ABSTRACT
Young people in Canaansland, a squatter community in Johannesburg (South Africa), shared their hardships and challenges as well as their sources of happiness and hope through the Growing Up in Cities project. Their experiences form the first published account of the lives of children in a squatter community as they seek to survive in the city, only to suffer eviction and resettlement on remote peri-urban land. At the same time, their story illustrates how participatory processes with children can serve as a catalyst for community development with all ages, and outlines steps that municipal governments can take to support disadvantaged families’ own efforts to improve the conditions of their lives.
