M.A. / It has been proven that all over the world informal settlements have come about as a result of housing shortage. Housing crisis is directly associated with rapid population growth which in turn leads to rapid urbanisation. Rapid urbanisation which puts tremendous stress in infrastructure available in the cities, is a process which cannot be reversed or stopped. It needs to be managed by the city authorities. That also is problematic because cities do not always have the resources to cope with this demand. This thesis puts forward suggestions that could be used to alleviate the dilemma facing the Greater Johannesburg Metropolitan Council, with the cum of throwing light on how informal settlements can be dealt with in the changing economy of South Africa. In order to address the research problem and fulfil the research objectives, a literature study was done, which gave various strategies that have been adopted in other countries. The literature study has been largely used to compare South Africa with other countries such as Brazil, Peru, Kenya, etc. who are faced with rapid urbanisation. A historical overview of urbanisation in South Africa, beginning in the early twentieth century has been given. This was done to illustrate the evolution of the South African legal system in an attempt to cope with events emanating from the discovery of gold in the Johannesburg area. Attempts by the new government to support the local authorities, particularly the Greater Johannesburg Metropolitan Council have been acknowledged. For example, the establishment of the Development Facilitation Act, the Botshabelo. Accord, the repeal of laws which made it impossible for people to take control of their destinies, are a few of these attempts. The emphasis in this study a placed on the involvement of people as a management tool in the development process.

Pantsula dance is a performing art born from the townships of Johannesburg. It is a dance form performed across South Africa, in a variety of contexts; in theatres, music videos and competitions in community halls, on national and international stages and on television, and in the streets of townships, cities and suburbs across South Africa and abroad. Its performance is widespread, but it has its beginnings as a dance form born in areas created to marginalise and oppress. There is a scarcity of academic scholarship related to pantsula dance. This thesis aims to be a contribution to that pre-existing body of knowledge in the hope that there can be further engagement on this important, and increasingly mainstream, art form. I have focused my thesis on analysing pantsula dance as a performance of 'the township'. This has been attempted through an ethnographic engagement with pantsula dancers based in different township areas of Johannesburg and Graha mstown: various members of Impilo Mapantsula, Via Katlehong, Intellectuals Pantsula, Via Kasi Movers, Dlala Majimboz and the cast of Via Katlehong's Via Sophiatown. The research was conducted between 2013 and 2016 and serves to represent various moments within the ethnographic research process, while coming to understand various aspects of pantsula dance. An engagement with notions of 'the township', the clothing choices of the pantsula 'uniform', the core moves, inherent hybridity in the form itself, and the dedication to the dance form as a representation of the isipantsula 'way of life', are addressed throughout the thesis. As well as engaging with the memory and representation of Sophiatown as an important component to pantsula dance. Pantsula dance, an intrinsically South African dance form, provides a celebratory conception of 'the township' space and allows people from different backgrounds to engage in an important part of South Africa's past, present and future.

