Apartheid housing policies of the pre-1994 South African government, and the low-cost highdensity housing programmes of the post-1994 government, has given rise to numerous urban environmental problems, some of which could be addressed in a cost-effective and sustainable manner through urban greening, while simultaneously promoting biodiversity. Public participation in the planning of urban greening has been identified as being of vital importance, without which urban greening projects run a high, and expensive, risk of failure. Previous studies indicate that the greening priorities of residents in low-cost high-density housing settlements may differ considerably from those of managers and experts tasked with the protection and extension of the natural environment resource base. A system of participatory decision support is therefore required to reconcile the greening requirements of the community, and the ecological benefits of biodiversity. If language, literacy, map literacy and numeracy difficulties are to be avoided, and a sense of place or belonging is to be invoked, such a participatory decision support system should, ideally, be visually based, and capable of generating realistic eye-level depictions of the urban landscape. New computer-based landscape visualisation applications, which can directly utilise GIS, CAD and DEM data to produce detailed photo-realistic viewsheds, were deemed better suited to the task of visualising urban greening than existing GIS based mapping systems, CAD and traditional landscape visualisation methods. This dissertation examines the process of constructing a 3D computer model of the Mount Royal low-cost high-density housing settlement, situated in the eThekwini Municipality, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Visualisations including terrain, natural features, indigenous vegetation, houses and roads were produced and submitted, with a questionnaire, to experts from different disciplines, Mount Royal residents and neighbors. Results from the expert survey indicate moderate support for visualisation in professional decision-making. However, both experts and residents expressed strong support for the accuracy and credibility ofthe visualisations, as well as for their potential in a participatory decision support system. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2005.

When the Government of National Unity (GNU) came to power in South Africa in 1994, it inherited a housing sector with severe abnormalities as a result of the policies and political turbulence of the apartheid era (Department of Housing/DOH, 2000a). One of the main problems was and is still the enormous housing backlog facing large sections of the country's population both in rural and urban areas. The housing crisis in South Africa has received extensive attention by the South African government, non-profit organizations and international actors such as research and aid organisations since the demise of apartheid. This shows the historical and present interest on the SUbject. The most significant development in housing policy in 1990 was the creation of the Independent Development Trust (lOT). The lOT, was a parastatal, a government created institution in 1991, which was to address the housing needs of the country's poor. As one form of housing subsidisation, housing consolidation subsidies have been used in housing projects for households to build new houses or improve existing structures on the serviced sites that were previously subsidized through the Independent Development Trust (lOT) in the 1990's. The realisation that between 20%-30% of beneficiaries do not take occupancy at the end of a specific project, has brought a serious concern to the Housing Department, local community structures and Project Managers. This study, focuses on the Durban Metropolitan Area; it intend to increase one's understanding of why consolidation housing projects only reach 70%-80% of intended beneficiaries on closure of the projects. The housing consolidation projects in Luganda and Savannah Park, Southern Pinetown, Durban, which are the sUbject of the present stUdy, were initiated in 1996 and 2000 respectively with the intent to deliver over 2000 houses in both study areas. These are being investigated. The study takes a form of a wholes tick approach and tries to make a link between the absent beneficiaries and those who informally transfer their property to new owners. The reason is simply that the 20-30% originally intended beneficiaries are not benefiting from the Consolidation Housing Subsidy. The study aims to look at alternative, cheaper and affordable ways of obtaining title deeds for people who have bought sites informally from the authentic officially recognised beneficiaries. Lastly, the study will contribute by data gathering and analysis, to the understanding of the phenomenon of low-occupancy and informal or de facto transfer of property. / Thesis (M.Housing)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2006.

The dissertation explores how distinctive institutional factors related to property rights determine urban development patterns and housing tenure modalities in a developing economy context. The first part proposes a choice-theoretic model that explains the existence of the Antichresis contractual arrangement as a way to temporarily divide property rights. The model explains why the Antichresis contract dominates the Periodic-Rent contract in terms of landlord profits for certain types of property in which the gains in expected profits from solving the problem of adverse selection of tenants offset the loss of expected profits created by the moral hazard in landlords investments. The empirical section of the dissertation provides evidence in support of the model. Using data from Bolivia, I find that property types that require less landlord maintenance investment have higher capitalization rates under Antichresis contracts than they would under Monthly-Rent contracts and vice-versa. Additionally, the model shows that the Antichresis contract has limited capacity for helping the poor as suggested by recent literature. On the contrary, it can be hurtful for the poor in markets were landlords have limited information about tenants, in markets with inefficient court systems, or in markets with tenant-friendly regulations. The second part of the dissertation explores the issue of squatter settlements in the developing world. The theoretical model presented in this part explains how the landlord squatter strategies based on credible threats drive capital investment incentives and ultimately shape urban land development in areas with pervasive squatting. The model predicts that squatter settlements develop with higher structural densities than formal sector development. This prediction explains why property owners of housing that originated in squatter settlements take longer periods of time to upgrade than comparable property owners who built in the formal sector even after they receive titles to their property. The higher original structural density increases the marginal benefit of waiting in the redeveloping decision creating a legacy effect of high-density low-quality housing in these types of settlements. Geo-coded data from Cochabamba, Bolivia, support the hypotheses proposed by the theoretical model and raise questions about the unintended consequences of current policies affecting informal development.

