VIVA RIO: Providing health care services in low-income and violent neighborhoods
Enabling health care access in low-income neighborhoods in Rio de Janeiro is not an easy task. Violence, lack of infrastructure, and lack of trained personnel willing to work in these areas are just some of the obstacles to the improvement of health services for people living in this city's poor communities. To respond to these concerns, some non-governmental organizations have begun to partner with the local government in order to improve coverage and quality of health services in the favelas. One organization that stands out is VIVA RIO (VR), a part-research, part-service-delivery institution that has been operating as a service provider with the local government since 2008 and has successfully contributed to improvement of basic health service coverage in Rio's southern and northern zones. Currently, VR operates 57 basic health units and 2 psychosocial units, benefiting 950,000 people in 35 of the city's neighborhoods. Learn more.
Social assistance services in Rio: Reaching women in the favelas
Women living in informal settlements in Rio de Janeiro are undoubtedly among the most vulnerable inhabitants of these areas. Their lack of basic health and education services makes them vulnerable, and they are strongly affected by various forms of violence. They also earn less than men living in the favelas. In a study from 2010, the Fundação Getúlio Vargas found that women in informal settlements in the city earn an average monthly wage that is slightly more than half of what men earn (R$262 versus R$423). The same study found that the lack of education and insufficient reproductive health access has contributed to the rise of adolescent pregnancy within informal settlements, producing teen pregnancy rates five times higher in favelas than in other neighborhoods. Such well known informal settlements as Cidade de Deus and Rocinha have, respectively, 27 percent and 21 percent of newborn babies born to women who are not even 20 years old. Learn more.
Rio Cómo Vamos?
Rio Cómo Vamos ("How are we doing, Rio?"), aka RCV, is a citizen-led organization that aims to improve living conditions in the city of Rio de Janeiro. It was established in 2007 by a group of residents who took as their inspiration a successful initiative in Bogota — where, for the past 15 years, Bogotá Cómo Vamos has given residents a window on the management of the city and a way to communicate concerns and monitor improvements. The same model has been introduced in many other Latin American cities, with those organizations joining together to form the Red Latinoamericana por Ciudades Justas y Sustentables (Latin American Network for Just and Sustainable Cities). Brazil also has its own network, the Rede Brasileira por Cidades Justas e Sustentáveis (Brazilian Network for Just and Sustainable Cities), with more than 20 participating municipalities. Learn more.
Covering Rio+20: The way forward – recycling, innovation, engagement
Rio+20 has offered a space for reflection and exchange on many aspects of our relationship with the environment, as well as stimulating focused discussion on concrete changes we can make as we move forward. One such subject — one that concerns all of us in its various aspects — is waste and the need to massively reduce it, better collect it, systematically recycle it, and make it the basis for profitable green businesses. An event on Wednesday entitled PlastiCity offered an excellent opportunity to learn from different approaches to waste in its various dimensions. It touched on issues related to plastics, but also explored the importance of recycling and partnering with all actors in the "recycling chain." Learn more.
Covering Rio+20: Resilient cities
The official sessions of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development Rio+20 started today, with 193 heads of state in attendance. Although specific agreements are still to be announced, it is already known that key topics of discussion include the need for urgent measures for poverty reduction and for making communities more resilient in responding to climate change. In the meantime, the parallel sessions of Rio+20 have been discussing a range of topics, most related to these priorities; some participants have presented global, regional, and national perspectives, while others have examined these issues from a local point of view. Two events worth highlighting took place today at Rio Centro, both of which explored the importance of building more resilient communities capable of adjusting and adapting to shocks and adversity. Learn more.
Covering Rio+20: Cúpula dos Povos
The Cúpula dos Povos is located at the Aterro do Flamengo, close to the center of Rio de Janeiro. It is the main congregation point for social movements that want to have their voices heard during Rio+20. The Cúpula is also where indigenous communities from several parts of the world have gathered to discuss issues that range from climate change and poverty reduction to land rights. An estimated 1,500 to 1,700 indigenous people are said to be present at the event. Learn more.
