WIEGO Recommendations

WIEGO: some of their proposed concerns…
• the right to work
• the right to a place from which to work
• legal rights to property
• the right to public services and infrastructure
• fair prices and wages
• fair and legally enforceable commercial transactions
• fair and legally enforceable employment relations
The following functional areas of urban policies determine who gets which of these benefits:
• Regulation of public space
• Framework for legalizing private property
• Provision of infrastructure and services:
o roads, transport, and communication
o marketing and export promotion
o water, electricity, and sanitation
• Regulation of commercial transactions
Regulations of employment relations\

What will be unique about my thesis?

There's not A LOT OF work - especially not a lot of diverse work, other than WIEGO and ILO that I can tell - that has been done to synthesize stuff. It's mostly just research material, data, statistics, trying to actually capture what's going on.

My thesis will fill in the niche that is the synthesis across sectors and regions, a cross-section if you will, and a more indepth look at HCMC and its personal struggles and what its options might be.

Need to be careful not to get caught up in the informal economy debate and slums but focus on the policy response to these particular manifestations of the informal economy in the city.

Links and things to keep track of

Bangkok Street Vendors blog:
http://bangkokstreetvendor.blogspot.com/

Rethinking Informalization:
http://www.wiego.org/publications/Rethinking_Informalization.pdf
[lots of interesting essays, but from 2002]

Definitions + Theories regarding Informal Economy [WIEGO]:
http://www.wiego.org/about_ie/definitionsAndTheories.php

Street Vendors in Asia: no HCMC, but Hanoi:
http://www.wiego.org/papers/2005/unifem/4_Bhowmik_Asian_Hawkers_EPW.pdf

ILO Informal Economy Database:
http://www.ilo.org/dyn/infoecon/iebrowse.search?p_lang=en

Eco-wall or Segregation? CNN

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/12/09/brazil.ecowall/index.html

Papers I've written that will help...

An amalgam of urban poverty, aid, slums and the informal economy...

- Brookings paper on "Is Slum Improvement the Right Way to Help Urban Poverty?" - 30 pages
- 17.307 - 15 pages on Foreign Aid Reform
- 11.201 - 15 pages on John FC Turner and his impacts on affordable housing
- 11.701 paper?

I've switched thesis topics...

"In most of the cities in the developing world the urban poor survive through work in the informal economy. At the same time, these cities attempt a ‘make-over’ by trying to attain the standards of global cities." - WIEGO

I've changed my thesis topic to a comparative policy analysis of municipal policy toward street life in developing countries. (Street life being food vendors, sidewalk sellers, informal open-air markets, etc). I will attempt to see if there are patterns, innovations and unique examples of how cities have valued (or devalued) street life, and whether there really are feasible ways for cities to incorporate this facet of culture that is so easily lost.

I will supplement this policy analysis with a case study of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, which has in the past been well known for its vibrant street life. However, in light of "tourism" demands, HCMC is considering the evacuation of many of these street vendors. Do they have options? There are negative effects of street vendors (sidewalk clogging, sanitary concerns, informal economy, public space, urban design) - but [and this is my bias] I think it's a valuable part of life they shouldn't just eradicate.

What are the policy options? What are the issues at hand? What are the urban design considerations? What are the regional patterns? Can we do something other than clear them out?

Slums from the nonacademic perspective

Tuhus-Dubrow, Rebecca. “Learning from Slums.” The Boston Globe. March 1 2009. Web.

Slums have grown increasingly in the media spotlight, especially with the advent of blockbusters like Slumdog Millionaire. Typically, though, slums of the developing world are found only in media when a major crime ring is busted, or riots occur, or something noticeable happens. It is rare for the mainstream media to pick up on the topic of slums and address it in a candid and careful manner, but the Boston Globe interestingly does so in their Ideas magazine, providing a layman's overview of slums, methods of addressing, and some of the debates around the topic.

The author starts off by accurately stating the sort of tension found among development practitioners interested in slums, saying that slums "...are as a rule overcrowded, unhealthy, and emblems of profound inequality. But among architects, planners, and other thinkers, there is a growing realization that they also possess unique strengths, and may even hold lessons in successful urban development." This rhetoric is very exemplary of the attitude put forth by influential planners like John Turner which suggests that slums are not the problem but indeed, the solution.