ABSTRACT The purpose of the study is to evaluate the housing process of Witzenberg Local Municipality and determine the involvement of the community and their perception regarding the whole process. The researcher is using a qualitative method to obtain the views, perspectives and feelings of the participants. For the purpose of the study is data collection limited to the sample population of people on the waiting list and those already in possession of low-cost house of the seven townships in the Witzenberg Local Municipality to. The researcher made use of questionnaires and interviews to collect data to make a profound finding and recommendation. In Witzenberg, 41% of households earn less than R30000 per annum (Witzenberg Local Municipality 2012: Online) which indicate that the Witzenberg Local Municipality has a high need for subsidized housing. The waiting list for low-cost housing in the Witzenberg Local Municipality currently stands at 6278 of which 1478 are a blocked housing project and a backlog of 4800 houses. The inhabitants of the Municipality received low-cost housing 8 years ago (Witzenberg Local Municipality 2012: Online). Witzenberg Local Municipality does has a housing problem, which stems from finance, affordability, insufficient land to erect housing projects, overcrowding, and quality of housing, staff shortage, unemployment, uncontrolled farm evictions and community involvement (Witzenberg Local Municipality 2007a:Online). Low-cost housing is in demand to address the challenges. Farm evictions, influx into the Witzenberg Local Municipality and forming of informal dwellings and increasing of squatter camps hold a serious threat to build sustainable, quality low-cost housing in the Witzenberg Local Municipality and with limit staff is in-flux control very hard to manage. Although the homeowners of the Witzenberg Local Municipality are happy to have received houses, they expressed much concern about the poor construction work, overall quality of the materials used as well as the housing process adopted by the Witzenberg Local Municipality. / Public Administration / M. Admin.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T20:00:48Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 5052.pdf: 4854894 bytes, checksum: 1d6892bc78dc1e2add81a7801106b168 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-04-01 / Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais / This research purposed to identify, classify and analyze the technologies and raw materials used in low-income housing, as aid for the definition and implementation of a housing policy that can be incorporated sustainability principles and guidelines. The object of empirical study it's Guinea Bissau, in particular Bissau the main town of the country that is located in West Africa and it has one of the world's lowest Human Development Index HDI . Among the various dimensions that make up sustainability, it was decided to prioritize research in environmental and cultural dimensions, considering the country's social and environmental peculiarities. At the start, warned understanding deeply variables and their parameters that characterize a condition of greater sustainability, always focusing on the specific location. At the same mode, it was made a qualitatively and quantitative survey of technologies and materials usually employed in construction for housing, following, it was held a mutual comparison between those variables, parameters and the information collected about the technologies adopted. Together with the scientific aspect, this research aims also to contribute with technological guidelines for structuring a sustainable housing policy of social interest to Guinea Bissau. / Esta pesquisa se visou identificar, classificar e analisar as tecnologias e matérias-primas empregadas nas habitações populares, como subsídio para a definição e implementação de uma política habitacional que incorpore princípios e diretrizes da sustentabilidade. Tem como objeto empírico de estudo Guiné-Bissau, em especial, cidade de Bissau, capital da Guiné-Bissau, país situado na África Ocidental e que apresenta um dos IDH Índice de Desenvolvimento Humano mais baixo do mundo. Dentre as diversas dimensões que compõem a sustentabilidade, se optou a priorizar a pesquisa nas suas dimensões ambiental e cultural, considerando a peculiaridades socioambientais daquele país. Inicialmente, se preveniu aprofundar o entendimento das variáveis e dos respectivos parâmetros que caracterizem uma condição de maior sustentabilidade, sempre com foco no local específico. Paralelamente foi feito um levantamento quali-quantitativo das tecnologias e dos materiais usualmente empregados na construção civil de habitações, na sequência, se realizou cotejamento entre aquelas variáveis e parâmetros e as informações coletadas sobre as tecnologias adotadas. Em conjunto com o aspecto científico, essa pesquisa se propõe, também, a contribuir com diretrizes tecnológicas para estruturação de uma política habitacional sustentável de interesse social para Guiné-Bissau.

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.

