3. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - All submissions
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Item The perpetuation of spatial injustice in housing: a case of Alexandra, Johannesburg(2020) Mareere, StewartThis study explores the practice of spatial justice in Alexandra, a township in Johannesburg, South Africa, by examining why there is a perpetuation of post-apartheid spatial injustices. It stems from the fact that, despite implementation of various programmes, Alexandra continues to be a deprived area where perpetuation of spatial injustices is evident. I designed the research within the exploratory case study paradigm. The key findings are that spatial injustice in housing in Alexandra speaks to a myriad of general and context-specific factors. These factors include failure to take a regional approach in addressing Alexandra’s challenges, institutional dysfunctionality, land claims, migration, economic marginalisation and the alleged negative externalities from surrounding affluent areas. This study concludes that the manifestation of spatial injustice does need to be addressed, but at the same time, the difficult task of coming to grips with the causes and processes reproducing spatial injustices should be tackled. It is suggested that all spheres of government strive to take control of injustice of spatiality through the disruption of places of privilege and addressing the causes and effects of urbanisationItem Implementing gap market housing programme in a community characterized by informal settlements: a case study of Alexandra urban renewal project in Johannesburg, South Africa(2019) Musetha, Mboniseni AubreyIn post-apartheid South Africa, the government made tremendous efforts to ensure poor people’s access to housing. Many houses were delivered under the capital subsidy process which targeted mainly those earning an income value of between R0-R3 501. These are houses build as part of a government-funded social housing project. However, this created a ‘gap’ in the market between those who earned below the threshold of R3 500 a month, and those who earned enough to get a mortgage. The government therefore created funding instruments to support these kinds of households. In 2012, it created the Finance Linked Individual Subsidy Programme which worked by on the basis of giving assistance to households that qualify for mortgage to buy a house or open stand which is serviced but linked to a contractor. Those who qualify for this scheme are regarded to be occupying the gap market. They are those who are not eligible for the full subsidised scheme while at the same time they do not for a housing loan from the banks. Their salary earning range from R3 501 and R15 000 per month. Alexandra is a major township with a population of 179,624 people. In February 2001, the government launched the Alexandra Renewal programme which was aimed at conducting a sustainable campaign programme to deal with urban and rural poverty. This campaign also included dealing with underdevelopment, and all sectors and resources from government were to be coordinated towards meeting this goal. Its objectives included to eradicate poverty, equity, underdevelopment, enhance the capacity of local government to deliver and enhance social cohesion. As part of this programme a large number of fully subsidised houses have been built and are still planned. In addition, a set of blocks with 232 FLISP units were planned and construction began in 2013. Applications were received of more than 5000 and housing was assigned to those able to secure the correct finance, meaning that a screening and verification process was conducted to reduce the number of applicants to less than 500. However, this housing was heavily contested by those whose applications were turned down and; other political and civic organisations as they were not content with the screening and allocation process. In expressing their discontent with this project, they went as far as destroying windows, roofs, gutter and doors of these houses. They also occupied units in one of the sites of the FLIP project. In this research project, I conducted interviews with beneficiaries, those who did not qualify, government officials and other stakeholders in order to determine the contestations surrounding the FLISP project in Alexandra. This overriding aim was guided by sub research question which were aimed at understanding the policy frameworks that are in place to promote mixed housing projects, the reasons behind the adoption of gap market housing project in Alexandra, the experience of beneficiaries of gap market housing project since they moved to their units, the reasons for contestations surrounding the gap market initiative in Alexandra, and the measures have authorities taken to manage and resolve these contestations. This research showed that while FLISP came in place as one way of fast tracking the delivery of housing units in South Africa by providing affordable housing to a segment that was considered “too rich” to receive a free subsidy house from the government, yet “too poor” to access the normal housing loans stream from banks/financial institutions (DHS, 2014), the servicing of this Gap market seems to be slow. In Alexandra, when the “GAP Market” initiative was launched in 2013, it was expected to be completed in 2015 but this did not happen. This is the source of many contestation that has led to invasions of units under FLIP project. There is need to fast track the construction and allocation process in such projects. The department of human settlement and other stakeholders should embark on a program of educating borrowers to improve their financial knowledge. This might help applicant or beneficiaries to prioritise their housing needs and manage debts.Item Sustainable housing through urban renewal in contemporary Lagos(2018) Afinowi, Taiwo AdekanmiLagos, like most cities in developing countries, is experiencing a continuous decline in its built environment and urban fabric. This decline in the city, especially regarding human settlements implies an insufficiency of houses and overburdening of already limited infrastructure giving rise to urban sprawl, slum proliferation and informal settlements. These challenges have led to the formulation of housing and urban renewal policies and strategies towards revitalising the city. This research aims to explore how urban renewal can be used to achieve sustainable housing in line with the sustainable development goal for cities. The research assesses existing policies and legislative frameworks that govern