Urbanisation, urban dilemmas and urban challenges in Lesotho

With a formal urbanisation rate of approximately 20%, Lesotho has an extremely low urbanisation level. This article attempts to analyse current urbanisation trends and to compare various sources of data in order to provide more insight into urbanisation trends and the urban hierarchy. This is followed by a discussion of the urban dilemmas and challenges which are bound to confront Lesotho in the decades to come. It is crucial that Lesotho develop solutions to the following: random settlement patterns which lead to occupation of arable land and ecological deterioration; the transitional nature of population and urbanisation trends; a lack of urban management and capacity; a lack of urban land tenure, and the lack of an economic income base for urban areas

Gender issues in housing delivery in the Free State since 1994

Although policies have become far more gender-sensitive there is still no guarantee that females and males have ‘comparatively speaking’ the same access to housing opportunities. In South Africa (specifically the Free State), although the housing policy has no discriminatory clauses it does not necessarily impact positively on the living conditions of women. While specific attempts are being made to increase the role played by women in the construction of houses, the power dynamic is overwhelming against women. More attention needs to be paid to understanding gender issues and effectively integrating their implications into policy

Does housing size matter? The politics and realities of housing size

The article examines the emphasis on housing size in the application of housing policy in South Africa and, more specifically, in the Free State Province. This evaluation of housing size in the Free State is conducted against the background of the ideological debate on housing in South Africa. It is argued that, despite pressure on an increase in the housing size in the Free State, the approach has also had negative implications which need to be assessed in more detail. The specific impact of this emphasis on larger housing units has been the fact that the level of services has been neglected, upgrading of informal settlements did not take place, and housing-subsidy allocations followed the availability of stands. In the process, it neglected growing urban areas, increased the pressure on larger municipalities to spend resources on housing, contributed to the problem of horizontal equity, and emphasised the pre-selection of beneficiaries which excluded private-sector finance and ultimately resulted in a slowing down of delivery. The article concludes by arguing that the essential problem relates to the fact that communities cannot make decisions in respect of their housing size and the variety of settlement-related funds which exist.&nbsp

Erf-en-diensskemas: Tien lesse uit die internasionale ondervinding

Since 1986 various changing strate­gies, processes and spatial patterns have taken place in South Africa with regard to urbanization, thereby in­creasing the pressure on the provision of land, basic services and housing. A method adopted internationally, to address these tendencies, focuses on the provision of serviced sites. This article aims to discuss ten lessons (with regard to site and service) from international experience and to analyse the implications for South Africa.*This article is written in Afrikaan

Perceptions of crime and the built environment: the case of the Bloemfontein Central Business District (CBD)

Internationally, inner-city crime has been a well-documented area of urban studies. In South African urban discourse, however, crime studies and inner-city crime studies per se have been scant. Therefore, it is the aim of this article to address the paucity of academic reflection, in this regard in South Africa, by means of a case study on the spatial patterns of crime distribution, perceptions of crime, and fear of crime in the inner city of Bloemfontein, and how these factors influence urban morphology (and vice versa). This case study on one of South Africa’s middle-order cities may potentially comprise a valuable contribution, since the majority of inner-city studies on crime thus far have focused predominantly on the three major metropolitan areas of South Africa. Therefore, three arguments shall be put forward. Firstly, the impact of decentralised shopping centres on the prevalence of crime in inner cities will be highlighted. Secondly, the relationship between crime and ‘grime’ (physical decay and neglect) as causal factors in inner-city areas will be discussed. Thirdly, it will be argued that the fear of crime in the inner-city is an important consideration to be taken into account when assessing the spatial patterns and perceptions of this occurrence. In the case of Bloemfontein, this fear does not seem to be only racially related as black and white people experience the same levels of fear. By means of these arguments, an attempt will be made to contribute to the understanding of inner-city crime and its relationship to the urban form

State involvement in self-help housing: Reflections from the Free State

When John Turner forwarded his theories on self-help housing, he emphasised the concept of dweller control and argued that the state should not be involved in housing construction processes. Although there was worldwide acknowledgement of his ideas, a large number of self-help programmes developed with a fair amount of state-involvement. South Africa’s self-help programme, called the People’s Housing Process, is no exception in this respect. Although designed to ensure larger degrees of ownership by people, evidence of large-scale government influence is clear. This article assesses the application of self-help housing in the Free State province and argues that a technocratic rather than a people-centred approach (envisaged in policy documents) dominated the People’s Housing Process. The levels of influence by local people in project design, project implementation and housing design remain low, and the housing outcomes do not differ much from the normal project subsidy approach

Mining and housing: The case of the “Village under the trees” (Kathu – South Africa)

Historically, mine-driven housing has been the only housing option for mine employees. Low-income earners were located in single-sex hostels, while more highly-paid employees received a mine house as a fringe benefit. The demise of apartheid saw an initial attempt to transfer housing responsibilities to employees in terms of ownership-related family housing. However, the response in smaller urban centres and among lower-income mineworkers was limited in extent. This article considers alternatives in housing provision and planning, taking into account the realities in the aftermath of apartheid, the global linkages of the mining industry and the arid nature of Kathu’s environment. Essentially, the article argues that, although there are indications of alternative forms of housing and tenure, the boom-bust cycles of mining and the arid nature of the environment are less prominent in the justification of these changes

Urbanisation, urban dilemmas and urban challenges in Lesotho

With a formal urbanisation rate of approximately 20%, Lesotho has an extremely low urbanisation level. This article attempts to analyse current urbanisation trends and to compare various sources of data in order to provide more insight into urbanisation trends and the urban hierarchy. This is followed by a discussion of the urban dilemmas and challenges which are bound to confront Lesotho in the decades to come. It is crucial that Lesotho develop solutions to the following: random settlement patterns which lead to occupation of arable land and ecological deterioration; the transitional nature of population and urbanisation trends; a lack of urban management and capacity; a lack of urban land tenure, and the lack of an economic income base for urban areas

Gender issues in housing delivery in the Free State since 1994

Although policies have become far more gender-sensitive there is still no guarantee that females and males have ‘comparatively speaking’ the same access to housing opportunities. In South Africa (specifically the Free State), although the housing policy has no discriminatory clauses it does not necessarily impact positively on the living conditions of women. While specific attempts are being made to increase the role played by women in the construction of houses, the power dynamic is overwhelming against women. More attention needs to be paid to understanding gender issues and effectively integrating their implications into policy

Upgrading informal housing units: preliminary evidence from Sejake Square

A fierce debate has prevailed until the present time as to just what role low-income households can play in providing their own housing environment. The main question is whether it can be assumed that low-income households should be held responsible for their housing needs, or whether the state should be more actively involved in providing housing for these households. In this paper it is argued, by means of a literature overview as well as empirical evidence from Sejake Square, that low-income households, given the right environment, are in fact actively involved in upgrading their informal housing units to better, more formal units. The two most   prominent aspects that play a role in this regard are the period of residence and the size of the household in the area. The availability of funding also plays a role in formalisation. The conclusion reached in this paper is that government could consider providing only the infrastructure, and leaving the construction of housing units to low-income households