The planning system, property markets and the development of affordable housing: case studies from Cape Town
The study investigates the underlying causal mechanisms behind the outcomes in the affordable housing market in South Africa. The rationale for this study is the persistence of unfavourable outcomes in terms of location, density, integration and affordability of affordable housing developments. The post-apartheid government adopted housing policies, supporting planning policies and directed financial investment towards the development of integrated affordable housing at appropriate locations and densities. However, more than 20 years after democracy, there is no evidence that affordable housing is integrated and being developed at higher densities and appropriate locations, despite the principles of densification, integration and the creative use of town planning tools bestowed in the housing policies. This study, using structure and agency theory, investigates how structural variables (planning system and policy framework, resources for housing development and ideological perspectives) influenced the agency of role players in producing the current outcomes in the affordable housing market. The study investigated two interrelated questions. Firstly, how have the ideals of planning incentives, densification and integration reflected in the housing policies influenced the post-apartheid planning systems? Secondly, how do the planning system and other structural variables impact on the property and housing market and how does this, in turn, produce the current outcomes regarding the location, density, integration and affordability of affordable housing. Corresponding to these questions were two hypotheses. The first was that the principles of planning incentives, densification and integration espoused in housing policy have not been sufficiently reflected in the planning system, leading to failure in stimulating the private sector to supply affordable housing. The second hypothesis was that the planning system fails to counteract the tendencies of private developers to locate housing at inappropriate densities and locations. Using the conceptual framework designed from structure-agency theory, this study adopted a comparative case study method to investigate how the interactions of role players with the structural variables led to the outcomes in terms of location, density, integration and affordability of five affordable housing developments in the City of Cape Town metropolitan area. The case studies of affordable housing developments were categorised in terms of the type of developers, tenure options and land ownership. The empirical data were collected using household surveys and semi-structured interviews. A household survey of 395 beneficiaries was conducted in the affordable housing developments. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with developers and planning consultants in the private sector, state policy makers and policy-implementers at the City of Cape Town and the provincial Department of Human Settlements, housing activists and housing policy specialists. The study finds that while the principles in housing policies are reflected in the planning system, there is no clear indication on the meaning and expected outcomes, leading to a disjuncture in policy intent, implementation, and failure to stimulate the private sector to supply affordable housing. Furthermore, the study finds that the planning system has lagged behind in providing adequate legislative and planning tools to support the development of affordable housing. The study finds that the planning system and policy framework has constrained the development of affordable housing and failed to successfully curb the tendencies of developers to develop at inappropriate locations and densities. The study finds that while the structural variables such as the resources for housing development and planning system and policy framework impacted on the location, density, integration and affordability of affordable housing; the ideological perspectives of role players have impacted on the roles and distribution of resources towards the development of affordable housing. The study concludes that while the housing policy has been progressive, it is not sufficient to address the challenges in the affordable housing market. It is recommended that policy interventions targeted at enhancing the location, density, integration and affordability be implemented through the three areas that constitute the structural environment, namely the planning and policy framework, resources for housing development, and ideological perspectives of role players in order to impact on the agency of role players to create an environment conducive to the development of integrated affordable housing at higher densities and appropriate locations.
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Department of Construction Economics and Management