CORC Archives - Page 5 of 17

Jun 26

Alliance and Community Architects Network plan inclusive cities in Philippines

By Yolande Hendler CORC, FEDUP, ISN, SDI No Comments

By Andiswa Meke (on behalf of CORC)

From 16-23 June 2015, the SA SDI Alliance joined community designers and architects for the third regional workshop of the Community Architects Network (CAN) in Metro Manila, Philippines. The Alliance team consisted of 3 FEDUP and ISN community members who are involved in managing community construction as well as two of CORC’s community architects. The workshop was hosted by CAN’s Philippine Alliance organisations of HPFI (Homeless People’s Federation Philippines Inc.), TAMPEI (technical Assistance Movemnet for People and Environment Inc.) and PACSII (Philippine Action for Community-led Shelter Initiatives, Inc.),

The theme of the 2015 workshop was “Together we CAN! People Planning for future inclusive cities”, emphasizing that strong partnership can yield excellent achievements. There was an estimate of one hundred attendees from different countries (representatives from public institutions, academia, CBOs and NGOs). The workshop spanned eight days and involved several activities: getting to know the Philippine context, sharing various country experiences updates on approaches and experiences of community architecture, reflection sessions and exhibits.

The group split to do community fieldwork in two locations in Metro Manila, the heritage site Intramuros and Muntinlupa City. The SA SDI Alliance members had the honor to work on more than two groups and with different communities. The Alliance sent five members to attend with the aim of exposing them to the programme and gaining knowledge to apply in South African community upgrading. The alliance looked to build and strengthen partnerships and lobby potential stakeholders.

CAN Background

CAN is a regional network of community architects that focuses on improving the living conditions of poor communities in Asian countries through community-based projects under the Coalition of Community Action Program (ACCA) regarding people housing, city-wide upgrading and recovery from disaster . CAN has opened opportunities for interested young professionals, academic institutes NGOs, CBO`s to come and engage with design skills to support communities in finding solutions to their own needs.

CAN 2013 Workshop: PEOPLE CAN MAKE CHANGE

In 2013, a workshop of the same nature took place under the theme “People CAN make change and progress”, where communities were introduced to bringing about change through acquiring tools, skills and information. Communities were taught different skills from mapping and savings to profiling. After the ten day workshop, the community members and architects came up with solutions that would push local government towards building avenues that would represent the people as well as a building plan that would be community driven and understood. The network strongly believes that the role of community architects is to build the capability of people through participatory design and planning so that people themselves become the solution.

CAN 2015 workshop: TOGETHER WE CAN

On the opening day, the host city Intramuros held a number of talks that gave an overview of Philippines informal settlements and introduced city-wide development approaches in Asian cities. The delegates were split into groups and sent to different cities around the Philippines. The purpose was for delegates to identify and resolve issues and share knowledge around the communities.

A public forum took place on the eighth day, where all groups presented their findings and suggestions and were given the opportunity to select the best plan for each community and share their experiences surrounding their visit.

Challenges for the re-blocking group in informal settlement Sitio Pagkakaisa, Manila

Community members who don’t want re-blocking.
Critical challenge was the materials the houses were built in, which would not be easy to remove. In some informal settlements people have already secured land tenure with their subsidy money and their savings, they now fear that they will be unable to build houses once the re-blocking takes place

Challenges for the Intramuros, Manila

Finding a solution to better the high density of the settlements
The most challenging part was designing an upgrading plan that would address the needs and embrace the heritage of the Intramorous communities
Issue of land tenure and people living in private land deemed as a major challenge in upgrading –related processes.

Learning points

A community’s knowledge of its settlement is essential for drafting development plans and interacting with government officials about pressing issues in informal settlements. The community seemed informed of the development plan and where they are lacking in terms of services.
The partnership between local officials and the community is vital. It is kept strong to an extent that the municipality is willing to communicate and engage with communities regarding housing and informal settlement upgrading.
When community leaders have a good relationship with community members, they make informed decision together.
Savings is the pillar of creating communal consistency in the informal settlement
SA SDI Alliance members learnt how to engage with problem solving in the context of a different country, how to use existing SDI tools in a completely different setting and an approach to building communities with a strong heritage value who showcase this in their planning.

SA SDI Alliance Team

Outcomes of the exchange

Intramuros: Suggestions for sustainable and participatory options for informal settlements in Intramuros heritage site, in context of its revitalization plan.
Muntinlupa: Suggestions for holistic solutions for informal settlements located in high risk zones with insecurity of tenure
CAN delegates managed to advocacy for interaction between Muntinlupa City and its Barangays.
New CAN attendees were exposed to the practical implementation of SDI rituals
CAN delegates gained membership of the CAN

Jun 18

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From Re-blocking to Housing: Lwazi Park – CPUT Studio 2015

By Yolande Hendler CORC, ISN No Comments

By Yolande Hendler & Andiswa Meke (on behalf of CORC)

In April 2015, the community of Lwazi Park embarked on a four-week design studio that investigated affordable solutions for incrementally improving dwelling structures in the settlement. Through its affiliation to the Informal Settlement Network (ISN) and Community Organisation Resource Centre (CORC), the community partnered with fourth year students of Architectural Technology from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) as well as a visiting group of students from the Reunion Island arm of the Ecolé National Superier d’Architecture Montpellier (ENSAM).

CPUT & Reunion Students visit Lwazi Park.

Lwazi Park Informal Settlement

Lwazi Park is situated in Gugulethu, near the N2 freeway in Cape Town. The settlement is now home to thirty-eight households and a primary school adjacent to the area. Its first inhabitants are alleged to have occupied the space in the mid- 1990s, when they built informal dwellings near the Lotus River. In 2001 the informal settlement stretched from Klipfontein Road up to the Eastern edge of Gugulethu. Lwazi Park is characterized by canals that were built fifty years ago, with the purpose of draining the flood plains for communities who were forcibly removed from the city centre during the apartheid era. Today, these canals are polluted and flood every rainy season.

