living under different circumstances and which would in turn
affect the types of dwelling appropriate to each.
It is un­
likely that studies of this sort would involve the same expendi­
ture of time and energy as is needed for house-to-house investi­
gations! for since they demand a somewhat closer and more pro­
longed acquaintance with families under investigation than do the
present type of questionnaire interviews, the emphasis would tend
to shift from placing reliance upon a statistical cross-section
of the community to a more selective approach involving far fewer
families which may be subjected, possibly, to a series of pro­
longed observations.
Another factor, which militates against the method of statis­
tical sampling is the fact that to obtain significant results, a
considerable degree of intelligent co-operation is demanded of
those who are to be the subjects of the investigation, and it has
been indicated that at the present time co-operation of this sort
cannot be expected of the majority of families in the groups so
far studied.
Thus it will be appreciated that a selective ap­
proach is inevitable, and a departure for the time being at least
from the sociological method of sampling which was attempted in
the trial surveys, would seem to be indicated.
In relation to this general recommendation, the Sub-Committee
makes three further recommendations, viz:
(a)
That studies of the daily pattern of movements with­
in the dwelling in relation both to time and space,
should be initiated, with reference to the various
classes of family typically found living in low cost
housing estates.
(b)
That these studies should be pursued in conjunction
with the planning analysis studies recommended by
the Sub-Committee on House Planning and Design and
to the experiments connected with the wider use of
various forms of combined dwellings recommended by
that Sub-Committee and the Sub-Committee on Estate
Planning and that these studies should be closely
related to the laboratory work to be carried out in
connection with those experiments.
(c)
That as regards the question of the attitudes and
opinions of householders further work on this sub­
ject should be delayed until after the conference
suggested on page 9 has been held, and that, if
continued subsequently, it should be guided by the
recommendations of that conference,
F•
Public Education in Housing Matters^
Before terminating this section of the report the Sub­
committee desires to add a comment on the subject of public edu­
cation in housing.
The Sub-Committee feels that despite pre­
sent difficulties it would be wrong to base future housing
standards entirely on the evidence of the expert, with no refer­
ence at all to the wishes and aspirations of the occupants.
Indeed/
Indeed* the evidence of history has shown that wherever this has
been done, the results have tended to be unsatisfactory*
The fact, already pointed out, that the thoughts of the
public, or at any rate that portion of the public with which the
Commission and the Research Committee on Minimum Standards of
Accommodation are chiefly concerned, are confused or incoherent,
draws attention in the opinion of the Sub-Committee to the need
for considerable public education in housing^ the object of which
would be to make the community housing conscious.
Housing con­
sciousness is needful in two directions: first^ the conscious­
ness that housing is a vital social activity which, if well exe­
cuted, can become a powerful and benevolent force in the social
and political health of a community and second, in the direction
of improving the standard of criticism and appraisal of housing
achievement.
The first is related to the quantitative problem,
in the sense that intelligent demands made by the public would
tend to have a catalytic action upon the rate of production of
dwellings: the second relates more to the qualitative aspects.
Public co-operation in both directions is necessary if housing is
to play its proper part in the creation of human living condi­
tions in our society,
Education of the public in housing consciousness can be de­
veloped and deployed in many ways.
It has been suggested that
future research work in connection with the attitudes of occu­
pants should introduce a positive or progressive element aimed
at correcting misapprehensions and misinformation about housing,
But as this would reach only those communities which act as sub­
jects in the investigations, a wider approach should be contem­
plated.
At the national level, regular housing congresses and exhi­
bitions could be held, at which the technical problems of housing
the population should be discussed in public.
Such congresses
would normally take place in the main centres of population, but
they should be supplemented by well-organised and well executed
travelling exhibits showing the achievements of housing and the
possibilities of the future.
