Disaster Management or Disastrous Management?

I, like many others, grew up believing that my grandfather was a real life action hero. What’s different about my case is that I wasn’t the only one.  After becoming known as the ‘Minister of the Volcano’ in 1963, my grandfather moved from one disaster to another – creating emergency response plans for earthquakes in Nicaragua, Guatemala and el Salvador and hurricanes in Honduras and Costa Rica. Though confident in his role as ‘action man’, he sought to change the approach to disasters in Latin America from reaction to prevention, arguing that responsible management was the key to development.

Unfortunately, our current action figures rarely stop to consider what long term effects disasters can have on development.  Two generations down the line, I’d like to pick up my grandfather’s thread and analyse how disaster management has progressed and how we can ensure that nations benefit in the long-run from our interventions.

One of the main obstacles to long-term progress is the separation of disaster management and development programs. Given that disasters tend to have higher impacts on ‘less developed’ nations and make it difficult for communities to advance, it is easy to deduce that if disaster management achieves higher levels of development, a nation will need less relief over time[1].

We may ask ourselves why it is that higher-income nations need less relief than lower-income ones, given that they are just as exposed to disasters. Taking the USA for instance, “more than one-third of its population lives in hazard-prone areas but only 1 percent of its land area ranks high in mortality risk,”[2] showing that geographical vulnerability alone does not determine the impact of disasters. This is where development comes into play. Not only can the USA better mitigate dangers, through means such as advanced warning systems, crop irrigation (to reduce the effects of draught) and sturdier buildings[3], but it also has the income and equipment to react quickly when a disaster does occur. ‘Less developed’ nations, on the other hand, generally do not have available funds to deal with disasters, so they have to take resources away from long-term projects, which in turn hinders their development.

Frequent disasters not only affect governments’ strategies, but also those of individuals. According to Robert Chambers “the poor live constantly with the risk of crisis and plan their livelihood strategies accordingly,”[4] suggesting that they will never consider their possibilities for personal development. For this reason alone we can say that interventions are necessary. Yet, the aim should be to reduce the pressure on locals, not to push them out of crisis management altogether. When aid comes with short-term goals and imported strategies, local institutions are often left crippled or dependant on foreign support[5]. Hence, local people and organisations should be allowed to create their own path to development.

Contrary to popular belief, the road to development can be paved during a crisis, so long as the support given treats people as resilient economic actors rather than victims. In 2009, the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) began a shift from food aid to voucher or cash transfers which could then be exchanged for food. In this manner, local markets could continue operating and consumers could continue accessing their basic needs. Controversially, the WFP’s vouchers can only be exchanged for specified food items at set quantities[6], so they come with restrictions to autonomy. Yet, such restrictions are intended to guarantee that nutritional goals are met and such conditions can create stepping stones for development.

Other conditions may require that people take positive action in order to earn their vouchers. This can range from going to school, working or even participating in relief efforts. In order to protect local labour markets, wages are generally set below market price to “serve as a self–targeting mechanism”[7] Though this may seem perverse, it could be the motivation people need to build up their own future. According to a GECHS report, continuous crises can damage people’s mental strength[8], so this approach could give them control over their lives and reduce their feeling of vulnerability.

By encouraging people to work and study, such programs can begin changing priorities and boost mitigation policies. If locals learn to save funds, use sanitation procedures and implement drought-protection mechanisms (through improved irrigation and different industrial systems)[9], they can become more resistant to natural disasters. Native institutions are essential in this, since they have local knowledge and may have a wider reach in society.

There is of course an underlying issue here, which James Darcy refers to as ‘low absorptive capacity’, entailing that there is little guarantee than funds given to local institutions will be spent effectively.[10] For this very reason, perhaps, a division has been made between disaster management and development. As Buchanan-Smith and Maxwell note, “there is little prospect of linking relief and development in countries such as Sudan, where the development aid budget has been slashed, because the country does not comply with political criteria for aid”.[11] However, rather than shrugging our shoulders and directing our efforts to humanitarian aid, we should work to build up relationships and improve the capacity of local authorities.

The simplest way of engaging local institutions is by ensuring that their long-term needs are met, and for this we need to include development criteria in disaster management strategies. Though the media may push for urgent action, sometimes the best response is to take a step back and look at the big picture. On this matter I can agree with my grandfather: we cannot continue to rely on external action figures to sweep in during a crisis. We have to implement long-term strategies that create local leaders, so that their own development reduces their need for foreign aid.

 

Comments Off on Disaster Management or Disastrous Management? / 06 Jan 2014 por anabeatriceacuna
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Importance of Town Planning System in Ghana

There are fashions in building. Behind the fashions lie economic and technological reasons, and these fashions exclude all but a few genuinely different possibilities in city dwelling construction at any one time.”

― Jane Jacobs, The Death and Life of Great American Cities

World Town Planning day, was founded in 1949 by the late Professor Carlos Maria Della Paolera of the University of Buenos Aires, a graduate at the Institut d’urbanisme in Paris, to advance public and professional interest in planning. It is celebrated in more than 30 countries on four continents, each November 8^th, of which Ghana  too, takes part in.

Nevertheless, Ghana is still struggling to develop its planning vision to create livable communities, because a lot of its people live in informal areas like the slums or zongos. The rapid growth of these slums and informal towns have put stress on individuals to provide their own services such as energy, education, health care, transportation, sanitation and physical security. Because governments have less revenues to spend on the basic upkeep of these slums and the provision of services, slums have become areas of massive concern, serious environmental problems, widespread poverty and disease.

Accra, the Capital of Ghana, is among the fastest growing cities in Africa with a growth rate of 4% yearly, while other developed cities are growing by 2%. The population of Ghana is 25.37 Million as of 2012. Ghana has a good stable political system and is the gateway to Africa.  Lets take a closer look at the statistics of Accra:

-Population of Accra is 4,010,054 as of 2012

– Area: 185km²

– CO₂ emission per inhabitant:0,4 tn

– Divided into 11 sub-metropolitan areas

Poor sanitation costs Ghana US$290 million each year –representing 1.6% of National Gross Domestic Product. US$54 million is spent each year on health care, treating diarrhoea and its consequences for other diseases like respiratory infections and malaria.

This problem is caused by the unacceptable lack of proper town country planning policies and practices. Without urgent effective solutions from urban planning and management in Ghana, the Ghana vision to attain middle-class economic status by 2015 may remain solely a dream. Only one university offers a course in town planning out of almost 40 accredited Universities in Ghana, which is Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).

Most of the Metropolitan areas are not part of the Town Planning Department, and most of the districts do not have town-planning officers.

