As previously stated, an integrated approach is one which consists of proper co-ordination between the social and economic activities of people and such co-ordination is highly dependent on location as location determines accessibility. Although distance and time costs, and location, along with other elements such as good quality public services and amenities such as schools, shops, health facilities, places of employment and recreation etc, are important aspects in determining well- located land for low-income households, one of the key detriments encountered in obtaining well- located land for the delivery of low-income housing is accessibility. Hence the concept of accessibility is looked into and discussed within the context of housing. For the purpose of this dissertation, accessibility is discussed in its specific reference to urban opportunities.
According to Watson (1999) cited in Herve (2009), current low-income households in South Africa have been a reproduction of the apartheid era spatial organisation as these low-income housing units continue to be built on the outskirts of urban areas with low levels of accessibility.
In the context of delivery of low-income housing, accessibility refers to the meeting of the circulation needs of residents. In terms of accessibility, residents are entitled to mobility and have access to affordable public transportation, commercial and social facilities, services and employment opportunities. The lack of access to affordable transportation modes moreover hampers the mobility of the poor (Sokhela, 2006).
4.5.1 Assessing accessibility
In order to evaluate spatial integration, accessibility levels would need to be assessed. For example, if spatial integration of low-income housing projects in South Africa are to be a success, the highest level of accessibility would be required for the low-income households. However South African
50 built environment planners often misunderstand the role of accessibility and assess it poorly. Geurs
& van Wee (2004) define interrelated components of accessibility which can be useful in assessing the highest level of accessibility.
The first component is the land-use component. This component consists of spatial distribution of destination and origin locations. Destination locations refer to activity sites that supply opportunities whilst origin locations refer to the sites from which the demand for opportunities originates. The land-use component looks at the interaction between both the destination and origin locations (Geurs and van Wee, 2004). In the context of South African low-income housing development, destination locations are seen as areas in close proximity to the CBD and origin locations are the areas in which low-income households generally exist, which are normally located on the urban periphery.
Therefore the land-use component looks at the nexus between both the areas close to the CBD and the outer periphery. The land-use component is thus important in this study as it shows how two areas interact and exist spatially in order for them to be spatially integrated. The second component is the transportation component. This entails describing the transportation system in terms of the negative aspects that individuals are faced with when travelling to and from destination and origin locations, using a specific transportation mode, travel time and cost, and the degree of difficulty that individuals experience in order to overcome distance between origin and destination locations.
The third aspect with regards to assessing accessibility is the temporal component. This component reflects on the availability of opportunities at different times of the day and the amount of time that people have to partake in certain activities. The final component is the individual component which describes an individual’s socio-economic and demographic characteristics; their age, level of income, gender, level of education, health status and household characteristics, which may affect their ability to gain access to various transport modes and be entitled to spatially distributed opportunities (Geurs and van Wee, 2004). In this study, data was collected from various categories of resident’s as the achievement of spatial integration varied amongst different individuals as a result of their personal socio-economic and demographic characteristics.
For low-income housing developments in South Africa to be spatially integrated, the four elements of accessibility need to be spearheaded in the design, planning and implementation stages of low-
51 income housing delivery. The land-use component should be implemented to ensure optimal interaction between both areas close to the CBD and on the outskirts. The transport component needs to be certain and user-friendly. While the temporal component should be transparent, for instance availability periods of activities and opportunities should be made available at all times.
The individual component which focuses on the distribution of opportunities should encompass social characteristics in terms of household situations, economic characteristics in respect of income levels and travelling costs, and demographic characteristics, for example age and gender.
This will ensure that low-income housing developments have the highest level of accessibility to urban opportunities.
Although the South African government has tried to incorporate the concept of spatial integration in low-income housing projects, the post-apartheid government has failed thus far. Many of these housing developments tend to be of bad physical quality and located on the outskirts of the city, repeating the spatial patterns of the apartheid era. The primary South African legislative frameworks, policy instruments and programmes that have attempted to address the lack of spatial integration in low-income housing are namely: the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) of 1994, the Housing White paper of 1994, the Development and Facilitation Act (DFA) of 1995, Constitution of Republic of South Africa of 1996, Housing Act of 1997, Breaking New Ground (BNG) of 2004, Inclusionary Housing Policy (IHP) of 2007, National Housing code (2000, revised in 2009), the Integrated Residential Development Programme (IRDP) of 2009 and the Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act (SPLUMA) no 16 of 2013. These policy instruments, programmes and initiatives are discussed in greater detail in the next chapter.
Chapter four provided an in-depth review of the relevant literature related to spatial integration with specific reference to low-income housing development. It critically defined the concept of integration and its practicality in the South African context and also unpacked the different forms of integration. The chapter then went on to explore arguments by various authors that are centered around housing developments which are located on the periphery of urban centres.
52 CHAPTER FIVE: South African housing policy, legislative instruments and programmes on spatial integration
Chapter three of the study discussed the concept of spatial integration and its origins, along with its importance in South African low-income housing. The objectives of housing policies and delivery mechanisms that function currently is directly due to repercussions of housing policies and strategies that were pursued prior to the year 1994 (Sabela, 2014). This chapter discusses the history of segregation and the various initiatives that have been undertaken by the post-apartheid government in order to create spatially integrated housing settlements. South Africa’s history in respect of spatial disintegration dates far back to the early 1600s and can be broken down into three phases namely, the colonial city (pre- 1910), the segregation city (1910 - 1948) and the apartheid city (1948 – 1994) (Van de Merwe, 1998).
Prior to the colonial occupation of Southern Africa, there were complex political, economic and social structures which characterized locational and spatial organization of indigenous settlements.
Elements of segregation arose during the period of Dutch rule between 1652 and 1806 and was progressively exacerbated as time passed by (Beinart and Dubow, 1995). Since the 1650’s, there have been various significant events which have occurred that have disrupted the settlement patterns of local communities which are discussed below. These events resulted in large scale involuntary migrations of poor non-whites and marked the beginning of segregation and exclusion in South Africa (Strauss, 2017).