ABSTRACT
This chapter illustrates residents in informal and state-delivered housing settlements value different risk criteria than those used by the municipality in resettlement decision-making processes. It explores narratives from people living in two housing settlements within the city of Durban, South Africa. The chapter begins by briefly positioning the two case studies within the Narratives of Home and Neighbourhood research project. Considering social and economic risks raises important questions for thinking through which risks are mitigated against and which are exacerbated when people are resettled from informal to formal housing by the municipality. The narrative data discussed in the chapter is taken from a larger research project in Durban titled Narratives of Home and Neighbourhood: Re-imagining Urban Planning. The chapter draws from two of the seven case studies, the QRW informal settlement, and the more recent human settlement development, Cornubia. Currently official state planning responsibilities and fiscus associated with resettlement responsibilities stops at title-deed handover.
