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The management of greywater and sanitation in South Africa's urban informal settlements is a pressing concern. This review critically examines the legal framework that governs greywater management in South Africa's informal settlements, aiming to shed light on the existing regulations, gaps, and opportunities for sustainable greywater reuse. By scrutinizing the legal framework, the review identifies gaps and challenges in the regulatory environment, including inconsistencies, lack of clarity, and limited enforcement mechanisms. It explores the potential for international best practices to inform possible amendments to the existing legal framework. This was a quantitative research design utilizing a cross sectional survey model. Questionnaires were administered electronically to a sample of 17 municipal leaders from the City of Tshwane, City of Johannesburg and Buffalo City municipalities whose responsibilities were on water management. Descriptive statistics were employed in analysis of the data. Outcomes were reviewed against the alignment or the lack thereof with the SANS 1732:201x standards. This paper underscores the critical need for a coherent and robust legal framework to support responsible greywater management in South Africa's informal settlements. The paper's insights contribute to the ongoing discourse on water governance, shedding light on the pathways toward a more equitable water future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global technological advancements in transport and communication have led to a compression of time and space, but some populations are confined to their geographic regions. This paper uses a qualitative approach to conduct an intersectional analysis of music by Zimbabwean migrants in Johannesburg South Africa to explore how migrants respond to this phenomenon. It presents the ways in which the migrants construct identities and spatial imaginaries as a form of claiming space in Johannesburg and globally. Xenophobia in South Africa and the migrants’ memories of the Zimbabwean State violence necessitates the narration of identities and spatial imaginaries where the migrants can claim belonging. The paper argues that even where the identities imagined do not carry currency in the contemporary world. They work to critique the current racialised global hierarchy that does not include the migrants in its power geometry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A growing amount of academic research has focused its attention on the debate around the viability and potential mutual benefits emanating from rural-urban linkages through cultural planning in the development of smart cities. This paper interrogates the linkages and cultural planning in the proposed smart city in Lanseria, north of Johannesburg, in South Africa. The main research questions for the paper are: (1) How did the Greater Lanseria Master Plan (GLMP) in South Africa fail to integrate culture into its planning? (2) How did communities participate in the development of the plan (3) How are smart village and smart city linkages demonstrated in the GMLP? Lastly, (4) What are the benefits of the integration of cultural planning with community participation in the proposed smart village and smart city linkages? A synthetic literature-based critical analysis of planning documents was conducted to critique, reflect, and evaluate the plan. Findings indicate that cultural planning and community development approaches are missing from the master plan. The paper recommends that cultural planning and co-creation community development approaches should influence the smart village-smart city linkages at the very inception of the GMLP in order to obtain sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: South Africa presents one of the riskiest patterns of alcohol consumption, with per capita consumption above the African regional average. Globally, there has been an increased focus on the potential of appointing lay counsellors to administer alcohol intervention strategies in resource-limited contexts. Given the increasing need for relevant and efficient intervention strategies in response to high-risk alcohol consumption, screening instruments such as the AUDIT-C have gained increased attention. Methods: This paper explores the experiences of 15 lay counsellors in response to the training received on how to administer the AUDIT-C instrument, as well as provide interventions such as brief advice or an appropriate referral, in the resource-limited South African township of Alexandra, Johannesburg. A focus group was facilitated for this purpose and, thereafter, a thematic content analysis was applied to identify the themes most central to the lay counsellors' experiences. Results: The research findings suggest that the lay counsellors perceived the training to be adequate in preparing them for administrating the AUDIT-C and for providing any relevant interventions, and that their confidence in administering the instrument developed as the project progressed. However, recruitment and administration challenges were experienced in primary healthcare and community settings, and lay counsellors perceived home visits to be more appropriate with respect to issues related to confidentiality and stigmatisation. Conclusion: Overall, while lay counsellors feel that the training they received on the tool and the tool itself is useful for effectively implementing the AUDIT-C in low-resource communities, the availability and efficiency of alcohol treatment services in Alexandra Township need to be improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research studies as well as anecdotal evidence suggest that there are challenges regarding the NHI plan implementation. These include problems such as an increase in illnesses and a shortage of personnel to drive the project in South African public hospitals. This is exacerbated by the existing situation of most government-funded healthcare institutions, which are characterized by bad administration, insufficient budget, inadequate infrastructure, and insufficient drug supply, as highlighted in several studies. The hospital under investigation is one such facility, with a history of patients sleeping on the floor and people being turned away owing to a shortage of experts and an overburdened staff. This situation is concerning, given that the government claims to be providing appropriate funds to the institution. The hospital under research is highly regarded by the surrounding community. However, a visit by the Health MEC in 2014 revealed that the facility had insufficient sanitary standards and a high complaint rate. Based on the foregoing, as well as the difficulties that both employees