This research work evaluates the quality of the built environment and the improvement of quality of life for beneficiary communities under South Africa's housing policy. Adequate housing means the availability of an improved built environment and quality of life for beneficiaries.
Problem statement
With the need to deliver, there has been little focus on quality and this has affected the quality of the residential environment and as a result, the quality of life of the beneficiaries is affected in various ways. Some of these built environments have poor infrastructure quality, which negatively impacts the lives of the beneficiary communities.
Aims and Objectives
This dissertation broadly addresses issues affecting South Africa, thus failing to achieve its objective of providing a housing environment that will improve the quality of life of the beneficiaries. The following indicators were used in this research work to check whether the built housing environment is of good quality and has the potential to help and improve the situation of the beneficiaries.
Research question
Sub-questions
Hypothesis
Housing White Paper (1994) and to improve the quality of life in these built environments, adequate housing must be provided for the beneficiaries.
Definition of concepts Built housing projects
Refers to the acceptable standard of living that allows people access to opportunities and some sense of satisfaction with their living environment. There are certain indicators that the researcher uses to assess the quality of life in residential environments such as socio-economic integration, access to facilities, being exposed to social infrastructure, being exposed to economic opportunities that help develop your residential environment and neighborhood. .
Research Methodology The researcher used two
- Secondary Data
- Primary Data
- Sampling procedure
- Data Analysis
Winston Oak needed to establish the status of the provincial housing department, particularly the policy department, on the quality of the built environment and its ability to improve the lives of beneficiaries. The developers of the case studies were interviewed as they were the ones responsible for the implementation of these residential environments.
Chapter Outline Chapter 1
It is precisely in this part of the study that it becomes clear whether the visions of the housing policy have been achieved.
Introduction to literature review and theoretical framework
Theories informing the study
Neo-classical theory
This theory is about removing barriers to the efficient operation of the housing market. Proponents of this theory argue that the market plays a role in the location of the poor.
Welfarist theory
It has also been criticized for creating dependency, monotonous residential suburbs and high housing expectations. It also provides for programs to provide for housing and for equitable distribution of resources.
Support Paradigm
This approach informs my study in that some projects that have been built in the form of locations and services are terrible because people cannot continue to consolidate their residential environment. The question to ask in order to offer people useful support should be "what kind of support do people want that can improve their housing environment and their lives".
Land problems
The topography and shortage of land are the critical issues central to locating the low-income groups. In some of these built housing environments, people are located on steep slopes and this prevents beneficiaries from improving their homes, even if they have access to resources to improve their living environments.
Housing location and economic opportunities
Socially, both residents and outsiders experience these residential environments as sterile, antisocial and dangerous environments. Morphologically, it is argued that these residential environments are spatially fragmented and segregated, which has meant increased infrastructure costs and increased crime rates.
Indicators for a qualitative housing environment
- Integrated planned housing environment
- Residential quality
- Suitable building materials
- Security from inhuman conditions and security of tenure
- Standard of dwelling units
- Local economic development initiatives
- Enough space to extend and flexibility
- Availability of infrastructure and social services Availabili ty of social infrastructure is another indicator
Based on the above argument, it can be concluded that the quality of the residential environment depends on its ability to meet the preferences of the beneficiaries. Poor provision of infrastructure means poor quality of the residential environment and leads to poor quality of life for residents.
The status quo of the housing environments
Shortage social services
Another characteristic that characterizes the built residential environment is that they lack public places such as schools, day care centers, open spaces to name a few. Dewar and Uytenbogaart (1995) argue for this when they say that the role of public places in the lives of the urban poor is critical.
Overcrowding and lack of privacy
Before we go much further, it is crucial to mention that overcrowding results in a lack of privacy or erodes privacy. Lazenby states that lack of privacy in contemporary homes is often a source of irritation due to the lack of partitions.
Housing quality and international experience
The approach taken by the Nigerian government was to address the need for shelters, forgetting the real needs of the people staying. For South Africa to achieve its goals in terms of housing provision, it should adopt and follow the steps of countries that have succeeded in providing housing.
