Urban Planning

What 2013 taught India about including women in urban planning

This time last year, a horrific event took place in India. A young girl and her male friend took a late-night bus ride in Delhi after a movie; it ended up being the girl's last. In the bus, she was gang raped and so brutally assaulted that even an emergency medical flight to Singapore couldn't save her. The incident sparked national and international outrage; protestors poured into the streets of India's major cities to force more stringent laws to protect women against violence. Read more or join the discussion.

Submitted by Carlin Carr — Mon, 12/23/2013 - 00:00

El 2013 nos enseñó que la visión de una ciudad es la inclusión de sus ciudadanos

A lo largo del 2013 comentamos sobre diversas estrategias de inclusión y de superación de la pobreza en la Ciudad de México. Si bien las soluciones son variadas e innovadoras, un factor central en la solución de estos problemas es el involucramiento de la participación de la población que vive las situaciones de conflicto; puesto que desde un enfoque de participación para el desarrollo, ellos son los expertos que priorizan e identifican las necesidades y áreas de oportunidad de su desarrollo. Leer más o discutir.

Submitted by Maria Fernanda Carvallo — Mon, 12/23/2013 - 00:00

Kenya at 50

On the 12th of December, Kenya celebrated Jamhuri (Independence) Day. The event came at the end of a year that played host to a roller coaster of emotions for all those who have a part of themselves invested in this country. Nairobi's 2013 was a year that witnessed impressive progress in terms of infrastructure development, but in which the government made no significant progress on providing services to the city's numerous slum dwellers. It was a year in which Nairobians came together in great shows of unity, but also saw neighborhoods turn against each other; a year of victories and pride, but also one of great loss and shame. 2013 was the year in which it became clear to what extent corruption puts everyone's security at risk and the year that the term "Silicon savannah" began to gain serious traction in the business world. Read more or join the discussion.

Submitted by Katy Fentress — Mon, 12/23/2013 - 00:00

Lagos: Development with opportunities for inclusive growth

Lagos is the most populous city state in Nigeria, home to over five percent of the nation's 166 million residents, and ever growing. To manage this large group of people and to create an environment that is not only safe and accommodating but also filled with opportunities for improved living and continuous growth, the state government and various civil society organisations have spent 2013 working on a number of ingenious projects to achieve these goals. Read more or join the discussion.

Submitted by Wura — Mon, 12/23/2013 - 00:00

Educating new planners in Africa, but what is the future?

Within development studies a shift has been identified. An increasing sense of consciousness has emerged on whose ideas are being used to theorise development practice, whether they are applicable, and offer effective solutions. The post-development school of thought is centred on deconstructing 'universal' ideas of development. Novel viewpoints have emerged which are transforming how the 'developing' world is understood and what role citizens of the Global South can play. With post-development thought, urban researchers, and planners, are advancing new thinking to plan inclusive cities in the Global South. In a succeeding event on urbanisation at the African Research Institute, the subject matter was how urban planning in Africa is adapting for the future. Read more.

Submitted by Editor — Thu, 12/19/2013 - 15:32

Nature-Related Graffiti in Cape Town

Many of us think of urban graffiti as a nuisance, as an illegality, as a challenge to authority. Exactly, especially the last one. And it is also a form a communication, sometimes the only form available to people who aren't so well represented in the media. Alex Alonso wrote an interesting piece on urban graffiti and its typologies, and discussed how graffiti can provide insight into societal attitudes and perceptions. Graffiti includes political commentary, personal or 'existential' messages, gang-related territorial demarcation, simple 'tags', elegant 'piecing' where tags or names are elaborate, and larger works that, more obviously like art, that combine comment with an clear aesthetic. Read more.

Submitted by David Maddox — Mon, 12/16/2013 - 15:25

Exciting projects and new books from Mumbai for the holidays

In early November, the Duchess of York and Prince Charles visited Mumbai. The royal couple had many stops on their itinerary, but one of those was a very special project we featured for this issue last year, Mumbai Mobile Creches. For decades the organization has been quietly working in the most invisible parts of the city — the construction sites where families from poor villages around the country make their home temporarily to engage in this work for months or years on end. Mumbai Mobile Creches provides a school and daycare for the children of these families, and has expanded into working to help them receive proper medical care and check-ups. Read more or join the discussion.

Submitted by Carlin Carr — Mon, 12/16/2013 - 00:00

Proyectos que merecen apoyo: El Corredor Verde de Cali

Todos los años por estas fechas se nos pide que identifiquemos un proyecto que valga la pena apoyar. En esta ocasión la elección para mi ha sido obvia: el Corredor Verde de Cali, probablemente el mas ambicioso proyecto de renovación urbana en Colombia. Busca convertir unas vías ferroviarias casi en completo desuso, en un parque lineal por el que discurran medios de transporte público con bajas o nulas misiones de gases de efecto invernadero. El corredor tiene una longitud de 15 kilómetros, atravesando la ciudad de norte a sur, a los que hay que añadir un ramal de 7 kilómetros de longitud de este a oeste. El ancho medio es de unos 100 metros. Leer más o discutir.

Submitted by Jorge Bela — Mon, 12/16/2013 - 00:00

Three books on African cities

With the holiday season upon us, here are some book suggestions that will be particularly relevant for those involved in the city as urban scholars, professionals, or activists, or interested in issues of urbanism and sustainability in cities. The following books from the African Centre for Cities (ACC) are significant contributions to the study of urbanism in African cities. Read more or join the discussion.

Submitted by Tariq Toffa — Mon, 12/16/2013 - 00:00

هدايا العيد: القاهرة

أثارت جوانب مدينة القاهرة التاريخية، و المعمارية، والثقافية، و الاقتصادية، و السياسية عديد من المؤلفات والكتابات الأدبية المختلفة عن المدينة .و مع أخذ ذلك في الاعتبار، لدي ثلاث اقتراحات لكتب مميزة عن تاريخ القاهرة العريق, و لوجستيات و تعقيدات هذه المدينة.

Submitted by Howaida Kamel — Mon, 12/16/2013 - 00:00

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