A discourse Submitted to the Faculty of Architecture, University of The Witwatersrand, in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Master of Science in Development Planning. / Andrew Chakane 2018

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Arts, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts, 1995 / This thesis presents an analysis of the relationship between social processes, cognitive understandings and the organisation of space, as this pertains to local-level politics in a section of Alexandra township, South Africa, during 1991 and 1992. The context of the thesis is the attempts by the Alexandra Civic Organisation and the Alexandra branch of the African National Congress to elicit support from people living in formal and inform~i housing during a period of intense violence. The focus of the ethnographylis on local-level civic structures and political leadership, which in some ways support and in others contradict the aims and objectives of these two organisations. The reason for this internal political diversity is that local-level politics is embedded within social maps - cognitive orderings of space that represent patterns of social relations and structures of power. This points to the main theoretical focus of the thesis: the interrelationship of space, culture and society in an urban context. Urbanism is conventionally defined in sociological and geographical terms as the articulation between social process and urban spatial form. The thesis shows how anthropology can make a contribution to this field of study by incorporating a concern with culture. The mutually constitutive relationship of urban space, culture and society presents a way of looking at urbanism that does not depend on a rural-urban dichotomy; a social. and cultural dualism which is conventionally fitted into a modernist narrative of urbanisation. The ethnography in the thesis demonstrates the inapplicability of this narrative, and the categories of rural tradition and urban modernity which it implies. Keywords: anthropology, urbanism, urbanisation, rural-urban dichotomy, space, Alexandra, politics, civic organisation, informal housing. / AC2017

A Research Report submitted to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of the Witwatersrand, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of the Built Environment in Housing. APRIL 2016 / One of the most critical housing issues of concern today is the continued proliferation of informal settlements and the failure of government to meet the housing demand. Party to the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, which includes the goal to improve the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers by 2020 introduced the Upgrading of Informal Settlements Programme (UISP). Despite the introduction of this new paradigm shift, its implementation has been minimal. This report investigates: if metropolitan municipalities are implementing the programme and the underlying challenges faced by municipalities in implementation. The study points to the importance of the 5 crucial variables: Policy content, context, commitment, capacity and coalitions and clients in implementation. The research made use of qualitative methods, which included literature review of books, academic and media articles. The people interviewed comprised of political leaders, both senior and junior officials of the Municipalities and former employees of the City of Johannesburg, all tasked with informal settlement intervention implementation. The data collected was analysed using cross comparison between the various municipal officials’ responses, evaluating officials’ interpretation against policy interpretation, analysing the complexities of the policy, teasing out the comparisons, summarising data in order to make sense of what has been collected, identifying and classifying key concepts that emerge from the interviews, sorting data obtained through semi-structured interviews into smaller units in order to interpret how the two municipalities interpret and implement the programme (Gray, 2004:210), categorising data in order to understand the funding mechanisms used by the various municipalities and using the key concepts for descriptive analysis. Based on the findings of the study it was concluded that the Municipality has not been implementing UISP as per the housing code, however it has been utilising formalisation as an intervention in its informal settlement. The findings of the current study provide answers to the guiding research questions on whether municipalities are implementing UISP and interventions within the two municipalities. The conclusion is that both municipalities are not implementing UISP. However they have their own interventions which are biased toward the realities of project managers rather than the organized informal settlement communities thus disconnecting from the premise of UISP. The envisaged limitation was getting hold of municipal officials as this research was conducted in the first quarter of the new financial year and municipal officials were engaged in strategic meetings. This is an unfortunate limitation that could not be avoided therefore interviews especially in EMM were not carried out as planned but as and when the contact persons were available. This resulted in only 5 officials being interviewed as compared to the anticipated number. Secondly, one of the municipalities that the research was conducted on was reluctant to give out information.

Proposal submitted in partial fulfilment for the award of MTech in Environmental Management / It is widely believed that experts often have a more rational approach towards risks. This is because they are known to use algorithms, formal logic, risk assessments and normative rules to make decisions about risks. The central tenet of this research is that communication based on an understanding of how people conceptualise and evaluate risk communication efforts is critical for translating risk management knowledge into effective risk practices necessary for value generation in flood risk mitigation. Rational decisionEmaking requires both analytic and intuitive systems to operate on a parallel level. Therefore, this research proposes a Flood Risk Communication Model that takes cognisance of lay perceptions. The model emphasises on how risk communication efforts are evaluated by the lay using a combination of descriptive psychological and social construction theories. In particular, the prospect theory, heuristics and biases, cultural theory and trust theory are used to provide explanatory sketches on how flood risk communication efforts are perceived in highly vulnerable environmental contexts such as informal settlements. The challenge in this research however, lies in verifying the model empirically. The associative group analysis technique will be used to generate empirical data from a case study population. Two basic analytic methods will be employed to measure psychological dispositions of respondents. Firstly, word associations are scored and weighted based on frequency of occurrence to generate a dominance score. The higher the dominance score, the greater the interpretation and the more meaningful the theme is for that particular group. Secondly, the different theories of the model are factored into a questionnaire to measure priorities. All the responses are then compared to the proposed model and also used to evaluate actual lay perceptions and feelings towards the current risk communication interventions. The results showed a high level of consistency with the FRCM and hence with the descriptive psychological models of Kahneman and Tversky. However, we conclude that what is has been proposed to be biases are intuitive tendencies to adapt and make sustainable decisions in the face of applicable contextual influences. Thus, these contextual hierarchies determine the reference point and status quo of the recipient in decision making. Therefore, these influences and hierarchies need to be factored in the designing of a risk communication.

