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3 eThekwini’s Green and Ecological Infrastructure Policy Landscape
As a result, the scientific community does not share qualitative research widely,
and this resistance manifests itself in politics. Therefore, we can analytically distinguish the political role of a methodology from its procedural character. The procedural characteristics of qualitative research define how scholars use such methodologies to produce knowledge and these features often intersect. Politicians and so-called
‘hard scientists’ often refer to qualitative researchers as journalists or ‘soft’ scientists,
and define their work as unscientific, exploratory only, or subjective. Epistemologically, critics also do not refer to qualitative research as theory, but as criticism, and
often they interpret it politically, as Marxism or secular humanism. The reason for
this is that the ‘home’ of qualitative research is the world of lived experience, since
it is here where the beliefs and actions of individuals intersect with their culture
(Denzin and Lincoln 2018) and politics. My aim is to uncover the lived experience
of the interviewees, in order to gain a deeper comprehension of how their thinking
influences the municipality’s green and ecological infrastructure landscape.
3.3.1 Data Collection
In August and September of 2018, I conducted 16 interviews with eThekwini Municipal officials and other stakeholders, mainly researchers who are either directly or
indirectly involved in the implementation of green and ecological infrastructure
projects and policies. Several of these scholars are in the process of collaborating with
the municipality on numerous green and/or ecological infrastructure enterprises.
I employed a participatory and iterative data collection strategy that incorporated
a snowball technique for respondent identification (Meissner et al. 2018a), and I
administered a structured open-ended questionnaire during face-to-face interviews.
I was unable to meet two of the respondents face-to-face and therefore ran the questionnaire either telephonically or via Skype. I interviewed the respondents about
their understanding of the concept of a ‘green infrastructure’. A follow-up question from this was whether they viewed green and ecological infrastructures as two
different elements of the same phenomenon. I also asked them about their knowledge of municipal policies, plans, bylaws or standards for implementing green and
ecological infrastructures that are directly related to water security. Furthermore, I
questioned them about specific green and ecological infrastructure initiatives that
are being implemented by the municipality to improve water security. I then asked
them to evaluate the content, implementation, and the financial and social costs
and benefits of the operations. The final question was about which stakeholders the
municipality collaborates with to implement such water improvement projects. I also
conducted site visits to the Buffelsdraai Landfill, part of the Palmiet River catchment,
the River Horse wetland, eThekwini’s green roof initiative in Durban’s inner city and
the Durban Botanical Gardens. These visits afforded me the opportunity to get a firsthand view of some of the initiatives in and around the city and to photograph them.
Photographs provide a visual discourse for understanding the subject matter (Ownby
3 eThekwini’s Green and Ecological Infrastructure Policy Landscape
As a result, the scientific community does not share qualitative research widely,
and this resistance manifests itself in politics. Therefore, we can analytically distinguish the political role of a methodology from its procedural character. The procedural characteristics of qualitative research define how scholars use such methodologies to produce knowledge and these features often intersect. Politicians and so-called
‘hard scientists’ often refer to qualitative researchers as journalists or ‘soft’ scientists,
and define their work as unscientific, exploratory only, or subjective. Epistemologically, critics also do not refer to qualitative research as theory, but as criticism, and
often they interpret it politically, as Marxism or secular humanism. The reason for
this is that the ‘home’ of qualitative research is the world of lived experience, since
it is here where the beliefs and actions of individuals intersect with their culture
(Denzin and Lincoln 2018) and politics. My aim is to uncover the lived experience
of the interviewees, in order to gain a deeper comprehension of how their thinking
influences the municipality’s green and ecological infrastructure landscape.
3.3.1 Data Collection
In August and September of 2018, I conducted 16 interviews with eThekwini Municipal officials and other stakeholders, mainly researchers who are either directly or
indirectly involved in the implementation of green and ecological infrastructure
projects and policies. Several of these scholars are in the process of collaborating with
the municipality on numerous green and/or ecological infrastructure enterprises.
I employed a participatory and iterative data collection strategy that incorporated
a snowball technique for respondent identification (Meissner et al. 2018a), and I
administered a structured open-ended questionnaire during face-to-face interviews.
I was unable to meet two of the respondents face-to-face and therefore ran the questionnaire either telephonically or via Skype. I interviewed the respondents about
their understanding of the concept of a ‘green infrastructure’. A follow-up question from this was whether they viewed green and ecological infrastructures as two
different elements of the same phenomenon. I also asked them about their knowledge of municipal policies, plans, bylaws or standards for implementing green and
ecological infrastructures that are directly related to water security. Furthermore, I
questioned them about specific green and ecological infrastructure initiatives that
are being implemented by the municipality to improve water security. I then asked
them to evaluate the content, implementation, and the financial and social costs
and benefits of the operations. The final question was about which stakeholders the
municipality collaborates with to implement such water improvement projects. I also
conducted site visits to the Buffelsdraai Landfill, part of the Palmiet River catchment,
the River Horse wetland, eThekwini’s green roof initiative in Durban’s inner city and
the Durban Botanical Gardens. These visits afforded me the opportunity to get a firsthand view of some of the initiatives in and around the city and to photograph them.
Photographs provide a visual discourse for understanding the subject matter (Ownby