1. Monica Betz
monicabetz@comcast.net
March 10, 2016
How do the geographical locations in rural and urban settings affect the community’s
access to assets?
ABSTRACT
This research proposal will be assessing two communities’ livelihoods due to
differing geographic locations, accessibility to assets and density of homes. The goal of this
research is finding out how communities benefit from their locations, specifically how
locations and density of areas affect communities’ overall livelihood. This research will be
helpful for building future communities, but also working with the impoverished to
understand the priorities of assets that initiate opportunities or constrain communities. It
will be comparing Nyanga Township located on the outskirts of Cape Town, to the rural
village of Hobeni located in the Wild Coast region. Both of these locations are thought of as
“impoverished”. They were similarly created during the Apartheid era historically for Black
people. A community’s livelihood consists of both social and material assets that are
required for means of living. To compare urban and rural access to assets, the project will
interview 50 households of each community. From these interviews there will be a
calculated “average” livelihood diagram per community. It is expected the rural community
to have high social and natural assets. And is also believed the urban community will have
high variability of financial assets because they either find work in the city or they do not.
Urban will also have a higher personal asset due to more accessibility to modern medicine,
education and control over their cultural decisions.

2. INTRODUCTION
Nyanga is just one of the many townships or informal living settlements in South
Africa. These townships were urban residential areas assigned to blacks under the
apartheid era. Nyanga alone is home to around 57,996 people and is located in the Western
Cape Province in the suburbs of Cape Town. The total area of Nyana is 3.09km2 and the
density is 19,000/km2 (49,000/sq. mi). These communities are remnants of the apartheid
period; this specific township was established around 1946. Xhosa is spoken as their first
language by 90.2% of the population. Originally men moved here to find work in the city
because there were not enough job opportunities in the rural areas. Later women primarily
moved to Nyanga for domestic work jobs for White families.
Hobeni is one village in the region of Thembu in the Eastern Cape region, South
Africa. The total area is also 3.09km2 with a density of 75/km2 (190/sq. mi). In 2011 there
was a total of 232 people. 93.1% speak Xhosa as their first language. “Xhosa speaking
people” have a powerful cultural link between people and nature. Their dependence on
plants, animals, and their landscape is reflected through Xhosa language, healing practices,
religions, and other daily customs. Hobeni is within walking distance to the Wild Coast
forest. The forest is source of their wood, food, traditional medicines, and is also a spiritual
place where their ancestors can communicate with the living. Hobeni is “governed” by a
chief and the local people communally own and tend to the land. The “culture, based on the
primacy of the community, seems to be an ideal system for survival at a subsistence level”,
quoted from A history of the Wild Coast. The South African local government contributes

3. monthly stipends for up to 6 children per family. Women marrying and having children at a
young age has been a culturally evolving.
The project is interested in how the overlapping and differing cultures of the two
regions will be visible in the assessment of livelihoods of the communities. Because the two
regions are the exact same size it will be easy to compare density and distances. Nyanga
homes a larger population so that sample will be randomized and hold a higher percentage
of variability. Urban communities highly depend on the amount of work available and/or
self-employment activities. Contrastingly, the people of Hobeni are very intact with their
culture and will be dependent on their agriculture and other natural resource-based
activities.
Although this research is looking at the livelihoods and available assets due to space,
density, and resources, data will possess stimulating past and present cultural influences.
RESEARCH QUESTION and/or MAIN OBJECTIVE
How do the locals feel their location and available resources affects their overall
community development? The research will specifically compare each tangent of the five-
piece framework that makes up the livelihood diagram: social, personal, natural, physical,
and financial. The livelihood diagram is key for simplifying and conceptualizing the
components that form the community’s opportunities and constraints. From data collection
one will be able to analyze the interconnections of assets that support the communities
within the impoverished areas. Better asset ratings is always desirable for livelihood
diagrams because by having more access, communities will have better chances to recover
from outside shocks and disturbances.

4. Research Questions:
1. Do the people of Nyanga work to build a social network, or are people focused on finding
personal work and self-success?
2. Do rural areas hold more personal, natural and social resources because ofthe smaller
population?
3. Although there is so much physical space to fill in the rural areas, why do they not choose
to fill that space? Are other assets more crucial to the community than physical?
4. What shocks is your community exposed to?
5. Which community is more resilient to shocks? How do the communities use their
resources to recover from outside forces? How can those disturbances be displayed into
the livelihoods diagram?
6. Do communities work together differently in the “new South Africa” (after 1994)?
PROPOSED METHODOLOGY
The project will be performing informal/formal interviews with 50 households in
each community. These collections will be within the same year. Doing so will split the data
collection into two separate periods: a winter collection and summer collection period (25
each time). This is due to outside influences on mood, seasonal fluctuations of income,
community dependence and available resources. An overhead map will randomly choose
the 50 households for interviews. The research will have to take into account that during
the summer data collection it will be Christmas and some people living in Nyanga will be
migrating back to their home villages to celebrate/visit/and bring home their financial
earnings. After the households are randomly chosen, the project will inform the local