Thesis (MTech (Public Management))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2009 / Access to basic water and sanitation services in South Africa is considered a basic human right, and constitutionally, local government is responsible for the provision thereof. However, in the informal settlements in towns and cities, residents continue to be exposed to environmental health risks that result from poor and inadequate basic sanitation provision. Municipalities are under pressure to address the sanitation backlog according to the national target that is based on the Millennium Development Goals (MDG). The provision of infrastructure alone does not account for the provision of an improved, safer and more hygienic environment for its users. A badly managed sanitation facility is an environmental health risk, and it encourages inappropriate and unsafe sanitation practice. Municipalities cannot claim to meet the sanitation backlog targets unless appropriate and effective management systems are in place to operate and maintain the basic sanitation facilities provided. Through the Integrated Development Plan (IDP) process, local government is encouraged to develop partnerships to promote economic development and job creation, particularly in areas of extreme poverty and high unemployment through the delivery of services. Public participation, social learning, empowerment and sustainability are the key components of the people-centred development approach that currently guides the delivery of municipal services South Africa (Davids,I. 2005). The White Paper on Local Government advocates municipalities to work with communities to find sustainable ways to meet their needs through an approach that is driven by formulating linkages between development, service delivery and local citizen participation (Mogale, T. 2005:219). It is also argued that the only way to effectively link poverty reduction strategies and improved service delivery is through the formation of partnerships that are based on meaningful participation (Mogale, T. 2003). Public participation also allows for an opportunity for increased community buy-in and support that is essential for the sustainable delivery of services to informal settlements so as to reduce incidents of misuse and vandalism. Communication and collaboration across municipal departments is also required, as sanitation service delivery in its broad definition, falls across the Water Services, Health and Solid Waste Departments. Hence the need for an integrated and inclusive approach to planning is required. Using a participatory action research (PAR) process, this study proposes to investigate whether there are local community-based opportunities for the procurement of some of the operation and maintenance tasks for the recently refurbished public ablution blocks in an informal settlement within the City of Cape Town. Public ablution blocks are one of the sanitation technology options available for the provision of shared basic sanitation services provided to informal settlements within the City of Cape Town. The research is divided into three stages. The first two stages serve as the building blocks for the third stage of the research. The objectives are to obtain an improved understanding of the “local knowledge” at community level, to obtain an understanding of the operation and maintenance activities in informal settlements currently being undertaken by City of Cape Town, and to initiate contacts and develop relationships with key stakeholders for their participation in the focus group discussions in the third stage. The third stage of the research proposes to adopt a participatory approach involving key stakeholders to identify the opportunities and make recommendations to the City of Cape Town to consider for the development of an operational plan for the operation and maintenance of the Khayelitsha Ablution Blocks.

Dissertation submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Magister Technologiae: Public Management in the Faculty of Business at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology / This study interrogates the process followed by the South African government in transforming informal settlements into formal settlements, with specific reference to Khayelitsha Township, located just outside of Cape Town. Three informal settlements within Khayelitsha Township (Nkanini in Makhaza, RR and BM both in Site B) were identified for purposes of conducting this study. This study aims to interrogate the government’s effort to eradicate informal settlements. It employed a quantitative tradition where a structured questionnaire was distributed to 100 subjects. These included ward councillors, government managers, researchers on Community-Based-Organisations and Non-Governmental Organisations. The study revealed that research participants believed that there were no changes taking place in the informal settlements and they are growing in a fastest pace. The study findings also depicted that in order to transform informal settlements all key stakeholders should work in collaboration with each other. This study will contribute to the body of knowledge as there is paucity of data regarding the transformation of informal settlements to formal housing.

