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Re-blocking Archives - SASDI Alliance

Feb 26
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Social and Physical Impact of Re-blocking: California Informal Settlement, Mfuleni (Cape Town)

By Archive, CORC, ISN, News, Press, Publications, Resources No Comments

by Kwanda Lande and Mariel Zimmermann (on behalf of CORC)

We decided to do re-blocking because we were living in a very congested settlement, we wanted our settlement to be rearranged, we wanted services –  we wanted to have roads, toilets, electricity and water. We also wanted this project because it is going to mitigate fire in the settlement, and we have been careful with the building material we have used to build our structures. (Lindiwe Noqholota, community member and member of the project steering committee) 

In the upgrading of California there is an advocacy purpose, resources were used for the community to demonstrate good practice around upgrading of informal settlements. The project was done so that the community can build itself as a community that is able to come together around issues because re-blocking is just the start, it’s not the end, it’s the starting point to say what’s next? (Oscar Sam, ISN Mfuleni subregional coordinator) 

The story of California informal settlement in Mfuleni, Cape Town is a story of many challenges, but also of many victories and hope. It is through this story where we begin to grasp nuances and multi-layers that capture the impact of re-blocking to the community.This story is told by community members, who have been engaged in a struggle for basic services, land and and housing since 2008.

Look over California informal settlement before and during implementation

Look over California informal settlement before and during implementation

 

California is an informal settlement located in the midst of formal houses in the Township of Mfuleni, Cape Town. The settlement occupies a space of 2,239 m2 between the streets of Umzumbe on the North, Mgwanda on the West, Dutywa on the South, and M Baba on the East. The community of California has been subjected to some threats since 2008, when the settlement started. This includes the fact that the community existed until 2012 without any services. It became worse in 2012 when there was fire that destroyed almost all their houses threatening their existence.

I remember in 2012 after almost all our shacks were burned down we had to build our shacks again because we had nowhere to go. People from this church in our area did not want  us to build our shacks in this area again. After the municipality had intervene the church then told us that each household should at least pay R50. But we refused because the municipality had told us that the church does not have rights to do this. This is how we fought to stay in this settlement, after which everything became easy and we were also given house/shack numbers. (Nokuthula Mazomba, community member and member of the project steering committee) 

Some of the first signs of collective action and self-reliance

Since 2008 the community of California did not have any legal water source and toilets, people were forced to use water taps provided to people in formal houses. This lack of water and sanitation services led to anxiety and the feeling of insecurity, when using the ‘toilet’ at night. Consequently, there was an attitude that led to restricting access to water from people living in formal houses. The community had to do something as a result they decided to make contributions of R10 each household and installed one water tap for the whole community.  

The installation of water tap is one of the first signs of collective action and self-reliance by the community. After which the community organised itself and went to the ward councillor demanding further access to water, in which they were successful. However, the settlement was still lacking services such as toilets and electricity, and the community needed a partner to intensify their struggle to access better services and improve their lives. Against this backdrop, the community of California meet with the Informal Settlement Network (ISN) in 2015 to enforce their voices.

Community members of California, and SA SDI Alliance leaders working together in implementing the project.

Community members of California, and SA SDI Alliance leaders working together in implementing the project.

 

Community using Data Collection and Community Exchanges

The Informal Settlement Network, partner in the SA SDI Alliance, brought a number of tools to assists the community in their struggles. This includes the data collection tool, which helped the community to engage municipality with facts and community-determined priorities. As a result, seven toilets were installed for the community, through the assistance of ISN, which helped to do data collection that helped the community to negotiate and to demand all these services.

Community of California doing enumeration of their own settlement

Community of California doing enumeration of their own settlement

 

Based on the data collected (profiling and enumeration) in 2015, the population of California is made of 47 households with 108 residents. Furthermore, this profiling and enumeration exercise done by the residents of California assessed community prioritise, which include electricity, water and sanitation. As a result, the community also went to the City of Cape Town to request electricity. Their first request was, however, met with disappointment. The municipality explained that it could not install electricity because of congestion and limited space for installing electricity.

 Through ISN, in 2016 we went on an exchange to another settlement that was re-blocked by the SA SDI Alliance called Flamingo Crescent. We went to that settlement and saw how that settlement was built and how the settlement was redesigned and reconfigured to create space that would ensure the provision of services. After a year without interacting with ISN we also learnt that the City of Cape Town had made some budget for re-blocking in California and this was through the work of ISN that negotiated for budget to be made available for upgrading California. (Lindiwe Noqholota, community member and member of the project steering committee) 

However, when the community leaders who visited Flamingo Crescent were reporting to the community some members were not convinced about this project and rejected it as they felt that they were not sufficiently informed. After several meetings and explanations of how the project will look like and what the benefits for the residents will be, the community voted for the implementation. The community also knew that if they will not make use of the budget from the city, these resources would be taken elsewhere.

How has the project impact the Settlement?

The implementation of re-blocking in California begun in May 2017 and 47 structures were upgraded and specific building material that reduces the risks of fire was used. Paved access roads were implemented throughout the settlement. Furthermore, a stormwater drainage system has been implemented and electricity is in the process of being implemented. In the case of funding for the project, there was an agreement with the municipality that they will provide services, including water, electricity, and toilets.

Work in progress that involves structures before implementation and the last phase of the project

Work in progress that involves structures before implementation and the last phase of the project. 

 

The community contributed 20%, and supported by Community Organisation and Resource Centre (CORC) with 80% towards building their structures. Yet, the community is still waiting for the implementation of toilets and water taps per household from the municipality. The community also managed to negotiate for extra piece of land. This municipal land is located adjacent to the settlement but the community was not allowed to use it before. This extra piece of land has helped the community to have more space for access walkways and space for people to dry their clothes after washing them.

The re-blocking project of California allowed people in the community to ‘break walls’, and start learning and talking to one another. It allowed people to take ownership of the process and start personalising their environment where they have change their community and houses to suit their personal taste. Through this re-blocking process, it became evident that compromises are at the centre of re-blocking, and although some might not like an idea and approach, it is important that people compromise on their differences for the sake of development.

I learned that as residents of California, we do not really know each other, as I though before this project. This project has created a chance for us to learn about each other and to tolerate one another because we differ in a lot of things. As a result, it is helpful that we have community leaders that can speak for everyone and that people can raise their issues through and not to one another or direct to government one by one.(Buhle Mthimkhulu, community member and member of the project steering committee) 

What can the future for the community look like?