These travelling exhibits should
be sent throughout the country including the rural areas and the
Native Reserves,
Such congresses and exhibitions, where they
have occurred in the past, have usually been the work of volun­
tary organisations often professional in character, and have no^”
mally been financed out of private (i.e. non-official) funds. It
is recommended that henceforth the Commission should seek powers
to encourage such enterprises where they relate to the problems
of low-cost housing, by means of grants-in-aid and other facili­
ties; where there may be a lack of enterprise the Commission
should be free to initiate and carry through such educational
work on an official basis.
Similar work carried on by local
authorities with the aid of local institutions should receive
similar encouragement.
At the level of the local community i.e. the Housing Estate
or the neighbourhood unit, it is suggested that official encou­
ragement should be given uo talks and discussions on the subject
of housing.
Held in the local community centre, Parish Hall
or similar public building, such discussions would be likely to
invite/
invite the interest of the local population.
Having engendered
popular interest it would then be possible to organize further
talks on the details of housing with housewives; these would be
in the nature of guided discussions.
A natural step arising
from such discussions would be a number of visits to houses and
flats, made by arrangement, at which the problems of running the
house would be discussed in loco.
This approach, through the^
local community, may well prove to be a valuable one, and it is
recommended therefore that it should be initiated experimentally
in one or two selective areas in order to test out its useful­
ness,
The help of various Organizations such as women’s socie­
ties, domestic science and household management schools, Social
Welfare Organizations and the like would be useful in developing
this suggested line of approach.
Finally there remain the classic organs of public education:
the Press, Radio and Motion picture.
Early in its delibera­
tions the Sub-Committee felt the need to make contact with the
public through these media and it has only refrained from doing
so as a result of the difficulties which emerged from the trial
surveys in which the questionnaires were used.
It is still
considered however, that when the time is ripe to stimulate wider
public interest in the problems now being uncovered by the trial
survey and by the research work on the problems of^the^planning
and design of dwellings and housing estates now being initiated
in the laboratory, extensive use should be made of all three me­
dia, to acquaint the public with the extent and gravity of the
housing problem, to indicate the means of overcoming it and to
suggest the nature of the environment and the sort of community
which would emerge from an adequate solution of that problem. It
is suggested, too, that the public should not be left in the dark
as to the serious consequences of neglect and indifference towards
this grave and continuing social problem.
There is one tactical danger inherent in the suggested promo­
tion of widespread public education in housing which deserves
attention.
This danger was sensed by the research workers who
carried out the trial surveys.
Briefly the danger lies in the
very natural tendency on the part of the people interviewed to
assume that this interest in one of their basic problems meant
that some concrete advantage to themselves was to be expected.
This subjective attitude in relation to the housing problem was
observed to be a general phenomenon, and it is reasonable to sup­
pose that an officially sponsored educational campaign would pro­
duce a similar attitude of mind on a national scale.
In the
Sub-CommitteeTs view there must exist the means of providing
visible results if there is to be widespread talk_of better hous­
ing conditions, more particularly so if the talk is backed by
official sanctions.
In the past, many good intentions have come
to grief simply because the initiation of publicity did not co­
incide in time with the existence of the necessary means to carry
out the projects publicised.
No country could afford to fall
down on such an important issue as housing through a tactical
error of this sort.
It is considered better, therefore, that
the investigations and the educated work suggested should be
harnessed to a prepared public housing plan.
The investigations
would then be designed with specific objectives in view, and would
always relate to specific circumstances.
This would undoubtedly
help/
help to validate the results and would tend to reduce some of the
vagueness and lack of precision as to purpose and objectives which
has hitherto characterized so much investigational work on housing
matters.
It would also enable the conclusions and recommendations
arising out of the discussions and investigation to be followed
up subsequently and their workability tested under specific prac­
tical conditions.
Such an approach could be carried through on a national scale
but should only be so attempted in the event of the drawing up of
a national Housing Plan,
But in the meantime there is no reason
at all why the same principle should not be applied to local hous­
ing programmes*
Indeed, it is the Sub-Committee's recommendation
that this be done, so that- the techniques of investigation and
educational propaganda* and of co-operation with the householder
may be studied and developed.