View of Lwazi Park canal

Past Studios Paving the Way for Lwazi Park

The relationship between Lwazi Park community and the SA SDI Alliance dates to 2011, when the community, Alliance and City of Cape Town began to address a pending relocation of the informal settlement. Click here for more background. CPUT’s architectural technology students first participated in joint design studios with ISN & CORC in 2011 working on subsequent collaborative design in Vygieskraal and Manenberg.

The 2015 Lwazi Park studio was convened as a response to the community’s desire to explore options for further in situ upgrading after re-blocking in 2011. This is one of the first Alliance studios focused on incremental housing typologies for a settlement that has already undergone re-blocking. The studio thus reflects the incremental and cumulative nature of informal settlement upgrading. Perhaps even more significantly it speaks to a context-specific and community-centred approach.

Lwazi Park after reblocking in 2011

Within the Alliance, studios play a significant role. On the one hand they support community negotiations with local authorities: through a collaborative approach studios bring about community-informed design typologies. On the other, they challenge and extend existing disciplinary norms in architectural thought and practice. CPUT Lecturer, Rudolf Perold, explains that such approaches are anomalies in

“the field of architecture, which often does not make provision for design in informal areas let alone consider the community’s lived context as informing appropriate and relevant design solutions*.”

In this sense collaborative design studios generate ideas and debate on alternative housing design and delivery options that address residential environments within existing and challenging urban conditions.

Lwazi Park Studio Content: incremental housing typologies

In practice, the studio comprised a site visit to Lwazi Park and two collaborative design instances between community representatives, students and Alliance representatives (ISN & CORC) who provided social support and facilitation. The students were tasked to develop a spatial development/master plan for the settlement’s in-situ upgrading to two to three story residential buildings as well as housing typologies that would respond to the social needs and spatial context of Lwazi Park community.

Lwazi Park community leader engages students around their questions.

During the site visit community members introduced students to the physical layout and context of their settlement, lived realities, daily challenges and needs. These include the lack of a multipurpose / community hall or a nearby school. A central concern was the lack of funding provided by the city to help improve the standard of living. The community also expressed a desire for a safe place for their children to play in. A further concern related to drug abuse by the youth and the unsettling rate of crime.

Once the site visit had been completed and some preliminary insight gathered from community members, the design process began. CPUT lecturer Rudolf Perold explains,

“Their [the students’] point of departure was the community representatives’ assertion that they were set on obtaining tenure security and upgrading their settlement. Having had to adjust their approach based on the input received (albeit not representative of the entire community’s wishes) the complexity of balancing the community’s needs with your own design intent became clear”.

Challenges and Learning Points

In reflecting on the studio, CPUT lecturer Rudolf Perold highlights learning points for the students

The relationship between designer and occupant was crucial to the design process and triggered an empathy which contributed to the success of the design outcomes
The situated knowledge of community representatives and the Alliance proved integral to the development of the site layout and housing typologies
Students were sensitized to lived realities in informal settlements
“These experiences show that designers require a broadened skill set if they are to prove themselves useful in a context of mediation between poor urban communities and local government…- acting, as Stephen Lamb of Design-Change says, as interpreter of community needs rather than the holder of professional knowledge”

CPUT-based studio with input by community representatives, ISN & CORC.

In addition a CPUT student added,

“Realising how people adapted to their living conditions in Lwazi Park and how these conditions push people to learn to survive, was a learning curve for me.”

For both the students and the Alliance a core challenge was experienced by the lacking attendance of enough community representatives in campus-based contact sessions. The students gained some community input during the site visit, which helped to contextualize and ground their work. The lack of community representation, however, speaks to a need for more social facilitation between the different actors involved so that the jointly designed plans can indeed be presented to the municipality.

CPUT quotations taken from “Perold.R., Devish, O., Verbeeck, G. 2015. Informal Capacities: Broadening Design Practice to Support Community –Driven Transitions to Sustainable Urbanism. Working Paper.

Presentations of master plans and housing typologies

Final Student Presentations

Jun 05

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Building Continuity: Denver Community and University of Johannesburg Studio 2015

By Yolande Hendler CORC, FEDUP, ISN No Comments

By Motebang Matsela (on behalf of CORC)

From 27 April to 22 May 2015, the community of Denver informal settlement in Johannesburg partnered with students from the University of Johannesburg’s (UJs) Department of Architecture in a collaborative design studio. Such studios focus on co-producing ideas, scenarios, plans and typologies on informal settlement upgrading and housing. Denver’s first collaborative studio took place in 2014. It was the first of consecutive, annual studios that would build on previous work and span a period of 3-5 years. The 2015 studio therefore started where the last studio ended, focusing on establishing tangible outputs such as a collaborative design handbook and a catalogue of dwelling typologies.

Co-producing Ideas: Denver Studio 2014

In 2014 the studio catalysed the generation of co-produced mapping and socio-demographic data on the settlement. The aim was to formulate community action plans (CAPs) for Denver Settlement in an effort to encourage short-term community initiatives and to support further productive discussion with local government agencies and other stakeholders regarding incremental upgrading in informal settlements. It also introduced students to the necessity and value of planning with communities, shifting the focus from traditional ‘top down’ delivery towards ‘responsive’, community-orientated approaches. For more background on the settlement and the 2014 studio click here.

Aerial view of Denver informal settlements

A growing partnership

The idea of co-production suggests the involvement of different stakeholders. For this studio, therefore, the role players included Denver community members and leadership, the Ward Councillor and community representative, a collective of community volunteers assembled at various stages of the long-term studio, Aformal Terrain in partnership with the Department of Architecture at UJ and its students and the Alliance’s ISN, FEDUP and CORC who offered technical and social support and facilitation.

Unlike previous studios that customarily take place in informal settlements, the Denver studio had to change venue when xenophobic violence broke out in Johannesburg. The socio-political atmosphere of the violence and hostel raiding was deemed an unsafe environment to operate under.

