ABSTRACT
The challenges of how housing infrastructure impacts social equity have recently come to the forefront of social commentary across South Africa. The prioritization of equal access to conventional human settlements has emerged as a key element. The prime argument is the absence of clear pathways to dealing with the continual creation of urban informal settlements. The study adopted a secondary approach to gather relevant data on social justice in the redevelopment of urban informal settlements. The paper reveals that innovative practices such as community engagement, services and infrastructure, land tenure, and planning can proffer an effective upgrading of urban informal settlements in South Africa. The paper recommends that the National government play a leading role in enabling an environment that includes ensuring appropriate and flexible relevant national legislation for upgrading informal settlements.