If begun in the local setting and
related to actual schemes of housing construction^it is likely
that the degree of public co-operation would be high and its
quality vital.
In such circumstances, it is felt that tne growth
of significant knowledge in these matters would be greatly assist­
ed,
IV,
JOINT ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON URBAN NATIVE
___________ HOUSING._____________ ___ ____
In considering the best line of approach to be adopted in
order to obtain information on which suitable minimum_standards_
for urban Native housing could be based, the Sub-Committee consi­
dered the application of the Questionnaire technique in a form
similar to that applied to European sub-economic areas, but modi­
fied if necessary in view of the different population groups con­
cerned,
In the light of the resources then available to the
Sub-Committee, however, it was agreed that it would be an extreme­
ly difficult matter to apply these techniques successfully to
Native housing estates.
It was considered, too, tnat the condi­
tions of crisis which then obtained in the Native areas of the
Witwatersrand rendered the task of attempting a house-to-house
canvass in that area virtually impossible.
In view of the difficulties attendant upon a premature ap­
proach to the Native householder, the Sub-Committee decided to
use a more indirect method of obtaining information on Native
housing problems.
Accordingly, it was decided to set up a spe­
cial advisory committee consisting of persons known to be wellacquainted with the problems of the Native in urban areas,
it was decided that among its members should be included a number
of Native Africans who, it was thought, would be able to speak
from first-hand knowledge of the housing problems of their people,
A list of the members of this advisory committee, wnich became^
known as the Joint Advisory Sub-Committee on Urban Native Housing,
is given at the beginning of this Report,
Despite its decision to depend mainly on this indirect method
of obtaining information, and to rely upon the opinion of experts,
the Sub-Committee desires to stress again that the door should be
left open for the reconsideration of ways and means wnereby m r
direct access to the attitudes of the Native housenolder may be
obtained,
A/.........
A list of headings was drawn up by the Sub-Committee and
submitted for consideration and comment to the Joint Advisory
Sub-Committee.
These headings embodied the main points on which
the Sub-Committee felt that mature opinion was necessary, to en­
able it to meet its terms of reference in relation to the inte­
rests of the householder*
A complete list of the headings is
given in Appendix III, to which reference should be made.
In its approach to the question of minimum standards of ac­
commodation for Native housing, and in considering tne headings
on which it was asked to submix; evidence, the Joint Advisory Sub­
committee realised at once that the whole question of housing
standards for the Native population is bound up with the wider
problem of the great cultural and economic change which is taking
place in urbanized Native society.
This change, which is re­
garded as a constituent fact in the history of South Africa s de­
velopment, precludes the fixing of Native housing standards along
rigid lines based on to-day's concepts as to what constitutes the
appropriate standards, and calls for sympathetic understanding
based on constant study of the problem, and for constant readjust­
ments in the face of changing conditions.
Examining the achievements of the past, tne Joint Advisory
Sub-Committee considered that although a number of praiseworthy
Native housing schemes have been constructed, nowhere does tnere
exist any '’classical'* example which might be pointed to as a
model or example of a completely adequate urban residential envi­
ronment for Natives, providing all the necessary communal facili­
ties as well as suitable residential accommodation.
Thus in
view of the lack of a generally-accepted norm arising from past
achievements, the Research Committees will be obliged to attempt
the establishment of minimum standards of accommodation from first
principles, almost without reference to past experience.
It was considered that a suitable point of departure would<
be that proposed by the Sub-Committee on House Planning and Design,
namely that housing standards should be such as to provide con
tions whereby every family is assured of decent, .xealthy family
life, and that to achieve this there should be sufficient space
in the dwellings to safeguard health, moral values and the integrity of the flmily, to provide for h e efficient functioning home
life and finally to ensure a minimum of social and communal faC^"
lities in the residential neighbourhood so to encourage tne growth
of healthy communities and the ideals of good citizensnip*
was considered that such an approach, based on fundamental consi­
derations, would be better than any attempt to consider
of Native housing in vacuo., i.e. separately from tne general pr
blem of accommodation standards as a whole.