As indicated, the collaborative outcomes are valuable aspects of the studio’s work. Based on the experience of last year’s studio, Gauteng’s ISN leaders highlighted the need for community members to gain tangible skills throughout the studio and upgrading process just as the students do. Each stage (module) of the studio therefore couples a community member’s practical participation in the studio with project management skills. In this year’s studio, more emphasis was placed on community participation and benefit.

This led to a revision of the 2014 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) formalising the partnership between the SA SDI Alliance and UJ’s Architecture Department.

Some of the changes were highlighted in terms of:

The precedence of the relationship between Denver community and SA SDI Alliance
Denver community decisions will be respected and take priority within this project
Any data generated by the community residents will remain the property of the residents. Copies of any formal information packages generated from the studio engagement will be made available to community leadership.
All parties agree to inform each other in writing around documentation, marketing or exhibiting of the Denver project. The documentation will sufficiently acknowledge the role of each party and most importantly the residents’

Building Continuity: Denver Studio 2015

The objective of this studio was to incrementally build on the content of the 2014 studio, creating continuity and ongoing engagement between past and future studios. It also aimed to develop a collaborative design ‘handbook’; a catalogue of typologies of dwellings in informal settlements with related strategies for improvement through self-build, co-ops, CBOs, local government assistance, infrastructure etc.

This investigation focused on three main issues;

site (the physical)
planning (spatial and developmental)
policy (strategies from governmental level)

The intention was that these three focal areas would form a broad scale critical inquiry into current upper strategies for informal settlement upgrading and as a starting point suggested possible linkages with existing bottom-up initiatives.

It is envisioned that the outcomes will come to fulfilment in various forms through the studio process over the next 3-5 years in the form of awareness and knowledge packs about the settlement, site handbooks and guides on in-situ upgrading at various scales (shelter, site, policy, planning etc.), design studies for future densification and longer term formal development. A number of other valuable outputs not limited to this list will be determined through the studio process.

These potential outputs aim to bridge the gap between current bottom-up and top-down strategies already active in Denver – aiming to ‘connect’ community initiatives and local government intentions in more productive conversations toward improvement.

The studios final presentations tabled prototype-scenarios generated in response to a three-week focused research exercise focusing on 3 scales;

Dwelling-and-Neighbourhood,
Planning
Policy

In this final week (loosely termed ‘rapid design prototyping’) students worked in mixed groups, integrating information from the 3 earlier foci with the aim of generating scenarios for the potential improvement of Denver Informal Settlement. It is intended that these scenarios become useful tools for engagement with the residents of Denver in focused workshops and engagements during the course of this year.

May 25

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‘An eye for an eye makes the world blind’ – FEDUP/ ISN say NO to Xenophobia

By Yolande Hendler CORC, FEDUP, ISN, News, uTshani Fund No Comments

Authored by SA SDI Alliance

Following the outbreak of xenophobic violence in Gauteng in April 2015, the Federation of the Urban and Rural Poor (FEDUP) and the Informal Settlement Network (ISN) – both members of the SA SDI Alliance – hosted a dialogue on 24 – 25 April 2015 to say NO to Xenophobia.

“When Xenophobia broke out the Catholic Church approached ISN & FEDUP for support because people were fleeing their homes. We decided on a dialogue because we realised that there was a problem on the ground.“

(Sipho Vanga, ISN Coordinator in Gauteng)

ISN facilitators in Holomisa settlement, Gauteng (2014). Sipho Vanga (third from left)

The dialogue was titled, ‘Is it really xenophobia or violent protest?’ It brought together 32 informal settlement leaders from Johannesburg (COJ) and Ekurhuleni Municipalities (EMM) in Gauteng Province. Represented settlements included Sicelo, Slovo Park, Delport, Marathon, Makause, Ramaphosa, Holomisa (COJ), Holomisa (EMM), Mandela, Kanana Park, Meriting, Denver, Zacharia Park, Siphamandla, Tinasonke and Thembakhoza. In a press release statement, FEDUP & ISN explained,

“In order to try and avoid violent protest and xenophobic acts we will host a series of dialogues with the leadership of informal settlements AND those affected by xenophobia to discuss social ills with the aim to facilitate the integration of affected people back into our communities.

(ISN/FEDUP Press Release)

The program spread over two days and sought to find a common understanding of xenophobia and its causes in South Africa and to propose possible solutions to stop violence and discrimination. Topics of discussion included:

Xenophobia
Unemployment
Social Stereo Typing
Crime
Gender
Water & Sanitation
Upgrading
Land Tenure
Youth
Poverty

Day 1: Dialogue on Xenophobia’s Causes and Challenges

The first day engaged Gauteng’s informal settlement leaders who gave voice to their communities’ grievances, perceptions and concerns. Leaders shared first-hand experience of xenophobic violence, their respective perceptions of root causes and avenues of response.

As community leaders spoke about experiences and community perceptions in their settlements they highlighted some perceived frustrations relating to:

Crime

“Illegal immigrants commit crimes and cannot be identified because their finger prints are not in the system”

Lack of employment

“Capitalists employ foreigners over locals because foreigners are willing to work harder and earn below the minimum wage.”

“Foreigners operate … businesses without licences because they can afford to bribe… authorities that approach them.”

“South Africans cannot compete with foreigners who are in a position of purchasing bulk commodities that automatically reduce purchase prices.”

Drugs & Poverty

“Foreigner mostly bring in and deal drugs that make a huge contribution to the poverty cycle.”

Low service provision and development

“The government uses foreigners as an excuse to not develop a number of areas. Yet when foreigners are displaced from communities, it is the government that advocates for their re-integration.”

