Supporting Reblocking and Community Development in Mtshini

Supporting Reblocking and Community Development in Mtshini Wam Abstract The South African government is currently facing immense pressure to provide all citizens with access to housing and basic services. In response to the historically slow and unsustainable sys- tem of housing and service delivery for informal communities across South Africa, a process called reblocking was created. The informal settlement community of Mtshini Wam and our sponsor, Community Organisation Resource Centre (CORC), invited us to observe the first reblocking project undertaken in partnership with the City of Cape Town and the Informal Settle- ment Network (ISN). Our project goal was to support this reblocking process as well as community development. At the partnership’s request, we created a guidebook to help streamline this process as the new standard of informal settlement improvement. We also utilised momentum from the reblocking process to implement community driven initiatives addressing issues of food security, entrepreneurial job opportunities, and quality and safety of shack dwelling. For our full project report: http://wp.wpi.edu/capetown/homepage/projects/p2012/mtshini-wam For more about the Cape Town Project Centre: http://wp.wpi.edu/capetown/ Authors Project Advisors Sponsors An Interactive Qualifying Project to be submitted to the faculty of Worcester Polytechnic Zachary Hennings Professors Robert Hersh Community Organisation Rachel Mollard Resource Centre Institute in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Bachelor Science. and Scott Jiusto Adam Moreschi Sarah Sawatzki Stephen Young were unable or unwilling to pay for their Understand the process Background formal services and either sold their houses of reblocking, the reasons or rented their backyards to shack dwellers. for it and the benefits it A housing crisis currently exists throughout Over time, open areas in Joe Slovo Park be- provides South Africa, and as a result, millions of citi- came dense informal neighborhoods, re- Create a guidebook to zens are living in shacks in areas known as verting Joe Slovo Park back to an informal help improve the reblock- informal settlements. These environments state (Barry 2006). ing process pose many health and safety risks, including Joe Slovo Park, located in Milnerton, was a Implement communi- limited access to clean water and sanitation, new project site for the WPI Cape Town ty development pro- coupled with the risk of floods and fire. De- Project Centre. The project took place in a jects in Mtshini Wam spite these conditions, over 3.6 million neighborhood of Joe Slovo Park called South Africans reside in informal settle- Create a pamphlet for the Mtshini Wam. Since its creation in 2006, ments, which have grown rapidly in the post community detailing the Mtshini Wam has become home to 497 peo- story of Mtshini Wam’s re- -apartheid era (Hasselhorn 2012). ple (SDI 2012). Mtshini Wam is facing many blocking The racial policies of apartheid forced many of the same challenges as other informal Create certificates that non-white South Africans far from the eco- settlement communities, but is undergoing a accredit the skills reblock- nomic opportunities of the city. In 1994 very new and innovative method of informal ing workers developed. apartheid ended and the constitution was settlement improvement, called reblocking. heavily revised, lifting the geographic re- strictions placed on non-white citizens. In Methodology and response, migration to urban centers in the pursuit of financial opportunity accelerated, Objectives: Shared and settlements comprised of salvaged ma- pen simultaneously in order to facilitate Action Learning deeper understanding (Jiusto, Hersh and Project Narrative terial shacks began to develop on both public and privately owned land, including flood Working in informal settlements pre- Taylor 2012). We connected with our part- The following section of this report fo- plains, road reserves and dumpsites. With sents unique challenges that extend ners as suggested by SAL to determine cuses on the major accomplishments of the rising number of informal settlements far beyond the distinctive cultural what our project goals would be. Our spon- our team in Mtshini Wam. To fully un- and new constitutional requirements to pro- differences between American and sor asked the project group to focus on derstand our project, one must develop vide housing and services to all South Afri- South African cultures. Shared Action researching reblocking and informal settle- an understanding of this new upgrade cans, informal settlements were finally rec- Learning (SAL) is a Cape Town Project ments during the preparation phase of the process of reblocking, because it is in ognized as a critical state issue. To