generation. Greece, Italy and the UK are, in that order, the three main European countries where Albanian migrants have settled during their short but intense migration experience of the past two decades. My study shifts the focus partly to the situation and developments in Southern Europe, where the awareness and interest in issues of the integration of the second generation are still at an initial phase. The research involved fieldwork in each of the above-named cities, where quota samples of three categories of informants were interviewed: parents, their second-generation teenage children, and teachers and other key informants within the host society. Findings show significant differences in the integration patterns of both generations, affected by sharp differences between the three contexts and the history of immigration in each context. They also point to important within- and inter-group differences, based on various socio-economic indicators. Intergenerational transmission appears as a dynamic process affected not only by context and the parents‘ socio-economic background, but also by parents‘ stage of integration. By studying a settling immigrant group and their descendants, the thesis takes a proactive approach towards the integration of ethnic minorities.