A holistic approach to housing: a Social Work perspective.

Abstract

The study focused on the extent to which large scale housing projects, undertaken by the state in South Africa over the past three decades, were planned, designed and implemented to promote the widest interests and welfare of families and communities which had to be resettled and relocated. The literature study, which provided the background and basis for the study, covered a wide field. It included various definitions of housing, the current backlog in housing, changes in approaches to the provision of large scale housing, and various options and alternatives to conventional housing examined as a solution to the national housing problem. It extended further to include techniques and designs of the newtown concept, the developmental and holistic approaches and the latest policy initiatives of the state to address sociological problems, such as poverty and unemployment, through large scale housing development. To test the relevance and practical application of these holistic and developmental concepts and approaches, a mass housing project, promoted in terms of state legislation on the newtown concept, Phoenix Newtown, a major housing project started by the Durban City Council in 1970, was selected for intensive study. The research examined steps taken by the City Council in the planning of Phoenix Newtown, the nature of statistical and other data on which the concept and design were determined and the extent to which basic town planning principles and procedures were followed in the execution of the Master Plan. The results and conclusions reached in the study are included together with recommendations for future reference in the planning and promotion of proposed large scale housing projects, in the light of the country's new housing policy and legislation.