In regard to the future of the community, the kind of experience that the community has went through is essential because re-blocking is not the end but a starting point. It is a start for individuals to recognise themselves as part of a community. It is a start for the community to establish itself as part of a broader network of informal settlements. The project presents an opportunity for the community to start a saving scheme that will build social capital of the community and allow community members to support each other not only financial but also socially. This project is a start for the community to investigate and make sure that community prioritise are part of government budgets and use that to hold them accountable.

Jun 21
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We want to be viewed as equals: Reblocking KwaMathambo, Durban

By ISN No Comments

By Arnotte Payne* (on behalf of CORC)

View of KwaMthambo settlement in Durban

View of KwaMthambo settlement in Durban

Kwa-Mathambo informal settlement is located in a suburban area of Red-hill on Old North Coast Road in Durban. When the settlement was enumerated in 2012, it consisted of 294 shacks with a total population of 565 people—most of whom were employed in the city center or nearby residential areas. Since then Mathambo leader, Ndodeni Dengo, estimates the population to be close to 800.Situated close to the city centre and industrial areas, the settlement’s advantageous location grants residents convenient access to schools, employment opportunities, and transportation. Despite these amenities, poor environmental and health conditions in Mathambo pose serious risks for residents.

Mathambo experienced a serious fire in March 2016 which required 37 structures to be rebuilt. The reconstruction also offered an opportunity to pilot a reblocking layout in Mathambo which can serve as an example of reblocking during continued negotiations for a partnership between the Human Settlements Department and the Informal Settlement Network in eThekwini Municipality.

Mathambo after the 2016 fire

Mathambo after the 2016 fire

A view into life in Mathambo

Firstly, inadequate water and sanitation services—causing odors to emanate from dirty water—have led to cases of Tuberculosis. Prior to the re-blocking project, the entire community was served by only two ablution facilities—one for males, the other for females—with two showers. Secondly, low lying shacks were highly vulnerable to flooding from accumulated water runoff, given the steep topography of the land on which Mathambo lies. Thirdly, fires have repeatedly devastated the settlement. The first fire took place in 2013, destroying 258 shacks. In response, the municipality rebuilt 229 structures in the form of a transit camp and left 29 families homeless.

The 44 shacks that were not affected by fire remained prone to future environmental disasters given the precariousness of construction materials—a combination of zinc, tarp, planks and plastics—and the layout of the shacks. In March 2016, the settlement experienced a second fire—displacing 40 families whose shacks, belongings, and identity documents were burned. Though it was not the primary impetus, the second fire expedited the process of re-blocking Mathambo.

This section of KwaMathambo burnt down in the 2016 fire.

Beyond environmental and health hazards, the settlement faces challenges including crime, harassment by police, low-paying employment opportunities given residents’ low levels of education, and the absence of facilities such as a community hall, church, crèche, learning centre and a community office given limited space in the settlement. Furthermore, despite the development of a municipal electrification program, electricity has proven to be a continued problem—leading some community members to resort to illegal wire connections which have caused fatalities. Furthermore, some residents contend with issues relating to unplanned children, contraction of sexually transmitted diseases, and alcohol and drug abuse.

Damage caused by the 2016 fire

Damage caused by the 2016 fire

What it takes to mobilise a community 

As the ISN began to mobilise the community, there was a certain level of resistance from transit camp dwellers, many of whom were wary of the municipality. Skepticism of the municipality–and its willingness to participate in the improvement process–largely stemmed from public neglect experienced following the first fire. The poor design of the municipal transit camp worsened conditions in Mathambo, particularly extrapolating issues relating to drainage and sanitation.  

Given environmental conditions, the municipality has indicated that the settlement is slated for eventual re-location within an unspecified timeframe—which residents speculate may signify over ten years time. The lack of transparency regarding future plans for the settlement contributed to the perception among residents that local politicians would often promise improvements in advance of elections—leveraging community members as voting tools—while failing to actually implement basic and necessary public services. 

What the Enumeration Revealed

During the process of enumerating the settlement, it became clear that the settlement urgently needed taps, toilet facilities and a proper drainage system. Despite initial resistance, through a series of community meetings, residents and community leaders – in cooperation with the Planning Division of eThekwini Municipality – identified re-blocking as a viable solution to improve conditions in Mathambo. To mediate relations between stakeholders, the ISN hosted meetings with members of the community, the land owner, neighbours, the Ward Councillor, the chairperson of the Rates Committee, and the municipality’s Planning Division.

Mathambo prepares for Reblocking 

Mathambo community leaders present their reblocked layout to visitors.

Mathambo community leaders use wooden boxes to speak about their reblocked layout to visitors.

Re-blocking was planned as a Community Upgrading Finance Facility (CUFF) project, cooperatively funded by community members who practice two types of savings: participating in FEDUP livelihood programs and contributing to a community savings pool accessible to members at the year’s end. At the time of the most recent fire, the community had demonstrated their strong capacity for savings, with R8100 saved with a formal banking institution. To meet the community’s urgent needs in light of the second fire, CUFF issued a loan for the purchase of building materials—which is currently being repaid by the community in instalments. 

To prevent future fires, the project incorporated emergency precautions such as fire-resilient construction materials and fire detectors, while also improving access ways to facilitate entering and exiting the settlement. Additionally, the re-blocked layout will accommodate space for the 29 households displaced—and still shelterless— in the aftermath of the 2013 fire. 

Mathambo residents begin reconstruction in the reblocked layout.

Mathambo residents begin reconstruction in the reblocked layout.

Furthermore, re-blocking will improve the layout plan of the settlement, regenerating the neighbourhood’s “legibility” in the surrounding suburban environment. The project will enable the people of this settlement to take ownership of their upgraded facilities, potentially solving the challenge of service vandalism. Given that the city has identified a few informal settlements for electrification, the reblocking project may also influence the city’s potential selection of Mathambo as a beneficiary.

As of June 2016, structures have been constructed in accordance with the newly designed community layout, windows have been fitted, and in some cases, floors have been cemented with materials provided by the municipality. To address the persistent challenge of flooding, plans are being developed to construct retaining walls, walkways, proper drainage to control water and eradicate property damage during heavy rains.

Mathambo settlement leader Ndodeni Dengo (left)

Mathambo settlement leader Ndodeni Dengo (left)

The potential of partnership with eThekwini Municipality

The project represents a positive step towards a relationship between Mathambo and the eThekwini Municipality that is free of political divisiveness, while also demonstrating residents’ capacities to mobilise towards improving conditions in the settlement while waiting for government housing. Through engaging with the ISN and jointly financing the project through CUFF, the project has also strengthened the relationship between Mathambo and the SA SDI Alliance.

“The government must begin to have respect for us and stop looking at us as a nuisance and a voting tool but a significant part of the bigger community who can bring about positive national change through ordinary people aspiring to do extra ordinary things by fulfilling their vision. We want to be viewed as equals to formal residents so we will teach the formal residents and municipality how we would like to be treated and how we would like to be heard and included in their decision-making as well as be part of the governments programs whether it be housing, livelihoods or development.”  

