Categorization and Normalization of the (In)Formal Settlements in the Contested Greenbelts of the Greater Durban Area (South Africa)

Abstract

The South African housing and human settlements policy prescribes and categorizes housing standards for urban areas. Thus, the EThekwini (Durban) metropolitan municipality provides housing to its residents, in terms of the mandate and guidelines of the housing and human settlements policy. But, owing to rapid urbanization, the municipality has not been able to keep abreast of the housing demands. Hence, the (in)formal housing movements and activists have mobilized access to housing of their standards, in the highly contested green belts in the Greater Durban area. This pressure of (in)formal housing has resulted in the municipality relaxing the standards and categories of suitable housing. So, (in)formal settlements have mushroomed in Durban. Hence, this paper explored the processes of categorization and normalization of the (in)formal settlements in the contested greenbelts of the Greater Durban area. The results established that the development of (in)formal settlement in the Ethekwini municipality represented a nexus of actors with highly conflicting interests. Therefore, dealing with the (in)formal settlements in the Ethekwini municipality requires genuine, innovative, and ingenious leadership.