D.Litt et Phil. / The number of slums and squatter settlements is rising globally; this is recognised as a significant problem as many of the urban poor find housing in these settlements. With the expanding slum settlements comes a serious problem for many developing nations, that of finding a mechanism to improve these informal developments. These settlements are a symptom of poor urban governance and lack of financial resources causing the urban poor to be pushed into these dwellings and find themselves on the periphery of urban society, not only geographically but socially, economically and legally. Upgrading, integration and legalisation of these housing types is necessary if these peripheral suburbs are to be developed formally. Although many governments have tried top-down approaches of upgrade, these approachs have often failed to produce results as slum upgrades often lead to displacement of the original inhabitants who are ousted into areas even further to the periphery of urban centres. This thesis looks at alternatives to viewing settlements on the urban fringe as a quandary, by using a neoliberal theoretical framework (despite its many flaws), informal property markets in townships in Johannesburg, South Africa can be seen as a catalyst for wealth creation and local economic development. This is particularly important given the historical context of apartheid in South Africa and the segregation of the majority of the population into racially exclusive slums. The post-apartheid government has rallied to improve the lives of this group of poor and dispossessed people with the provision of decent housing a key aspect of this process. A neoliberal framework for economic development was embarked upon in South Africa, with the introduction of neoliberal economic policy (namely GEAR) in 1998, South Africa embarked on a process of reform to encourage market growth. This manifest itself in the ‘Breaking New Ground’ housing policy which adopted a neoliberal stance on Housing provision, and although not removing the role of government in providing low-cost housing, it strives for a market driven housing solution. With a shortage of over 1 million houses in the city, there should be every potential market orientated low-cost housing sector, yet capital within this property sector is often referred to as dead capital with no intrinsic value. This thesis challenges that view by determining the existence of Crisylida capital in township property assets. Crisylida capital is virgining capital in the low-cost property market that could lead to the accumulation of asset capital within this property group, estimated value of Crisylida capital in Johannesburg alone is R6.3 billion. Residents in low-cost housing in Township suburbs in Johannesburg recognise economic value in their dwelling, with only 21% of participants valuing their property at less than R10 000. Further, real estate agents working the township real estate market estimate that just over 50% of properties in these areas are valued at over R200 000. Within this property environment, security of tenure plays an important role in creating not only wealth creation but equally a sense of community ownership. Houses with tenure saw 37% of respondents interested or actively participating in community projects, this compared to 13% of respondents without tenure. This thesis points to a new understanding of low-cost property in Johannesburg, South Africa as a potential market worth billions of Rands that could inject wealth into the hands of marginalised communities. This in turn could assist in fostering sustainable socio-economic urban community within disenfranchised township suburbs.

Thesis presented in partial fulfilment for the degree of Master of Management (in the field of Public & Development Management) to the Faculty of Commerce, Law, and Management, University of the Witwatersrand May 2016 / The study aimed to conduct an output evaluation of eKhaya Neighbourhood Development Programme in Hillbrow South, an intervention which was set up in 2004 to advance safety, cleanliness and welcoming behaviour among residents in a historically perilous and unpopular neighbourhood. Hillbrow South is the first precinct to conduct this intervention within Hillbrow and even with the expansion of the intervention to the broader part of Johannesburg, the niggling factor since eKhaya’s implementation has always been whether there is any value for this type of intervention to the stakeholders, whether the intervention is worth the support of funders who can potentially carry this programme forward through adequate funding. Such stakeholders require convincing indication that the programme is working hence an output evaluation study. The research interrogates various literatures to find the ones used to guide this study. In this regard, Howarth (1998) and the Housing Development Agency (2012) are the two literatures identified for this purpose. Through self-administered questionnaires and focus groups, data was collected from existing tenants who are beneficiaries of the intervention. A t-test was used to analyse data and content analysis or narrative analysis for the analysis of focus group data. The research findings in both the survey and focus group are in-sync and show a positive outcome among residents. One of the lessons learned from this study indicate the need for continued research on the impact of the programme. These findings are accompanied by recommendations on how to improve the programme in various areas. / MB2016

M.A. University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Humanities (Journalism and Media Studies), 2012 / This research investigates the representation of kwaito in the Sunday Times between 1994 and 2001, a period of transition for South Africa and the South African media. Kwaito, a music phenomenon that began in the streets of townships, was an important social development. Initially, it offered a range of ways in which post-apartheid black youth could represent themselves and their lives, both good and bad. The Sunday Times, on the other hand, was a white establishment newspaper that needed to change to represent a wider community and provide a space for the inclusion of previously neglected areas of South Africa cultural life. My analysis of all the articles on kwaito published in the newspaper demonstrates that the paper increasingly covered kwaito musicians and events, but tended to confine this coverage to the gossip pages of the City Metro, an insert aimed at black readers. On the other hand, commentators in feature and commentary articles in the main body, who had the power as “cultural consecrators” to investigate the meaning of kwaito as a phenomenon, tended to dismiss it as debased form of expression by lost youngsters. This bears out the argument by Hebdige that youth subcultures tend to be accommodated and contained by the media through a process of converting them into mass-produced objects or through neutering them ideologically.

