State-led versus community-initiated: stormwater drainage and informal settlement intervention in Johannesburg, South Africa

Abstract

In two informal settlements in Johannesburg, South Africa, stormwater drainage interventions were investigated and compared. In the case of Elias Motsoaledi settlement, the intervention was state-led; in Slovo Park settlement it involved community-based initiatives. Both settlements are vulnerable to runoff-related disturbances. State-led stormwater management interventions in informal settlements are embedded in a context that can create various concerns and contradictions, participatory challenges, and political influence. Community-initiated approaches can also have limitations and coping strategies can be minimally effective. The state’s central role is clear from both cases and it highlights the need for integration between the state-led and communitarian approaches towards co-producing meaningful drainage and infrastructural intervention in informal settlements.