Over the past decade the construction of shacks on fonnally developed residential sites within the predominantly african residential townships of South Africa have been increasing in number. These infonnal structures have become commonly known as backyard shacks and have been constructed, mainly by the urban poor, in response, inter-alia, to the restrictions and difficulties placed upon them by the policies of the past government, in respect to access to land and housing. Research on this housing option is limited and has unfortunately either concentrated on quantifying the extent of the development or has been overshadowed by investigation and debate on other methods of infonnal housing. Therefore this dissertation sets about, by reason of research in Umlazi (one of the largest, predominantly african townships within South Africa), to contextualise, identify and place firmly on the agenda, the issues and needs of the backyard shack residents. In support thereof, a review of the spatial development of backyard shacks over the past decade in Umlazi, is also provided. From this study it has then been possible to fonnulate recommendations for housing policy and town planning so as to address these issues and needs. With specific reference, as this dissertation recognises the extent of the housing crisis and the role that backyard shacks play in providing shelter for the urban poor within the urban centres of the country and hence the likely pennanency of this housing option; recommendations, including the densification of the urban centres as a means of providing land for housing, the fonnalisation of the backyard shack as a secondary dwelling unit, the re-defming of subsidies in relation thereto and the delivery of services, are put forward. / Thesis (M.T.R.P.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1996.

The present study approaches Third World urbanization through a critical analysis of the cultural adaptation process of rural migrants (CAP). Social scientists identify the CAP as a transitional situation in which people must learn to function simultaneously in different cultural systems, typically circumscribed into a dual categorization: 'the traditional' versus 'the modern'. Taking place between these two conditions, the CAP is influenced and constrained by socio-economic macrostructures and processes that define cultural change. This thesis explores rural migrants' CAP by analyzing the material culture of Chalco, a squatter settlement located in the outskirts of Mexico City. / Self-help transformations of migrant housing produce a unique phenomenon. House forms and the selection of building materials, for instance, are defined not only by spatial or functional needs, but also by social priorities for adaptation. Preconceived aspects of housing evolution such as comfort or the reproduction of rural life are not necessarily priorities for migrants. On the contrary, the informants in Chalco favor the use of distinctive material signs that may help them to create their identity as urbanites. Hence, it is essential to view rural migrant housing as a physical expression of both residents' attempts to adapt to the urban culture (i.e., to participate in social mobility) and of the reproduction of social inequalities resulting from the nature of urbanization and development processes. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

In Kenya, as in most developing countries, the provision of adequate housing for the urban poor has been an elusive exercise for the past five decades. Since the early 1960s when serious concerns were raised over housing provision for low income groups and the proliferation of slums and informal settlements, various intervention strategies have been applied without much success. The failure of these interventions has been attributed to high costs of implementation hindering their replication, and displacement of targeted beneficiaries by better endowed income groups upon their completion. As a result, the realised moderate density housing has been transforming into multi-storey housing with intense densification. Housing and the built environment in general are realised within the prevailing systems of social, physical, and economic, settings and are influenced by development and urbanization trends. The purpose of this study therefore was to identify, account and document the prevailing systems of settings and the embedded systems of activities in the informal settlements that determine and sustain them in the city of Nairobi, Kenya. The study analysed these systems at the city, the neighbourhood, and the dwelling levels with the objective of establishing relevant systems of settings and their embedded systems of activities appropriate for adaption in the regularization of informal settlements for sustainable housing development for the urban poor in Nairobi. Both qualitative and quantitative research methodology was utilised in this explorative study. The research methodology applied entailed questionnaires, interviews, observations and discussions. Three case study areas were selected representing three different settings for informal settlements namely; informal settlement on government land with minimal level of interventions; community based informal settlement upgraded for rental housing; and site-and-service settlement informally transforming into multi-storey tenements. Theories and concepts that informed this study include Environment-Behaviour Relations, Environment-Attitude Relations, Sustainable Livelihoods, Social, and Market Theories. The study was conducted in Mathare Valley informal settlement of Nairobi which is located approximately six kilometres from the city centre. The settlement was selected because of the varied informalities it hosts in addition to being the oldest informal settlement in the city. The findings of the study show that the social, economic and physical systems of settings are crucial determinants of housing outcomes and determine the location, nature and characteristics of these settlements including the activities they embody at the city, the neighbourhood and the dwelling levels. Similarly, the study shows that the dwellers adapt to the prevailing systems of settings in response to their livelihood constraints, opportunities and capabilities. As a consequence, limitations arising from economic constraints have led to the predominance of rental housing over owner-occupied housing. Limited access to land has led to crowding and densification. Poverty and unemployment has led to uncontrolled commercial activities within residential neighbourhoods. The study recommends that intervention approaches spearheading regularization of informal settlements commence by considering the problem of informal settlements at city level where their recognition and acceptance is important. This should then be related to job opportunities, ease of access to work, and other social amenities. At the neighbourhood and dwelling levels where the two are intertwined, emphasis should be given to maximum utilization of land and development of housing typologies that evolve with economic improvement of the nation. The government and local authorities should still be responsible for infrastructure development whereas private investors encouraged to develop rental housing targeting the low-income groups and on land designated for such purpose by the government. Market forces should be allowed to determine rent levels. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2011.

