A dearth of information was found to guide food product formulation for low-income consumers. The political change in South Africa and neighbouring countries and the accompanying influx to economic centres, resulted in the unprecedented growth of urbanised informal settlements. These communities, accommodating the poorest of the poor and experiencing a high prevalence of nutritional devastation, indicated a merited project opportunity. The purpose of the study was to develop a food product formulation framework for low-income consumers living in urbanised informal settlements in South Africa. The unique contribution of this approach is based on the depiction of the food product attribute (concept) needs perceived as most important by these respondents during purchasing choice of their staple food, maize meal. The study comprised five sub-objectives, executed in three phases. The concepts required by low-income consumers were identified, selected and organised through a baseline survey in an informal settlement (n = 60). Satiety value, affordability, packaging size, value for money and taste were identified, in sequence, as the most important design parameters for the framework. The food industry (n = 17) indicated affordability, nutrient content, taste and product quality as the food product attributes of most importance during food product development, indicating a discrepancy. Phase 2 of this study consisted of two parallel approaches, comprising an extended survey to validate the suggested design parameters in the target market against an established product maize meal) (quantitative approach) and the description of the identified concepts to reveal embedded elements to clarify terminology use (qualitative approach). Three informal (n = 401) and one formal (n = 101) settlement were involved. All groups agreed regarding the need for satiety value, product acceptability, convenience and the influence of household factors. Consumers from the informal settlements identified satiety value and affordability as of highest importance, followed by taste. Appearance, product quality, texture, product safety/ shelf life, brand loyalty and nutrient content were indicated as less important, prioritising concepts linked to survival during severely constrained economic conditions. Consumers living in the urbanised formal settlement, identified taste as the key concept. Focus group discussions revealed no differences in the meaning ascribed to terminology, although perceptions reflected the variance in income level. The identified concept elements revealed the interlinked nature of satiety value and affordability. Differences in the understanding of concepts between these consumers and literature, were revealed. Concepts to consider when developing food products for low-income consumers were identified as satiety value, affordability, taste, product acceptability, convenience/ ease of preparation, household influence, appearance, value for money, product quality, packaging size, texture, product safety/ shelf life, brand loyalty and nutrient content, in the stated sequence. A framework was proposed. However, from a humanitarian point of view, nutrient content cannot be ignored by the food industry. As the key to market success lies in the potential of a product to find solutions relating to its physical nature, as well as in the use and advantages of the product, the results of this research project have great application value. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Consumer Science / unrestricted

