Informal settlement upgrading, assets and poverty alleviation: Evidence from longitudinal research in South Africa

Figures & data

Table 1. Overview of assets, data and survey procedure.

Category	Assets	Data and survey procedure
Self-assessed wealth ranking	Self-assessed ranking on a wealth ladder	2014 survey asked for current ranking and ranking as recalled for 2008 and for year respondent settled in Freedom Square.
Household assets	Radio, hi-fi/ stereo player/ MP3 player, sewing/knitting machine, private vehicle, commercial vehicle, motorcycle, bicycle, computer, camera, mobile phone	2014 survey asked about current assets and assets as recalled for 2008 and for year respondent settled in Freedom Square.
Financial assets	Home loan, loan from bank, loan from micro-lender, loan from mashonisa, study loan from bank, study loan from institution other than bank; vehicle finance, credit card, store card (e.g. Edgars, Foschini, Woolworths), hire purchase agreement, loan from family member or friend, bank account, pension or retirement annuity, unit trusts, stocks and shares, investment with insurance company	2014 survey asked about current assets and assets as recalled for 2008 and for year respondent settled in Freedom Square.
Housing assets	Size of the house	Data available for 1990, 1993, 1998, 2008 and 2014
	House used for business activity	Data available for 2008 and 2014
	Parts of house rented out to others	Data available for 2008 and 2014
	Flower garden, trees, vegetable garden or lawn; burglar proofing	Data available for 2008 and 2014
Infrastructure assets	Water on the stand, access to electricity, access to waterborne sanitation	Data available since establishment of Freedom Square in 1990 but also for 2008 and 2014
	Water in the house, toilet in the house	Data available for 2008 and 2014
Income and employment	Average annual income Average monthly income	Data available for 1990, 1993, 2008 and 2014
	Monthly income Monthly income: Median 3rd quartile value 1st quartile value	Data available 2008 and 2014
Human capital	Grade 12 qualification	Data available 1990, 2008 and 2015

Note: The word mashonisa means ‘to sink’ in isiZulu and refers to the informal micro credit industry in South Africa.

Figure 1. Location of Freedom Square. Sources: Marais and Ntema (2013).

Table 2. Perceived wealth ranking in Freedom Square at time of first settling in Freedom Square, in 2008 and in 2014.

Rank on wealth ladder	Date of settling		2008		2014
	n	%	n	%	n	%
1	28	16.3	10	5.8	10	5.8
2	35	20.3	40	23.1	40	23.1
3	59	34.3	71	41.0	67	38.7
4	36	20.9	35	20.2	44	25.4
5	11	6.4	14	8.1	7	4.0
6	3	1.7	2	1.2	5	2.9
Total	172	100.0	172	100.0	173	100.0
Average rank	2.86		3.03		3.08
National average			2.61
Average for first-generation households	2.83				2.93
Average for second-generation households	2.92				3.32

Note: First-generation and second-generation households are those who settled in Freedom Square before and after 1995, respectively. Totals of respondents vary as not all 173 respondents completed the question.

Table 3. Changes in perceived wealth ranking in Freedom Square.

Nature of change	Date of settling to 2008		2008 to 2014		Date of settling to 2014
	N	%	n	%	n	%
Worse off	39	22.8	49	28.5	59	34.3
Same	77	45.0	72	41.9	39	22.7
Better off	55	32.2	51	29.6	74	43.0
Total	171	100.0	172	100.0	172	100.0

Note: Totals of respondents vary as not all 173 respondents completed the question.

Table 4. Household assets at time of first settling in Freedom Square, in 2008 and in 2014.

No. of household assets	Date of settling		2008		2014
	n	%	n	%	n	%
0	35	20.2	22	12.7	7	4.0
1	76	43.9	39	22.5	30	17.3
2	32	18.5	49	28.3	73	42.2
3	17	9.8	33	19.1	35	20.2
4	8	4.6	18	10.4	14	8.1
5	5	2.9	6	3.5	6	3.5
6+	0	0.0	6	3.5	8	4.6
Total	173	100.0	173	100.0	173	100.0
Av. no. of assets		1.43		2.20		2.45
Av. no. of assets – first generation		1.24		1.98		2.14
Av. no. of assets – second generation		1.79		2.87		2.98

Notes: Shading emphasises the shifts in numbers of household assets. Some assets, such as mobile phones, were not available in the early 1990s, when the first generation settled, and others, such as radios, are no longer much in use.

Table 5. Changes in total number of household assets in Freedom Square.

