Urban informality is fast becoming a permanent feature in cities not only in the global South but also in the global North, hence the need to include it in the delivery systems of the city for sustainable urbanity. However informal settlements are left out in the service delivery systems of cities and this has created spatial deprivation in the city. The exclusion of urban informality is not only a denial of their right to the city but also a denial of environmental justice to these people, which also constitute unsustainable housing. Including informal settlements in the urban fabric will result in sustainable housing because the housing delivery is very important in attaining sustainable development goals. All cities therefore need to provide its services to all the city inhabitants for inclusive and sustainable city. Informal settlements demands safe and liveable spaces for their well being and the sustainability of the city. Effective waste management in informal settlements does not only reflect the inclusivity of the city but is also an important pillar for sustainable city. The research used a mixed methods approach to data collection, where both qualitative and quantitative methods were used to collect data. The research find out that informal settlements in Masvingo city are excluded from the waste collection services and this is imposing an impending danger to their lives because of life threatening environments that surround informal settlements.

The urbanisation of poverty has seen ballooning livelihoods of the poor in contemporary cities as shown by proliferation of urban informality. These livelihoods are mushrooming against a background of repressive city regulatory frameworks that are aimed to stunt the development of urban informality. These repressive regulations have been denying the urban informality their right to the city. However, urban informality in the city of Masvingo has been growing despite these restrictive regulatory frameworks. The study examined how urban informality in the city of Masvingo has been asserting their right to the city in a city that has very hostile regulatory framework. The study utilised a qualitative approach to the inquiry, where in-depth interviews and field observations were employed. The study found out that the city of Masvingo has several instruments that are disenfranchising urban informality of their right to the city. These have been employed to remove informal traders from the city centre. However informal traders are also fighting from various fronts to assert their right to the city. They make use of political influence, employ militant ways, organise themselves into groups for taking over underutilized spaces in the city. The research therefore recommends that the city of Masvingo should employ pro-poor and inclusive urban development policies that should see the integration of urban informality in their mainstream economy. This should result in participation of informal traders in the development of the city and allow them to enjoy right to the city. This study will contribute to the growing scholarly work on the informal urbanism, especially the various ways they are using to assert their right to the city. Urban informality is known in many cities of the global South, for their exclusion in development cities, but this study is showing how informal traders are asserting their right to the city.

Many factors contribute to urban decay in inner city locations as real estate investments fall and industries disappear or move to more attractive locations. In South Africa, the attainment of democracy and the resultant ‘white flight’ in favour of decentralised locations precipitated urban decay. Commercial real estate has spill-over effects on foot-count and absorption rates on inner city real estate. It helps stimulate redevelopment of other property types such as apartments, which contribute to the overall economic revitalisation of the decayed inner city. This paper examines the challenges faced by real estate investors in regeneration projects in Johannesburg Inner City (JIC). The paper uses an exploratory qualitative research design, where interviews were conducted with commercial real estate participants in JIC. The paper identified five challenges faced by commercial real estate market participants regarding investments and operations: building acquisition, physical public infrastructure, homelessness, lack of financing, and crime. An understanding of these challenges faced by commercial real estate market participants is valuable for policy-makers trying to attract commercial real estate investments to the inner city. Successful regeneration projects will promote urban renewal and revitalise economic activities in the decaying regions. The identified challenges will illuminate municipal programs and policies needed for the development of inner cities.

In many cities, urban informality is sidelined in the provision of services and development of the city. The outbreak of COVID-19 has called for myriad interventions to stop the spread in many cities. The big question in the city of Masvingo is how urban informality has been included in these interventions. COVID-19 has been on the increase since it was ever recorded in the city of Masvingo. As at end of August 2020, over 200 cases of COVID-19 have been recorded and pointers also show that cases are on the increase. Many people have been deprived of their livelihoods in the city due to the outbreak of COVID-19, thereby exposing people to vulnerability due to lack of livelihoods. The outbreak of COVID-19 has also resulted in closure of countless economic activities in the city, thereby depriving people from their sources of livelihoods. The most affected by the closure of economic activities are the informal traders. The outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic has called for copious interventions to try and stop the spread of the disease. The study examined the inclusivity of COVID-19 interventions in the city of Masvingo to see how they include other disadvantaged groups such as the urban informality. The informal sector in the city of Masvingo is not included in the city’s COVID-19 response strategies. The city is mainly focusing on the formal sector in their response strategies, thereby leaving the informal sector out and exposing them to elevated risk of contracting the COVID-19 disease. This research examined the inclusivity of the COVID-19 interventions in the city of Masvingo, with special reference to the people in the informal sector. The informal sector, even though they live in cities, they are usually regarded as people living in the urban periphery because they are not included in the city’s development agenda and service delivery system. The research applied a qualitative methodology where in-depth interviews and field observations were used to collect data. Interviews were done with city authorities and people in the informal sector. The research showed that the interventions taken to fight the outbreak of the COVID-19 have not benefited the people in the informal sector but only the formal sector. The informal sector has been sidelined, showing a clear exclusionary urban policy. Their livelihoods were destroyed in the guise of preventing the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, such destructions were not done in the formal sector which again apparently shows exclusive urban policy. The research therefore calls for a more holistic approach in the fight against COVID-19 disease for the inclusive of the city and the betterment of life for all people in the city.