Slums, as a matter of fact, hold many advantages. Economically, the amount of enterprise, informal economy, economics of agglomeration and so on provide a potentially beneficial system to the urban poor. High density and close living conditions, while potentially harmful health wise, can foster strong social networks, and the reuse of trash in creative methods helps environmentally. The author even goes as far as to suggest that "Indeed, slums embody many of the principles frequently invoked by urban planners: They are walkable, high-density, and mixed-use, meaning that housing and commerce mingle."

The article then goes on to discuss cursorily the historical debates, current ideology and potential trends of dealing with and understanding slums. Citing famous planners and rights-bearers, the author briefly mentions slum giants such as Turner and Hernando de Soto, and discusses the debate behind slum upgrading - an expensive but possibly positive process.

The tension between romanticizing these areas or not crediting them fully continues throughout the article, with some attention spent on the efforts of those in the "developed world" to utilize and borrow certain aspects of these marginalized communities and use them to inspire our own buildings and plans. "we can also learn from the spirit of collaboration in informal settlements, and their ingenuity in the use of space."

I myself have always wondered about this particular question. What can we learn from slums? Is there not something to be captured in slums that is not beneficial - not just to them, but to those in other countries? This article was, therefore, encouraging, showing that there exists a common debate still.

John F.C. Turner: Impacts and Critiques

Harris, Richard. “A double irony: the originality and influence of John F.C. Turner.”  Habitat International. 27.2 (2003): 245-269. Web.   

Harris provides an extremely thorough and detailed analysis of John Turner's life and legacy in this paper, mostly critiquing Turner's reputation as it stands and attempting to argue for an alternative method of understanding him and his work. Overall, Harris does not discredit Turner's work, but instead suggests that Turner was not quite as pioneering as he gets credit for, and that in fact, his legacy should be seen somewhat more uniquely. 

John Turner was an architect, planner, writer, politician and academic in the 60s and 70s, considered by some to be "the most influential writer about housing in the developing world." Known for his theories on self-help and dwelling control, Turner's experiences on the ground in Peru greatly shifted his attitude toward housing. He primarily advocated for as little government control as possible, being a firm believer that the poor themselves were the best deciders of their housing and livelihood. Government, to him, exists to provide assistance and resources, but in the end, the poor know best. Turner became one of the well-read and quoted writers during his time, and is credited with changing the World Bank's agenda to focus on urban problems and to provide sites+services projects for slum upgrading, instead of slum clearance.

Harris offers several noteworthy critiques of Turner's fame and contribution to development theory. First, he notes that others before Turner had already begun to champion the concepts of "self-help," and that other developing countries had been implementing such policies before Turner. He points, furthermore, to Turner's warm reception by a variety of practitioners - policymakers, World Bank officials, academics, mayors, etc - suggesting that the ideas must have been existing and percolating before Turner in order to have set the climate in a favorable manner. Therefore, Harris puts down Turner's ideas as not revolutionary, and suggests that Turner's biggest contribution to the discourse is in bringing Latin American ideas and tactics to the table.

My take on the situation is that Turner must have been really good at getting his thoughts and opinions heard. Even if he were not the first to advocate for self-help, he was clearly the most influential and pervasive ideologically. This achievement of wide distribution of ideas is commendable. On the content of his ideas, I have always struggled over laissez-faire versus control dichotomies in planning. While I agree that in the end the poor do know what is best for themselves, I'm not sure that we can neglect planning, especially with a problem of this scale and speed.

"Do you want to continue to review literature on your topic/question, do you want to move on to reviewing cases, art work, buildings, and/or studies related to your topics (AKA basic research on what is out there), do you want to review literature on methods used to study topics (much on stellar about this). Your choice. Pick your direction, tell me what it is when you write and have fun"

3 - Notes from my meeting with Bish

To summarize my meeting with Bish regarding private sector and slums:

- The private sector expands SCALE. They are able to come up with a marketable solution that provides money for the company and (housing) for the poor
- The private sector has always been involved, since the beginning of slums, through private INFORMAL development. What happens when we actually formalize these things?

- The big question: AFFORDABILITY. How are these companies able to bring the costs down? Land cost, housing cost, utilities. Costs are not actually that cheap and are hard to replicate - so what are they doing to make this cheaper?
- Supply, demand, pricing - HOW DO YOU BRING THE PRICE DOWN?

