29 September 2022
14h00 – 15h30
The people’s perspective of public participation in infrastructure and housing provision in South Africa: evidence from a factorial survey experiment
Presenter: Katrin Hofer
Discussant: Thina Nzo
Abstract
This research explores the people’s perspective of public participation in local infrastructure and housing provision in South Africa. Through a factorial survey experiment (n=502) in Braamfischerville, it examines (1) which forms of state-led participation are supported by the people and (2) which design features of the process drive this support. A particular focus lies on unpacking how people’s preferences of participation might vary depending on their existing relationship with the state. Results indicate that people overall show strong support for public participation. Survey respondents furthermore prefer more inclusive forms of participation, meaning processes which are open to everyone and invite participants to discuss their priotities and needs. Moreoever, the findings point towards a complex interaction of people’s socio-economic prerequisites and their perception of the importance of public participation, which policy makers should account for when designing participatory processes for local infrastructure and housing provision in the given context.
