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Environment and Urbanization

DOI: 10.1177/0956247804016001182004; 16; 231Environment and Urbanization Book Notes

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Environment&Urbanization Vol 16 No 1 April 2004 231

Book Notes

Book Notes gives short descriptions of recently publishedbooks, papers and reports on all subjects relevant to theenvironment and development. Priority is given to items

produced by research groups and NGOs in Africa, Asia andLatin America. Book Notes also includes short descriptionsof newsletters and journals. Send us a copy of any publica-

tion you would like included; we produce Book Notes of publications in English, Spanish, French or Portuguese.Enclose details on prices for those ordering from abroad,and how payment should be made.

The Book Notes in this issue are grouped under the follow-ing headings:

I. Building Management

II. Demography III. EvictionsIV. Fiction on Urban Areas

V. Governance VI. Health VII. Housing VIII. Poverty and Poverty ReductionIX. Research

X. Rural–Urban XI. Sustainable Development XII. Transport XIII. Urban

a. Urban changeb. Urban conservationc. Urban form

XIV. Water and Sanitation

Book Notes







I. BUILDING MANAGEMENT

Tendering of New Small and Medium-sized Institutional BuildingsT or Forsman, 2003, 14 pages, ISSN 1100-9446.Published by and available from Housing,Development and Management (HDM), Lund

University, Box 118, S-221 00 LUND, Sweden; e- mail [email protected]; web site: http://www.hdm.lth.se

THIS REPORT, ONE of a series supported by Sida andproduced by HDM at Lund University, is drawnprimarily from the author’s experience as both aplanner and builder in Ethiopia, Tanzania, Kenya and

Jerusalem. Although the title suggests that the focus is just on the tendering phase of the construction process,in fact the report looks at the whole building process,from the initial briefing stage to the final inspection.This is a brief document and nothing is covered in

detail – but it outlines the issues that should be takeninto consideration in identifying needs, translatingthese into a building programme, developing acontract, dealing with budgeting issues, managing theconstruction process and providing the instructionsnecessary to ensure for proper use and maintenance.Four important recommendations are outlined: theneed for good communication among all parties, theneed for good clear documents, attention to the localculture, and a clear division of responsibility. The

booklet includes a checklist of steps for each part of the process, and a brief bibliography of practical

resources.

II. DEMOGRAPHY

Cities Transformed: DemographicChange and its Implications in theDeveloping WorldMark R Montgomery , Richard Stren, Barney Cohen and Holly E Reed (editors), 2003, 518 pages, ISBN 0-309-08862-3. In the USA,published and available from the National

Academics Press, 500 Fifth Street, NW, Lockbox 285, Washington DC 20055; in Europe, published by and available from Earthscan Publications,8–12 Camden High Street, London NW1 0JH, UK;e-mail: [email protected]; web site:www.earthscan.co.uk

THIS BOOK WAS prepared by a panel formed by theUS National Research Council to provide a betterunderstanding of the dynamics of urban populationgrowth and its causes and consequences in low- andmiddle-income countries. It focuses on six main areas:

urban population dynamics and city growth (and whylocation matters); social and economic differentiationwithin and across cities; fertility and reproductivehealth in urban areas; mortality and morbidity in urban

areas (is city life good for your health?); the urbaneconomy and its implications for the urban labourforce; and, finally, the challenge of urban governance.One key theme of the book is the need for demogra-phers to pay more attention to urban change and themarshalling of evidence to show why.

After an introduction explaining its aims and objec-tives, the book discusses why location matters, espe-cially the ways in which urban environments caninfluence demographic behaviour. It reminds thereader of what should be obvious – individuals andfamilies (demographic decision makers) are embed-ded in social contexts that influence their decisions,and this implies the need to understand the influenceon such decisions of urban homes and neighbour-hoods and of their labour markets and social organi-zations. Chapter 3 discusses the regional and globalnetworks of trade, finance and information withinwhich cities are located, and the scale and nature of

urban growth. This is followed by a discussion of urban population dynamics, which includes a reviewof what Demographic and Health Survey data tell usabout fertility, mortality, migration and urban agestructure. Chapter 5 examines social and economicdiversity within urban areas. This includes docu-menting the multiple dimensions of urban poverty,and how urban poverty differs from rural poverty; italso discusses how basic service provision in urbanareas varies according to city size. Chapters 6 and 7discuss in detail what is known about fertility andreproductive health and morbidity and mortality

among urban populations. Chapter 8 discusses theurban economy and its labour force from the demo-graphic perspective. Chapter 9 discusses the chal-lenges to national and local governments of rapidurban change, illustrated with short case studies of Riode Janeiro, São Paulo, Manila, Abidjan and MexicoCity. The book concludes with recommendations anda discussion of the new directions needed if demo-graphic research is to contribute to addressing theproblems so often associated with rapid urban change.

Y outh Explosion in Developing World

CitiesBlair A Ruble, Joseph S T ulchin, Diana H Varat with Lisa M Hanley, 2003, 139 pages. Published by and available from Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington DC 20004,USA; web site: www.wilsoncenter.org.

THIS BOOK IS a collection of papers presented byexperts and practitioners at a forum on urban youth,poverty and conflict, sponsored by the ComparativeUrban Studies Project at the Woodrow Wilson Center,

and focused on giving youth greater priority on thepolicy agenda.

The papers cover a variety of issues and challengemany traditional assumptions. Part I looks at demo-

232 Environment&Urbanization Vol 16 No 1 April 2004

Book Notes








graphic shifts and conflict in an urban age, exploringissues of inequality, conflict, unemployment and infor-mal education, and the challenge of integrating alien-ated young people into urban society.

Part II deals with the issue of youth unemploymentand describes a number of programmes that aim toinclude young people in the labour market, looking atthem as an asset rather than a problem. The critical roleof local government in improving opportunities foryouth in the formal economy is discussed, and the needfor policy makers to come to terms with today’s reali-ties.

Part III concentrates on street children, the chal-lenges they face and the need for alternative ways of working with them. This section concludes with apaper on urban youth in Russia.

III. EVICTIONS

How Poor People Deal with Evictions Asian Coalition for Housing Rights, 2003, 48 pages. Housing by People, Number 15, October, Asian Coalition for Housing Rights, Bangkok.Published by and available from the Asian Coalition for Housing Rights, 73 Soi Sonthiwattana 4, Ladprao Road Soi 110, Bangkok 10310,Thailand; e-mail:[email protected]; web site:www.achr.net

THIS PUBLICATION BY the Asian Coalition for

Housing Rights focuses on how poor people deal witheviction. The articles cover a number of issues, includ-ing investigating the causes of eviction; dealing withdifferent forms of eviction; and exploring ways toprevent poor communities from losing their homes. Alot is shown to depend on the active engagement of households at risk in a constructive dialogue withmunicipalities, often with help from CBOs and/orNGOs. This publication includes a variety of storiesabout communities negotiating alternatives to evic-tion. Over time there has been a remarkable change inhow community organizations deal with the issue.

Rather than being defensive and reacting only wheneviction is about to happen, they are becoming moreproactive, and developing realistic alternatives long

before eviction becomes an issue. Such work requiresa change in the relationship between the differentactors in the city, most importantly between the poorand their municipalities. This publication shows howthis has been done and how it can continue in thefuture through a process of preparation, dialogue andsolution-building to develop long-term securehousing. It includes examples from India, the Philip-pines, Indonesia, Beijing, Malaysia, Thailand,

Pakistan, Cambodia, South Africa, Japan andZimbabwe, presenting strategies and tools that have

been developed and applied in response to specificlocal circumstances.

