Household surveys were also conducted with the Cato Crest households that operated HBEs in the upgraded settlement, which they also did in the informal settlement prior to the upgrade. This process was too expensive for poor households operating HBEs in Cato Crest.
Chapter One: Research Introduction
- Background
- Problem Statement
- Objectives of study
- Research question and subsidiary questions
- Research question
- Subsidiary questions
- Motivation for the study
- Definition of key concepts
- Informal settlements
- Informal settlement upgrading
- Home-based enterprises (HBEs)
- Research methodology
- Secondary data sources
- Primary data sources
- Data analysis
- Structure of dissertation
This dissertation critically assesses the impact of informal settlement upgrading on the use of the house for income generation, a practice that was common among households in the Cato Crest informal settlement. What are the positive and negative impacts of upgrading informal settlements on the use of shelters for income-generating activities.
Chapter Two: Theoretical and Conceptual Framework
Introduction
In this chapter, the researcher explores the work of theorists such as Hernando De Soto, a Peruvian economist who theorized the "Secret of Capital" that influenced the intervention strategies of informal settlements. The study also explores the "clash of civilizations" theory, which was the work of political scientist and Harvard professor Samuel P.
Principal Theories
- The Mystery of Capital Theory
- The Housing Asset Triangle
- The Clash of Civilisations
Rust further states that in South African informal settlements, the house is most commonly used for income generation. The other civilization consists of the poor beneficiaries of the ISUP, who live in informal settlements and engage in income-generating activities with the help of the house.
Housing policy and the South African Informal Settlements Upgrading Programme
- The history of informal settlement intervention by governments
- South African experience of informal settlements upgrading and its impact on
- International experience of informal settlements upgrading and its impact on
HBEs and renting out rooms were some of the income generation strategies that had flourished in informal settlements. Households practicing home-based enterprises (HBE) in South Africa's informal settlements experience immediate improvements as a result of BNG's Informal Settlements Improvement Program of 2004. 34 Seraleng moved households away from urban areas to the outskirts of the city.
Therefore, in the Seraleng case, the improvement of informal settlements negatively affected the use of the house for income generation by most of the poorest households.
Chapter summary
Huntington (1996) states that when the upgrading of informal settlements is carried out by the state, there are disagreements between government officials and the beneficiaries on various upgrading issues. The chapter then explores how some examples of informal settlement upgrading, carried out without the involvement of households managing HBEs throughout the process, negatively impact HBEs. It was not until 2004 that South Africa's post-apartheid democratic government began to modernize informal settlements using ISUP BNG.
The international case studies of informal settlement upgrading discussed in the chapter show how upgrading can be undertaken in such a way as to positively impact the functioning of HBEs, as long as the beneficiaries of the upgrade play a greater role in process.
Background to case study area, upgrading and HBEs in Cato Crest
Introduction
Cato Manor has at various times been home to a large number of residents of various races, whose right of occupancy usually depends on the government policy of the time. The move was completed in the late 1960s and Cato Manor remained largely unoccupied for the next 20 years. In 1994, a democratic African National Congress (ANC) government was voted into power, giving the Cato Manor area a "new lease of life" through renovation.
The new government introduced the Cato Manor Development Project (CMDP) and this was the start of all the current development taking place at Cato Manor (Robinson et al, 2004).
The Informal Settlements Upgrading Process in Cato Manor
Housing density is falling and displacing neighbors, dismantling established livelihood networks that are essential to the daily survival strategies of low-income households. CMDA, 2002) Therefore, upgrading informal settlements negatively affected the HBEs and destroyed people's ability to generate income, pushing the households into poverty. The informal upgrading of settlements in Cato Crest was taken up in 2004 by the eThekwini Municipality, which implemented the Cato Crest Slums Clearance Housing Project (CCSCHP), under the guidelines of the BNG's ISUP (eThekwini Municipality, 2010).
The map shows compacted informal settlements that are yet to be upgraded, temporary shelters or housing waiting areas set up to accommodate informal settlement households that are in the way of services, and upgraded housing units and other CCSCHP buildings. in Cato Crest.
The existence of home-based entrepreneurship in Cato Crest
In theory this is the predicted growth path, from the CMDA LED strategy, 'up the ladder' for HBEs at Cato Crest as illustrated in diagram 2 below (Robinson et al, 2004). Through observations of the Cato Crest area, a variety of economic activities practiced by the residents can be witnessed. The upgrade at Cato Crest is currently being implemented by the eThekwini Municipality using BNG's Informal Settlement Upgrading Policy (ISUP).