provide Centre, action research oriented ap- project. Community connections, however, this context that our project takes place. housing opportunities, the government typi- proach to help work within these com- only occurred in person because com- Many of our deliverables and observa- cally proceeded in a mass eviction, reloca- plex issues by forming strong relation- munity leaders could not be contacted dur- tions are directly related to the reblock- tion and housing subsidy program, as used ships and actively engaging all stake- ing the preparation phase. For this reason ing process, while others capitalize on in the initial upgrade of a Cape Town infor- holders of the project. our project objectives were not clearly de- the opportunities created by the re fined before we arrived in Mtshini Wam, mal settlement Marconi Beam in the blocking process in Mtshini Wam. For a but instead developed over time using late 1990s. The five processes of SAL are connecting, more detailed account of how our pro- Shared Action Learning on the ground. planning, acting, observing, and reporting ject came together in Mtshini Wam, in- With little involvement of the community, Through these extensive cycles of the SAL with consideration of the social, cultural, cluding both challenges and deep re- the government relocated residents of Mar- process, the following objectives were cre- and ecological context wherein the project wards of cross-cultural collaboration, coni Beam into subsidized “formal” housing, ated: creating Joe Slovo Park. Many, however, is taking place. These processes are to hap- visit our project webpage “Acts and Mtshini Wam pg.2 Scenes” at: wp.wpi.edu/capetown/ structure through another organisation, water could be seen pooled underneath ing, this would be a quantum leap forward homepage/projects/p2012/mtshini- iKhayalami. The City of Cape Town provides residents’ shacks, often with rats present as from current services, and is made poten- wam/. the remainder of the shack materials well. The compacted platforms created for tially feasible through reblocking. through standard issue fire kits, and is also The partnership makes responsible for the installation of hard ser- What is Reblocking? involving the com- vices, such as water taps and toilets, after munity possible, as ISN Reblocking is a process developed by Shack reblocking is finished. Dwellers International (SDI) that is based and CORC work direct- primarily on the spatial reconfiguration of Through the Extended Public Works Pro- ly with the community shacks in informal settlements (SDI 2012). gram, the City of Cape Town hires commu- workers during all Shacks are rearranged and reconstructed to nity members to implement the physical stages of reblocking. maximize open space in the settlement. reblocking in conjunction with outside con- As a result, the com- Shacks are also often built on raised tractors. The result of this partnership is a munity feels a sense of platforms and the settlements graded to settlement organised into neat rows and pride and ownership prevent flooding. Reblocking is considered clusters with improved shacks and installa- for what they have tion of hard services available to every com- created, unifying the an in-situ process due to its minimal disrup- reblocked shacks to stand upon prevent this munity member. community, giving job opportunities to tion of resident’s lives throughout the dura- pooling and have reportedly kept rats from those who otherwise may not have one and tion of the project. Reblocking is only made burrowing under community shacks. Living creating a sustainable change. As one com- possible by the commitment and manual Benefits of Reblocking conditions are greatly improved in re- munity leader stated, “we’re not just build- labour of community members where re- In Mtshini Wam, we witnessed this reblock- blocked clusters and shacks, which are no- ing homes, we’re building people.” blocking is occurring, a very bottom up ing process along with the challenges and ticeably less damp. Community members strategy. benefits involved. We observed clear bene- told us that they feel healthier since this fits with respect to fire safety, establishing change in their living conditions. Opportunities for Im- roads, reducing greywater hazards, creating There is also a shortage of services present jobs and inspiring a sense of pride within provement In the case of Cape Town, South Africa, re- in Mtshini Wam as only three taps and the community, all discussed below. blocking is made possible by a multi- 16 chemical toilets service 497 people. This multi-stakeholder reblocking partner- stakeholder partnership comprised of Non- New fire-resistant metal structures, coupled During our time in Mtshini Wam only one Governmental

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