IV . FICTION ON URBAN AREAS

Brick LaneMonica Ali, 2004, 496 pages, ISBN: 0552771155.Published by and available from Black Swan,London.

THIS BOOK FOLLOWS the life of Nazneen, a woman born into a Bangladeshi village. At the age of 18, she issent to England in an arranged marriage with a 40-year-old man who works for the local council. There, shemust come to terms with her mother’s death, regain arelationship with her sister and find her own future.

The author paints a picture of life in the East End of London. She describes the friends that Nazneen makesand the other people who emerge to play a part in herlife and that of her husband. There is Mrs Islam, wholends money at usurious rates; Dr Azad who appears asall-powerful but whom they discover with shock to

have a very untraditional Bengali family; and Raziawho, like Nanzeen, is young but slightly more assimi-lated into the English way of life. From her flat on acouncil estate, Nazneen follows the story of her sister,who ran away to Dhaka in a love marriage inBangladesh, only to leave her husband when he beat her.

As Nazneen raises her two children in England, soshe begins to find new opportunities for herself. Shelives with her husband and his growing frustrationwith the discrimination he encounters in his council job.She accepts her role as wife but begins to look for some-thing more. Work as a seamstress when her husband is

out driving leads to an affair with the man who bringsthe material. Karim is actively involved in establishinga group for Muslim rights and culture, and the anti-racist politics of the 1990s become a further medium toexplore Nazneen’s own emerging identity.

This book has been the subject of some controversyfor the accuracy of the picture it draws of this migrantcommunity. The author argues that this is simply afictional story of one woman’s life and her search foridentity and belonging.

V . GOVERNANCE

International Symposium onGovernment, Governance and Urban

Territories in Southern AfricaUniversity of Zambia, Lusaka 21–22 November 2001, edited by Dr Mark C Mulenga, UNZA and Pr. Alain Dubresson, University of Paris X. A copy of this may be obtained from Professor Dubresson; e-mail him at Alain.dubresson @u-paris10.fr

THIS VOLUME OFFERS 15 papers exploring aspectsof urban change in Southern Africa. As noted in thetitle the common thread is that of government andgovernance, and the collection begins with an


Book Notes








overview paper exploring the meaning of these termsin this regional context. The papers that follow aredivided into three sections: local authorities, urbanpolicies and economic dimensions of urban manage-ment; local authorities, urban policies and territorialequity – focusing on urban services; and politico-terri-torial restructuring and urban transformation. Reflect-ing this division, there is a particular focus on issuessuch as land, infrastructure and services, and the chal-lenges of urban planning.

Most of the papers examine a particular city or townin some detail. The individual cities discussed includeCape Town (SA), Durban (SA), Chipata (Zambia),Windhoek (Namibia), Harare (Zimbabwe) and PortShepstone (SA). In some cases, the same city is analysed

by a number of authors writing individually. Together,the papers in this collection offer varied and detailedinsights into the challenges facing urban developmentin this region. While there are few answers, there is a

wealth of understanding from a part of the world inwhich citizens are struggling to realize their needs farfrom the centres of economic power.

Realigning Actors in an Urbanizing World: Governance and Institutionsfrom a Development PerspectiveI S A Baud, and J Post (editors), 2002, 425 pages, ISBN: 0 7546 3386 1. Published by and available from Ashgate Publishing Ltd, Gower House, Croft Road, Aldershot, Hants GU11 3HR,UK; in the USA, Ashgate Publishing Ltd, Suite 420,

101 Cherry Street, Burlington, VT 05401-4405;http://www.ashgate.com.

THE EXTENT OF change in conventional developmentmodels in recent decades is remarkable. In the 1960sand 1970s, government was considered to have themain role in progress towards development. By the1990s, development was viewed as a common chal-lenge to government, the private sector and civilsociety. At present, government is seen more as an”enabler”, an intermediary working with various agen-cies and organizations in different forms of partnership

aimed at urban and regional development, in anattempt to alleviate poverty through collective action.

This book is a compilation of contributions frompolicy makers, practitioners and academics. The firstpart, Urban Economics and the Local–Global Interface,focuses on cities as the engine of economic develop-ment and looks at the external relations of urbaneconomies, as well as the diversity of activities withinthe spatial confines of a city. It covers such topics ascompetition and public policy, the advantages of citiesin terms of human and financial capital, infrastructureand communication systems, the influence of local

actors on economic prosperity, and approaches tosupporting increased integration with globalizedmarkets.

The second part, Local Government, Partnerships and

Urban Development, looks at various approaches to localmanagement and includes chapters on the HealthyCities’ Programme initiated by the WHO, decentraliza-tion and participation in urban centres in Bolivia, andpartnerships in dealing with solid waste managementin Ghana and India.

Part III, Livelihood, Rural-Urban Linkages and RegionalDevelopment, considers such themes as global homoge-nization and local differentiation, the exclusion of people and localities, the social and economic relationswithin rural-urban linkages, the concept of sustainablelivelihoods, and new approaches to regional develop-ment planning.

The final part, Urban Poverty Reduction: Mapping thePolicy Arena, looks at policy and action on urbanpoverty. Contributors point to the need to move awayfrom traditional anti-poverty policies to more flexible,diversified approaches. The constraints faced by aidagencies in tackling urban poverty are considered and

the diversity of options available to local governmentsfor combating poverty are discussed, with an emphasison the importance of strengthening the informal sectorand improving urban services.

Participatory Processes for Policy ChangeIIED, 2003, 98 pages. PLA notes – Participatory Learning and Action, No 46, IIED, London. The printed edition can be obtained from http://earthprint.com/ for US$9; an electronic edition may be obtained at no charge from


PLA NOTES (NOTES on Participatory Learning andAction) is a journal published by the International Insti-tute of Environment and Development three times ayear, and it presents papers by practitioners and fieldworkers on participatory methodologies from all overthe world. It reflects and shares various experiences,innovations and obstacles encountered in the field. Itsinformal quality encourages frank opinions and discus-sion.

Number 46 (February 2003) is a special issue present-

ing material generated during an e-forum set up fordiscussion after the publication of “Prajateerpu: A Citi-

zens’ Jury/Scenario Workshop on Food and Farming Futures for Andhra Pradesh, India”. The focus was the necessityfor both policy and action-oriented research to considerand incorporate the views of all those who are affected.

The pieces on Prajateerpu were contributed by anumber of practitioners, who voiced their concerns andopinions and discussed this type of grassroots develop-ment approach with respect to the methodology usedand the credibility, transparency and accountability of government and other concerned agencies in incorpo-

rating the voices of the poor into policy planning.A more general section of this issue covers a range

of topics including AIDS in Myanmar, women’s welfarethrough participatory methods, and the assessment of


Book Notes








participatory methods in promoting cultural heritagein New Zealand.

Urban Environment Management: LocalGovernment and Community Action Archana Ghosh (editor), 2003, 336 pages, ISBN:8180690407. Published by and available from

Concept Publishing Company, A/15–16,Commercial Block, Mohan Garden, New Delhi,110 059, India.

