Abstract
The rapid development of informal, shanty informal dwelling units has become both a national and international challenge with attention from major organizations within the sustainability spectrum. Commonly attributed, city local authorities have deliberated upon the concept of urbanization as the main driver of the growth of these types of settlements. This has a profound impact on service delivery, form, and infrastructure development – particularly when municipal facilities need to be extended to address the immediate needs of the informal dwellers. For many informal settlements, not much has changed as the rise of this phenomena develops much rapid than what the national government can financially keep up with. In this project, a questionnaire survey was adopted; and the purpose of the survey was to set forth a conceptual framework which considers the context in which informality takes place, the settlement form itself, planning, and development of these spaces within the Nkandla informal settlement. A mixed methods approach was selected to consult the research objectives and questions as it assists in providing an understanding of the experiences of communities in informal settlement from both quantitative and qualitative perspectives. The findings indicate that the size across the stands was a major attraction, commonly followed by proximity to the town. However, the Spatial Development Framework does not cater for the spatial development of the settlement – only rehabilitation methods without much clarity and info pertaining to feasibility studies. Another critical finding indicates that public participation was seen as the best method of addressing geospatial challenges as the dwellers mostly expressed how planning often occurred without their influence and input. Facing these challenges, it was also clear that the existence of the Nkandla informal settlement influences the perception of the town greatly. As such, the research recommends that the government has to ensure that the town maintains its good image with investors to main its tourist attraction as per the Integrated Development Plan. The municipality, therefore. needs to promote sustainable urban development with less environmental risk of the informal land spreading to other prime vacant agricultural plots.