Paper short abstract:

This paper explores the 29-year struggle of an informal settlement community, in South Africa, to achieve legal permanence and improve their living conditions. This is despite a rights-based constitution and a formal upgrading policy instrument being in place.

Paper long abstract:

This paper revolves around a case study of an informal settlement, Slovo Park, in South Africa. It was established some 29 years ago, through the illegal occupation of land, about 15 km southwest of the Johannesburg CBD. With the end of apartheid legislation that restricted black citizens from urban areas there was rapid urbanisation, often involving illegal land occupations. Since then, Slovo Park has grown to over 5000 households, but remained precarious with limited consolidation, no tenure security, inadequate road, water and sewage infrastructure.

Despite a rights-based constitution providing people the right to housing and a specific informal settlement upgrading policy being formulated by the state in 2004, the community of Slovo Park have been fighting the local authority of the City of Johannesburg for over twenty years to have their settlement formally upgraded. This fight culminated in a high court judgement ordering the city to apply the upgrading policy to the settlement in 2015. This order has had limited effect on the local authority and the struggle continues.

This paper traces the last seven-years of engagement between the Slovo Park leadership and the City of Johannesburg as they have attempted to formalise the settlement using the Upgrading of Informal Settlement Program (UISP). It is hoped that this research can contribute to improving policy instruments supporting community-based consolidation and increased permanence of such settlements throughout Africa.