RAPID GROWTH IN urbanization and industrializa-tion in low- and middle-income nations brings aboutdeterioration in the environmental status of urbancentres. There has been urgency in recent years inmanaging environmental degradation and reducing itsimpact on health, productivity and the quality of life.

This book is the outcome of an international confer-ence held in Kolkata (Calcutta) in November 2001. It

provides insights into the environmental problemsplaguing urban areas from a cross-country perspective,and discusses the management and implementation of environmental policies by local municipalities and civilsociety organizations, as well as participation bycommunities.

Contributors to the book are involved in differentagencies, providing perspectives that reinforce thesignificance of partnerships between local governmentand the community in urban environmental manage-

ment for sustainable development. The book has twoparts. Part I describes urban environment managementand the role of local government, NGOs and commu-nity initiatives, stressing the importance of grassrootsdemocracy for sustainable urban settlements in thefuture. Part II consists of a number of case studies whichillustrate a range of circumstances that can affect envi-ronmental management. These include discussions of environmental improvement for the urban poor inAndhra Pradesh, the role of community in solid wastemanagement in Dhaka, and the influence of the politi-cal context on community participation in Sri Lanka.

VI. HEALTH

Population and Health Dynamics inNairobi’s Informal Settlements APHRC, 2002, 256 pages. This is published by

and available from the African Population and Health Research Center, PO Box 10787, 00100 GPO, Nairobi, Kenya; e-mail: [email protected];website: http://www.aphrc.org

THIS IS A detailed report and analysis of findings froma household survey from a representative sample of theinhabitants of Nairobi’s informal settlements carriedout in 2000. It reports on the demographic and healthproblems facing this population – which represents


Book Notes

Table 1: Mortality rates for infants and young children in the informalsettlements of Nairobi

Location Neonatal Post-neonatal Infant Under-five Prevalence Prevalencemortality rate mortality rate mortality mortality rate of diarrhoea* of diarrhoea

with blood*

Nairobi informal 30.4 60.9 91.3 150.6 30.8 11.3settlements (average)

Nairobi informal settlements in:

Central 24.5 43.5 68.0 123.1 34.6 13.6

Makadara 34.1 52.2 86.3 142.7 20.4 40.0

Kasarani 19.2 58.2 77.4 124.5 30.8 9.2

Embakasi 111.1 52.5 163.6 254.1 27.6 9.1

Pumwani 16.3 56.3 72.6 134.6 26.7 12.5

Westlands 23.1 79.9 103.0 195.4 30.4 12.2

Dagoretti 0.0 35.0 35.0 100.3 26.0 10.5

Kibera 35.1 71.1 106.2 186.5 36.9 9.8

National** 28.4 45.3 73.7 111.5 17.1 3.0

Rural** 30.3 45.7 75.9 113.0 17.1 3.1

Nairobi** 21.8 16.9 38.7 61.5 12.9 3.4

Other urban** 16.9 39.8 56.6 83.9 19.4 1.7

* Percentage of children under three years of age with watery diarrhoea and diarrhoea with blood during the two weekspreceding the survey.** Based on the 1998 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey.








around half of Nairobi’s two million or so inhabitants.It was designed to provide data that was comparable tothe 1998 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey, andthus to show how conditions in these informal settle-ments compare with those for the rest of Kenya’s popu-lation. It presents detailed findings on the demographic,economic and social characteristics of households(including fertility levels and factors that influencethese, infant and child mortality, maternal and childhealth, HIV/AIDs and other sexually transmitteddiseases and social and health profiles of adolescents).The findings demonstrate just how poor the livingconditions and health outcomes can be among thepoorer populations of large cities – and how these can

be hidden by aggregate statistics for cities. Aggregatedstatistics for Nairobi, for instance, for infant or childmortality rates, are significantly lower than the nationalaverage or the rural average, but this is largely becauseof the concentration of middle- and upper-income

groups within Nairobi. The table on the previous pageshows just how high infant and child mortality rates arein Nairobi’s informal settlements. This report is anexample of a new generation of household surveys thatfocus on particular cities to show the scale of depriva-tion and disadvantage within them and who is mostaffected.

VII. HOUSING

The Challenge of Slums: Global Report

on Human Settlements 2003UN–Habitat, 2003. Published by and available from Earthscan Publications, 8–12 Camden High Street, London NW1 0JH, UK; e-mail:[email protected]; web site:www.earthscan.co.uk; also available in bookstores; price: £25; in USA, 22883 Quicksilver Drive, Sterling, VA 20166-2012, USA.

THE UNITED NATIONS expects that the number of slum dwellers in the world will increase from itspresent 924 million to about 2 billion in the next 30

years. The United Nations Millennium Declarationaddresses this problem, setting the target of achieving“…significant improvement in the lives of at least 100million slum dwellers by the year 2020”. This objective isnot just about solving the housing situation of the slumdwellers but also includes responses to poverty, unem-ployment and access to basic services. This reportdiscusses the development goals to be prioritized andidentifies approaches to achieving the target. Itpresents global estimates for the number of slumdwellers, discusses local and national factors underly-ing the formation of these slums, their economic and

social dynamics and the chief policies and approachesto dealing with slums.

The first part of the report outlines the MillenniumDevelopment Agenda and provides background on the

process of urbanization that leads to problems of slums.It discusses “official” and “unofficial” definitions of slums and poverty based on such indicators as income,household size, urban growth and types of tenure. Thesecond part deals with the socioeconomic dimensionand dynamics of the slums. It analyses the conditionsof the formation of slums in the national and localcontext, and the types and characteristics of slums withregard to location, age and population size. The lastsection studies new development policies andresponses for improving slum conditions, alleviatingpoverty, and achieving “cities without slums” in thelong term. The report concludes with recommendationsfor increased transparency and accountability, and forpolicies which must be formulated in order to achievethe universal goal. The book is supported by informa-tive graphics, case studies and statistical data to illus-trate and demonstrate various statements and facts.

A Possible Way Out: FormalizingHousing Informality in Egyptian Cities Ahmed M Soliman, 2004, 289 pages, ISBN: 0 7618 2702 1. Published by and available from the University Press of America, 4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706,USA; in the UK, PO Box 317, Oxford OX2 9RU,UK, web site: www.univperess.com.

THIS BOOK DESCRIBES a comparative study oninformal housing areas in three Egyptian cities – Cairo,Alexandria and Tanta – as part of an effort to suggest

alternative approaches to legalizing, integrating andimproving informal housing in Egypt. Informalhousing is considered here as a significant asset in theeffort to improve the economic status of the poor – butalso as a valuable factor contributing to the nationaleconomic situation.

The book opens with an introduction to a range of concepts and issues – it discusses distinctions between“slums” and “squatter settlements”; the history of thenotion of the “informal” sector; typologies of informalhousing; and gives an overview of land provision inEgypt. This background provides the context for

considering the six case studies (two from each of theselected cities). First, the broad patterns of growth ineach of the cities is considered, along with the develop-ment of informal housing for the poor. Current housingpolicies are discussed, and the fact that, although thereis a huge public housing programme in Egypt, this has,perhaps predictably, failed to produce affordablehousing for the poor.

The factors that contribute to informal developmentin each city are described in some detail, along with theprocesses of land invasion and the complex and diverseforms that informal housing development takes. This

can range from semi-informal housing for whichowners have legal tenure, to ex-formal settlements thatmay have been modified over time in illegal ways, orwhich may have confused tenure status, to squatter


Book Notes








settlements with a range of dif ferent levels of illegalityand insecurity.