Ultimately, the community would like for the government to integrate Mathambo into the neighbouring formal area by constructing in-situ houses. Given the settlement’s favourable location, re-location should be considered as a last resort. Community members believe that the successful partial re-blocking of Mathambo—the first settlement to be re-blocked in KwaZulu Natal— can serve as a precedent to inspire future projects in the eThekwini Municipality and elsewhere.

*Compiled by Ava Hoffman (on behalf of CORC)

May 19
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Reflections on re-blocking: Why community participation is key

By CORC, ISN No Comments

By Ava Rose Hoffman (on behalf of CORC)

In this blog, the SA SDI Alliance speaks with Nkokheli Ncambele—ISN Coordinator of the Western Cape—to learn about how the participation process functions on the ground during informal settlement upgrading, and in particular, reblocking initiatives . Reflecting upon the Alliance’s early experiences with re-blocking in Sheffield Road (2010-2011) and Mtshini Wam (2012-2013), Nkokheli highlights the value of building partnerships between informal settlements, support NGOs, and local governments.

How has the re-blocking process enabled residents to better engage with city officials or service providers in the long run? Has the re-blocking process enabled citizens to become more knowledgeable about how to interact with the state?

In our project called Sheffield Road, the government was saying [to community members] that they can’t do anything in the road reserve. But when the community started engaging with the municipality, the community learned how to negotiate with the city, [using] their tools—starting from profiling and enumerations. The enumeration is what helped them identify their problem, and then they start engaging [with the City]. Through the engagement they decided to start reblocking cluster one. When they finished Cluster One, everyone in the community was saying, ‘This thing is working, we want this thing [reblocking.’ Then they started rolling it out in the community. While they were in Cluster 3, the government saw the value of re-blocking, and then they came and installed 15 toilets that were not there before. So, that exercise [served to] teach a lesson to the government, and teach a lesson to the community.

Community members discuss the re-blocked design in Sheffield Road

Community members discuss the re-blocked design in Sheffield Road

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In Mtshini Wam, each and every winter they [the community] experienced flooding. And when they went to government, government was saying they can’t do anything [improvements] there because there is no space. And the community started organizing their general meetings, and trying to find a solution. Because, remember, they are the ones living in those conditions, so they had to come [up] with the solutions, and their solution was re-blocking. They went on an exchange to Sheffield Road to see what other communities were doing. When they came back, they started engaging with the people [in their community], and the technical teams of CORC and ISN went to Mtshini Wam and started helping them [with] how to design their community [reblocked layout]. At the end of the day, even if you can go today to Mtshini Wam, they will tell you that this re-blocking, it helped us a lot because, they were living in bad conditions. They were affected by their health because of the gray water that was smelling.

How did that engagement or negotiation with the state play out after the re-blocking was complete? Was there any continued engagement between the community and the state after the process was complete?

There is always a question of, ‘What else after this? What are we going to do?’ Obviously engagement is still happening between the community and the municipality, because, remember, these people, they don’t have a title deed. So they have to negotiate for the title deed. So now, their engagement is on another level. It’s not on the level of shelter; it’s on another level of getting houses, adequate houses. I remember they finished their design, where they said what they want: double stories where everyone can fit. And they even went to Joe Slovo in Langa to see how the design of Joe Slovo looked like, because it’s what they want to implement in their community.

Do you think the re-blocking projects have helped to change power dynamics within communities or empower more vulnerable members of communities?

I think firstly, what re-blocking brings to the community is security. It brings the trust between the community itself, because where they were residing before, no one would know their neighbours. But after the re-blocking, now, everyone is known in the community. It’s a community, its not an informal settlement anymore, it’s a community where the people of that community have pride in what they did. It also brings trust to the leadership—the leaders are the ones who will take us to the house.

Who would you define as vulnerable members of a community? Do you think that re-blocking has helped those vulnerable members get more of a voice in their communities?

I’m not going to answer your question directly, but I will always come out with an explanation.

If you go to Mtshini Wam, there were people that were not having income, not even a cent—so they were vulnerable in the sense that they don’t receive anything— [while] other community members were working, and received income. When we started, there were people that were vulnerable, and you can see that their situation is very bad, but once we brought the re-blocking concept, where we manage to employ 45 people, those that were vulnerable earn something. It’s where they change their lives, you know. And now, there is no one—I can guarantee to you today—that is very vulnerable. Everyone is in the same level because of re-blocking. That’s why I’m saying, re-blocking, it brings a lot of things. It brings job opportunities, it brings basic services, it’s not only about changing the structure, it’s about what government can play in your community when you say, ‘I want re-blocking.’

A community where no one is working, and no one is receiving a grant—that is what I call a vulnerable community, because there is no income.

Community members at work in Mtshini Wam re-blocking

Community members at work in Mtshini Wam’s re-blocking process

How did communities and the City change through the process of re-blocking? What was that mutual learning process like?

What I can say is that, the city has changed through the system that the people brought… The government at that time would tell the community: ‘We are going to put the toilet here.’ But the challenge of that community is not a toilet. The community wants electricity. So, once we start engaging with the government, in 2010, it’s when the government started listening, now that the people know what they want. We are not fighting with their ideas, but we want them to listen to us. Because we are the ones who are residing in those conditions. We are the ones who are walking in the dark at night.

It shows that people learn a lot and the city learned, because the city put a lot of basic services in different communities. The communities that started before 1994, they’ve got basic services now. It shows that the city learned how to listen to the people. And the people know how to engage with the city now. Because the leadership—you will find different leadership going to see the mayor, you will find that the mayor is going to the communities—there is that engagement now. Re-blocking and engagement—having the ISN involved—changed a lot of people.

Deputy Minister of Human Settlements, Ms. Kota-Fredericks, visits the newly re-blocked Mtshini Wam in 2012

Deputy Minister of Human Settlements, Ms. Kota-Fredericks, visits the newly re-blocked Mtshini Wam in 2012

Mar 31
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Know Your City: Why we need community collected data on informal settlements

By Community-led Data Collection, CORC, FEDUP, ISN One Comment

By Charlton Ziervogel (on behalf of CORC)

Urbanization and the growth of informal settlements

Urbanization in South Africa has not followed the usual patterns as witnessed in many other developing countries from the 1980’s through to present day. This was in large part due to government interventions in the process up to the 1990’s, which saw to a very controlled restriction of movement of people from rural to urban centres (Turok, 2012) that effectively slowed the process. With the fall of the Apartheid government and the abolishment of the laws of controlled movement into urban areas the post 1994 period in South Africa saw massive increases in urbanization. Looking at the period 1980, in which 42,5% of the population lived in urban areas (Giraut & Vacchiani-Marcuzzo, 2005), in which 60% of the population lived in urban areas (United Nations, 2011), we witness a jump in the urban population of 17,5%.

