Performance of Informal Settlement Upgrading Projects in South Africa: The Case of Soshanguve Extension 3, City of Tshwane

Abstract

Despite the adoption and implementation of upgrading and the delivery of mass public housing in South Africa, the number of informal settlements is still swelling. It is against this background that the paper intends to provide critical analysis of the upgrading projects beneficiaries' perceptions regarding the general performance of an informal settlement upgrading project in Soshanguve Extension 3. The study adopted a mixed-methods approach to capture perceptions of informal settlement upgrading beneficiaries concerning the impact of such upgrading in their lives and livelihoods. A household survey questionnaire was utilised with 60 randomly sampled households for the quantitative aspect of the research. Purposive sampling was applied for the qualitative aspect with one focus group discussion and one in-depth interview with a community leader. The key study findings revealed that the upgrading in Soshanguve Extension 3 presented a generally acceptable access level to certain basic services and housing infrastructure. Furthermore, the upgrading project in Soshanguve Extension 3 deviated from certain key principles acknowledged by Turner and adopted in South Africa housing upgrading policies, such as: limiting dweller participation and freedom to build; as well as failure to improve dwellers' economic standing. The main study recommendation is the augmentation for the freedom to build and dweller control in the housing provision facilitated through self-build in which government create enabling environment for dwellers to build their own houses