Sol Plaatje

Informal housing and shack settlements are typically characterised by squalid living conditions and a lack of power supply, proper sanitation and rubbish removal services. Sol Plaatje is a large, densely populated informal settlement situated south of Roodepoort and 20 kilometres from Johannesburg’s city centre.

Another flagship JOSHCO project, the settlement is situated on old mining land with residents, many of them former miners or migrants from other cities, suffering high levels of unemployment. For many years the residents of Sol Plaatje lived without basic services. JOSHCO was tasked with converting former mining hostels into houses with all services included and with building new homes on the vacant land. Its primary intervention has been the provision of adequate housing stock and infrastructure, as well as formalising the existing informal settlement.

JOSHCO has reached an advanced stage with the completion of 1 140 Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) units with several still under construction. Many of the units are double storey in order to make optimal use of scarce land and resources. Attractive design elements have been introduced. Double storey RDP units are unusual but this was the only design solution which worked for this particular project resulting in a varied and interesting typology. The development has been divided into phases, with the first phase being the conversion of former mining hostels into family units.

Subsequent phases include the development of a transit camp to free-up land, RDP houses, roads, schools and other amenities. Residents pay for the rates and services they consume. They do not pay any rental as ownership title is awarded. JOSHCO is targeting the hand-over of 2259 homes by the end of 2008.