Dialogue participants explained that jealousy drives locals as they perceive themselves as unable to compete with skills, knowledge and experience brought into the country by foreigners. For leaders this easy influx was connected to poorly protected borders. As “government only listens when communities take extreme measures” leaders explained that xenophobia was a new discovery by South Africans to ensure that their voices are heard and to catalyse service delivery. Some leaders criticised government for using informal settlements as “refugee camps”. They attributed the lack of service delivery to government’s reluctance to undertake upgrading in settlements that are home to foreign nationals.

“It is crystal clear that informal settlement residents are ignored and side-lined by government at all levels. Government has failed us completely in all areas of service delivery. Yet, we are always trying our level best, no matter what, to meet, plan and partner with government AND we will never stop trying!”

(FEDUP-ISN Press Release)

As the discussion unfolded, leaders analysed the matter in terms of their own context and role within it, recognising that “maintaining peace should start with leaders themselves”. They acknowledged that foreigners did not invade their communities but mostly settled through negotiation with respective community leaders while others rented from South Africans. Despite initially expressed frustration, participants concluded that “an eye for an eye only makes the world blind” and adopted a stance of saying “NO TO XENOPHOBIA”.

Day 2: Supporting the Displaced

Day two’s discussions included members of the police, business forums, perpetrators and affected people. Those affected explained that they had come to South Africa to improve their lives and not to sell drugs. Participants agreed that community members would help each other to communicate openly about illegal activity.

Leaders furthermore agreed that no further violence should be experienced. They recommended that illegal immigrants try return to their home countries and apply for relevant travel documents. A further recommendation related to the need for consultative public engagements (between communities and relevant government officials) on integration plans for legal immigrants.

Dialogue participants had previously expressed a growing concern with government’s limited interest in engaging relevant community structures to identify the root causes of xenophobic violence in order to find ways of ameliorating it through community-led processes. Leaders decided that going forward, ISN & FEDUP should facilitate engagements with local authorities and jointly advocate for peace and integration in communities. Community leaders would draft a Memorandum detailing the grievances.

“We are apologetic for what happened in the country. That is why we held dialogues. ISN and FEDUP play an important role: we are not going to sit and watch xenophobia happen. Some foreigners – like our brothers and sisters in Zimbabwe – belong to SDI [Shack Dwellers International), just like us. The solution is to create space for leaders to engage in dialogue. ISN&FEDUP should pressure government to deliver and CORC should be the middle man between us.”

(Sipho Vanga, ISN Co-ordinator Gauteng)

Outlook: Negotiation not Violence

For ISN National Co-ordinator, Mzwanele Zulu,

“The root cause of xenophobia is apartheid. It is something we can’t run away from – discrimination and apartheid realities are still present: people live in conditions where there is no transformation. There has been human rights transformation and perhaps some psychological transformation but no change in living conditions. Political, social and economic issues – especially the high unemployment rate – affect people and cause high levels of frustration.”

Mzwanele Zulu, National ISN Coordinator

When cities act as engines of economic growth based on neo-liberal policies and programs they result in more inequality and poverty. Access to serviced, well-located land becomes increasingly difficult, as urban land markets are exclusionary by nature. More people are forced to access land informally and experience diminished opportunities to access employment, health, education, basic services and housing. In addition people experience diminished levels of political and administrative accountability. It is in this particular political and economic context in which informal settlement communities are trying to make sense of the chaos, their inequality and poverty.

“To address issues relating to informal settlement upgrading, urban poverty and development, the state needs CBOs, social movements and NGOs to work with. The same applies to xenophobia. We need drastic contributions from the state in terms of human and financial support. But the state’s response needs to be exercised through partnership with local channels.”

(Mzwanele Zulu, ISN National Co-ordinator)

May 12

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Taps, Toilets & Beyond: ISN partners with Water & Sanitation Dept

By Yolande Hendler CORC, ISN No Comments

By Nkokheli Ncambele (on behalf of ISN)*

Nkokheli Ncambele is the regional co-ordinator of the Alliance’s Informal Settlement Network (ISN) in the Western Cape.

Emseleni Community leader, Nomfundo Lungisa

In Mfuleni, informal settlements have been without basic services for five years. People had to buy water from surrounding formal houses; at night it was difficult for them to get to a toilet. Last year, ISN started creating a partnership with the City of Cape Town’s Water & Sanitation Department. We kept reporting these problems to the City until we saw that there was a light: the Department came to us saying, “Yes we are going to do something in those communities”.

The City is very important as a partner because when they come on board we see results: in March 2015 they installed a total of 15 standpipes for taps and 57 flush toilets in five settlements (Tambo Square, California, Constantia, Strong Yard and Emseleni) in Mfuleni region which is one of four ISN sub-regions in Cape Town. Every settlement’s leadership sends two or more members to our weekly sub-regional meetings to discuss issues. After we collect all issues we decide where to start. This is how we chose these five settlements for Water & Sanitation installation.

ISN co-ordinators Nkokheli Ncambele and Melanie Manuel with Kuku Town community leader, City of Cape Town councillor and officials

From backyards to informal settlements

You will find that most settlements like Tambo Square, California, Constantia, Strong Yard and Emseleni were established when formal housing was introduced. When there is a big housing improvement project there are always people who move in as backyard dwellers. Why are there so many new settlements like these? Because backyarders are tired of paying rent and being mistreated by homeowners who cut off services without notice. That’s why backyarders move into nearby open spaces.

Constantia informal settlement is in close proximity to formal housing.

Constantia Steering Committee members, Nolusapho Thandela and
Phindiswa Payiti

The beginnings of ISN in Mfuleni

Before ISN, we as community leaders used to have a joint leaders forum in Mfuleni. When we heard about ISN, we decided to join because the movement was talking about what we were already doing for a long time.

“We realised that actually we are ISN – anyone who is staying in an informal settlement is ISN. Let’s take this forward”.

New sub regional leaders asked us to explain the ISN process to them. Other community movements, development forums and Councillors also know about us. I can say that 99% of informal settlements in Mfuleni have gone on exchanges to see what other ISN communities are doing. That’s why they want to be part of ISN and why Mfuleni is becoming an ISN base. Look at the people of Tambo Square – they want to be involved in their own project. When the ISN coordinators go to Emseleni, people just come out to greet us. We see that people are hungry to solve their problems.

