Squatting within the metropolitan fringe of Cape Town: A study of overcrowding in Mbekweni

Abstract

The influx of people to existing Black residential areas generally exacerbates conditions of overcrowding of the exist­ing housing stock, which gives rise to the construction of additional shelter, of du­bious standards, to accommodate the family, squatters or both on the proper­ties and in other open areas within the township or adjacent to it. The implica­tions of this are that the social structure and physical conditions of both resi­dents and squatters, are detrimentally effected. The study indicates the extent of over­crowding and highlights problems relat­ed thereto: including inter alia, inade­quate sex separation with respect to bedrooms, noise and a lack of privacy between row-housing units. The desire for more privacy, the minimal accommodation of row-housing units and the desire for more space to extend the units underly the overwhelming preference for single storey detached housing.