By Larushkan Soobiah

200833658



SDB4A
13/05/2011

Situational Analysis of Diepsloot
Reception Area

$17,3/
Title Mr.
Full name Larushkan Soobiah
Student number 200833658
Course Urban Managemen
Lecturer Mr. Z Simpson
Due date 13/05/2011

Plagiarism is to present someone else`s
(either Irom a printed source or Irom the
the Geneva Convention Ior citation and
people in this essay has been acknowledg

x I understand what plagiarism is and
x I know that I would plagiarise iI I d
book. article or Internet source witho
x I know that even iI I only change
without proper citation.
x I declare that I have written my own
I have gained Irom other people`s w
x I declare that this assignment is my o
x I have not allowed. and will not allo
own work.

SIGNATURE

3/$*,$5,60'(&/$5$7,21
obiah
ement 4A
else`s ideas as my own. Where material written by other peo
m the internet). this has been careIully acknowledged and reIer
n and reIerencing. Every contribution to and quotation Irom
wledged through citation and reIerence. I know that plagiarism
is and am aware oI the University`s policy in this regard.
iI I do not give credit to my sources. or iI I copy sentences or
without proper citation.
hange the wording slightly. I still plagiarise when using som
y own sentences and paragraphs throughout my essay and I hav
le`s work.
is my own original work.
ot allow. anyone to copy my work with the intention oI passing
DATE: 13/05/2011
i
er people has been used
d reIerenced. I have used
Irom the work oI other
iarism is wrong.
ces or paragraphs Irom a
g someone else`s words
I have credited all ideas
assing it oII as his or her
1

Gauteng alone contributes over 35 to the national GDP (SAPA. 2010) and can be seen as the
economic heart oI South AIrica and most likely the AIrican continent as a whole. To the poor.
local or immigrant. it represents the best possible chance at a better Iuture. This maniIests itselI
as the highest rate oI urbanization oI any province in the country. at 91.9 (SAIRR
b
. 2010). An
inIlux oI homeless poor has resulted in high levels oI unemployment and inIormal settlement.
This is attributable to the job market being unable to absorb the growing mass oI unskilled
workers. Within Gauteng and in Iact the country. the City oI Johannesburg metropolitan
municipality has the largest population oI any other and is regarded as the Iinancial. commercial
and industrial hub. It has thus become the Iocal point oI migration into Gauteng. According to
the United Nations. a slum is characterised by any one oI Iive deprivations namely; inadequate
access to clean water. lack oI access to sanitation. poor structural integrity oI housing.
overcrowding (exceeding 3 people per room) and insecure residential standing (UN-HABITAT.
2007) . With the municipality having a population nearing 4 million (99 oI which are located
in urban areas) and with 18 oI all dwellings therein being inIormal (SAIRR
a
. 2010). it provides
an ideal opportunity to identiIy and examine an area exhibiting a worst case level oI deprivation
(i.e. all oI the slum deIining deprivations). This paper Iocuses on. and highlights. the
deprivations evident in Diepsloot`s Reception Area via a desktop study oI existing material. In
addition various aspects oI the role oI the Civil Engineering proIession will be discussed with
respect to deprivation alleviation and the associated social and economic beneIits.
Established in 1994. Diepsloot is a Iairly new low-income settlement which was originally
intended to accommodate persons relocated Irom inIormal townships in the surrounding area. In
the beginning the settlement was regarded to be an ideal example oI housing provision and
service delivery. but with an overwhelming inIlux oI people Irom unexpectedly large Iorced
relocations Irom Alexandra and other townships. the demand became too great (Himlin et al.
2007). This has led to diverse levels oI service delivery existing within one community. Formal
areas or 'extensions oI Diepsloot are provided with water. sanitation Iacilities. waste removal.
and some even electricity. The service provision in the inIormal areas is inconsistent at best. with
some receiving none at all.

2

Figure 1: The Location oI Diepsloot and the Reception Area (WASSUP Diepsloot. n.d)
The purpose oI the Reception Area (Extension 8 B) oI Diepsloot was to temporarily house
people beIore they were relocated to a Iormal area. but the surge oI people has caused it to decay
dramatically. With over 15000 shacks (greater than 60 oI all oI the shacks in Diepsloot)
occupying 44.4 hectares oI land. living conditions are oI the lowest quality making the problem
oI service provision a daunting challenge. These challenges can be summarised as; InsuIIicient
water Iacilities to supply the area. sanitation and hygiene problems. poor storm water drainage.
destruction oI communal inIrastructure. inconsistent waste collection. lack oI waste disposal
sites. lack oI service inIrastructure such as roads. unsaIe housing structures and overcrowding.
The Iore mentioned lack oI services will be Iurther expanded upon in conjunction with the Iive
slum deIining deprivations oI the United Nations.
The dwelling density in the Diepsloot Reception area is over 300 shacks per hectare. iI a 25
allowance Ior roads and amenity sites is take into account (26`10 South Architects. 2010). the
average stand size is less than 30m. This means that the interior oI a dwelling in this area would
roughly have a Iloor space oI an average single middle-income bedroom. Diepsloot as a whole
has an average household size oI 3.4 members per household (AIIordable Land and Housing
Centre. n.d). Using this as a conservative estimate. the Reception Area would be classiIied as
overcrowded according to the United Nations.
3

