This study is concerned with the manner in which households create strategies to mitigate environmental risks in informal settlements for example Lacey Road which is located in Sydenham in the eThekwini metropolitan area of KwaZulu‐Natal. Informal settlements result from migration and urbanisation trends whereby people from rural areas migrate to the city in search of job opportunities and a better life. Many fail to find the formal employment opportunities they seek and find themselves having to provide their own shelter. These circumstances culminate in the construction of informal settlements in and near the city. People settle on land that is often undesirable for development because of geological or environmental pressures e.g. it has unstable soils, the land is located within flood plains or on very steep slopes. The vulnerability approach and political ecology framework underpin this study. These two approaches have been used in order to understand the capabilities of informal settlers to cope with risks they are faced with. They have been also used to understand how human activities and political systems may be linked to the spread of environmental degradation and risks. Household survey and key informants interviews were used to conduct this study. The findings of the research show that Lacey Road informal settlement is exposed to various risks such as floods, fire, waste disposal, and indoor air pollution and other health risks. It is clear that residents from Lacey Road are regularly exposed to the harsh realities of spatial and environmental marginalisation. The main reason for their vulnerability is the lack of service delivery by the municipality. This is due to a unique set of power relations where the community does not have profile to force the municipality to provide access to basic services. It is within this context that the researcher sought to analyse and explore the interface between environmental risk management and coping strategies of residents within informal settlements. Whilst there are general risks that face all residents of informal settlements, the researcher also considered what is specific to the Lacey Road settlement in Sydenham. The intention of this research is to identify environmental risks being experienced in Lacey Road informal settlements. Furthermore, to understand household strategies employed to mitigate those environmental risks at Lacey Road. / Thesis (M.Sc.U.R.P.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2010.

No abstract available. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2001.

The reported percentage of births attributable to school going learners has highlighted the concern for adolescents engaging in early and unsafe sexual practices. A review of literature suggests that early sexual initiation and the likelihood of experiencing teenage pregnancy can impede on adolescents' ability to acquire skills, attain high levels of education, and access socioeconomic opportunities. Relatively less attention has been paid to the reproductive patterns and sexual behaviour of adolescents within informal settlements. This research, conducted in Siyanda informal settlement on the outskirts of KwaMashu Township, is designed to explore the sexual patterns and reproductive behaviour of the adolescents there. The study examines differences in sexual behaviour and childbearing experiences among teen mothers, currently pregnant teens; and those that have never experienced pregnancy. The findings suggest that the majority of adolescents residing in informal settlements experiment with and engage in sexual intercourse at ages much earlier than 19. Most teenagers experienced their first sexual intercourse by the second year of high school education. Teen mothers reported higher incidence of multiple sexual partners. Across all adolescents interviewed, the preferred sexual partners were much older males because of level of maturity, financial status; and the ability to negotiate use of contraceptives. Part of the cause of high incidents of teenage pregnancy within this environment was the lack of consistent usage of contraceptives. Many adolescents perceived usage of contraceptives to be impractical prior to conception of first birth. The experience of childbearing was found to have detrimental implications on these young females‟ educational attainment. Many of these adolescent failed to resume school to complete their education due to the lack of emotional and financial support from their partners and family members. Many adolescents highlighted their discontent with the lack of youth integration with the lack of youth integration in community based programmes. Furthermore, communication barriers in nearby health facilities as well as transport restricted their accessibility to obtain counselling with regards to their sexual activities and reproductive patterns. Thus, it is recommended that service delivery should be improved, including providing more health facilities especially the range of methods through which health officials such as nurses, social workers and counsellors which can be made easily accessible to these adolescents on a regular basis. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2012.

This dissertation examines the various forms of informal settlements in evidence in the Greater Edendale Area, and extracts the design criteria for the development of an appropriatc land records system to manage these informal settlements and their upgrading processes. It is shown that the various setllement patterns in existence ill the Greater Edcndale Area (GEA) reflect the apartheid history of South Africa and the policies of the previous governments. All exhibit certain aspects of informality, and therefore exist at various points on a continuum of formality-informality. Certain settlement patterns, such as the properties within formal townships developed by the former Department of Development Aid, possess many formal aspects and relatively fewer informalities, whereas others, for example the conventional informal settlements on State owned land, are informal in almost every respect. It is shown that the government's policies require informal aspects of settlements relating to land tenure and services should be upgraded, and that the responsibility for such upgrading has been delegated to the local government level. I will show that this upgrading of informal settlements can be broken down into four major processes which make up the overall upgrading process. These are land delivery, land tenure reform, provision of services, and cost recovery. It is argued that to effectivcly deal with these upgrading responsibilities, the local government structure. in this case the Pietermaritzburg-Msunduzi Transitional Local Council , should develop and maintain a land records system at the local level, with community participation to ensure sustainability. The design requirements for such a system are identified throughout the chapters, and are drawn together in the final chapter as a set of design criteria for the land records system. These design criteria call be represented by five main themes: firstly, that the land records system should be based on the design of the multipurpose cadastre; secondly, that in addition, it should accommodate non- parcel-based tenures; thirdly, that it should incorporate temporal GIS technology; fourthly, that it should be easily accessible to the community; and finally, that it should incorporate the users' needs and should be extremely user-friendly. / Thesis (M.Sc.Sur)-University of Natal, Durban, 2001.