- Don't try to address every aspect of the question, it's too much / too broad.
- Also, what is the area's relationship to the rest of the city - institution wise?

- Potential people to talk to / read:
*O'Connor and Gulyani, WB
*Jeffrey Paine
*Annette Kim, Hong - property, taxes, etc
*Doug Keane

3 - The Private Sector + Slums

Baker, J. and K. McClain (2009). Private Sector Initiatives in Slum Upgrading. Urban Paper No. 8. Washington, DC, The World Bank, Urban Sector Board.

In this paper, Baker and McClain provide a broad but in-depth assessment of the state of private sector initiatives in slum upgrading, looking at upgrading as both physical services (infrastructure, housing, etc) as well as more social and intangible aspects (tenure security, access to credit, social programs, etc). The recent cry for increased private sector involvement is attributed to the speed and scale at which slums are outpacing efforts to prevent and to upgrade them by the government; there seems to be a consensus that the private sector is able to provide the financing and expertise lacking in current efforts to potentially combat this rapid growth.

Though we often tend to categorize slum upgrading efforts as either a public or a private effort, they claim that "Almost 50 years of experience in improving housing and living standards for the urban poor has taught the development community that neither the government nor the private sector alone can provide the poor with the basic requirements for healthy urban living." (2)

The authors make an important note at the beginning that slums are essentially entrenched in the private sector already and respond to the market's distortions and incentives. The prevalence of the informal economy, for goods, services and land, demonstrates to us that even though the slum economy is illegal, it is still a market-based system that responds in the way normal economies do. This reliance on the market in slums provides an open door for the formal private sector to reach in and service this population, who often are already engaging the poor in some way or another (either benevolent or harmful).

The private sector has an intriguing relationship with slum dwellers. The paper first explores the economic environment in which private-sector slum upgrading might occur, then looks at the potential barriers that might prevent engagement. For the economic environment, macroeconomic concerns are identified as major factors in both private-sector decision-making and the state of slums, while the state of the private sectors in different countries is also noted to strongly influence what can potentially be done. There are significant barriers to engaging the private sector in slum upgrading, moreover, from a lack of experience and understanding of the poor to business practices ill-suited for low-income populations (such as the requirement of collateral, traditional unit-based pricing schemes, etc.) An important point noted is that oftentimes, the poor demand more sub-standard goods that the private sector cannot provide under the legal framework within the country, and so there is clashing there as well.

One of the most prevalent concerns mentioned is the issue of "public goods." Many of the goods demanded or required by the poor are those that are typically considered to be "public," or having strong "positive externalities," meaning that is not attractive to or normal for the private sector to handle them. Other concerns highlighted are the debate over property rights, crime and violence, and a lack of interaction between corporate culture and the poor.

These challenges aside, there remains extremely strong opportunities and reasons for the private sector to get involved in slum upgrading. Other than the obvious fact that the market is massive, with approximately one billion living in slums, it has been argued that the poor actually retain significant purchasing power, with remittances and "dead capital" comprising much of this credit. Given that currently, most of this cash is going to the costlier, lower quality, potentially unsafe and exploitative informal economy, it could be extremely beneficial to the formal private sector to tap into this market.

The article then goes into more specific strategies and examples of what is currently going on in terms of private sector involvement in slum upgrading. Identifying the different clients as local governments, community organizations, wealthy consumers (as a strategy to leverage the higher profits in a cross-subsidy method) and the poor themselves, the authors highlight specific notable methodologies in play in these various relationships. For example, local governments can utilize finance facilities - such as the Community Water and Sanitation Facility - to find gap funding to interact with the private sector, and community groups can negotiate collectively with businesses to guarantee credit and demand services. Some of the more intriguing strategies include "Transferable Development Rights," where the incentive of increased benefits is used to demand low-income housing, and where microfinance institutions work in conjunction with building suppliers. Another fascinating innovation is the smaller packaging of more luxury items (shampoo, soap, medicines) that allow the poor to purchase in smaller and more feasible quantities. The authors also cite new technological developments in payment services, such as cellphone banking and pay-per-use facilities, as well as the increase of small-scale entrepreneurs, as providing positive effects in slums.