“Tambo Square started in 2007 when backyarders moved here. We had no toilets or taps and used to get water from the formal houses. We took our problems to ISN who helped us go to the municipality. These changes came to us with ISN – they play a big role for us”.

(Nkosikhona Bangiso, Tambo Square Steering Committee Leader)

Tambo Square community leader, Nkosikhona Bangiso

Tambo Square community use back of newly installed toilets for mapping workshop to plan further upgrading initiatives in their settlement.

Building our partnership with the City

As ISN, we know that the Department of Water & Sanitation has an interest to deliver basic services to communities. The difficulty is that many settlements have little open space for services to be installed. When ISN started mobilising communities and speaking about the value of basic services, community members began thinking about how to create more space in their settlement. In Tambo Square, for example, it looked like there was no space. We suggested that the community remove a large container that stood at the entrance of the settlement. Now there are ten toilets in that space. In this way it was easy to convince Water & Sanitation to partner with us. I think I can say that they see us (ISN) as a solution. We told them,

“We’ve got the space, now you can come and install the toilets. Don’t say there is no space in our community”.

The role of ISN & CORC in partnership building

What is unique about our Alliance is that CORC created a space between ISN and the City. In 2009 there was opposition between communities and the City. Because of that CORC was there to neutralise the relationship. I can say that CORC was a bridge that connected us to the City. The City used to say, “We don’t want to go to meetings with the communities because they will swear at us and toyi-toyi (protest) and do all these things.” But CORC has a belief that communities won’t do that. Through the engagement with CORC we (ISN) understood that we need to go to the table, and not to the street. Then at the end of 2009, the City started saying, “This thing is working”. I think that is why they are happy to work with us.

Flamingo Crescent informal settlement community members with ISN facilitator Melanie Manuel, CORC Director Bunita Kohler (left) and City of Cape Town Mayor Patricia de Lille

Nkokheli Ncambele (second from left) with fellow ISN co-ordinators Mzwanele Zulu and Melanie Manuel (far left and right), CORC technical support, Sizwe Mxobo (centre) and Western Cape MEC for Human Settlements.

The bigger picture: taps, toilets & beyond

We recently met with an Mfuleni councillor and asked what he thought about Mfuleni as a whole. He said he has a bigger picture – that in the next 20 years he doesn’t want to see informal settlements. For that to be possible I see that he needs a movement like ISN that will make sure that his vision is pushed. What is our vision? That all settlements have basic services and that all people who are living in informal settlements have houses. Our vision and his vision are on the same page.

* Compiled by Yolande Hendler (on behalf of CORC)

Newly installed water & sanitation in Strong Yard settlement, Mfuleni

May 05

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Alliance at Human Settlements Learning Exchange in Durban

By Yolande Hendler CORC, FEDUP, ISN No Comments

By Jeff Thomas (on behalf of CORC)

A SA SDI Alliance team comprising FEDUP and ISN community leaders, regional co-ordinators and CORC representatives was invited to attend the International Human Settlements Learning Exchange in eThekwini Municipality from 15-17 April 2015.

The exchange, a first of its kind, was hosted by the Municipal Institute of Learning (MILE) in partnership with eThekwini’s Human Settlements Department and the Affordable Housing Institute (AHI). It included about 200 local, national and provincial government officials, eThekwini Municipality councillors, private sector housing, NGO and academic representatives.

It aimed to “share different organisation’s perspectives and experiences within the human settlements sector to improve housing service delivery” (Reference). The exchange focussed on new funding models for affordable housing finance, effective new housing typologies and guidance for establishing socially inclusive and responsive housing settlements. For the Alliance it was an opportunity to share concrete experiences in community participation that move beyond infrastructural approaches to human settlements development.The event was billed as an international exchange in that the keynote speaker, Professor Jeremy Gorelick, is a globally acclaimed expert in the area of alternative, more-sustainable funding models for housing finance. Among other things, he is the Managing Director of Capital Markets for the USA-based Affordable Housing Institute, a non-profit and tax exempt pro-poor consulting and research firm which operates in 43 countries.

Community-Based Implementation at Alliance’s Namibia Stop 8 Housing Project in eThekwini Municipality

Examining Sustainable Funding Models

His presentation on the first day examined factors relating to the opportunities and challenges of financing housing development in Sub-Saharan Africa, followed by a brief exploration of “Public-Private Partnerships” and “Municipal Development Funds”. The day also involved presentations by KZN MEC for Human Settlements and Public Works, SALGA’s Sustainable Human Settlements Specialist and the Treasury’s DDG who spoke on the South African Model of Human Settlements Finance. Seated around tables in the audience, participants were given the opportunity to discuss the presentations and share feedback on these at a plenary session.

SA SDI Alliance Team at Exchange

Visiting Cornubia housing project

While the first day focused on a sustainable funding model, the second day comprised two key parts: presentations and a field trip. The presentations related to a series of existing and proposed human settlement projects while the field trip took us to two of them: KwaMashu Centre where a multi-storey 1000-unit social housing development is planned and Cornubia, a 25000-unit housing project and associated social and light industrial precinct to the north of Durban. At both these projects participants were afforded an opportunity to engage in a question and answer session with municipal officials leading the visit.

Cornubia Housing Project, eThekwini Municipality

Cornubia, eThekwini Municipality

Community-Centred Human Settlement Development

The third day’s focus shifted to issues of community participation in human settlements development discussed by the Project Preparation Trust, the SA SDI Alliance and Habitat for Humanity South Africa. The CEO of Project Preparation Trust examined the meaning of ‘people-centred development’ and its relationship to infrastructural development’. He shared 8 actions that South African cities need to take in order to become more people-centred. Key amongst these were

the need to understand local communities and circumstances
approaching participation as ‘negotiation’
focusing on partnership and trust-building
asset not deficit-based thinking
understanding informality by working with it not against it
and most importantly, focussing on improving livelihoods and quality of life

The SA SDI Alliance team shared its experience in pioneering people-centred development initiatives since 1991. The presentation focussed on the Alliance’s experience in community-driven human settlement upgrading in relation to ‘project preparation’ and ‘project implementation’. While project preparation was explained as comprising community-based savings, data-collection (profiling & enumerations) and planning, implementation looked at upgrading in terms of improved services, re-blocking and housing.

