Jenny Peebles's blog

When urban specialist David Satterthwaite was handed a list of Asia’s fastest growing cities he didn’t recognise any of them, while the list of those with the largest annual increases in population was very familiar. Why was that?

This blog looks behind the lists featured in the tables below and seeks reasons for the unexpected dominance of China – which has five of Asia’s most rapidly growing cities 2000-2020, including three in the top ten.

Guest blogger Antarin Chakrabarty continues his tales of data discoveries made in the course of his work in the Indian state of Odisha during its ambitious slum upgrading programme.

My previous blog looked at the generation, ownership and use of GIS (geographic information system) data underpinning the slum upgrading programme. Claims that no such data existed were not true for some cities – the problem was that it had never been used; indeed senior officials were often unaware of its existence.

Guest blogger Antarin Chakrabarty reflects on how valuable data for slum upgrading programmes can be forgotten, rediscovered and then used to good effect.

When Antarin reviewed the data available on slums, he was often told – including by senior officials – that no such GIS (geographic information system) data existed, writes IIED senior associate David Satterthwaite. But he discovered that a surprising amount of relevant GIS data had indeed been collected but not used.

Guest blogger Vanesa Castán Broto describes how young people’s needs and priorities are often ignored, as is their potential to contribute creative solutions, and their role in stimulating green growth.

The methodology designed by a women-led social movement from the global South has enabled tower-block tenants in inner-city Manchester to address health and social inequalities.