M.A. / Emergence of informal settlements on vacant lands in urban areas results from intuition and political decisions, and sometimes cultural background. So any available vacant land is used for settlement development and dwelling sites. An informal settlement named after Elias Motsoaledi, a political activist of the African National Congress (ANC), was developed in the south-western part of the city of Johannesburg in 1993. Motsoaledi informal settlement was established on a vacant piece of land where there are overhead power lines. Motsoaledi community members that have their dwellings in close proximity and even underneath overhead power lines are exposed to an environment that is surrounded by electrical magnetic fields (EMFs). There are no reported cases of biological and health consequences that have been caused by EMFs as yet. This study aims to focus on the health aspect of persons who have their dwelling in the vicinity of the overhead power lines in Motsoaledi. The high levels of EMFs around Motsoaledi is further excelerated by the zinc structures that are conductive to electricity and may result in electrocution for dwellers that are in the direct vicinity of overhead power lines. Longer exposure to athermal conditions may result in bio-effects and lead to changes in human health. Furthermore, effects from EMFs are possible electrocution, often causing immediate death of persons and destruction of property. Due to the lack of proper planning of informal settlements, such settlements become vulnerable to potential environmental hazards such as the destruction of structures. This study hopes to identify the plight of a particular informal settlement, namely, Motsoaledi as an isolated case to reflect dire conditions of most of the informal settlements around the country.

No description available.

No description available.

D.Litt. et Phil. / The purpose of the study is to analyse the development of informal settlements in South Africa, with particular reference to the role of the Government in the improvement of informal settlement conditions around Daveyton, especially at the Etwatwa informal settlement. Research has shown that there is common experience in developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America in as far as the development of squatter settlements or informal settlements are concerned. This strongly reflects on the South African experience. The common feature and experience is that informal settlements are the result of urbanization, which is a world-wide phenomenon. Research in countries has shown that migration to cities is based on people's expectation of a better quality of life in urban areas. The expectations lead people to migrate even when they know that they will be unemployed and would have to live in squatter areas for some time. The decision to migrate is based among other reasons on rational economic grounds. It depended on migration cost, the perceptions and prospects of finding a job, and wage differentials between urban and rural areas. Urban incomes were practically always higher than rural ones and migrants to cities generally seemed to do relatively well in acquiring jobs and improving their standard of living. Most of these activities are performed in informal settlements. Like in all developing countries, South Africa is no exception when it comes to the origin and development of squatter or informal settlements. The most common reasons are that people in their quest for a better life in urban areas end up living in informal settlements because they cannot find suitable accommodation. The rapid population growth in developing countries, for example in countries such as South Africa, has resulted in huge housing backlogs. This led to the mushrooming of informal settlements around cities, towns and townships, of people waiting for adequate housing for their families. In Daveyton specifically, the housing backlog in the late 1970s resulted in the emergence of backyard shacks, erected by people who were either residents of Daveyton, because of natural increase of the population, or people from neighbouring townships or rural areas. The study of Daveyton has showed that because of forceful invasion of land by people who did not have accommodation, Daveyton experienced a mushrooming of informal settlements from 1987. In 1987 the Daveyton City Council accepted in principle that squatting was a legitimate means for homeless people to provide shelter for their families and therefore established a site-and-service scheme at Etwatwa, a new section of the township, to accommodate the homeless and lower income families. For service provision the local government divided Etwatwa into two sections, Etwatwa West and Etwatwa East. Every household at Etwatwa West was provided with water and sewerage services, but at Etwatwa East only rudimentary services were provided. With the passage of time the local government tried to integrate the inhabitants of Etwatwa into an urban environment, through the provision of essential service such as water, roads, electricity and sewerage, and amenities such as community and social centres, recreational facilities, creches, schools, churches and clinics. The provision of services depend largely on the availability of funds, through rent payments, loans and funds allocated by the Provincial and National Governments.

No description available.

No description available.

M.A. / The aim of the study is to implement and evaluate a women empowerment lifeskills programme in the informal settlement in Germiston (Gauteng). South African women live in poverty, deal with violence and due to their status in the past, they have been identified as vulnerable and disempowered target group in social service delivery. The research study is evaluation research often used when evaluating a social programme. The integrated model of programme evaluation (IMPE) of De Vos (1998) is selected and adjusted for the purpose of this study. The research process is initiated with a literature study on the concepts empowerment, participation and other relevant concepts to the study. The research is limited to the Delport informal settlement in Germiston, Gauteng. Data collection took place in the three phases of the research study. Phase one: Needs assessment, utilises key informants and a community forum. Phase two: process evaluation, utilises a semi-structured interview schedule. Phase three: Outcome evaluation, group administered questions are used. The target group of the study is women residing in Delport informal settlement. Results in the study indicated that the SAWEF lifeskills programme is effective in addressing the needs for lifeskills programme of semi-literate in an informal settlement. It is recommended that the SAWEF lifeskills programme should be implemented more extensively and continuously evaluated to determine whether it continues to address the needs of the target group it is intended for, being women. Results and conclusions drawn from this study can not be generalised to the broader population of women in informal settlements. Further research is needed to determine whether SAWEF lifeskills programme used in this study would be effective for women in different levels and in other communities in South Africa. / Prof. J.B.S. Nel

