Browsing by Author "Zweig, Patricia"

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    Deconstructing vulnerability: exploring the lives of young black men in urban informal settlements
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2022-12) Zweig, Patricia; Visser, Gustav; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Geography and Environmental Studies.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Globally, over a billion urban dwellers live in slum conditions today, increasing by around ten million inhabitants annually. Much of this growth is occurring in Africa, where some estimates suggest that more than half the urban population already lives informally. Generally unplanned and inadequately serviced, these densely settled urban areas are becoming hot spots of urban risk, strongly rooted in social and economic vulnerabilities associated with unstable sources of livelihood and deplorable living conditions. Daily life in these contexts is thus a precarious and constant confrontation with the lived realities of poverty that shapes the way people respond to the world around them. In these environments, women and children are generally considered to be most vulnerable to the hazards associated with daily life. But there is growing concern about the lives of men and their perceived marginalisation, feelings of self-worth, and collective and individual vulnerability in an urban environment in which their roles have fundamentally changed. If we are to influence behaviour change among young men to reduce the acknowledged risks they pose to others, we must understand how they are being made vulnerable in a changing society that no longer defends their rights. This study sought to understand the challenges faced by young Xhosa men and the nature of their vulnerabilities in informal settlements in contemporary South Africa, by determining the building blocks of their vulnerability and how these are shaped and change over time and space. In contemporary South Africa, poor young Black men are being confronted with new circumstances that are profoundly shaping their identities. Adopting an interpretivist theoretical approach, a grounded methodology involving suite of methods was employed to interrogate the nature of the young men’s perceived vulnerabilities, how they coped with them and how in response they constructed their identities. These ranged from adapted participatory methods involving drawing, to diary-keeping and one-on-one discussions. In describing their lives in informal settlement environments the young men in the study revealed how they were made vulnerable and what they were vulnerable to, which included physical threats but also less tangible forms of susceptibility that included navigating relationships in a changing world, unemployment, living up to the social and cultural expectations placed on Xhosa men - both by themselves as well as others around them - and trying to accommodate new gender and other fundamental rights discourses brought by democracy that have brought traditional masculine forms of identity into question. In navigating complex urban informal landscapes, the identities of young men were found to be constantly mediated in response to new circumstances in which they find themselves. As a consequence, they shift interchangeably between different masculine identities to reduce their perceived vulnerability, often accommodating conflicting value systems, with each man positioning himself in relation to the power dynamics he encounters, shifting from hegemonic to subordinate forms of masculinity. This study has revealed that young men are currently conflicted in not knowing how to accommodate change without forfeiting the very essence of what it is that they believe makes them men. It suggests that we should adopt a far more culturally attuned and Afro-centric approach to understanding poor young African men that considers the ways in which they are made to feel vulnerable. This means challenging our preconceived notions about the masculine identities we think they are invested in.
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    Fire safety engineering guideline for informal settlements : towards practical solutions for a complex problem in South Africa
    (Stellenbosch University, 2020) Walls, Richard; Cicione, Antonio; Pharoah, Robyn; Zweig, Patricia; Smith, Mark; Antonellis, Danielle; Walls, Richard
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Informal settlements are growing rapidly, and in Africa they are likely to double in size within the coming few decades. Informal settlements (IS) (also known by names such as slums, ghettos, favelas and shantytowns) are typically dense, and people’s homes are built from highly combustible materials. Hence, when a fire breaks out it can spread rapidly, leaving thousands homeless. Every year in South Africa fires are affecting large numbers of people, costing municipalities millions of rands (ZAR), and are severely hindering the upliftment of the poorest in our communities. This guideline seeks to provide a holistic approach to improving fire safety for communities. It is important to realise that this complex problem can only be improved by a multi-sectoral response addressing various issues such as: reducing the risk of ignition, providing early warning systems, having community involvement, having well-resourced and well-prepared fire departments, reducing the combustible nature of homes, and many other similar factors. The audience of this report is broad in that it seeks to assist fire departments, local municipalities, national government, engineers, town planners and non-governmental organisations involved in IS fire safety. This work initially provides an understanding of communities living in settlements, as often interventions overlook the daily reality of these people which leads to interventions being ineffective. Fire behaviour, fire spread and fire safety engineering is then discussed, and it is shown how this can be applied to ISs. This is done to dispel many common myths, and to show what can, and can’t, improve fire safety. To understand IS fire incidents a timeline of a typical fire incident is provided, along with a case study on the 2017 Imizamo Yethu disaster. Many interventions, strategies and devices are discussed, looking at what could be adopted to improve fire safety. It is important to realise that a basket of solutions is typically needed, and a single intervention may have a very limited impact. A list of tasks that communities can undertake before, during and after a fire incident provides a useful resource for organisations working with communities. Ultimately there is no easy solution to this problem. However, through a concerted, evidence-based approach significant fire safety improvements can be made to help the poorest in our land.