The informal sector has been excluded in the development of cities despite playing a big role in providing livelihoods to a lot of urban dwellers. Their contribution to the city economy has been marginalized despite the size of this sector and the contribution to livelihoods of the urban poor. City space has therefore continued to be contested arena as urban poor are fighting for access to city space. The research examined the role the informal sector can play in city of Masvingo. The research utilized a mixed methods approach to data collection, where both qualitative and quantitative methods were employed. Questionnaires, semi structures interviews and field observations were employed. Interviews were done with key informant in various sectors dealing with issues of informality. The field observation were done in transact walks in areas occupied by urban informality. The research found out that the informal sector in City of Masvingo is playing a critical role in employment creation and therefore is providing sources of livelihood to a lot of people but the city authorities are doing very little to help the development and growth of the informal sector. Hence the economic contribution of the informal sector has been marginalized.

Informality has been viewed as the seedbed for economic development especially in the cities of the global South and many cities have been trying to integrate this sector for economic development. The sector has been seen as the option for economic development in cities of the global South in the face of dwindling resources for economic development. However, the development and growth of informal activities in some of these cities have been stunted by institutional reforms that have taken so long to accommodate such activities. Most of the cities have acknowledged the need to integrate informality in their economies but they have remained illusioned by the neo-liberal urbanisation policies that have kept the informal activities on the periphery of the development agenda. As a result the role of informal sector in economic development in cities of the global South has not been fully realised. The study was taken to examine the institutional impediments in the growth of informal activities in the city of Masvingo, to see how the laws and policies of the city have been applied for the integration of informal sector in the main stream economy. The research found out that there are institutionalised systems that disenfranchise the informal sector in the city of Masvingo. These institutions include the planning approach and the way the city has been practicing their planning. These two institutions have been the chief disenfranchising instruments that have denied the people in the informal sector their right to the city. The research utilised a mixed methods approach to the inquiry, where both qualitative and quantitative data were used. The research found that there is space for informal integration in the city of Masvingo, but the existing regulatory framework is stifling the growth and development of the informal sector in the city of Masvingo. There is therefore need for the city to be flexible enough to embrace the realities of the city, because informality is really the new form of urbanisation in cities of the global South.

The provision of housing for the low-income has been a major problem in many countries and the developing world has been hard hit. This inability has been the chief cause of the burgeoning slum settlement in cities of the globe where one billion people live in slum areas. The solution to the housing problem lies in the opening up of stakeholders' participation in the provision of housing, where government, non-governmental organisation, multilateral agencies and the community can play a critical role. Critical in the whole process is the participation of urban poor in the provision of housing for the poor, where they are critical actors in defining housing programmes that best suit the urban poor. This research seeks to analyse the initiatives that have been taken by the urban poor in the city of Bulawayo in providing housing for the poor. The research made use both qualitative and quantitative methodologies in investigating the matter. Questionnaire was the main instrument to collect quantitative data and interviews and field observations were used to collect qualitative data. The research showed that there are a lot positive initiatives by the urban poor in the city of Bulawayo to provide house for the urban poor and these initiatives appear appealing to the poor as they are giving them a roof over their heads, which was never a dream in their lives. Though they appear noble they however fall far too short to provide sustainable housing to the poor as they appear to be a potential health hazard for the city. There is need for city authorities or any interested stakeholder to provide more support to such initiatives so that they can provide more sustainable housing for the poor. This will produce a housing scheme that will contribute to reduction of slum dwellers as called by the Millennium Development Goals.

There is a usual positive correlation between infrastructure development and property values. However, in Bulawayo, this correlation does not usually follow in all aspects of properties transactions. This research seeks to find out trends in infrastructure development and property values in the city of Bulawayo. This research took a mixed methods approach in data collection; both qualitative and quantitative methods were utilized. Questionnaires were administered to people in low-income areas of Pumula, Cowdrey Park and Emganwini. In-depth interviews with key informants in the real estate sector were done to cross-fertilize and enrich the inquiry. This research found out that in most cases there is a strong correlation between infrastructure development and property values, but in some cases, there is not any correlation as some forces are put in play distorting the market play. This research also discovered that apart from infrastructure, property values in Bulawayo’s low-income residential suburbs are also affected by income, supply, and demand factors.