It was realised of course that there do exist special needs
related to Native housing which may not be typical of the other
classes of low-cost housing, and that a cert;
2 i n *ome
rentiation in the standards proposed would be
it able in some
cases.
The Joint Advisory Sub-Committee recommends however that
such differentiation should be based, wherever ]
possible, ojn ^ l i
functional reasons and not on foundations which are merely racial,
nor on those which are politically or even socially expedient.
Even the functional basis on which standards may be decided
may not always be easy to discover, first of all because of the
difficulty/
difficulty of approaching and gaining the confidence of the Native
householder.
This difficulty is not confined to relations be­
tween the European and Native but arises also out of the great
difference of outlook between the upper stratum of'Europeanized
Natives and the vast mass of the labouring class, the satisfac­
tion of whose accommodation needs remain the biggest single ele­
ment in the country's housing problem.
Many of these latter^
Natives, though living permanently in the towns, still maintain
a predominantly rural and even tribal outlook, which modifies the
attitude they adopt towards the standard of their accommodation
as compared with that of the fully urbanized Native*
Again, the issue is further complicated by the outlook of the
urban Native towards housing, in relation to the general problem
of race relations, since modern housing is one of the visible
symbols of Native progress and, conversely, bad housing conditions
are an only too obvious menace to the stability botn of the Native
family and of the community.
Consequently the urban Native tends
to measure his housing standards in relation to those of tne Euro­
pean and tends to dislike ‘'special" standards expressly intended
for Native use only.
This attitude, which may generally be
summed up in the oft-repeated expression - "we want the same kind
of housing as the European has got", may often obscure in the Na­
tive mind the existence of circumstances which may demand ditierences of standards in the legitimate interests of the Native.
In the light of the foregoing the Joint Advisory Sub-Commit­
tee considered the question as to whether the Native, in general,
desires housing similar in type to that occupiedby Europeans in
the low-income groups or whether it would be desirable to provide
more housing based on traditional Bantu concepts.
It was agreed
that in general the former was the case, although there were ex­
ceptions.
It was also pointed out that where the traditional
form taakes use of the Rondavel, difficulties are experienced m
equipping such housing where European-type furniture nas to be
accommodated, and that as this was usually the case m urban areas
the rectangular plan-form was more suitable and more economical in
the use of internal space.
It was also considered that the gene­
ral tendency to prefer a rectangular form of house in which all
the rooms occur under one roof indicates a tacit recognition on
the part of the urban Native of the change in social life away
from the communal organization of the kraal towards tne family
organization of modern urban life.
It is considered that this
trend is one of the important fundamentals in the housing situ­
ation and. indeed, in South African society as a whole, where the
Native, in contact with the powerful and highly-organized civili­
zation of Western Europe, ever tends to absorb and follow western
concepts of life and thought.
Comments on the Headings submitted for ,c^)risj.derg,tion«.
The comments of the Joint Advisory Sub-Committee on the
questions referred to it are briefly summarized below, in the
order in which the questions occur in the List of readings given
in Appendix III.
It will be noticed that in general che opi­
nions expressed by this expert committee are more directly help­
ful, being precise and to the point, than are the tentative con­
clusions drawn from the questionnaire surveys, given in Appendix^
II,
This observation would reinforce the Sub-Committee s interim
recommendation to place more reliance on the evidence of experts
in respect of European housing.
a. Type/
a.
Type of H ousing to be built.,.
It was considered that the time factor was the overriding
consideration in the housing problem, since housing is one *
the main weapons which can be used to prevent the ^ l n t e g r a t i
of Native society.
The key to speed lies in the
in the crowded centres of population wherethe)n®!dA 0 5 eSrloan)
exists in its most acute form, of permanent (30 or 40 year loan;
housing erected by high-speed industrial production “etnods.