There is an urgent need for the government and all Ghanaian to join hands together as a team to give adequate support to the town planning officers in order to reform the planning system in Ghana. Town Planning can be divided into two parts; land use management and strategic planning.

Strategic planning is an extensive term plan of what will be happen in the coming years ahead. It is useful for future expansion of whole new towns and for developing or redesigning existing towns. Land use management is applied to evaluate each part of land including zoning, building restrictions, sewerage, water systems.

Importance of Reforming the Town Planning System in Ghana.

The Town planners with support from the government will look at the needs of people and the environment whilst respecting limits to development. The Town Planners will also recognize regional limits to development in order to maintain natural habitats and biodiversity, which is very important to our continued existence.

The Town Planners(TP) will also check the size and appearance of new buildings, and their impact on communities across the country before they are built.

They (TP) will help to increase the government revenue and also create employment for the youth.

They will supervises the construction of buildings in the country and ensure that “translating what is on paper to the ground” will not become a problem and it will also reduce indiscipline on both the house owner and the contractor.

They will also enforce and develop appropriate local government bye-laws; environmental management and waste management rules are obeyed by every citizen.

They will impact knowledge, experience,skills and good planning practices for the country,and also serve as a platform that every building contractor can use as reference.

They will also assign Land use planning- and help in differentiating land for school, market/super market, hospitals, playground/recreational centre and library.

Last but not the least they will also help to develop Street names, since street names are the ultimate manifestation of a cities, politics, culture and ideologies, and they also provide a common language for a city and its inhabitants. They are the meters of change often reflecting dynamic struggles of power within the city limits.

 

Main Sources:

http://www.sustainable.com.au/town-planning.html

http://townplanningjobslondon914.wordpress.com

https://www.mtholyoke.edu/courses/rschwart/hist255/kat_anna/streetnames.html

http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/artikel.php?ID=171746&comment=0#com

http://citifmonline.com/?id=1.1606584

http://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/1289564-the-death-and-life-of-great-american-cities

 

Comments Off on Importance of Town Planning System in Ghana / 26 Dec 2013 por mavisasare
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Education: A Human Right Riddled With Inequality

Remember those days when you were woken up early and told to put on the clothes that mom laid out for you, then to make sure you came to the kitchen to have a bowl of cereal or a banana because a ‘hardy breakfast is a healthy breakfast’ or whatever it is they used to say to make you eat the thing they placed in front of you? We got up early and ate breakfast before we hopped on our bus, rode our bike, or had our parents drive us to school – oh the dreaded school – where you were stripped of your video games and television sets and whatever else you may have had that occupied your time in a non-productive manner. But was it really that bad?

School is that place where we went to learn to read and do math, where we finally strung together ’Spot the dog ran’, where we contemplated scientific theories, and where we enhanced social aptitude and made friends. As we progressed through school we changed little by little, and eventually our awareness grew as well as our abilities to make decisions for ourselves. We began to grow up and mature intellectually, and with this we began to find a role in our community. School is a place that fosters growth, and that in itself is an invaluable trait that school has to offer. Now think about a life without that school or that center for education, and imagine where you would stand today?

If we ask ourselves this question and try to envisage where we fall, it becomes a little bit easier to understand the power of an education. What exactly does an education from a primary level through secondary or even higher levels grant you? To answer that directly would be misguiding, but I can comfortably say that I have an idea of what a lack of education provides you – and that is a lack of awareness, knowledge, and thus power.

This realization isn’t necessary of a PhD in Education, as can be seen in a recent global poll of everyday people on development priorities. “A good education” is the top priority across the world according to over one million men and women of all ages from over 190 countries. Education is powerful, and it is easy to link to progress and development, as the poll indicates.

According to the Secretary-General of the UN, education is the major driving-force for human development. It opens doors to the job market, combats inequality, improves maternal health, reduces child mortality, fosters solidarity, and promotes environmental stewardship. Education empowers people with the knowledge, skills and values they need to build a better world. (Education First Initiative – UN 2012)

With that in mind, we should then ask ourselves why many places in the world marginalize roughly 50% of their population – that being the female population. Gender discrimination is a glaring issue across many areas dealing with human rights, but it is blatant in regard to education. In the Global Monitoring Reports from Education For All (EFA) in 2012, it was reported that there are some 34 million adolescent females out of school globally. The difference in the gender gap between primary school and secondary school becomes even worse when you look further into the report’s data. A decent reflection of this can be seen if looking at literacy rates across the adult population with 775 million illiterate adults across the globe, and over 500 million of those are women (EFA 2012). Many disparities can be seen on the EFA’s World Inequality Database for Education (WIDE), which highlights the influence of certain circumstances that play an important role in shaping people’s opportunities for education and life.

Females face some obstacles that influence this disparity, such as complications related to child labor, early marriage, early pregnancy, and expectations related to domestic labor. This list does’t include other obstacles that affect many children, boys and girls alike, such as conflict-ridden areas, strenuous walking distances and the lack of sanitary facilities at school (Education First Initiative – UN 2012).

This knowledge is devastating in its own right, but the devastation is exacerbated when taking into account the costs of not educating the women and girls. Research has shown that initiatives and investments in decreasing the gender gap in education have profound effects on communities well beyond the classroom (Global Campaign for Education). Referring back to what the Secretary-General of the UN said, these investments not only generate more knowledge capital and increase job opportunities, but they strengthen families and lift them from poverty, saves children’s lives, improve communal health, and increase the strength of the female voice which empowers them to have an impact in making communal decisions (Global Campaign for Education).

But the real question is what picture does this data really paint and how are we to interpret it? Is it right for us to look at these numbers and simply see blatant discrepancy in gender, thus, in order to boost the enrollment figures and decrease parity, we go and build more schools, find new teachers, and provide school supplies and uniforms? Or does the real issue lie elsewhere – such as cultural perceptions of the female gender role, teacher attitudes and bias, or patriarchy? If so, how do we promote change in these perceptions? Is the answer more education?

I don’t have an answer to the questions, but I know the issue is more complex than simple parity and enrollment figures. I am not saying that it is bad to build schools and recruit/train teachers, but I believe we must look further. If the issues we attempt to address are complex and not easily measurable, progress is difficult to see; therefore it cannot be as easily used to justify supporting initiatives that move beyond getting children to go to school (Girl’s Education: The Power of Policy Reform, Monkman and Hoffman). It is the other commitments though that are most likely to address the underlying basis for inequality – for example, challenging stereotypes and improving curricula (Monkman and Hoffman).