No abstract available. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2002.

The study explored the leisure styles of peri-urban youth living on the fringe of the city of Durban. Little is known about the leisure patterns of this marginalised segment of the urban population and an aim of this study was to begin to develop a knowledge-base using a holistic or multi-theme approach. Data was collected on the leisure activities, attitudes and the leisure setting of shack youth. Such information would be helpful in understanding the role which leisure plays and could play in the social development of shack youth. The research methodology, comprising qualitative interviewing in phase one (to gather contextual data) and a survey in phase two (to explore leisure patterns quantitatively), complemented the holistic focus by examining actors' leisure experiences and the wider leisure context. To interpret the research findings, socio-psychological models of leisure explained respondents' styles of leisure at the interpersonal level whilst at the macro-spatial level, findings were contextualised in an apartheid city 'framework to show the way the historical context has shaped present leisure patterns. In the context of shack life, leisure was found to be a strategy for survival and an alternative route to the satisfaction of higher order needs. Despite environmental constraints, respondents identified socio-spatial opportunities for leisure activities which they perceived to be freely chosen and enjoyable. The study concluded that leisure is a valuable tool which social policy makers and planners could use to develop the latent potential of young shack dwellers. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1994.

This study looks at the potential contribution of informal housing delivery in establishing enabling low-income housing standards in Kitwe, Zambia as a way of addressing the shortage of adequate and affordable housing for the urban poor. Informal housing delivery is increasingly being seen as the urban poors' response to the chronic shortage of housing in most cities in developing countries. Proponents of informal housing delivery have been alluding to the many positive impacts that informal housing has on the poor households since the 1960's. This aspect is slowly gaining acceptance in many housing policies in developing countries that are now opting to work with rather than forcefully relocated informal dwellers. The Zambia National Housing Policy set an ambitious list of objectives aimed at realising its goal of providing adequate and affordable housing to all income groups in the country, including the reform of housing standards which currently inhibit the incorporation of informal housing techniques and materials into conventional practices. However, there appears to be no framework within which this objective will be achieved. The study, therefore, investigated the positive attributes of informal housing delivery through a literature review of standards and general discourse and policies regarding traditional, informal and formal housing settlements. Through the literature review, a set of indicators was established to measure and analyse informal housing standards prevailing in Kamatipa, an informal settlement north of the city of Kitwe in Zambia and building regulations that substantially hinder the incorporation of these standards into conventional low-income housing standards. They study establishes a number of positive attributes of informal housing in Kamatipa and the regulations that they contravene under current standards. It concludes by making recommendations towards establishing guidelines for assimilating these positive elements in a reformed regulatory framework to achieve enabling low-income housing standards in the city and country. / Thesis (M.Housing)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2006.