A literatura de design e de arquitetura sugere a necessidade de realização de estudos mais aprofundados e capilares junto a usuários de baixa renda a respeito da realidade material interior de suas residências, de como se daria a efetiva utilização de bens e objetos pessoais, além de suas aspirações e preferências quanto aos produtos de uso doméstico. Vários autores, neste sentido, ressaltam que a produção brasileira de mobiliário residencial industrializado, também denominado móvel seriado, sobretudo no segmento do consumo popular, não atenderia, integralmente, a seu público principal, concentrado nestas duas faixas socioeconômicas da população. Este alegado descompasso existiria, parcialmente, em razão de designers e fabricantes de móveis populares seriados supostamente desconhecerem as necessidades efetivas dos usuários e as maneiras de interação com seus bens domésticos. Nesta pesquisa, foram investigadas várias situações de uso do referido mobiliário popular industrializado em moradias de usuários selecionados residentes na Grande São Paulo, abordando aspectos tais como: percepções, significados, preferências, avaliações, apropriações, formas de utilização e adequação aos ambientes. Em termos metodológicos, este estudo qualitativo, de caráter essencialmente fenomenológico, mas também observacional, foi constituído pela sistematização e análise associativa de dados obtidos por meio de entrevistas em profundidade semiestruturadas conduzidas com quarenta usuários e doze vendedores. O trabalho de campo foi complementado por observações diretas, produzidas pela pesquisadora, de móveis, objetos e demais arranjos físicos e visuais encontrados nas moradias visitadas e em lojas de móveis populares, com auxílio de registros fotográficos e gravações em áudio. Na análise do conjunto de dados coletados, foram identificados elementos semióticos, estéticos, funcionais, socioculturais e psicológicos, entre outros. Os resultados obtidos permitem iluminar questões efetivas de uso do mobiliário popular, além de hábitos, costumes, preferências estéticas e condições internas das moradias dos usuários participantes. Observou-se, por exemplo, neste sentido, reduzida adequação de parcela significativa do mobiliário às habitações visitadas, bem como presença de improvisações e adaptações a que os usuários comumente recorrem, mesmo em móveis com pouco tempo de aquisição, para que voltem a desempenhar adequadamente suas funções, além de certa resignação de parte dos usuários quanto a deficiências de projeto e de produção verificadas nos móveis, por vezes justificadas, por eles, pelos baixos preços que pagaram. Tais percepções e outros achados disponibilizam, assim, um corpo de insumos para designers e indústria moveleira em geral, sobre necessidades específicas de famílias de baixa renda que encontram, neste mobiliário popular industrializado, sua principal ou única, mesmo que, em casos, precária, opção de compra para atendimento de necessidades básicas de armazenamento de objetos pessoais e de apoio a tarefas domésticas. Espera-se, com esta pesquisa, contribuir para que o projeto e a produção desta classe de produtos ofereça maior adequação ao efetivo modo de vida e necessidades de seus usuários no interior de suas moradias. / The design and architecture literature suggests the need for more in-depth studies with low-income users regarding the material in their homes and how belongings and personal objects would actually be used, as well as what their aspirations and preferences are with regard to domestic products. Several authors in this context emphasize that Brazilian industrial residential furniture production, also called furniture in series, especially in the budget furniture segment, does not entirely meet the needs of its main public, concentrated in these two socio-economic groups. This alleged misalignment would exist partially because of designers and manufacturers of low-cost furniture supposedly being unaware of users\' real needs and ways of interacting with their domestic objects. In this research, several ways of using industrial low-cost furniture in selected users\' homes in Greater São Paulo were investigated, looking at aspects such as: perceptions, meanings, preferences, evaluations, appropriations, forms of use and adequacy of the environments. In methodological terms, this essentially phenomenological, but also observational qualitative study was done by the systematization and associative analysis of data obtained through in-depth, semi-structured interviews with forty users and twelve salespeople. The field work was complemented by the researcher\'s direct observation of furniture, objects and other physical and visual arrangements in the homes visited and in budget furniture stores, and also with the aid of photographs and audio recordings. In the analysis of the collected data set, semiotic, aesthetic, functional, sociocultural and psychological elements were identified, among others. The results obtained provide information about the use of low-cost furniture, and also about habits, customs, aesthetic preferences and internal conditions of the participating users\' homes. It was observed, for example, that much of the furniture in the homes visited was of limited adequacy, and there were often user improvisations and adaptations, even in furniture purchased recently, so that it would more adequately fulfill its function. In addition, the users had a certain feeling of resignation about the furniture\'s design and manufacturing deficiencies, sometimes justified, for them, by the low price they had paid. These perceptions and other findings make available, then, input for designers and the furniture industry, in general, on specific needs of low-income families that have, in this industrialized low-cost furniture, their main or only, though sometimes precarious, purchase option to meet their basic needs for storage of their belongings and support for domestic tasks. It is hoped that this research will contribute to the design and production of this class of products becoming more suited to the lifestyles and needs of users in their homes.

