Innovative Community Projects to Educate Informal Settlement Inhabitants in the Sustainment of the Natural Environment

Thelma De Jager,Mashupye Herbert Maserumule

doi:10.3390/su13116238

Abstract

Increasing informal settlements are characterised by unplanned land management; lack of housing, sanitation, sufficient water and electricity supplies; overpopulation; high health risks; and growing urban poverty. These informal settlements are mostly occupied by citizens and immigrant families who seek job opportunities in urban areas. To sustain the ecology of the invaded land and provide a liveable informal settlement, education of the inhabitants is essential. Teachers as the implementers of sustainable environment curricula could be valuable in addressing the environmental challenges these informal settlement communities experience by educating children on how to sustain the environment. Data were collected by means of a literature study and an online survey consisting of closed and open-ended questions completed by student teachers (n = 280). Participants’ perceptions, perspectives, and experiences regarding educating informal settlement inhabitants in the sustainment of the environment were significant in answering the research questions. Most of the participants (n = 216) had visited informal settings, 48 were inhabitants, and 16 had never visited an informal settlement. Most of them believed that educating children at an early age and the inclusion of a compulsory subject on the sustainability of the environment were essential. Education can contribute to the sustainment of clean water, food, and the environment. Additionally, interactive community projects such as recycling, waste management, composting, aquaponics to grow plants, and infrared thermal imaging to detect plant diseases could assist informal settlement inhabitants in sustaining the environment.

Highlights

Population growth and rapid urbanisation lead to the development of informal settlements, which have become a challenge for most third world countries [1]
Poverty and a lack of job opportunities cause a migration of dwellers to urban areas despite their inability to afford and access formal housing [3]
Student teachers were involved in the study as they will be teaching the future generation and because most of them are from poor social contexts, live in informal settlements and encounter the same experiences as informal settlement inhabitants

Summary

Introduction

Population growth and rapid urbanisation lead to the development of informal settlements, which have become a challenge for most third world countries [1]. Poverty and a lack of job opportunities cause a migration of dwellers to urban areas despite their inability to afford and access formal housing [3] This results in the growth of erected informal settlements around cities. Statistics South Africa [4] indicates that there are about 2.2 million inhabitants of informal settlements in the country and the numbers are increasing annually Such informal settlements are characterised by unplanned land management; a lack of housing and sanitation; water and air pollution; insufficient water and electricity supplies; overpopulation; high health risks; and growing urban poverty [5]. These informal dwellings put the sustainment of the natural environment at risk and increase the spreading of diseases among the inhabitants

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Discussion

Conclusion