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Urban Planning in the Developing World
- 2. • CAN PLANNERS TACKLE ISSUES OF THE DEVELOPING WORLD WHILE AVOIDING THE NEGATIVE IMPACTS OF URBANIZATION?
- 10. Gurgaon, India
- 18.
Notas do Editor
- 1 in 7 people live in poverty, 1 in 9 are undernourished, 58 Million Children are not attending elementary school, 73 million young people cannot find jobs and the world is facing a very real threat of water shortages.
- On top of that, the world is becoming increasingly urbanized. Migrating populations poor into overcrowded slums. The lack of infrastructure and public service leaves residents vulnerable to crime, disease and natural disaster. The World Health organization report that close to a billion people live in urban slums.
- Many well meaning Westerners and government official attempt to help by completely clearing slums. This causes displacement and more instability. Effective planning strategy must include an understanding of the local culture and community engagement. The main goal can never be the project, but the wellbeing of the people.
- Researchers from Penn State University used GIS to map Kibera, a slum neighborhood of 200,000 people outside of Nairobi Kenya. Skepticism was squashed when they explained that the maps would not be used to destroy their homes, but rather made available to residents so they could make informed decisions regarding their own community.
- Residents were given hand held GPS receivers and recorded water sources, churches, clinics, schools and important landmarks throughout the community. They took pride in the finished product, knowing they had created something that would help their community. This information was used to petition the government to provide much needed public services.
- The best part is the effect these maps have had on young girls. Locals girls matter of factly provided information regarding the areas where sexual assault occurred. No community should have assault as a way of life. Within 6 months, Nairobi officials had improved street lighting and stationed public safety officers in key areas.
- Khayelitsha is a suburb of Cape town characterized by violent crimes and large underutilized lots. Residents had a hard time even getting groceries home without the fear of being mugged. Landscape architects realized that safety was related to land use. They began rebuilding pedestrian corridors and creating safe zones for walker. For some streets, that simply meant improving lighting.
- For others, safe, Jane Jacob style areas, that included a well lit tall building were built every 500 meters. These areas are manned at all times and included businesses and playgrounds. They created a sense of place and eyes on the streets. After their construction, murder rates decreased by 40%.
- Gurgaon is a fast growing suburb of New Dehli. It is a very modern city with a large gap between the professional class and the urban poor. All services are privatized, including utilities and security. The roads regularly flood and the ground water is rapidly being depleted by the construction of high rise apartment buildings. but change is on the horizon.
- In 2012, a democratic election was held and councilors where chosen to represent poor neighborhoods. They are using open source data and social media to provide real time data regarding the condition of slum areas. Residents are also being taught sustainable waste management, and supplies are being distributed as needed. This new generation of leaders are implementing policies that provide basic needs such as food, security and sanitation to all the residents of Gurgaon.
- It’s not always feasible to have people on the ground. In war torn areas, geospatial technology has revolutionized the way international relief organizations plan. Satellite images combined with rainfall data, and the vegetation index can help predict where food shortage will occur.
- Zimbabwe experience both drought and civil unrest in 2005, putting 6 to 8 million people at risk of hunger. These methods provided enough advanced notice to get food imported and assimilated among the population. As drought can be a major issue in Africa, planners are being proactive in their efforts.
- The Sahal is on the front lines of the fight against desertification. The Great Green wall is one strategy to help the environment and economy in Africa. Trees regenerate the soil and absorb carbon dioxide. Also, some trees are able to generate sustainable revenue, such as the Gum Arabic, Tamarind and desert dates.
- Yacouba Sawadoka is one person who is on those front lines . With no formal training, he understood how important afforestation was for the health of the land. He dug holes in the land during the dry season and filled them with dung and wood chips. This attracted termites, that dug tunnels that retained the water during the rainy season. He also planted trees along with his crops. With time and perserverence, his desert turned into a thriving forest.
- One of the most effective models of Urban sustainability is Curitiba Brazil. Curitiba is unique in that the policies that make it so resilient went into place in the 1980s and are still affective today. Curitiba is a good reminder of the interdependence of one service on another.
- Parks are built in floodplains so they can provide ecosystem services during the wet season. Prior to this, the area contained a shanty village that regularly flooded causing unlivable conditions. Developers were allowed to buy the air rights for extra stories on skyscrapers which created density in the urban core. The revenues where used to create housing for the residents displaced by floods.
- The transport system is made up of buses vary in size according to demand and 38 miles of bus exclusive lanes. A master plan was developed that included a pedestrian only downtown and five main corridors. These corridors were designed to move large numbers of people, not cars, to the downtown area. Because of this 75% of Curitiba’s population uses the bus.
- Curitiba encourages low income residents use recycled goods as currency in a program called the green exchange. Each pound of recycled material earns bus tickets and fresh produce. As a result of this program, Curitiba recycles 2/3rd of its trash at the same cost of its former landfill system. The recycling plant itself is built with recycled material. Even the local farmers benefit as less food is going to waste.
- This is really cool! Forced laborer used to build bomber planes in this hanger. It was taken over by the allied forces and was used as the take off and landing site for raisin bombes who dropped much needed supplies the civilians trapped in the Berlin blockade from 1948-1949. Again, this hanger is providing aid to those in need. Adaptive reuse of the airport is serving as temporary Housing for 2,300 refuges.
- I don’t pretend to have all the answer, but isn’t this why we all went into planning? We are people who look at the big picture and are not afraid to set big goals that raise the quality of life for those in our community. I hope that these strategies inspire you to do that where ever you end up.