The potential for women to assist in the development in their communities is limitless. Just think of some of the great women in history, such as Florence Nightingale, Emmeline Pankhurst, Eva Peron, and Rosa Parks. There are so many more women that are lesser known for their leadership and humanitarian efforts I’m sure, but these women made significant differences and changed the world. To continue to marginalize those who could be great artists, philosophers, engineers, scientist, politicians, or leaders is incongruous.

When I travel around the world, I think in terms of the kids I see running around the slums of Botswana or South Africa or Brazil or Peru and I think about how we make sure they have the best possible opportunity to do well in life. I want to introduce this notion – let’s share in the stories of being woken up, eating our obscure breakfast and heading off to school. Let’s share the stories of progressing from year to year and our childhood memories from primary and secondary school. Let’s relive our significant life moments and revelations in this conversation with one another. Most importantly, I don’t want to share these stories with just a few people – I want every person to have a story to tell in relation to education. So finally, let’s share the task of challenging stereotypes, combating inequality and bettering education for every child.

Comments Off on Education: A Human Right Riddled With Inequality / 21 Dec 2013 por Jacob Jon Pallone
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“SMART” GUADALAJARA

In this post i am going to write about smart cities, and how we are doing in Guadalajara, but to go deeper in this topic, I should explain both concepts, as I know that smart city is a new concept and maybe Guadalajara is not the most famous city on the world.

Guadalajara is a city, 55 kilometers north-east from Madrid it is the third biggest city in Castilla-La Mancha region and it has increased a 20% the population in the last 10 years, raising 84.803 inhabitants in 2012, due to the proximity to Madrid, so a lot of people came here looking for calm but they go to Madrid every day for working and also for studying, like in my case.

The other part of the title, “smart” is into the concept of smart city, when someone tell anything about this term to us, the image that come up to our minds is a city that don´t exist yet, cities without traffic jams (maybe because cars are flying), no waste, no crime, even the future can be predicted, “Minority Report”-style, to prevent trouble before it starts.

This misunderstanding is the result of a definitional impreciseness, numerous unspoken assumptions and a rather self-congratulatory tendency, but as Hermenegildo Seisdedos says, “the smart city concept essentially means efficiency. But efficiency based on the intelligent management and integrated ICTs, and active citizen participation. Then implies a new kind of governance, genuine citizen involvement in public policy”

One of the key points that he says is active citizen participation, then we need one main thing, which is OPEN DATA, moreover it is one of the biggest challenges to achieve the smart cities projects because of the technical, economics and socials barriers. Maybe with some examples we can see how open data can help to the smart city and in the other hand how the public institution can be a barrier instead of a support to this open data activity.

In the first of the cases, we have the TomTom company working together with the Amsterdam city government. The problem they wanted to reduce is mobility problems, because there is more pollution and people get angry when they drive around looking for a place to park. Now drivers in Amsterdam can access real-time parking advice via their TomTom, saving hours of lost time while also cutting carbon emissions and reducing traffic congestion. It was done by facilitating access to public databases or what it is the same “Openning Data”.

Also in Guadalajara few days ago we made a step on being closer to the smart city project, with a new bus fleet, that use compressed natural gas, TFT screen inside the bus, WIFI… and in each bus stop they are installing informative screen where you will see the waiting time until the next buses, and extra information about the services, so again we find open data in a smart city process, creating a more intelligent public transport, and improving the communication and technologies for the citizens.

These two cases are good examples of how to develop the smart cities, but not always it is so easy, we can find some problems like it happened in Barcelona, where a software developer create a mobile application for the bus users, where they could check all the information about this public services, schedule, routes, real time arriving…in resume, an application that promoted an efficiency mobility and made easier the users life, but the S.A Cetramsa that depends on the Area Metropolitana de Barcelona (AMB) sent a legal requirement to the software developer asking for removing this app, and it is happened the same with other app that was about the public bikes renting, which were denounced by the Servicios Municipales of Barcelona (B:SM) and the same by Renfe with an application about the train services, so in these cases the public administration instead of promote the Open Data, they  censured it, because they wanted to get benefits from them and they were not thinking about the citizens and their comfort.

The second case about how it is not so easy to achieve the smart city is in Guadalajara, where we have a good project, grouping public services together and conceding them to the private sector for 17 years, exploiting synergies and saving between 8-28 per cent in each of the services integrated in the system, but the problem is, (like we always find it in Spain) that the opposition party says that the contracts and the tender are illegals, so the project is stopped until the Justice decides if it is or if it isn’t, I would really like to talk about how politicians in Spain don’t worry so much about the project, they are only worry in saying not to the other party proposal, but it is for another blog.

In my opinion, after lot of reading about that I think that Guadalajara has a good project, where both parties should work together and look for the best option, also I think that we must learn from the cities that are doing well about smart city projects, and as I said at the beginning open data is basic, and citizen can be an active part of these data collection, so I hope that they forget politic conflicts and we can move on in these challenge called smart city.

Finally with this blog I hope that you understand a little bit better the smart cities, because we are going in this direction, and maybe is the most sustainable way to live in the cities, using the new technologies to make the life easier and more efficient with a city population that is growing up incredibly fast. Also i link that video (which is the first of a serie) that can made easier to you to understand what is a smart city

Pinche aquí para ver el vídeo

Comments Off on “SMART” GUADALAJARA / 19 Dec 2013 por marioescamilla
IMSD /

Beirut: From A City Under-Construction To City Of The Future

With a population of over 2.1 million and a size area of 20km2, Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon.

Throughout history and until the end of a fifteen year civil war (13 April 1975 -13 October 1990), Beirut has been destroyed five times, recreating itself over and over again. Rebuilding the future on the remains of a stolen past became more of a déjà vu that was being replicated with the uncertainty and instability that came with it.

Considered as the center of business, politics and entertainment in Lebanon, Beirut was the only place that embraced all communities, religions and cultures, and ironically enough it was the first place that had been destroyed. Instead of being seen as a sign of richness and uniqueness, the religious differences became a factor of separation and violence shredding the nation to pieces.

Therefore, rebuilding the city of Beirut had to go far beyond construction and architecture, putting together the broken infrastructure of its people, demoralized and demotivated by this endless scenario.

People being the heart of their cities, in the case of Lebanon, its capital was in the heart of its people, an incentive that placed Beirut back on the map as an emerging city, planning for a sustainable future

The chaotic atmosphere that reigned for fifteen years brought a considerable number of social and political issues that made the planning of the city a complicated task.