The authors close with a series of recommendations for the private sector that will allow firms to work with the urban poor in a more scalable and effective manner. This paper, moreover, left me with a more positive feeling than more evaluations and assessment of slums usually do - a sense that there is an extreme amount of potential that is feasible, that can work, and is working. Having participated in a social entrepreneurship competition, and noting the growing popularity of corporate responsibility and social philanthropy, I believe that the private sector will be truly instrumental in bringing about change in slums in the next few decades, and hope that the private and public sectors recognize this exciting opportunity.

3 - Just a thought.

I wrote a fairly cynical piece on the concept of progress...

My TA's comments:
"In response to cynicism, one might ask whether it is necessary to know for sure that we are doing better than previous generations, or is it enough to know that we are doing the best we can?"

3 - Prevention and Treatment = the best approach for slum upgrading

Payne, G. (2005). "Getting ahead of the game: A twin-track approach to improving existing slums and reducing the need for future slums." Environment and Urbanization 17(1): 135-146.

This article recognizes some of the important steps that have been made for those living in slums worldwide, while identifying problem areas and strategies to be taken for future success. First off, the author delves into the issue of slums from the UN and other multi-lateral finance institutions’ perspectives, picking apart the Millennium Development Goals – most notably Goal 7, “in which target 10 seeks to halve by 2015 the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation; and target 11 seeks to have achieved by 2020 a significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers.”

Though many applauded the MDGs at their time of inception for including issues of urban poverty and creating a benchmark at all – a long-awaited step – increasing numbers of development planners and practitioners have expressed displeasure with the specific numbers provided in this particular goal. Given that there are approximately 1 billion living in slums, and potentially up to 2 billion by 2030, achieving target 11 would almost be making a “retreat than achieve significant progress,” argues Payne. Simply speaking, the number is simply neither ambitious nor radical enough to make even any damage in the greater global picture.

Given that focusing on “improving” the lives of slum dwellers is insufficient, Payne proposes a “twin-track” approach of treatment and prevention, if you will. Essentially, he suggests a fairly common-sense but not often articulated approach: where those living in slums receive help to improve their lives, and city conditions and policies are geared to prevent future slum formation.

In terms of improving living conditions for current slum dwellers, Payne highlights different methods of providing intermediate and perceived tenure security, the provision of which could potentially improve living conditions fairly simply. For example, many make the argument that increased tenure security encourages home reinvestment and entrepreneurial behavior, both positive and easy ways of improving slums. However, the combination of tenure as well as property rights can result in unintended consequences – the selling of newly deeded land, the increase of squatters elsewhere, etc., and so he cautions against rushing into these types of policies.

Preventing future slum formation is, however, a daunting and significant task that has bested even the best governments out there. Nevertheless, Payne focuses on suggestions that plan for “significantly improving access to legal land and shelter,” attempts to deflect the need for cheap land and affordable housing. He also addresses institutional aspects of implementation, such as identifying the roles – current or future – of various stakeholders, and their strengths and weaknesses.

Concluding with an in-depth analysis of twin-track approach taken in Cambodia, the author shows that this type of approach is feasible, though intensive. I felt that this topic was overtly obvious, but perhaps it is better for the development community to have heard this very simple suggestion for a very complex problem.

2 - The intersection between health, slums and empowerment

Sheuya, S. (2008). "Improving the Health and Lives of People Living in Slums." Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1136(1): 298-306.

People tend to think of slums in terms of economic or physical problems, and the pressing problem of ill health in slums is often left out. In this paper, Sheuya attempts to connect health issues with slum conditions, taking a "social determinants of health" (SDH) approach, and then discusses how empowerment-focused, slum upgrading strategies can be used to address these problems, providing a concrete case study as well.

Sheuya begins by entering the debate on poverty measurement. She argues for the inclusion of asset-based frameworks in addition to traditional income and consumption measurements, and notes that even further distinctions should be made. For example, household size can have a huge impact on poverty levels and many of the urban poor have non-monetary income sources. Additionally, there is a massive difference between rural and urban expenditures and needs, where the urban poor spend much more of their income on transportation and so on. Understanding poverty in this multidimensional, asset-based context can frame reduction strategies at more than just improving income.

