Priya Shah, founder of BAME in Property, spent a month researching the housing struggles faced by the Indian population in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, as part of a sabbatical last year. Here she summarises her key findings and shares her thoughts on what the built environment can learn from them.
It is safe to say that housing and planning are intrinsically linked to race, religion and culture.
Almost 160 years after the first Indians arrived in Natal in 1860, as the province was then known, the focus on religion and Indian culture has remained stronger than ever. This fascinated me, because how does a minority culture survive among bigger cultural populations?
I’ve discovered that the root of the South African-Indian population’s desire to improve their lives can be traced back to the religious text in the Vedas. Where religion plays an important role in households and communities, it provides a foundation for many other aspects of one’s life, such as education, professional success and improvements in wider society.
While the power of religion in its own right was strong within the Indian community, religious and cultural practices may have been allowed to flourish to a greater extent due to the segregation of different races for many generations and the subsequent implementation of the Group Areas Act in 1950. In this sense, Indians, blacks and other non-white races were denied full access to Western forms of living and were therefore able only to live in a manner associated with their culture.
Nevertheless, when the GAA broke up the joint family system, typical within Indian communities, it was the congregation of families at temples, churches and mosques which revived the sense of community for these families.
The hardships faced by families during apartheid led to community and political action formed by an identity of the poors, rather than race.
During times of difficulty, the celebration of different cultures and religions brought a sense of community and togetherness. Religion formed the structural cohesion necessary to build proactive alliances when protesting against political authorities.
Many Indian communities continue to follow the intergenerational model of living, where several generations are living under one roof, meaning retirement living complexes in a predominantly Indian area will not be financially lucrative
Throughout this study, I have constantly had my British housing and planning hat on. Although South Africa’s cultural and historical context is different, the housing struggles experienced by ordinary people in South Africa are not dissimilar to those faced by ethnic minority communities in the UK. For example, how have local authorities helped or hindered housing for ethnic minority communities and how successful has community engagement been in making any tangible changes?
Specific ethnic minority populations have developed in certain places around the UK. From Indians in Harrow and Wembley, to Bangladeshis in Tower Hamlets and Pakistanis in Birmingham, there is strength in numbers.
There is a psychological attraction of living in areas with people of a similar background, history and culture because it is comfortable. Where there is a large population of a certain culture, funding can go towards relevant infrastructure and services for a particular community. This then attracts more people of the same culture and community to live in the area – it’s a chain effect.
This has happened in South Africa, it’s happening in England and there are many more examples around the world where diaspora populations congregate, thus containing specific religious and cultural practices.
It is important for built environment practitioners and local authorities to consider the impact of religion and culture in planning policy. The most obvious is having diverse project teams that understand how culture can deviate traditional planning policy to one that is more tailored for ethnic minority populations. For example, many Indian communities continue to follow the intergenerational model of living, where several generations are living under one roof. Thus, retirement living complexes in a predominantly Indian area will not be as financially lucrative.
We should also embrace the positive impact religion and culture can bring to the development of communities. In the case of South Africa, the Indian population earns the highest GDP per capita and this is not purely attributable to academic success.
Religion and culture has the power to ground individuals and instill values, which might be beneficial to wider society.
For a copy of the report to read in full, e-mail bameinproperty@gmail.com
