Sustainable livelihood principles and urban greening in informal settlements in practice: A case of Zandspruit informal settlement,South Africa

This article looks to investigate the practice of using the ‘sustainable livelihood approach’ in a multifaceted urban greening project, Trees for Homes. The urban greening project was implemented to improve the quality of life and help marginalised citizens of an informal settlement in South Africa to adapt to climate variability through tree planting. We explored the actual execution of the independent techniques being utilised in the implementation of the Trees for Homes project and how it can promote sustainable livelihood objectives in the Zandspruit informal settlement in South Africa. Using a qualitative approach, the study was able to effectively apply sustainable livelihood principles. It was also found, however, that the multi-level principle was limited by the lack of political muscle which is endemic to many disempowered poor citizens of developing economies. Although the project was successful in many ways, political vulnerability within the development cycle threatens the longer term sustainability of the project outcomes.     

The urban informal sector

On the basis of available information, this paper debunks some of the conventional wisdom concerning the informal sector. This sector is not the major point of entry for fresh migrants from rural areas and there exist large variations in earnings within it. A disproportionately large number of informal-sector workers are (i) very young or very old, (ii) females, (iii) limited in education and (iv) not the primary household earners. Finally, the paper confronts the predictions of a dualistic urban labour market model for trends over time in output, employment, productivity and earnings with the results of a case study of Peru by Richard Webb.     

The contribution of urban and regional planning towards regional development in Southern Africa

Regional planning experienced a fast growth in South Africa, both in theory and practice, since the mid sixties. This growth was made possible by government support for regional planning and development and thus had a direct and beneficial effect on the development of less developed regions.

This paper describes the factors, both in SA and abroad, which contributed towards the growth of regional planning. It also outlines other contributions of regional planners and planning towards development of less developed regions.     

Living conditions and environmental health status in two informal settlements in the Cape Peninsula

The health status of communities is directly affected by the quality of their housing. When infrastructure and services are designed, environmental health risks and the particular community's knowledge, attitudes and practices concerning the environment and health should be taken into consideration. The South African Medical Research Council has established a programme to examine this issue, and under its aegis a study is being conducted in two coastal informal settlements in the Cape Peninsula. The household surveys which formed the first phase of this study revealed that the most common health problems were respiratory and diarrhoeal, and that the provision of environmental heath services is of paramount importance. The second phase of the study will seek to develop, implement and evaluate environmental health programmes in these communities.     

The integration of the formal and informal urban sectors in South Africa

Although the centre down and grass roots approaches in many respects may represent a developmental antithesis, a good case may be made for the combination of the two approaches under dualistic economic circumstances. An attempt is made in this paper to demonstrate how these diverse development policies may be successfully reconciled in urban Southern Africa. A review is given of the theoretical foundation of the two development approaches with a view to indicating how some aspects of these approaches may be combined to integrate the formal and informal sectors in urban areas in Southern Africa.     

Unlicensed taxis in Zimbabwe's urban areas: The case for legalising an informal urban transportation system

ABSTRACT

Studies of informal urban transport modes have been carried out in several countries in Africa and Asia. Hardly any have been conducted in Zimbabwe. This study set out to establish the prevalence of an informal urban transport system and the rationale for its existence. The research was carried out in Masvingo and Harare. The study used qualitative approaches such as participation–observation, conversations with stakeholders and open-ended questionnaires. The data were summarised into tables and graphs. Among the findings were that an informal urban transport system is very active in both cities and that the existence of the system is justified due to the inadequate services provided for certain types of commuter. It is recommended that the vital role played by informal taxis should be recognised and managed. Specific routes could be mapped out for them, with a flexible licensing regime to match.     

统筹城乡发展的地方政府投资选择思考

本文从统筹城乡发展的基本内涵入手,分析了当前统筹城乡发展中地方政府投资存在的问题和成因,提出了地方政府投资要适应统筹城乡发展的对策建议。     

加强城乡交往统筹 促进社会和谐发展

我国正处在城市化加速时期,党中央又提出建设社会主义新农村的历史任务,两大历史课题相互交错、相辅相成。加强城乡交往和城乡统筹,才能促进社会和谐发展。城乡交往和统筹发展是建设和谐社会的必要保障,城乡交往统筹必须重视发挥社会各方面的作用,城乡交往统筹必须解决制度设置方面、产业结构方面和社会一体化方面一些关键问题。     

Integrated regional development planning: Linking urban centres and rural areas in Bolivia

Highly polarized settlement systems in developing countries reflect and tend to reinforce strong disparities in levels of development between the largest city and other regions and between urban centres and their hinterlands in rural regions. Integrated regional development planning seeks to create a more diffuse and articulated system of settlements in order to diversify the services and facilities available to rural residents, increase their access to town-based markets, new sources of agricultural inputs and non-agricultural employment opportunities, and to provide guidelines for sectoral investment and location decisions. One approach to integrated regional development planning — ‘Urban Functions in Rural Development’ - was tested in the Department of Potosi, Bolivia, and its results provide insights not only into the methodology of analysis but also into the complex relationships among rural development, patterns of human settlement and processes of spatial interaction.     

