The planning system, property markets and the development of affordable housing: case studies from Cape Town
type: CreativeWork
description: 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…
abstract: 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…
author: Musvoto, Elizabeth Mirika
keywords: Construction Economics and Management
date published: 2019
date modified: 2026-07-24T01:34:13Z
provider: University of Cape Town
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Department of Construction Economics and Management

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: https://hdl.handle.net/11427/31703