Figure 2: Illustration oI disparity in the region and the degree oI overcrowding in the Diepsloot
Reception Area (Harrison. n.d)
Water is supplied via standpipes to the majority oI the community and there is Irequent lack oI
pressure or supply (Rubin. 2008). Many oI the standpipes have been vandalised due to a lack oI
ownership or simply have never worked. With the highest population density in Diepsloot. the
Reception Area`s lack oI access to water is exacerbated. Usually large distances have to be
traversed in order to obtain water Irom a working standpipe (iI there is supply at all). The
watercourse along which the area is situated is heavily polluted due to sewerage. reIuse and large
scale illegal dumping oI construction rubble. The sheer number oI people and lack oI storage
containers and space means that many oI residents oI the Reception Area have no immediate
access to water.
Storm water management is non-existent in the
Reception Area and signiIicantly impacts the residents.
There are almost no tarred roads accessing the area and
storm water causes large scale erosion throughout.
hampering mobility and the ability to collect waste and
provide other services. Storm water drainage routes have
become polluted due to contaminated runoII and become
Iilled with litter. Severe erosion leads to make-shiIt
^^
Figure 3: Instability oI Shacks
along storm water drainage course
(Rubin. 2008)
4

housing becoming unstable along these major drainage courses. As the Reception Area is built
within the Iloodplain oI the river. large scale Ilooding and loss oI liIe is a reality which the
residents must Iace daily. Thus storm water poses a genuine threat to the health and saIety oI the
community.
The sewerage inIrastructure which was put in place during the
establishment oI Diepsloot was below standard and quickly
became inadequate and dangerous. The now overburdened
system along with poorly constructed manholes results in raw
sewage Ilowing out into the streets (Rubin. 2008). It is
estimated that 7.2km oI sewage runs through Diepsloot`s
Reception Area alone (26`10 South Architects. 2010). causing
severely unhygienic conditions and risk to human health. The
existing municipality-provided communal toilets are in an
extremely poor state and are either partially or completely
destroyed by acts oI vandalism or incorrect use i.e. waste
disposal. Less than halI oI the toilets in the Reception Area
are Iunctioning. many oI which are missing doors which have
been stolen to be used in the construction oI more inIormal
dwellings. Waste collection in the area is inIrequent and
results in it piling up on the streets and being illegal dumped
in the river or elsewhere. Plastic reIuse bags are expensive
and are used Ior other purposes; hence waste is not bagged
and is just thrown on the streets. The close contact oI people
to exposed raw sewage compounded by lack oI clean water.
inadequate drainage and Iailure to remove waste. provides a
breeding ground Ior disease and illness.
Figures 3 & 4: The state oI
sewerage inIrastructure
(Rubin. 2008)
5

Figure 5: The daylight sewage in the Reception Area (26`10 South Architects. 2010)
Creating an eIIicient and well-maintained base oI inIrastructure and services is the ultimate goal
oI the Civil Engineer with regard to sustainable development. but the provision oI services to an
area such as the Diepsloot Reception Area is a challenging task which requires extensive
planning and preparation. There are however positive aspects in redeveloping this area; the
existing inIrastructure has a well planned layout and can be upgraded or reIurbished. the nearby
watercourse (once rehabilitated) could oIIer valuable recreational space and arable land Ior
subsistence Iarming. and all dwellings are non-durable making clearing Ior construction (once
the occupants have been relocated) simple. The predominant problem which must be overcome
to upgrade this area is that oI the lack oI space. In order to provide large scale inIrastructure a
large amount oI working space. and access to it Ior machinery. is required. All while the saIety
oI all parties in the vicinity must be ensured. Thus the relocation oI residents is unavoidable.
However the residents are not in Iavour oI this. and hence the aim oI optimal inIrastructure
6

provision must be altered to providing the best possible level oI inIrastructure with the least
number oI relocations (possibly Iorced) necessary. It is ironic that in order to elevate the
community Irom slum-status. the deprivation oI insecure tenure is placed upon them.
Figure 6:
The state oI the roads
in the Reception Area
(26`10 South
Architects. 2010)



