Revisiting the Self-Help Housing debate: Perception of Self-Help Housing by the beneficiaries of South African low-cost housing

2.6. The concept of need

Referring to findings in psychology a need is something that must necessarily be satisfied in order to avoid frustration. Among the meanings set to the concept of need, I will for the purpose of this dissertation consider need as the reason which motivates a given action. And I will not look at the hierarchy of needs but I will focus on «psychological needs» and «basic needs». Basic needs such as the need to eat, need for water, need for housing, etc, are necessary and indispensable for all human beings. If people cannot satisfy their need for housing for one reason or another, they are likely to become homeless and may be susceptible to other vulnerabilities linked to homelessness (see Olufemi, 2000). The main characteristic of need is that once satisfied, it disappears.

2.6.1 The dynamic of need and desire

Another concept related to need is «desire». The difference between a desire and a need is that a need is clear and may be satisfied whereas desire expresses the dynamic of human life. This means that the desire cannot be completely satisfied. Once satisfied, it appears in another form. Applying the concept of need in housing, housing may be considered as a «fixed product» (see Burgess 1985). And the notion of desire in housing may explain the notion such as «housing process» or «housing as a verb» which is advocated by Turner (1972) and «cycle housing» which introduces the notion of priorities in housing. Between need and desire the priority should be given to the need. This does not mean that in prioritizing need over desire I neglect the importance of desire or I affirm the superiority of need to desire. I only mean that the need is clearly expressed therefore easy to be satisfied whereas the desire is not visibly expressed and cannot be completely satisfied. A good understanding of the dynamic of need and desire, may in turn allow a deep understanding of the need for housing. This implies a static and global definition of for example «adequate housing», which is not the case in this research.

2.6.2 The need for housing and the rise of SHH

The concept of need allows us to understand the dynamic that rules the practice of SHH in general and informal settlement in particular. In the absence of government assistance through housing subsidy, or difficult access to housing finance or slow delivery of housing, households especially of the poorest of the poor do not have another alternative than to address the issue of housing themselves. In South Africa, the need for housing and adequate shelter is real and may be observed in the housing waiting lists and in the expansion of informal settlements. The rise of SHH is a logical reaction motivated by the need for housing. It may be concluded that if the need for housing is adequately satisfied or if there is no housing crisis, we cannot experience the rise of SHH. As Henderson (1999) argues, neither the State nor interest groups may recommend the practice of SHH when the economy of the country is healthy^19(*).

However, in South Africa, the situation looks different insofar as there is not expansion of SHH despite the presence of elements analyzed and presented above which should give rise to the practice of SHH. Before analyzing the reasons why there is not expansion of SHH in South Africa, I would first, in the following chapter focus on SHH in the literature review.

* ¹⁹ It is obvious that this assumption depends on a definition of SHH as some rich people commission their own housing or do housing improvements with their own labour. However, rich people may undertake housing activities with their own hands not because of lack of money as they can afford to pay a contractor but they can do it as a hobby to keep themselves busy.