The contested transformation of Beirut is due to the ever-changing zoning laws that allowed developers to use more space for construction on their lots by building more skyscrapers. This increase in high rises made the streets even more congested, giving Beirut a saturated appearance that can seem overwhelming to some people preferring a more spacious environment with less noise pollution and higher exposure to natural lighting.
In many ways, architects seeking to improve the city’s green potential are attempting to retroactively correct an internal infrastructure that never had a master plan, and was an ad-hoc result of population densification.

This uncontrolled development was erasing the authentic heritage of the city, therefore it was a challenge to preserve the combination of French, Italian and ottoman houses that added to the natural mixed flavor of the city.

Moreover, the nature of the Government; where politics and sectarianism constantly overlap, comes at the expense of the common good, creating a lack of trust in the public sector.

The fact that the private interest is taking over the public interest, is leading to the creation of a marginalised community that is developing on the base of self-interest and self-satisfaction. Therefore, everyone is looking to fulfill their own needs leaving behind the concept of common good and community interest.

The cultural behavior of the community translates a self-detachment that should be more of a governmental concern especially when the real estate sector is evaluated as an important factor in the GDP. And that real estate owners have the power to decide how the city is going to be built, without any consideration to the community’s needs. As a result of that, real estate is seen as a productive sector whose sole purpose is to generate personal profit regardless to their responsibility towards a community they are part of.

A suggested solution would be to slap taxes on real estate development to be used specifically for the development of common good.

The boost in efforts to go green in the city is partly due to the Mayor of the municipality of Beirut; Bilal Hamad, leading the adoption of numerous eco-friendly projects. He believes that: “The environment is a very important issue for Beirut, where the ratio of green space per capita is the lowest in the area”

Lebanon’s capital has just 0.6 square meters per capita of public green space, a statistic that renders the city “unhealthy” by WHO standards. To correct the ratio, half the city would have to be demolished.

Beirut is below average where environmentally friendly urban planning is concerned. The solution should begin with the rehabilitation of the existing spaces, like the public gardens of Sanayeh, Sioufi and Geitawi.

The mayor’s hesitation to launch a full-scale green-oriented urban planning program might have something to do with the government’s protracted implementation process, which can take up to a year. Whereas having a grant would facilitate the process in terms of bureaucracy and timeframe challenges.

Getting a green light for these types of projects, is a difficult task especially when it comes to convincing investors that the high initial costs are worthwhile in the long term.

However, in terms of creating a more environmentally friendly city, smaller initiatives are not sufficient. More drastic measures should be implemented such as the Damascus Road project in order to make Beirut a qualified candidate when it comes to complying with international standards.

In 1992, and as a starting point in the rehabilitation process, the French Agency for Development Ile-De-France and the Municipality of Beirut signed an agreement for the Urban Development of the City of Beirut.

This agreement should enable the launching of multiple projects aiming at improving infrastructure that could revitalize activity in the capital.

According to the Ambassador of France in Lebanon, Denis Pietton: “Financing studies for the improvement of urban development in Beirut in terms of transport including non-aggressive transport vehicles, but even in terms of green spaces and street lighting.”

The project will focus on the construction of:

• A pedestrian area
• A special lane for cyclists
• Public Spaces: Percentage of green spaces in Lebanon in general, and Beirut specifically have been declining drastically allowing pollution to increase at alarming levels. In a study conducted on Sanayeh Garden; one of the biggest parks of the city, it was concluded that this space can absorb 600 tons of co2 which equals the emissions of 375 cars in one year.

As a complementary approach to the rehabilitation process, awareness initiatives are being conducted by NGO’S through partnerships with the public sector, using sports as a team-building tool enhancing community engagement amongst citizens. Activities are being implemented on Sundays for people to enjoy their city and benefit from the areas that had been closed for this purpose.   Moreover these activities serve as a reminder that loyalty to ones country comes before religion and political affiliation.

The acknowledgement of a problem is half way to recovery, and the creation of bridges that could lead to solutions is a social achievement in itself.

Therefore, Beirut is on the right path for recovery.

 

Sources:

http://cmbeirut.org/content/promoting-non-aggressive-vehicles-beirut

 

http://www.codatu.org/calendar/november-7-2012-website-creation-region-ile-de-france-to-beirut/

 

http://www.idf-beyrouth.com/

 

http://attheedgeofthecity.wordpress.com/

 

http://www.worldviewcities.org/beirut/urban.html

 

 

 

 

 

Comments Off on Beirut: From A City Under-Construction To City Of The Future / 16 Dec 2013 por rimaelkhoury
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Urban Planning for Development in Guayaquil: The Challenge of Insecurity

Guayaquil may not be the capital of Ecuador, but is the biggest and most densely populated city (7,345.7 people/km2) of the country. It is located around 64 km north of the Gulf of Guayaquil and is Ecuador’s chief port and main commercial and manufacturing center, where 2.5 million people live and work. In the late 1990′s the current Mayor of the city, Jaime Nebot, started an Urban Regeneration program that has achieved a significant change in terms of infrastructure, among other things.

The next challenge

Despite the progress the city has experienced, there is still one big issue that instead of improving is getting worst every year: the insecurity. Latin America is one of the regions with the highest rates of economic growth, but is also the most insecure and unequal one. According to the “Barometer of the Americas 2010″ Ecuador is the second country of a total of 25, with the highest percentage of people (29.1%) who have been victims of crime.

When a person has an emergency in Guayaquil and needs assitance he can call ECU 911 (the new security system of the Government) or 112 (the security system of the Municipality). With these systems the inmediate response to an emergency has been taken care of, but the process that comes next needs to be improved. Usually when you call the police they take notes of the situation, but then you have to go to a Police Station (by yourself), often located in dangerous zones of the city, to file the report. Even after you do this, if you want them to work on the case you have to go with your papers to a designated office to demand an investigation, this will require that you do a constant follow-up to see any results. This is just one example of how complicated and long is the process of filing a report, you can see these kinds of flaws at every level of all the institutions involved in security and justice matters.

The municipal elections are coming soon, a new Mayor will be elected in February 2014 and the two main candidates, the current Mayor and the former Governor, have included the insecurity issue in their proposals. On one hand, Jaime Nebot will demand the Government to adopt a state policy on citizen security. The policy should be a sum of actions taken by the Government and the Municipality permanently, adequately funded and with periodic accountability. The Corporation for Public Safety funded by the Municipality will continue to develop preventive measures, especially in dismantling gangs, job opportunities for rehabilitated and operation of the System for Emergency Calls. On the other hand, the former Governor Viviana Bonilla wants to transform the Metropolitan Police into Community Police. She will develop a recovery plan for the neighborhoods most affected by insecurity. This project will be carried out with the neighborhood associations and community police.