Such construction should employ the maximum quani* necessary
iahrmr skilled as well as unskilled, even if it is necessary
initially to concentrate on non-traditional techniques of cons ru
tion.
This tvDe of construction, which would make the biggest inroads into the housing shortagi in the least possible t^me^should
be supplemented where appropriate by transitional nousing an
by temporary and emergency measures.
.Jjfditional systems of
construction whether embodying the traditional1 era
tradiroDean building trade or the Natives' own constructional
tion“ * o £ d all find a place in the total housing
though these latter methods are relatively slow in output
pared with high-speed construction systems.
b.
Standards of accommodation for Native., hoi^iflfij.
The basic standards of space and hygiene considered by the
Sub-Committee on House Planning and Design as necessary to p:re
serve health, decency and efficiency in
iS^thele
served in all classes of Native housing.
No difference in t
basic standards should be permitted between
“ erEuropean housing, nor any difference between temporary and per
manent Native housing.
c.
Reduced Standards.
Kavine reeard to the economic status of the bulk of urban
Native society, it is recommended that every effort mus *e ma ,
S S t h V t o i d & g n of the dwel ling
fSxSnflithe planning of housing estates, to eliminate ’urmecess y
y
ture, and so to reduce subsidies and lower the rentals.
In I s ­
suance of this principle, It is considered that ®«rtain edu
referred to in paragraph »b"
above.
d.
Adequacy nf present type of permanent dwej.\3,fl
Native T o w n s h i p s * . (Question 4 ( a) , 1 5
J
(i) structure of
dwelling;
Due to the new
ties of combating vermin following xhe
to r a i s e objecsecticides, it is no l o n g e r considered ne
y dwell^ngS on the
tions to wood floors or thatched ^°of
introduce a health hazard,
score that they harbour vermin and thus i n t r o d u c e ^
^ ^
'The traditional insistence on the unpopular
,
0 longer
ground that this material is proof against vermin is no longer
considered to be justified.
Ceilings/.......
Ceilings:
Unceiled houses are observed to be uncomfortably
hot in summer, and draughty and cold in the winter.
^.^s con­
sidered that no dwellings should be permitted in which the roofs
are unprovided with a ceiling, or at least with an tasulated
lining.
(See the recommendation of the Sub-Committee on Heating,
Cooling and Ventilation and the Sub-Committee on House Planning
and Design on this point).
Floor:
Every dwelling should be provided with a suitable
floor covering.
Concrete floors, hitherto considered the most
suitable impervious type, are unsuitable for use *n . ^ ® cS e t h i s
parts of the country, and are unpopular with the Nativesfor thi
reason.
It is considered that stabilized e|£th is a suitable
flooring material for use in rural areas or ^ t e m p o r a r y ®rm
tures, but that a hard-wearing economical and ^ o n a b l y warm be
floor surface suitable for use in urban conditions nas yet
evolved.
Doors:
In the interests of privacy, doors should ^provided
to all rooms internally.
If for economic reasons this Proves im
possible, the doorways should be designed so that tenants can
stall their own doors.
There should always be sufficient sleeping
rooms to ensure the separation of the sexes among adolescent chil
dren and for the separation of parents from cuildren, infants
cepted.
Internal walls.
Internal partition walls should in all
cases reach to the ceiling or roof lining.
h;L ,s i ;:;s v = r i .“
s u Y s r t u r j v s ..
(ii) Planning of the dwelling:
fnr « Pffiater number of small dwellings!
There is a
definite need
two-ro6med dwelling/for
be prodren or with one child, and for old P®°P^®*,.
r e£se tuilt in
vided in the form of flats or combined dwellings or else auxxj
f o r
apply to bed-sitting rooms (bachelor flats), for which there is.
also a need.
Nppd for variety:
A greater variety of housing types is
accommodated^°SeEff icien^housing management woulcI ensure thatt a
meant^for
^
^ i S
of1*rooms°by°poorerrtenants°to onfor SSr. subtenants.
