Youth Workshops in Vukuzenzele
Nick Talbot on behalf of People’s Environmental Planning. Over the last 5 years PEP has provided socio-technical support to the residents of Vukuzenzele in order to facilitate the transfer of title of 236 houses to their respective owners. This was achieved through a close working relationship with the local committee ...
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The Giving Tree installed in Phola Park – A photo Essay
Earlier this year, PEP was contacted by 2 independent designers about a ‘place-making’ intervention they had developed, called The Giving Tree. The Giving Tree project is a incremental upgrading and service delivery scheme that focuses on developing a small scale, cost effective, prefabricated water platform and place-making intervention. The ...
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CONTRADICTIONS BETWEEN POLICY AND PRACTICE: Challenges in Providing Low-Income Housing in Cape Town
Noah Schermbrucker on behalf of People’s Environmental Planning 15 June 2016: A cursory analysis of current National Housing Policy indicates, at least in writing, a will to redress spatial inequality through the provision of well-located opportunities (green-field and in-situ) for the urban poor. Numerous statements, housed in a variety ...
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How the Nimby Factor Impedes Equal Housing Opportunities in Cape Town
This short opinion piece uses the example of the Ruo Emoh (Our Home spelt backwards) Housing Project to argue that the NIMBY (Not in my backyard) factor is extremely detrimental to equal housing development in Cape Town, South Africa. It provides a summary history of the project and the ...
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Participtory based Planning for Upgrading of Informal Settlments
PEP has always advocated the incremental upgrading of well-located informal settlements, instead of greenfield housing developments in the urban peripheries. It is encouraging to see the slow shift of government policy, especially at National level, towards upgrading of informal settlements. The National Upgrading Support Programme (NUSP) is such initiative. ...
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Addressing the ‘Chronic’ Housing Shortage in South Africa
The Gaps in the Housing Finance Policy Regardless of government and others efforts over the past two decades, South Africa continues to face significant challenges in assisting the poor in access to a decent house and basic services. According to current estimates, the housing backlog stands at about 2.1 ...
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Decade Long Struggle of Backyard Dwellers for Land and Housing
This story describes the difficulties poor backyard dwellers have experienced in accessing an in-fill piece of land on which to build their houses in Cape Town, South Africa. More than a decade ago (1997), this community, composed largely of backyard dwellers, wanted to build their own houses in Mitchells ...
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