It is no coincidence that during the period 1994 to 2011 informal settlements in South Africa increased in number from approximately 300 [1] to around 2700 in 2011 (SACN, 2011) due to the inability of government to keep up with housing demand. This growth in informality has been focused in urban areas with Western Cape municipalities experiencing influx due to a number of factors, including better employment opportunities, access to services and perceived increases in quality of life. This growth has resulted in shacks in backyards and shacks not in backyards accommodating almost 20% of all households in the province (HDA Western Cape, 2013).

Khayelitsha

What we lack in current data on informal settlements

Engaging with the Western Cape Province, and the City of Cape Town in particular, the scale of informality as described by 2011 census statistics is thus apparent (almost 1 in every 5 households live in informal structures). Yet, this information is already 4 years old and the continued rapid influx of people and changing spatial configurations and distribution of informal settlements over relatively short periods of time, places the province and the City of Cape Town in the very vulnerable position of trying to address problems of informality with information that is no longer reliable and in need of updating.

To effectively implement any successful upgrading plan or strategy as posited in National Upgrade Support Programme (NUSP) and the Upgrading of Informal Settlements Programme (UISP), municipalities need far more nuanced information to inform upgrading strategies. Census data is not aggregated at settlement level (HDA RSA, 2013) further compounding the ability to take into account settlement specific needs and context. The National Development Plan (NDP) also emphasizes the general lack of adequate information about the nature and conditions of each of the informal settlements, further hampering the strategic use of resources or the development of settlement specific solutions (NDP, 2012).

The value of community data and how it is collected

It is within this data deficiency, that community led housing enumeration and GIS mapping projects need to be positioned to better equip municipalities and provinces with updated information on informal settlements, placing actors in municipalities and provinces in a position to adequately plan for future upgrading developments in these settlements.

Amongst the methodologies employed for information gathering is the tool of informal settlement enumerations and the detailed mapping of settlements using GIS technology.

Shack numbering in Nyanga

Shack numbering in Nyanga

Mapping shack numbers in Nyanga

These tools derive their origins from the Shack/Slum Dwellers International (SDI) network, where for more than 30 years the SDI network recognized the importance of accurate and reliable data on informal settlements to help urban poor communities engage their local authorities in building effective partnerships towards a city-wide approach to in-situ informal settlement upgrading strategies (Arputham, 2012). The key difference in the SDI approach is that critical focus is placed on a community driven process, which allows for greater scale of activities and interventions as well as higher success rates in terms of the implementation of upgrading projects.

Profiling in UT Gardens, Khayelitsha

Profiling in UT Gardens, Khayelitsha

Within the context of informal settlement enumerations and mapping, this participatory approach is even more valuable as it has proven time and time again in various developing countries that when a mobilized community understands the importance of accurate data and maps and participates in the collection of this data around their own settlement, far higher degrees of accuracy are achieved than any census or survey that might utilize “outsiders” as the sole enumerators (Baptist & Bolnick, 2012, Livengood & Kunte, 2012).

Community Based Data Collection in Cape Town: Joe Slovo, Mtshini Wam, Kuku Town, and Flamingo Crescent

As urban poor people’s networks, FEDUP and ISN, together with CORC, have gathered experience in gearing communities towards self-enumeration and mapping.

Community members capture enumeration data

Community members capture enumeration data

For example, information available to the City of Cape Town had estimated the population of Joe Slovo along the N2 (N2 Gateway project) to be way larger than reality with the proposal of only a percentage of the residents being part of the housing project causing real concerns amongst the community. An enumeration conducted in 2009 spearheaded by the SA SDI Alliance was able to ascertain a more accurate population size based on a participatory approach, which paved the way for the possibility of the housing development moving ahead with all the current residents at the time included.

Other examples in Cape Town include the re-blocking of Mtshini Wam, Kuku Town and Flamingo Crescent informal settlements which all utilized the community driven enumeration and mapping approach to set up accurate beneficiary lists. These enumeration and GIS databases developed by CORC, ISN and FEDUP have been utilized by the City of Cape Town in the provision of electricity connections, contract work through the Expanded Public Works Program (EPWP) as well as assisting in detailed layout plans for the re-configuration of the settlements.

The necessity of working relationships with government

All this is only achievable through the establishment of practical working relationships and partnerships with government. In addressing the data deficiency described above this approach is not merely to gather information but to create the added benefit of a very practical community and local authority partnership.

Participatory data collection is an approach built upon the successes and lessons learnt in over 2 decades of informal settlement enumerations by the SA SDI Alliance. The Alliance’s experience in the implementation of 144 informal settlement enumerations in South Africa over the past 6 years, covering approximately 65,400 households has shown that the approach of deep community participation, even at the level of the data gathering exercise, leads to stronger community networks with the ability to assist local governments in prioritizing upgrading initiatives within a broader strategic framework. Furthermore, this deep participatory approach mobilizes communities towards determining their own development agendas.

Community generated data informs community planning

Community generated data informs community planning

References 

  • Arputham, 2012. How community-based enumerations started and developed in India, Environment and Urbanization 2012 24:27, Sage, IIED
  • Baptist, C and Bolnick, B. 2012. Participatory enumerations, in situ upgrading and mega events: The 2009 survey in Joe Slovo, Cape Town, Environment and Urbanization 2012 24:59, Sage, IIED
  • Giraut, F. and Vacchiani-Marcuzzo, C. 2009. Territories and Urbanisation in South Africa: Atlas and geo-historical information system. Institut de Recherche Pour le Developpement, Paris.
  • Housing Development Agency (HDA), Western Cape: Informal Settlements Status 2013. Research Report, HDA
  • Housing Development Agency (HDA), South Africa: Informal Settlements Status 2013. Research Report, HDA
  • Livengood, A and Kunte, K. 2012. Enabling participatory planning with GIS: a case study of settlement mapping in Cuttack, India, Environment and Urbanization 2012 24:77, Sage, IIED
  • SACN (South African Cities Network) 2011. 2011 State of SA Cities Report. SACN, Johannesburg.
  • South African Government Information. 2012. Our Future – make it work: National Development Plan 2030. 14 November 2012. http://www.gov.za/documents/national-development-plan-vision-2030
  • Turok 2012. Urbanisation and Development in South Africa: Economic Imperatives, Spatial Distortions and Strategic Responses. Urbanization and Emerging Population Issues Working Paper 8, International Institute for Environment and Development United Nations Population Fund
  • United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. 2012. World
  • Urbanization Prospects: The 2011 Revision

[1] Presentation made by NUSP at the Policy Consultative Workshop held on 5 September 2014 at the Town House Hotel (Cape Town)

Feb 29
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From Nairobi to Cape Town: Learning about Upgrading and Partnerships with Local Government

By CORC, FEDUP, ISN, Learning Exchanges, SDI No Comments

By Yolande Hendler (on behalf of CORC)

From Ghetto informal settlement in Nairobi, the Kenyan SDI Alliance together with an official from the nearby Kiambu County Government visited the South African SDI Alliance on a learning exchange in Cape Town from 22 – 25 February 2016. Community leaders and an official from Ekurhuleni Municipality, near Johannesburg, also joined the group.