Slums are just as, if not more, confusing than poverty measurement. Sheuya attempts to dissect UN-Habitat's operational definition (formalized in 2002 at an UN Expert Group Meeting) and connects each issue to a health concern. Access to improved water is essential to decrease disease incidence, especially those relating to diarrhea, and similarly, access to improved sanitation can decrease morbidity and mortality rates, as well as improve malnutrition (from intestinal worms). Durable housing and sufficient living area can be connected to issues of respiratory conditions, as well as poor mental health - depression, domestic violence and lack of educational support being a few of the proposed concerns. The security of tenure also plays a strong role in health concerns, Sheuya suggests.

What then do we do with slums? Sheuya proposes using empowerment as a framework to approach slum upgrading. Delving into the details of what constitutes empowerment (usually concerns over capacity as well as political power and having personal influence over choices that can benefit their assets), Sheuya points out different types of strategies available for different situations. The level of intervention could be from individual to neighborhood, whereas assets can include human, physical, financial, natural and social capital, and international institutions and donor agencies can assist in facilitating horizontal and vertical relationships, as well as promote participation and negotiation. The potential outcomes of empowerment not only improve social concerns but can directly influence health issues, including physical and mental. One major caveat to take into consideration, moreover, is that empowerment is context specific and will differ given the community in question.

A key feature of this paper is a case study of an upgrading project where empowerment was a specific target of the community, the Hanna Nassif community in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. It is an encouraging example of how empowerment-focused, slum upgrading strategies can indeed be successful if stakeholders are committed. The case study could have benefit some from a more concrete evaluation, moreover.

Overall, the paper concludes that "the main challenge is a lack of commitment from key stakeholders." This strikes me as an extremely frustrating conclusion, candid as it may be, and though Sheuya provides an extremely fascinating and compelling analysis of empowerment as a poverty reduction and slum upgrading strategy, I think there is room for a more implementation-focused publication.

2 - Social Networks in a Caste-based Society

Ayyar, V. and L. Khandare (2007). "Social Network in Slum and Rehabilitation Sites: A Study in Mumbai (India)." Draft prepared for World Bank Urban Research Symposium 2007 on Urban Land Use and Land Markets. Washington, DC, The World Bank.

It is easy to try and talk about slums in a sort of context-less, theory-based approach. However, issues of culture and social structure are absolutely essential when talking about slums - they cannot be ignored. The authors of this paper choose to delve into this very complex and entangled subject by addressing the issue of social networks in slums and resettlement sites in Mumbai, India, looking at a variety of concerns and outcomes. Though their data set is fairly small, only consisting of four slums and two resettlement sites, the qualitative analysis is an interesting insight into these often ignored concerns.

The authors first address slums in the context of Mumbai overall. According to them, over half of the population of Mumbai lives in categorized slums, providing much of the services essential to the functioning of the city. They identify professions ranging from taxi drivers to industrial workers, as well as employees of the Judiciary Department, and note that the majority of slum dwellers are from the lower socio-economic strata, especially belonging to the "Dalit" caste (or the 'ex-untouchables') - possibly up to 91%. They argue that castes, actually, are the basic foundation for the social networks of slum dwellers, and that this type of social structure is potentially in conflict with modernization theory.

Slums in Mumbai can be generally broken up into three types of slums - declared slums, undeclared slums and "planned slums" (or resettlement sites). Within these categorizations are also distinct types of slums - chawls (deteriorated permanent buildings), partrachawls (semi-permanent buildings with tentative tenure legitimacy) and zopadpattis (squatter settlements and shantytowns). Given that Mumbai apparently has no mass public or affordable housing programs, housing provision is left to the formal market, leaving slum dwellers and the urban poor in extremely fragile and vulnerable situations. To further exacerbate the problem of slums, Mumbai has embarked on a path of infrastructure projects, which have displaced many slum dwellers, forcing them to relocate to "resettlement" sites.

Slumdwellers in Mumbai come to slums for a variety of reasons that the authors argue are tightly linked to their social status, and so migration in this context cannot be understood "from one paradigm." Furthermore, migrants often enter slums directly via a "point of contact entry" - i.e. someone they know, or are related to, creating a series of caste-based social networks. Based off a series of interviews, the authors claim that based on these networks, occupations and employment types are often restricted to certain castes and social groups. They also point out that these networks are often extremely exclusionary, though beneficial for the members of the network, and can result in a lack of access to certain resources.

