Zweig Patricia J
Department of Geography & Environmental Studies, Stellenbosch University, South Africa.
Jamba. 2015 Nov 30;7(1):210. doi: 10.4102/jamba.v7i1.210. eCollection 2015.
The populations of many small towns in South Africa continue to expand unmatched by parallel economic growth, entrenching high levels of poverty. The town of Vredendal, located close to the national route between Namibia and Cape Town in South Africa, is a West Coast development node and an emergent industrial and processing area that continues to attract an influx of people seeking economic opportunities. This is challenging the capacity of the local municipality, which has a waiting list for state-provided low-cost housing units, whilst the provision of adequate infrastructure to meet growing local need is also a developmental concern. In the suburb of Vredendal North this has resulted in the proliferation of unplanned informal dwellings in the backyards of formalised low-cost housing areas. Largely overlooked by urban researchers, little is known or understood about small town backyard populations. This prompted a brief study of Vredendal North backyard dwellers commissioned by the local municipality to identify their everyday hazards and livelihood vulnerabilities to inform future development planning. A community workshop identified critical development needs and suggested that backyard dwellers in small towns experience similar living conditions and hazards to those in the cities, although underlain by some unique differences.
南非许多小镇的人口持续增长，经济却未能同步发展，贫困程度不断加深。弗雷登达尔镇位于南非纳米比亚和开普敦之间的国道附近，是西海岸的一个发展节点，也是一个新兴的工业和加工区，不断吸引着大量寻求经济机会的人涌入。这对当地市政府的能力构成了挑战，市政府有一份国家提供的低成本住房单元的等候名单，同时，提供足够的基础设施以满足当地不断增长的需求也是一个发展问题。在弗雷登达尔镇北部郊区，这导致了在正规低成本住房区的后院出现了大量未经规划的非正式住所。城市研究人员大多忽略了这些地方，对小镇后院居民了解甚少。这促使当地市政府委托进行了一项关于弗雷登达尔镇北部后院居民的简短研究，以确定他们日常面临的危险和生计脆弱性，为未来的发展规划提供参考。一次社区研讨会确定了关键的发展需求，并表明小镇的后院居民与城市居民面临着类似的生活条件和危险，尽管也存在一些独特的差异。
