Human Settlements Review - Parliamentary Monitoring Group

Human Settlements Review, Volume 1, Number 1, 2010
The conditions in most settlements are
hazardous to health and tend to exacerbate
the already severe socio-economic conditions
of the urban poor as well as environmental
pollution and the degradation of the local
ecosystems (Gulis et al., 2004: 1-9; Richards
et al., 2006: 375-388).
In general, the proliferation of informal
settlements is due to poverty brought about as
a result of market and public policy failure for
a significant segment of the urban population
(Wegelin, 2004: 8). For example, the majority
of the urban population in sub-Saharan Africa,
including in South Africa, rely on the informal
economy for subsistence – hawkers, small
traders, and artisans and technicians in home
industries (Burton 2002: 25). The informal
economy does not have the necessary base
to sustain the ever growing urban population
in these developing countries.
nations. However, adequate shelter varies
from individual to community and even to
country depending on the socio-economic,
cultural and political factors. Article 60 of the
Habitat Agenda (1996), for example, defines
“adequate shelter” as:
“…more than a roof over one’s head, it
also means adequate privacy; adequate
space; physical accessibility; adequate
security; security of tenure; structural
stability and durability; adequate lighting,
heating and ventilation; adequate basic
infrastructure, such as water supply,
sanitation and waste-management
facilities; suitable environmental quality
and health-related factors; and adequate
and accessible location with regard to
work and basic facilities; all of which
should be available at an affordable
cost…”
Internationally, it is widely acknowledged that
adequate shelter is a basic human right rather
than a basic need. Since the adoption of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948,
the right to adequate shelter has repeatedly
been reaffirmed. The International Covenant
of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
(1966), the Vancouver Declaration of Human
Settlements (1976), the Habitat II Declaration
(1996) and the Millennium Development
Goals (http://www.unmilleniumproject.org)
all reaffirm the right to adequate shelter. In
South Africa, the right to housing is enshrined
in the country’s Constitution, with adequate
shelter being central to everyone’s quality of
life, including health, economic, social and
cultural aspects. It is also a critical component
in the social and economic stability of
Furthermore, the Habitat Agenda states that
“adequacy should be determined together
with the people concerned, bearing in mind
the prospect for gradual development”. The
above definition highlights the functions and
requirements of adequate shelter. These
are very subjective in that people’s needs
and requirements are different. In addition,
adequate shelter is not just the provision
of dwelling units, but a whole process that
integrates the socio-economic, cultural and
environmental factors of the target community.
The problem of inadequate shelter associated
with the urban poor population in developing
countries has been approached from different
points of view, some of which include:
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