The Opportunity for a Change

The proposals from both candidates are good, but they should be combined and implemented. The plan needs to focus on 4 main areas:

1. Prevention
2. Crime control
3. Social rehabilitation
4. Institutional strengthening

Following the Mayor’s proposal about a state policy on citizen security, it is necessary to think first on the tools we need to develop good and strong policies. In orden to do that the Municipality can work with the National Democratic Institute (NDI), a nonprofit, nonpartisan, nongovernmental organization working to support and strengthen democratic institutions worldwide through citizen participation, openness and accountability in government. They have experience in working in Central America with El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala to increase the confidence in democratic institutions and improve the quality of life of the citizens by promoting the dialogue between civil society, political parties and government institutions at local, national and regional levels.

“Since 2010, NDI has contributed to democratic engagement on citizen security policy by organizing international exchanges of best practices, designing and conducting courses on regional challenges and tools for making effective policy, and assisting municipal actors to develop and implement local violence prevention initiatives. The Institute helps civil society communicate citizen concerns to political leaders while helping parties and governments engage with constituents to develop more responsive policies. By building on a common base of understanding and taking into account a diversity of perspectives and regional experiences, leaders are better able to address the root causes of insecurity and bolster democratic institutions.” For more information click here.

I believe that a program like this is essential regardless of the project, citizens are so afraid of everybody that in some cases they don’t even trust the police. All the information, the big data, is a key resource for policy making. The Municipality and the police need to obtain this data from the citizens, so the engagement of the civil society is very important. But to complement this program they must have a software that helps to process the data and turn it into useful information. We can take the example of Thainland and the way the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) managed to reduce manual procedures by implementing a Microsoft Data Solution based on Microsoft SQL Server 2012 and Apache Hadoop software. This solution helped to reduce the time of an investigation process from 2 years to 15 days.

The World Bank has also been involved in finding ways to fight insecurity, they are aware that there is no magical solution, but the problem is multidimensional, so solutions need to be comprehensive. Last June they launched the program Red de Soluciones a la Violencia RESOL-V (Network Solutions to Violence), which is basically a network, a regional alliance to share the knowledge to help identify, design and implement solutions that work in public safety. It will give access to the people that worked in cases like Los Angeles, Chicago, Nueva York, Rio de Janeiro, Bogotá and Mexico City.

The United Nations Development Program is another organization trying to address the issue that exists in Latin America. The worrying reality let them to dedicate its Regional Human Development Report 2013-14 for the region, by elaborating a report called “Citizen Security with a Human Face: Evidence and Proposals for Latin America” where they present the following recommendations:

1. Align national efforts to reduce crime and violence, based on existing experiences and lessons learned.
2. Prevent crime and violence, promoting inclusive, fair and equitable.
3. Reduce impunity by strengthening security and justice institutions while respecting human rights.
4. Generate public policies oriented to protect the people most affected by violence and crime.
5. Promote the active participation of society, especially in local communities, to build citizen security.
6. Increase real opportunities of human development for young people.
7. Comprehensively address and prevent gender violence within the home and in public environments.
8. Actively safeguard the rights of victims.
9. Regulate and reduce “triggers” of crime such as alcohol, drugs and firearms, from a comprehensive, public health perspective.
10. Strengthen mechanisms of coordination and assessment of international cooperation.

As we can see now, the tools to find solutions and create better or new policies are there. Sadly, the Mayor of Guayaquil is considered the representative of the opposition and this has created a lot of tension with the President and his government. Instead of aligning efforts, like the UNDP suggests, each authority has his own agenda and hardly collaborate with each other. We don’t know what is going to happen in the next municipal elections, but regardless the outcome the new Mayor will have to change the way of working if they really want to improve the security of the city.

Comments Off on Urban Planning for Development in Guayaquil: The Challenge of Insecurity / 13 Dec 2013 por yvonneroca
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Creating Sustainable Communities in Muscat, Oman

To understand anything about Oman, you must first understand the concept of Al-Nahdha,  ”The Renaissance”. It refers to the period since the current ruler, Sultan Qaboos bin Said, came to power after a bloodless coup in 1970. Before this period, there the health care system consisted of two hospitals, with a total of 12 physicians, and the education system included two primary schools, and no secondary schools. And to connect a country larger than Italy, there were just ten kilometres of paved road (Middle East Health, 2005; Ministry of Education, 2011).

Today there are over 500 hospitals and clinics across the country, providing free universal health care for all Omani citizens. In terms of education, Oman now has over 1000 schools (primary and secondary), over 20 colleges and universities for the pursuit of higher education.

In October 2011, the Royal Opera House opened in Muscat. A symbol of both Omani tradition through its Arabian design, and of the what the future will bring for the growing capital through the ‘Majestic Muscat’ plan, which includes 24 mega projects to develop the waterfront, revitalise the business district, create public parks and spaces etc.

In short, a lot has changed in 43 years; and there are many plans for the future.

Muscat Today:

Currently, Oman has a population of 3.3 million inhabitants over 310, 000 km2. At first glance, compared to Italy’s 60.9 million over a 302, 000 km2, Oman’s modest population does not appear to present a problem. However a closer look at the demographic makeup of the country reveals that 50.8% is aged 24 and under (30.6% 14 and under; 20.2% 15-24), and in terms of housing, as the young Omani population becomes economically and socially independent the demand for high quality,well-communicated, affordable housing will become a key issue (CIA World Factbook, 2013).

While Oman has a per capita GDP of $29,600, wealth is unequally distributed, and an estimated 73% of the population can be considered low-income (Jones, Land and LaSalle, 2011). However, a short drive down the Sultan Qaboos Highway seems to tell an entirely different story. Mansions and huge urban complexes line the highway, indicating the housing market’s focus on the provision of luxury homes, and aiming for the higher income market to take advantage of larger economic gains. This has caused a gap in the market for low-income families, particularly in Muscat, where rent and prices are soaring.

There are two main issues to be considered when discussing affordable housing in Oman: first and foremost, the construction of houses ; and secondly the creation of communities around these physical structures.

Addressing the former entails an extensive analysis of the issues around supply and demand of affordable housing. According to a study by Jones, Lang, LaSalle, there was a shortage of 15, 000 housing units in 2011. This demand represents a fairly large market for investment in low-income housing, however land prices, cost of labour, and physical infrastructure costs each have a significant and complex set of effects on investment in this sector. Similarly, conditions for buyers in Oman are difficult, and ability to access credit plays a big role in the stagnation of the market.