Upgrading informal settlements has a negative impact on home-based enterprises (HBEs) as households fail to re-establish their HBEs in formal settlements due to the cost implications associated with operating a successful HBE in the upgraded Cato Crest settlement.
Presentation and Analysis of Primary Data
Introduction
- Data analysis
49 within their districts provided they meet certain requirements, which the National Department of Housing refers to as the 'municipal responsibilities' criteria outlined in Part 3 of the National Housing Programme: Upgrading Informal Settlements (Department of Housing, 2004 ). ISUP has three phases which when implemented inevitably affect the existing use of the house for income generation. Raw data collected from interviews conducted with eThekwini Municipality officials who were involved in the Cato Crest Slum Housing Clearance Project (CCSCHP), as well as primary data collected from the household survey conducted with families operating HBE in improved settlements and transit camps, was organized, prepared and the accuracy of information was verified by the researcher in preparation for data analysis.
These themes were interpreted using the headings associated with the study, under which a description of the headings is presented, using data collected from interviews with officials and household surveys as presented below.
The process of informal settlements upgrading in the Cato Crest Slum Clearance Housing
52 especially as households practicing HBEs were a common and visible feature of the Cato Crest informal settlement. The provision of basic services, social amenities and secure properties constitute the second phase of the ISUP, which was implemented in the Cato Crest Slum Clearance Housing Project (CCSCHP). Therefore, households operating HBEs in the upgraded settlement of Cato Crest had to leave their homes and move into a container to benefit from these support structures.
The main problem was that the informal modernization of settlements in the Cato Crest Slum Clearance Housing Project was carried out as if none of the households being modernized were actually using their houses to generate income.
Officials versus beneficiaries understanding of how upgrading impacts HBEs in Cato
The eThekwini Business Support Unit and the Cato Manor ABM LED Offices both have development support links with the various businesses in Cato Crest. An example of the latter in Cato Crest was that people in the upgraded settlement now had electricity and so bought refrigerators. The modernization process would take place in the Cato Crest Slum Clearance Housing Project, to which the beneficiaries did not have access.
For households operating HBEs in the improved settlements, success tended to depend on the location of the business.
Officials’ perceptions and the realities of HBEs in Cato Crest
64 From interviews conducted with officials, the four most prominent businesses in the Cato Crest development are listed below in order of the number of times they were mentioned by officials. 65 Below is an analysis of how officials treated HBE-led households in upgrading the Cato Crest informal settlement. However, one of the interviewed HBE owners who run a shebeen in the Cato Crest Transit Camp stated that he was constantly harassed and asked for bribes by a local police officer at the shebeen.
The impact of the improvement of Cato Crest informal settlements on the HBE was mainly negative due to the impact that the attitude of the officials had on the HBE.
Support systems for home-based enterprises in Cato Crest
Illustrations of surviving HBEs that have transferred from the informal settlements to
69 Plate 1: A tuck shop built from wood Plate 2: Upgraded house extended located next to the upgraded house. To the left to accommodate a tuck. There is a footpath from the road to the shop using concrete blocks.
Chapter summary
The chapter explored the shared understanding between officials and households in Cato Crest regarding the different types of HBEs, revealing that officials had some knowledge of the types of HBEs in Cato Crest, as well as the fact that such HBEs' are tend to lose their customers with the upgrade. The chapter then explored the points of divergence regarding the impact of upgrading on HBEs in Cato Crest, where it became apparent that officials did not have a clear understanding of the importance of HBEs as a poverty reduction strategy, and the officials' main and arguably only focus for the upgrade in Cato Crest was the provision of services and housing. HBEs therefore tended to be a non-issue, bringing the chapter to a discussion of the implications of the common understandings and points of divergence between officials and beneficiaries of upgrading and its impact on HBEs.
The chapter concluded with illustrations of screened HBE survivors successfully transitioned from informal settlements to upgraded settlements in Cato Crest.
Conclusion and recommendations
How would you rate the success rate of home-based entrepreneurship in the Cato Crest Informal Settlements Improvement Project? How to interact with households running home-based enterprises before informal settlement upgrading is undertaken. How is this mandate translated/interpreted in the treatment of household enterprises in informal settlements.
How would you rate the degree of success of home-based entrepreneurship in the Cato Crest Informal Settlement Upgrade Project. To what extent were these home-based businesses a feature of the Cato Crest upgrading scene? How is this mandate translated/interpreted in dealing with home-based enterprises in informal settlements.