Covering Rio+20: "The Sustainable and Just City: Rio+20 and Beyond"
With more than half of the world's population now living in cities — and estimates suggesting this figure will reach 70 percent by 2050 — the debate about how to achieve more sustainable and inclusive cities is at the heart of the Rio+20 discussions. Well worth highlighting were two events on "The Sustainable and Just City: Rio+20 and Beyond," which were sponsored by the Ford Foundation and took place June 17 at the Forte de Copacabana and June 18 at Rio Centro. Learn more.
Covering Rio+20: Let the dialogues begin!
The Rio+20 side events have just begun. The main gathering place is in the Rio Centro complex in Rio de Janeiro's southern region. The event seems well organized: there are plenty of local people helping with logistics and providing information; the venue is spacious and comfortable. There are countless rooms where different kinds of conferences, discussions and debates are taking place. There are even blogging rooms, where participants can work on their computers and report back to their virtual communities about the events ... and yes, there's a lot to report. But covering everything is just impossible, so we'll be reporting on selected events that focus on issues related to urban problems and the challenges of sustainable development in cities. Learn more.
Participação da sociedade civil no Rio+20
Vinte anos após de sediar a Eco 92, Rio de Janeiro vira novamente a cidade sede da Conferência das Nações Unidas para o Desenvolvimento Sustentável, conhecida como Rio+20, que acontecerá em Junho 20-22, 2012. Embora tenha algumas ausências de chefes de estado de países desenvolvidos, como os Estados Unidos, a conferência já tem confirmada a presença de mais de 100 chefes de governo além de mais de 50.000 participantes incluídos representantes de delegações, da sociedade civil, de empresas e da media e de outros grupos de interesse. O encontro estará focado na economia verde desde a perspectiva da sustentabilidade e da erradicação da pobreza, além da criação de um marco institucional para o desenvolvimento sustentável. Learn more.
Civil society joins the debate at Rio+20
Twenty years after hosting the first Rio Summit (in Portuguese, Eco '92), Rio de Janeiro is once again the host city for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, better known as the Earth Summit Rio+20, which will take place from June 20-22, 2012. Although state leaders from several developed nations — including the United States — will not be there, more than 100 heads of state have confirmed their attendance, along with some 50,000 other participants representing country delegations, local and global civil society organizations, key policy makers, members of the private sector and the media, and many other interest groups. The summit will focus on the green economy from the perspective of sustainability and the eradication of poverty, as well as aiming to create an institutional framework for sustainable development. Learn more.
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Street vendors in Mumbai, Part I: Introducing the city's street vendors
Mumbai's hawkers fill the bustling city streets with their colorful products, foods, and services. Selling everything from fruits and vegetables to hot snacks and fashionable footwear, hawkers provide affordable products in convenient locations, often near train stations, businesses, and market areas. Nearly one-third of the city eats from a street vendor each day, and hawking provides jobs to more than 250,000 of the city's poorest. Despite this, the municipality has taken a hostile stance on street vending, with widespread demolition of vending stalls and seizing of hawkers' goods. In a three-part series by Professor Sharit Bhowmik, an expert on street vending and labor issues at the Tata Institute for Social Sciences (TISS), we will be introduced to the city's street vendors, understand the laws governing street hawking, and explore possible solutions for integrating street hawkers more justly into urban life. Learn more.
Taking an interdisciplinary perspective: shelter for Mumbai's working homeless
Roughly one percent of the urban population in India is believed to be homeless, amounting to an estimated 3 million people sleeping under flyovers, in parks, and on pathways. Although the Supreme Court of India issued a directive in February 2010 for a fundamental right to shelter, the response of the state governments has been nothing short of embarrassing. To address this issue, micro Home Solutions (mHS) brought its interdisciplinary expertise in architecture, community engagement, and program design to homeless shelters in India — designing and building two prototypes of temporary shelters, each with a capacity of up to 80 people, at the embankment of the Yamuna River, opposite the Inter-State Bus Terminal (ISBT) in Delhi. Their aim: to influence local government models on the design and operations of homeless shelters. Learn more.