urban renewal and implementation within the state. Also, this research examines the role of the government in providing houses for the populace, especially, the urban poor. The research adopts a qualitative approach to address the research questions. With the use of semi-structured interviews, the researcher collected data through a purposeful sampling of participants in the field of urban renewal and housing development in Lagos state. A case of Isale Gangan Towers and Gardens by Lagos State Urban Renewal Agency was examined as an intervention involving urban renewal and housing provision.This research gives an insight into the level of government’s responsiveness to renewing slums and provision of housing. The research reveals that the task of housing delivery in Lagos is enormous and government cannot address the challenges alone and equally renew slums and informal settlements, hence, the need for solutions that are co-produced. The research also shows that the city of Lagos, like many cities in developing countries, partially caters for the urban poor, and a consequence of government’s inaction in this regard is the proliferation of slums and informal settlements. Finally, that housing provision can be complemented with urban renewal of slums to achieve sustainable housing.Item The impact of the Integrated Residential Development Programme on surrounding property values : Fleurhof, Johannesburg(2018) Mnisi, Nontokozo BadzandzaSouth Africa is challenged with an increased backlog of adequate subsidised affordable housing in well-located areas that provide access to urban amenities and places of employment. However, the perception of subsidised affordable housing developments built in close proximity to bonded properties is significantly negative (Edmiston, 2011). Although, many countries including South Africa have a great need for subsidised affordable housing many a time honoured property owners fear that such developments located in close proximity to their homes may decrease their property’s value and their neighbourhoods will lose their unique personality (ibid, 2011). Questions continually arise about whether the sales and prices of their mortgage bonded properties are going to be affected by the close locality of subsidised affordable housing developments (Nguyen, 2005). Property value is significantly important as rising values in a neighbourhood suggests that the neighbourhood is moving in positive direction, therefore increasing the attractiveness of that neighbourhood to potential buyers. A high property value on one’s property acts as a measure of the quality of life they which is essentially difficult to assess numerically as this value reflects the types of amenities neighbourhoods are able to provide (McArthur and McArthur, undated). Location theory states that the more accessible or attractive a location is, the greater its profit potential and therefore its property value (Jordaan, Drost and Makgata, 2004). However, the relationship between subsidised affordable housing and the property value of mortgage bonded properties is multifaceted. As neighbourhoods are different and are characterised by their complex interrelated attributes which together determine the neighbourhood’s character (Nguyen, 2005). This study seeks to assess whether subsidised affordable housing provided through South Africa’s Integrated Residential Development Programme (IRDP) looking at the case study of the housing development of Fleurhof located in Johannesburg impacts the property value of neighbouring bonded properties. The study considers the study area of Fleurhof as it was developed using IRDP and is located in close proximity to bonded properties. This study will use a quantitative methodology, employing the hedonic price modelling analysis. This model is used as it considers all the characteristics of a property from its physical attributes to the locational amenities that are located in proximity to each property and the characteristics found in the neighbourhood to which the property is located which in turn are reflected in the property’s price (Barton and Madsen, undated).Item Investigating residents' perceptions of environmental health in informal settlements of South Africa: the case of Makause, Ekurhuleni Municipality(2015-04-30) James, NtandokabawoThe relationship between humanity and environment influences the health and quality of the environment. In turn, the state of the environment determines the quality of life that inhabitants are bound to live. Urbanization and shortage of housing among the economically deprived groups coupled with lack of affordable housing has encouraged formation of informal settlements in cities throughout South Africa. Poor environmental health conditions are characteristic of such settlements, and these conditions can be attested to numerous factors such as politics, policies as well as failure by local municipalities to strategically improve living conditions of the economically disadvantaged. Twenty years into the new democratic South Africa, communities in these informal settlements are still faced with environmental uncertainties, poor service delivery and forced removals. Authorities are failing to come up with strategies that counter the ever growing urban poor populations that often result from migration of poverty. Communities of these settlements are not homogenous, and thus they perceive their prevailing environmental health conditions differently depending on their world view. Makause informal settlement in Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality (EMM) lack basic services such as sanitation, water and electricity, which compromise the environmental health of the area. Residents of this settlement have a history of staging marches in a quest to obtain basic services. Their protests have been intercepted by the heavy arm of the law in the form of South African Police Services. This has been tailored into many other factors that can inform perceptions of their prevailing environmental health. The focus of this dissertation is to investigate local environmental health perceptions in Makause informal settlement with attention to factors that inform these perceptions. Semi-structured interviews formed the major research method employed for this research with a random selection of interviewees from the settlement. The sample generally expressed dissatisfaction with their prevailing environmental health and living conditions. This points to the fact that the government is faced with a task to improve living conditions in informal settlements around the country.