Abstract
During the colonial period of South Africa, participation by the Community in informal settlements upgrading projects were very minimal. Today, South Africa's Constitution ensures community involvement in programs to improve informal settlements. This study explores the existing essence of community participation in Diepsloot's Informal settlement upgrading projects. This study covers community participation in Diepsloot informal settlements upgrading projects from past upgrading projects to present upgrading projects. Data collection was carried out through document reviews while the data analyser used content analysis technique. The findings suggest that the approach to community participation matters with implications on project effectiveness and sustainability. The key finding is that community participation in informal settlement upgrading projects has increased but the process of conducting it to its full extent is not carried out properly. This study concludes that community participation in informal settlement upgrading projects in Diepsloot has undergone considerable transformation by means of strategies and tools through which communities engage in informal development projects and contribute to their implementation. Governments, development agencies and sponsors should therefore give local communities more space for participation and investment in public development projects to encourage sustainable development.
M.A.