Informal settlement upgrading, assets and poverty alleviation: Evidence from longitudinal research in South Africa

Marais, Lochner; Ntema, John; Cloete, Jan; Lenka, Molefi

doi:10.1080/0376835x.2017.1362331

Cited by 13 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…Property investments are significant in long-term processes of asset accumulation, which may be crucial for households' ability to overcome adversities and stay out of poverty in the long term. Property investments may also enable upwards social mobility through intergenerational wealth transfers and investments in education for the next generation, as noted in previous studies (Marais et al, 2018;Moser, 2016;Moser & Felton, 2007). There are surprising parallels between the motivations and rationales expressed by the self-builders in Dar es Salaam and Mwanza and the "intrinsic appeal" of urban real estate described by Goodfellow (2017) in the context of a very different group of large private investors in Kigali and Addis Ababa.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 67%

“…In urban livelihoods research, it is well established that land and houses are often the most important assets of urban households (Dani & Moser, 2008;Rakodi, 2016). Longitudinal livelihood studies suggest that investments in owner-occupier housing are significant in long-term asset accumulation processes (Marais et al, 2018;Moser, 2016;Moser & Felton, 2007). Darbon (2018) proposes that long-term asset accumulation processes are at the core of understanding dynamics of upwards social mobility.…”

Section: The Spatial Practices Of Africa's New Middle Classesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Urban property as security: examining the intersections between Africa’s growing middle classes and urban transformations

Andreasen

Agergaard

2020

Urban Geography

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African middle classes are growing in numbers and purchasing power. They form a significant share of urban populations and command a majority of urban resources. This paper examines the spatial practices of Africa's new urban-based middle classes and the implications for urban transformations. The focus is on households in the lower end of the spectrum, which form the majority of and account for most of the remarkable growth of Africa's middle classes. The paper draws attention to the middle classes as significant actors in the local housing systems, informal land markets and incremental construction practices commonly associated with the urban poor. Property investments are crucial for understanding how moderately resourceful households strive to achieve the kind of long-term security and upwards social mobility commonly associated with the middle classes. Through their investments, the middle classes shape informal urban expansion processes, cofinance settlement upgrading and produce socially diverse neighborhoods.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 67%

Section: The Spatial Practices Of Africa's New Middle Classesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Urban property as security: examining the intersections between Africa’s growing middle classes and urban transformations

Andreasen

Agergaard

2020

Urban Geography

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“…In Bloemfontein, the abolition of influx control and the unbanning of the African National Congress (ANC) in the 1990s signaled political change and led to the establishment of Namibia and Freedom Square settlements, located in Mangaung township, as a political and urban response to the end of the regime and the housing shortcomings for Black people in Bloemfontein (Rensburg, Botes, and de Wet 2001). Occupying land closer to Bloemfontein was first an opportunity to move closer to work and, later, led to an expectation to enter the real estate market (Marais, Ntema, et al 2018). Nevertheless, the lack of state policies sponsoring residential integration gave the Black population no access route to private property (Rex and Visser 2009).…”

Section: Bloemfontein Planning As a Historical Example Of Institution...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Race and Space in the Postcolony: A Relational Study on Urban Planning Under Racial Capitalism in Brazil and South Africa

Melgaço

Coelho

2022

City & Community

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This article analyzes two planned cities—Belo Horizonte (Brazil) and Bloemfontein (South Africa)—to investigate connectivities across geographies and temporalities and reveal the role of urban planning in racial capitalism. Early works in urban sociology underscore the color line in producing differentiation in capitalist development. But color-blind analyses of capitalism have undermined the role of race in the urbanization process and formation of value—of places and people—and how the modern triad—colonial, racial, and capital—is deeply implicated in power modalities. Based on policy analysis, we historicize political choices in discuss urban planning and national developmentalist schemes after redemocratization that produced racial-spatial inequalities. We argue that color-blind urban policies still neglect the role of race in the production of Brazilian and South African cities under the guise of “planning innocence.” This discussion expands our understanding of urbanization and capital accumulation as a dialectical process of black dispossession and the protection of white property in the postcolony.

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“…It is often expected that the project will contribute toward increasing the physical capital of residents of informal settlements as a result of the regularization of land tenure and the increase in land value triggered by the infrastructure and services brought in to the informal settlement. The increase in human capital in the informal settlement as a result of an upgrade often contributes to an improvement in well-being and educational level of residents and an increase in job opportunities for them (Marais et al 2018). The upgrade project has the potential to enhance the settlements' social capital as a result of public participation in the design and implementation of the project (Magalhaes and Eduardo 2005).…”

Section: Literature On Status and Upgrade Of Informal Settlementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Upgrading an informal settlement has the potential to assist residents to sustain their social and economic networks which is necessary for their livelihoods. The goal of the upgrade is often to achieve settlement security, basic sanitation and good road networks (Marais et al 2018). It is an intervention which is often used to rebuild collective socio-economic strength among informal settlement residents and long-term settlement security (Dhabhalabutr 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Preferences for Infrastructure and Determinants of Decision to Live in a Makeshift House in Informal Settlements

Ezebilo¹,

Savadogo

2021

Economies

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The upgrade paradigm has been a widely accepted solution to informal settlements. However, implementing an effective upgrade program has been challenging for governments of most developing countries. This paper reports a study which examined informal settlement residents’ preferences for infrastructure provided by an upgrade project and factors influencing their decision to live in a makeshift house. It also examined how an informal settlement upgrade project can be implemented in an effective manner. The data originated from interviews with 231 residents of informal settlements in Port Moresby and was analyzed using mixed methods approach which includes descriptive statistics, qualitative content analysis and binary logistic regression model. The results show that all the residents would support the upgrade project and would pay for service charges associated with infrastructure and services provided by the project. Piped borne water and health care facility were the most preferred. In order for the upgrade project to be successful, residents should be fully involved in planning and implementing the project. Results from the logistic model revealed that decision to live in a makeshift house is influenced by factors such as house and land ownership, frequency of crime in the area, household size, occupation, access to toilet and number of years lived in informal settlement. There is a need to develop an effective mechanism for restricting the emergence of new informal settlements. The findings contribute to urban development planning by providing guidelines for upgrading informal settlements in an effective and efficient manner. The findings will be useful for policy makers, planners and urban development managers in the informal settlement upgrade process.

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Informal settlement upgrading, assets and poverty alleviation: Evidence from longitudinal research in South Africa

Cited by 13 publications

References 23 publications

Urban property as security: examining the intersections between Africa’s growing middle classes and urban transformations

Urban property as security: examining the intersections between Africa’s growing middle classes and urban transformations

Race and Space in the Postcolony: A Relational Study on Urban Planning Under Racial Capitalism in Brazil and South Africa

Preferences for Infrastructure and Determinants of Decision to Live in a Makeshift House in Informal Settlements

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