Project Description

Urban Ecosystems and Human Health in South Africa: A project to address housing, health and environmental challenges in the Msunduzi Municipality, KwaZulu-Natal

This is a joint project of the Centre for Environment, Agriculture and Development (CEAD), at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), Pietermaritzburg, and Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada. The project is being undertaken in collaboration with Msunduzi Municipality and the Pietermaritzburg Chamber of Business and under the joint Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the three organisations. The project is funded by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) of Canada.

The project is designed to assist the city in confronting the major challenges of maintaining and improving housing and health for the poor. It is undertaken in the important contexts of rapid population growth, transformation and the need for sound environmental management.

The university academics involved in the project will focus on policy development and implementation in the interrelated areas of housing delivery, the health impacts of human activities and the provision of safe and secure physical environments for all. In undertaking their work, an implicit intention is to train senior students in action based research that has direct benefits for collaborating partners such as the Msunduzi Municipality and local communities. A further benefit is to provide capacity building through such activities as developing and delivering training workshops as required. Research findings from the project will be published in appropriate academic journals, books and other media. A commitment to feedback of the research findings to collaborating partners is an integral component of the project.

The work will be conducted in various wards throughout the municipality.