South African CSD18 Country Report
The World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) reaffirmed the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) as the highest-level commission dealing with sustainable development within the United Nations system…
Cost-Benefit Analysis of Energy Efficiency in Urban Low Cost Housing
This cost–benefit analysis study considered energy-efficiency measures in low-cost housing, primarily standard 30 m2 Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) houses…
Executive Summary - The Economics of Climate Change
The scientific evidence is now overwhelming: climate change presents very serious global risks, and it demands an urgent global response. This independent Review was commissioned by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, reporting to both the Chancellor and to the Prime Minister, as a contribution to assessing the evidence and building understanding of the economics of climate change…
A Model For South African Urban Development in the 21st Century
Because South African cities and towns entered the 1990s with an apartheid urban planning and development legacy, urban planners and managers, and politicians responsible for urban development were faced with the task of reconstructing the impression of a spatially segregated, highly fragmented and dispersed urban society…
African Economic Outlook
After private consumption fuelled by easy credit resulted in a 5.4 per cent increase in realGDP in 2006, growth in 2007 is estimated at 4.9 per cent following slower consumption due to monetary tightening. Economic activity is expected to slow further to 4 per cent in 2008 as a result of the continued deceleration of private consumption and energy shortages…
Do Low-Income Housing Subsidies Increase Housing Consumption
A necessary condition for justifying a policy such as publicly provided or subsidized low-income housing is that it has a real effect on recipientsÂ’ outcomes. In this paper, we examine one aspect of the real effect of public or subsidized housing…
Employment Creation Through The Provision of Low Cost Housing in South Africa
Poverty and unemployment are problems that South Africa has not been able to overcome successfully. In the urban areas, poverty has led to the growth of Informal Settlements which are basically, but not necessarily so, residential areas for the low-income groups…
Analysis of South Africa’s Housing Sector Performance
Twelve years after the advent of South Africa’s democracy and the publishing of its Housing White Paper in December 1994, and two years after the approval of the Comprehensive Plan for the Development of Sustainable Human Settlements (also known as Breaking New Ground), dramatic changes have occurred in the housing landscape…
Integrating Poor Populations in South African Cities
In South Africa, urban development issues are essential, especially for the urban integration of underprivileged households and settlements in the main cities. The spatial segregation imposed by apartheid fragmented the urban environment and spatially excluded non-white people from cities…
Land Conflicts in Informal Settlements
South Africa has been implementing a land reform and housing programme since the early 1990s. Allocation of houses has resulted in numerous conflicts that require classification, monitoring and resolution. This paper describes the Wallacedene case study in Cape Town. It is the first paper in a series relating to conflict management in upgrading informal settlements in Cape Town. It describes the history of Wallacedene and nature of the different conflicts that have been identified…
Land tenure and vulnerability: the social consequences of the in situ upgrade of informal settlements
In every country with informal settlements there is state policy to contain, manage and reduce their number in and around cities. In South Africa, policies towards informal settlements are in keeping with a global trend that favours in situ upgrade (as opposed to relocation) (GoRSA, 2004:12)…
The N2 Gateway Project: Fiasco or Model For Future South African Cities
Development Dialogues is a joint initiative of Isandla Institute and the Open Society Foundation for South Africa. The aim of the public dialogue series is to create a space for critical reflection and dialogue among key development stakeholders in South Africa…
Practice and Education: Housing and Urban Environments in South Africa
This paper is a brief portrayal of the state of housing policies and programmes in South Africa, as well as the role of the design professional in the context and teaching of housing at the Department of Architecture, University of Pretoria…
Impact of the Strengthening Local Governance Programme on Human Settlements, Urban Renewal & Urban Governance
Coinciding with the end of the initial three-year phase of the Strengthening Local Governance Programme (SLGP) in February of 2007, this booklet aims to capture some of the lessons learned during this first phase as seen by counterparts and stakeholders who have interfaced with the SLGP.