My Interior Design practicum is an inquiry about the nature of urban informality through the study of present and emerging urban vernaculars within Kambi Moto, an informal area in Nairobi Kenya. I argue that unique vernacular characteristics manifest in everyday living and can be captured through the experience and knowledge of self-builders, entrepreneurs and dwellers within informal settlements. An understanding of these vernacular characteristics is instrumental in the designing of meaningful and effective social housing prototypes. The main methods used to document vernacular characteristics include, post occupancy evaluations (POEs), time diaries, photographs and observation. Within an interior design context, these tools helped describe the spatial needs, wants and desires of the everyday dwellers of Kambi Moto. The four resulting compact housing configurations support one-to-ten member households with provisions for a home-based business (HBB) or a rental unit. All units have an adaptable rooftop with a garden.

No description available.

Access to abstract restricted until 05/2015. / Literature review -- The politics of urban reformation : public interest litigation and heritage -- A market for corruption : rumor and the arts of resistance. / Access to thesis restricted until 05/2015.

This thesis investigates five types of informal and self-built settlements in Panama City, Panama. The major part of the thesis focuses on precedents that are related to personal experiences encountered while researching a question developed during an independent study course at Ball State University. These experiences are germane to the place I have resided for virtually, my whole life, at the outskirts of an informal settlement in Panama City -- Barriada Nueve de Enero -- along with my personal relationship with Mrs. Emilia, my family's domestic worker for more than thirteen years. In addition, the study of the five settlements will be accompanied by a set of minor design interventions that address immediate and local needs encountered while investigating each area. In a country where already more than half the population (56%) resides in urban centers, and approximately sixty thousand people live in informal settlements, one might ask: What do rural immigrants bring with them to the informal settlements? And, what are the connections found that relate to their past lives in the rural areas? According to the UN-Habitat report of 2008, in the developing world there are approximately 5 million people making thier trek each month to urban centers, and most of them end up squatting and self-building in some informal settlement, making them, as stated by Robert Neuwirth in Shadow Cities, "the largest builders of the housing world." If it is in fact, the 'precaristas - informal builders' and 'invasores - inavders' of the world who are shaping our current and future cities, should we not be more interested in their knowledge, lifestyles, and building techniques? This thesis does not aim to answer all the questions about informal settlements in Panama, but it does try to expose a reality and hopefully generate an understanding towards one city, and at least one informal settler contributing to the fast-growing informal building phenonmenon of the world. / Department of Architecture

In South Africa, about 15,3% of the households were living in 2011 in formal state-subsidised low-income houses (houses for households with income lower than R 3500 - about $ 350 - per month), whereas 12,1% were living in informal dwellings. The sustainable development of low-income housing is therefore one of the main challenges for developing countries addressing the green Agenda as South Africa, especially considering the quality of life of inhabitants and the complex socioeconomic implications. Furthermore, the energy consumption patterns of low income households have emerged as one of the most important factors influencing the national electricity demand, as marked by the National Housing Code of 2009. The complex social and environmental issues related to the living conditions of low-income communities need to be addressed with an integrated approach to the design of the settlements. Rethinking and greening the low-income housing design principles firstly represent an opportunity to strive social inequity and improve the quality of life of households. The rationale of this study is to investigate how a strategic bottom-up approach and multi-scale low-cost green measures, implemented in the design process of South African low-cost housing, can potentially achieve environmental and social sustainability targets with affordable solutions. The dissertation analysed a representative case study of a low-cost housing development in the KwaZulu-Natal Province. The research adopted a bottom-up approach combining participatory methods through a survey and interviews with the local community, and a scenario analysis investigating design alternatives and multiscale green strategies (i.e. alternative building typologies, densification, passive design strategies). The proposed scenario evaluated the potential benefits of the green implementation, through qualitative and quantitative assessments based on sustainability indicators as environmental and energy impacts, social implications, safety and cost effectiveness, supported also by experimental methods using dynamic building energy modelling. The study promoted an integrated and holistic research and design approach to foster the sustainability in low-cost housing development. The outcome of this integrated bottom-up approach defined a framework of good criteria and methods for the design process, which can be intended as a guideline to effectively implement green measures and reach sustainability targets for low-cost settlements. / Thesis (M.Sc.Eng.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2014.

This research study focuses on providing evidence that indicates that, making use of contemporary green building practices within a low cost subsidised housing project have more social, economical as well as environmental benefits than that of a conventional, non-green approach. Low cost subsidised housing units have become an everyday sight in the light of the global as well as the local economy. The increasing levels of unemployment and subsequent social problems lead to growing needs for this form of housing. As these projects consume a number of resources, steps need be taken to lighten the load – such as the carbon emissions - that is put on the environment. According to the United Nations, the key areas that are influenced by sustainability are environmental, economical as well as social. In South Africa, a number of government as well as local policies exist that regulates the planning and building practices of the low cost subsidised housing projects. These policies have been used as a foundation for this study. This study focuses on the Lufhereng project as a case study, and technology used in the Kuyasa as well as Cosmo City developments furthermore assisted in the groundwork for the comparison between the different construction approaches. The challenges facing the utilisation of a contemporary green building approach were researched, identified, discussed and recommendations were made. SAM (social accounting matrix) multiplier analysis on the Gauteng SAM obtained from the DBSA (Development Bank of South Africa), analysis and comparison of existing data as well as a qualitative questionnaire that was sent to industry stakeholders were utilised to obtain relevant information. The quantitative as well as qualitative data obtained from the primary as well as secondary research indicated that there are a number of aspects which has an influence on method of construction used in subsidised low cost housing units. The findings from literature as well as empirical research were analysed and discussed accordingly. Recommendations and suggestions regarding strategies that may be followed to increase the use of contemporary green approaches in these projects were made. These recommendations were based on the findings from literature as well as the research conducted for this study. The use of contemporary green approaches are vital for the social, economic as well as environmental sustainability of the country, and thus, ultimately of the world as a whole. It is, in this light, imperative that everything in our power should be done to preserve our resources by any means possible. / PhD (Urban and Regional Planning), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013