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Informal settlements are here to stay. Let’s upgrade them

Upgrading informal settlements is a cheaper and more effective way to improve lives

Thousands of people live in Marikana informal settlement in Cape Town. Archive photo: Ashraf Hendricks
Since 1994, the government has built more than three million subsidised homes. But at least two million households are still waiting for formal housing.
Upgrading informal settlements by providing serviced stands for the residents to build on is a cheaper and more efficient alternative to the brick-and-mortar RDP or Breaking New Ground (BNG) houses. It has an immediate impact: cleaner water, safer sanitation, improved waste removal and better living conditions.
Informal settlements are unplanned and characterised by makeshift structures. Residents often have no access to basic services. They live with inadequate sanitation, limited access to clean water, exposure to liquid and solid waste, unsafe electricity…

Read More: Informal settlements are here to stay. Let’s upgrade them.

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