Life in the Wetlands of Cape Town
Structural Inequality, Housing, and Resilience in Informal Settlements
Building a home on wetlands in Cape Town is not a matter of choice.
It is a consequence of structural inequality, economic hardship, and historical planning failures. For thousands of South Africans, wetlands represent the last available spaces in a city where formal housing is unaffordable. These decisions are shaped by desperation, not preference, and the lived realities of residents reveal how deeply systemic forces dictate where people can and cannot live (Ziervogel et al., 2016). Cape Town has about 800 informal settlements, many located on low-lying, waterlogged land, former wetlands or sandy areas with high water tables (City of Cape Town, 2023; Musungu, 2013). Historically, wetlands served as natural flood buffers, absorbing excess water and protecting urban areas. Today, they are densely occupied by communities who migrated from other provinces in search of work and better opportunities. To these residents, wetlands appear as abandoned or unused land, offering the only chance to build a home when formal housing is out of reach (Drivdal, 2016).
Mbulelo Hanisi's life illustrates this reality.
He left Matatiele in the Eastern Cape in 2009, to move to Taiwan, an informal settlement in Site C, Khayelitsha escaping poverty and unemployment, hoping Cape Town would offer better prospects. Matatiele is a town located in the northern part of the Eastern Cape Province, it is a town that has high levels of poverty. Without an ID, a critical document for jobs and social grants, he faced additional hurdles until his brothers helped him register. Born with a disability that left one arm underdeveloped and weak, he was unable to qualify for a state grant without proper identification. This limitation also affected his ability to take on physically demanding jobs, and even when he managed to secure such work, he could not sustain it for long.
Life in Cape Town was better than in Matatiele, but Mbulelo struggled to secure formal, long-term work. Today, he lives in a one-room shack in SATLA Section, a house built on a wetland. Like many others, Mbulelo did not know the land was on a wetland because when he first got to Taiwan, the land was dry but soon after each winter his home is turned into a battle zone. To stop water from rising inside, he spreads sand on the carpet, a task made difficult sometimes by his disability often, he relies on local men for help, but assistance comes at a cost he cannot always afford. Coping strategies such as raising shacks or digging trenches are common but generally insufficient for long-term adaptation. Flooding affects not only individual households but also shared community spaces, exacerbating public health issues and reducing overall quality of life (Ziervogel et al., 2016).
Mbulelo recalls that 2025 has been the worst winter in Taiwan.
The water inside his house rose so high that his furniture was ruined, he could not walk or sleep inside, forcing him to move into the local community hall. For Mbulelo, this was the first time he could not respond effectively to flooding in his home. Residents of informal settlements are particularly susceptible to flooding because they are compelled to live in unsafe locations (Anwana & Owojori, 2023). His story reflects a broader truth: coping strategies like raising shacks or digging trenches cannot offset systemic neglect (Anwana & Owojori, 2023).
The growth of informal settlements on wetlands and other marginal land in Cape Town is rooted in apartheid-era urban planning, which forced many into overcrowded townships or informal dwellings. Over time, informal settlements proliferated as a response to housing shortages, with many new arrivals settling wherever land was available, regardless of environmental suitability (Drivdal, 2016). People build on wetland areas because they are desperate and cannot afford to rent or live elsewhere. Often, they do not know it is a wetland until it is too late. Even when they do know, the desperation for shelter outweighs environmental concerns.
Layer upon layer of vulnerability - Consequences of Living on Wetlands
Flooding in informal settlements leads to stagnant, contaminated water pooling in and around homes, mixing with sewage and garbage. This creates significant health risks, especially for children, and disrupts daily life and economic activities. The lack of coordinated, community-scale adaptation means that each winter, the same settlements experience repeated flooding, with little progress toward sustainable solutions (Ziervogel et al., 2016). During the winter months, the government often distributes plastic sheeting for residents to place over their roofs. When flooding becomes extreme and attracts media attention, residents are offered temporary shelter in local community halls until water levels decrease. However, residents in Taiwan express frustration with these measures, arguing that they are insufficient to address the problem. Leaving one's home invites further poverty because it gives criminals an opportunity to steal belongings. Residents argue that relocation during floods deepens vulnerability, while authorities express frustration at communities "choosing" risky land, ignoring the structural forces behind these choices (Amnesty International, 2025; Ziervogel et al., 2016).
Urbanization in Sub-Saharan Africa is rapidly degrading wetlands, which historically provided flood control, water purification, and biodiversity habitats (Mumuni et al., 2025). Drivers include population growth, economic development, infrastructure expansion, and migration, leading to sprawling urbanization and informal settlement growth. The impacts are severe: biodiversity loss, altered hydrology, increased flooding, water quality degradation, and livelihood disruption (Mumuni et al., 2025). Urban growth driven by housing shortages and governance failures has converted wetlands into high-risk zones, embedding flood vulnerability into the urban fabric. These housing shortages are evident in Taiwan, one of Khayelitsha's oldest informal settlements, where residents express immense frustration at being excluded from housing development projects. Some residents have lived there since 1987 and remain in the same area without formal housing. The consequences of living on wetlands in Taiwan are stark: the area where Mbulelo stays cannot have electricity installed due to its location, forcing residents to rely on informal connections. This reinforces economic vulnerability, as residents must pay for these illegal connections. Effective responses demand integrated land-use planning, wetland conservation, and community-driven adaptation strategies to reverse decades of ecological and social neglect.
Mbulelo's story is not an isolated case.
It is a mirror reflecting the structural failures that shape life of informal settlement residents. People do not choose to live on wetlands; they are pushed there by poverty, housing shortages, and historical injustices. Each winter, flooding strips away dignity, security, and health, while government responses remain reactive and inadequate. Blaming residents for "choosing" risky land ignores the reality that for many, wetlands are the only spaces left in a city that has failed to provide equitable housing. Until integrated planning, wetland conservation, and inclusive housing policies become a priority, stories like Mbulelo's will continue to define urban life not by choice, but by necessity.