and patients are confronted with at the  selected hospital, the question that emerges is whether the hospital is fit for the implementation of the NHI.Aim: The aim of this study was to assess the preparation for the launch of the national health insurance scheme at a Johannesburg hospital.Setting: The study was conducted at a hospital situated in eastern suburbs of Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa.Method: The study employed a qualitative method with an explorative, descriptive, qualitative study design. The population consisted of selected hospital employees, such as doctors, dispensary officers, hospital managers, human resources workers, facility managers, and administration record officials who were employed at the selected hospital. Purposive sampling was used to select participants.Sample Size: Category saturation was used to determine the sample size. The participants for the study were chosen using purposeful sampling, with the researcher aiming for those who were familiar with the NHI scheme at the institution. Semi structured interviews and a focus group discussion were used to gather data. The data from the focus group discussion and semi-structured interviews were analysed using thematic analysis.Results: The investigation found that the hospital was preparing to for the NHI implementation, but that was riddled with lack of resources, poor infrastructure, lack of training, delays in development and poor technological advances.Recommendations: The paper suggests that human resources be increased, infrastructure be upgraded, medicines and equipment be increased, and enough training on NHI implementation be provided.Contribution: The paper adds to the body of knowledge regarding the NHI in South Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Business incubation is a growing phenomenon in South Africa. Using a qualitative research approach, specifically in-depth interviews with business incubator (BI) managers (CEOs, directors, executives, founders, and sponsors), this study reports on the perceived economic value of Johannesburg-based, fintech-focused BIs and the business gains achieved from the activities of BIs. Applying theory related to business incubation, this paper finds that business incubation is equally about assisting and developing start-ups and entrepreneurs as it is about the business gains that BIs extract from the process. Moreover, private sector stakeholders, particularly banks, are perceived as the primary sponsors of fintech BIs in South Africa, and they invest for various business and socio-economic reasons. Foremost among these is business diversification and compliance with South Africa's affirmative action policies, which feature prominently as the primary benefits the banking BIs gain from the process. We discuss this as the positive duality of business incubation. Finally, we suggest several managerial and policy level implications related to our findings, including the importance of strengthening triple helix partnerships and using regulatory sandboxing to facilitate fintech innovations. Overall, this study contributes to our empirical understanding of BIs in emerging economies broadly and fintech-focused BIs in South Africa in particular. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Nelson Mandela Bridge is one of South Africa's monuments at the centre of the drive to foster urban transformation in the city of Johannesburg. It stands out as one of the monumental emblems of transformation after the disappearance of administrative and occupational apartheid. On the one hand, the bridge is used consciously and unconsciously, to rehearse the ideals of democracy by harping on the towering image of Nelson Mandela as a struggle hero. On the other hand, the bridge is 'one of the prestigious projects at the centre of city-marketing and branding'. This article explores three dimensions of representation of the bridge in terms of what Stuart Hall refers to as reflective, intentional and constructivist meaning. The paper does this by examining how these meanings are produced and ordered, as well as, the knowledge, norms and practices that structure the new system of meaning in South Africa. The main argument of the paper is that the South African post-apartheid development ideology of reconstruction embedded in the struggle memory has become a platform on which the sign value of the NMB has become a rhetorical device for the appropriation of commercial interests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Africa is one of the most vulnerable continents to climate change (CC), warming at 'double the global average rate'. The southern African region is already a CC hotspot with climate variability exposing stark societal and biophysical ecosystem vulnerabilities. South African and southern African youth are beginning to claim their place at various CC negotiation tables adding to the voices of government and various civil society groups. In this paper, written by a group of youth activists, civil society organisation leaders, educators and climate scientists, we track the journey that a group of young change-makers and local government officials (in the age range 15–24) have taken in securing a seat at the policy table. The challenges, caveats and course corrections that have been taken in the Johannesburg Youth Climate Action Plan (YCAP) process and the wider country, are interrogated. This YCAP Johannesburg experiment provides a useful learning exercise for subsequent CC policy and practice engagements in the country and elsewhere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a growing concern about discriminatory behaviours on social media in recent years. However, there is a dearth of literature focused on the abuse of foreigners on South African Twitter. This paper interrogates the views of the online community on South African Twitter on the appointment of children of immigrants to political office. A case study of the hashtag #WeRejectMayorOfJHB was carried out. The scapegoating theory guided this study. The hashtag started on social media following the election of Jolidee Matongo, mayor of the City of Johannesburg, on the 10th of August 2021. Within the hashtag, the researcher used confirming and disconfirming sampling to sample 30 tweets. The sample of tweets was drawn from a population of 120 tweets on South African Twitter within 24 hours preceding the election of Jolidee Matongo as the new mayor of Johannesburg. Critical discourse analysis was used. The findings revealed that there were multiple dissonances in the construction of South African citizenship in general and Jolidee Matongo's citizenship. The views on South African citizenship under the hashtag were at odds with the Constitution and the laws