Life in a city centre, stuck in decay Urban risks and vulnerability in the inner city of Pretoria, South Africa Written by Tara Reimink 3632687 [email protected] Master thesis International Development Studies, Utrecht University Supervisors: Maggi Leung (NL) Willemien van Niekerk (SA) Life in a city centre, stuck in decay 2 Life in a city centre, stuck in decay Abstract This thesis focuses on the challenges of urban risks and vulnerability in the inner city of Pretoria, South Africa, based on the local resident's perceptions. Because of urbanization processes, urban underdevelopment and vulnerability are issues of growing importance in the debates on sustainable development. South African cities are facing challenges like homelessness, overcrowding, social fracture and drug abuse on a daily basis. Much development research has been done on the rural areas and townships of South Africa but there's a lack of knowledge about the development of city centres. This master research, with a fieldwork of three months, explores how households living in the inner city of Pretoria experience the risks and vulnerabilities that threaten their urban livelihoods, and how they cope with this. The research consists of street interviews, interviews with NGO's and the local government and the analysis of policy documents and secondary data. Financial problems, crime and violence, and infectious diseases turn out to be the biggest concern of the inner city residents. However, some subgroups seem to be more vulnerable than others. In the analysis, the sustainable livelihoods framework and the asset diagram form the basis to create a vulnerability profile of the inner city community. We can conclude that in general, the community is very dependent on instable financial and social resources. The vulnerability context shows that the national economy, corruption and a fractured society are important drivers, maintaining the community's vulnerability. The local NGO's and the local government also form important factors, and the role of their programs is also described. At last, the sustainable livelihoods framework and the asset diagram are tested for their usability in mapping vulnerability and looking for areas of improvement. 3 Life in a city centre, stuck in decay 4 Life in a city centre, stuck in decay Acknowledgements I spent three months in Pretoria, South Africa to carry out the fieldwork for my master thesis. Again, I found out that books can teach you many theories, but you will only start to truly understand development problems when you experience it personally. One of the best things about doing fieldwork, is that often you start the research with ignorance and prejudices, but the more time you spend at the location, the more you seem to understand the environment. Social research remains a challenge because the local people have to provide you with data. However, this challenge is exactly what makes me enjoy doing fieldwork so much. There are some people that I would like to thank for their support and contribution during the research preparation, fieldwork and while writing my thesis. First, I want to thank all the respondents of the street interviews who took their time to talk about their life in the inner city of Pretoria. My questions were personal and difficult at times, thus I sincerely appreciate their contribution to this research. I hope that they will be able to have more trust in the future of the country. I also want to thank the respondents of the Social Development Department, The Lerato House, The Bethesda Dream Centre, The Golden Heart Foundation, Yeast City Housing and the Dikeletsong Citizens' Advice Bureau for their contribution and guidance in the inner city. I really appreciate the hospitality and support of the CSIR, my host institution and especially the Built Environment Unit. They welcomed me on my arrival and offered me a great place to work on my research. Willemien van Niekerk has especially been a great mentor during the progress of my fieldwork. Galaletsang has been a great all-in-one local help and research assistant. I really appreciate the friendship built, and the dedication and time she put into this research. I thank Mokgadi, Phuti, Nynke, Louis, Adwan and Mohammad for giving me their perspectives on the topic and for the great time we had together. I also want to thank Maggi Leung, my supervisor, for the supervision and feedback throughout the process. I really appreciate the infinite support of Thijs, who motivated daily. Finally, I want to thank my family and above all my mom, for her unconditional care, trust and support. 5 Life in a city centre, stuck in decay 6 Life in a city centre, stuck in decay Table of content Abstract ....................................................................................................................................... 3 Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................................... 5 Table of content ........................................................................................................................... 7 1. List of figures and tables ........................................................................................................ 9 2. Abbreviations ..................................................................................................................... 10 3. Introduction........................................................................................................................ 11 3.1 Research objectives .................................................................................................................... 12 3.2 Research questions ..................................................................................................................... 13 3.3 CSIR – the internship host institute ............................................................................................ 13 3.4 Thesis design ............................................................................................................................... 14 4. Theoretical framework ........................................................................................................ 15 4.1 Urbanisation and its risks ........................................................................................................... 15 4.2 Vulnerability ............................................................................................................................... 16 4.3 Risk, resilience and coping strategies ......................................................................................... 18 4.4 The sustainable livelihoods framework. ..................................................................................... 19 4.5 Mapping vulnerability ................................................................................................................. 21 4.6 The importance of local perceptions .......................................................................................... 23 5. Thematic and geographical context ..................................................................................... 25 5.1 Historical context ........................................................................................................................ 25 5.2 Economic development and inequality ...................................................................................... 26 5.3 The HIV/AIDS problem ................................................................................................................ 27 5.4 The local context: Gauteng – Tshwane/Pretoria ........................................................................ 28 5.4.1 Gauteng ......................................................................................................................... 28 5.4.2 City of Tshwane / Pretoria ............................................................................................ 29 6. Methodology ...................................................................................................................... 31 6.1 Target Group .............................................................................................................................. 31 6.2 Research Methods ...................................................................................................................... 31 6.3 Maps ............................................................................................................................................ 37 7. The Pretoria inner city community ....................................................................................... 41 7.1 The inner city community ........................................................................................................... 41 7.1.1 A socio-economic profile ................................................................................................ 41 7.1.2 The subgroups ............................................................................................................... 43 7.2 The most important income resources ...................................................................................... 45 7.2.1 Jobs ................................................................................................................................ 45 7 Life in a city centre, stuck in decay 7.2.2 Remittances ..................................................................................................................