ABSTRACT

The increasing informal urbanism in Africa exposes its residents to multiple shocks, including urban public health pandemics. South Africa is not an exception due to the squalid living conditions, lack of essential services and amenities, and overcrowding characterizing informal settlements. We argue that such conditions compromise the liveability of the informal settlements and the wellbeing of the communities. The urban health inequality concept is used to analyse the risks and vulnerability of informal settlements to public health problems. This study uses the impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) to investigate the exposure of the urban poor in South Africa’s informal settlements to public health crises. This study is ethnographic and uses the case of Dinaweng informal settlement, Bloemfontein. Data was collected from secondary data sources triangulated with 60 in-depth interviews with household heads to enhance the validity of the findings. The study found that the poor in Dinaweng are disproportionately affected by disease pandemics that are exacerbated by the challenges in their daily lives characterized by their informal livelihoods. We conclude that informal settlements are complex spaces that require carefully considered strategies and responses for addressing pandemics such as COVID-19; otherwise, the residents in these settlements remain marginalized.

摘要

非洲日益增长的非正规城市化使其居民面临多重冲击，包括城市公共卫生流行病。由于肮脏的生活条件、缺乏基本服务和便利设施以及非正规住区的过度拥挤，南非也不例外。我们认为，这样的条件损害了非正规住区的宜居性和社区的福祉。城市健康不平等概念用于分析非正规住区对公共卫生问题的风险和脆弱性。本研究利用新型冠状病毒 (COVID-19) 的影响来调查南非非正规住区的城市贫民面临公共卫生危机的情况。这项研究是民族志研究，并以布隆方丹的 Dinaweng 非正式定居点为例。数据是从二手数据源收集的，对 60 次户主的深度访谈进行三角剖分，以提高调查结果的有效性。该研究发现，迪纳文的穷人受到疾病流行病的影响尤为严重，而这种流行病又因他们日常生活中以非正式生计为特征的挑战而加剧。我们得出结论，非正式住区是复杂的空间，需要仔细考虑应对 COVID-19 等流行病的策略和应对措施；否则，这些定居点的居民仍然被边缘化。该研究发现，迪纳文的穷人受到疾病流行病的影响尤为严重，而这种流行病又因他们日常生活中以非正式生计为特征的挑战而加剧。我们得出结论，非正式住区是复杂的空间，需要仔细考虑应对 COVID-19 等流行病的策略和应对措施；否则，这些定居点的居民仍然被边缘化。该研究发现，迪纳文的穷人受到疾病流行病的影响尤为严重，而这种流行病又因他们日常生活中以非正式生计为特征的挑战而加剧。我们得出结论，非正式住区是复杂的空间，需要仔细考虑应对 COVID-19 等流行病的策略和应对措施；否则，这些定居点的居民仍然被边缘化。