Georgiadou, M. and Loggia, C. 2024. Community-led vs. subsidised housing. Lessons from informal settlements in Durban. Housing Studies. Advanced online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/02673037.2024.2397425
| Title | Community-led vs. subsidised housing. Lessons from informal settlements in Durban |
|---|---|
| Type | Journal article |
| Authors | Georgiadou, M. and Loggia, C. |
| Abstract | Rapid urbanisation, poverty and socio-economic inequalities are causes of the backlog of informal settlements in South Africa, as dwellers cannot access formal housing schemes. Such unplanned settlements often need more basic services, social facilities, and adequate housing. Nevertheless, informal settlements are core parts of the urban form rather than places for eradication. This paper examines self-building and community-led upgrading practices in three case studies of partially and non-serviced informal settlements in Durban. It adopts action research participatory methods to coproduce knowledge and map various perspectives around community-led housing upgrading, building materials, and construction skills in an effort to enhance community resilience and self-reliance. The findings reveal the key drivers and challenges associated with self-building, informal procurement, and overall project management of the housing process. Successful grassroots practices demonstrate community ownership and dweller control beyond the physical upgrading per se. The lessons learned call for inclusive, participatory, and incremental approaches for effective community organisation, self-reliance, social capital and livelihood development. |
| Keywords | informal settlements |
| community-led upgrading | |
| self-building | |
| construction skills | |
| procurement | |
| project management | |
| Durban | |
| Journal | Housing Studies |
| ISSN | 0267-3037 |
| 1466-1810 | |
| Year | 2024 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis |
| Publisher's version | License CC BY 4.0 File Access Level Open (open metadata and files) |
| Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.1080/02673037.2024.2397425 |
| Publication dates | |
| Published online | 13 Sep 2024 |
| Funder | ESRC (Economic & Social Research Council) |
| Royal Society |