The emphasis in both regards was on how the Alliance approach provides opportunities for people to participate in and drive their own development, leading to self-pride and greater sense of ownership of the final product. It also emphasised the central role of women in driving the process and the need for partnerships between poor communities and government. A series of quotes about the Alliance process from significant national human settlements ministers concluded the presentation, clearly communicating that,

“It’s only a fool who cannot support this process”

(Derek Hanekom, SA Human Settlements Minister, 1999)

Habitat for Humanity SA’s final presentation shared its new strategic direction since 2012 and its use of the 4P model: People-Public-Private Partnerships. Habitat shared its approach to leadership capacity-building workshops, the role of asset-mapping and sustainable livelihoods analysis, the artisan audit towards providing appropriate skills training which is part of a social scoping exercise run in communities that participate in their own development programs.

Outlook

Discussions aimed to broaden thinking and practice by municipal officials and sector practitioners alike. As a result of the presentations and discussion on community-centred participation on Day 3, the concept of ‘Public-Private Partnerships’ introduced on the first day had been broadened out to include People-Public-Private Partnerships, in which communities become central role-players in project preparation (community driven savings, data collection and planning) as well as implementation. As the Alliance continues to seek out a partnership the municipality, the exchange indicated a growing awareness concerning the significance of community-driven process and collaborative partnership between stakeholder sectors.

Mar 25

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Minister Sisulu appoints Rose Molokoane to Council of Social Housing Regulatory Authority

By Yolande Hendler CORC, FEDUP, News, SDI, uTshani Fund No Comments

The South African SDI Alliance, together with SDI, is excited to announce that last week national minister of Human Settlements, Lindiwe Sisulu appointed Rose Molokoane to the Council of the South African Social Housing Regulatory Authority (SHRA). Molokoane is founding member and national co-ordinator of the SA Alliance, the Federation of the Urban and Rural Poor (FEDUP) and Deputy President of SDI.

Minister Lindiwe Sisulu (left), with Jockin Arputham (SDI president), Zoe Kota-Fredericks (Deputy MInister) and Rose Molokoane (right) at National Human Settlements Indaba 2014

Rose Molokoane

In her appointment letter Minister Sisulu writes,

“Your appointment to the Council of the Social Housing Regulatory Authority is in recognition of your unique set of skills and expertise, and I am confident that your contribution will be meaningful.”

The SHRA works together with the Department of Human Settlements at all tiers, the National Housing Finance Corporation and international actors to develop the social rental housing sector for the delivery of rental housing accommodation to low and middle income earners.

The SHRA’s vision is to regulate and invest in the development of affordable rental homes in integrated urban environments through sustainable institutions. Some of the functions of the SHRA include:

Promote the development and awareness of social housing by providing an enabling environment for the growth and development of the social housing sector.
Provide advice and support to the Department of Human Settlements in its development of policy for the social housing sector and facilitate national social housing programmes
Provide best practice information and research on the status of the social housing sector
Support provincial governments with the approval of project applications by social housing institutions
Provide assistance, when requested, with the process of the designation of restructuring zones
Enter into agreements with provincial governments and the National Housing Finance Corporation to ensure the co-ordinated exercise of powers

Rose Molokoane facilitates daily savings workshop for FEDUP treasurers and collectors in Limpopo

Molokoane is a resident of Oukasie township near Brits in North West Province, and a member of Oukasie savings scheme. A veteran of the anti-apartheid struggle, she is one of the most internationally recognised grassroots activists involved in land tenure and housing issues. FEDUP has supported more than 150,000 shack dwellers, the vast majority of whom are women, to pool their savings. This has won them sufficient standing to negotiate with government for a progressive housing policy (People’s Housing Process) that has produced over 15,000 new homes and secured more than 1,000 hectares of government land for development.

Molokoane has initiated federations of savings schemes throughout Africa, Asia, and Latin America. She was awarded the UN-Habitat Scroll of Honor in 2005 for her struggle to bring land and homes to the poor.

Rose Molokoane with members fellow members of SDI board and council from Uganda and Tanzania.

Rose Molokoane with fellow members of SDI board and council from Uganda and Tanzania.

Rose Molokoane with FEDUP Western Cape members

Mar 07

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Rolling out Lumkani Fire Device: Preventing Fires, Upgrading Communities

By Yolande Hendler CORC, FEDUP, ISN, News No Comments

By Yolande Hendler (on behalf of CORC)

The last two months bear witness to the devastation fires can cause. At the height of South Africa’s hottest months, fires pose a continuous threat, often breaking out in informal areas, wiping out entire segments of informal settlements, despite the response of fire departments.

Fire in Langrug, Stellenbosch Municipality, February 2014

A proactive response to fire?

In January and February 2015, the Alliance was alerted to two fires in ISN/FEDUP settlements alone, with several more breaking out in the City of Cape Town and Stellenbosch Municipality such as in Langrug informal settlement where an estimated 70 structures were razed to the ground. In 2014 the City of Cape Town’s Human Settlements directorate spent R6.5 million on fire aid by issuing 1 186 enhanced emergency kits to victims of 254 separate fires in a period of two months.

How can the response to informal settlement fires become less reactive and more proactive and preventative? Since early 2014 the SA SDI Alliance has partnered with Lumkani, a social enterprise that has designed and co-developed an early warning fire detection device with ISN and FEDUP affiliated communities in Cape Town.