SELCO: An energy loan's ripple effects
Despite India's recent economic growth, improvement in the quality of life has not kept pace for a majority of the country's inhabitants, and the mushrooming of slums without basic infrastructure is a fact of life. One of the main consequences of India's split-screen urban economy is its radically inequitable distribution of public services — from energy, drainage and sanitation, and waste management to potable water and paved roads. Despite the willingness of the poor to pay, inefficient delivery of basic civic services is still the norm in most slums. The poor are forced to fend for themselves — even though their makeshift, homegrown solutions are often inefficient, socially unsustainable, and financially burdensome. Learn more.
Low-income housing: Creating social impact through a $240 billion business opportunity
The housing market in urban India has traditionally focused on the top end, with the lower-income segment virtually unserved. Families struggle, living in rented rooms in slums or low-income neighborhoods that are characterized by poor construction, cramped spaces, deplorable sanitary conditions, and a lack of basic neighborhood amenities. Monitor Inclusive Markets (MIM, a division of the Monitor Group) has spent the last six years working with developers, housing finance companies, governments, and other stakeholders to "make the market" in low-income urban housing. In doing so, MIM has found on-the-ground data that demonstrates that there is a profitable, scalable business with internal rates of return (IRRs) comparable to premium housing. Progressive developers and entrepreneurs have built a quality product profitably while creating social impact. Learn more.
Stepping in for Mumbai's migrant workers
On Mumbai's shoreline, one of the world's most toxic jobs goes almost completely unseen in the city. Shipbreakers, tattered laborers who come from the poorest areas of India, dismantle expired vessels by hand — wading through toxins and pulling apart asbestos-laden pieces as they inhale oil, gas, and other hazardous fumes. They work with almost no protective gear on these tons of floating toxicity — nearly all of which are the West's waste. Though the big business of shipbreaking is banned in most parts of the world, the work continues in South Asian port cities, where cheap labor and lax safety standards leave workers unprotected. Learn more.
Incubating Dharavi's industriousness
Given the ingenuity of Dharavi's half-million residents and their eagerness to improve their circumstances, the next logical step would be to apply this entrepreneurial spirit to pressing issues in the slums: improving access to healthcare, housing, water and sanitation services. As Howard Husock's article "Slums of Hope" shows, more and more agencies are awakening to the "resourceful and creative" population living in poverty. Husock quotes journalist Robert Neuwirth, who "extols slums as places where 'squatters mix more concrete than any developer. They lay more brick than any government. They have created a huge hidden economy.... [They] are the largest builders of housing in the world — and they are creating the cities of tomorrow.' In keeping with this encouraging trend, the UN even describes the Third World's informal settlements as slums of hope." Learn more.
Tackling child malnutrition with systemic change (Dasra Part 3)
After four months researching malnutrition among young children in the slums of Mumbai, Dasra concluded that child malnutrition in Mumbai's informal settlements is, at its core, a political and behavioral issue among key stakeholders specifically, caregivers and public health care providers. The resulting research report focused on children from birth to age three and surveyed 50 organizations working with marginalized communities in Mumbai, including SNEHA (Society for Nutrition, Education and Health Action), Mumbai Mobile Creches, and Apnalaya. In part three of a series on child malnutrition in Mumbai, Dasra offers insights into how the public healthcare system can be improved. Learn more.
Solutions start with a voice: Participatory development and urban governance
One of the most effective ways to influence redevelopment plans and the future of urban slums in India is to involve the people. Giving the people a voice and a path to express their concerns in a meaningful, democratic way would effectively bridge the opposing notions of "ground-up" development — by the people, for the people — versus "top-down" development — government-run with little outside input. Yet this is difficult in urban India, where the urban poor are egregiously underrepresented. If the structures do not change, the redevelopment will likely plow forward with little notice of the needs from below. Ramesh Ramanathan, co-founder with his wife, Swati, of the Bangalore-based organization Janaagraha, has written extensively on bringing about greater representation in urban governance: "India today has the smallest number of decision makers to population when it comes to public issues ... And as for the average urban resident, forget it. Imagine if this is true for the 'empowered' urban Indian, what it could be doing to the urban poor. They are twice forsaken: once because of their state, and once by the state." Learn more.
