Book notes
In many ways this is a book about relationships – for instance, between Mumbai’s urban poor and local government, between recent migrants and longer-term slum residents, and between property developers and politicians.
This edited collection emerged from the work of the Newcastle Fairness Commission, a civil society group that formulated justice principles to influence the policy of the Newcastle City Council.
Karachi, a city of around 20 million people, is facing a crisis of governance that is reflected in the poor state of service delivery, and in unplanned and unsustainable urbanization.
Twenty years ago the grassroots movement Muungano wa Wanavijiji emerged from Nairobi’s many slums to resist evictions by the Kenyan government. It confronted the nexus of politicians, government administrators and the elite to acquire the lands that the slums occupied.
Small towns are an essential but often-neglected element of rural landscapes and food systems. They perform a number of essential functions, from market nodes to providers of services, goods and non-farm employment to their own population, as well as that of the wider surrounding region.
The transfer of funds by migrants to their home countries (cash remittances) is at an all-time high. By 2017, it is predicted to rise to US$ 500 billion – and there is a growing policy consensus that cash remittances can be mainstreamed into development.
This paper examines community participation in housing projects for low-income communities in Thailand and how they have sought to “leave no one behind”. Baan Mankong, the government slum upgrading programme, is unique in how it has institutionalized participation.
This book examines urban transport in 12 countries (Brazil, China, Colombia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Mexico, Nigeria, Russia, South Africa, Turkey and Vietnam), each of which is allotted its own chapter.
Considering that over a sixth of the world’s population lives in slums or informal settlements, and that so much urban development is characterized by informality, this book is of primary importance to policymaking and development planning.
Investigation of the links between religion and cities has predominantly focused on Christianized countries in the West.