Informal settlements are a common occurrence in South African due to housing backlogs and shortage of housing subsidies, and are often located on disputed land. To improve in-situ circumstances of these communities, informal settlement upgrades and urban design is required. Spatial data and maps are essential throughout the entire upgrading and urban design process in order to understand the current environment, plan new developments and communicate planned developments. All stakeholders need to understand maps to ensure active participation in the urban design process. Previous research demonstrated that a large number of planning professionals in South Africa have a relatively low level of map literacy, which is considered to be inadequate for effective planning. Many researchers proclaimed that because 3D visualisations resemble the real environment more than traditional maps, and are more intuitive, therefore 3D geovisualisations are easier to interpret. The goal of this research is to investigate the use of 3D geovisualisations (specifically 3D city models) for urban design in informal settlement upgrading in South Africa. To achieve this goal, the following topics were investigated: modelling processes (manual and procedural); visual design (visual characteristics, visual complexity and visual variables); and cognition related to spatial tasks on 3D geovisualisations and comparable alternatives (i.e. topographic maps, aerial photographs, 2D maps) when performing basic map reading tasks. Procedural modelling was found to be a feasible alternative to time-consuming manual modelling and has the capabilities to produce high-quality models. When investigating the visual design, the visualisation characteristics of 3D models of informal settlements, and relevance of a subset of visual variables for urban design activities of informal settlement upgrades were assessed. The results were used to produce various maps and 3D geovisualisations that were presented in quantitative user studies and expert interviews. The results of four user studies and expert interviews contributed to understanding the impact of various levels of complexity in 3D city models and map literacy of future geoinformatics and planning professionals when using aerial photographs, 2D maps and 3D models. The research results could assist planners in designing suitable 3D models for use throughout the entire urban design process. / As gevolg van agterstande met behuising en ’n tekort aan behuisingsubsidies, is informele woongebiede ’n algemene verskynsel in Suid-Afrika en is dit dikwels op betwiste grond geleë. Om hierdie in-situ omstandighede van die gemeenskappe te verbeter, is daar opgradering en stedelike beplanning nodig. Ruimtelike data en kaarte is deurlopend noodsaaklik vir die volledige opgradering en stadsbeplanningproses om sodoende die huidige omgewing te verstaan, nuwe ontwikkelings te beplan en die beplande ontwikkelings te kommunikeer. Dit is noodsaaklik dat alle rolspelers kaarte verstaan om aktiewe deelname aan die stedelike beplanningsproses te verseker. Vorige navorsing het getoon dat ’n groot aantal professionele beplanners in Suid-Afrika ’n relatiewe lae vlak van kaartgeletterdheid het, wat beskou word as onvoldoende om doeltreffende beplanning te kan doen. Baie navorsers maak daarop aanspraak dat 3D geovisualiserings nader aan die werklike omgewing is en dat dit meer intuïtief en makliker as tradisionele kaarte vertolk kan word. Die doel van hierdie navorsing is om die gebruik van 3D geovisualiserings (meer spesifiek 3D stadsmodelle) te ondersoek om die ontwikkeling van stadsbeplanning in informele woongebiede in Suid-Afrika op te gradeer. Om hierdie doelwit te bereik, is die volgende onderwerpe nagevors: modelleringsprosesse (volgens handleidings en prosesse); visuele ontwerp (visuele eienskappe, visuele kompleksiteit en visuele veranderlikes); en die herkenning van verwante ruimtelike take op 3D geovisualiserings en vergelykbare alternatiewe (byvoorbeeld topografiese kaarte, lugfoto’s, 2D kaarte) wanneer basiese kaartlees take uitgevoer word. Prosedurele modellering is ’n haalbare alternatief teenoor tydrowende modellering volgens handleidings en dit het die moontlikhede om hoë kwaliteit modelle te lewer. By die ondersoek van visuele ontwerp is die visuele karaktereienskappe van 3D modelle van informele woongebiede en die relevantheid van ’n onderafdeling van visuele veranderlikes beoordeel/geassesseer vir ontwerpaktiwiteite by informele nedersettings. Die resultate is gebruik om verskillende kaarte en 3D geovisualiserings te skep wat in kwantitatiewe gebruikerstudies en in onderhoude met kenners aangebied is. Die resultate van vier gebruikerstudies en onderhoude met kenners, het bygedra om die impak te verstaan van verskillende moeilikheidsvlakke van 3D stadsmodelle en kaartgeletterdheid van toekomstige geoinformatika- en professionele beplanners wanneer lugfoto’s, 2D kaarte en 3D modelle gebruik word. Die navorsingsresultate kan beplanners ondersteun om geskikte 3D modelle te ontwerp wat deurlopend in die stedelike beplanningsproses gebruik kan word. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2017. / National Research Foundation (NRF) / German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) / University of Pretoria’s vice-chancellor academic development grant / University of Pretoria’s Study Abroad programme / Centre for Geoinformation Science / Geography, Geoinformatics and Meteorology / PhD / Unrestricted

Governments and municipalities in the developing world face the challenge of rapid environmental deterioration in the growing informal settlements along the urban fringes. Waste management, its efficiency, or lack thereof, is becoming an increasingly urgent issue. In this thesis, Winterveld, located approx. 50 km north of Pretoria, is studied as a typical example of the problems and bottlenecks related to solid domestic waste management in a mixed urban fringe settlement. While the formal parts of Winterveld receive waste removal services, the – much larger - informal parts are not being provided with such services. A wide range of methodologies was employed to assess the current status of waste management and related environmental problems. Policies and actual service delivery by the City of Tshwane, responsible for providing waste removal service to the area, were investigated; surveys were conducted among waste removal contractors in and around Winterveld, and the residents from both formal and informal settlements. Field surveys were conducted to identify environmental problems on site, dumping sites and their change over time were mapped and digitized on orthophotos. Vegetation surveys complemented the fieldwork, as illegal dumping sites often are masked by vegetation. The following aspects were investigated: 1) the efficiency of governmental and municipal efforts regarding waste removal in informal Winterveld; 2) environmental and health problems caused by improper handling of waste; 3) the residents' attitudes towards waste management; 4) possible solutions to the problems. The findings revealed that Winterveld is not an exception from other informal settlements with regards to waste management. People are of the opinion that waste management is the sole responsibility of the government thus the residents are doing little to improve their own area. Government initiatives which include provision of facilities for waste management are misused and vandalised by the residents. Dumping along the roads, according to some residents is used as a call to the government to attract attention that the residents need removal services. The initiatives by the municipality should ensure that solid waste management facilities are socially acceptable and environmentally and economically sound. It is therefore very important to involve the community when investigate technologies that will benefit the economy and the environment maximally. Informing people may encourage them to change their negative attitudes by making them feel as an important part of waste management, this will eventually compel them to cooperate and play a positive role in waste management. Until such time that they change their attitudes, there is little hope that they will appreciate and protect the facilities provided. / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Geography, Geoinformatics and Meteorology / MSc / Unrestricted

