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2. Urban Communities as Alternative to Slums: A Case Study of Egypt's Asmarat
- Author:
- Ibrahim Ezzeddine
- Publication Date:
- 07-2024
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Arab Reform Initiative (ARI)
- Abstract:
- Egypt is one of the most prominent countries that are facing serious housing and informal settlements issues. The state has, at different times, developed many policies and development programs to deal with these issues. During the last decade, Egypt has witnessed a new development in addressing the issue of informal settlements: the establishment of new urban communities as alternative areas for rehousing those living in slums. This paper analyzes the Asmarat area as the most prominent governmental project in this regard, asking the following questions: To what extent do resettlement areas meet the basic needs of the population? Does the Asmarat project achieve economic, social, and cultural sustainability as a suitable housing project? The paper reviewed the Asmarat general plan in terms of the density of residential units, the road network, the distribution of commercial activities, green areas, and open spaces. The paper presents the geographical location of the study area, which is the Mokattam neighborhood in Cairo Governorate, and it reviews the general plan and the footprint for the area to be built; the three phases of the project; and the financial cost, which exceeded 3.35 billion Egyptian pounds (about US$69.8 million), according to what was announced on official websites. The paper uses the framework of economic, social and cultural rights as an indicator to assess the area. The first indicator assesses the methods of legal security of tenure. All legal safeguards that protect residents from forced eviction should be in place. The second indicator measures access to natural resources, safe drinking water, energy for cooking, heating and lighting, sanitation, waste disposal, drainage, and access to emergency services. The third indicator assesses the adequacy and affordability of housing costs in relation to personal income and the cost of daily living for individuals and families. The fourth indicator assesses the suitability of housing for family size in terms of space and protection from cold, humidity, heat, and the spread of infections. The fifth indicator assesses access to adequate housing for all those affected by the removal of their homes, and the need for alternative housing. The sixth indicator assesses the suitability of the housing location in terms of the availability of employment opportunities, access to basic and health services, access to health care and education services, and access to social services. The seventh indicator assesses the expression of the housing’s cultural and social identity, and the adaptation of the exterior and interior design and landscaping to this end.
- Topic:
- Urban, Informal Settlement, and Housing
- Political Geography:
- Middle East, North Africa, and Egypt
3. Building Climate Resilience in Urban Informal Settlements through Data Co-production
- Author:
- Giulia Sofia Sarno
- Publication Date:
- 03-2023
- Content Type:
- Commentary and Analysis
- Institution:
- Istituto Affari Internazionali
- Abstract:
- Climate change is worsening the number, frequency and duration of natural hazards across the globe, making disaster risk reduction and resilience building among the most pressing challenges ahead. According to UN-Habitat, informal settlements are where the impacts of climate change are the most acute in urban areas and strengthening resilience in these neighbourhoods represents a very complex yet urgent challenge.[1] Today, urban areas are home to 56 per cent of the world’s population and this figure is projected to increase to 60 per cent by 2030 and 68 per cent by 2050, with 90 per cent of the growth by 2050 expected to occur in less developed economies.[2] In these countries, population growth and displacement (including climate-driven migrations) will lead to rapid and unplanned urbanisation forcing a growing number of people into informal settlements. Currently, one billion people live in informal settlements, mostly in Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America and this figure is expected to grow to 3 billion in 2050.[3]
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Crisis Management, Informal Settlement, and Energy
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
4. Slums During COVID-19: Exploring the Unlocked Paradoxes
- Author:
- Shahaduz Zaman, Faruq Hossain, Shamael Ahmed, and Imran Matin
- Publication Date:
- 04-2021
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD), Brac University
- Abstract:
- Urban informal settlements commonly known as slums are characterized by a lack of proper housing, tenure security, and have insufficient living spaces and poor access to safe water and sanitation. Due to such living conditions, physical distancing and self-quarantine become virtually impossible in light of the global COVID-19 pandemic, and the rapid spread of infection is deemed to be highly probable. Dhaka is home to more than five million slum dwellers and has the highest number of positive cases in the country (UNICEF, 2020). However, in July 2020, the Institute of Epidemiology Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) shared that the slums of Dhaka had little to no positive cases (Shaheen & Islam, 2020). BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD) initiated an exploratory study named the “‘Paradox’ of Korail Slum During COVID-19: Ethnography of Governance From Below,” to explain this scenario by understanding the narratives and lived experiences of the slum residents, and how they understood and dealt with the pandemic. To gain a more general and holistic perspective about the slums in Dhaka, we extended this study to two more slums of the city, the Gabtali slum and the Sadek Khan slum. The study took an ethnographic approach and data were triangulated through several qualitative research methods such as in-depth interviews (IDI), key informant interviews (KII) and participatory rapid appraisal. The study revealed how the slum residents themselves used their collective agency to take several robust medical and communal measures to tackle the pandemic.