The author describes the gradually more accommo-dating attitude of the Egyptian government to informalhousing after decades spent trying to eradicate it.Various kinds of partnership are described andreviewed: partnership between the public and privatesectors in land provision for housing the urban poor;partnerships in tackling cost-recovery for housingprojects; and partnerships in simplifying buildingprocedures and in dealing with land transactions andregistration. The author argues that, for a number of reasons, formalizing informal housing areas is criticalto improving the operation of urban land markets.Following de Soto (who wrote the foreword for this

book), he stresses that informal assets remain hiddencapital that lacks value for securing loans, and thatformalized titles are critical to opening the doors tocredit.

VIII. POVERTY AND POVERTY REDUCTION

Empowering Squatter Citizen: The Rolesof Local Governments and Civil Society in Reducing Urban Poverty Diana Mitlin and David Satterthwaite (editors),2004. Published by and available from Earthscan,8–12 Camden High Street, London NW1 0JH, UK;e-mail: [email protected]; web site:

www.earthscan.co.uk; in the USA, 22883 Quicksilver Drive, Sterling, VA 20166-2012, USA.

THIS BOOK SUGGESTS that one of the key underpin-nings of urban poverty is the failure of national govern-ments and international agencies to support localorganizations (governmental, non-governmental andgrassroots) that can work with the urban poor toaddress their deprivations. Urban poverty in Africa,Asia and Latin America has grown rapidly over the last50 years, even though most new investments and jobopportunities have been in urban areas. Most cities

have between 30 and 60 per cent of their populationliving in poor quality accommodation in tenements orinformal settlements. At least 700 million urbandwellers lack safe, sufficient water supplies; even morelack adequate toilets. The deprivations associated withurban poverty are experienced locally – hunger, prema-ture death, serious illness and injuries that come fromliving in shacks with no infrastructure or basic services,the difficulties (and often high costs) of keeping chil-dren at school, the long hours worked, often in danger-ous conditions, for inadequate incomes. For many,there is also the constant risk of eviction from their

homes and of other forms of violence. These problemscannot be addressed without local changes.

This book makes the case for redirecting support tolocal organizations and processes. At its core are eight

detailed case studies of innovative government organi-zations (in Thailand, Mexico, Philippines andNicaragua) and community-driven processes (in India,South Africa, Pakistan and Brazil) that show new waysto address urban poverty. These include some well-known examples – for instance, the work of SPARC, theNational Slum Dwellers Federation and Mahila Milanin India, of the Community Organizations Develop-ment Institute in Thailand, the Local DevelopmentProgramme (PRODEL) in Nicaragua, the CommunityMortgage Programme in the Philippines and the Home-less People’s Federation in South Africa. The casestudies suggest that reducing poverty is as much about

building or strengthening competent, accountable localorganizations as it is about attempting to improveincomes. Poverty reduction is also about strengtheningthe organizations formed by the poor or homeless, sothat they are more accountable to their members andmore able to develop their own solutions, with a greater

capacity to negotiate better deals with the agencies orinstitutions that are meant to deliver infrastructure,services, credit and land for housing. Supporting theseobjectives also means increasing the possibilities of meeting the Millennium Development Goals withinurban areas, and the book includes a discussion of howinternational agencies can best meet these goals.

The Underestimation of Urban Poverty in Low- and Middle-income NationsDavid Satterthwaite, 2004,IIED W orking Paper 14 on Poverty Reduction in Urban Areas, IIED,

London. The printed edition can be obtained from http://earthprint.com/ for US$9; an electronic edition may be obtained at no charge from http://www.iied.org/urban/index.html

THIS PAPER DISCUSSES the limitations in the income- based poverty lines that are widely used to def inepoverty and measure urban poverty in Africa, Asia andLatin America. This includes a discussion of whetherthe poverty lines defined by international agencies andnational governments are set at levels that are realisticin relation to the costs of living in the larger/more

prosperous/more expensive cities and the prices thatthe urban poor have to pay for essential non-fooditems. It also includes a discussion of what povertydefinitions based only on income fail to take accountof with regard to identifying deprivation and tohelping inform poverty reduction policies and prac-tices. This paper assembles data from many empiricalstudies that suggest that the scale and depth of urbanpoverty is systematically underestimated in most of theofficial statistics produced or used by governments andinternational agencies. Among the reasons for this are:• The over-concentration on income-based poverty

lines with little or no attention to other aspects of deprivation, especially inadequate, overcrowded andinsecure housing; inadequate provision for water,sanitation, drainage and basic services such as health


Book Notes








care, emergency services and schools; and a lack of the rule of law and respect for civil and politicalrights.

• The lack of knowledge of local contexts by those whodefine and measure poverty (in part reinforced by thelack of local data on living conditions and basicservices), which often leads to questionable assump-tions about better living standards in urban areas.

• The inappropriate concepts used in setting income- based poverty lines (for instance, in determining theincome levels needed for non-food essentials and inmaking allowances for variations in the costs of non-food essentials within nations and between nations).Most poverty lines make unrealistically lowallowance for non-food needs because this is basedon what a set of the poorest households spend on non-

food needs, not on the minimum income they wouldrequire to meet their needs or on any assessment of whether their non-food needs are met. The data on

what poor households spend on non-food needs isoften drawn from national data or rural data, and soconsiderably understates expenditures in high-costlocations (mostly urban areas).There is also a discussion of the gap between the

proportion of urban dwellers said to be “poor” by offi-cial statistics and the proportion who “live in poverty”in very overcrowded conditions in tenements, cheap

boarding houses and illegal settlements where provi-sion for water, sanitation and basic services is very inad-equate. This is largely the result of inappropriate

judgments made by specialists based in high-income

nations, and drawn from concepts developed in thesenations. The paper ends with a discussion of how thedefinition of poverty can be widened to include aspectsother than income or consumption, and how this helpsidentify many more possibilities for poverty reductionand much expanded roles in poverty reduction for localgovernments, community organizations and localNGOs. It also discusses the changes needed in definingand measuring urban poverty that are required tosupport this.

Poverty and V ulnerability in Dhaka

Slums: The Urban Livelihoods Study Jane A Pryer , 2003, 203 pages. Published by and available from Ashgate Publishing Ltd, Gower House, Croft Road, Aldershot, Hants GU11 3HR,UK; in the USA, Suite 420, 101 Cherry Street,Burlington, VT 05401-4405; web site:http://www.ashgate.com

MANY RESEARCHERS WILL know some of theprevious work of this author on disease burdens andtheir economic costs in Khulna (Bangladesh), especiallyto low-income households (a summary of this work

was published in Environment and Urbanization Vol 5,No 2, 1993). This book reports on the findings of a largehousehold study in Dhaka that looked at poverty andvulnerability in many facets of these households’ lives.

