Governance is defined here as the process of decision-making and implementation. Public participation which leads on from good governance is a process leading to a joint effort by stakeholders, technical specialists, the authorities and the developing agent who work together to produce better decisions than if they had acted independently. Environmental decision-making and environmental partnerships go hand in hand in the sense that good environmental decision-making can only take place if sustainable environmental partnerships are formed. This thesis focuses on the case study of the Warwick Junction Urban Renewal Programme as an example of an area based management development project in the eThekwini Municipality. Warwick Junction is a vibrant trading and transport node in the heart of the city. The area is complex in terms of its biophysical, societal, economic and political structures. The purpose of the implementation of an Urban Renewal Program in July 1996 in Warwick Junction was to uplift and upgrade this inner city area so as to provide an improved trading and residential environment. A large number of projects that fall under this renewal programme have been completed. Community involvement in these projects has been implemented via community representation on a steering committee. It is proposed that a process of good governance is necessary to integrate sustainability into all spheres of development. The aim of this research therefore is to assess the decision-making processes for a number of environmental projects in Warwick Junction. The following projects that have already been completed will be the focus of this study: The Warwick Triangle Playground, Herb Traders Market, Bovine Head Cookers facility, Mealie Cookers Facility and the Badsha Peer Project. Theories of urban governance, public participation, environmental decision-making and environmental partnerships under the broader framework of sustainability, form the conceptual framework for this study. A qualitative approach has been employed in this research. Primary data has been derived from focus groups and open-ended interviews. A set of social sustainability indicators that was derived from the theoretical framework was used to determine the most successful project. Results show that the Mealie Cookers Project displayed all the characteristics of good urban governance. It is also considered to be a sustainable project because as part of its commitment to the urban renewal programme it has balanced the social, economic and environmental needs of present and future generations in Warwick Junction. This was the most successful project out of the five projects as it ranked very high on the social sustainability indicator table followed by the Muthi Traders market, the Badsha Peer Shelter, the Playground Facility and lastly the Bovine Head Cookers facility. The Muthi Market ranked as high as the Mealie Cookers Project on the social sustainability indicator table. This is due to adequate participation with affected communities which allowed them to contribute towards the decision-making process. The strength of the Badsha Peer Shelter Project lies in the good governance and good environmental decisions being taken, win-win partnerships and overall empowerment of stakeholders. The Playground Facility brought with it many political tensions as there were two civic associations that were at loggerheads with each other surrounding the whole project. The strength of this project lies in its transformative participation as the affected communities ideas were used to decide on the location of the park. There were also many political tensions among the Bovine Head Cookers. As a result of the cookers belonging to different political parties, an issue of territory was brought to the surface. Due to serious conflict between cookers and the renewal team, this project has taken three years to implement. It is thus considered to be the most unsuccessful project out of the five projects researched. It is therefore evident that three out of the five projects have been successful, displaying appropriate environmental governance. The results indicate that the environmental decision-making mechanisms that have been employed by the urban renewal team have been transformative in the sense that they not only give a voice to the communities, but also have empowered them in the process. Adequate public participation has also contributed to the success of the programme along with win-win types of partnerships that have formed. It is therefore concluded that the urban renewal decision-making mechanisms implemented in the Warwick Junction have contributed to the sustainability of the development programme. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2004.

Thesis (MTech (Architectural Technology))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2017. / Informal settlements are increasing in the cities of the global South in line with the rapid rate of urbanisation that is taking place in countries of this region. The growth of informal settlements in these countries has been exacerbated by factors that are unique to this region, factors such as scarcity of resources, colonial legacies and rapid urbanisation. Cape Town, a city that relates to the global South both in terms of geographical location and socio-economic context, has also seen a rapid growth of informal settlements, particularly in the last two decades. Like other cities in this region, Cape Town has ambitions of being regarded as a global city. Global cities are modelled on cities of the global North such as London, New York and Tokyo. Beyond the economic prestige that is generally associated with the cities of the global North, the imagery that they conjure up is also seen as an inspiration to be emulated by cities across the world, and it does not include informal settlements. As such, informal settlements generate a host of attitudes. Attitudes towards informal settlements don’t just emanate from political authorities, but emanate from across the spectrum that constitutes inhabitants and interest groups in these cities, including the creators of informal settlements themselves. These individuals and interests, according to their social standing and thus influence, have varying degrees of agency in the matters related to informal settlements. The aim in this study is to probe the effect of these attitudes on housing delivery to the poor. Attitudes not only influence the choice of what is regarded as the norm, but also how any entity that is regarded as the ‘other’ is evaluated. Almost without exception, cities that have been characterised by large numbers of informal settlements have attempted, without success, to eradicate informal settlements from their urban fabrics. An overarching assumption in this study is that the resilience of informal settlements says something about their necessity, and the failure by some, to recognise this necessity or the utilitarian value of informal settlements is influenced by attitudes. This research is done by first using a literature review to elucidate on: • the social condition, that is, the phenomenon of informal settlements, • the relevant theories applicable to the academic field the thesis is anchored in (architecture) and other social orders impacting architecture such as modernism, • the construct of attitudes and its impacts on beliefs, evaluations and perceptions on the affect of objects. The Joe Slovo informal settlement is then used as an analytic case study to investigate the effects of attitudes on the dynamics that have seen the site being transformed into what had been conceived as a prototype for transforming informal settlements to formal housing. The study shows that such transformations, although often carried out in the name of changing the lives of the inhabitants of informal settlements, do not necessarily entail them remaining at the site post its transformation. In the case of Joe Slovo, it actually resulted in a sizeable number of the original inhabitants being relocated to a new, less favourable site.

This study examines the conditions of hopelessness in the city of San Bernardino. The purpose of this study was to examine the ways in which women and men's accessing of services for homelessness differ. This study employs a survey administered at an event given specifically for the homeless population in San Bernardino, and the differences between men and women and their access to support is documented.

The study focused on City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality situated in Gauteng Province. The study aims to explore the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality process of legalising squatters in relation to social development. A qualitative approach using semi- structured interviews, focus groups, observations and public documents was used to explore the process of legalising of squatters in relation to social development. The researcher, based on the evidence from the respondents, public documents and the discussion of findings, concludes that there is a positive relationship between the process of legalising of squatters in the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality and social development as an approach. The City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality process of legalising squatters is in line with the South African legislations and social policies. The finding will add value to the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, Department of Human Settlements, Non –governmental and Faith Based Organisations and other sector stakeholders working with informal settlement dwellers in the following ways: a) Helping the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality in the implementation of informal settlement policies and processes; b) Recommendations to policy issues; c) Advancement of knowledge. / Social Work / M. A. (Social Work)

The study focused on City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality situated in Gauteng Province. The study aims to explore the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality process of legalising squatters in relation to social development. A qualitative approach using semi- structured interviews, focus groups, observations and public documents was used to explore the process of legalising of squatters in relation to social development. The researcher, based on the evidence from the respondents, public documents and the discussion of findings, concludes that there is a positive relationship between the process of legalising of squatters in the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality and social development as an approach. The City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality process of legalising squatters is in line with the South African legislations and social policies. The finding will add value to the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, Department of Human Settlements, Non –governmental and Faith Based Organisations and other sector stakeholders working with informal settlement dwellers in the following ways: a) Helping the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality in the implementation of informal settlement policies and processes; b) Recommendations to policy issues; c) Advancement of knowledge. / Social Work / M. A. (Social Work)