Community participation in the upgrading of informal settlements: theoretical and practical guidelines

English: The emergence of participation as an alternative paradigm of development has been phenomenal. All over the world, and in South Africa in particular, enthusiasm for community participation in development exists. Moreover, many development initiatives in South Africa aspire to be participatory and people-driven processes. However, the difficulties of achieving participation at grassroots level is not always fully recognised or analysed. Therefore, participatory development, specifically in urban upgrading in South Africa, was the focus of this research. This study attempted to move beyond both the development rhetoric and the lofty sentiments associated with participatory development, and to search for a deeper understanding of community participation in development. In this search for a more in-depth understanding of the dynamics of participatory development, the study firstly traced the roots of community participation back to some of the social and development theories and paradigms from which community participation originated. The acceptance of participatory approaches to development reflects an awareness of the inadequacy of previous development efforts that failed to communicate effectively with local persons and considers their felt needs and potential contributions. Participatory development was developed primarily in a Third World context, albeit with Western influences, and it grew out of a wide range of alternative and divergent ideas, theories and paradigms, from all over, and from a multitude and rich legacy of development forces and approaches that influenced and co-shaped it. Secondly, this thesis attempted to achieve conceptual clarity on community participation in relation to development projects. Community participation is for the purposes of this study, defined as a collective process that has its focus on the active collaborative involvement of keystakeholders in joint decision-making that will influence the outcome of development decisions and of actions impacting on the broader development context of an end-beneficiary community. Thirdly, this research paid some attention to community participation in low-income urban housing projects. Important impediments or obstacles to community participation were exposed, with some reference to their application in urban upqradinq contexts. This study highlighted the emergence and evolution of participatory housing processes in urban low-income communities, both internationally and in South Africa. The global nature of shelter poverty, specifically in urban environments, was explored and the extent of shelter poverty in South Africa's urban areas and related low-income housing initiatives was discussed. r,e emergence of participatory urban development in South Africa was also analysed. Fourthly, the research described and analysed the community participation dynamics of a selected case study of informal settlement upgrading. For this purpose Freedom Square (an informal settlement on the outskirts of Bloemfontein, the capital of the Free State Province in South Africa) was selected as a case study. The findings demonstrated that informal settlers do have the inherent ability to participate meaningfully in their own development, albeit not without conflict among the different stakeholders involved. Lastly, the study proposed some emergent guidelines for promoting or facilitating community participation in urban upgrading projects. These guidelines could serve as a developmental strategy of conduct for the practice of participatory development and also as a development ethical code. Participatory development, and for that matter human development, is about processes whereby people empower themselves to participate continuously in improving their own destiny. A constant reorientation of the thinking of development professionals is therefore necessary, during which process they should rather adopt the motto of planning with and not for the people. In this reorientation they should change from being implementers to being facilitators and enablers who foster the principle of minimum intervention and who respect the indigenous knowledge of ordinary community members. The participatory development paradigm is here to stay, but the challenge remains to make community participation more than an empty catchword. Although there are major issues and problems associated with community participation in development, the benefits of participation by far outweigh these problems. Despite its ambiguities and limitations, the participatory approach enables ordinary people to assume responsibility for policies and decisions, and also for actions which concern them.