The plan developed by the Municipality aims to create a property ladder. whereby households
systematically improve their living conditions. The plan is Ior households to move Irom a shack
to an RDP house. and thereaIter to a bonded house (26`10 South Architects. 2010). The
Iundamental problem oI scheme is that the earnings oI the occupants cannot simply be increased
in a manner that will Iacilitate these transitions. The municipality cannot sustain the provision oI
inIrastructure without adequate remuneration. however the numbers oI poor who desperately
need. but are unable to aIIord. access to it continue to grow. This is where the Civil Engineering
proIession is vital.
The Diepsloot Reception Area clearly exhibits all Iive
slum-characteristics. In order to elevate the community
a coordinated eIIort is required between the Civil
Engineering sector and government. The ability to
develop ways oI implementing sustainable development
is an important ability oI the Civil Engineer. An
implementation oI a systematic plan Ior inIrastructure
provision based on a hierarchy oI needs is required
rather than one based on property development. The
Engineering proIession can develop innovative strategies Ior community upliItment. by
recognising that not only physical but a social approach to poverty alleviation is also required.
Involving the residents in a project not only promotes a sense oI community but instils a sense oI
pride. The will in turn reduce vandalism oI communal inIrastructure and improve living
conditions. Using local labour provides jobs in addition to the beneIits mentioned. while still
Figure 3: The level oI pollution
along storm water drainage paths
(26`10 South Architects. 2010)
7

reaching the end product. The Civil Engineering proIession is one that is capable oI balancing
cost and the well-being oI the people. By creating durable well maintained inIrastructure the
proIession can reduce cost in the long term. and provide inIrastructure Ior generations to come.
That is in essence the theory oI sustainable development. The Essential role oI a Civil Engineer
in this situation is to ensure that the people oI this community can live in a digniIied manner. the
environmental degradation is rehabilitated and that government expenditure best serves these
purposes. The Civil Engineering proIession thus acts as a mediator between the people and
council. adviser on sustainable development and Iacilitator oI improved living conditions. Its
ideals are epitomised by the statement;
'The civil engineering profession recognises the realitv of limited natural resources. the desire
for sustainable practices (including life-cvcle analvsis and sustainable design techniques). and
the need for social equitv in the consumption of resources` (ASCE. 2010).












8

References
26`10 South Architects. (2010). Diepsloot Urban Development Framework and Business Plan.
Johannesburg: The City oI Joburg.
AIIordable Land and Housing Centre. (n.d). Suburban Profiles. Diepsloot. |Available Irom:|
http://www.alhdc.org.za/staticcontent/?p1227 |Accessed: 05/05/2011|
American Society oI Civil Engineers (ASCE). (2010). Policv Statement 418 - The Role of the
Civil Engineer in Sustainable Development. |Available Irom:| http://www.asce.org/Content.
aspx?id8475 |Accessed: 12/05/2011|
Harrison. P. (n.d.). Comparative Aerial photographs oI Diepsloot and DainIern |image|.
Learning for Johannesburg from across the World (City oI Johannesburg powerpoint
presentation)
Himlin. R.. Engel. H. & Mathoho. M. (2008). Land Use Management and Democratic
Governance in the City oI Johannesburg - Case Study: Kliptown & Diepsloot. media release 5.
June 2008. Johannesburg: Centre Ior Urbanism and Built Environment Studies (CUBES).
Housing and the inIormal city. (n.d). Map oI Diepsloot highlighting the reception area |Image|
Available Irom: http://housinginIormalcitydiepslootcontext.blogspot.com|Accessed: 12/05/2011|
Rubin. M. (February 2008). Land Management and Democratic Governance in the Citv of
Johannesburg. Svnthesis Report. Johannesburg: Centre Ior Urban and Built Environment Studies
(CUBES).
South AIrican Press Association (SAPA). (12 October 2010). Gauteng Economv Still leads SA.
|Available Irom:| http://www.Iin24.com/Economy/Gauteng-economy-still-leads-SA-20101012-2
|Accessed: 10/05/2011|
a
South AIrican Institute oI Race Relations (SAIRR). (February 2010). Eightv Indicators for 52
Municipalities. Fast Facts. No.2.
b
South AIrican Institute oI Race Relations (SAIRR). (February 2010).Provincial Profile.
Gauteng. Fast Facts. No.8.
9

UN-HABITAT. (April 2007). Sustainable Urbanization. local action for urban povertv
reduction. emphasis on finance and planning. |Available Irom:| http://www.unhabitat
.org/downloads/docs/462551419GC202120What20are20slums.pdI |Accessed:
05/05/2011|
Cover Image.
Water Amenities Sanitation Services Upgrading Program (WASSUP) Diepsloot. (n.d).
Reception Area |Photograph| Available Irom: http://www.wassupdiepsloot.com/?pageid216
|Accessed: 12/05/2011|