Patel, K; (2012) A Successful Slum Upgrade in Durban: A tale of formal change and informal continuity. Presented at: African Studies Association (USA), Philadelphia, PA, USA.

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Abstract

According to latest projections, by 2030 approximately half of the one billion people living on the African continent will live in cities. As cities grow, so do slums; they are easy to access affordable spaces for accommodation and livelihood. This paper responds to an increasing need to critically assess programs and strategies that aim to tackle the problem of urban slums and improve the lives of shack dwellers in order to identify opportunities to address a mounting problem that is set to grow. Based on data from a nine month ethnographic study of Zwelisha, a newly formalised settlement north of Durban, South Africa, this paper presents a nuanced account of the upgrade process and its successful outcomes in terms of improved tenure security and a more positive living environment (as defined by Zwelisha’s residents). The formal changes enacted in Zwelisha, the paper argues, are successful because of informal continuities; specifically, the continued and consolidated power and influence of the local settlement committee following upgrade. This committee is an informal authority that operates according to informal rules and governance processes. This finding draws a new theoretical link between neo-customary tenure and newly formalised spaces in an attempt to explain the complementary co-existence of ‘informal’ and ‘formal’ power dynamics.

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