In order to encourage investment, the Omani government has placed an emphasis on projects that include an affordable housing element. Additionally, the government has set up the Housing Loan Programme, which aims to provide up to RO20,000 per year of interest-free loans for Omani families (Arabian Business, 2011). However, low-income consumers are consumers nonetheless, and demand a certain level of quality both in the structural aspect as well as quality of life, and as education and socioeconomic status increases, a deeper understanding of the needs of the population is necessary.

This brings me to the second issue: the creation of new urban communities. As I explained above, when affordable housing is available, focus has been on simply the construction of the physical structure, with limited thought to families that these units of housing represent, and their social and societal needs (Jones, Lang and LaSalle, 2011). The Affordable Housing Institute highlights the dangers of marginalising communities from access to social services, good schools, commercial centres, as it has a negative effect on the quality of life of those citizens, reduces social integration and cohesion among, and creates communities that are temporary in nature, based on income level.

Moving Forward:

It is necessary that the Omani government consider a long term, holistic approach to urban development, and the realities of population growth give open a short window of opportunity to act.

On the policy level, changes to encourage investment in the sector are necessary in order satisfy the increasing demand for affordable housing. For example the implementation of regulations around the allocation of a fixed percentage of investment in affordable housing projects has proved successful in other nations (Jones, Lang, and LaSalle, 2011). Additionally, costs associated with building infrastructure (eg sewage, electricity, water) to new developments must be addressed to counteract cost cutting incentives for developers to build affordable housing on less desirable real estate. Furthermore, in order to ensure durability and quality of these investments, regulations regarding quality standards must be addressed to prevent cost cutting measures.

In term of urban planning strategies for the creation of communities, a more profound look at the more complex needs of Oman’s increasingly educated population is required. Now that access to basic needs has been covered, importance must now be placed on improving the quality of life within these new spaces. Supermarkets, cinemas, social centres, schools, health centres, and public spaces are all crucial elements in the planning of these new urban developments, and not only satisfy the needs the neighbourhood, but also opens up new venues for economic growth and opportunities outside of the core, and encourages more stable patterns or urbanisation as population continues to rise.

It is evident through the ‘Majestic Muscat’ Project that the Omani government understands the importance of creating public spaces for interaction, and social integration, with many parks, markets, and plazas on the list of development projects. I believe than it is important to abide by the same principles in the approach to the creation of new urban communities.

 

Oman has achieved a lot in the last 43 years, and while there is much to be proud of, there is still much to be done.  In this regard it is my hope that our relative ‘youth’, developmentally speaking, can be one of our greatest assets. With lessons from successes and failures in countries around the world available, Oman is at a unique position to plan for the long term and put in place more holistic strategies to ensure the sustainability of Omani society.

 

Sources:

Arabian Business. Oman sets aside $208m for affordable housing. April 17, 2012
http://www.arabianbusiness.com/oman-sets-aside-us-208m-for-affordable-housing-454279.html

CIA Factbook, Oman, updated 2013.
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/mu.html

Jones, Land and LaSalle. Why Affordable housing matters. September, 2011.
http://www.joneslanglasalle-mena.com/ResearchLevel1/JLLMENA_Affordable%20Housing_2011.pdf

Middle East Health. Regional Profile – Oman; Rapid Progress. 2005
http://www.middleeasthealthmag.com/cgi-bin/index.cgi?http://www.middleeasthealthmag.com/sep2005/feature4.htm

Oman Education Portal. A Glance at the Development of Education in the Sultanate of Oman. 2011
http://www.moe.gov.om/portal/sitebuilder/sites/EPS/English/MOE/eduinoman.aspx

Comments Off on Creating Sustainable Communities in Muscat, Oman / 13 Dec 2013 por asyamarhubi
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Impacts of the Olympic Games on Madrid Neighborhoods: Lavapiés Case Study

Imagine that the Olympic Games are going to be celebrated in Madrid in 2020. What effects could have this big event on Madrid neighborhoods? Madrid has a population of 3.237.937 people (Padrón 2012, INE) and it is composed by twenty one districts. Besides, each one of these districts consists of different neighborhoods. One of these neighborhoods is Lavapiés, officially called Embajadores, which belongs to Madrid’s “Centro” district.

Source: Dirección General de Estadística de Madrid

Lavapiés has a population of 48.477 (Padrón 2012, INE) residents and more than a 30% (Padrón 2012, INE) of these people are migrants. It has a population density of 490 persons/ha (Padrón 2012, INE). That is really big, because the average population density of the city of Madrid is around 54 persons/ha (Padrón 2012, INE). According to the housing market, more than 35% (Censo 2001, INE) of the houses are rented in the neighborhood. The importance of the rental market and cheaper prices than in the rest of the city center are some of the reasons that attract migrant people to Lavapiés. The most important problems of Lavapiés are the followings:

1. Street-dirt accumulation. Streets are generally dirty compared with other areas in Madrid. Nevertheless, I personally believe that this problem is not due to a lack of action by municipal cleaning services because they do their activity regularly.

2. Lack of public spaces, such as parks, squares, sport areas or playgrounds. This way, children don’t have a place where they can play safely and people cannot practice sport because there are not any areas prepared for doing this kind of activity. On the other hand, the few squares that exist are not designed to favor this use. For example, the square in the next photo is Cabestreros Square, one of the biggest squares in Lavapiés. However, it doesn’t have any green space or sport area.

 

Source: Ayuntamiento de Madrid

3. Housing quality. Houses are generally small, old and they are in bad conditions. About 65% (Censo 2001, INE) of the total dwellings of Lavapiés were built before 1920. On the other hand, only 7,4% (Censo 2001, INE) of the total houses in Madrid were constructed before this date. This way, people of high purchased power that used to live in the city center have moved to other areas with best housing quality in Madrid. As a result, there are more houses available for renting than in the rest of the city. Moreover, houses are generally overcrowded and that has provoked an increase in the use of public spaces in the neighborhood.

The celebration of the Olympic Games in Madrid would have a positive effect on Madrid neighborhoods, especially in Lavapiés. The problem that the Olympics would solve is the shortage of public spaces in the neighborhood. These sportive big events always have a big impact on cities transformation, because new infrastructures are built and these ones can be used by all the citizens. Therefore, more public spaces such as sport areas or green spaces would exist in Lavapiés due to the reorganization of urban space provoked by the Olympics. Moreover, these kinds of events tend to result in stronger citizenship feelings.

