Ndumiso Donald Mahlalela comes from Mbuzini in Mpumalanga, and he is enrolled for an MSc Development Planning (DP) at the University of the Witwatersrand. In his final research project, he evaluated the challenges facing the upgrade of informal settlements in Fleurhof. The work was themed Qhawul’ amakhamandela (breaking the chains), a phrase made famous by South African singer Letta Mbulu in her song titled ‘Not Yet Uhuru’. The project examined the challenges associated with upgrades, which are intended to break the chains of spatial inequality. Some schools of thought believe that the upgrading of informal settlements is more effective in medium to dense settlements, as the upgrade process can be easily achieved through multi-story buildings (Satterthwaite, 2012). However, multi-storey buildings cannot necessarily solve the wider challenges facing a community. My research in Fleurhof investigated the problems that emerged in the course of the upgrade. I found that some housing units have been empty since their development in 2017, while aerial imagery demonstrates that despite the investment, informal settlements still exist in Fleurhof. My studies revealed that upgrading cannot be considered in isolation; it requires approaches that are inclusive.