From housing to sustainable human settlements : a case study of Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality

This study aimed to evaluate whether there has been any shift from housing to sustainable human settlements in the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality (BCMM). The objective of the study was to establish the perceived value of inclusive development by relevant stakeholders in the transformation of housing to integrated and sustainable human settlements; assess the effectiveness of available systems in transforming housing to integrated and sustainable human settlements and to establish the level of effectiveness of the current human settlements development model in transforming housing to integrated and sustainable human settlement outcomes. Following a case study approach, the study employed a combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches which is also known as the mixed-method research design. Purposive sampling technique was used to arrive at a sample of 16 relevant officials, whereas the snow-ball convenience sampling technique was used to select a sample of 12 housing beneficiaries in Ndevana, Potsdam and Mzamomhle housing developments. A survey questionnaire was used to elicit data from the officials In-depth interviews were used to gather data from BCMM officials and Focus Group Discussions were used to extract data from twelve housing beneficiaries from (four from Ndevana, four from Potsdam and four from Mzamomhle) housing projects in the BCMM. The findings from this study show that although several people have been provided with houses in Ndevana, Mzamomhle and Potsdam, the settlements lack the requisite economic and social infrastructure that creates integrated and liveable settlements. Furthermore, the type, quality, and layout of houses delivered by the government falls short of the concept of sustainable development. The available systems for transforming housing to integrated sustainable human settlements have been rendered ineffective by the shortage of proper land for land-use planning and spatial development, lack of organizational capacity, lack of accountability, unaffordability of sustainable housing by the poor and insufficiency of the current housing quantum subsidy to deliver sustainable human settlements. The study further established that the integrated sustainable human settlements programs do not incorporate the community needs which have greatly affected sustainable housing delivery in BCMM. The placement of the poor households in the urban peripheries is phenomenal and hence unemployment, poverty and civil unrest have taken a toll in Ndevana, Potsdam, and Mzamomhle. The study recommends a capacity building and competency-based model to BCMM and Eastern Cape Department of Human Settlements, Integration of Government departments and Stakeholder Engagement, the establishment of monitoring and evaluation systems, alignment of provincial and local government budget cycles