“Dying to get a house?” The health outcomes of the South African low-income housing programme

Abstract

This paper examines the health impacts of the South African housing subsidy programme. A distinction is made between subsidised housing units, informal settlements (slums), informal housing units and formal urban areas, and the differences and similarities between the various typologies are explored. Binomial logistic and linear regressions are utilised in order to understand the relationships between the different housing typologies and health outcomes. Although subsidised housing units score better in terms of some adult and child health indicators, the binomial logistic and linear regressions show that health outcomes are more impacted by service-related factors than by housing structure. The results suggest that the housing subsidy policy framework should be reconsidered, taking into account the important role of urban services, particularly in regard to the upgrading of informal settlements.