“This is the place that the women built”: A case study of the nexus of formalised land rights and housing recognition on spatial justice in Cape Town

Clark, Sarah

“This is the place that the women built”: A case study of the nexus of formalised land rights and housing recognition on spatial justice in Cape Town

Master Thesis

2022

Abstract

Many citizens and residents of Post-Apartheid South Africa suffer from past spatial planning policies that deprived black South Africans of access to economic opportunity. This research investigated how formalisation of land rights inhibits the capability of the urban poor in Cape Town to access urban opportunity. The main research question explored whether the formalisation of land rights affects alienation of the residents of Victoria Mxenge (VMX) settlement from urban access. The study uses the VMX case study to highlight the challenges associated with formalising land rights in poor urban areas. VMX is a non-residentially zoned settlement in Cape Town that consists of approximately 140 homes constructed under a formal Communal Property Association (CPA) title deed that allows for communal land ownership. Informal processes and citizenship, the themes of the research, were drawn out of the main study question and objectives. The theory of access was selected as the research' conceptual framework. This framework helps to explain the relationship of the VMX community to land, housing, and access to associated urban opportunity. The research methodology was founded on qualitative data collection, specifically interviews with seven members of the VMX community, supported by secondary review of provincial data and policy documentation. Formalisation and municipal policy were reviewed for the rezoning of the VMX settlement as a formal township, as well as the replacement of the CPA deed with individual title deeds for VMX residents. Interviews with the VMX community found that residents felt a necessity for additional formalisation to access further value from the rights under the CPA deed. Residents of VMX experienced benefits from the CPA title deed, however, found limitations in their manufactured forms of access. Informal tools and solutions are perceived as unacknowledged by government and government assistance to individualise ownership is slow and not prioritised. Comparisons to superior services in nearby communities led respondents to see individual title deeds as preferable to the CPA deed. VMX exemplifies how, in an urban setting, having land and housing still presents limitations for access to services and opportunity. Further formalisation, such as residential zoning and/or individual title deeds, would reduce alienation for VMX residents, increase urban access, and enhance citizenship. Recognition as citizens is fundamental to access. Lessons learned from VMX can be applied by government and community members manufacturing forms of access. Community-led solutions are valid and should be further legitimised in the sphere of land and housing.

Keywords

African Studies

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