The consumption of indigenous leafy vegetables is a significant tradition and culture of South Africa. The purpose of this research was to investigate the access and consumption of indigenous leafy vegetables in rural and informal settlements of the West Coast District Municipality (WCDM), Western Cape, South Africa. The research identified ILV being available and accessible in WCDM, methods of preparation used as well as the factors influencing the consumption of ILV. A cross sectional descriptive survey design was used and data collection was done using a structured questionnaire. Respondents were randomly selected from the five local municipalities in the West Coast District Municipality. A total of 205 respondents representing 205 households in the rural and informal settlements of the West Coast District Municipality were interviewed. Majority of respondents were black females, unemployed and had no formal qualification. Seventeen indigenous leafy vegetables were identified in the West Coast District and the majority of the respondents consumed indigenous leafy vegetables as part of their diet mainly because of the health benefits and taste. Four methods of cooking, namely stewing, boiling, steaming and frying were used by the respondents to prepare indigenous leafy vegetables and most of the respondents added additional ingredients during cooking such as mealie meal, fish oil and salt. The informal sector was identified as the major source of indigenous leafy vegetables and cultivation of ILV was very limited. The majority of the respondents consumed ILV at least once a week. Preservation of ILV was not a common practice. Factors such as employment status, higher household size and higher income levels did not influence the frequency of ILV consumption. / Life and Consumer Sciences / M. Sc. (Consumer Science)

Informal settlements are more than just a collection of corrugated iron units. They are not a building type but an urban phenomenon that is prevalent in South Africa due to reasons such as housing backlog (Huchzermeyer, 2010:132) and the need for livelihood (Huchzermeyer, 2011:33). It offers choice, it gives people what they want and it is affordable (Mills, 2012:1). “Informalization is a process where the poor evade rules to produce outcomes that they need, but that are otherwise too controlled for them to reach” (Cross, 2005:3). Urbanisation in South Africa is increasing every day (Mills, 2012:1) and the poor in shacks continue to deliver housing to themselves using informal mechanisms (Cross, 2005:2). There is a need to recognise and appreciate the economic, social and environmental benefits that informal settlements can bring to the urbanisation process (Mills 2012, pp1). Informal housing exists due to the gap in the market where the poor are unable to afford the available kind of housing (Cross, 2005:3). One must understand that formalising the informal does not always have to be through eradication of existing slums according to MDG seven Target 11 (Huchzermeyer, 2011:16) and it can also take place as an in situ upgrading (Huchzermeyer, 2011:30). It can sometimes be an “invisible” form of development of the community which leads to a self-sustaining future upgrade such as project that Nabeel Hamdi pioneered namely ‘the Buffalo Project’ (Hamdi, 2010:106). Sometimes the existing abandoned structures such as a community hall can be reactivated, resulting in an improvement of an area in terms of addressing the needs of the community for a market space (Hamdi, 2010:109) or changing the appearance of an informal settlement resulting in a change in people’s perceptions of the area (Feireiss, 2011:114). In this way the “small change” can grow over time and result in the development of an entire settlement by its own residents. This dissertation explores the importance of the architectural facilitator as the “missing” profession amongst other professionals who are involved with upgrading projects such as architects, engineers, NGOs, government entities, private stakeholders and many more (Hamdi, 2010:96). The architectural facilitator will be able to accommodate the gaps that have been challenging the Upgrade of the informal settlements in South Africa by creating an understanding between the issues that exist in an informal settlement, prioritising the needs and selecting interventions that address the most pressing needs in an informal settlement. The aim is to create a universal understanding of how one can approach the issue of upgrading informal settlements in order to derive a strategic framework that will lead to a long-term sustainable development. A revised toolkit is introduced to guide the decision-makers such as the Architects, government entities or anyone with an understanding of Architecture, to be able to organise their findings in a prioritised manner and implement interventions according to what the priority needs in the context are. The important thing to highlight in this paper is the theoretical importance of livelihoods to the understanding of poverty in the urban context and the implication of these theories in practice (Hamdi, 2010:185). Therefore, designing an upgrade plan and intervention which will be a long-term project, accepted by the community and accommodating the community’s need for livelihood. Topics such as ownership through tenure security and identifying existing nodes of energy are the main focus of this thesis document. / Dissertation (MSc (Applied Science) )--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Architecture / unrestricted