Different chapters report on the findings regardinglivelihood strategies, marital instability, child labour,female workforce and labour, prevalence of ill-health,work-disabling illness, households’ coping strategies,women’s role in managing households’ materialresources, nutritional status, and the management of financial shocks and stresses. The book also has chap-ters on poverty and vulnerability, and describes thecontext and the study itself, which included quantita-tive data collected from a panel of around 850 house-holds and qualitative research within selected slumsettlements. The work focused on one of the sevendistricts (thana) into which Dhaka city is divided, andthe whole range of “slum” settlements are represented,including peri-urban and waterside settlements.Comparisons are also made between the four liveli-hood groups that emerged in the cluster analysis,namely, the self-employed (generally the richest),casual unskilled, female-headed households and

casual skilled. This showed, for instance, the largedifferences that exist between these groups, not onlywith respect to income and assets but also with respectto work-disabling illnesses (casual unskilled andfemale-headed lost most work to illness). The bookends with a discussion of the policy implications of itsfindings for reducing and alleviating poverty, with thesuggested measures having relevance that goes far

beyond the slum dwellers of Dhaka.

Understanding Urban Poverty: What thePoverty Reduction Strategy Papers Tell Us

Diana Mitlin, 2004, IIED W orking Paper 13 on Poverty Reduction in Urban Areas, IIED, London.The printed edition can be obtained from http://earthprint.com/ for US$9; an electronic edition may be obtained at no charge from http://www.iied.org/urban/index.html

THIS PAPER REVIEWS 23 recent Poverty ReductionStrategy Papers (PRSPs) to consider how they define andmeasure urban poverty and the extent to which theyactually consider urban poverty. Nearly all these papersplace a strong emphasis on the relative importance of

rural poverty. However, many express concern that theirpoverty estimates fail to represent fully the situation withrespect to urban poverty. Through both narrative andquantitative estimates, they suggest that there are serious“pockets of poverty” within urban areas, that urbanpoverty may be increasing, and that inequality may behigher in urban areas than in rural areas.

Some of the differences in opinion in these papersregarding the scale and depth of urban poverty relatesto differences in how poverty (including urban poverty)is measured. Most PRSPs still rely primarily on income-

based poverty lines to define who is poor. In many

nations, a single poverty line is used, with no attempt totake account of the higher monetary income needed toavoid poverty in urban areas, and especially in thelarger or more prosperous cities. For nations that

238 Environment&Urbanization Vol 16 No 1 April 2004 by on November 1, 2008http://eau.sagepub.comDownloaded from







include basic-needs measures in their definition of poverty, some use indicators relating to people’s prox-imity to services, without considering whether thesepeople can actually use these services.

IX. RESEARCH

Urban Longitudinal ResearchMethodology: Objectives, Contents andSummary of Issues RaisedCaroline O N Moser , 2003, 101 pages. Joint DPU–ODI–World Bank–DFID Workshop, the Development Planning Unit, University College London, London. Published by and available from DPU, 9 Endsleigh Gardens, London WC1H OED,UK; e-mail: [email protected]; web site:www.ucl.ac.uk/dpu

THIS WORKING PAPER includes ten commissioned background papers that provided the basis for a work-shop held at the Development Planning Unit in 2003. Theworkshop provided a comparative review of a range of approaches taken by social scientists doing longitudinalresearch in poor urban communities in low- and middle-income countries. The objectives were to identify sharedmethodological issues and to establish an informalnetwork of researchers, with the goal, ideally, of beingable to work towards cross-city results in future research.

These background papers describe research projectsthat vary in a number of ways – there are both qualita-

tive and quantitative studies, some that are interna-tional in scale and some very local, both comparativeresearch projects and studies with a single focus, andthey involve a range of disciplines.

Some of the issues considered at the workshop werethe appropriate timescale for longitudinal research; theinclusion of data from the non-poor (for instance, thosewith whom the poor interact); the issue of breadthversus depth; the units of analysis used; the represen-tativeness of small-scale studies; issues of attrition andof recall bias; the use of combined methodologies; andvarious ethical issues.

X. RURAL–URBAN

Rural–Urban Divide: Changing SpatialPattern of Social VariablesSneh Sangwan and Randhir Singh Sangwan,2003, 264 pages, ISBN: 81-8069-016-4.Published by and available from Concept Publishing Company, A/15–16, Commercial Block,Mohan Garden, New Delhi 110 059, India; tel: 091 11 25351460; fax: 091 11 25357103; e-mail:

[email protected]

AS THE INTRODUCTION to this book observes, thereis a long tradition of distinguishing between rural and

urban people. The objective of this particular study isto look at rural–urban differentials in India with regardto household size, fertility and mortality, and sex ratiosand literacy, and to relate these trends to such factors asthe economy and the levels of urbanization, industri-alization and modernization in various Indian states.

This rather technical work is primarily a statisticalanalysis of data from the 1991 census for all districts inthe country (except Jammu and Kashmir where thecensus was not held), although it also consults somesecondary sources and provides a brief overview of relevant literature.

There are some interesting findings – among themthe fact that in most districts, rural households are onlymarginally larger than urban households, and that thereare only scant differences in the incidence of joint fami-lies. The data, according to the authors, suggest thaturban dwellers in India have retained much of theirrural lifestyle. Fertility is found in this study to be

distinctly lower in urban areas, but this differential hasdeclined in almost all areas, as have fertility rates gener-ally. The pace of decline, however, seems to have littleto do with levels of poverty – it is not highest, forinstance, in states with the highest per capita income.Differentials in mortality rates have also declined,although there is considerable variation among states,and poorer states continue to have comparativelyhigher mortality rates in both rural and urban areas.

Differences in sex ratios have also declined in three-fifths of the states, but migration patterns lead to wideregional variations. In general, the authors see a healthy

trend towards minimizing rural–urban differences insex ratios. Significant differences persist, however, inliteracy rates. Urban literacy rates are uniformly fairlyhigh. Rural rates tend to be lowest in interior areas,tribal tracts, areas of predominantly subsistence agri-culture, and in places where there are high proportionsof Muslims and scheduled castes.

The text is accompanied by numerous tables andmaps – although the latter are too small, and their reso-lution too low, to make them useful.

XI. SUST AINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Survival for a Small Planet: TheSustainable Development AgendaT om Bigg (editor), 2004, 359 pages, ISBN: 1 84407 077 8. Published by and available from Earthscan Publications, 8–12 Camden High Street, London NW1 0JH, UK; e-mail:[email protected]; web site:www.earthscan.co.uk; also available in bookstores; price: £65; in the USA, 22883 Quicksilver Drive, Sterling, VA 20166-2012, USA.

THE PRESENT GENERATION will probably be thelast generation that will have the opportunity to makefundamental choices about the future of our people


Book Notes








and our planet. The World Summit on SustainableDevelopment (WSSD) held in Johannesburg in 2002was an attempt to invite all the leading experts in thisfield to discuss and brainstorm key decisions.

Survival for a Small Planet is an edited collection,post-WSSD, that presents ideas about sustainabledevelopment as it affects all major policy fronts, includ-ing security, finance, urban governance, migration,health, access to markets and finance.

The book is organized in five parts. The first part, onglobal governance, includes papers that discuss thesignificance of the Summit, and new targets post-WSSDwith respect to globalization, renewable energy, humanrights, security, and finance. It also emphasizes theimportance of research in the formulation of good inter-national public policy. The second part, on national andlocal governance, highlights the need for new actionand assessment and for strategic planning based onexperience and lessons learnt from the past. The third

part discusses new approaches to equity and sustain-able development in environmental and human rights,partnerships and human health. It also addresses thelinks between migration and globalization, and theimpacts for sustainable development. The fourth partexamines the impact of poverty on environment, andlooks at how poverty can be reduced through conser-vation, the sustainable use of resources, good gover-nance and appropriate policies. The last part, onmarkets and sustainable development, investigates theimpact of sustainable agriculture, tourism and miningin achieving the aims of the Local Agenda 21. All these

contributions are highlighted with informative casestudies, figures, tables and boxes.