of South Africa. Racial and afrophobic perspectives emerged from the analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper spotlights post‐disaster relief provision in Johannesburg, South Africa, following the floods of 2016 in a bid to explore how local government and non‐governmental actors in the country conceive of compounding vulnerability and conflict within urban disaster governance. It reveals the diverse strategies employed to navigate violent conflict during the cyclical occurrence of disaster and reconstruction that the predominantly migrant population experiences in the Setswetla informal settlement, adjacent to the Alexandra township in northern Johannesburg. Rendered visible in moments of disaster and recovery are the spatial politics and multidimensional nature of conflict. These phenomena unfold across various levels of urban governance and in the affected community and effectively construct a disaster citizenship that makes risk reduction and community cohesion impossible in the eyes of disaster managers. This research, based on a set of expert interviews, integrates conflict and disaster studies to shed light on how the conflict–disaster interface materialises, and is operationalised, in an urban setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an important component of student lifestyle, satisfaction with residential housing has become important in examining student housing quality and services. The current study used five attributes – bedroom environment, building quality, washroom facilities, support services, and leisure room facilities – to examine the relationship between student satisfaction with and loyalty to their residential housing. Each construct was measured using four items on a five-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 'Strongly disagree' to 5 'Strongly agree'. The data were collected from South African students aged 18 years and above in tertiary institutions in Johannesburg, using paper-based questionnaires. Four hundred and forty-three (443) usable questionnaires were obtained for the analysis. The results showed that all the attributes, except for the bedroom environment, had a positive and significant relationship with student loyalty to student housing, although the effect was small for all the attributes. The control variables – age and gender – showed a similar relationship in regards to student loyalty. Academic and management implications of this study's results are also discussed extensively. Overall, students' satisfaction with residential housing dimensions has a positive and significant impact on their loyalty to the providers of residential housing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Why look at art to understand an African city like Johannesburg? African cities are often studied through the lens of urban dilemmas that are supposed to characterize them. Whereas it is common to study the role of art in the (un)making of Western cities, it is still quite uncommon to do so for African cities. In the case of South African cities, more and more scholars are nevertheless using art in order to challenge this imbalance and to propose a more qualified and sensitive approach to daily life in urban spaces. This paper aims to pursue this effort by looking at Inhabitant, a performance organized by Sello Pesa and Vaughn Sadie in Johannesburg in 2011. From a cultural and urban geographer's perspective, this performance is particularly interesting since it is offering a new vision of Johannesburg and its public spaces as they are lived by city dwellers, while inviting the audience of the performance to act upon this vision, if not to perform it. Through close qualitative analysis of Inhabitant, I will argue that art can transform urban spaces, both symbolically and materially, by fostering a change in perceptions and, consequently, in representations and practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent years have witnessed growing numbers of residents exploring their own cities as tourist destinations. This phenomenon challenges academic understandings and definitions of who is defined as a tourist, and what differentiates tourists from residents when both display the same behaviours linked with spectacle and consumption. Of particular interest in these developments are situations where the emergence of 'resident tourists' involves residents transgressing boundaries of territorial stigma and fear to visit previously-avoided urban areas. Safety and security concerns and continued territorial stigma towards the Johannesburg inner city has isolated a generation of suburbanites from this urban space. Recent years have witnessed the emergence of various – often online – social media-driven (particularly Instagram) initiatives to bring these suburbanites into the inner city as resident tourists. Drawing survey data from 200 such visitors to Johannesburg's inner city, this paper reflects on the implications for defining (proximate) tourism in terms of social or psychological rather than spatial (Euclidian) distance/proximity. In so doing, we reflect upon the role of new touristic gaze practices, inspired not only by curiosity but by a concern with self-promotion and social media self-branding. Our argument is that by rethinking emergent practices of collective consumption (facilitated in this instance by social media), we can understand how new forms of tourism occur within the locale of residence. These challenge trends towards the enclaving of daily life and mediated tourist consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2015, the billionaire Douw Steyn launched a mixed-use megaproject 27 km north of downtown Johannesburg. Plans for Steyn City include 10,000 high-end residential units along with private hospitals, schools, a golf course, an equestrian centre and 2000 acres of parkland behind a 3-m-high perimeter wall. The launch attracted some critique in the media for the exclusive environment that the development sought to create, an ambition that seemed particularly incongruous given its close proximity to the poor settlement of Diepsloot. In response, the developers argued that the project had created more than 11,000 jobs and that wealthy people should invest close to places that need work and livelihood opportunities. This paper is based on interviews with workers who live in Diepsloot and travel each day into Steyn City to work for subcontractors building infrastructure, housing and social facilities. The empirical material shows that although these workers acknowledge the opportunity of employment, they are aware these jobs are uncertain, mostly low-skilled and insufficient to cover the basic costs of everyday life in Diepsloot. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]