This study analysed the representation of South African women politicians in the Sunday Times’ election news during the 2004 Presidential and general elections, by drawing on perspectives from cultural studies, the constructionist approach to representation and the sociology of news production. Using content analysis and critical discourse analysis, the study found that very few women politicians were used as news actors/sources in the Sunday Times, and that when women politicians were figured, the paper tended to present them in ways that serve to sustain women’s subordinate status in society. Using content analysis, the study analysed 106 news items published between January 1, 2004 and April 30, 2004, and found that of all the 588 identifiable news actors/sources counted, 135 were women and 453 were men. Of these, only 7.67% (or 26) were women politicians and 92.33% (or 313) were men politicians. On average however, the amount of words allocated to a woman politician was more than that allocated to a man politician. The discourse analysis also revealed how the Sunday Times managed to reproduce textually the hegemonic power relations between women and men, by constructing different subject positions for women politicians and men politicians, which generally tended to be negative and positive respectively. In the representation of women politicians, the study revealed patterns that tended to ascribe them negative personality traits, accentuate their passivity and dependency on men, and construct them as incompetent political leaders. This study’s conclusions pose a challenge to the role of the national newspaper in the transformation of gender relations and the promotion of equal access to political and decision-making positions, and to the news media. News discourse, as a social practice, both determines and is determined by the social structure in which it is produced. By systematically reproducing subordinate subject positions for women in the news, the Sunday Times helps to further women’s subordinate status in society. Particularly, as part of the broader social cultural context that is embedded in patriarchal and gender ideologies, the Sunday Times does not merely reflect but actively and effectively constructs the reality it claims to be representing.

xvi, 139 p. : ill. (some col.), col. maps. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / This thesis explores the empowerment effects of arts-and-crafts programs targeting women in Johannesburg, South Africa, focusing mainly on one case study: Boitumelo Sewing Project. Interviews with participants, facilitators, and management reveal that empowerment manifests in Boitumelo Project primarily in individual and collective forms, though also on an economic level to a limited degree. While many development projects focus on economic empowerment, this research suggests that other forms of empowerment may be even more important in the long term. Economic empowerment helps people meet short-term responsibilities, but it is through individual and collective empowerment that personal and community forms of healing take place, enabling people to engage more successfully in society overall. In light of this, I argue that development projects should focus on engendering genuine participatory empowerment on both the individual and collective levels in order to increase sustainability and development success in the long term. / Committee in Charge: Dr. Anita M. Weiss, Chair; Dr. Dennis Galvan; Dr. Michael Hibbard

M.Tech. (Architectural Technology) / The City of Johannesburg has no formal recycling strategy and waste is simply dumped as collected in designated landfill sites. Yet these landfill sites, reportedly, will be good for no more than another eight years. Throughout the city there is an informal network of waste collectors commonly known as trolley pushers who, together with the private buy-back and recycle centres, form the only real system of recycling in Johannesburg. There is no infrastructure for the trolley pushers, men and women who perform a vital function. There are no dedicated spaces and very little tolerance from the residents of Johannesburg. The trolley pushers sleep amongst their collection of waste, or travel far to start each day in the very early hours of the morning. They roll their improvised trolleys full of goods in the street among the traffic of commuters, hindering and being hindered. They store their messy waste, when they can in unsafe and public spaces, such as under bridges and on the side of some roads. Storage is such a problem for trolley pushers that often they’re forced to sell their goods as soon as they collect them, when the fluctuating prices may be too low. They are always essentially at the mercy of the privately-owned buyback centres. Their days are long and they have no ablution facilities, no designated space to catch their breath, eat, obtain drinking water, network or socialise. This project is about changing that by facilitating the informal recycling sector, providing the convenient infrastructure without formalising the process. The term ‘convenient’ in this context encompasses spaces close to the buy-back centre, with low tech, low maintenance, mixed-use facilities. These facilities include secure sorting and storage spaces, sleeping, ablution and social spaces. The essence of this project is to encourage, empower and improve work and income potential in the informal waste recycling sector through simple, appropriate architectural interventions that are essentially selfmaintaining.

