Abstract
Historically, mining companies worldwide provided housing to accommodate their employees. The approach became less prevalent at the end of the 1980s and attempts were initiated to mitigate the effects of mine development and mine closure. However, mining towns contain a huge scale of informal settlements since housing demand far out-numbers the existing low-income housing opportunities for mine workers and communities residing in and around mining areas. As a result, informal settlements are the most accessible housing option for mine workers and other lower income groups. The study explores the provision of social housing options in informal settlements within Mining Towns of South Africa. The town of Rustenburg will be used as a case study and is one of the oldest towns in the North West Province and is known as the 'Platinum City' because of the platinum mining activity taking place around the area. The boom in platinum business is followed by a worsening in environmental and social conditions, with the influx of migrants and a growing occurrence of informal settlements around mines. The main aim of this study is to get a better understanding of the challenges of housing provision for low income groups in particular the social housing options available within informal settlements in the mining towns. Understanding of the challenges will assist in addressing the provision of social housing options for low income groups within informal settlements. If the challenges are not confronted the development of new informal settlements will increase and this will create difficulty in achieving the progressive realisation of the right to housing as it is stated in the Constitution of the country. The research methodology is a case study...
M.Ing. (Sustainable Urban Planning and Development)