The purpose of the exchange was to share experiences regarding informal settlement upgrading, partnership formation between community movements and local governments, project planning, preparation and mobilisation processes. Kenya’s Federation, Muungano wa Wanavijiji has been supporting Ghetto community in obtaining tenure security and identifying housing beneficiaries. Currently the settlement is set for the final phase in a government-upgrading project that requires re-planning its public spaces and houses, a familiar process that the South African Federation of the Urban Poor (FEDUP) and Informal Settlement Network (ISN) call “reblocking”.

SAMSUNG CSC

Priscilla, community leader in Sheffield Road speaks about reblocking

With introductions and an overview of the SA SDI Alliance on the first day, the visitors shared their key learning interests as relating to

  • Partnership Formation between communities themselves and between communities and local governments
  • Upgrading Processes – how communities organise themselves during upgrading, how technicalities in construction and implementation are dealt with, the role of project funding and community saving

Savings and Income Generation

With savings as the core practice of the SDI network, the afternoon visit took place at a FEDUP savings and income generation group in Samora Machel, Philippi. The group explained how its FEDUP membership enabled individuals to access small loans from the Federation Income Generation Program (FIGP). With a particular set of criteria for loan access, repayments and additional loan cycles, the group had established a number of small businesses such as beading, second hand clothing, fried chicken or locally tailored clothing.

The meeting sparked an animated discussion on how savers could maintain their momentum and interest in savings, especially after receiving a house or an informal settlement upgrade upgrading can be seen as fulfilling the “immediate savings purpose”. A loan group member explained that she viewed saving as valuable backup to draw on when problems arose. In Kenya, members became tired of “saving for nothing” – they therefore began using their savings in smaller projects while waiting for larger projects to occur. The Kenyan visitors further noted the value building trust between members through administering loans to small groups of five savers.

SAMSUNG CSC

Mary Wambui (Kenya SDI Alliance) and John Mulia (Kenya Official) look at FEDUP savings book

FEDUP Income Generation businesses in Samora Machel

FEDUP Income Generation businesses in Samora Machel

Reblocking in the City of Cape Town

Over the next two days the group traced re-blocking projects and informal settlement upgrading projects in the municipalities of Cape Town and Stellenbosch.

In Cape Town the SA SDI Alliance used its first re-blocking projects in Joe Slovo and Sheffield Road settlements to build a partnership with the City of Cape Town to jointly pursue future upgrading and reblocking projects. As a result the City adopted reblocking as a policy, an indicator of increased intent to engage with community-led processes. In Sheffield Road the group saw how reblocking establishes access routes, courtyards, increased space for communal water and sanitation installation as well as safer public open spaces. Since reblocking, the community has successfully negotiated for electricity installation.

Courtyard in Sheffield Road after reblocking

Courtyard in Sheffield Road after reblocking

In Sheffield Road: Rashid and Samuel (Kenyan Federation) in discussion with Lulama (ISN leader for Philippi region)

In Sheffield Road: Rashid and Samuel (Kenyan Federation) in discussion with Lulama (ISN leader for Philippi region)

Mtshini Wam was the first settlement that was reblocked in partnership with the City of Cape Town in 2013. While walking through the settlement the group noticed the improved differences between the projects: the layout of Mtshini Wam enabled 2 households to share water and sanitation facilities. Noticeably, a number of residents had self-built a second storey on to their structure after having participated in a community design process for double storey units as further development after upgrading. Through persistent negotiations after reblocking, the community received municipal electricity and ground levelling to mitigate flooding. ISN National Coordinator, Mzwanele Zulu, explained that such incremental upgrading contributed to incremental tenure security.

Double storey structures in Mtshini Wam

Double storey structures in Mtshini Wam

In Flamingo Crescent, the most recently upgraded settlement (2014), community leader Maria Matthews introduced the group to the settlement’s reblocking experience: engaging fellow community members to save, planning meetings with the City and community participation during reconstruction. Due to its enumeration figures and the reblocked layout, the community succeeded in negotiating for individual service installation and electricity per re-blocked household (1:1 services). Flamingo’s site was levelled with all access roads paved and named before erecting the reblocked structures. The visitors saw that for the SA Alliance, upgrading / reblocking is a cumulative experience, with consistent improvements in new projects based on past project learning.

“Reblocking made a big difference, but upgrading is far from over,” Maria Matthews explained. “We have many social and health problems remaining here.”

(Maria Matthews, Flamingo Crescent Community Leader)

Arrival in Flamingo Crescent

Arrival in Flamingo Crescent

After reblocking in Flamingo. 1:1 Services per household.

After reblocking in Flamingo. 1:1 Services per household.

Upgrading in Stellenbosch Municipality

In Langrug the group encountered an example of partial reblocking in a settlement about ten times the population size of those in Cape Town, with about 4000 residents. Community leader, Trevor Masiy, traced the settlement’s partnership with the SA SDI Alliance and the joint partnership agreement with Stellenbosch Municipality, which informed the settlement’s upgrading initiatives in drainage and storm water projects and two Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Facilities. Trevor also highlighted the challenges experienced by disrepair of past upgrading projects. He therefore emphasised the value of community involvement not only in project planning and implementation but also in maintenance.

Walking through partially reblocked section of Langrug.

Walking through partially reblocked section of Langrug.

