3.2.2 State supported SHH
This second form of SHH, sometimes called upgrading
programmes, as described by Harms (1992), is not very different from the
spontaneous or autonomous form. It essentially exists where the State
recognizes or legalizes the effort produced by the users in order to house
themselves. In that sense, State assisted SHH is the legalization by the State
of spontaneous or autonomous SHH. As Martin (1983: 53) argues, «upgrading
solves the housing problem by transforming `illegal' dwellings into `legal'
ones, thus improving the housing statistics». It deals with the actions
such as «infrastructure provision, technical assistance, funds for
upgrading, supervised credits ...» (Harms, 1992: 35). This form of SHH is
analyzed and defended by Turner (1972) who claims that the role of the State is
to help users to be responsible in the process related to their housing. In
South Africa, the second form of SHH will protect the inhabitants of informal
settlements from eviction as happened at Grootboom, Alexandra and Bredell
(Huchzermeyer, 2003b). Besides, the second form of SHH provides to residents of
informal settlements the security of tenure. This is, according to Martin
(1983), one of the reasons for upgrading programmes.
Martin (1983: 53) outlines some advantages of the second form
of SHH. He notes that:
- It preserves existing economic systems and opportunities for
those in need, the urban poor.
- It preserves a low-cost housing system, usually at
advantageous locations, thus enabling the inhabitants to retain the maximum
disposable income.
- It preserves a community which has internal linkages to
safeguard the interests of the individual family and the group.
Referring to Martin, the main advantages of this SHH is that
it recognizes the effort of households which seek to solve their needs for
housing (Turner, 1972). Besides, it does not destroy some households' assets
such as networks which exist between tenants and which may allow them to
generate income in being self employers.
If one of the purposes of upgrading programmes seeks to
transform illegal dwellings into legal ones, as Martin argued, the main
weakness of this form of SHH is that in providing the security of tenure to
residents of informal settlements, the State legalizes illegality and
informality. In this sense, this form of SHH can allow the perception that
illegality is the way to accede to legality and may encourage other households
who are in need of housing to invade land.
The key success of this approach remains, according to Martin,
the active participation of the beneficiaries and the true dialogue between
implementers of the project which is the government and beneficiaries of the
project (the low-income families). In analyzing the advantages of
participation, Martin (1983) points out that it helps to meet the needs of the
beneficiaries. The participants who are involved in the upgrading project are
likely to support the project and, if the project fails, the users may easily
accept the results.
The literature on State Supported SHH or upgrading programmes,
only focuses on improving housing conditions (Harms, 1992) or the
transformation of illegal dweller to legal dweller (Martin, 1983) through
granting security of tenure to residents. However, these authors fail at the
same time to stress the issue of empowering low-income families in providing
them with economic opportunities and allowing their social inclusion within the
whole society (University of the Witwatersrand Research Team (2004).
In sum, the second form of SHH is the situation in which the
initiative, although poor, inadequate and weak, of solving housing need comes
from the beneficiaries. And, instead of bulldozing the informal housing, the
State complements the households' efforts in providing them opportunities to
improve their housing conditions. Another form of SHH is the situation in which
the plan to solve the housing need of the citizens comes from the government
and the households have only to participate in such projects. This form of SHH
is identified in the literature review as the State initiated
SHH.
| 