M.Tech. (Architectural Technology) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

D.Litt. et Phil. (Anthropology) / This thesis investigated how public spheres are spatialised in public space. The public sphere is commonly understood as the public deliberation between people to establish their common interests and the bearing this has on state authority. While it is acknowledged that public space is essential for public sphere development, this link between public space and the public sphere has not been extensively researched. There is also a lack of literature examining people’s experiences of public space in the global south, especially anthropological studies that focus on people’s experiences of and in urban parks. This thesis seek to answer how public spheres are spatialised in an urban park, Joubert Park, in Johannesburg, by asking what the context of the creation for the park is, what rules of access and use exist, and how the management model adopted by the City of Johannesburg and the managing agent, City Parks, affect what happens in the park. South Africa had, and still has, very specific patterns of spatial development and use, shaped through its colonial history, and apartheid. Post-apartheid South Africa holds the possibility of changing the way that space is used, and regulated, from being exclusionary based on race to being inclusionary. Joubert Park is situated in the inner city of Johannesburg, and is the oldest park in the city. At its establishment in 1891 it was situated in a relatively well-off area of Johannesburg. In the 1930s single houses in the area were replaced with art-deco apartment buildings, and served as a first receiving point for European and migrants from other parts of South African. The 1990s ushered in an era of white flight and decline within the inner-city, affecting the buildings around the park. Today the surrounding area is generally seen as decayed and is the focus of inner-city regeneration efforts aiming to build an “African World Class” city. The park is well used by a variety of urban dwellers and is considered by City Parks as a flagship within the city. It has an art gallery, various non-governmental organisations and is patronised by a variety of users, traders, chess-players and photographers. This thesis utilised standard ethnographic practices. Fieldwork consisted of ‘hanging out’ and participating within the park, formal interviews, directed questioning, and archival research. Data analysis proceeded from a combination of framework analysis, arising from theory, and grounded, from within the data. Findings were that although park users say that the park is freely available for all to use, it is in fact constrained by identity markers such as race, class, gender, sexuality and nationality. These factors articulate to produce certain experiences of the park. At the same time that people are excluded from the park, people also exclude themselves. These mechanisms of exclusions broadly reflect South African society, which has been described as socially conservative despite a liberal constitution that was implemented in 1996. The City of Johannesburg has rules and regulations that aim to exclude certain users, mostly poor and homeless people, from the park. Park users resist these rules but their small acts of resistance do not change how the rules are applied. At the same time as enforcing rules, both written and unwritten, on park users, the City ignored its own responsibilities as laid out in by-laws concerning the park. The City’s ideal users are different from actual park users and this causes contestations around space use. Lastly, findings were that there were wisps of public sphere activity taking place within the park, but that this is not sustained in any meaningful manner. Outside the park there are many more recognisable and sustained public sphere activities through protest marches. Park users do not participate in these protest marches despite the fact that the marches are similar to their own concerns. This thesis argues that more loosely regulated public space is necessary for public spheres to develop. This thesis addresses literature in urban anthropology, public space, and public sphere. It contributed to urban anthropology by showing how a small urban park can reveal patterns in the city as well as applying a unified framework developed by Setha Low. It contributed to public space literature by contributing to knowledge of public spaces in the global South. Lastly, it contributed to public sphere literature by showing that the type of regulations in public spaces can inhibit the formation of effective public spheres. Key words: Joubert Park, public space, public sphere, Johannesburg, urban anthropology