^ivinfi-Kitphenai. ( ^ a i s ^ t h e
t
S
^ ^ 7
Although the living-kitchen, mhioh.c2 ® ^ ® s1^ iS f offerfno
functions of cooking, eating and general family living, oners n
less floor-space thaA the sum of the areas of a living room ana a
separate/.......
separate kitchen
there are objections to the living-kitchen,
despite its having been the most common arrangement of the living
area of Native dwellings in most urban housing of the past.
The
men object to their conversation being interrupted by the cooking
activities of the women, and the women do not like doing their
work in the presence of the men.
These feelings are apparently
strongly prevalent among urban Natives, and are often expressed.
Despite these considerations, however, it is felt that as a mini­
mum standard, the living-kitchen is permissible.
V e r a n d a h s Stoeps or verandahs are not required as a
mimimum standard in the dwelling as the space occupied by the
verandah is more useful if thrown into the overall living space
of the home.
However, a guttering to the roof and a concrete
slab or other canopy should be provided over external doors to
protect the house from rain.
Space Standards:
Whatever space standards are considered
by the Sub-Committee on House Planning and Design as the minimum
for European houses should not be further reduced for Native
dwellings, of whatever type,
(iii) Installations in the dwelling!
Stoves:
The provision and siting of stoves will depend on
the locality in which the dwelling is situated.
In cold dis­
tricts a stove should be provided in every dwelling^ placed if
possible on a wall common to two rooms, to provide background
heating to the second room.
In hot areas the stove should be
sited outside the house, for example on the back porch or stoep.
Hanging Cupboards;
If it is not possible to provide fitted
hanging cupboards, the 5 sq. ft, for built-in cupboards recom­
mended by the Sub-Committee on House Planning and Design should
be provided in the form of a recess, even though the shelving
and doors may not be installed initially.
A concrete slab fitted
over a corner, so that the tenants could hang a curtain from it,
making a corner cupboard, is considered sufficient to provide for
the hanging of clothes.
Hooks;
Where possible and appropriate adequate fixing for
hooks should be provided where the walling is of concrete.
Food Cupboard;
A ventilated food storage cupboard^ fitted
with vermin-proof ventilators, and having a door containing a
panel of wire-gauze, should be installed in every dwelling where
no separate pantry is provided.
Storage;
Each dwelling should have a general storeroom of
approximately 20 sq. ft. in area.
The door of the storeroom
should open outwards,
' ,
Artificial lighting;
The Committee recommends one light
point and one power plug per dwelling, where electrici
exist.
If further internal extensions are desired by the tenants
these should be available at extra cost to the occupant, but 1
is considered that such extra installations should be metered.
Water/
Wflt.pr Sunnlvs
The water supply in urban areas must be a
piped supply? There should be at least
adhouse.
Where the water-point is indoors .there sh ™ l d £e ag be
ditional tap outside.
It is recommended that the tapgShou.iQf
of the type which turns off automaticallyj
WeltiGP •
the d ™ i l l n ^ “ SgSllIyt ornf o ^ p i t X u l d ^ f p r w i d e d in the yard,
fitted with a standpipe over it.
Bathroom:
Every house should have a
^ e ?provi
sion of the bath itself is of less imP " £ X ^ s e s L d LSndriel
afforded by the bathroom.
Communal bath houses ana xauna j.
are useful J[fnitie\kecause hot the8only means of ablution. They
communal bathrooms should not be the only mea
Drovision of an
should always be regarded as supplementary to t
h
block
individual water supply to ea°^ndT,®1^ 0ghouses wili be sufficient,
providing hot water for from 100 to 150 houses w i n
Sewerage;.
1.
Communal latrines should not be
considered^desirable^hatV every dwISfng should have its own
toilet facilities.
maintenanoe ?han any other method of sewage disposal,
e.
r.omhi nod d w e l l i n g
(Question 4 d).
