Why the Urban Poor Cannot Secure Tenure: South African Tenure Policy under Pressure

For the poor in informal settlements, South Africa’s urban tenure situation is turbulent, sometimes violent and generally insecure. High rates of demand for sites have contributed to high levels of informal urban land access processes. Informal land allocation and occupation deliver varying levels of security, and the major cities are struggling to bring the informal land process inside the orbit of formal planning and tenure. This attempt has proved to be slow and very difficult.