Determinants of energy use in the informal food sector

Although enterprises in the informal food sector require energy to transform, cook and process food, energy-use patterns in this sector are not well understood by policymakers and the local-level authorities who regulate their trading activities. This paper reviews relevant literature and presents empirical data collected in Rwanda, Senegal and South Africa on the use of traditional and modern energy sources by informal food sector operators. Our sample includes male- and female-operated enterprises in the urban centres of three African countries where the informal food sector is important, not only for providing the convenience of affordable and readily prepared meals, but also as a source of income for women and men in developing countries. Multiple fuel-use and energy-stacking strategies are common among informal food enterprises and policy needs to acknowledge this if it is to intervene in ways that will benefit both enterprises and regulators.     

The urban informal sector in Uruguay: Its internal structure,characteristics, and effects

The literature on Third World urbanization has focused increasingly on the informal sector as a mechanism to explain, first, the survival strategies of the poor excluded from regular employment and, second, the strategies of formal firms to bypass regulatory constraints and reduce costs. This paper pursues these lines of research in a special context, namely that of Uruguay, a small country which followed a protective labor policy for many years, but reversed it during the 1970s and early 1980s. Data come from a sample of 700 households in Montevideo, which are representative of the low-income neighborhoods that comprise approximately two-thirds of the city's population. Interviews were held in 1983–1984. The analysis focuses on the following issues: (1) the proportion of individuals and households who participate in the informal economy; (2) the types of informality that exist in both principal and secondary occupations; (3) the effects of informal employment on income; (4) differences in age, sex and education between different types of workers; (5) changes in informal employment over time. Implications of findings for general definitions and hypotheses about the informal sector are examined; the relationship of results to the neoliberal experiments attempted in Uruguay between 1973 and 1984 is discussed.     

The informal food marketing system in urban environments: Case studies of Kagiso and Orange Farm

The rapid development of urban townships and the failure of the formal sector to meet the township demand have led to the emergence of informally organised marketing systems, which have certain advantages over their formal counterparts. This note presents the findings of a study on the informal marketing of vegetables and fruit in two townships of Gauteng Province, namely Kagiso and Orange Farm. The data collection procedures are discussed first and then the results are presented with regard to the kinds of vegetables and fruit sold, their pricing, supply and transport, and the constraints faced by informal traders.     

发展观前提下的城乡统筹蹊径独辟

本文通过对目前农村现状与科学发展观目标之间差距的分析,反映出我国县级政府职能存在的主要问题,进而探讨科学发展观指导下的我国新农村建设中进一步转变县级政府职能的路径和措施。     

基于城乡统筹的巴渝古镇旅游开发研究

文章主要分析了城乡统筹政策的实施给巴渝古镇保护和旅游开发带来的机遇,论述巴渝古镇旅游开发在实现城乡统筹中的作用和地位,并探讨了如何使古镇旅游开发适应城乡统筹的要求和原则,实现真正意义上的城乡统筹。     

Analysis of the relationship between urban management and urban planning

Recently years, urban management and urban planning are playing important roles in the urban development of China. During such fast urbanization era of China, it is important to understand the close relationship between the urban management and urban planning. On one hand, planners need to know the principles of how to manage a city and how to make plans. On the other hand, a scientific and rational urban planning keeping abreast of the times is a fundamental guarantee for achieving favorable economy, society and environment situation and strengthening the comprehensive competitive power of a city.     

The spatial pattern of urban population growth in Java, 1980-1990

"The emergence of fast-growing peri-urban regions and corridors joining large cities has been a feature of rapid urban growth in Asia in the last fifty years. These areas have been characterised by a mixture of urban and rural activities and by strong rural-urban linkages. This paper uses data from the 1980 and 1990 Indonesian Censuses to measure the extent to which this process has been occurring on Java in the intervening decade. It calculates and categorises the absolute and proportional increase in the urban populations of each kabupaten in Java, and examines some of the reasons for the emerging patterns. The paper concludes with a discussion of the policy implications of the findings."     

常州市城市空间格局监测分析

城市空间格局是反映城市空间扩展的最直观标识,文章以地理国情监测成果、遥感影像数据为基础,提取常州市2015年、2016年、2017年三期城市建成区边界,构建了常州市城市空间格局监测分析指标,分析监测常州市城市格局的变化特征和空间扩展的差异,并进一步分析了常州市扩展的区域差异。结果显示:常州市主城区发展进入相对稳定的阶段,溧阳市发展较快;空间扩展方面,2015—2016年增速相对较快,而2016—2017年相对平稳。     

Climate change,urban settlements and quality of life: The case of the Southern African Development Community region

Climate change has become a major national, regional and international problem cutting across developed and developing countries alike. Within the developing world, the effects of climate change have been devastating; this has caused enormous human suffering. The Southern African Development Community (SADC), a regional economic block of 15 countries, has been badly ravaged by the vagaries of climate change. The urban areas in particular appear to have been very badly impacted as flooding, drought, pollution and deforestation have become endemic. The impacts of climate change have triggered human suffering of immense magnitude, especially in areas occupied by the marginalised. This article is based on desk research and, using qualitative analysis, examines the impact of climate change on SADC countries, considers initiatives that the regional block has in place in efforts to mitigate the human suffering experienced as a consequence of the negative impact of climate change and, finally, considers a way forward.     

The significance of geographical information systems for development planning

Based on the experiences in the City of Cape Town, this article argues that technological progress should be utilised to undergird urban and regional planning in South and southern Africa for at least three reasons. First, as far as planning for the future is concerned, information technology can help us come to grips with the multiple challenges facing the new South Africa. Second, information technology would provide structural leverage in the formulation, adoption and implementation of community‐driven development pro grammes. Third, it would enable local authorities to cooperate across jurisdictional boundaries to promote substantive information sharing and proactive planning strategies.