It is considered that the
dwelling ! 0 ^
tinct advantages over the individual detached dwelling
without loss of accommodation standards.
(ii)
Individual small dwellings mean low net ^ | “ ies, and
estates consisting exclusively ^ such M e u i a g
thSbi ™ ? i S ^ ? V?hrSaSdards^of such ^cessary^ameni-
s s s . ! s ssii“ ..us
■«*»* >■»»“
in the township.
shoul“ beSinoludefin Nativrtown^hi^/and^illageSj gthough^the
SSSSi?
a f J e T i f c e l unlikely
yT o ° K^
ia“
is considered that such prejudi
to survive
once^the^occupants^have^ettled doln lA their new surroundings.
It/
It is further recommended that research and experimentation
regarding these forms of dwellings should be carried out in re­
spect of Native housing, in the manner recommended for European
Housing,
f.
Accommodation for Unmarried Natives.
Hostels for migrant workers, most of whom are unmarried men
having no settled interest in the established Native township,
should be situated away from the township where their presence
would exert an unstabilising influence on the family life. How­
ever, they should not be moved so far away as to preclude social
contacts between the two communities.
When the inmates of these
hostels marry or bring their families from the rural areas, they
would then qualify as settled urban workers and could move into
the township in the ordinary way.
Hostels for those single men and women who are part of the
settled urban population should be provided within the township
in the form of boarding houses or blocks of small flats providing
communal feeding facilities.
It is recommended that the minimum standards for single
quarters be investigated, bearing in mind the need for space for
relaxation and for the storage of personal effects as well as
the minimum space for sleeping and dressing.
The maximum number
of persons in any one room should not exceed eight of the same
sex.
Minimum space standards have been laid down in certain Acts
but these are considered inconsistent and usually inadequate.
(See Recommendations of the Sub-Committee on Legislation).
The planning of hostels should be improved so as to reduce
the distances between bedrooms and ablution and toilet rooms.
A lock-up locker should be provided for each person.
Hostel kitchens should provide cooked meals for the workers.
In many cases at present, the worker has to cook his own food
after returning from work*
He does not generally cook an ade­
quate meal because he is too tired or else because he wants to
save money to send to his family.
In view of the high incidence
of malnutrition, it is considered that every facility for adequate
feeding should be made available.
Social amenities should be provided within the hostel for
the occupants.
There should at least be a common recreation
room.
Many privately-owned compounds are undesirable in practice
as they lack the necessary amenities.
Where a number of firms
combine to provide hostel accommodation for their workers, more
social amenities can be provided.
Official encouragement should
be given to the provision of such amenities.
g.
Home ownership:
It is considered that a very useful purpose would be served
if Natives were allowed to buy their own stands and build their
own houses.
Though the cost would be high, those iMatives who
could afford to do so should be permitted to build their own dwell­
ings on their own land or else on land obtained on long leases,
provided/.....
provided there is adequate supervision of the building work to
ensure that they conform to the minimum standards of accommoda­
tion laid down in law.
It is not considered desirable to encourage the very poor to
build their own houses because even if they could manage to erect
some sort of structure, they would not be able to maintain it in
a desirable state.
Housing for the very poor, therefore, should
be the responsibility of the authorities, and should be provided
strictly on a rental basis.
There exists a scheme whereby a Native may enter into an
agreement with a local authority to build a house and purchase
materials on the hire-purchase system.
Ability to enter on such
an agreement depends on the Native's earnings, the materials
available, the sufficiency of municipal staff, &c., and the ap­
plications are sifted very carefully.
Provided these sufficient
safeguards and controls to ensure the maintenance of the minimum
standards of accommodation, it is considered that this system
should be encouraged and expanded.
h.
Estate Planning Considerations.;.
Urban Native townships should be situated in a position con­
venient to the chief places of work, or connected thereto by an
efficient public transportation system, preferably an electrified
railway.
The Sub-Committee condemns the_present practice of lo­
cating Native townships close to sewage disposal works and similar
noxious localities.
