Housing deficits in formerly exclusively Indian townships in South Africa : a case study of Chatsworth, KwaZulu-Natal
Authors:   , Matthew Shivasthi 
Published: July 2023

In the 1950s, land was expropriated from many farmers in South Africa to create segregated townships based on racial classification. The apartheid government gave rise to the Group Areas Act of 1950, which created spatial segregation along racial lines in and around South Africa. As a result of this legislation, the township of Chatsworth was established exclusively for the Indian population. In accordance with the racial hierarchy that existed, there were differential service provisions and housing deficits. The major problems that existed in the Indian townships were overcrowding, lack of housing and poor service delivery. In post-apartheid South Africa, the government attempted to address these issues through the formation of social and development policies such as the White Paper on the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP)developed in 1994, the Growth, Employment and Redistribution (GEAR) strategy of 1996, and the National Development Plan (NDP) which was drafted in 2012, among others. Regardless of these post-apartheid initiatives implemented by the government to address the issues, large areas still experience the problem of a lack of housing and poor service delivery. This study seeks to understand whether the current ways of addressing housing deficits have been effective in the Indian neighbourhoods of Chatsworth, that were created on the basis of the apartheid (segregated) legislation. Globally, empirical studies have been used to distinguish the differences between what is provided and what is needed by citizens. This is an essential tool used by both public and private sector to aid in satisfying the aspirations of the public. Residential satisfaction studies are useful and essential because they identify housing deficits in countries and outline specific housing needs of an area. They also assist planners in determining the extent of reconstruction of a residential area by using a residential assessment. They reveal not only the needs of the area’s inhabitants but also the various other factors that influence overall household satisfaction levels. Studies have been based on three major theories: the housing needs theory, the housing deficit theory and the psychological construct theory. This empirical study of residential satisfaction was based on a household survey from representative settlement typologies in Chatsworth that focused on the areas of Bayview, Woodhurst and Crossmoor. The main aim of this study was to establish the nature and extent of housing deficits in the formerly segregated Indian township of Chatsworth, Durban. The type of research methodology that was used in the study is the mixed methods approach, which contains quantitative surveys of the sample population and qualitative open-ended interviews with the stakeholders of Chatsworth. The sample population comprised three of the oldest housing typologies. This includes 2-storey social housing, 3-storey council flats, and informal housing. The key findings derived from this research in terms of demographics showed that Chatsworth contains mostly Indian people and that a large number of the respondents were female. When there are more than two people in a household, dissatisfaction is likely to occur and most dissatisfaction in terms of household features came from the informal settlement. The research also found that these informal settlements have no proper access to water, ablution facilities or electricity. Although there were no major public facility issues, the cost of healthcare and education did raise a challenge. This research proposes an indigenous model that consists of seven steps to address housing related problems. The empirical findings acquired from the literature review as well as the surveys that were conducted has enabled the researcher to develop significant recommendations that would complement and address the housing challenges that are currently being experienced in Chatsworth.