Historical Background of Quarry Heights Quarry
As is often the case with informal settlements, the land was unstable, which made it unsuitable for housing development, so against this background, another place would be identified for the resettlement of Canaan informal settlers. The City Council's suggestion of a temporary camp was challenged in court and it was said that the temporary camp was inconsistent with the zoning of the area and would adversely affect local business, but the council managed to escape and the point was reached. where the council was given the right to protect the lives of innocent poor people who faced the problem of poor living conditions.
Historical Background of Waterloo
The following is the analysis of the data collected from the residents of Waterloo and Quarry Heights regarding the quality of the residential environment and the improvement of the quality of life of the beneficiaries. Improving the quality of life depends on the capacity or capacity of the residential environment to meet the needs of the beneficiaries.
Employment Status
The analyzed data collected from Waterloo and Quarry Heights would make it possible to reach a conclusion about the quality of the housing environments created for low-income groups. The employed respondents complained that they ultimately did not invest in anything because of transportation costs.
Average monthly cost on transport per household
Period of Stay
In Quarry Heights, 83 percent of respondents had been there for 3 to 4 years, and only a minority had managed to extend their houses. The raiding process found in Waterloo and Quarry Heights led the informants to conclude that people were either subletting or selling starter homes because they could not afford to pay for services.
Beneficiaries' Previous Housing Environment
Comparison of new and previous housing environments .1 Quarry Heights Housing Project
- Waterloo Housing Project
The location was strongly criticized by this group as they pointed out that Waterloo was not well located. Out of this 63 percent, 40 percent pointed to ongoing problems related to construction defects in their houses.
Construction Defects in Waterloo and Quarry Heights
In Waterloo, 47 per cent of respondents were satisfied with the plot sizes and the other 53 per cent were not. In Quarry Heights, 40 percent of respondents were satisfied with their lot sizes and the remaining 60 percent of respondents claimed they were not satisfied with their lot sizes.
Constraints caused by plot location
The nature of the satisfaction corresponded to the fact that the plot sizes offered the beneficiaries room for expansion. The respondents who were dissatisfied claimed that the lot sizes did not provide outdoor living space.
Satisfaction with the Quality of building material used The respondents were also asked about the satisfaction in
Privacy Level in Quarry Heights and household size
Satisfaction of residents about orientation of housing units
Level of Security in Waterloo
In the case of Quarry Heights, 67 percent of respondents complained about security level in their housing environment as they indicated that it was poor. Some other houses in Quarry Heights were located where water normally passes, as a result soil was eroded and the houses could fall at any time because they did not even have substructure or foundations (refer to figure 4.12 (c) which shows poor location of the house. unit in Quarry Heights along the stream).
Feelings about service delivery in Quarry Heights and Waterloo
- Electricity
- Water/Sewerage Service
- Waste Management
- Telephone Service
As for garbage removal, 67 percent of respondents in Quarry Heights claimed it was a poor service. In Waterloo, 93 percent of respondents said phone service was poor in the area, with the remaining 7 percent saying it was good.
Accessibility of Public facilities in Waterloo
- Shopping facilities
- Sports facilities
- Educational facilities
- Health facilities Heath
- Community hall
The respondents argued that the hall only served the interests of the Indian community. Another 17 percent argued that the hall's accessibility was very good as it was located along the road to Verulum.
Accessibility of Public Facilities in Quarry Heights Respondents from Quarry Heights were also interviewed in
- Shopping facilities
- Sports facilities
- Educational facilities
- Heath facilities
- Community hall
Although these 17 percent argued that schools were accessible, they complained that they lacked a library in the area. The remaining 3 percent also argued that the accessibility of the health facilities was very good.
Availability of Transport in Waterloo and Quarry Heights
In Quarry Heights 80 percent argued that the transport service was poor and 20 percent argued that it was good. Respondents argued that they would like to have a variety of transport operating in their residential environment.
Affordability of services
This was a limitation as respondents claimed that most people in this residential setting were unemployed. By virtue of the fact that Quarry Height and Waterloo lack essential services, the respondents argued that the location of their residential environment was poor.