Despite the array of polices adopted to address the housing issue in South Africa in the post ’94’ dispensation, South Africa in 2015 remains riddled with the same housing challenges as at 1994 even despite the significant improvements that have been achieved. Subsidised housing projects completed between 1994 and 2004 are characterised by poor design, poor quality, late delivery, poor location, and spatial marginalisation. To address these shortfalls, the Department of Human Settlements adopted the Breaking New Ground (BNG) principles in 2004 and the housing code of 2009 to mitigate shortfalls in the provision of low cost housing and thereby creating sustainable human settlements. It was in such context that this study sought to assess whether the BNG and housing code of 2009 was implemented in the building of the low-cost houses of the Wells Estate Human Settlement in the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality (NMBM), constructed post-2004. An exploratory study using both the quantitative and qualitative data collection methods was used to conduct the study. A questionnaire with open and closed questions was used to collect data. To complement the use of the questionnaire, transect walks were also undertaken. The findings of the study were that; firstly: The majority of the beneficiaries belonged to the productive age that is between 18 and 60; Wells Estate depicts a pre ‘94 spatial planning given its peripheral location there by affecting cost to work and job searching; The quality of houses complied with the tenets of the BNG and housing code of 2009; Access to services and facilities like police station, community halls, clinics, and schools remained a challenge because their availability is determined by the population size and utilisation rate, and Access to socio economic opportunities was still a challenge. The beneficiaries of Wells Estate even in the case for businesses owned this; these were for subsistence only such as street vending, shoe repairing, and painting. Given the above findings, the study recommends that: There is need to focus on human capital development through skill development to the productive age group which is unemployed. With skills, the unemployed have an opportunity to look for employment thereby improving their livelihoods; The provision of housing alone cannot alleviate the socio-economic challenges affecting the poor, however there is a need for a multi-pronged approach to address other socioeconomic determinants such as access to employment and education, and There is need to for a collaboration approach between the NMBM and other government departments for instance with the Department of Basic Education for scholar transport.

When the Government of National Unity took office in 1994, it inherited a country with severe inequalities in resource distribution and land ownership. In particular, it inherited a housing crisis which was, to a large extent, caused by apartheid legislation and policies. This research focuses on the housing crisis post-1994 by considering the impact and effect of the constitutional right to have access to adequate housing, especially for those living in intolerable conditions. It does so by utilising a social-scientific approach to the law. This approach acknowledges that the housing right must exist alongside other social phenomena and as a part of everyday life in South Africa. Accordingly, the implementation of the housing right by three local municipalities in the Eastern Cape is examined. Following an initial overview of the history of housing and local government in South Africa, the study focuses on the current legislative framework for housing and theinterpretation of the housing right (and other socio-economic rights) in certain court decisions. These decisions are discussed, not only because of the impact they have had on communities living in intolerable situations, but, as importantly, because they have developed standards against which policy and planning should be measured. These standards are used in the study to evaluate housing provision in three municipalities. The evaluation (by means of interviews and assessment of planning documentation) demonstrates that the recognition of the housing right in the Constitution and by the courts does not necessarily translate into effective recognition and implementation by the state. The research shows that the failure to plan proactively, lack of co-operative governance and inadequate controls over financial and human resources thwart the realisation of the housing right by local government. It is recommended that, in order to make the housing right a reality, research into the housing right (and indeed other socio-economic rights) should scrutinise the management of financial and human resources of the state in the context of the policy, planning and implementation environment. Where research is able to show evidence of unspent budgets, insufficient planning and mismanagement of resources, courts would be able to focus on the implementation aspect of the housing right, and ensure that it may yet have a meaningful impact on the lives of millions of some of the most vulnerable people in society.

Solid waste management in high density low-income areas is a problem that manifests itself in ubiquitous illegal dumpsites and unhealthy living environmental conditions. Community participation in solid waste management in Duncan Village, C-Section has been found to be part of the solution to this problem. This study investigates community participation in SWM at household level, community waste project level and at informal salvaging/scavenging level. The integration of community participation into existing Buffalo City Municipality waste management plans and the nature of the relationship between the different interest groups are investigated. This study employs qualitative research methods where interviews and participatory observations are used to investigate key objectives. The nature of the relationships between councillors, C-Section residents and the Buffalo City Municipality Departments are tenuous and fraught with conflicts. These conflicts emerge due to the lack of communication as well as due to the non-integration of the community interest groups‟ views and activities into solid waste management in C-Section. The study suggests that this lack of communication should be addressed and that integrated participation of all stakeholders must be encouraged for effective solid waste management in a high density low-income community.