Includes bibliographical references / From 1994 to 2008, South Africa's national government disseminated numerous policies, laws, regulations and strategies to support its objective of providing basic sanitation access to the urban poor by 2014. The state has yet to attain this objective - ostensibly due to poor municipal execution of national policy. This thesis challenges this assessment, as it overlooks how non-municipal actors have shaped implementation and ignores possible weaknesses in policy. After assessing the delivery of sanitation services in Cape Town informal settlements, I found that disputes among municipal implementers, policy beneficiaries and social advocates about broadly framed policy, as well as policy gaps in servicing informal settlements, contributed to the City's failure to achieve national objectives. The local actors'differences and policy gaps necessitated the re-formulation of sanitation policy and programmes in Cape Town according to conflicting rationalities that accommodated the'lived' and 'practical' realities of servicing informal settlements. In light of these circumstances, this thesis argues that there is a disproportionate focus on turning national policy into practise - for this viewpoint misses how policy oftentimes is re-formulated according to local actors' perspectives and experiences. Understanding the complex interplay between policy rationales and implementation realities can contribute to more constructive means of effectively providing sanitation services for South African informal settlements.

In the South African context, the number of informal settlements are increasing. A problem arises when one observes the conditions that informal settlers are forced to live in, which are diminishing livelihoods and do not fulfill basic human needs. Informal settlements are described as parts of a city that have been neglected and that have been illegally occupied by the urban poor (Huchzermeyer 2006:2). South Africa is currently experiencing a major housing backlog and sometimes the houses that are provided don’t satisfy human needs. It is important to provide elements that will improve the livelihoods of the residents. Thus, the aim is to provide people with elements that not only provide protection against natural elements but also make a positive contribution to the livelihoods of the residents. / Mini Dissertation (MArch (Prof))--University of Pretoria, 2020. / Architecture / MArch (Prof) / Unrestricted

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / This research investigates the engagements between community activists and urban authorities in the provision of sustainable sanitation services in the informal settlements of Khayelitsha Cape Town. Since 2008, there have been contestations on the exclusion of informal settlements in the planning and delivery of sanitation services by the City of Cape Town. The planning and decision-making of sanitation services in the informal settlement is complex due to numerous stakeholders involved and thus not clear on how sustainable sanitation can be achieved. The challenge has been on understanding the level where decision-making in the provision of sanitation services is more effective for sustainable sanitation.

Deparment of Urban and Regional Planning / MURP / The frequency of natural disasters in informal settlements has been on the increase globally, Yet approximately 1 billion people still live in informal settlements world-wide. In South Africa, about 1.2 million people live in informal settlements characterised by inadequate infrastructure, lack of effective land use and spatial planning, high densities and are highly exposed to the risk of disasters. In general, there is a close link between informal settlements as spaces of habitation and exposure to disaster risks. Reflecting on disaster risk reduction strategies for informal settlements is therefore imperative particularly from an urban and regional planning perspective. Therefore, this work uses a case study of Hlophekane an informal settlement located in Greater Giyani Local Municipality under the Limpopo Province's Mopani District in South Africa to illustrate these concerns. The main purpose of this study is to develop disaster risk reduction strategies for Hlophekane Informal Settlement. The study sought to identify and characterize the nature of disasters in Hlophekane Informal Settlement. Data was collected from 90 households that live in Hlophekane Informal Settlement through a questionnaire survey and 3 key informant interviews were conducted. Furthermore, the study mapped disaster risk zones in Hlophekane Informal Settlement using GIS. Collected data was analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) making use of a thematic analysis and descriptive statistics. Microsoft computer software packages and Geographical Information System (GIS) were used to map disaster hotspots zones. Data was presented through the use of tables, graphs, and maps. Qualitative data was analysed making use of a range of processes and procedures to generate explanations, understanding or interpretation of the experiences of people and situations in the disaster context. The study findings in disaster risk reduction strategies are expected to provide lessons for reducing disasters in the area from an urban and regional planning perspective. Disaster Risk Reduction strategies suitable for informal settlements such as Hlophekane must be sustainable, cost effective and involve the community. A combination of the multi-sectoral and multi-displinary approaches is one of the disaster risk reduction strategies that can be implemented. This strategy integrates different sectors, government departments, NGO’s and the affected communities. Out of this strategy, several projects were identified such as in situ upgrading, roll over upgrading and complete relocation. From those projects, in situ upgrading is the most suitable, convenient and cost-effective strategy that can be implemented. / NRF

Informal settlements are a natural and necessary part of urbanization. Occupied by victims of unsuccessful migration and viewed by the city dweller as a dystopia, these are incredibly self-sustaining parts of the city. Inhabited by the socially marginalised, informal settlements have been neglected in terms of infrastructure and public processes by the formal sectors. Recent efforts to deal with these settlements, like forced evictions, show evidence of social and spatial injustices inflicted on the inhabitants. By 2050, more than two-thirds of the global population will live in cities. Of those, one-third will live in sub-par informal settlements without their own right to the city. With this reality, is it time to reassess how we talk about informal forms of urbanization?