|
|
|
Urban LandMark Newsletter
Affordable Land & Housing Data Centre Newsletter
- Read the October 2009 issue!
Press releases
In the news
- Large-scale shift in housing supply through small-scale rental
In spite of various attempts at resolution over the years, South Africa still has a housing shortage. A new research report offers an alternative solution which promises to improve the supply of affordable housing.
- New initiative to support the development of State of the Cities Reports in Africa [Cities Alliance, PDF]
An initiative co-funded by the Cities Alliance seeks to develop 30 State of the Cities Reports, at least one per country, for sub-Saharan Africa. The initiative aims to use this process as a basis for building urban knowledge and organisational capacity among African urban policy makers, planners and practitioners.
- Investigating alternative forms of tenure security [NGO Pulse, PDF]
An article by Ronald Eglin of Afesis-corplan explores a range of potential options for the poor to access urban land in ways that achieve official recognition and the wide variety of benefits arising from this.
- Land reform: Government gets tough [Financial Mail, PDF]
The Financial Mail recently reported that the Department of Public Works was preparing to reintroduce its expropriation bill, with significant amendments - it would be treated like a new bill. According to AgriSA, the most contentious aspect is that the bill allows the minister to determine the final price of expropriated land without recourse of appeal to a court in the event of a disagreement.
- Residents flee from violence in Kennedy Road informal settlement
The Kennedy Road informal settlement in Durban has been racked by mob violence since late September. More than 1000 people are estimated to have fled the settlement, fearing for their lives. Read a selection of media reports investigating the possible causes of the tension, and reporting on the response from community organisations, academics and church leaders.
- Ethnic tension boils over (Mail and Guardian)
- Academics condemn attack on settlement (Business Day Online)
- Church enters Kennedy Road fray (Sowetan)
- Kennedy Road attack: ANC and police in the spotlight (Witness)
- New book on urban land markets due out on 9 October [Springer, PDF]
Edited by Somik V. Lall, Mila Freire, Belinda Yuen, Robin Rajack, and Jean-Jacques Helluin, the book brings together a collection of papers presented during the World Bank 4th Urban Research Symposium held in Washington, DC in 2007. The papers helped develop a robust analytical foundation to clarify ongoing debates on urban land management and welfare and synthesized the political and administrative challenges of improving the efficiency of urban land markets.
- Pan Africa Shopping Centre proves to be valuable asset for Alexandra [eProp, PDF]
eProp reports that consumers are flocking to the first fully integrated shopping mall and taxi facility developed by public-private partnership in Alexandra.
- Global action by UK government to help create a fair, safe and sustainable world
The UK’s Department of International Development (DFID) has published a new White Paper arguing that development is not only morally right, but is in the world’s shared interest. Titled Building our Common Future [PDF 4.56MB], the paper describes how, using new approaches, new partnerships, and working through the international system, the UK aims to help the poorest countries confront global challenges and build a fairer, safer and more sustainable world. Download a summary of the paper.
- Service delivery protests put pressure on government
A wave of protests has erupted in townships across South Africa over service delivery. Read articles on this topic from the Mail & Guardian Online and Business Day Online.
- Transnet holds back on Carlton sale, but says residential option is inappropriate [Engineering News, PDF]
A recent article by Terence Creamer, published in Engineering News Online, reveals that, while Transnet did not intend disposing of the Carlton Centre, situated in downtown Johannesburg, during the current property market downturn, it was opposed to arguments that it forego profits on any possible future sale in the interests of a social housing project.
- Second "Slumdog" child star's home torn down [Reuters, PDF]
Railway authorities in Mumbai tore down the shanty home of another "Slumdog Millionaire" child star on Wednesday, barely a week after a first child actor from the Oscar-winning film was forced into the streets. Also read the UN Rapporteur
- Home ownership: Shelter, or burden? [The Economist, PDF]
The social benefits of home ownership are beginning to look more modest and the economic costs much higher. In 2008, 2.3m American families lost their homes or faced foreclosure - double the average before the global economic meltdown - reducing the home-ownership rate from 69% in 2004 to 67.5% at the end of 2008. The number of owner-occupied dwellings also slipped in Britain in 2007/08, for the first time since the 1950s.
- Shack rentals in South Africa [PDF]
A new report has been released by the Social Housing Foundation. This report pulls together multiple sources of statistical information on informal rental both in backyard and informal settlements to try and provide the most accurate picture possible of the informal rental market today.
- Capitalism beyond the crisis
A book review by Amartya Sen in the New York Review of books.
|
 |
 |
|
