Highlights
- Rural Housing for Sustainability
- Sustainable Development
- Sustainable Human Settlement
The South African housing context is marred by its past colonial and apartheid planning. The apparent disparities between urban and rural settlements have been perpetuated by the apartheid housing plans. These housing plans have over the years created high levels of unemployment and a lack of social and economic stability. The guarantee of the right to access dignified housing is found in section 26 of the Constitution, in which the State is obliged to take reasonable legislative and other measures within its available resources to achieve the progressive realization of this right. Millions of poor and vulnerable South Africans face significant challenges in accessing adequate and dignified housing and other basic services including clean water, sanitation, electricity, and food. It’s important to highlight that housing is significantly linked to overall economic opportunities in society, education, and job opportunities. Therefore, the provision of housing holds the promise of boosting the attainability of other important physical needs (i.e. housing, water, electricity and land).
WHAT IS SUSTAINABLE HOUSING?
The Vernacular Architecture Society of South Africa (VSSA) defines it as “Building in indigenous styles, constructed from locally available materials, following traditional building practices and patterns (VASSA.2008).
WHY SUSTAINABILITY?
As time goes by it is becoming increasingly important to merge local and global environmental issues with housing development. This incentive also holds a higher chance of ensuring that more houses are built for more communities using cost-effective and energy-renewable resources. Sustainability seeks to improve our community‘s well-being in terms of jobs, health, education, and generally how
communities operate. Housing plays a pivotal role in sustainable economic growth and development. Therefore housing should be seen as a means to kick-start national growth and development.
The delivery of houses should meet basic needs and simultaneously stimulate the economy, generating income and employment. In this sense, housing should be considered one of the leading sectors of driving economic growth forward. One of the ways to drive economic growth is by creating employment for companies supplying sustainable building materials such as; bricks, cement, and other materials, this employment also extends to those who build the houses. These are important aspects of Sustainable Housing; Using locally available sourced building materials Construction/Agricultural waste materials Recyclable natural building materials in rural housing involve lesser energy consumption and low CO2 emission, so they can be reused and renewed. Cost-effective Sustainable water and sanitation systems Quality-planning and layout Renewable energy options Developed with input from multiple stakeholders.
Thermally mass design
Thermal mass is the ability of a material to absorb heat energy. A great portion of heat energy is required to change the temperature of high-density materials e.g. concrete, stone, brick, and tiles. These materials are therefore considered to have high thermal mass. Lightweight materials such as timber have low thermal mass. Sustainable Building Materials Thermally efficient, low carbon emission, structurally sound, and inexpensive building materials can be used in household design. Hemp has huge potential in the building market, as do adobe, sandbag construction, cob, thatch, brick, stone, and recycled materials. Other ‘low cement’ options include compressed earth blocks (CEBs). Energy Efficiency Appliances Some of the most common, cost-effective energy efficient applications are listed below; Ceilings: Within social housing frameworks, ceilings have been identified by the department of housing’s Draft Framework on Environmentally Efficient Housing, as an important intervention. The benefits associated with ceiling installations include a reduction in indoor heating, improved health as a result of improved air quality, and more stable internal air temperatures (particularly in households that use paraffin, coal, and other heating systems which damage respiratory health).
Solar Water Heaters
Lack of access to hot water essentially deteriorates the standard of living, and also has negative health implications, and the people who are most affected are those who are in low-income households. Solar heating technologies are also cost-effective and are therefore a more viable financial solution for a low-income households. It is therefore imperative to realize that existing housing mechanisms do not provide a sustainable solution to the overall persisting housing issue in South Africa. This is why the focus is on sustainable houses becoming more accessible to rural areas in an attempt to enforce rural development. Because ultimately when rural communities are developed through incentives such as sustainable houses that are cost-effective and energy-renewable, the economic disparities between rural and urban areas shorten.
Download PDF