The following social amenities should be provided in Native
housing estates;
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
(f)
Clinic and crbche;
A social hall with at least two smaller rooms
attached for committee work and adult education
purposes",
Recreation facilities separately for adults and
children, properly fenced or otherwise defined;
School;
Church;
Beer Hall.
The p.nmmnnitv centres should be divorced from European super-’
vision and from the administrative building such as the Pass
Office and Police Station.
In locations generally the Europeans
should be separated from Natives and stationed near the gateways„
Proper street lightingis essential in all urban Native town­
ships.
It should be provided in all future schemes, where street
lighting is available to the rest of the town.
Where existing
schemes lack street lighting, this should be installed at the
earliest opportunity.
Ample provision should be made within the general town
planning scheme for Native cemeteries, which should not be far
distant from the townships.
Pc.’lily/
Fami.lv accommodation for domestic servants.;.
At present domestic servants have to live either away from
their families on their employers' premises or else with tn r
family in the Native township often far from their Place of work.
It is suggested that if these servants could be
families in Native villages planned in relation to each Eu:ropean
residential area, they could lead a normal
* Je seen
be able to go into domestic service.
This principle can
in operation in 7/almer (Port Elizabeth) *here no P ^ n s for a
township are passed unless it can be shown tha a p
P
, .
has been made for the accommodation of the domestic s®rvant;s
b f e m p l o y e d within the township, and withina reasonable distance
of that township.
It is considered that this excellent arrange
ment should be more widely adopted.
In conclusion, the Sub-Committee feels ^
Native
rpnrpqpnts a field in which it is impossible to be dogmatic at
the present stage.
A great deal of careful and Pgxnstaking ohservation and research, by the social scien
>
construetio^muat^be^carrled A T o r l
f s f f i e t ^ s t a b l e type, of
” o“ ednVlri
0n f = o n s l d e ? e S 1 h Va?’t M s J i J S S c h ' L f ^erlmenta tion form an Integral part of any authentic Bousing Plan, n
should be considered inseparab
?he Sub-Committee is
I f the opinion t h a t X extent of the
so vast that it can be tackled successfully
ly
large-scale
involving long-range p a
_ a
p
p
r
o
a
c
h
f
y ~
technicompre-
h S s i v e nt h M athis will,Sin the Sub-Committee's opinion, succeed
no better than efforts of the past.
LIST OF THE M3RE MARKED PREFERENCES DISCERNED
AMDNG THE OCCUPANTS OF THE Tn) ESTATES IN
PRETORIA IN WHICH THE TRIAL .SURVEYS WERE
USED.
Collection Number: AD1715
SOUTH AFRICAN INSTITUTE OF RACE RELATIONS (SAIRR), 1892-1974
PUBLISHER:
Collection Funder:- Atlantic Philanthropies Foundation
Publisher:- Historical Papers Research Archive
Location:- Johannesburg
©2013
LEGAL NOTICES:
Copyright Notice: All materials on the Historical Papers website are protected by South African copyright law and
may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, or otherwise published in any format, without the prior
written permission of the copyright owner.
Disclaimer and Terms of Use: Provided that you maintain all copyright and other notices contained therein, you
may download material (one machine readable copy and one print copy per page) for your personal and/or
educational non-commercial use only.
People using these records relating to the archives of Historical Papers, The Library, University of the Witwatersrand,
Johannesburg, are reminded that such records sometimes contain material which is uncorroborated, inaccurate,
distorted or untrue. While these digital records are true facsimiles of paper documents and the information contained
herein is obtained from sources believed to be accurate and reliable, Historical Papers, University of the Witwatersrand
has not independently verified their content. Consequently, the University is not responsible for any errors or
omissions and excludes any and all liability for any errors in or omissions from the information on the website or any
related information on third party websites accessible from this website.
This document forms part of the archive of the South African Institute of Race Relations (SAIRR), held at the Historical
Papers Research Archive at The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.