- Title
- A comparative analysis of the environmental impact of selected low-income housing developments in the Eastern Cape Province
- Creator
- Kumm, Simon
- Subject
- Low-income housing -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Subject
- Sustainable development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Subject
- Housing policy -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Date Issued
- 2007
- Date
- 2007
- Type
- Thesis
- Type
- Masters
- Type
- MTech
- Identifier
- vital:8152
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10948/539
- Identifier
- Low-income housing -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Identifier
- Sustainable development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Identifier
- Housing policy -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Description
- South Africa has a shortage of affordable housing for its poor. In order to overcome the shortage, a large number of houses need to be built. The bulk building of these houses has an effect on the environment and it is important to note whether or not this impact will be a lasting positive one or not. Governmental policies have recognised the need to create positive, sustainable settlement environments. The degree to which settlements are sustainable and reflect a positive environment is, however, a point of concern. This dissertation analyses and compares four low-income housing developments in the Eastern Cape in order to make proposals on how future low-income developments can impact more positively on their settlement environments, reduce their impact on non-renewable resources and better implement the ideals of the Development Facilitation Act. This was done in order to meet the expectations put in place by Government policies and to correct the historical shortcomings of South Africa’s low-income settlement provision. The method used was to determine, through literature study, a set of factors that most prominently impacted on low-income settlement environments. These were then compiled into a model, which was then used to analyse and compare existing settlements. This elicited a set of conclusions based on the findings and provided strategies for future settlements to follow to meet the research’s stated ideals. The literature study revealed a myriad of important principles that fell into six main categories that impacted on settlement environments. Furthermore, it was discovered that each of these principles should be assessed in the context of their human and natural environments as well as their effect at the scale of the unit, the settlement and the city. The analysis and comparison of the settlements revealed that all six of the model’s categories performed poorly in at least two of the four settlements analysed, a strong indication that the implementation of the model’s principles was not being successfully achieved in low-income settlements. It further revealed specific areas requiring attention in future developments. The analysis also revealed positive areas of implementation from each settlement that can be used in future settlements to meet the stated ideals of creating a positive impact on their settlement environments, reducing their impact on non-renewable resources and better implementing the ideals of the Development Facilitation Act. The study recommends that future settlements avoid the negative practices identified in these settlements and implement the positive strategies proposed for the benefit of future settlement environments.
- Format
- xvii, 272 leaves
- Format
- Publisher
- Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University
- Publisher
- Faculty of Arts
- Language
- English
- Rights
- Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University
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