Presenters:
Dr. Andreas Scheba, Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, EPD
Date: 14 June 2016
Time: 12:30 – 13:30
Venues: Pretoria, Durban and Cape Town
Rapid urbanisation, driven by natural population growth and migration, creates unprecedented challenges as well as enormous opportunities for South African cities to become engines of growth and contribute to national development. Municipalities, as the local sphere of government, have a direct responsibility in managing the process of urbanisation, which means balancing competing social, economic and environmental interests to derive at inclusive outcomes. However, this task has proven to be very challenging and contentious, which is most evident in the context of housing and the failure to accommodate poor people in our cities effectively. Despite a remarkable public housing programme, the urban housing backlog has been growing steadily, resulting in the growth of informal settlements, persistent spatial inequalities and frequent social protest and evictions.
The aim of this presentation is to discuss the key strategies and obstacles for municipalities to progressively realise the constitutional right to access to adequate housing and to integrate poor people in our cities effectively. I will highlight the most important political, economic and environmental factors that constrain progressive municipal action on low-income housing and provide brief recommendations on how municipalities could be empowered to make more rounded decisions.
The HSRC seminar series is funded by the Department of Science and Technology (DST). The views and opinions expressed therein as well as findings and statements of the seminar series do not necessarily represent the views of DST.
Kindly RSVP by 12 June 2016
Cape Town : HSRC, 12th Floor, Plein Park Building (Opposite Revenue Office), Plein Street, Cape Town. Contact Carmen August ,Tel (021) 4668004, Fax (021) 461 0299 or e-mail: caugust@hsrc.ac.za
Durban : The Atrium, 5th Floor, 430 Peter Mokaba Ridge, Berea, 4001 , Contact Ridhwaan Khan, Tel (031) 242 5400, cell: 083 788 2786 or RKhan@hsrc.ac.za , or Hlengiwe Zulu at e-mail HZulu@hsrc.ac.za
Pretoria : HSRC Video Conference, 1st floor HSRC Library Human Sciences Research Council, 134 Pretorius Street, Pretoria. Arlene Grossberg, Tel: (012) 302 2811, e-mail: acgrossberg@hsrc.ac.za