Life in a city centre, stuck in decay Urban risks and vulnerability in the inner city of Pretoria, South Africa

Abstract

This thesis focuses on the challenges of urban risks and vulnerability in the inner city of Pretoria, South Africa, based on the local resident's perceptions. Because of urbanization processes, urban underdevelopment and vulnerability are issues of growing importance in the debates on sustainable development. South African cities are facing challenges like homelessness, overcrowding, social fracture and drug abuse on a daily basis. Much development research has been done on the rural areas and townships of South Africa but there's a lack of knowledge about the development of city centres. This master research, with a fieldwork of three months, explores how households living in the inner city of Pretoria experience the risks and vulnerabilities that threaten their urban livelihoods, and how they cope with this. The research consists of street interviews, interviews with NGO's and the local government and the analysis of policy documents and secondary data. Financial problems, crime and violence, and infectious diseases turn out to be the biggest concern of the inner city residents. However, some subgroups seem to be more vulnerable than others. In the analysis, the sustainable livelihoods framework and the asset diagram form the basis to create a vulnerability profile of the inner city community. We can conclude that in general, the community is very dependent on instable financial and social resources. The vulnerability context shows that the national economy, corruption and a fractured society are important drivers, maintaining the community's vulnerability. The local NGO's and the local government also form important factors, and the role of their programs is also described. At last, the sustainable livelihoods framework and the asset diagram are tested for their usability in mapping vulnerability and looking for areas of improvement.