Madrid could take advantage of the Olympics celebration because this competition is not only addressed to the elites. The Olympics could drive sportive practices over the whole population. This way, citizens would feel part of the society by practicing sportive activities. For this reason, the transformation of Madrid’s public spaces is an essential step that should be taken by the local authorities. In Lavapiés’ case, these measures could improve the insertion of people on risk situation of local exclusion, such as immigrants or people of low purchased power. For instance, the Olympic Park of London 2012 was built in a low-income neighborhood in order to improve the situation of the population that lived in the area. However, London 2012 was not exempt from critics.

Thus, Madrid City Council could take some particular measures to increment the areas to practice sports in the neighborhood. For example:

• Make commitments with squats. There are some of them in the neighborhood, and they are really big and spacious. Therefore, they could create spaces destined for doing particular sports with funds of the local government.
• Forbid car traffic in several streets during the weekends, as the Council does in other areas of Madrid.
• Remodel some spaces that already existed. For example, creating spaces to play football or basketball in the squares.

Therefore, the celebration of the Olympic Games in Madrid could have a positive impact on the different neighborhoods, and particularly in Lavapiés. Some of its mains problems could be solve through the agenda of the Olympics’ for the above-mentioned reasons.

References:

Ayuntamiento de Madrid: Área web de información estadística.

Instituto Nacional de Estadística: Censo 2001.

Instituto de Estadística de la Comunidad de Madrid.

Nomenclátor Oficial y Callejero de la Comunidad de Madrid: nomecalles.org

Padrón 2002-2012 del Municipio de Madrid.

http://viveroiniciativasciudadanas.net/2013/04/25/procomunes-urbanos/

Comments Off on Impacts of the Olympic Games on Madrid Neighborhoods: Lavapiés Case Study / 13 Dec 2013 por martagomezmanchon
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Firenze, a sprawl city

How to tackle the congested accesses to Firenze from its functional area

I never thought of it. I really was surprised when I realized what a powerful tool a city can be to build sustainability. Why? Well, even if they occupy only about 2% of the global landmass, 50% of the global population live in the cities (70% as for Europe) consuming more than 75% of the world’s energy and being responsible for more than 70% of total CO2 emissions. Therefore their climate impact is massive! But the good news is that this urban density also represents an opportunity for local actions that summed up can generate a global benefit.

How does this contextualize to my hometown, Firenze? What are the challenges there? What can be improved? To start off, let’s have a look at a few indicators of the city:

CO2 emissions 2,5 million Tons
(34,5% transport, 30,2% residential activity, 27,8% Third sector)

Mobility shares (Istat 2001)
Walking 16%, Cycling 5%, Public transport 17%, Private motor vehicle 62%
(registered vehicles in 2010: Cars 206.000, 71.000 motorbikes / scooters, 28.100 other typologies)

What is immediately striking is the disproportion in the use of private transport compared to the other modal shares. One more thing is how – when looking at the typology of functional urban area – the numbers at stake increase dramatically. The functional urban area is determined by “its labour market basin and by the mobility patterns of commuters, and includes the wider urban system of nearby towns and villages that are highly economically and socially dependent on a major urban centre” according to the definition of the EU Regional Policy in its Cities of Tomorrow report [link].

The definition mentions mobility patterns and commuter flows. Here they are: of the total transfers in Firenze on a working day, 51,6% start and end within the city, 10,5% are outbound flows, 37,9% are entering flows. To the 139.000 people moving within the city everyday to go to study or work, there are additional 102.000 coming from outside (IRPET report 2008).

A major cause of this situation is Firenze’s random and not planned expansion: it is a clear example of a sprawl city. According to OECD Firenze in 2006 had a sprawl index of 3,47% ranking 33 worldwide. A sprawling city “creates major and severe impacts in relation to a variety of environmental, social and economic issues affecting not only the city and its region but also the surrounding rural areas” ( “Urban Sprawl in Europe – The Ignored Challenge” report by the European Environment Agency ). Sprawl creates car-dependent citizens and increases greenhouse-gas emissions. In detail: “Urban sprawl… is one of the main threats to sustainable territorial development; public services are more costly and difficult to provide, natural resources are overexploited, public transport networks are insufficient and car reliance and congestion in and around cities are heavy”. (EU Commission report 2011 Cities of Tomorrow)

If on top of this we consider the number of tourists attracted by Firenze’s artistic heritage (8 million in 2012, 75% from abroad; data from www.provincia.fi.it ) what does this cause? What are the consequences of this framework? A lot of private traffic, congested accesses to the city, more pollution and emissions. The annual cost of fuel, emissions and time lost in traffic per capita in Florence equals 1365€ (estimate by Vision & Value, data by Octo Telematics and ACI, MISE, Istat, ICE, in 2010)

If traffic congestion is an important issue that is facing Firenze (as also stated by Firenze’s Structural strategic long term Plan approved in 2010 by the municipality) and an obstacle towards sustainability, what can be done about it? I will make an hypothetical exercise, supposing that Firenze won the bid for the Olympic Games and it shall organize the next edition. A sport event of this dimension is a huge catalyzer of resources and funds: how could a part of these funds be used to improve the city urban planning and make it more sustainable?

Intuitively, it seems evident how the focus should be both on the city and on the whole of the functional area. Already decreasing by 15% the flow of inbound traffic, the situation would sensibly improve without impacting the economy.

If funds were available, integrated and correlated actions would be necessary in order to change and rebalance the modal shares of mobility, increase the public transport and find solutions to make smoother the private one.

The public transport should provide additional services, ensure quality, regularity, adequacy to the flows and capacity to respect the timetable. Increase bus city lines do not comply with these requirements. Additional challenges are set by the lack of a ring road and the relative small size of its streets, often not large enough to enable separate dedicated lanes for the public transport. So more city buses might get stuck in the traffic anyway.

One improvement to the urban mobility would be driven by implementing the planned additional two tram lines: only one line existing at now, open in 2010. (Zurich extensive tram and public transport network is a successful example in this direction: there are more tram monthly tickets than driving licenses and it is experiencing an inversion of tendency with people who moved back to live in the city).

Another way – which proved to be efficient as a temporary solution during the recent World Road Cycling Championships when many streets were completely closed to the traffic due to the races – would be to use the existing railway system and the small urban train stations to increase the connections between the outskirts and various strategic city locations, also buying new train coaches, and use it as a regular urban service. Yet, that was an extraordinary solution. At the moment the same railway lines are used by local trains as well by the high speed ones. To make it possible to implement it, it is necessary to separate the bypass high-speed line from the urban line. How? Like it has been done in Bologna and like they have planned to do also in Firenze where the works for a new, dedicated, underground train station for high speed trains have started.

