Humanizing urban planning: acknowledging the emotional and psychological dimensions of upgrading informal settlements

Abstract

The rapid proliferation of informal settlements in the twenty-first century has challenged the ways in which planners envision, design and think about urban development. While I acknowledge that planning in South Africa continues to be mainly practised by technocrats, I argue this is at the expense of considering the human factors involved. Using a case study, I attempt to demonstrate the specific ways in which the overemphasis on reaching upgrading targets within a specified time frame leaves little to no room for considerations of the psychological and emotional implications of upgrading for informal settlers. This article calls for a detailed consideration of the humanising implications for present and future planning. The case study explores, the nature of the role of planners in, and their collaboration with, the management of Thembalethu Phase 1 Upgrading of Informal Settlement Programme (UISP), between 2010 and 2014, in George municipality with a focus on the space, or lack thereof, of human considerations in this collaborative process.