This paper investigates the relationship between participation, empowerment and sustainability. Using the multisectoral and multicontextual experience of participation amassed in South Africa, both pre- and post- apartheid , we address two questions: does participation lead to empowerment; and does empowerment, in turn, lead to sustainability? Further, what external factors mediate and influence that relationship? Analysis shows that a relationship does exist and is contingent on a number of contextual factors, crucial to its success. Findings are discussed in terms of the international literature on community participation and local democracy, and policy implications are identified.

This paper investigates the relationship between participation, empowerment and sustainability. Using the multisectoral and multicontextual experience of participation amassed in South Africa, both pre-and post-apartheid, we address two questions: does participation lead to empowerment; and does empowerment, in turn, lead to sustainability? Further, what external factors mediate and in uence that relationship? Analysis shows that a relationship does exist and is contingent on a number of contextual factors, crucial to its success. Findings are discussed in terms of the international literature on community participation and local democracy, and policy implications are identi ed. . Carin Smuts is with CS Studio Architects,

Using South Africa as a case study for the workings of community agency in partnerships with the public and non-profit sector, this paper focuses on community-driven developments in townships in the Western Cape. The hypothesis is put forward that although structural factors are a major influence on the success of community agency, a formal approach to project management offers a powerful tool for mitigating their impact. The paper addresses the strengths of formal project structure in the development process, and considers its limitations. Five development projects in townships in the Western Cape are examined for preliminary evidence on this hypothesis and broader implications for the nature of participative democratic process are discussed.

No abstract

No abstract