Abstract
With a few exceptions (Pearce, 2012: 1-3 and Nkosi et al., 2016: 290- 297), scholars have not focused in-depth on the issue of government subsidised housing and rentals around mine dumps in post-apartheid South Africa. This lack of research is startling given that the South African government tends to sponsor Public Private Partnership (PPP) housing in hazardous environments (Aucamp 2005). This study sought to fill this gap by conducting an in-depth case study of one such site in Fleurhof. As the city deracialises, and new parts of the city do open up the location that previously disadvantaged working class people find themselves in, can potentially be detrimental to their health and their ability to live a full life, in an environment that is relatively pollution free. The Union of South Africa‟s (1923: 140-196) Native Urban Areas No 21 Act and the Union of South Africa‟s (1950: 407- 468) Group Areas Act No 41 are some of the root causes of the massive inequalities that exist in the South Africa today. Lefebvre‟s (1966: 147- 159) theory of the “Right to the City” was useful point of departure, however, the concept adverse incorporation‟ is also useful. As a new type of inequality perspective, „adverse incorporation‟ explains that the previously marginalised may be included but in ways that debilitate them. Against this background the study looked at the various approaches (i.e. policies and laws) proposed by the government, to help solve past problems. These include the Social Housing Policy by the Department of Human Settlements (2003: 1-35) used to „incorporate‟ people into cities and the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act by the Republic of South Africa (2002: 1-62) that seeks to mitigate ‟adverse‟ effects in certain environments. The study aimed to provides a discussion of the lived experiences of the effects of staying in housing that is next to a mine dump. A single qualitative case study of Fleurhof was the method employed, with a total of 18 interview respondents. Interview respondents included residents of the PPP-funded social housing programme in Fleurhof, key stakeholders from the developer, Calgro M3 and a member of the EFF. Residents were sampled using snowball sampling techniques and purposive sampling was employed for other stakeholders interviewed. Since the researcher could not secure any interviews with the African National Congress (ANC) and Democratic Alliance (DA) government officials, the study used secondary data (i.e. speeches, press releases). The study‟s findings were drawn from in-depth interview data, participant observation, and documentary analysis of public statements made by key government actors. Findings suggest that staying next to mine dumps could have negative effects on the health and well-being of research participants. The findings also revealed that some of the residents feel „incorporated‟ but they are not racially „incorporated‟. Another major finding was that i residents did experience the issue of cracks in their houses, which could be associated with illegal artisanal mining. However, many residents felt that the abandoned mines did not have an effect on the residents‟ health, this...
M.A. (Sociology)