Urban blogs

Wanted: Urban data revolution for post 2015 sustainable development goals

Around a billion people live in informal urban settlements that lack essential services and security, so the concerns of these people should be high on the agenda when agreeing a new set of sustainable development goals

Co-learning for inclusive cities

Not so long ago in Zimbabwe, government officials and communities would have blamed each other for the poor state of high density, low-income neighbourhoods. But thanks to years of dialogue the two sides have come together.

From slum-dwelling carpenter to US$1.25 million prize winner

There's a surprising name on the list of winners of this year's US$1.25 million Skoll Awards for Social Entrepreneurship

Up in the air: Citizen scientists map food dangers in Nairobi

A balloon, a camera and some interviews are helping researchers map a hidden aspect of food insecurity in an informal settlement in Nairobi

Reducing risks to urban health and building climate resilience

Climate change, health and urban resilience are all connected, and this means research and policy in these arenas must join up

Work and shelter – two struggles, one reality

Urban development programmes have tended to treat livelihoods and shelter as separate problems to solve, when in fact they are closely linked. Grassroots organisations are increasingly seeking ways to tackle these challenges together.

Setting the bar too low: is there really progress on UN development goals?

The UN report on progress towards the Millennium Development Goals seems so at odds with realities on the ground, says David Satterthwaite.

COP19: Cities on the agenda at the climate talks

Cities finally got the attention they deserve at the UN climate change conference’s first ever Cities Day, but representatives from least developed cities and grassroots groups barely got a look in.

To build climate resilience cities must assess diverse drivers of vulnerability

Three new studies from Vietnam show how research can help governments devise solutions that help their citizens adapt to the effects of climate change.

Climate resilient cities: a role for the media

Journalists can remind city officials and urban residents about ‘hidden finance’ for climate resilience, and ensure the money gets well spent, says David Dodman.

Slum-dwellers show that revolutions are not built in a day

Slum dwellers across Africa and Asia have used new tactics to achieve social justice and urban rights.

8 points on financing climate change adaptation in urban areas

As the urgency for governments and international agencies to address climate change increases, an expert meeting identified eight key points on finance priorities.

How does a changing climate impact on urban poverty?

When floods hit a city, usually low-income groups are hit hardest. The devastation that such disasters cause can be linked to the failure of city governments to manage growth and build infrastructure.

Does development assistance have a future?

No one unequivocally and wholeheartedly said development assistance worked at yesterday’s debate on whether it had a future. All three panel speakers saw the need for a radical change in approach.

Rethinking finance for development in city ‘slums’

The Asian Coalition for Community Action is challenging the traditional model of aid by providing small grants to low-income communities to upgrade the ‘slums’ or informal settlements in which they live.

Basic service provision shouldn’t just be a money maker

Are utility companies forgetting that their core function is to provide services and not just make money?

6th World Urban Forum: will the agenda of slum and shack dwellers ever get considered?

David Satterthwaite asks why representatives from the federations and networks of slum or shack dwellers were absent from almost all the official events and wonders when their priorities will get the attention they deserve.

The real issue is universal access to affordable basic services

Why have global leaders endorsed partial Millennium Development Goal targets, asks Diana Mitlin, leaving millions without water, sanitation or healthcare?

Beyond the Millennium Development Goals

How can we ensure the targets that replace the Millennium Development Goals lead to a future that low-income groups want?

Why enumeration counts: documenting by the undocumented

People living in informal settlements are often deliberately left out of official surveys and maps. Now they're documenting themselves.

Debunking the myths about migration and climate change

After years of alarmist predictions of hundreds of millions of climate refugees fleeing their homes, there is now a broad-based consensus that while the impacts of climate change will increase the number of migrants, it is not the only factor that drives people to move

Thailand's floods: complex political and geographical factors behind the crisis

The scale of Thailand's floods are unprecedented. In the midst of the crisis, water management has become a politically sensitive matter

Why survivors should lead responses to disasters

People power: the urban poor are now a force to be reckoned with

Speakers at the "View from the streets" event in London showed how the urban poor can group together to bring about change

Why are the main means by which urban dwellers avoid hunger ignored?

The issue of hunger in urban areas has long been neglected, as part of a more general neglect of urban poverty. And when the issue is covered, there are some glaring gaps in the analysis