Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment

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An analysis of well-being in Gauteng province using the capability approach
(Gauteng City-Region Observatory, 2020-12-08) Mushongera, Darlington; Kwenda, Prudence; Ntuli, Miracle
The purpose of this occasional paper is to analyse well-being in Gauteng province from a capability perspective. We adopt a standard ‘capability approach’ consistent with Amartya Sen’s concept of capabilities (1985; 1993; 1999). This study builds on earlier research on poverty and inequality in the Gauteng City-Region (GCR) focusing on income inequality (Tseng, 2018), labour market inequalities (Kwenda & Benhura, 2018) and multidimensional poverty (Mushongera et al., 2017; Mushongera et al., 2018). These analyses were based mainly on objective characteristics of well-being, such as income, employment, housing and schooling. However, adopting a capability approach provides us with a more holistic view of well-being in Gauteng by focusing simultaneously on both objective and subjective aspects. According to Robeyns (2016, p. 1), the capability approach is a theoretical framework that entails two core normative claims: first, the claim that the freedom to achieve well-being is of primary moral importance, and second, that freedom to achieve well-being is to be understood in terms of people’s capabilities, that is, their real opportunities to do and be what they have reason to value. Writing from a feminist and social justice perspective, Nussbaum (2003) generated a list of what she considered the most central capabilities. These capabilities are relevant to the analysis of well-being in general and generate useful insights that can potentially provide an additional lens within the policy realm. They can be combined into indices that capture ‘functionings’, or the ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ indicators of well-being. Out of the ten capabilities suggested by Nussbaum (2003), our analysis is based on eight, namely ‘play’, ‘emotions’, ‘other species’, ‘affiliation’, ‘bodily health’, ‘bodily integrity’, ‘senses, imagination and thought’ and ‘control over one’s environment’. The analysis uses data from the Gauteng City-Region Observatory Quality of Life (GCRO QoL) Survey IV-2015/16 (GCRO, 2016), which asks a wide range of questions, and the response options vary significantly. For instance, some questions have binary responses while others have multiple possible responses, such as those captured by a Likert scale. To generate similar units of measurement, all indicators were normalised using a standard ordinal ranking procedure. Normalisation is a simple technique whereby all variables are scored consistently so that the lowest rank always indicates the worst outcomes and the highest means the best in relative terms; for example, for the Health Status Indicator, a rank of 1 is assigned to individuals with very poor health; 2 for poor health; 3 for good health; and 4 for excellent health (OECD, 2008). Each capability index in our analysis was computed as a weighted average of its related normalised indicator variables. The weights were generated using multiple correspondence analysis (MCA), which is an objective statistical approach. The results of our analysis indicate that the capabilities with high scoring indices are ‘play’ and ‘senses, imagination and thought’, while ‘bodily integrity’ and ‘affiliation’ scored very low. Capability achievements vary across race, age, gender, income level and location. The results confirm the well-known heterogeneity in human conditions among South African demographic groups. However, we observe broader (in both subjective and objective dimensions) levels of deprivation that are otherwise masked in earlier studies. Policies that directly target indicators for capabilities where historically disadvantaged and vulnerable groups (such as youth, elderly and the physically challenged) are deprived are highly recommended. Given the spatial heterogeneities in capability achievements, we recommend localised interventions in capabilities that are lagging in certain areas of the province.
Johannesburg and its epidemics: Can we learn from history?
(Gauteng City-Region Observatory, 2020-11-30) Harrison, Philip
Covid-19 has massively disrupted life globally and locally, bringing many uncertainties in its wake. It is not, however, the first epidemic to pummel the Gauteng City-Region. This GCRO Occasional Paper provides a detailed account of previous epidemics, including smallpox, the plague, influenza, measles, polio, scarlet fever and HIV/Aids. It asks whether we can learn from this history to benefit the present time. It shows that although we must use history judiciously because circumstances vary enormously across time, there are persisting themes and a knowledge of history can help direct attention to critical concerns. These themes are addressed in the report and include: the uncertain and idiosyncratic course of epidemics; social fault-lines exposed through epidemics, worsened through scapegoating, stigmatising and pathologising; the effects on livelihoods and the economy; the impacts on spatial form and infrastructures; the ways in which governance impacts the course of epidemics; and the ways in which epidemics influence the continued evolution of governance.