This study uses the re-blocking policy adopted by the City of Cape Town to explore an alternative approach to the housing backlog crisis in South Africa. The two re-blocking projects examined in Mshini Wam and Kuku Town illustrate the benefits of re-blocking and the challenges that were overcome in both of these informal settlements. This study is descriptive in nature and explores the challenges that informal settlements present not only for their inhabitants, but also the impact these challenges have on the city itself. The re-blocking policy is explored as a potential approach to addressing these issues and how the in situ upgrading approach to informal settlements is an improved and sustainable approach for South Africa. Key findings suggest that the Re-blocking Policy can potentially address the challenges that informal settlements present and it could serve as a sustainable housing model for improving service delivery to informal settlements.

Bibliography: leaves 273-276. / The thematic focus of this dissertation is the specificity of user requirements for domestic energy applications in informal urban settlements and how these are fashioned by the contextual pre-conditions of poverty and instability. The fieldwork focused on a group of people who can be defined by the facts that they are people who house themselves, possibly fall into the lowest or no income sector of the population, are peripheral to the mainstream economic activity in the country and are temporary or permanent or roving urbanites. The research approach is done from the viewpoint that user requirements should inform the design of systems for domestic energy applications and that these subjective requirements constitute the correct point of departure from which to evaluate the efficacy of energy support services. The bulk of this dissertation consists of recounts of research interviews, illustrating some aspects of user requirements. These are presented as 'primary data' with the purpose of rendering the research more transparent and of feeing an information resource with the option of re-interpretation by the reader. The dissertation concludes that appropriate energy services will have to be characterised by adaptability and diversity as well as by sensitive responses to the micro networks of urban subsistence household economies.

Thesis (MPhil (Sociology and Social Anthropology))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study examines the issue of informal settlement fires, specifically in Kayamandi a township of Stellenbosch in the Western Cape province of South Africa. The study aims to identify the relevant role-players involved in addressing the issue and to understand the unique dynamics involved in this type of fires at the local level context. The study illuminates the main contextual factors that contribute to the perpetuation of informal settlement sprawl in South Africa and that relates to the risk and vulnerability experienced by informal settlement dwellers. A qualitative research approach was followed and a triangulation of data collection methods was used, combined with a relatively broad literature study to capture the complexity of the related issues. The contextual focus includes the macro-economic factors that contribute to the environment in which informal settlement fires occur, and furthermore, developmental, economic, political and social aspects and the related experience of poverty, urbanisation and unemployment. It was found that the theoretical underpinning of both the fields of Disaster Management and Community Development are relevant for analysis and addressing the research questions. Furthermore, that a relationship exists between the Disaster Management, Development and Community Development fields. This is particularly evident in Disaster Management policy and planning as related to prevention, mitigation, and public participation, such as community involvement in Community-Based Risk Assessments. Key findings suggest that local government in the demarcated study area has great influence on how the problem of informal settlement fires is addressed. From national to local municipality level, the State plays the largest role in addressing the issue and takes the responsibility for addressing informal settlement fires as part of disaster management mandates prescribed in legislation. The local government agenda as influenced by Disaster Management legislation include efforts related to awareness, education and training focused on Kayamandi as an informal settlement community and can be considered community development initiatives. This further relates to the view taken in the thesis that informal settlement fires are a social issue and not only an operational issue. Therefore the broad social, economic and political context and history were included and it was shown that the ‘problem’ of informal settlement fires is part of a greater developmental context and related processes. A variety of community development theories were chosen as a useful framework for analysis in this study and to approach issues of risk and vulnerability on a community level. It also presents a conceptual framework for including both non-governmental stake-holders and the affected community as role-players. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie ondersoek die kwessie van vure in informele nedersettings en spesifiek in Kayamandi, ‘n informele nedersetting van Stellenbosch in die Wes-Kaap provinsie van Suid- Afrika. Die doel van die studie is om die relevante rolspelers te identifiseer wat betrokke is by die aanspreek van die kwessie en om die unieke dinamika van vure in hierdie plaaslike konteks te verstaan. Hierdie studie beklemtoon die belangrikste kontekstuele faktore wat bydra tot die uitbreiding van informele nedersettings in Suid-Afrika en wat verband hou met die risiko en kwesbaarheid van inwoners van informele nedersettings. ‘n Kwalitatiewe navorsingsbenadering is gevolg en ‘n triangulasie van dataversamelingsmetodes is in hierdie studie gebruik. Dit is met ‘n relatief breë literatuur-studie gekombineer om die kompleksiteit van die verwante kwessies weer te gee. Die konteksuele fokus sluit in makro-ekonomiese faktore wat bydrae tot ‘n omgewing waarin informele nedersettingsbrande voorkom, en voorts, ontwikkelings-, ekonomiese-, politieke- en sosiale aspekte, sowel as die verwante ervaring van armoede, verstedeliking en werkloosheid. Daar is bevind dat die teoretiese begronding van beide die velde van Rampbestuur en Gemeenskapsontwikkeling relevant is vir ontleding en om die navorsingsvrae te kan beantwoord en dat daar ‘n verhouding tussen Rampbestuur, Ontwikkeling en meer spesifiek Gemeenskapsontwikkeling bestaan. Dit kom veral na vore in Rampbestuurbeleid en - beplanning soos van toepassing op voorkoming, mitigasie en publieke deelname. Van die belangrikste bevindinge suggereer dat die plaaslike regering in die gegewe studie die grootste invloed het oor hoe die probleem van brande in informele nedersettings aangespreek word. Van nasionale tot plaaslike vlakke neem die Staat die verantwoordelikheid vir die aanspreek van informele nedersettingsbrande, soos vervat in mandate wat deur rampbestuur wetgewing bepaal word. Die plaaslike regering se agenda soos bepaal deur Rampbestuur wetgewing bevat gemeenskapsontwikkelingsidees oor deelname en inklusiewe beplanning, bewusmaking, opvoeding en spesifieke opleidingsinitiatiewe wat op Kayamandi afgestem is. Dit sluit verder aan by die siening, soos geneem in die tesis, dat informele nedersettingsbrande meer as net ‘n operasionele kwessie is, maar ook ‘n sosiale dimensie insluit. Om hierdie rede word die breër sosiale, ekonomiese, politieke en historiese konteks in die studie ingesluit, soos wat dit op die ‘probleem’ van informele nedersettingsbrande as deel van die groter ontwikkelingskonteks en prosesse dui. ‘n Verskeidenheid van gemeenskapontwikkelingsteorieë is as ‘n bruikbare raamwerk geselekteer vir ontleding en as ‘n benadering om risiko en kwesbaarheid op gemeenskapsvlak aan te spreek. Dit bied ook ‘n konsepsuele raamwerk om beide nie-regeringsrolspelers en die geaffekteerde gemeenskap ook as rolspelers in te kan sluit.