Small, scalable and eco-friendly: new ideas for transport
In the last several decades, India has seen a twenty-fold rise in the number of motor vehicles, and while private vehicle usage rates are increasingly becoming an indicator of newfound wealth and prosperity, this also translates to a significant deterioration in the quality of life of the urban poor. Huge spending on new auto-centric infrastructure, such as expressways and ring roads, encourages more private vehicle ownership and use. This auto-centric development affects public transport subsidies, and, in turn, quality and accessibility. Lower-income groups, who are solely dependent on public transport and spend up to 25 percent of their income on their mobility, are most affected, as this decreases their prospects for income, education, health, and social care, as well as secure living conditions. Learn more.
Mitigating the impact of Mithi River flooding
Mumbai's oppressive summer heat has residents awaiting the arrival of monsoon season. The rains are celebrated across the country, bringing three months of relief from soaring temperatures as well as much-needed water for farmers and their crops. In urban centers, however, the rains pose a serious threat to lives and livelihoods, especially for the poor. Slums have proliferated wherever space is available, even on disaster-prone hillsides, in floodplains, or alongside bodies of water. These shelters are flimsy in the best of circumstances. When an unexpected deluge comes down, Mumbaikers know the devastating consequences all too well. Learn more.
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Hak meruang kota?
Warga Jakarta haknya diinjak-injak. Hak warga untuk meruang kota, jauh dari impian masyarakat madani. Lagipula, masyarakat ideal itu tidak ada. Kota-kota di Eropa yang tingkat welfare-nya sudah baik saja masih sering dievaluasi dan di complain. Tapi harusnya ada yang dinamakan bahan-bahan dasar sebuah kota. Kriteria dasar ini meliputi: hak anak untuk memiliki taman bermain, hak pejalan kaki untuk berjalan di pedestrian tanpa resiko ditabrak mobil, hak air minum, hak memiliki perpustakaan yang bagus dan gratis, hak untuk bisa menghirup udara segar di taman kota, hak punya transportasi umum yang cukup dan terjangkau dan masih banyak lagi hak-hak warga Jakarta yang tidak tercapai. Ironisnya, kebanyakan penduduk tidak mengetahui hak meruang kotanya. Kota-kota di Eropa dan Amerika Serikat dianggap mewah; padahal mereka tidak mewah, hanya memenuhi kategori kebutuhan ruang publik saja. Jangan sampai ruang publik dijadikan barang mewah.
Coupling community savings groups with housing provision as a commons-creation strategy: an ecological perspective
The coupling of community savings groups and housing provision in the ACHR/IIED-ACCA process is a strategic step in a global transition toward sustainability, toward an ecological age. Why? First, it's about what that coupling means, entailing as it does the formation and consolidation of finance (through savings) and space (through housing and settlement) as common resources at a very real scale: the community. Second, it's about a fundamental problem of ecology. Learn more.
Urban poor transform slums in 100+ cities in 15 Asian nations
The lives of hundreds of thousands of people in Asian cities have been transformed thanks to an innovative project that enables the urban poor to improve their living conditions in partnership with city governments. Across Asia, ACCA's investment of US$2.3 million has unlocked US$35.6 million worth of government land for poor people's housing. ACCA has allowed people to take charge of their own development and make changes as quickly as possible and on a city-wide scale. This contrasts with the islands of development that governments and donors tend to create, and which rarely engage poor people as active participants.
Peran masyarakat sipil untuk Jakarta yang lebih baik
Permasalahan kota Jakarta yang kompleks tidak mungkin ditangani sendirian oleh pemerintah. Kabar baiknya, selepas dari cengkraman Order Baru, gerakan masyarakat sipil, khususnya yang terfokus pada problema urban, bersemai dengan subur di Jakarta. Mulai dari kelompok akar rumput yang menyuarakan hak warga miskin, sampai advokasi di media online yang digerakkan warga kelas menengah dan terbukti efektif.