As mentioned previously, many slum dwellers experience resettlement - voluntary or not - to resettlement sites, where the old social networks no longer exist and extremely diverse populations are living together in a more integrated fashion. An interesting phenomenon occurs where the high densification but randomized resettlement results in a breakage of social networks, lower and more stressed incomes (due to higher living costs, more expensive transportation, lack of services). Furthermore, the state (municipal government, etc) and civil society (NGOs such as SPARC) have apparently been failing to deliver on certain promises to these slum dwellers. Due to this severe shock, slum dwellers have begun to turn to other residents outside of their socioeconomic status for collaboration - a potentially exciting and positive situation. Women, notably, are proving to be the catalysts for these new social arrangements.

The authors conclude by asking a question that I had myself - what is the sustainability of these networks in the current political and religious climate? Seeing as how intrinsic the caste-system is to the culture, can policies that are caste- and gender-sensitive be developed to assist those who miss out on the social networks? Should we preserve the networks as they are, or can we use planning as a tool to improve them? This paper is an interesting foray into the complex world of slum relations but leaves many questions unanswered.

2 - Slum Upgrading - Not an Obsolete Practice

Gulyani, S. and E. M. Bassett (2007). "Retrieving the Baby from the Bathwater: Slum Upgrading in Sub-Saharan Africa." Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy 25(4): 486-515.

This article provides a detailed and careful assessment of slum upgrading in the Sub-Saharan African context. This region was specifically chosen, given that Sub-Saharan Africa has the fewest amount of evaluations and sets of data available, yet is urbanizing the fastest and has the highest number of urban poor - leading to a large and complex slum situation. Overall, the authors note encouraging progress with infrastructure projects, and advocate for a comprehensive and programmatic approach linking slums to city-wide systems, with a combined effort from government and community-led efforts.

The authors begin by addressing the debate over slum upgrading. Upgrading has been going on since the 1970s at least; however, the process received strong critique as returning low impacts at an expensive cost, turning development agents away from this practice. However, instead of discarding it altogether, the authors here choose to identify the successful and less successful aspects to slum upgrading in Sub-Saharan Africa. Generally speaking, upgrading projects have shrunk in scale, and those focusing on infrastructure interventions have been markedly more meaningful than those focusing on tenure security. The analysis was conducted by a series of "rapid assessment reports" that utilized historical reviews of country-specific policies, programs and projects, as well as field visits, World Bank data and country reports.

Land tenure and formal tenure security, though often touted as a silver bullet to slum problems (by those such as de Soto) and as a "panacea and quick win," has proven to be less effective over the years, especially in this region.(492)Though providing formal land tenure can provide a larger tax base and can spur income generation, experience has demonstrated that land titling can lead to unintended and unwanted effects - such as residents selling their properties or clashing with neighbors. Furthermore, the processes of titling and enabling tenure security are often at odds with the community structures present in these areas; for example, should communities own land, or individuals, or men, or women? Are there historical precedents and can they be overwritten? The processes are wildly entangled and complex.

On the other hand, infrastructure and basic services projects have demonstrated a much higher, positive impacts on living standards and quality of life, in addition to being a simpler project type to implement. Of course, these projects are not without their own problems. Issues of defining "appropriate" standards for infrastructure and basic services abound, as well as a preoccupation with the notion of cost recovery (a concept which has not really played out successfully over the past few decades). Encouragingly, the authors were able to identify certain strategies and innovations which have been worked comparably well over their development experience - "cost caps" and modest upfront contributions being two of them.

Development critiques like to point out the problems with slum upgrading, such as positive effects leaking away from the poor and a lack of attention paid to the underlying, structural concerns. The authors point to a happy medium, calling for more projects to be conducted in a fairly short amount of time and the simultaneous working of governmental programs and community-led development. Waiting to engage in slum upgrading projects exacerbates the problem, while failing to address structural and institutional issues will result in a flawed system, they suggest, and therefore argue for the simultaneous launch and maintenance of these two concepts. Lastly, they also point out that the best way to address these issues is to incorporate governmental authority and community-driven development in joint partnerships, which could potentially optimize the slum upgrading process as it now stands, and to focus on integrating slums back into the city - not demolishing or clearing, but fixing basic problems in a comprehensive and programmatic approach - going to scale.