Most developing countries have based their housing strategies on ownership. Approaches they have adopted, such as sites and services or upgrading schemes, rely basically on ownership through self-help. Yet, most of these efforts have proved inadequate to cope with the increasing demand for urban housing. In this context, informal settlements seem to provide the cheapest and more 'affordable' ownership options for the poor. Nevertheless, home ownership, even in its squatter form, demands time, investment, and long term commitment; a luxury that some households simply cannot afford. / Based on qualitative research conducted in three low income barrios of informal origin, this study looks at the kind of non-ownership-oriented solutions available for the poor in Resistencia a provincial capital in Northeast Argentina. On the demand side, findings suggest that for some households rental or shared housing is the only choice. For others, on the contrary, it seems to be a matter of preference, a way to avoid the chores of ownership. On the supply side, the study unveils a fairly wide spectrum of choices, with options ranging from a bed in a house to rooming houses of up to 15 rooms. While some of the landlords are relatively wealthy, others are just as poor, or poorer than their tenants. / Rental and shared alternatives are far from being 'ideal' housing solutions. Under certain conditions, however, they result in reasonable short-term options that, apart from generating extra income for small landlords, contribute to diversify the supply of cheap accommodation for poor households.

Aguascalientes is a medium-sized city in Mexico. Its location and industrial policies have proven favorable to the continuing arrival of many industries. Immigrants are easily inserted into the labor market, but the access to low-cost housing for the workers is difficult. Nevertheless, the city continues to attract newcomers. The economy in Mexico collapsed in the early 90's, and many housing programs at the local level were cancelled, and housing prices became expensive. Consequently, people opted for less expensive housing solutions. One of the alternatives was to build on the ejido land, (expropriated lands handed over to land-less people in the form of collective holding and tenancy) a sui-generis tenure of land that has existed in Mexico since 1917. The analysis of both the ejido lands as a target of irregular human settlements and the consolidation process of these areas is the subject of this study.

This study attempts to focus on a narrower scope specifically is aimed to search for the possible explanations for women&rsquo / s and their daughters&rsquo / poverty experiences by arguing that within the household, women and their daughters are more vulnerable to poverty than men because of the dominant ideologies. I have already implemented a field study in one of Ankara&rsquo / s squatter area which is called Hidirliktepe located in district of Altindag with 30 women and their eldest daughters living in the same household. One of the qualitative interviewing techniques, in-depth interviewing, has been applied to the respondents and two different questionnaire frames used for mothers and the daughters. There are some important conclusions of the thesis. One of them is that poverty is experienced by women and their daughters different than the other members of the household. Another is that these experiences are also transferred to their daughters within the household. However, daughters are in a better condition than their mothers which might constitute a hope for their salvation from poverty because due to the changes in their social environments, their expectations also change. Moreover, survival strategies developed by women against poverty designate the level of poverty which is being experienced by women in the long term.

The main objective of this thesis is to evaluate the question of urban crime and its relationship with the lower income groups in the cities by concentrating in the case study conducted in one of the deprived neighbourhoods of Ankara, namely Hidirliktepe. In the dominant conception on urban crime, there are two main assumptions / urban crime is partly an outcome of urbanization itself and the main actors of urban crime are deprived communities those living in the most deteriorated neighborhoods of the cities. The thesis challenges both assumptions by arguing that urbanization itself could not be accounted for the rising crime rates and it is unwarranted to argue that deprived communities are the main source of urban crime. Against this bias, in this thesis it is argued that the very same perception is used as a part of wider policy of isolation towards the lower income groups, and this social as well as the economic isolation and exclusion has important contributions to the rising crime rates in the deprived neighborhoods in urban areas. The findings of the case study conducted in Hidirliktepe, one of the neighborhoods where the most deprived communities of Ankara live, support these arguments.