Another option within the city could be to increase and make more structured a low cost bike sharing service (which is at an early stage and not yet automated) integrated into the city’s public transport system on the example of Barcelona and Paris (C40 Cities examples).

As for the sprawl issue, solutions could be to launch campaigns to promote carpooling (whose use nowadays is facilitated by the technology as witnessed by some Apps for smartphones), or evaluate experiences of increased bus service capillarity on the examples of the sprawling network of bus lines of Sao Paolo in Brazil (ICLEI Network).

Maybe the solutions are already out there. Firenze is already moving on. It signed the European movement Covenant of Mayors, and committed to increasing energy efficiency and use of renewable energy sources on its territory to reduce a 20% CO2 reduction objective by 2020. Maybe if the necessary funds were available it would be possible to accelerate the sustainability improvement process – part of which sprawled Firenze has already started – and help mitigate its climate impact.

Comments Off on Firenze, a sprawl city / 13 Dec 2013 por guidopreti
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Urban Regeneration in Sheffield

Key Facts

Sheffield is located in the North of England in the county of South Yorkshire, 40km south of Leeds.  According to the 2011 census the city has a population of 513234, with an estimated population density of 1,395 people per km².  The metropolitan area comprises four local authorities (Sheffield, Rotherham, Doncaster and Barnsley) with an estimated population of 1285600 inhabitants.  The city has a GDP of 26645 USD per capita (2013), which is below the national average of 38514 USD.

Sheffield  – Host City

Sheffield would be likely contender to host an international sports event in the UK.  The city boasts a strong sporting heritage and has already held major events such as The World Student Games (1991) and was one of the venues for the European Football Championships (1996).  It has been described as the UK’s greenest city – there are  more parks per square km than any other UK city and also more than one-third of the city lies within the boundaries of the “Peak District” national park.  Needless to say, the city would face a number of constraints which would need to be solved prior to the start of the event.  Three issues that the city currently faces have been identified below:

 

1. Urban Degeneration – The topic of urban degeneration is particularly relevant in two key regions of the Sheffield: the Central Business District (CBD) and “Don Valley” area (formerly heavily industrialised district located on the North East of the city).  Once a significant industrial centre, the iron and steel industries left Sheffield over 20 years ago. Many former industrial sites are derelict today.  Furthermore a large out-of-town shopping complex has exacerbated the decline of the CBD.

2. Insufficient Public Transport – Car journeys within the city continue to increase, while usage of public transport has contracted.  There are 245000 cars registered in the city and over 67% of all entries into the city are made by car.  Criticisms have been made of the lack of bus provision (especially evenings and outside of peak times).  The tram network is also seen to be insufficient, costly to run and has bypassed several major residential zones.  Furthermore, Sheffield does not have a city airport – the nearest major airport is in Manchester, 70 km away, meaning any international visitors would need to make an extra journey to reach the city.

3. Gentrification –  This is relatively new issue to the city. Previous urban regeneration projects have been criticised on the grounds of social exclusion.  Traditionally working class and areas with social housing have been sold to private construction companies and remodeled in some cases pricing existing tenants out of the market.

Many would consider the problem of urban degeneration to be the greatest challenge that Sheffield currently faces and we will examine this in greater depth.  As the city centre is often regarded as key to a city’s image, the topic of urban degeneration in the CBD of Sheffield of particular relevance.

Degeneration in the CBD

The opening of the Meadowhall shopping complex in 1990 has been accused of draining the city centre of shoppers and pulling traders out of the CBD.  Meadowhall offers a vast array of high street brands as well as leisure facilities and attracts over 25 million visitors per year. Through Meadowhall’s situation next to the M1 motorway and public transport interchange, the centre is easy to reach from the city and surrounding region.  Additionally Meadowhall offers extended opening times and free car parking, further adding to the convenience of the shopping experience.

The recent recession and rise of online shopping has also put pressure on classical shop-based retailers.  Currently 26% of shop space in the CBD of Sheffield is vacant.  On a national scale, this places Sheffield as the city with the 6th highest number of vacant retail properties. The variety of retailers has also decreased as discounters with lower overheads have moved into existing property on short-term leases. Consequently areas of the CBD are experiencing various degrees of decay which further act to deter potential visitors.

In order to reverse the decline, there are a number of measures which could be undertaken:

Park & Ride – One common complaint on public discussion forums is that car parking in the city centre is expensive.  A park & ride initiative would allow visitors to the city to park outside of the city free of charge in a secure area and pay a small fare to use an express bus (with a dedicated bus lane) or tram to reach the centre.  A park & ride model that has been praised is the scheme in Edinburgh. A Park & Ride system has a two pronged effect of reducing car journeys, congestion and associated emissions and also acts as an incentive for shoppers to visit the city centre.

Tax incentives – On a political level, government could award tax incentives for businesses located in city centres. Recently there have been calls for the freezing of business rates to encourage new retailers and also help maintain current stock.

Contained Communities – Drawing from urban design principles of Jane Jacobs, the identity of an area can be strengthened by mixing retail areas with both residential and commercial properties.  By mixing land use in Sheffield CBD this could encourage more people to relocate to the CBD.  Through the incorporation of residential property with commercial usage, this will help forge the creation of urban communities where citizens live, work and spend leisure time in the local area. Jane Jacobs’ humanistic idea that you should be able to see a city from your front-door, reflects a sustainable environment where people travel less in order to fulfill their daily needs.  Such projects could lead to improvements in local environment as well as bring social benefits such as a reduction in crime levels due to an influx of new services.

There is currently a lack of housing in Sheffield, with local media suggesting that at least 1300 new homes will be needed every year for the next 15 years.  In the context of a large sporting event, it is interesting to examine the legacy of the London Olympic games.  The event provided the locality of Stratford and other areas of East London  with a considerable uplift in the number of affordable new houses – over 30% of new accommodation built in conjunction with the Olympic village was dedicated to social housing following the event. East Village has incorporated social services such as schools and medical centres, with leisure, retail and commercial (office space) property – all within walking distance of residential areas.  While such an extensive project would not be possible within the confines of the urban landscape of Sheffield’s CBD, a scaled down adaption of the core self contained principles would be a feasible option to reduce degradation within Sheffield.

Ideally all three suggestions could be integrated into Sheffield city centre however obvious financial and political constraints would play a pivotal role.  By strengthening the position of CBD, other issues such as transportation and gentrification would also be addressed; a better connected CBD would encourage car users to turn to public transport and the integration of affordable housing and working space within the urban realm would act as a catalyst for population growth and regeneration.

Comments Off on Urban Regeneration in Sheffield / 13 Dec 2013 por davidthorpe
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