Membawa suara warga kampung Jakarta ke ranah kota
Dengan segala kompleksitas kota Jakarta, sulit untuk memaksimalkan partisipasi publik dalam membuat perencanaan kota yang lebih baik. Padahal, masyarakat lokal seharusnya berpartisipasi dalam melakukan perencanaan kota untuk memastikan pembangunan yang dilakukan pemerintah sesuai dengan kebutuhan. Pemerintah DKI Jakarta memiliki metode Musrenbang (Musyarawah Perencanaan Pembangunan), sebuah sistem perencanaan botom-up yang dilakukan mulai dari tingkat RW. Namun, dalam pelaksanaannya, pelibatan warga miskin atau kelompok yang terpinggirkan dinilai belum optimal. Berita baiknya, banyak pihak yang telah menyadari hal ini. Salah satunya adalah Forum Pengembangan Partisipasi Masyarakat (FPPM), didukung oleh The Asia Foundation, yang menerbitkan buku Panduan Perencanaan Musyawarah Perencanaan Kota.
Jurus tolak banjir Jakarta
Beragam alternatif solusi ditempuh pemerintah untuk mengatasi dan mengurangi risiko banjir di Jakarta, mulai dari pembangunan kanal banjir sampai pembersihan sungai. Yang terbaru dan cukup inovatif adalah perencanaan kontingensi dan pemodelan dampak bencana melalui pemetaan partisipatif.
Pemetaan dan perencanaan kampung di Jakarta
Sulit untuk mengatakan dengan persis berapa jumlah penduduk Jakarta saat ini. 20 juta? 12 juta? 20 juta di siang hari dan 12 juta di malam hari? Sensus penduduk tidak pernah dapat sepenuhnya diandalkan karena sebagian besar warga Jakarta yang berdiam di perkampungan kumuh, contohnya, tidak memiliki Kartu Tanda Penduduk (KTP). Padahal, KTP adalah "karcis masuk" untuk mendapatkan berbagai akses terhadap fasilitas perkotaan mendasar seperti tanah, air, maupun sanitasi. Mercy Corps mencoba untuk melakukan pemetaan masyarakat di perkampungan kumuh terbesar di Jakarta, Penjaringan, khususnya yang tinggal di sekitar jalan tol layang menuju Tanjung Priok, dan mengadakan perencanaan spasial partisipatif bekerja sama dengan Kelompok Masyarakat Pecinta Kolong Tol dan Universitas Indonusa Esa Unggul.
Pelanggaran HAM dalam kasus penggusuran di Jakarta
Masalah tanah masih menjadi masalah utama bagi warga miskin di ibukota Jakarta. Meski intensitas pemberitaannya kian berkurang, penggusuran tetap merupakan momok yang menghantui masyarakat miskin Jakarta, khususnya pendatang. Sejumlah organisasi non pemerintah dan lembaga swadaya masyarakat telah lama menyuarakan keberatannya dalam praktek-praktek penggusuran yang kerap kali tidak mengindahkan hak asasi manusia (HAM). Human Rights Watch (HRW) adalah salah satu organisasi yang menyoroti hal ini dan mengusulkan solusi.
Mercy Corps monitoring quake aftermath in Indonesia
Mercy Corps reports that it is monitoring the situation in Indonesia after a powerful 8.6-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Sumatra island on Wednesday. Major aftershocks have followed. Tsunami warnings were issued for several countries, including Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand. There were reports of power outages in Aceh Province, the region closest to the first quake's epicenter, but no immediate reports of casualties or damage. All Mercy Corps staff of nearly 150 in Indonesia have been accounted for. Staff in Jakarta and in Banda Aceh reported feeling major shaking that lasted more than a minute and a series of major aftershocks. The organization says it will continue to monitor humanitarian needs arising from the quake and potential tsunami. Read more.
Kid-friendly food carts take on child malnutrition
One of the biggest problems in Jakarta's many slums is child malnutrition. Most residents of these neighborhoods don't have kitchens or cooking supplies to prepare their own meals, so they purchase cheap street food that is usually high in fat and sugar, but low in protein and nutrients. As a result of this poor diet, at least 17 percent of children throughout the city suffer from acute malnutrition, as well as anemia and stunted growth — and that percentage is much higher in the slum neighborhoods where poor families are concentrated. Another problem that plagues Jakarta's poorest areas is unemployment, with some estimates putting unemployment rates in poor neighborhoods at more than 30 percent. Both of these problems — malnutrition and unemployment — are being directly addressed by a Mercy Corps program that helps food cart vendors dish out healthy food to children. Read more.