Home in the City

by Garau, Pietro; Sclar, Elliott D.; Carolini, Gabriella Y.

• ISBN13: 9781844072309
• ISBN10: 1844072304
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-06-23
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

* One of 14 publications comprising the official UN strategy on how to reduce extreme poverty and achieve the fundamental worldwide human development goals for the coming decade * Project directed by Jeffrey D. Sachs, named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time Magazine, current Director of The Earth Institute, Columbia University, and Special Adviser to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan * The essential reference work for all governments, policymakers, aid and donor agencies, development practitioners, researchers, and students worldwide More than 900 million people currently live in urban slums and the number is growing as rapid urbanization continues in the developing world. "A Home in the City" urges countries to strengthen their focus on the growing urban crisis and on improving the lives of slum dwellers. Proposed are specific investments and policy changes required at local and national levels to create a vibrant, equitable, and productive urban environment. It underscores the need for close strategic partnerships between local authorities and organizations of the urban poor for slum upgrading and improved urban management. From adopting citywide strategies and establishing adequate and affordable infrastructure and services, to building effective public transport and constructing low-income housing, it offers valuable methods to prevent future slum formation and to improve the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers by 2020. The UN Millennium Development Library A Home in the City, in conjunction with the flagship publication Investing in Development, is one of 13 thematic publications that comprise the UN Millennium Library. This set of reference handbooks charts world progress and presents strategies for dramatically reducing extreme poverty in its many dimensions--income poverty, hunger, disease, exclusion, lack of infrastructure, and shelter--by 2015, while promoting gender equality, education, health, and environmental sustainability. This Library is the official, comprehensive point of reference and action plan for achieving the fundamental development objectives embodied in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) adopted by the UN and world leaders in 2000.

Table of Contents

Foreword	iii
Task force members	x
Preface	xiii
Acknowledgments	xvi
Abbreviations	xix
Millennium Development Goals	xx
Executive summary	1	(9)
The dimensions of the problem	10	(12)
The urban population of the world is growing	11	(1)
More than 900 million people live in slums	12	(1)
Urban poverty is severe, pervasive, and largely unacknowledged	13	(1)
Slum dwellers are excluded from urban life in many ways	14	(1)
Urban poverty is often underestimated	15	(1)
The benefits of the urban economy reach beyond city boundaries	16	(2)
The urban context is critical to meeting all of the Goals	18	(1)
Specific actions must be taken to meet target 11	18	(4)
Recognizing the urban poor as active agents of development	22	(13)
Federations of the urban poor are making a difference	22	(1)
Community-led work in slums draws on a variety of mechanisms	23	(6)
Actions by federations are setting precedents and changing standards	29	(2)
Many criticisms of community-driven processes are unfounded	31	(1)
Nongovernmental organizations, governments, and international agencies can support organizations representing the urban poor	31	(2)
Conclusion	33	(2)
Reaching the target through improved governance	35	(13)
Countries around the world are adopting good urban governance practices	36	(2)
People have the ``right to the city''	38	(4)
Planning for development can prevent slums from developing	42	(4)
Local strategies for improving slum dwellers' lives can address all the Goals	46	(2)
Supporting and enacting local pro-poor policies	48	(29)
Land regulation and transparency in private land transactions are critical to ensuring secure tenure	48	(4)
Cities can provide adequate, affordable infrastructure and services to the poor	52	(3)
Community contracts are a good way to involve slum dwellers in improvement projects and raise their income	55	(2)
Improving public transportation can expand options for the urban poor	57	(2)
Health services need to reach poor urban dwellers	59	(3)
Building codes and regulations need to meet the needs of the urban poor	62	(3)
Policymakers need to provide alternatives to prevent new slums from forming	65	(2)
Cities need to create regulatory and policy environments that encourage private sector participation	67	(9)
Organizations and community groups need to be empowered to participate meaningfully in planning	76	(1)
Mobilizing resources and investments	77	(20)
Most of the funding for improved housing will come from local sources	77	(12)
Land needs to be made available to the urban poor	89	(4)
Professionals and civil servants need to be trained to improve the lives of slum dwellers	93	(4)
Empowering local action	97	(12)
Networks of people committed to improving the lives of slum dwellers need to be developed and strengthened	97	(4)
International initiatives for local poverty reduction strategies are needed	101	(3)
Creating a worldwide partnership of ``Millennium Cities'' could advance the urban agenda	104	(5)
Monitoring progress toward target 11	109	(8)
UN-Habitat is responsible for monitoring progress	110	(1)
The Monitoring of Urban Inequities Program was created to provide institutional infrastructure for monitoring progress	111	(2)
Monitoring security of tenure is difficult	113	(1)
Progress is being made in improving the data needed to monitor target 11	114	(1)
An enhanced global monitoring mechanism is needed	114	(1)
The urban poor represent an untapped resource for monitoring progress	115	(1)
Recommendations	116	(1)
Investing in the target to improve the lives of slum dwellers	117	(27)
Meeting the target is feasible	118	(2)
Current estimates were used to estimate the investment required to meet target 11	120	(1)
A variety of factors affect investment costs for slum upgrading	121	(1)
The target needs to be translated into operational terms	122	(1)
Process is as important as technical solutions	123	(1)
Interventions must be well defined	124	(3)
Slum upgrading would cost about $42 a year per beneficiary	127	(3)
Three self-help housing programs in Central America provide important lessons	130	(2)
Estimates were developed for each component of assisted self-help housing in the Central American programs	132	(2)
Global estimates were calculated on the basis of the Central American experience	134	(5)
By 2020 some 570 million people will need alternative housing to avoid becoming slum dwellers	139	(1)
Estimates of regional investments required to meet the Goals show that the greatest need is in Sub-Saharan Africa	139	(5)
Notes	144	(5)
References	149