LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
CHAPTER 2: DEFINING THE PROBLEM
2.1 The problem outlined
The planning, construction and establishment of human settlements is one of the most significant, expensive and time-consuming activities in which societies engage. If mistakes or wrong decisions are made on a significant scale, it is particularly expensive and difficult to correct. Yet, surprisingly, little is known about the relationship between architectural, social, economic and locational variables and the evolution of neighbourhoods into socially sustainable communities, or their downward spiral into social malaise (Turner 1976b; Gilbert, 1986). The human settlements within the Ethekwini region offer an especially interesting and rich case in which to study the effect of these variables and their role in the physical and social development of residential areas.
The rapid urbanisation process experienced by the region during the past two and a half decades has produced vast residential areas, where very different degrees of physical and social consolidation can be observed. Although most of these residential settlements started from a common origin and similar scarce resources, some of them have developed into areas with rich social communities, while others remain in slum like conditions with evident signs of decay.
All of these residential settlements within South Africa were built through the Government's Housing Subsidy Programme, either prior to the 1994 democratic elections or after the 1994 democratic elections. The Apartheid Government Housing
Programme comprised of two delivery models. The low-density development programme comprised of a plot of approximately 350m2 and a house measuring not more than 40m2. The unit comprised of two bedrooms, a living room, kitchen, bathroom and a toilet. The medium density developments were a maximum of three-storey apartment blocks with the individual units comprising of two bedrooms, a living room, kitchen, bathroom and a toilet. The units in the low-density settlements were allocated to beneficiaries, who had to repay the capital costs of the units back to the state in monthly instalments, which amounted to approximately 10% of their monthly income.
The medium density units were allocated to beneficiaries on a 'rent to buy' basis. There again, the capital costs were paid back to the state in the same manner as in the low- density units. The post Apartheid government programme provided each beneficiary with a plot comprising a top structure which was facilitated through a 'once off' subsidy grant.
The top structure comprised of a 30m2 cement block unit with a wet core being the toilet facility and a sink in the kitchen. The top structure also provided a connection to gain access to drinking water, waterborne sewage and electricity. However, this programme left further consolidation in the hands of the inhabitants themselves with no further governmental support or advice. These projects include the GHP as well as the SRP. Other project types, which also fall under the Housing Subsidy Programme, include the previously mentioned SHP wherein a basic unit is developed for the beneficiary on a "rent" to "buy" scheme. All of these project types are part of South Africa's Government Programme to deal with the housing crisis at hand.
There exists a dearth of studies on the differential consolidation of these settlements.
The available South African literature on housing programmes primarily concentrates on urbanisation and the way unequal and conflicting class and other interests have shaped urbanisation patterns (Bundy 1972; Dewar & Retal, 1982 (a) & (b); Hindson, 1987 (a) & (b)).
Moreover, there is an abundance of studies that have been undertaken on the consolidation of informal settlements in similar Third World countries such as in Latin America (Turner, 1976 & Gilbert, 1986). Evaluative studies on these settlements have identified several significant variables in stimulating the housing process and neighborhood consolidation process, such as income, length of time inhabitants spent in the neighbourhood and commercial activities in the settlements. However, it has emerged that social variables alone do not provide an adequate explanation for the
enormous differences found on the site, especially in accounting for differences in the degree of consolidation or degeneration of the respective settlements (Hillier; Greene &
Douglas; 2000). This allowed for the possibility that locational differentiation may be a key factor in influencing the social sustainability of these environments. In effect, physical and spatial designs should be implicated, and the extent of their influence needs to be tested. One of the key difficulties in testing the role of locational variables has been the lack of objective locational descriptors to test against observed social and physical variables (Hillier & Penn, 1991). This has adversely impacted the field, especially at the application level which is not able to offer clear proposals for intervention or provide further solutions.
Several authors have contributed observations and clear insight to the understanding of this socio-spatial relation. Nevertheless, their recommendations for interventions have been much weaker. Authors such as Alexander (1966) have realised the importance and complexity of the urban grid, but have offered rigid and somewhat weak proposals. Moreover, although the importance of leaving multiple choices at the level of the urban grid as a means to generate rich urban life have been postulated, no realistic intervention has been proposed or offered to date.
The 'space syntax' configurational analysis pioneered over the past two decades at the Bartlett School of the University of Central London provides scientific solutions to test spatial and locational variables. The 'space syntax' allows for the resolution of spatial and physical data at the micro dwelling or settlement) level as well as the macro city- wide urban scale (Hillier & Hanson, 1984; Hillier, 1996 (b)). Studies using this particular technique have already demonstrated strong relations between locational variables and a wide variety of social phenomena, from the production of post Apartheid knowledge (Hillier & Penn; 1991), to the generation of creative work environments, as well as to the location of vandalism and crime (Hillier, 1988; Hillier et ai, 1986 (b); 1989 (a); 1989 (c); 1993).
The research work presented here draws together experience in the social study of settlements that has been undertaken at the Bartlett School of Technology with the English theoretical and methodological approach to the locational aspect. The goal is to improve the understanding of the consolidation process undergone by the low-income residential settlements within the Ethekwini Region by incorporating locational variables into the analysis. The research commenced with the idea that the consolidation
differences could also be related to the locational configuration of the urban grid, especially to the settlement's embedment in the global grid of the city.