UT Gardens leadership with Lumkani with installed device on wall

Co-developing the Lumkani device

The Lumkani device uses heat detection technology to sense for fires. It accurately measures the incidence of harmful fires alerting the family inside a shack of the danger. Each device is networked to surrounding devices within a 100m radius. In the event of a fire the detecting device sends a signal to surrounding devices within this range. A solid beep means that the device has detected a fire in your own home while a broken beep indicates that the fire is in the nearby surrounding. A wave of sound creates a community-wide alert and response to danger. This buys time for the community to become proactive in rapidly spreading fire risk situations. Through deep engagement with UT Gardens community leadership, the Lumkani team co-developed the device to optimally suit the informal settlement context. Read more about the device and the co-design process here.

The Lumkani device

Co-developing the device – workshop in UT Gardens ahead of rollout and installation.

Co-developing the device – workshop in UT Gardens ahead of rollout and installation.

Roll-out and Community Contributions: “We are proud of our device”

In November and December 2015 the first Lumkani devices were rolled out in UT Gardens and Siyahlala’s D-section. Currently ISN and FEDUP community leaders have rolled out 650 devices.

On the first day of distribution and roll-out, community leaders and members of the Lumkani team installed about 20 manufactured devices in the homes of community leaders and general community members. The devices need to be installed 1m away from the cooking area, to avoid triggering a false alarm in the event of close proximity to a heat source. The device is therefore positioned as high as possible while still in reachable distance in order to test or silence the alarm.

As the first batch was installed the community leadership collected a 20% contribution of the overall cost of the devices from community members through door-to-door visits. Contributions are an integral part of the Alliance approach of “Vuku’zenzele” – “Wake up and do it for yourself”.

Nokokheli Ncambele, Western Cape ISN co-ordinator explains,

“[Contributions are important because we want] communities to find solutions to their own problems. If a community contributes, they show that they are interested. With our contributions, we leverage more funds”

Communities that expressed interest in the device during initial mobilisation could apply to the Alliance’s Community Upgrading Finance Facility (CUFF) for co-funding, whereby CUFF covered 80% and community members contributed 20% (i.e R20) of the total cost.

Emily Vining, who facilitates Lumkani’s community interaction, reflects on the significance of community contributions,

“It is our hope that the act of purchasing the device is an exercise of freedom whereby people can increase their own safety and security and that of their community through their own agency and choice. Communities don’t have to wait for external actors to bring about change. They can do it for themselves”

UT Gardens community leader, Vuyani Ntontela and Lumkani engineer Frank Petousis install device

Siyahlala’s FEDUP co-ordinator, Nozuko Fulani, with Lumkani’s Emily Vining & Frank Petousis

Fire prevention record so far

So far the system has prevented the spread of two fires in UT Gardens. The first (9 Dec 2014) occurred in the late morning when a light breeze blew some embers from a cooking fire into the neighbouring home. Although the homeowner was away, the Lumkani device she had installed triggered her neighbours devices who ran outside their homes to see where the danger had come from. The community managed to keep the fire contained with buckets while one community member used the toll-free emergency number 112 to call the fire department. The fire had burnt the community member’s home to the ground but no other structures where affected. The community attributed this to the early alert the Lumkani system provided.

The second incident occurred in the early morning hours of 22 Dec 2014 when UT and Lumkani leadership were alerted by SMS text messages that the system had triggered. Later that day it emerged that some men had left their pot unattended while making food. Their Lumkani device rang when the pot caught fire alerting them to the danger. They quickly put out the fire and shared the story with UT Gardens community leader, Thamara Hela, as they were very impressed with the functionality of the device.

UT Gardens community leader, Thamara Hela, with Emily Vining

A broader approach to Upgrading

The Alliance’s partnership with Lumkani is an example of what a proactive community intervention can look like. Its significance lies in the co-design and co-development of the Lumkani device – between community members and Lumkani’s technical team. What sets the Lumkani device apart is the community’s involvement in developing its own technical intervention. Through negotiating additional funds through their own contributions the community expressed its interest in taking the device on as its own – “Vuku’zenzele”.

The partnership is also an example of a broader approach to upgrading, one that reaches beyond housing and basic services. When upgrading includes co-design and relevant co-intervention, communities move from being receptors to actors, taking more control of the development process itself.

Feb 23

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CORC planner honoured with SAPI Young Planner Award

By Yolande Hendler CORC, News No Comments

On site in Flamingo Crescent Informal Settlement

Sizwe Mxobo, a planner at the Community Organisation Resource Centre (CORC) received the South African Planning Institute’s (SAPI) Young Planner Award in October 2014. In speaking about his work as a planner with community movements affiliated to the SA SDI Alliance, Sizwe explains,

“An important aspect for me is exploring what public participation means in planning and informal settlement upgrading” (Sizwe Mxobo, CORC Planner).

In early 2014 SAPI released a call for nominations for successful young planners and announced its bi-annual summit in Durban titled “Planning Africa” from 19 – 22 October 2014. Nominations were submitted under various categories, one of which was the Young Planner award – to be made out to a “bright young planner (under the age of 35) for his/ her exemplary achievements and promising for the future in the planning profession as well as his/her contribution to the promotion of the planning profession” (SAPI).

The SAPI Awards

The SAPI National Planning Awards were established in 2008 to recognise and create a strong awareness of the valuable contributions and extraordinary performance in all aspects of the planning profession. The awards are an opportunity to appreciate the efforts and contributions of many planners in shaping the built environment, promoting sustainable development and maintaining the integrity of good planning practice amidst competing development interests and challenging situations.

Sizwe with Langrug commnuity leaders Trevor Masiy and Alfred Ratana

Planning in the SA SDI Alliance

Sizwe has been working with CORC since 2011, providing technical support, often in informal settlement upgrading initiatives, ranging from community mobilization, capacity building, assisting settlements with preparing development plans or engaging City officials around service delivery issues.