A free CD-Rom is included, containing the civilsociety documents from the WSSD process produced

by over 500 organizations in 80 countries. This collec-tion is an important resource for researchers, academicsand all those involved in implementing sustainabilityat different levels.

Human Development and theEnvironment: Challenges for the UnitedNations in the New Millennium

Hans V an Ginkel, Brendan Barrett, Julius Court and Jerry Velasquez (editors), 2002, 313 pages,ISBN: 92 808 1069 3. Published by and available from The United Nations University, 53-70 Jingumae 5-chrome, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo,1508925, Japan; e-mail: [email protected];web site: www.unu.edu

THE UNITED NATIONS Conference held in Tokyo in January 2000, entitled “On the Threshold of the NewMillennium” recognized a broad consensus that thefuture success of the United Nations system will have

to embrace new thinking and realistic reforms in thecontext of new and complex challenges. The Confer-ence brought together policy makers, leading thinkersand academics to generate and discuss new insights

and recommendations on the challenges faced byhuman development, and on the role of the UnitedNations in helping to address them. The Conferenceexamined key issues relating to development, envi-ronmental conservation, peace, governance, and secu-rity at a global level, through presentations outliningpolicy implications and the recommendations arisingfrom them. The combined participation of govern-ments, researchers and NGOs provided a bridge

between the theoretical and the practical in the discus-sion of problems and solutions.

This edited collection looks at the problems,processes and actors that constitute the milieu for bothhuman development and for the environment in thenew millennium. Chapters in the first section focus onhuman development, and highlight the wideningeconomic and social divide following globalization, andthe social and political challenges relating to growingpoverty. The section also discusses the globalization of

science and technology, and the potential impacts andimplications for the UN system. Another topic is popu-lation growth and demographic change in low- andmiddle-income countries, and their impact on attemptsto achieve sustainable development. Other chaptersinclude lessons from international experience withdevelopment cooperation, focusing on the role of insti-tutions in the management of the global economy, andthe dynamics of the clash between institutional require-ments and the needs and aspirations of the peoples,countries and communities in both North and the South.

Environmental change as a result of human activity

has increased dramatically in the last decade. The chap-ters in this second section, on the environment, dealwith such issues and problems as climate change andthe loss of biodiversity. The authors present the effectsof urbanization and industrialization in relation tosustainable development, and point to the need formulti-stakeholder approaches to environmental policyformulation and implementation. The section alsoincludes chapters focusing on water governance, andthe world’s energy requirements for the next millen-nium. Land degradation and its relationship to foodinsecurity is another issue that is discussed here. The

final chapter explores holistic forms of environmentalgovernance, integrated with social and human devel-opment concerns.

It is concluded that, among existing global institu-tions, only the UN has the moral legitimacy, global cred-ibility and practical reach to mediate and resolve thecompeting tensions associated with both the processand the outcomes of globalization.

XII. TRANSPORT

Partnerships to Improve Access andQuality of Public Transport: GuidelinesM Sohail, D Mitlin and D A C Maunder , 2003, 130 pages, ISBN 1 84380 035 7. Published by and


Book Notes








available from the W ater, Engineering and Development Centre, Loughborough University,Leicestershire LE11 3TU, UK.

THIS BOOK IS part of a DFID-funded series under-taken by WEDC, which discusses issues of partnershipin different sectoral and thematic contexts. This partic-ular book, one of several on transport, looks at the links

between public transport and the livelihoods of thepoor, setting transport within the sustainable liveli-hoods approach – in other words, considering trans-port as one of the many linked assets that contribute tohouseholds being able to meet their needs. From thisperspective, then, transport becomes not simply a wayto get to work but also a way to access the services thatcontribute to securing and improving livelihoods, andto the social relationships which strengthen socialcapital and can support income generation.

Drawing on case studies from Colombo in Sri Lanka,

from Faisalabad in Pakistan and from Dar es Salaam inTanzania, the book considers a range of transport prob-lems that especially affect the poor – including hightransport costs, low availability, slow and unreliableservices, poor infrastructure, safety problems and a lackof regulation of increasingly privatized services. Discus-sion of various problems is enriched by boxes featuringthe voices of women, children, the elderly and thedisabled.

Guidelines for improvement that emerge from thesecase studies focus on the main improvements to infra-structure that appear to be needed; positive land use

and employment strategies that could lower the needfor transport; regulation to control the quality, quantityand cost of transport; and various approaches to stake-holder collaboration.

The book includes a CD that contains both guide-lines and the case reports.

Urban Traffic and TransportHans Orn, 2003, 24 pages, ISSN 1100-9446.Published by and available from Housing,Development and Management, Lund University,Box 118, S-221 00 LUND, Sweden; e-mail

[email protected]; web site: http://www.hdm.lth.se

THIS REPORT, ONE of the Building Issues series,addresses the fundamental need for effective urbantransport in low-income countries. It reports on thefindings of a desk study, which focuses in particular on

background material produced when Sida developedan urban transport strategy, and on material developed

by the World Bank in its preparation of a revised UrbanTransport Sector Strategy Review. The report alsodraws on the author’s extensive experience as a privateconsultant on the issue of urban transport. It does not

dwell on technical solutions but provides an overviewof general considerations and recommendations, anddraws on three case studies. Given their relevance topoorer countries, the author focuses primarily on

public and non-motorized transport.Among the issues discussed are the impact of urban

transport on various development issues, including theenvironment, poverty and gender. The author pointsout that the World Bank’s recent stance on transportstresses the implications for poverty and inequity ratherthan its more traditional concern with infrastructure.He outlines two distinctly different approaches to urbantransport development – the more traditional demand-following approach, characterized by declining trans-port infrastructure, an increase in the number of motorized vehicles and the neglect of public transport;and the supply-leading approach, which involvescareful planning, land use and private vehicle control,and an efficient public transport system.

Recommendations focus on infrastructure develop-ment and traffic management that give priority topublic transport systems, public/private partnershipsfor developing regulated public transport systems, and

a recognition of the role of non-motorized transport,along with infrastructure to support it.

The three case studies reviewed are Curitiba, withits renowned bus system, Singapore with its very effec-tive methods for restricting private car ownership, andBuffalo City in South Africa which, although notheavily congested, faces a number of transport prob-lems that reinforce existing inequities and that are now

being addressed with a new public transport plan fromthe national government.

World Transport Policy and Practice

John Whitelegg, Gary Haq (editors), 2003, 304 pages, ISBN: 1-85383-851-9. Published by and available from Earthscan Publications, 8–12 Camden High Street, London NW1 0JH, UK; e- mail: [email protected]; web site:www.earthscan.co.uk; also available in bookstores; price: £19.95; in USA, 22883 Quicksilver Drive, Sterling, VA 20166-2012, USA.

URBAN TRANSPORT PRESENTS a critical challengefor development – to develop an efficient model withminimal environmental impact, pollution and health

hazards, that is beneficial to the poor but that doesn’tencourage the better-off to rely on individual cars. It isnot just a technical issue but a very political one.