I wholeheartedly agree with the authors on these topics and can only wish that more development practitioners and government officials would be able to see and capture the essence of this argument. In addressing the issue of slums worldwide, we should be able to focus on effective and meaningful interventions in a way that can be optimized in cities and utilize the strengths of various institutions.

1 - Slum Upgrading: Sometimes, all it takes is just a little concrete...

Cattaneo, M. D., S. Galiani, P. Gertler, S. Martinez, R. Titiunik. (2009). "Housing, Health, and Happiness." American Economic Journal: Economic Policy 1(1): 75-105.

This paper analyzes the impacts of a Mexican program, Piso Firme, which replaced dirt floors with cement floors, on child health and adult happiness. Initial findings suggest that the simple floor replacement actually significantly improved child health, showing major, positive impacts on early childhood development, as well as adult welfare and satisfaction and the quality of housing.

The Piso Firme program was implemented in Mexico in 2000 and was fortunate to have a strong impact evaluation designed and conducted alongside the implementation. It is a fairly rigorous evaluation; the evaluators were able to design an evaluation that utilized geographic variability in program implementation to create control and treatment groups (i.e. one municipality received the program, the neighboring city did not) and were able to conduct intensive household surveys to determine the impacts over a variety of sectors. The program itself is quite straightforward; qualifying families receive assistance in converting dirt floors into cement floors, often building much of the floor themselves. The rationale behind the program is that dirt floors cut down on the transmission of wastes (both human and animal), decreasing parasite infection and giving adults a greater ease of mind.

The results from the program are quite stellar. Parasite infections decreased significantly, and a marked improvement in early childhood cognitive development could be observed through the usage of educational surveys. The data reinforce the strong correlation between poor nutrition and impaired cognitive abilities. Furthermore, adults tested more positively for stress and depression tests, showing that this simple intervention can have both a physical and mental impact on the urban poor.

Though the program likely ended up assisting mostly lower-middle income families that had secure tenure, it demonstrates that simple physical interventions can have effects on a variety of sectors – health, education, economic stability and housing. The program was relatively cost-effective and was comparably simple in implementation as well.

Two things stand out to me regarding this program and this paper. Firstly, this paper was encouraging to me in its extremely thorough and detailed treatment of the methodology and evaluation processes. Many development practitioners seem to think that evaluations of urban poor interventions are too complicated, too lengthy and overly burdensome. For example, the World Bank has stalled on the usage of impact evaluations in slum upgrading projects, citing issues of implementation and feasibility. This paper shows that with careful initial planning, it is doable and reputable.

Secondly, I wonder where this idea came from and how popular it is among residents of this area. Was the project the brainchild of some distant, more removed policy analyst toiling away in some back cubicle? Or was it heralded by community organizers and other strong leadership that received the support of the communities?

This paper is encouraging to me and at the same time, makes me realize how much more urban project evaluations could aspire to be like. I hope that this serves as an example to the general development community as well as informs readers such as myself how sometimes simpler really is better.

1 - The Urban Demographic Transition

Montgomery, M., et al (2008). "The Urban Transformation of the Developing World." Science 319. 761-764.

This article describes the urban demographic transition, especially for poor countries, and assesses the estimates and forecasts of urban population aggregates. Montgomery argues that small and medium sized cities need to be paid more attention to and suggests that data sets should include spatial factors and urban vital rates, and that forecasting methods should be improved.

He first cites data from the United Nations Population Division that projects that by 2030, all regions in the world will hold more urban than rural residents, and that the majority of population growth will take place in the “cities and towns of poor countries.” (761) Identifying four major trends, Montgomery notes the combined effect of globalization, decentralization of governments (and therefore a shift to local and municipal governance), shifting international development plans and strategies, and global climate change’s potential impacts on urban areas. A subtle but important clarification is also made; most of this urban growth will be by natural demographic increase (i.e. births from the existing populations), not rural-urban migration, and will occur in small to medium sized cities, not the massive urban agglomerations that garner so much more publicity. It is important to note these nuances as they completely alter the way we strategize.