- Topic:
- Informal Settlement, COVID-19, and Slums
- Political Geography:
- Bangladesh and South Asia
5. Political Accountability in Ghanaian Slums: Evidence from the Grassroots
- Author:
- Jeffrey W. Paller
- Publication Date:
- 09-2021
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Ghana Center for Democratic Development
- Abstract:
- More than 5.5 million Ghanaians live in slums. The majority of these people live in the Greater Accra Region. Contrary to popular portrayals of these communities as criminal havens and cut off from the state, slums are important spaces for citizens to interact and engage with the government. Based on one year of fieldwork, this study reveals considerable differences in the levels of political accountability and governance in Ghanaian slums. This research study asks: Why are some communities able to attract and manage state resources to build toilets, construct sewers, pave roads, collect garbage, and provide security while others are unable to attract and manage these same services? In this paper, I suggest three factors that help shape the development of slum communities: 1. Historical conditions and informal institutions 2. State-society linkages, and 3. Political accountability mechanisms I compare and contrast political dynamics in Old Fadama, Ga Mashie and Ashaiman—all slum areas in Greater Accra Region.
- Topic:
- Politics, Accountability, Services, Informal Settlement, and Slums
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Ghana
6. Slipping Through the Cracks: The Demolition of a Government Homeless Shelter in an Informal Settlement: The Case of Amir Khusro Park
- Author:
- Ashwin Parulkar, Manish, and Sunil Kumar
- Publication Date:
- 12-2019
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for Policy Research, India
- Abstract:
- In May 2017, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) demolished a Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) shelter located in an informal settlement in South Delhi’s Amir Khusro Park. DUSIB had built the shelter in response to a 2014 Delhi High Court Order. DDA demolished the same structure in cognizance of a 2015 Delhi High Court Order, issued in response to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by a private citizen urging the state to remove illegal encroachments in the area. The demolition of the shelter led to the eviction of various groups of people in Khusro Park: families in self-constructed ‘jhuggis’; women in the DUSIB shelter managed by a local NGO; and various people in a temporary shelter not authorized by government agencies. Field visits revealed connections between these settlements. Women and children of some jhuggi families, for instance, lived in the shelter where food, nutrition, documentation, education and health services were provided by the managing NGO for shelter residents and joint and nuclear jhuggi families. In this context, the report raises and responds to two salient questions. What makes homeless shelters in Delhi vulnerable to government sanctioned demolition and eviction? What is the implication of the particular case of Amir Khusro Park on the fate of shelters in Delhi’s other numerous informal geographies? The authors examine events that preceded and unfolded during and after the demolition through ethnographic research in Khusro Park, interviews with government officials and NGO social workers, and legal analysis of both Supreme and High Court Orders and policies that assign powers to various federal, state and municipal land owning agencies. The report finds that Khusro Park residents’ Court-substantiated, though broadly defined, rights to live in shelters and urban informal settlements were violated by government agencies, such as DDA. Such government agencies are permitted to undermine general rights urban poor people have to city spaces and resettlement through the existence of specific provisions that categorize jhuggi and shelter residents on government land ‘encroachers’. The authors conclude that due process measures of DUSIB’s current resettlement policy – land surveys, provision of notice and rehousing – should be based on a thorough understanding of (a) types and nature of settlements along the informal urban housing continuum (b) infrastructure and services used by residents and (c) the nature of contracts between (i) state and federal agencies and (ii) government agencies and NGOs that authorize land use and service provision.
- Topic:
- Government, Poverty, Public Policy, Resettlement, Urban, Informal Settlement, and Homelessness
- Political Geography:
- South Asia, India, and Asia
7. New Technologies for Improving Old Public Security Challenges in Nairobi
- Author:
- Mads Frilander, Jamie Lundine, David Kutalek, and Luchetu Likaka
- Publication Date:
- 06-2014
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Igarapé Institute
- Abstract:
- This Strategic Note maps out the digital environment shaping public security in selected informal settlements of Nairobi. It considers the diverse ways in which information communication technologies (ICTs) are being adopted by Kenyan police in informal settlements and by the community in Mathare, one of Nairobi’s most violent informal settlements (or slum). It highlights the views and attitudes of police working in different informal settlements and identifies opportunities and challenges for the introduction of new smart policing tools in the Nairobi context. The use of digital technologies can potentially enhance accountability within the police while simultaneously providing a layer of protection for patrolling officers and improved community safety. The report was prepared as part of the Smart Policing project coordinated by the Igarapé Institute in cooperation with Google Ideas and partners in Cape Town, Nairobi and Rio de Janeiro. The initiative is intended to employ a technology-driven approach to improving the accountability, responsiveness and effectiveness of city-based policing strategies and public security promotion. The research in Nairobi was conducted by the Danish Demining Group (DDG) and Spatial Collective
- Topic:
- Science and Technology, Police, Informal Settlement, and Public Security
- Political Geography:
- Kenya and Africa