Abstract Accessing finances for housing has been a major problem for people on low-incomes and this has been weighing heavily on them as they try to access housing. Financial institutions in the city of Bulawayo are failing to come up with financial products that suit low-income clients. There are an estimated 110000 low-income residents among the estimated 250000 residents of Cowdray Park low-density residential area in Bulawayo. This has also affected their right to the city as they have been excluded from the housing delivery system. There are so many initiatives that have been available to those on a low-income but these initiatives have rarely benefited the urban poor of the city. This research has examined how the financial services that exist in the housing sector have been crafted to benefit the urban poor. The research employed a mixed methods approach to the inquiry, where a questionnaire was the main quantitative method used and in-depth interviews and observations were the qualitative methods that complemented it. The research found that there are various financial services that are available in Zimbabwe, but these financial facilities rarely help the urban poor. The majority of the poor have been managing without any financial support and this has been stalling their access to housing. Most housing products are fashioned along neo-liberal economic principles that have very little to offer the urban poor. This has therefore denied the urban poor in the city of Bulawayo their right to the city. Most cities in Zimbabwe are struggling to satisfy their housing demand as they have long housing waiting lists. Research therefore recommends the crafting of financial facilities that are best targeted on the urban poor, and are specially adapted to their financial conditions.

The marginalization of women in all aspects of development had characterized the development landscape for a long time and this is not sustainable. Women had been on the fringes of development for a long time even though they command a very large number in population. For example in Zimbabwe they constitute 52% of the national population.

In Victoria Falls, development of tourism dates back to around 1900 after the arrival of the railway line from Cape Town, completion of the Victoria Falls hotel and the bridge. In recent years, tourism activities have been spreading to the peri-urban area of Chisuma Communal Area (CCA) along the Batoka Gorges, downstream of the Victoria Falls. Tourism development in the study area was accelerated by the 2010 World Cup soccer tournament hosted by South Africa and the United Nations World Tourism Organisation co-hosted by Zimbabwe and Zambia. This has resulted in construction of lodges along the gorges displacing the local communities from their original villages. This paper examines the expansion and development of tourism in the CCA. Tourism development activities were found to be negatively impacting on the local area through deforestation, land degradation, displacement and social cultural erosion. To some extent, it was also found to be bringing in new livelihood strategies such as employment and development of infrastructure that are crucial for the development of the local communities.

The need to mainstream the informal sector in the economy came as a realization that the informal sector plays a significant role in creation of employment, providing goods and services to the poor and is also seen as an important hedge against poverty. Many governments had been trying to revamp this sector, but some had just given this call a lip service. Very little had been done to give the informal sector an opportunity to do business and contribute to the economy of the country. This paper traces the landmarks of the Zimbabwean government in terms of giving the informal sector space to do business. The research utilized mainly government documents and other documents to see what really the government intends to do to mainstream and promote the informal sector. The research found out that there is a lot being done by the government in terms of the policy framework which gives the directions and impetus for the development of the informal sector.

Conventional AIDS education programs, aimed at young people, but devised and implemented by adults, seem to have limited impact throughout Africa. All too often, such programs consist principally of imparting general information about HIV and AIDS, warning pupils of the dangers of sex before marriage and admonishing them to live according to a set of strict moral or religious precepts with little or no regard to the realities of sexuality as experienced in particular milieus. This study documented the perceptions of in-school adolescents on sex, HIV, and AIDS education programs in schools. In this era, where beneficiary participation is considered key in all development initiatives, it becomes obvious that pupils must be meaningfully involved in the formulation of HIV and AIDS prevention strategies. In this research sex, HIV, and AIDS education programs in schools are discussed within the context of poststructural arguments (Foucault), actor oriented approach (Long), and symbolic interactionism. Qualitative methodology was utilized in the collection and analysis of data because it enabled an indepth understanding of the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of adolescents’ perceptions and attitudes. The study unveiled that adolescents are the missing link in school based HIV and AIDS interventions and that unless and until they become the focal point through greater and meaningful participation, current initiatives will continue having minimal impact.

Livelihood diversity is the major hedge against poverty for many rural people. Without livelihood diversity, rural people especially the rural poor are susceptible to erosion and catastrophe. They find themselves limited in terms of the accrued wellbeing derived from their livelihood strategies so they compensate this by spreading their livelihood strategies. However, utilization of wetland had been strongly been discouraged by colonial and post-colonial legislation conservation and people had been unable to use them. This research established that a lot could be derived from utilization of these wetlands. The study employed a multi-faceted approach where qualitative and quantitative research methodologies were employed. The study finds it necessary to encourage use of wetland but should be accompanied by strict enforcement of conservation laws and by-laws.