This edited collection provides insight into transportproblems around the world through case studies. It firstintroduces the problem of transport and its effect on theenvironment, greenhouse gases, air and noise pollution,health problems, traffic accidents and calamities. Theremainder of the book is a compilation of chapters high-lighting policy frameworks, concerns and progress byregion, from Africa, Asia, Australia, Latin America andEurope, and includes tables, figures and boxes with data

on, for example, traffic accidents, road density in rela-tion to agricultural land, and per capita vehicle travel inselected countries. The final section presents recom-mendations and suggestions for addressing these issues.


Book Notes








XIIII. URBAN

a. Urban change

New Forms of Urbanization: Beyond theUrban–Rural Dichotomy T ony Champion and Graeme Hugo (editors),

2003, 444 pages, ISBN: 0 7546 3588 0.Published by and available from Ashgate Publishing Ltd, Gower House, Croft Road, Aldershot, Hants GU11 3HR, UK; in the USA, Suite 420, 101 Cherry Street, Burlington, VT 05401- 4405; http://www.ashgate.com

THIS BOOK REVIEWS the scale and nature of urbanchange around the world, and includes chapters onurban change in different regions (including LatinAmerica, Asia and sub-Saharan Africa) and in particu-lar nations and cities ( including the United States,

Brazil, Mexico and Delhi in India). These contain manyinteresting analyses. For instance, the chapter on sub-Saharan Africa presents a convincing case that theregion is less urbanized than is suggested by mostinternational urban data sets. The chapter on Chinadiscusses the influence of urban definitions on the scaleand nature of urban change there. But these and otherchapters also seek to go beyond the simplistic andoften misleading division of the population (andeconomic activities) into “rural” and “urban” areas.The editors are part of the Working Group on Urban-ization formed by the Council of the International

Union for the Scientific Study of Population (IUSSP),and their intention with this volume was not only toprovide a more detailed and location-specific orregion-specific understanding of urban change but alsoto discuss a better conceptualization and definition of settlement patterns. Thus, many chapters discuss moreprecise and useful conceptualizations of settlementsystems (for instance “rethinking rurality” and “thenature of rurality in post-industrial society”) and howthese might be operationalized by governments. Thevolume ends with conclusions and recommendations.

Urbanization in India: SociologicalContributorsRanvinder Singh Sandhu, 2003, 258 pages, ISBN:81-7829-277-7. Published by and available from Sage Publications India Pvt Ltd, B-42, Panchsheel Enclave, New Delhi 110 017, India; price US$25.

ALTHOUGH INDIA IS still one of the least urbanizedcountries, it currently has the second largest urbanpopulation in the world. This book, one of a series of volumes published by the Indian Sociological Society,

brings together the perspectives of various scholars on

the process of urbanization in India.The book has four sections. The first presents various

definitions of and perspectives on urbanization, andincludes work conducted on different aspects of urban

life, institutions and their problems. India is a very strat-ified society, and the second section focuses on thisissue and discusses how the caste system and class

behaviour are modified in an urban setting. The thirdsection investigates the responses of neighbourhoodsand communities to rapid urbanization, industrializa-tion and the growing influx of migrants, drawing oncase studies from cities like Delhi. It also discusseschanges to the traditional rural joint family within theurban context. The last section discusses slum dwellersand migrants, and their integration into the urbansetting.

This volume highlights emerging problems, andwould be useful not only to those concerned with India

but also to anyone interested in urbanization, humansettlements and planning.

b. Urban conservation

Historic Cities and Sacred Sites:Cultural Roots for Urban FuturesIsmail Serageldin, Ephim Shluger , Joan Martin- Brown, 2001, 420 pages, ISBN: 0-8213-4904-X.Published by and available from the World Bank,1818 H Street N.W. Washington DC 20433, USA;e-mail [email protected] www.worldbank.org

MOST OF THE historic sites on the World Heritage listare located in the urban areas of Africa, Asia and LatinAmerica, where the combination of growing popula-tions and inadequate infrastructure presents particular

challenges for preservation.This book investigates the consequences of over-

population and poverty for historic cities and sacredsites. It contributes to a better understanding of theimportance of these sites, emphasizes the necessity forincluding social and cultural dimensions in economicdevelopment, and offers examples of good practice.

The book begins with a discussion of the main prob-lems in preserving the historic cities and sacred sites. Itexamines the complex origins and rich legacy of reli-gious symbolism attached to many historic structures,and uses design principles to make a comparative

analysis of them. It goes on to discuss planning andmanagement issues related to sustainable heritagepreservation, focusing on a range of policies and strate-gies adopted in Brazil, Norway, the United States, theNetherlands, North Africa and the Middle East. Allcases point to the importance of a decentralization of responsibilities from central to local agencies, and to thepromotion of private sector involvement, although therole of government in creating an enabling environmentfor private investors and community action is stressed,along with the importance of public–private partner-ships. The importance of integrating traditional cultural

values and beliefs (related to the sites in question) intopolicy regulations and the enforcement of laws is alsoemphasized.

The book considers a variety of options and innova-


Book Notes








tive approaches to conserving, renovating and trans-forming sites and to preserving urban built heritage andcultural landscape, using case studies from China,Brazil, India, Zanzibar and Italy. In most cases, the dete-rioration of monuments is attributed to either a declinein economic vitality, destructive effects of urbanrenewal or the lack of implementation of existing poli-cies. Documentation is discussed as an instrument tomanage changes in historic buildings. Methods used inEngland and Japan for surveying, valuing and docu-menting heritage assets are used to illustrateapproaches. The book is very well illustrated withpictures, sketches and figures.

c. Urban form

La Otra Arquitectura. Los Consultoriosde Vivienda y Habitat

(The Other Architecture. Community Housing and Planning Consultancy Services)Ruben Gazzoli (editor), 2003, 139 pages, ISBN 9871135262. Published by Juan O’Gorman Librerías and available from Librería Técnica,Buenos Aires, Argentina; tel. +54 11 43146303; e- mail: [email protected], www.cp67.com

IN THE WORDS of one of the contributors to this shortvolume, up until about 250 years ago, architects onlyserved the interests of kings, princes and bishops. Their

work for more ordinary clients is a relatively recentphenomenon. In Latin America today, architects areable to sell their services only to a very small propor-tion of people who build, convert or extend theirhouses. In Uruguay, for example, of the 69 per cent of the population that undertook some construction workin the second half of the 1990s, a mere 6 per cent usedthe services of an architect. And yet, universitiesthroughout the continent continue to produce profes-sionals whose main aspiration is to work for an indi-vidual or corporate client with a private budget.

In societies severely marked by legalism, the inhab-

itants of Latin American cities have dealings withlawyers all too often. And yet, few people know of theexistence of architecture as a profession that might beof any use to them. The vast majority of the hundreds of thousands of new dwellings erected every year inmiddle- and low-income settlements have no inputwhatsoever from qualified architects; they are, instead,the result of people’s own ingenuity, with the occasionaluse of skilled labour such as that of masons orplumbers.