Hay El-Tanak, Haouch et El-Masaken El-Chaabiyah sont trois quartiers squattés localisés dans la ville d'El-Mina, au nord du Liban. Cette ville côtière de forme péninsulaire fait partie de l'union d'Al-Fayhaa dont la municipalité principale est Tripoli. Les territoires squattés sont illicitement édifiés sur des terrains privés et prennent aussi la forme de bâtiments occupés par des ménages ne disposant d'aucun titre juridique. Les populations résidant dans ces territoires, dont le plus ancien date du début du 19ème siècle, souffrent d'aléas naturels et anthropiques dont les criticités sont distinctes au sein de chaque quartier. Face à ces vulnérabilités, les projets d'amélioration des conditions de vie demeurent très rares. Cette situation de précarité a suscité des questions sur le profil de santé des habitants. Ainsi, cette étude a été effectuée à une échelle ponctuelle et fine de ces quartiers favorisant l'exploration du profil de santé des femmes au cours de la phase périnatale et des enfants jusqu'à l'âge de cinq ans. Loin des caractéristiques intrinsèques des quartiers informels, le contexte géographique externe joue-t-il un rôle dans l'état de santé de ces habitants ? Existe-t-il une influence du système de soin de la ville et quels sont les autres acteurs urbains dont dépend l'état de santé actuel ?Par conséquent, une combinaison de méthodes d'analyse statistique et spatiale a été adoptée afin de répondre à la problématique posée. L'hypothèse relevée dans cette étude a été vérifiée en mettant en évidence un état de résilience partielle chez les habitants de territoires squattés de la ville malgré les aléas qui y existent. Avec le temps, les populations y résidant ont pu surmonter les hasards et acquérir des pratiques protectrices. Ainsi, au cours de la phase périnatale une grande proportion des femmes suit leur grossesse le fait qui a minimisé les complications comme les naissances prématurées, les accouchements difficiles et les mortalités néonatales précoces. En effet, les femmes priorisent la qualité de soin et les structures spécialisées au cours de cette période. Ces pratiques sont soutenues par l'offre multiple et la prise en charge des soins existant dans la ville d'El-Mina et de Tripoli dont les tissus urbains ont fini par se joindre. Plusieurs acteurs urbains contribuent dans la facilitation de l'accessibilité au soin dont les dispensaires, les hôpitaux, les médecins spécialistes, les organisations non gouvernementales, les associations caritatives religieuses et politiques. Cependant, pour les enfants âgés de moins de cinq ans, les résultats ont montré des prévalences élevées d'infections diarrhéiques, de fièvre et de toux. Les diarrhées accompagnées de fièvre sont corrélées à la qualité de l'eau consommée dans les quartiers squattés. Cette tranche d'âge souffre aussi de retards de vaccination. En fait, les mères rencontrées dans ces quartiers recherchent l'offre la moins chère pour avoir recours au soin de leurs enfants. Les disparités dans la forme et les niveaux de vulnérabilités entre les trois quartiers ciblés n'ont pas provoqué des différences significatives dans les prévalences des indicateurs de santé. De même, cette étude témoigne d'une plus-value apportée par la géographie dans l'évaluation de la santé des plus démunis de la société. L'exploration du rôle des acteurs urbains externes aux zones informelles et facilitant le recours au soin a aidé dans l'explication du profil de santé déclaré. Cependant, cette approche demeure qualitative et recommande le développement d'un système d'information géocodé et standardisé dirigé par le ministère de santé publique dans tous les centres de soin opérant au Liban / Hay El-Tanak, Haouch and El-Masaken El-Chaabiyah are three squatter settlements located in El-Mina city, Northern Lebanon and dating back to the beginning of the 20th century. This costal city, taking a peninsular form, is part of Al-Fayhaa Federation of Municipalities headed by Tripoli municipality. Squatter territories targeted in this study include settlements illicitly built on private lands and buildings occupied by households with no tenure rights. Populations residing in these territories suffer from nature and anthropogenic hazards which criticality varies in each settlement. Despite these vulnerabilities, upgrading projects of living conditions remain very rare. This precarious situation aroused many questions about the inhabitants' health profile. Therefore, the current research is realized on a punctual small scale of these settlements favoring the exploration of women's health profile during « perinatal » phase and children's health status until the age of five. Away from internal characteristics of informal settlements, does the external geographic context play a role in the health status of these populations? Is there any impact of the health care system of the city and what are the other urban actors influencing the actual health status of the inhabitants of squatter settlements? Consequently, a combination of statistical and spatial analyses methods are adopted in order to address the health profile of women and children. The hypothesis raised in this study was verified in bringing out a partial resilience situation of the inhabitants of the squatter settlements in spite of the existing hazards. Over time, the populations targeted could overcome the danger by acquiring protective behaviors. Therefore, during the “perinatal” phase a big proportion of women interviewed declared a regular monitoring of their pregnancy the fact that decreased the complications like premature births, complicated delivery, and early neonatal mortality. In fact, women living in these settlements prioritize the quality of care and specialized health centers during the “perinatal” period. These practices are supported by the multiple health offers and the financial aid existing in the cities of Tripoli and El-Mina. Many urban actors participate in facilitating the accessibility to health care including dispensaries, hospitals, doctors, non-governmental organizations, charity religious and political associations. However, for children under five, results showed that diarrhea, cough and fever infections marked high prevalence. Diarrhea accompanied with fever is correlated to the quality of water consumed in the three squatter settlements. In addition, this category of age suffers from delays in the immunization calendar. In fact, mothers met in these settlements search for the less expensive offer when it comes for their children's health care. Disparities between the settlements' urban form and levels of vulnerability didn't lead to significant statistical differences in the prevalence of health indicators amongst their inhabitants. As well, this study witnesses an added-value brought by geography in the evaluation of marginalized populations' health. The exploration of the role of urban actors facilitating the health care use helped in the explanation of declared health profile. Nevertheless, this approach remains qualitative and recommends the development of a geocoded and standardized information system managed by the ministry of public health in all the health care centers operating in Lebanon