View on to Langrug

View on to Langrug

Water and Sanitation Facility in Zwelitsha section, Langrug

Water and Sanitation Facility in Zwelitsha section, Langrug

Partnership Meetings

Two separate partnership meetings with Stellenbosch Municipality and the City of Cape Town allowed the visitors and two visiting officials an insight into the practical workings of partnership building and project negotiations. The partnership meetings in Cape Town and Stellenbosch focussed on updating all gathered on current project progress and discussions on renewing and continuing the partnership relationships. Discussion highlights included:

Cape Town

  • Alliance emphasises that its partnership focus with the City is not only reblocking but also informal settlement and area-wide upgrading

Stellenbosch

  • The muincipality explained that reblocking is not just about structure upgrades but about enabling basic service provision
  • The municipality spoke about its partnership with Langrug and SA Alliance as fluid, moving towards different ways and means of reaching a common goal
Partnership Meeting with Stellenbosch Municipality in Franschoek

Partnership Meeting with Stellenbosch Municipality in Franschoek

Alliance begins Cape Town partnership meeting in song in Bosasa Community Hall, Mfuleni

Alliance begins Cape Town partnership meeting in song in Bosasa Community Hall, Mfuleni

Reflections and Learnings

On Upgrading:

  • “We have been focussing on permanent houses. This can become strenuous for communities because it demands resources and scaling up. But our thinking has changed when we saw how reblocking has attracted government attention. (Rashid Muka, Kenyan Federation Leader)
  • “In Kenya we always thought that upgrading means erecting permanent structures. I am learning about incremental upgrading – something I’d like to take home” (John Mulia, Kiambu County Government, Kenya)
  • “The value of an incremental approach is that you don’t start with the end product (a house) and impose it on a community. Upgrading is not only housing. You can be in a temporary shack and as long as you have opened up spaces to basic services, then that is upgrading.” (Mary Wambui, Kenyan SDI Alliance )

On Building Parternerships

  • “What is key in achieving a relationship with a municipality? Involving the community, drafting good plans and implementing precedent setting projects that can influence policy, especially if there is no policy yet” (Sizwe Mxobo, CORC Technical Support)
  • “Strong social movements that know what they want are important in building partnerships. They can remind municipalities about their commitments” (Nkokheli Ncambele, ISN Coordinator Western Cape)
  • “We want to pull stakeholders together and understand how to journey together. We want to be able to say this exchange gave birth to some of the lessons we learnt. What has come out clearly is the value of learning by doing.” (Rashid Muka, Kenyan Federation Leader)
Group gathers in a courtyard in Sheffield Road

Group gathers in a courtyard in Sheffield Road

On Community-Led Engagement

  • In this exchange I understood a lot about talking with communities. Government needs to understand the value of partners coming on board. The government of Kenya has made many plans but the community needs to point out what they want and need, not us the government. A project becomes sustainable when it is community driven.” (John Mulia, Kiambu County Government, Kenya)
Nov 13
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An approach to community-led upgrading: TT Community Hall in Khayelitsha

By CORC, FEDUP, ISN No Comments

By Andiswa Meke (on behalf of CORC)

For years the government has been testing different solutions with regard to bringing basic services to poor people and engaging with rapid urbanisation in South African cities. At times, these approaches are characterised by technically driven solutions that do not consider social use of infrastructure by community members. At others, there is a lack of service delivery altogether due to an often expressed perception by local government that is impossible to  install services in dense and haphazardly structured informal settlements.

In response informal settlements affiliated to the Informal Settlement Network (ISN) organise themselves and explore innovative options that present alternative, community-led practice to local government and better their living conditions. TT is one of the oldest informal settlements in Khayelitsha, Cape Town. Yet they still have no basic services.

Community Profiling and Enumerations.

Community Profiling and Enumerations.

The blog looks at the upgrading of TT community hall as an example of what communities are doing for themselves when supported with the tools to organise themselves and identify their own development priorities. Communities like TT have realised that they are the help they need to foster change and therefore need to be the ones gearing up their own upgrading processes.

Background of TT informal settlement

TT dates back to the late 80`s. According to a 2010 enumeration report by the Community Organisation Resource Centre (CORC), the settlement had a population of 995 people in 339 households. The City of Cape Town installed Toilets and taps, this is how the settlement have access to water and sanitation. TT section is located in Site B in Khayelitsha, it lies opposite Mangaliso Primary school, with 79% of the settlement depending on social grants as a form of income.

Initially the structure that is now a hall belonged to a particular lady. She then donated her shack to the community to use as a hall where they could hold meetings and church services. However, over the years the structure lost its value as the material it was built in became old and flooded during winter because it was not developed properly.

In the beginning of 2015 the community of TT approached ISN to assist them with upgrading their hall because it was old and the material allowed for bad conditions especially during the winter season.

Alliance Processes

In 2009, ISN first visited the settlement on a mobilisation trip. After intense engagements, the community was convinced of ISN’s approach and willing to engage with the tools of the SA SDI Alliance. It was after that, the community elected 15 members to enumerate the settlement. TT profiled the settlement with the technical support from CORC who also assisted the community with house modelling, planning and design. The community then identified their needs as a community which included partial reblocking and a community hall; but they wanted the hall to take first priority. There were two profiling and enumerations done, one was done 2009 and a new one is being done currently.

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Community doing planning

TT community planning with old structure

TT community planning with old structure

October 2015 marked the start of upgrading the hall  which  is expected to be completed within December. The steering committee is heading up the project with support from ISN and CORC.

Features of the upgraded hall

  • The main feature on the hall is that the material used is non -combustible which decreases the chances of the hall catching fire. The hall has been approved by the City of Cape Town fire department.
  • Another is that the hall has a front and a back exit which could be accessed by all the members depending which side is closest for them.
  • The floor is cemented and well paved which will prevent the flooding during winter season.
TT hall

TT  Community Hall during  upgrading process

Challenges & Learning Points

  • The challenge the community is experiencing is communication barriers with the suppliers of material and this has caused some delays.
  • The value of ISN support on the ground.
  • The value of regular site visits by all invovled actors during the projects to inspect the progress and address challenges that may arise during each stage of upgrading.
  • The community has learnt how to engage with different stakeholders regarding their needs and the importance of unity, communication and cooperation when a settlement wants to change their living conditions.
Nov 06
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Community Voices: “Is BholoBholo a place we can call home?”

By CORC, FEDUP, ISN No Comments

By members of Bholobholo Informal Settlement (on behalf of ISN)*

For the SA SDI Alliance community-produced documentation is crucial. Engaging communities with such processes enables them to drive their own development interests and also positions them to share their experiences in community organization processes such as informal settlement upgrading. IN this way communities demonstrate the approach of the SA SDI Alliance: “Nothing for us without us”.

This blog was written by community members of Bholobholo, namely Nosipho Dzingwa,Masixole Siyaphi,Thabisa Kebe,Bulelwa Dunjwa, Thembela Spele,Nosiphathise Halile,Xolani Maqoko,Lulama Giyama,Zingiswa Tshwela and Mrs Duda.

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Community Documentation Workshop with BholoBholo

History of the settlement

BholoBholo is located on a traffic circle intersection in Extension 6 in Mfuleni Cape Town. This is one of the smallest informal settlements in Cape Town with a land size of 912m².

