Some of the fastest-growing cities in the world are in Africa. According to the United Nations, there will be over a billion people living in slums in Africa by 2050. This concentration of humanity with little clean water and no sanitation yet with a surplus of refuse presents growing public health hazards. What signals are there of new solutions to meeting these urgent issues? Read more.
With the roll out of its Firefox OS phone on July 2, 2013, the Mozilla Foundation, nonprofit provider of Firefox browser, has made a huge contribution to the open-source movement and expanding global to smart devices. The Firefox OS phone is the first mobile device to be run completely on web technologies. Launched initially in Spain, Telefónica will sell the ZTE Open powered by Firefox OS for 69 Euros (about $90), and will include 30 Euros worth of credits for pre-paid customers. Read more.
The fastest growing urban centers are also home to the world’s worst commuter experiences. Eight of the top ten painful metro areas reported in IBM’s most recent Commuter Pain Index are in fast-growth economies. Development of public transit systems is moving at a rapid pace in many areas, and some places may be investing in more than they actually need or can afford. Read more.
"Mafalala is the capital of Maputo," Ivan told me the first time we met in Mafalala, Maputo's oldest township. As in many other informal settlements, the population of Mafalala (21,000 inhabitants) lives in severely disadvantaged conditions, with insufficient and inadequate basic services and infrastructure, inadequate houses and social services, acute security and health problems, and high unemployment levels. Mafalala is, however, also a place of national pride and collective identity, with a rich history infused with the struggle for independence, a landscape marked by colorful historic corrugated iron and wood houses, and a multicultural population that live together in mutual respect for each others' traditions. Read more.
Sebagai ibukota negara dengan penduduk sekitar 10 juta jiwa, Jakarta menjadi kota dengan kepadatan lalu lintas yang tinggi. Kemacetan menjadi pemandangan sehari-hari bagi warga Jakarta. Meskipun begitu, transportasi publik tetap menjadi pilihan warga Jakarta untuk beraktifitas sehari-hari. Baca lebih lanjut.
Anyone comparing countries can quickly conclude there isn’t a direct fixed relationship between economic growth and quality public services. Per capita income can be terrible while total national income is high. Economic growth can be high yet maintain widespread inequality. This is not a sustainable way to run a country, yet this is how things are and have always been done in Brazil, the last country in the Americas to abolish slavery and today the world’s 7th largest economy where 21% of the population is still under the poverty line. Brazil today is 106th in GDP per capita. We also rank among the worst in inequality, at number 17, although this is a significant improvement over the 1st place position we occupied two decades ago. Read more.
Last week, protestors in Istanbul's Taksim Square took to the streets to stop their time-honored public meeting space from becoming a shopping mall. The city, they say, has been increasingly swallowed up by privatization and commercialization; parks and open spaces have essentially disappeared. The redevelopment story is one that Indian cities know too well. Read more or join the discussion.
A city as dynamic as Rio de Janeiro requires a similarly dynamic and effective set of institutions to plan, build, supervise, and maintain local public infrastructure. From roads and viaducts to schools and health centers, the Municipal Secretariat of Public Works (Secretaria Municipal de Obras) is the institution in charge of overseeing construction, reform, and maintenance of all of Rio's public infrastructure. For example, it is responsible for the functioning of 380,000 street lights, as well as prevention work against floods. Read more or join the discussion.
Uma cidade com o dinamismo do Rio de Janeiro precisa uma instituição igualmente dinâmica e eficiente responsável pelo planejamento, construção, supervisão e manutenção das obras públicas. A Secretaria Municipal de Obras é o órgão da Prefeitura encarregada de gerenciar novas construções, reformas e a manutenção da infraestrutura pública na cidade. Também é responsável pela adequada operação de 380 mil pontos de luz instalados e de gerenciar ações preventivas e corretivas contra as enchentes. Read more or join the discussion.
The growth of informal areas in Cairo began under Nasser's socialist reform policies that changed land ownership titles and rent control laws to provide agricultural land to small farmers. These reforms were designed as a means to protect the interests of the poor in urban areas, and were structured in a way for ownership to pass through three generations, making it virtually impossible for legal changes in land function. However, with almost no new affordable housing units for the poor, it became more profitable for landowners to build informally on these agricultural lands, leading to the growth of informal communities around the city. The government turned a blind eye to these informal communities, as they could not supply enough units to meet the growing demand for affordable housing in Cairo. These illegal settlements built on the agricultural lands were therefore not connected to the city grid, meaning that they lacked access to water, sewage, electricity, gas, and even postal services. Read more or join the discussion.