A research report approved by the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment of the University of Witwatersrand for the degree of Master of the Built Environment in housing / In post-apartheid South Africa, the delivery of low-income housing has been occurring at unprecedented rates since 1994. This means that more and more poor households are gaining access to secure tenure on progressive basis. Unfortunately the new low-income housing townships are often established on cheap peripheral land, adjacent or far beyond the existing apartheid townships. The widespread growth of informal settlements in urban areas has also been occurring at higher rates following the repeal of apartheid laws which restricted rural-urban migration. The growth of informal settlements is nothing but a precise indication of poverty and the desire of the poor to gain access to employment opportunities. However, the link between employment opportunities and home is often provided by transport. Travelling demands money which most of the urban poor rarely have. For the poor, proximity to areas of employment opportunities is key to surviving in urban areas. The consequence of this arrangement is the establishment of informal settlements near places of employment as a way of escaping the cost of transport. Yet the upgrading of well-located informal settlements has not been a preferred and popular strategy for the post-apartheid government as a mechanism for promoting access to opportunities. Instead the focus has largely been on providing access to individual tenure through the delivery of the free-standing housing units on the periphery where land is relatively cheap to accommodate large scale housing delivery. Is this the only factor which had motivated the rural poor to migrate to urban areas in the first place? Which matters most for the urban poor? Is it access to subsidised housing in the urban area only or is the latter. Perhaps it is a combination of both factors. To provide answers to the foregoing questions, the researcher resolved to pose two guiding questions to focus the investigation: What are the effects of relocation to the periphery on household livelihoods and how do relocated households make a living on the periphery....what sort of coping mechanisms are adopted to survive in remote, isolated, low density and sprawling low-income Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) townships of the post-apartheid South Africa? The research uses Diepsloot as a case study area because it presents all the necessary traits of a typical post-apartheid South African low-income township which had been used as a northern Johannesburg relocation site. The findings of the research suggest that the only major positive impact which result from relocation, is access to secure tenure while the major negative impact, is the poor location of Diepsloot in relation to major employment opportunities. This finding correlates with the existing literature and the hypothesis of the study.

This research explored the City of Johannesburg’s response to floods in the lower-income settlement of Soweto in February 2009, through participant observation, interviews and examination of official documentation. The municipality’s response indicates the governance forces that may shape adaptation to increasingly severe and frequent climate events in the context of development pressures and needs. It was found that the flood event provided a ‘window of opportunity’ for action and learning on flooding, but governance factors hindered an effective response. These included the framing of flood risk, limitations in the City of Johannesburg’s municipal structure, institutional power dynamics, and the performance culture. The research demonstrated that networked governance is critical to adaptation in global South cities. In the case of Johannesburg city, conflicting governance paradigms constrained the realisation of networked governance modes. Resolving tensions amongst competing governance approaches is necessary to advance both the climate and development agenda in Johannesburg.