Everyday hazards and vulnerabilities amongst backyard dwellers : a case study of Vredendal North, Matzikama Municipality, South Africa
Date
2015-11
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
AOSIS Publishing
Abstract
The populations of many small towns in South Africa continue to expand unmatched by
parallel economic growth, entrenching high levels of poverty. The town of Vredendal, located
close to the national route between Namibia and Cape Town in South Africa, is a West Coast
development node and an emergent industrial and processing area that continues to attract
an influx of people seeking economic opportunities. This is challenging the capacity of the
local municipality, which has a waiting list for state-provided low-cost housing units, whilst
the provision of adequate infrastructure to meet growing local need is also a developmental
concern. In the suburb of Vredendal North this has resulted in the proliferation of unplanned
informal dwellings in the backyards of formalised low-cost housing areas. Largely overlooked
by urban researchers, little is known or understood about small town backyard populations.
This prompted a brief study of Vredendal North backyard dwellers commissioned by the
local municipality to identify their everyday hazards and livelihood vulnerabilities to inform
future development planning. A community workshop identified critical development needs
and suggested that backyard dwellers in small towns experience similar living conditions and
hazards to those in the cities, although underlain by some unique differences.
Description
CITATION: Zweig, P. J. 2015. Everyday hazards and vulnerabilities amongst backyard dwellers : a case study of Vredendal North, Matzikama Municipality, South Africa. Jamba: Journal of Disaster Risk Studies, 7(1):8 pages, doi:10.4102/jamba.v7i1.210.
The original publication is available at http://www.jamba.org.za
The original publication is available at http://www.jamba.org.za
Keywords
City and towns -- Planning, Low-income tenants -- South Africa, Housing -- South Africa, Squatter settlements -- Vredendal North
Citation
Zweig, P. J. 2015. Everyday hazards and vulnerabilities amongst backyard dwellers : a case study of Vredendal North, Matzikama Municipality, South Africa. Jamba: Journal of Disaster Risk Studies, 7(1):8 pages, doi:10.4102/jamba.v7i1.210.