Affordable and middle-class housing on Johannesburg's mining sites: a cost–benefit analysis

Abstract

This paper examines the redevelopment of former gold mining land close to the downtown area of Johannesburg for affordable and middle-income housing. This could provide savings for out-of-pocket costs, time saving for commuting costs and better property appreciation. However, the properties may be costly to remediate and may still pose some health risks from exposure to radon. A cost–benefit analysis examined these issues from the perspective of the home occupant. The present value of the net benefits over a 20-year study period indicated very positive cost–benefit ratios, in excess of five units of benefit for each unit of cost, suggesting that the affordable and middle-income housing markets would see the area as desirable, could price the additional risk and would accept housing modified to reduce the potential health risks. The policy implications supported the release of former mining land for housing on a careful case-by-case basis.

The authors wish to thank iProp, a Johannesburg-based property company and PDNA, a professional services firm, for their financial contribution; NNR (the National Nuclear Regulator) and Andrew Barker for their time and effort; and François Viruly for his assistance in the project. They would also like to thank the Wits postgraduate class of Development Planning of TRPL 533 for carrying out the survey, in particular Hlengani Baloyi, David Mokoena, Nathan Venter and Nathi Radebe for their dedication to the project. Finally, they thank the Fulbright Program for bringing Professor Simons to South Africa. However, the authors received no funds from these grants, nor do they have any interest, financial or otherwise, in the development of housing sites resulting from the outcomes of this study.