We were backyarders in the surrounding formal houses. In 2006, we moved to an open space [which later became BholoBholo]. This was the time that plot owners were going to receive RDP houses. Since then we never moved back because the plot owners claimed that they did not have space for backyarders anymore. The church was built in 2007 and several more people joined as they saw an open space too. Some residents in BholoBholo bought shacks and joined the community in this way. To date we have 15 households with 33 people.

BholoBholo is an isiXhosa name for the intestine called ileum. The name came to the settlement because of the street vendors in front of the settlement that sell meat including intestines called uBholobholo. BholoBholo was an open space separating the meat vendors and the formal houses. This space was used for meetings and other activities such as a soccer field for kids.

This blog was written by the community of Bholobholo.

Bholobholo community leaders and community design team members

 Our reality now

Like any informal settlement, BholoBholo community is faced with a number of challenges which include:

  • Electricity

The community of BholoBholo have used illegal connections for electricity, they pay a high amount to the nearest houses just to get their tap connected. These illegal connections are a danger to the kids that play in the area hence they might touch the wires and be shocked or worse, killed.

  • Toilets and Taps

There are a total of four taps in BholoBholo of which two do not work properly. There is also a strong need for taps in the community because we share the ones we have with the meat vendors.We don’t have proper toilets, we make use of the bushes or ask to use the toilet in the formal houses.

  • Multipurpose Hall and Park

We also need a hall to hold meetings and community events and a park for children to play in and be safe.

  • Proper road access

“I wonder what would happen if our settlement could be in a fire? Who would we turn to?”

Masixole Siyaphi, Community leader in Bholobholo.

We need roads so that emergency vehicles can be able to assist us in time of need. Having roads/streets would make the place look neat and easy to find because now it takes longer to find a house number when needed.

Another major problem we are faced with is the dirt caused by the street vendors who use the dumping site to dump meat that they cannot sell. This causes an odor that can be a health hazard and attracts mosquitoes and rats that later bite the children.

Writing Workshop with the community of Bholobholo.

Writing workshop with the community of Bholobholo.

How did we meet ISN?

Nkokheli Ncambele is the one who introduced us to the Informal Settlement Network (ISN) when ISN came to mobilise our settlement. We then attended meetings and learnt the rituals of the alliance. After that we started with the community organisation processes. Our settlement was enumerated by 2 members of the community which we selected ourselves. We also profiled the settlement together as the community. To date we are waiting for reblocking because we have completed the designs together with the CORC technical team. These plans are important to us because

“we want our children to have a place to call home and be safe”

Nosipho Dzingwa, BholoBholo community leader

Community identifying their

Community mapping supported by CORC technical team

*Blog compiled by Andiswa Meke (on behalf of CORC)

Sep 04
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Sharing Knowledge from the Bottom-Up: SDI visits Cape Town Learning Center

By CORC, FEDUP, ISN, SDI No Comments

By Yolande Hendler (on behalf of CORC)

Horizontal learning exchanges form a significant pillar of bottom-up knowledge sharing and a mobilisation tool used by informal settlement dwellers across the Shack/ Slum Dwellers International network. Exchanges are a development tool, which

“help people deal with the root issues of poverty and homelessness and work out their own means to participate in decision-making which affects their lives, locally, nationally & globally. In exchange people are not being trained to do things. They decide themselves what to pick up and what to discard, by visiting others in the same boat. It’s learning without an agenda…on-site, direct from the source, unfiltered”

(Tom Kerr, SDI Secretariat)

In recent years the SDI network has streamlined learning and experience sharing from open ended exchange interaction to a city-level focus in which learning, capacity-building and monitoring is concentrated on four city-level centers of learning. These (Cape Town and Kampala, Mumbai and Accra) were identified due to their capacity to operate at the city scale and demonstrate productive partnerships with government. This blog focuses on a recent visit by the SDI management committee to the Cape Town learning centre, and engages with questions raised by community members around the nature of learning and knowledge sharing in the SDI network.

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Joseph Muturi, from the Kenyan SDI Alliance poses a question to FEDUP / ISN leadership.

The first morning saw national community leaders from the SDI Alliances of Ghana, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe join the South African Alliance , SDI President, Jockin Arputham, and deputy president, Rose Molokoane, in exploring the approach of community-driven process in South Africa. The South African community movements, FEDUP and ISN, spoke about their involvements in respective community projects relating to land access and negotiation, People’s Housing Process (PHP), security of tenure, ensuring access to basic services, informal settlement upgrading, and income generation projects.

When asked what FEDUP and ISN see as particular achievements, FEDUP’s regional leader in the Western Cape Province, Thozama Nomnga, spoke of the Federation’s Income Generation Program (FIGP), which is funded through a revolving loan fund established through FEDUP’s national savings. As much as the FIGP funds are drawn from savings, the program also grows FEDUP’s membership and strengthens savings practice as personal savings are a prerequisite to accessing a loan.

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Visiting a savings group and learning about FIGP in Samora Machel.

During the morning, the group visited a savings scheme in Samora Machel township in Cape Town as well as FEDUP’s Vusi Ntsuntsha group. After a warm welcome at Samora Machel, the savings group facilitator, treasurers and collectors spoke about the FIGP, how loan groups are formed, how loans are allocated and the respective finances are calculated. Savings group members showcased their small businesses – ranging from tailored shwe-shwe Dresses, to tuck-shop goods, beaded jewellery and crafts, fat-cakes and chicken. From Samora Machel the visitors travelled to Vusi Ntsuntsha group, hearing about the group’s successful negotiation for land, and the challenges ahead in terms of securing tenure and housing sites. Hassan Kiberu, from the National Slum Dwellers Federation of Uganda (NSDFU) motivated the group to keep unity and hope:

“By unity we win. When you give up you won’t win. We joined the Federation in Uganda because we have so many problems. Like you, there are many that we haven’t tackled yet. It is important that you are firm, don’t lose hope and keep on saving.”

Income Generation businesses by the Samora Macheal savings scheme

FIGP businesses in Samora Macheal.

The remainder of the day was spent in a packed community structure in Khayelitsha where representatives from more than 5 communities had gathered to share their experiences in informal settlement upgrading, community generated data collection, design, mapping, planning and negotiation with local government. The visitors were introduced to an area-wide upgrading approach around a wetland and the accompanying lengthy negotiations with local government. They also heard about a completed reblocking upgrade in Flamingo Crescent informal settlement and the process of planning for reblocking in three additional settlements.

