Rights, livelihoods, and low-income housing: A case study of Kwa-Nobuhle, Kariega

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dc.contributor.advisorBezuidenhout, Andries
dc.contributor.authorMaphosa, Nkosilinda
dc.date.accessioned2026-09-08T13:48:35Z
dc.date.available2026-09-08T13:48:35Z
dc.date.issued2025-08
dc.description.abstractThe post-apartheid government’s housing program has failed to provide sufficient, strategically located houses for the urban low-income earner and to significantly alter the spatial legacy of apartheid. The very situations that the state attempted to address have been replicated due to structural flaws in its approach. On balance, formal low-cost housing settlements continue to be located on the margins of urban conglomerates. Nevertheless, access to low-income housing (physical capital, in the language of the sustainable livelihoods approach) allows beneficiaries the potential to leverage other livelihood strategies, such as renting out rooms or using housing as a site for running a small business. However, in the absence of access to jobs an over-reliance on welfare grants for survival limits the extent to which livelihood strategies linked only to housing access can improve their quality of life. The specific aim of the study was to critically identify the intersection that rights, livelihoods, and low-income housing have in Kwa- Nobuhle, Kariega. Extensive research has been done on low-income housing, but few studies link research on low-income housing to both rights and livelihoods. Also, there are no contemporary studies of housing in Kwa-Nobuhle in particular. At the theoretical level, to better understand the relationship between low-income housing, livelihoods, and rights, this study draws on two theories from development studies, namely the sustainable livelihoods approach and the rights-based approach. Methodologically, critical realism provided a viewpoint that highlighted how institutions impact human agency while acknowledging that people can act freely within these structural limitations. The study employed a mixed methods approach in which in-depth interviews, observations, and a survey were conducted specifically to understand how inadequate housing impacts economic stability, social well-being, and access to essential services. In-depth interviews with ten key informants, selected through purposive sampling, were conducted. In addition, a survey of one hundred households, selected through convenience sampling, was conducted. Qualitative data was analysed using thematic content analysis, and quantitative data was analysed descriptively using SPSS. The findings revealed that access to low-cost housing had some positive impacts on the livelihoods of residents. Respondents who benefited indicated they had access to physical capital, basic services, and better living conditions. Nevertheless, several factors limited the extent to the improvements in livelihoods, as well as the sustainability thereof. Housing delivery is marred by corruption, and houses have flaws. Unemployment is rife, and residents are dependent on government grants for survival. Some factors cited as contributing factors to housing problems include gender inequality, unemployment, lack of communication, fraud, and corrupt practices. Also, despite houses being built, the housing database is still growing. The research recommends a plethora of initiatives which could be implemented to improve housing quality and provision, livelihoods, and housing rights. These include stakeholder participation, post occupancy evaluation, adherence to good governance and a bottom-up approach to housing that could be initiated to improve which low-income housing may take.
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11837/5099
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherUniversity of Fort Hare
dc.subjectLow-income housing
dc.subjectLow-income housing -- South Africa.
dc.titleRights, livelihoods, and low-income housing: A case study of Kwa-Nobuhle, Kariega
dc.typeThesis

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