5. community member who will be working with the project to warn and explain the research.
This will give the family members a warning before the project comes to their home ready
to ask questions. If a randomly chosen household does not want to participate in the study,
we will go to the next closest home in proximity at random.
The two livelihood diagrams will have error because of the potential of variance of
opinions and ratings from the each household. Along with the error between households,
there might be differing perspectives even within households. Along with the specific
averages, graphs will be included to show the range of ratings.
EXPECTED OUTCOMES: IMPACT OF RESEARCH
The project will create an awareness of communities that live off minimal financials.
The comparison of livelihood assessments in rural versus urban areas will suggest what
impoverished communities prioritize. The two locations have diverse assets available so it
will provide information on what communities similarly value. These two locations will
help evaluate what elements may be hurting the “poor”.
ESTIMATED BUDGET
The January project budget includes costs of round trip airfare to Cape Town, rent
for a land cruiser, sleeping accommodations, and food for four consecutive weeks for two
people. This exact budget will again be needed to complete the second round of data
collection in June. The project will need a local from the community to travel and guide
when collecting data in the homes for safety reasons, familiarity of the location, and
interpretations when needed. This local will need paid for the 4 weeks in his/her

6. community. The project needs interviewing supplies; a go-pro and a voice recorder, both
will be used incase one fails. Data collection will also be recorded by excel spreadsheets to
create the ratings and averages for each livelihood assessment.
Pay for 2: $22,000, Community Member Pay: $1,280 Airfare: $5,000,
Transportation: $10,000, Electronics: $4,000 Accommodations (food): $12,000
Total: $54,280
EXPECTED TIMELINE
This study will collect the data in South Africa in January 2017 for 4 weeks
(summer) and again in June 2017 for 4 weeks (winter). The first two weeks in January will
be in Nyanga followed by 1 days travel to Hobeni followed by another 2 weeks of data
collection. This method will be repeated again in June. After collection is finished in June,
the data will be organized and averaged between the 2 different collection seasons. The
project members will analyze project information alongside Penn State University’s social
scientists and geographers. The analyses will take place throughout the following year,
with a finished report and presentation ready in June 2018.
LIST OF REFERENCES
Dennison, Clive, and Clive Dennison. A History of the Wild Coast. Ashburton, South Africa:
Brevitas, 2010. Print.
Dold, Tony, and Michelle Cocks. Voices from the Forest: Celebrating Nature and Culture in
Xhosaland. Jacana Media: n.p., 2012. Print.

7. "Nyanga Township." South African History Online. South African History Online, 13 Nov.
2013. Web.
"Suburb Profiles Nyanga." Affordable Land and Housing Data Centre. Urban Landmark, n.d.
Web.
2.2 The Livelihoods Framework." Conceptualising Development. N.p., n.d. Web.
RESUME & BIO
MONICA A. BETZ
Current Address ♦ 889 Mandy Lane ♦ Camp Hill PA 17011
email: monicabetz@comcast.net; (717)602-3523
________________________________________________________________________________
Education
Bachelor of Science in Energy Business Finance
GPA: 3.43 June 2014—present
The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA – Class of 2018
Professional Experience
Waitress July 2015—present
The Nittany Lion Inn, State College PA
Integrated the practice of customer hospitality to further my professional communication skills
Increased school work ethic and improved time management skills
Leap Mentor
Penn State’s Learning Edge Academic Program (LEAP) mentor Summer 2015
Developed leadership and planning skills for larger group activities
Gained confidence in expressing ideas in groups and with faculty members
Completed an independent research project (3 credits) through traveling abroad to Jamaica
Waitress June 2013—present
Isaac’s Restaurant and Deli, Lemoyne, PA
Performed conflict resolution by fulfilling customer requests
Demonstrated multitasking and problem solving through providing a delectable quality dining
experience for all customers
Honors and Awards
1st Place TIA Atlantic Coast Championship – Color Guard May 2013
Mastered performing as one and expressing an idea as a group
Bronze and Silver Awards – Girl Scouts 2010—2012
Enjoyed teaching, working together and guiding younger Girl Scouts
Leadership and Involvement

8. Cumberland Valley Indoor Color Guard 2006—2014
Demonstrated physical coordination throughout a group to appear as one working unit
Improved listening skills through following instructions
Cumberland Valley Marching
Established a good rapport with many audiences by working together as a whole
Girl Scouts 2000—Spring 2014
Established leadership skills by setting up and teaching Girl Scout badge programs
Mastered public speaking skills by leading activities
Pennstate Ohana- an independent THON Organization Present
Map Time State College – open learning environment Mapping chapter Present
Relevant Coursework
Parks and People South Africa Spring 2016 (Semester Abroad)
Traveled from Cape Town to the Wild Coast researching how communities interact with the
surrounding environment systems. I worked alongside local botanists while traveling through the 8
biomes to identify adaptations and species of the diverse areas. Studied the ethicality of National
Parks and private game reserves to understand the long-term impacts of these practices.
Independent Study (Research in Jamaica LEAP mentor 2015)
Developed a business plan for a start-up Online Platform for Durga’s Den’s Products (A Jamaican eco-
hostile promoting environmental protection). My proposed company promotes healthy, sustainable
lifestyles.
Participated in the Sustainability Research in Jamaica LEAP 2014
Gained personalexperience in this hands-on fieldwork, which included understanding cross-cultural
relationships, environmental differences, and working on group research projects. This class improved
communication skills and fostered group cooperation.