Quality of Life Survey V (2017/18): The quality of life of students in Gauteng
(Gauteng City-Region Observatory, 2020-07) Hamann, Christian; Joseph, Kate
In the Quality of Life (QoL) V (2017/18) survey, respondents from all population groups were represented in the student sample. However, a higher percentage of all Indian/Asian respondents (17%) and white respondents (13%) were registered as students compared to the proportion of all African respondents (10%) and coloured respondents (11%). The differences were larger among younger respondents from each population group. • However, racialised socio-economic inequality is evident in the fact that the average monthly household income of African students was around R11 755 while the average monthly household income of white students was around R38 541. • Similarly, a lower percentage of African students reported having access to assets which are likely to assist learning (like a laptop or internet at home) when compared to the access of coloured, Indian/Asian or white students. But African and white students had higher levels of access to these assets than African and white non-students. • The majority of all students in the sample would have qualified for National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) funding (69%) based on their household income. A further 26% of students were considered part of the ‘missing middle’, and only about 5% of students could be categorised as upper class. Racialised socio-economic inequality is evident in students’ average monthly income • There were important lifestyle and class differences between full time and part time students. On average, students had a higher socio-economic status than non-students, but part time students had a higher socio-economic status than full time students. • The mean age of full time and part time students was 24 and 31 years, respectively. Further, part time students were more likely to be household heads, while in the households of full time students it was more likely for the mother or father of the student to be the head of the household. • On average, students were 6% more likely to be satisfied with a range of services, facilities and spheres of government than non-students, but higher satisfaction with services did not translate into higher satisfaction with spheres of government. • Although the differences remain relatively small, students were more likely to respond positively on various measures of physical wellbeing (like general health status) and mental well-being (like having emotional support) than non-students. • Despite a significant degree of racial inequality in the student sample (in terms of income and access to assets), students score higher on the overall quality of life index than non-students. • While respondents born in Gauteng were the most likely to be students (12%), migrants from other provinces were nearly as likely to be students (11%). By contrast, only 6% of respondents who had migrated from another country were students. • Across QoL surveys, students predominantly made use of taxis (44% on average) or private motorised transport (31% on average) for their trips to the places where they study. • A slightly smaller percentage of students (7%) participated in protest action compared to non-student respondents (9%).
Urban agriculture in the Gauteng City-Region’s green infrastructure network
(Gauteng City-Region Observatory, 2020-07) Camargo Nino, Eliana; Lane, Sam; Okano, Kanako; Rahman, Irvanu; Peng, Bo; Benn, Hannah; Culwick Fatti, Christina; Maree, Gillian; Khanyile, Samkelisiwe; Washbourne, Dr Carla
As cities in developing countries contend with the challenges of urbanisation, they need to rethink the traditional modes of urban planning and development. Part of this logic is to cater for growing populations without compromising urban environments and social development. Green infrastructure is one such approach that aims to meet infrastructure and service needs while ensuring the proper functioning of natural ecological systems. Urban agriculture can create multifunctional green assets in the form of urban farms and food gardens. When planned accordingly, urban agriculture can contribute to addressing a range of issues in the Gauteng City-Region (GCR). In the City of Johannesburg, the expansion of urban agriculture, and green infrastructure more broadly, aligns with and could contribute to multiple development goals. This paper interrogates whether a green infrastructure approach could offer the potential to improve urban agriculture efforts if the approach can be mainstreamed into municipal development processes. Realising the benefits of urban agriculture hinges on integrating these approaches into municipal planning and projects, as well as on improving the productivity of ecosystem service delivery from both green infrastructure and urban agriculture. The focus of this report is pertinent in light of persistent infrastructure and service delivery backlogs in the GCR, considerable challenges around food systems and food security, and a highly unequal urban spatial form – all of which impact the distribution of infrastructure and services, both green and conventional. This report argues that a green infrastructure approach is valuable for drawing important connections between focus areas related to urban agriculture that are traditionally siloed. The analysis focuses on urban agriculture in the GCR’s green infrastructure network using urban food gardens in the City of Johannesburg as the unit and site of analysis. This occasional paper falls under the Gauteng City-Region Observatory (GCRO) Green Assets and Infrastructure research and links urban agriculture and green infrastructure in the GCR together for two main reasons. First, the paper outlines how food gardens are a key component of the interconnected set of the natural and constructed infrastructure systems within the city. This framing helps to link urban agriculture and food systems research to broader municipal development goals in terms of infrastructure and service delivery. Second, the paper outlines evidence of the wider social impact of food gardens which validates the ability of green infrastructure to meet social, economic and public health goals (e.g. social cohesion, employment, economic resilience) beyond a purely environmental focus. Understanding food gardens as multifunctional green assets is one way to promote and secure investment in urban agriculture in the GCR.

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