One of the biggest issues with urban data, it seems, is that various definitions required for obtaining data seem to differ widely from country to country. Furthermore, as cities continue to change and grow, a need appears almost for a third zone – not rural, not urban - but some degree in between. This new category might not need to be clearly defined, argues Montgomery, but should be considered while conducting surveys and gathering information. Some alternatives to data collection include the usage of satellite imagery, such as density of lights or built space.

Many development agencies like to herald the urban transition of developing countries as this “rapid, unprecedented” growth when in reality, urban growth rates have declined over the past few decades. However, consistent growth, improved life expectancy and high urban fertility seem positioned to continue a significant growth in urban population, and growth seems to be occurring in noticeable numbers of small and medium-sized cities. The challenge of growth in these types of cities, moreover, is that they tend to be more poorly serviced and lack both physical and human capital, especially in administration. Focusing strategies and projects on improving the capacity of these cities would be a good area to divert energies to.

In addition to the types of cities, a potential strategy for addressing urban population growth is that of urban family planning, instead of eviction of slum dwellers, migrants and the poor. Addressing the actual issue – natural demographic growth – could be a more effective and targeted method of dealing with urban growth.

Montgomery highlights these lesser known, more subtle aspects of the policy debate over urban growth in developing countries. Instead of stirring fear by conjuring up images of mega-urban areas, overcrowded by rural to urban migration and stifled by a lack of planning, Montgomery provides a thoughtful and in-depth treatment of the more realistic and specific issues providing obstacles to countries today.

1 - CIties Without Slums: Feasible or Detrimental?

Gilbert, A. (2007). "The Return of the Slum: Does Language Matter?" International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 31(4): 697-713.

This paper discusses the “Cities without Slums” initiative, started in 1999 by the Cities Alliance, which attempts to provide action items and targets for cities worldwide to improve the living conditions of the urban poor. Though this program has been largely lauded and advertised throughout the international development community, Alan Gilbert criticizes this effort in his paper, “The Return of the Slum: Does Language Matter?”

Gilbert’s central argument is that the usage of the specific word “slum,” though provocative and powerful, creates a potentially dangerous situation politically for slum dwellers. He posits that the term “slum” carries a weighty and tarnished reputation that associates “slum dwellers” with issues of ill moral repute, criminal behavior and other negative stereotypes, arguing that such a relative and “emotive” term – that describes a physical condition, not a state of being – has no place in the policy arena. He does recognize that the phrase “Cities without Slums” has been significantly catchier and more recognizable in the media and academia, citing increases in scholarly papers, journal articles, newspaper writings and even movies, and concedes that in terms of getting attention (and potentially more funding), the effort has been fairly successful. However, he seems to question the goal of the initiative altogether, in addition to having strong reservations against the usage of the word “slum” in such a noticeable and political venue that can lead to strong stigmatization.

In addition to the general concern of the word itself and its connotations, Gilbert delves into issues of definition and vagueness. Referencing various attempts at definitions (by the Oxford English Dictionary, Cities Alliance and UN-Habitat), he demonstrates that there truly has not been a useful and comprehensive definition for a “slum” – especially not one that transcends municipal and national boundaries, given that slums differ widely even within the same urban agglomeration. He does note, somewhat ironically, that “The only common element over time has been that ‘slums’ have always been perceived to be undesirable places in which to live.” (702)

Another major problem that Gilbert identifies with this initiative is that “slums” have not been eradicated, even in the more “developed,” Western world, and he pessimistically seems to doubt they ever will be. He questions the feasibility of this initiative, therefore, and suggests that governments might use this initiative to default to the typical, extremely detrimental clearance and demolition programs in order to “get rid of slums,” and notes several current cases where this behavior might be happening. Gilbert then recounts examples of failed slum upgrading projects and notes areas of difficulty and challenge.

Gilbert’s greatest critique of this campaign lies with the name and wording of the phrase. “Cities without slums” conveys this sort of utopian, oversimplified solution to what has been one of the most problematic and evasive concerns over the past century, skirting over the concrete problems and attributing urban issues to the “slum” – this vague, un-operational term. Urging policymakers and development practitioners to identify what they truly want, Gilbert suggests that more specific and targeted campaigns be used in the future; he offers “In search of better shelter” as a possibility, if the goal is improved housing conditions. Though a little rant-like and overly critical at times, Gilbert addresses a typically unnoticed concern that affects over a billion people on earth.