In 2012, Sizwe project managed the upgrading and re-blocking of Mtshini Wam informal settlement in Cape Town. The project set a precedent for informal settlement upgrading, at local and national level whereby the City of Cape Town used it as a benchmark to deliver a reblocking policy. It was also awarded an Impumelelo Gold Award in 2013. Since then Sizwe has spearheaded 3 other upgrading and re-blocking projects in the City. Sizwe’s work has also focussed on Langrug informal settlement near Franschoek in the Western Cape. Through deep engagement with the community Sizwe assisted CORC and the community in devising a pallette of informal settlement upgrading strategies. The planning of Langrug was awarded the SAPI National Award in the Community Category.

Planning reblcoked Layout in Mtshini Wam informal settlement, Milnerton

Planning reblocked Layout in Mtshini Wam informal settlement, Milnerton

Why Planning?

When tracing his steps as a planner, Sizwe links his interest in participatory, community based planning to his roots.

“I was born and raised in an informal settlement and still live in one. I have always wondered what it would take to transform an informal settlement. When I saw the first housing developments in Samora and Delft I asked myself why people had to move away from their current locations and amenities. Why could changes not happen where people lived?”

Sizwe’s fascination with community development – particularly how informal communities could be transformed to formal settlements – inspired him to study Town and Regional Planning. He remembers that although informality was addressed by the curriculum it largely focussed on how to move from a shack to a house.

“My biggest attraction has always been how planning principles can be used in informal settlements. When I was planning chairperson we took students to Nyanga and explored what in-situ upgrading is about. I learnt that my interest in fighting for people who are generally not considered by planning institutions – landless people in urban areas – is called advocate planning. Others did not always understand my approach to planning. Through working at CORC I found my feet and understood what planning is for me. Winning this award has been a further confirmation. We are no longer talking the language of eradication of informal settlements but of upgrading”

In Nyanga, Cape Town

In Kuku Town informal settlement with community leader Verona Joseph

A different approach to Planning

“In the ever-changing role of a planner, I think a key element for planners is to ensure the relationship between people and land. Public participation should be more than drawing up plans and asking for a community’s approval. It should be about supporting people to come up with their own development plans for their communities”

(Sizwe Mxobo)

As a profession planning is rapidly transforming. Most urban policies developed in South Africa focus extensively on community participation. Both the National Development Plan (NDP) and Upgrading of Informal Settlements Programme (UISP) talk about community participation as a central tenet for development. However, government has also identified this as a missing link and capacity both within the municipal and private sector. Most recently, the National Upgrading Support Programme (NUSP) has floated tenders in 49 different municipalities to develop community based plans. Clearly, community participation in the planning sector is the need of the hour.

SAPI Award Ceremony in Durban, Oct 2014

Discussing Plans with Flamingo Crescent Community Steering Committee

With Kuku Town Steering Committee, Kensington

Feb 17

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Launch of Upgrading at Flamingo Crescent with Cape Town Mayor Patricia de Lille

By Yolande Hendler CORC, FEDUP, iKhayalami, ISN, Press No Comments

Authored by CORC

“People said Flamingo Crescent [Upgrading] will never happen. But today is here and this is the proof that it has happened – one cannot do it alone we need to work as a collective!”

Melanie Manuel, Informal Settlement Network (ISN) Co-ordinator

Mayor of Cape Town, Patricia de Lille, with Flamingo Crescent Community Members, SA SDI Alliance, PFO’s and City Officials

Last week’s upgrading launch at Flamingo Crescent informal settlement celebrated the completion of re-blocking, installation of water, sanitation and electricity services for each of Flamingo’s 104 households, the unveiling of Flamingo’s first formal street names and opening of the settlement’s own crèche, Little Paradise. Moreover it marked a milestone in an ongoing upgrading process, showcasing what is possible when communities, intermediaries, governments and stakeholders form partnerships.

Delegates from community organisations and networks, the Mayor of the City of Cape Town, delegates from various government departments, ward and sub-council politicians, NGOs and support organisations gathered in the Lansdowne Civic Centre from 11:00 on Monday 10 February.

The re-blocking project is lauded as a successful demonstration of community-led, participatory planning, collaborative implementation and improvement of informal settlements. The uniqueness of the project was that despite the settlement’s density no one was displaced and grossly inconvenienced during the implementation of upgrading 104 structures.

ISN & FEDUP welcome the Mayor to the launch at Lansdowne Civic Centre

First engagements around Flamingo Crescent

First engagements began in 2012 after the City of Cape Town signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the SA SDI Alliance around joint community-led upgrading of 22 informal settlements, of which Flamingo Crescent is the third, having built on the experiences of Mtshini Wam and Kuku Town. It differs from the previous two in the severity of its socio-economic challenges – high levels of crime, unemployment, violence and poverty. Given these circumstances the Alliance’s Informal Settlement Network (ISN) facilitated implementation and engagement between the City and the community.

Melanie Manuel (Flamingo Crescent ISN facilitator) shared,

“When we started the partnership with the City of Cape Town in 2011 in Vygieskraal it was a day of celebration and no one knew the hardships that would lie ahead. As time went on we realised we fundamentally believe in community participation, a bottom up approach because we know communities understand their settlements best.”

CORC

Alliance and Community Architects Network plan inclusive cities in Philippines

From Re-blocking to Housing: Lwazi Park – CPUT Studio 2015

Building Continuity: Denver Community and University of Johannesburg Studio 2015

‘An eye for an eye makes the world blind’ – FEDUP/ ISN say NO to Xenophobia

Taps, Toilets & Beyond: ISN partners with Water & Sanitation Dept

Alliance at Human Settlements Learning Exchange in Durban

Minister Sisulu appoints Rose Molokoane to Council of Social Housing Regulatory Authority

Rolling out Lumkani Fire Device: Preventing Fires, Upgrading Communities

CORC planner honoured with SAPI Young Planner Award

Launch of Upgrading at Flamingo Crescent with Cape Town Mayor Patricia de Lille

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