Nature of change	Date of settling to 2008		2008 to 2014		Date of settling to 2014
	n	%	n	%	n	%
Worse off	26	15.0	39	22.5	23	13.3
Same	54	31.2	68	39.3	40	23.1
Better off	93	53.8	66	38.2	110	63.6
Total	173	100.0	173	100.0	173	100.0

Table 6. Households’ access to financial assets at time of first settling in Freedom Square, in 2008 and in 2014.

No. of financial assets	Date of settling		2008		2014
	n	%	n	%	n	%
0	118	68.2	67	38.7	42	24.3
1	35	20.2	36	20.8	43	24.9
2	8	4.6	30	17.3	32	18.5
3	7	4.0	25	14.5	23	13.3
4	4	2.3	7	4.0	20	11.6
5	1	0.6	5	2.9	9	5.2
6+	0	0.0	3	1.7	4	2.3
Total	173	100.0	173	100.0	173	100.0
Average no. of assets		0.54		1.41		1.90
Av. no. of assets – first generation		0.69		1.16		1.62
Av. no. of assets – second generation		1.16		1.92		2.36

Figure 2. Increase in average house size in Freedom Square, 1990–2014. Sources: Botes et al. (1991), Marais and Ntema (2013), Marais et al. (2014) panel survey.

Note: Y axis: Number of rooms.

Figure 3. Average annual income per respondent in Freedom Square, 1990, 1993, 2008 and 2014.

Note: Amounts are all in 2014 ZAR values. Average exchange rate for 2014 was 10.84 ZAR to 1 USD.

Figure 4. Cut-off amounts for quartiles, medians and means in Freedom Square, 2008 and 2014.

Note: We used the average monthly salary for households. Amounts are all in 2014 ZAR values. Average exchange rate for 2014 was 10.84 ZAR to 1 USD.

Table 7. Changes in educational status from 1990 to 2014.

Highest education obtained by respondent	First generation (2014) (interviewee)		Second generation (2014) (interviewee)		Total 2014		Total 2008 (head of household)		Total 1990 (head of household)
	N	%	n	%	N	%	n	%	%
No school	22	20.4	6	9.7	28	16.5	26	15.6	23.0
Grades 1–3	11	10.2	5	8.1	16	9.4	70	41.8	7.0
Grades 4–7	25	23.1	6	9.7	31	18.2			30.0
Grades 8–10	30	27.8	15	24.2	45	26.5	52	31.2	31.0
Grade 11	7	6.5	7	11.3	14	8.2			6.0
Grade 12	12	11.1	20	32.3	32	18.8	12	7.2
Post-school	1	0.9	3	4.8	4	2.4	7	4.2	3.0
Total	108	100.0	62	100.0	170	100.0	167	100.0	100.0

Note: Totals of respondents vary as not all 173 respondents completed the question.

Table 8. Summary of the main findings pertaining to whether households are better off in Freedom Square.

Indicator	Overall trajectory
Self-assessment of poverty	Small increase in perceived wealth ranking since settling in Freedom Square 43% consider themselves to be better off, 22.7% have experienced no change and 34.3% consider themselves to be worse off.
Household assets	Households’ average number of assets has increased substantially since they settled in Freedom Square. 63.6% are better off, 23.1% have experienced no change and 13.3% consider themselves to be worse off.
Financial assets	Households’ average number of assets has increased substantially since they settled in Freedom Square. Only 5.2% indicate that they are worse off in terms of financial assets.
Housing assets	The average house size increased from 1.4 (1990) to 2.9 (2014). More people now run businesses from home. Fewer people now let out a room.
Infrastructure	All (100%) have access to electricity, water and waterborne sanitation. Access to water in the house and to waterborne sanitation inside the house has increased.
Income and employment	Incomes have generally not increased since 1990. There is virtually no indication of increased income inequality.
Human capital development	Substantial increase in the number of respondents with a Grade 12 Certificate or a post-school qualification
Housing as a financial asset	Very little indication of a formal secondary market An informal secondary housing market does exist and this results in some asset generation.

Marais, L & Ntema, J, 2013. The upgrading of an informal settlement in South Africa: Two decades onwards. Habitat International 39, 85–95. doi: 10.1016/j.habitatint.2012.11.001

 Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Botes, L, Krige, S & Wessels, J, 1991. Informal settlements in Bloemfontein: A study of migration patterns, socio-economic profile, living conditions and future housing expectations. Urban Foundation, Bloemfontein.

 Google Scholar

Marais, L, Ntema, L, Cloete, J & Venter, A, 2014. From informality to formality to informality: Extralegal land transfers in an upgraded informal settlement of South Africa. Urbani Izziv 25(Supplement), S148–S61. doi: 10.5379/urbani-izziv-en-2014-25-supplement-011

 Google Scholar