Assignment (MA ) -- University of Stellenbosch, 2000. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Informal settlements are a common feature of the urban landscape in contemporary South Africa and constitute one of the biggest challenges to urban planning and management at present. The political and legislative changes over the past decade have altered the approach to the management of informal settlements. This study starts out by examining the global trends and theory of urbanization, with special focus on the Third World. The various legal and policy frameworks relating to informal settlement and housing, as well as the implications thereof on urban management, are also examined. The assignment then proceeds to analyze the applicability and effectiveness of structured, formalized planning with regard to the management of informal settlement. The said analysis is followed by recommendations for the management of informal settlement, based on the preceding chapters. These recommendations suggest the following: Planners and authorities should be more proactive m planning for informal settlements. The applicability of individualized services should be reconsidered due to affordability and the inability of individualized facilities to cater for high levels of immigration. The study finally exanunes current strategies employed within the Cape Metropolitan Area, with special reference to the "Fast Tracking" process applied by the Helderberg Municipality. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: lnformele nedersettings is 'n algemene gesig in die stedelike landskap van Suid-Afrika en is tans een van die grootste uitdagings in die veld van beplanning. Die politieke en wetlike veranderinge oor die afgelope dekade het groot veranderinge in die benadering en bestuur van inforrnele vestiging tot gevolg gehad. Die werkstuk begin deur die huidige globale neigings en teoriee oor verstedeliking aan te spreek, met spesifieke verwysing na die Derde Wereld. Die verskeie wetlike- en beleidsraamwerke waarin inforrnele vestiging en behuising gereguleer word, asook die implikasies daarvan, word ook bestudeer. Die werkstuk analiseer ook vervolgens die toepaslikheid en effektiviteit van gestruktureerde en geforrnaliseerde beplanning ten opsigte van inforrnele vestiging. Die genoemde analise word gevolg deur sekere voorstelle wat gemaak word aangaande die bestuur van inforrnele vestiging. Hierdie voorstelle sluit die volgende in: Beplanners en owerhede moet meer pro-aktief wees ten opsigte van bestuur en beplanning van inforrnele vestiging Die toepaslikheid van dienste, wat fokus op individuele huishoudings, moet heroorweeg word aangesien dit onbekostigbaar vir beide verbruiker en verskaffer kan wees. Hierdie dienste is ook rue in staat om die invloei van mense te hanteer soos gemeenskaplike dienste nie. Laastens word sekere van die strategiee wat aangewend word in die Kaapse Metropolitiaanse Area ten opsigte van die bestuur van informele vestiging ook bestudeer, met spesifieke verwysing na die "Fast Tracking" proses soos aangewend deur die Helderberg Munisipaliteit.