Satisfaction and housing needs
Shortage of aesthetic qualities
Therefore, in order for any residential design to be of high quality, the issue of aesthetics must be taken into account. Planning staff with strong expertise in planning settlements for low-income groups should be used to create a welcoming social environment that will bring about an improved quality of life.
Infrastructure developments
The way this built housing environment looked was as if they did not form part of the city. In conclusion, however, it can be said that some of the beneficiaries are unhappy about the quality of the built housing environment that did not meet their needs.
Conclusion
The failure of the government has resulted in the fact that some departments and people on the ground are not interested in helping. In this regard, neoclassical theorists urge the government to intervene so that there is no bias in the distribution of resources.
Recommendations
This means that work and cultural facilities must be integrated into the residential environment for low-income groups. In order to ensure quality, the issue of quality of work in providing housing for low-income groups should be examined.
APPENDIX
- Gender
- Are you employed?
- Where is your place of employment?
- How much do you spend on transport per month?
- Type of employment
- How long have you lived in this place?
- Before living here where did you live?
- Why did you move from your original place?
- How would you compare quality of your previous housing environment and this one?
- Do you have any construction defects in your house?
- How do you feel about your plot size?
- Do you have any constraints caused by you plot size?
- What are the positive aspects of your plot?
- If you had a bigger plot what would you do with the remaining part after construction of your house has been completed?
- Are you satisfied with the quality of the material that was used in building your house?
- How many household members reside in this house?
- How is the level of privacy?
- How do you feel about the orientation of your house?
- How would you define the level of security in this area?
- How would you define residential environment in meeting your social and economic needs?
- How do you feel about service delivery in this area?
- Do you have waste collection service in this area?
- Are you satisfied about waste removal service in this area?
- Do you have a telephone in your house?
- How much do you spend on transport travelling to and from work?
- Do you afford to pay for the services?
- How has Metro contributed to the well being of the low-income groups residing in Durban Metro?
- Are there any dwelling standards recommended by Metro Hosing Department in relation to the quality of built housing environment?
- How does Metro Housing Department help the low-income groups to access well located land for housing development that can improve the quality of
- What constraints does Metro Housing Department experience in getting the land for low-cost housing?
- How can it be tackled?
- What level of services does Durban Metro Housing Department recommend that can improve the quality of built housing environment? Why?
- What would be your comment on the quality of built housing in general that has been created?
- What has been done by Metro Housing Department to support people to generate income?
- The vision of Durban Metro Housing Department is to ensure that all people have secure tenure, services, and support in their housing environments
- How can you be assisted to perform better and where would this assistance come from?
- Do you think the subsidy amount is enough to help the beneficiaries to access qualitative housing that can improve their life quality?
- Why is the subsidy amount not responding to inflation?
- What effect has that caused to the housing provision programmes?
- Do you think this housing environment has met integrated development objectives that are mentioned in the housing policy? Support your answer?
- Has the built housing environment for low-income groups achieved policy's intentions in terms of quality?
- What does the Provincial Housing Department do to improve the quality of these built housing environment so as that the quality of life for the
- How do you make sure that the developers bring about qualitative housing?
- Do you think the provision of more dwelling units rather than adequate is a good way of combating housing backlog?
- Would you refer to this housing environment as adequate housing as the housing policy requires
- Do people have all social and commercial services in this area?
- Do you have enough social infrastructure and services such as schools, roads, public spaces etc that support this housing environment?
- Are there any programmes intended to help people to generate income within this housing environment?
- Do you have any complaints from the community in relation to the quality of built housing environment?
- What has been done to help the situation?
- What do you feel about the level of service delivery in this area?
- Do you think this housing environment is of good quality that it can improve the beneficiaries' quality of life?
- Who is responsible for maintenance of the services?
- Do you think it is well maintained?
- Who is responsible for servicing of this area as far as waste removal is concerned?
- Do you think it is well serviced?
You have complaints from the community about the quality of the built residential environment. 15. What do you think should be done to improve this housing environment in order to improve the quality of life for the beneficiaries.
