Modeling the neighborhood wellbeing of townships in South Africa

Moghayedi, Alireza; Mehmood, Abid; Michell, Kathy; Ekpo, Christiana Okobi

Abstract

Townships in South Africa are characterized by underdeveloped urban neighborhoods on the periphery of cities, where their inhabitants suffer from a poor quality of life. Given the relative lack of empirical research on the wellbeing of people living in townships in South Africa, this study attempts to fill the gap by understanding and modeling the relationships between household socioeconomic characteristics, housing and neighborhood conditions, and individual and community wellbeing to develop and empirically validate a neighborhood wellbeing framework. The hypothesized associations from the wellbeing framework were tested using 389 household interviews of the three largest townships in South Africa. The findings identify the challenges associated with adequate housing and lack of infrastructure in townships and how these affect the wellbeing of individuals and communities. The conclusion demonstrates how the neighborhood wellbeing framework, as an interdisciplinary approach, can improve the quality of life of inhabitants and communities in urban neighborhoods in general.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: May 19, 2023
• Online Publication Date: May 24, 2023
• Publication Date: May 24, 2023
• Deposit Date: Jun 15, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 19, 2023
• Journal: Sustainability
• Print ISSN: 2071-1050
• Publisher: MDPI
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 15
• Issue: 11
• Article Number: 8542
• Series Title: This article belongs to the Special Issue Built Environment, Human Health and Well-Being in a Transitional World
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/su15118542
• Keywords: resilience, South Africa, housing, socioeconomic, neighborhood, township, wellbeing
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/10853584
• Publisher URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/11/8542