In conversations and questions posed throughout the day – a recurring interest occurred among community participants concerning the nature of ‘learning’, the necessity for transparent sharing during  community exchanges and what it means to be an “SDI learning centre”. Joseph Muturi from the Kenyan Alliance’s Federation, Muungano Wa Wanavijiji, raised the value of sharing challenges as freely and as frequently as successes.

“How can we learn from each other if we don’t share our challenges? We know that we can learn from every SDI country. In learning centres there is something specific we can learn. But we don’t expect them to be perfect –there will always be challenges, and we need to learn from them.”

Community gathering in Khayelitsha on informal settlement upgrading.

Community gathering in Khayelitsha on informal settlement upgrading.

On this note, ISN shared the difficulties of navigating tensions between steering committees and communities, the rivalry between different civic organisations, varying levels of co-operation from Councillors and long delays by city councils that cause disillusionment in communities. Kenyan representatives spoke about their ability to secure tenure for 10 000 informal settlement dwellers through bio-metric data collection, using mobile phones – learnt from the interaction between Ugandan Federation members and their City officials. In reflecting on the exchange, Nkokheli Ncambele, provincial ISN coordinator, echoes the value of bottom-up knowledge generation in exchanges:

“It was very beneficial to be exposed to savings and the FIGP businesses – we managed to send a successful message to community leaders in Khayelitsha about upgrading and savings. We learnt how other countries use their profiling data to engage with the City. We need to do the same”.

Aug 13
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Community Voices – “Welcome to Santini informal settlement”

By FEDUP, ISN No Comments

By Santini Community Members (on behalf of ISN)

This blog was written by Santini's community documenters depicted in this picture: Veronica Lebakeng, Nwabisa Ndzendze, Bathandwa Yengeni, Loniswa Dumbela. Grace Lebakeng, Thobela Nqophiso, Thulie Lebakeng, Thanduxolo Bayibile, Melikhaya Nqopiso, Likuwe Bayibile

This blog was written by Santini’s community documenters depicted in this picture: Veronica Lebakeng, Nwabisa Ndzendze, Bathandwa Yengeni, Loniswa Dumbela. Grace Lebakeng, Thobela Nqophiso, Thulie Lebakeng, Thanduxolo Bayibile, Melikhaya Nqopiso, Likuwe Bayibile

For the SA SDI Alliance community-generated documentation is an integral aspect of community-driven process. This means that communities are not only best positioned to take a central role in driving their own development interests but also to speak about and document their experiences in community organisation processes such as informal settlement upgrading . For communities it is evident that

“No one can tell our story better than we can”

In Mfuleni, Cape Town, community leaders in Santini informal settlement have been involved in pioneering a community-centred documentation approach in the Alliance. Through a series of workshops they have used ‘story-telling and writing’ to record and document their story. This includes Santini’s experience of community mobilisation and preparation for upgrading as well as personal accounts of realities, challenges and desired alternatives.By documenting their own experiences, community members are building a voice of the urban poor from the bottom up.

This is the first in a series of blogs entitled “Community Voices”, written by community residents, who introduce their settlement and share their story.

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History of Santini

Santini is called Santini because it was once an open space with a lot of sand [in isiXhosa “isanti” means “sand”]. We started living in Santini in 2004 with most people coming from the Eastern Cape. We were living as backyarders in the surrounding formal houses before they [plot owners] got RDP houses.

There came a time when the plot owners [formal homeowners] had to move to an open space (which was already called Santini) because their RDP houses were going to be built. The backyarders moved to Santini as well. We [backyarders] weren’t allowed back into their plots when the houses were done, some claimed that they didn’t have space anymore.

In 2004 there were 8 shacks in Santini, but today there are 43 shacks including the ones brought in by the South African National Civic Organisation (SANCO). We don’t feel safe because people in [the formal houses] claim the land [Santini] belongs to their children and not to us [as former backyarders].  Apparently their children are in need of a place to reside, so the people in the formal houses approached SANCO to resolve the matter. It was agreed via SANCO that the residents’ children can reside in Santini too.

Thanduxolo, Santini community leaders with steering committee members record their memory of Santini's history

Thanduxolo, Santini community leaders with steering committee members record their memory of Santini’s history

Our Reality Now

These are the things we need:

Electricity

We don’t have proper electricity. We rely on connections from the formal houses, and we pay R150 monthly. If the electricity ends before the month ends, we are required to pay more. If we do not pay more money, our tap will be unplugged. The connections are dangerous. When a big truck passes by the wires break, and they can shock the children when they are playing.

Taps

In Santini we have only one tap and there are many people living here so we hold a long queue when we need water. We cannot get water at night because of safety.

Toilets

We have a total of 7 toilets, but only 4 are working and are far from us. We fear to use the toilets at night. We fear to be mugged because of the darkness.

Roads

We don’t have proper roads, so emergency services are unable to assist the community in times of need like when someone is sick or there is a fire.

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Proper Houses

We don’t have proper housing, and the structures that we are living in is old. We can’t even extend because we have no land of our own. Some people have extended families, and it’s hard to live in a one-room house with everyone.

Streetlights

Since we have no street lights we fear going outside during the night because it’s dark. It’s risky to go because we fear being mugged.

Dust Bins

Our place is filthy because we don’t have a place or dust bins to drop unwanted materials.

Drains

We don’t have drains so people use toilets as an alternative and that results in the blockage of the toilets.

Solutions

We need electricity, water, toilets, and proper houses. The ideal solution is to get more toilets or each household to get their own toilet to avoid waiting for people when one wants to use the toilet.

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Tracking and documenting Santini’s solutions thus far

We, as a community of Santini, decided to seek help from the Informal Settlement Network (ISN). We told them about our living conditions and challenges as a community.Nkokheli Ncambele [Western Cape coordinator of ISN] is the one who introduced us to ISN. After the introduction to the [SA SDI] Alliance, we attended their meetings [and understood the processes] . [After some negotiation] toilets were installed by the municipality. We then began [Alliance] processes like enumerating our settlements. ISN also introduced us to the tools of profiling, community designing and learning exchanges. During profiling, we measured the existing structures. We used the enumeration to record the number of people living in Santini and their activities. A group of us went on a visit to see Flamingo Crescent and to be educated about the re-blocking of Flamingo Crescent.

Feb 23
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CORC planner honoured with SAPI Young Planner Award

By CORC, News No Comments
On site in Flamingo Crescent Informal Settlement

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

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 Nyanga, Cape Town

In Kuku Town informal settlement with community leader Verona Joseph

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

SAPI Award Ceremony in Durban, Oct 2014

Discussing Plans with Flamingo Crescent Community Steering Committee

Discussing Plans with Flamingo Crescent Community Steering Committee

With Kuku Town Steering Committee, Kensington

With Kuku Town Steering Committee, Kensington