This book transcribes the presentations at a work-shop held at the University of Buenos Aires. It consists

of ten short chapters documenting the experiences of architects who, over the past two decades or so, have

been involved in supporting low-income communitiesand individuals in building, improving or expanding

their own housing. Most chapters focus on Argentina’sexperiences, some dating back to the mid-1970s, a timewhen, under a military junta, social housing receivedno priority in government programmes but, rather,there were heavy-handed mass evictions from high-priced central locations and frequent land invasions inperipheral areas. Two chapters recount the experienceof Cuba’s “Community Architects”. At the core of thisprogramme – launched at a time of economic crisisfollowing the collapse of the Soviet Union, in order tomore adequately respond to severe housing shortagesthat the state-supplied blocks so dear to socialistsystems were unable to meet – is a number of architectsemployed by the state to support communities andindividuals in a flexible, tailor-made manner. One finalchapter discusses how the Cuban experience wasadapted to the Uruguayan context.

Mpasatia – A Town in Ghana: Tales of

Architecture and PlanningJørgen Andreasen, Jørgen Eskemose and Anette Lodberg Schmidt (editors), 237 pages, ISBN: 87 87 136 56 2. Published by and available from the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Architecture Publishers, Arkitektens Forlag,Strandgade 27A, 1401 København K, Denmark;e-mail: [email protected]

THIS BOOK IS the outcome of the work of sixteenScandinavian students of architecture, landscape archi-tecture and geography, who came to the small tradi-

tional town of Mpasatia in Ghana to investigate a rangeof urban architectural and planning issues. The studyis linked to a Ghanaian–Danish research project funded

by Danida, and focuses on district and urban planningin the context of democratization and communityparticipation.

The project placed more emphasis on ethnographicmethods and analysis than it did on developingdesigned projects. The outcome is 13 essays on urban-ism in contemporary Africa. The final product growsout of a close interaction between the students andcommunity members, including local leaders and other

stakeholders, and involved a learning process for allparticipants. The students’ perceptions of the situation,as well as their proposals to solve the identified prob-lems have, apparently, been very helpful to the commu-nity of Mpasatia.

The introductory chapter consists of a diary docu-menting the programme and the journey, and high-lights the most important issues for the study as awhole and the problems the group had to face. This firstsection also includes a profile of Mpasatia and a shortsummary of the students’ work, which is thendescribed in detail in the following 13 chapters. The

case studies, presented and illustrated with pictures,maps and sketches, vary in terms of topic and scale, butnearly all of them combine development, planning andarchitectural perspectives. A few of the issues covered


Book Notes








include the classic courtyard house, migration, urbanfurniture, planning and commercial space, public space,the meaning and significance of trees, and (piped)water.

XIV . WATER AND SANITATION

Independent Water Entrepreneurs inLatin America. The Other Private Sectorin Water ServicesT ova Solo, The World Bank Water and Sanitation Programme, 2003, 36 pages. Available as a pdf file from http://www.wsp.org/pdfs/sa

THIS BOOK IS a summary of the findings of fieldstudies on the role of small water providers that wereundertaken by the World Bank Water and SanitationProgramme (WSP) in six Latin American countries:

Paraguay, Argentina, Colombia, Guatemala, Peru andBolivia. The publication underlines the importance of small-scale service providers in the context of privatiz-ing public sector utilities, especially with regard totheir capabilities in providing water supply and sani-tation services (WSS) to those hitherto neglected – thepoor households in urban and peri-urban areas. Thestudy stresses the need for a “conducive and regula-tory framework” that integrates all the different waterproviders investing in WSS in cities, to allow house-holds the freedom to choose those providers that can

best meet their needs. This is of particular importance

in the light of meeting the Millennium DevelopmentGoals (MDGs), as small-scale service providers are crit-ical to achieving the set targets. Bearing in mind thatthe overall aim is to provide adequate and affordableaccess to poor households, the author of this reportencourages sector practitioners to be open and recep-tive about solutions to increase water services.

These field studies focused on water and left outsanitation due to time constraints. The chosen caseswere based in different hydrological, economic andlegal environments, particularly with regard to regula-tory frameworks, which explains why such a variety of

service providers is discussed. The main distinctionhere is that between mobile providers (e.g. throughtanks and trucks) and fixed networks. The studyanalyzes different survival strategies of small-scaleenterprises, pointing out the benefits of competitionand free entry, but at the same time illustrating the costsof lacking formal recognition and support.

The report, which includes presentations and discus-sions from a cross-country workshop held in Colombiain 1999, covers such issues as the importance, efficiencyand effectiveness of small-scale providers, obstacles forscaling up and upgrading the services provided,

competition strategies and coping strategies. There isalso a section looking at the changes in policy that areneeded to improve performance and benefitconsumers.

Small Enterprises and Water Provisionin Kibera, NairobiMunguti Katui-Katua and Gordon McGranahan,2002, 38 pages, ISBN: 1 84380 002 0.Public Private Partnerships and the Poor, Water,Engineering and Development Centre (WEDC),Loughborough. Published by and available from

the Water, Engineering and Development Centre (WEDC), Loughborough University, Leicestershire LE11 3TU, UK.

THIS REPORT REVIEWS the experience of a largewater project in Kibera, Nairobi. At the time of writing,the project as a whole had failed, and this failure isused to illustrate the dangers of engaging in ostensiblyparticipatory processes when the decision to stop theproject can be made unilaterally, with no consultationor transparency. Not all of the lessons are negativehowever. Following a brief introduction providing

background on Kibera and the residents’ views of private sector participation in water provision, thereport describes the project and stakeholders’ involve-ment, which ranged from residents negotiating wherethe pipes should be laid, to proposals to establish awater sellers association. The report then examinessome of the challenges facing public–private partner-ships in Kibera, touching on issues that are widelydebated internationally, such as land tenure, cost-recovery, private-sector participation, local participa-tion. In almost every case, the most important localissues turn out to be quite different from those that are

debated in the international arena.

Basic Service Provision for the UrbanPoor: The Experience of Development

Workshop in Angola Allan Cain, Mary Daly and Paul Robson, 2002, 40 pages. IIED Working Paper 8 on Poverty Reduction in Urban Areas. The printed edition can be obtained from http://earthprint.com/ for US$9;an electronic edition may be obtained at no charge from http://www.iied.org/urban/index.html

THIS PAPER DESCRIBES the water and sanitationprogrammes that the NGO Development Workshophas developed in Luanda over the last 15 years,working with community organizations, local govern-ment and the official water and sanitation agencies.These had to be built within a city where the popula-tion was growing rapidly, in part due to war forcingpeople to flee rural areas in a country which had hadmore than 40 years of conflict and economic decline.Incomes are also too low to allow conventional solu-tions, yet there was no tradition of community provi-sion (and government agencies were wary of working

with community organizations).The paper describes how the NGO Development

Workshop began work in Angola in 1981, at the invita-tion of the Angolan government, and how it helped set


Book Notes








up a programme to upgrade musseques (peri-urbansquatter areas). A pilot project for water and sanitationin one such musseque developed into a largerprogramme after political changes in Angola in 1990,which allowed the emergence of community associa-tions and NGOs. Water and sanitation were importantcomponents of the work because of the priority giventhem by residents (and because residents could managehousing construction individually but not water andsanitation). The project demonstrated two viableapproaches to improving provision: community-managed public standpipes and family dry-pit latrines.It also demonstrated how an NGO could support resi-dents’ groups in developing and managing thesemodels – and also how to bring in government organi-zations (even if they were weak and lacking infunding). It also made clear the need for models forwater supply and sanitation that could be managed andfunded within the community. The paper then

describes the larger water and sanitation programmesthat developed, based on these approaches.

Book Notes

Documents

SoilmanBr EAU