No / The loch-side settlement of Druim nan Dearcag has been shown by excavation to date to the 16th-17th centuries AD, when it formed part of a dispersed settlement pattern in north-west North Uist. Elements of this settlement system were subsequently truncated by ridge-and-furrow cultivation associated with the cleared township or 'baile' of Foshigarry. The site produced rare structural and artefactual evidence for this period of Hebridean history and may help shed some light on the development of settlement patterns, house types and land use in the late medieval and post-medieval periods.

No description available.

No

An area of Shetland is examined in order to identify how Iron Age settlements might have related to each other. The study area contains two brochs. An inter-disciplinary approach is used to identify evidence for other Iron Age settlements and the information is presented as a model illustrating the pattern of settlement at different points during the Iron Age. A distinction is drawn between locations containing field archaeology and locations where occupation is predicted on the basis of evidence such as soil quality or place name. The whole model is then examined in order to identify patterns which may suggest changing relationships between settlements and groups of settlements, and the trends and influences behind these. Next an appraisal is made of the settlements¿ relative status and authority during Shetland¿s Early, Middle and Late Iron Age. By looking at the whole landscape through time - before, during and after the Iron Age ¿ the brochs are set in a wider chronological context which takes into account the changing role that these highly visible monuments may have played as socio-economic focal points in a developing landscape. The outcome reveals complexity. Initially the brochs appear to be a focus of settlement patterns but by the end of the Late Iron Age they are rivalled by a non-broch area which shows signs of heightened Pictish influence. Elsewhere in Shetland at this period there is retrenchment to broch-settlements, raising the question of how far developments in the study area are unique to that location.

The research contained in these papers embodies both results from direct archaeological investigation and also the development of techniques (geophysical, chronological and geoarchaeological) in order to understand long-term settlements and their associated landscapes in Orkney and Shetland. Central to this research has been the study of soil management strategies of arable plots surrounding settlements from the Neolithic to the Iron Age. It is argued that this arable system provides higher yields in marginal locations. The ability to enhance yield in good years and to store surplus can mitigate against shortage. Control and storage of this surplus is seen as one catalyst for the economic power of elite groups over their underlying or ¿client¿ population. The emergence of a social elite in the Iron Age, building brochs and other substantial roundhouses of near broch proportions, is seen as being linked to the control of resources. Evidence at the site of Old Scatness indicated that there was a continuity of wealth and power from the Middle Iron Age through the Pictish period, before the appearance of the Vikings produced a break in the archaeological record. The Viking period saw a break in building traditions, the introduction of new artefacts and changes in farming and fishing strategies. Each of the papers represents a contribution that builds on these themes.

Waste management is a global challenge due to high waste generation resulting from high industrialization, urbanization and challenges relating to the efficient implementation of waste management policies acts and standards. Although South Africa has established a number of good waste management policies and related acts and standards, most municipalities still find it challenging to efficiently implement waste management strategies. Ekurhuleni Municipality is facing challenges with the implementation of effective waste management strategies and compliance to the National Environmental Management Waste Act (2008), (NEMWA) (Act No 59 of 2008). An evaluation of the gaps that exist between NEMWA and the local implementation in the formal and informal parts of the Ekurhuleni Municipality was undertaken in this study. Data on the waste management scenario as collected through questionnaires, interviews and observations revealed that differences relating to the poor establishment of an integrated approach to waste management exist between NEMWA and the local implementation of the act. This was realized through the fact that there is limited community education on waste management, no waste recycling facilities in some residences, irregular and insufficient collection of waste and non compliance with tariff payments for most informal residents and some formal residents. Differences also exist in the waste management strategies between the formal and informal areas of the municipality primarily due to the fact that the informal settlements are mostly unplanned and considered illegal. According to this study, informal residents are not billed for waste management services and as such most of them do not pay for waste management services. To that end, waste is not efficiently managed due to municipal financial constraints. Waste management challenges in Ekurhuleni Municipality are also attributed to lack of or insufficient knowledge regarding sustainable waste management practices and its benefits amongst the waste generators and some waste management employees. / Environmental Sciences / M.A. (Environmental Management)

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.

published_or_final_version / Housing Management / Master / Master of Housing Management

Informal settlement areas (often referred to as squatter settlements or squatter camps) exist in all provinces of South Africa. These areas are characterized by rapid and unplanned development. The result of these is that property boundaries in most of these areas are not surveyed. Since the plots do not have boundary beacons, the land parcel is not properly defined and therefore, the property cannot be registered in the user or owner's name. Consequently, ownership is not guaranteed. Thus there are no legal documents to prove the relationship between an individual and the property. This paper discusses the problems in the land reform process that can be attributed to the existence of informal settlements. The paper is based on a research carried out to assess the effect of informal settlements on the success of the land reform programme in South Africa. A review of literature on the land reform programme and its implementation plan was carried out. The research also included a literature review on informal settlements in relation to property ownership, cadastral surveying and land registration. Three informal settlements in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa were identified for study. These included Cato Manor and Umlazi section CC in Durban and Peace Valley 2 in Pietermaritzburg. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2005.

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.