Integrating Poor Populations in South African Cities - Agence ...

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7. Access to Housing: The Main End Goal of Urban Development Policies 7.1.1. Public Land Acquired under Apartheid The land owned by the government was primarily purchased during apartheid, and is located alongside the townships. Publicly-owned land is mostly held by the Department of Land Affairs, the provinces, and municipalities. This land available to the government to host struggling populations is extensive and located around the edges of cities. Much of the land in the Soweto township has, for example, continued to be developed after apartheid. 7.1.2. Municipal Responsibility and the Purchase of Land When it comes to producing housing for poor households, the municipalities have been responsible for identifying and providing appropriate land since 1994. In the first possible situation, publicly-owned land is available and fits the project’s characteristics. When this is the case, either the national and provincial governments cede land to the municipality or the municipality itself owns the land. If no publicly-owned land is available, the municipality must attempt to acquire land, which it can buy from the private sector. Land prices are such that the land purchased is very often located quite far from cities’ centres of activity. 92 One must also note that, even when it is municipal land, the municipality may deliberately chose outlying and difficultly accessible tracts of land. First, there is the constraint of promoters who wish to take advantage of economies of scale and therefore build on near-industrial scale. Then, the municipalities need to manage their budgets, and there is no short-term financial advantage for the city in giving away land in a good location rather than exploiting it and selling it to private investors. Thus, the municipalities’ financial strategies often push them to sell land in good locations that could have been used for the production of settlements for disadvantaged people in the middle of urban activity. 7.1.3. The First Stirrings of Land Acquisition Strategies Despite land selection that seems rather unplanned because it relies on instantaneous selection criteria, the government seems to be aware of the need to continue to acquire land so as to foster the inclusion of struggling populations. With Integrating Poor Populations in South African Cities © AFD 2009
7. Access to Housing: The Main End Goal of Urban Development Policies this aim, the government created Servcon in 1995. Servcon is a national agency whose mission is to buy and manage land so as to enable appropriate settlements for poor families to be created. Since 2004, the government has displayed a real determination to integrate these households as well as possible and is therefore envisaging merging Servcon with other national housing agencies in the near future to create a Housing Development Agency. This should make it possible to better rise to the development stakes for disadvantaged populations by tackling them in a holistic and integrated manner. On the municipal level, we can also see this determination to get involved and better tackle land issues. The municipality of Johannesburg created the Johannesburg Property Company (JPC) in 2000. The JPC is the municipality’s right arm when it comes to buying and managing all of the city’s real estate for commercial, business or residential development. The JPC’s acquisition strategy was heavily inspired by the objectives set forth in the city’s Spatial Development Framework. Elaborating new land regulation tools in the metros also shows the local authorities’ determination to reflect on coherent and effective land strategies. In France, the government has powerful land management tools to establish its urban development strategy. The government is able to expropriate occupants, pre-empt land and buildings, and utilize declarations of public utility to justify their methods. Acting in the direction of the general interest allows it to acquire land and private property at reasonable prices and control speculation. In South Africa, the government can only expropriate land under exceptional conditions, notably if the building presents a danger for public safety. Therefore, the legal tool of expropriation is not commonly used as a tool to serve land strategies. At the end of apartheid, there was no real overhaul of the land ownership system and existing property rights were maintained. In addition, given the expulsions and forced displacements during apartheid, it is almost unthinkable for the post-apartheid government to utilize these processes. In this way, occupation — whether by owners or illegal inhabitants — holds a great deal of legitimacy, and civil associations 37 defend this legitimacy. 93 37. Civics, and notably the SANCO federation (on which the ANC depends for voters), strongly defend the rights of populations illegally occupying public and private lands. © AFD 2009 Integrating Poor Populations in South African Cities
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Integrating Poor Populations in Sou
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The author Fanny Hervé, an enginee
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Abstract In South Africa, urban dev
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Résumé En Afrique du Sud, les enj
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Contents METHODOLOGY ..............
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Contents CONCLUSION ...............
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Methodology The purpose of this stu
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FOREWORD Public Policies on Housing
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Public Policies on Housing and Urba
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Introduction At the end of aparthei
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PART ONE: An Urban Context Marked b
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An Urban History of South Africa: F
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1. An Urban History of South Africa
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Page 39 and 40:
Page 41 and 42: 1. An Urban History of South Africa
Page 49 and 50: Current Challenges 2 The apartheid
Page 51 and 52: 2. Current Challenges 2.1.2. The Na
Page 53 and 54: 2. Current Challenges However, desp
Page 55 and 56: 2. Current Challenges Progressively
Page 57 and 58: 2. Current Challenges far from the
Page 59 and 60: 2. Current Challenges commutes are
Page 61 and 62: Urban Development Policies in a Uni
Page 63 and 64: 3. Urban Development Policies in a
Page 69 and 70: PART TWO An Uncertain Determination
Page 71 and 72: Planning as Implemented in South Af
Page 73 and 74: 4. Planning as Implemented in South
Page 81 and 82: The Hindrances to the Effectiveness
Page 83 and 84: 5. The Hindrances to the Effectiven
Page 85 and 86: Paths Toward More Profitable Planni
Page 87 and 88: 6. Paths Toward More Profitable Pla
Page 89 and 90: PART THREE Develop Living Spaces fo
Page 91: Access to Housing: The Main End Goa
Page 95 and 96: 7. Access to Housing: The Main End
Page 113 and 114: The Limits of the Government’s Ac
Page 115 and 116: 8. The Limits of the Government’s
Page 127 and 128: Toward Greater Integration of Publi
Page 129 and 130: 9. Toward Greater Integration of Pu
Page 141 and 142: Conclusion Nearly fifteen years ago
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Acronyms and Abbreviations ABM AFD
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Acronyms and Abbreviations RZ SACN
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Appendices Appendix 1: Interviews I
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Appendices • Claire Bénit-Gaffou
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Appendices Pretoria • Revelation
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Appendices Appendix 3: Map of Johan
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Appendices Appendix 5: Map of Ethek
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Bibliography Books DU TOIT, J., U.
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Bibliography Articles BÉNIT, C. (2
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Bibliography REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRI
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Publications Les titres de la colle
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Publications No. 23 : Libéralisati
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What is AFD? www.afd.fr Agence Fran
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