This issue of Shape the World focuses on creating humane and liveable cities. Half the world’s population now lives in cities and most of the increased urbanization is predicted for Africa, Asia and Latin America. As cities grow, so does the number of urban poor. More than 800 million people now live in the overcrowded slums of cities such as Caracas, Jakarta, Nairobi, Mumbai and Mexico City. The urban poor often lack access to clean water and toilets. They may live next to polluted waterways or hazardous garbage dumps. And they may be threatened with eviction by city governments wanting to build new transit systems and shopping malls.
Transforming the slums and favelas requires more than just infrastructure. City governments must first learn to work with the poor rather than against them. With the right help and recognition, poor urban communities are building more prosperous, healthier lives.
| In India, slum dwellers are recycling solid waste, turning the garbage of the rich into a steady household income. |  |
In Peru, poor urban communities setup community gardens to grow food for their own consumption and for sale at local markets |
 |
Want to find out more? Check out the State of the World 2007: Our Urban Future published by Worldwatch Institute which examines changes in the ways cities are managed, built, and lived in that could tip the balance towards a healthier and more peaceful urban future.
The international response to rapid urbanization and urban poverty in developing countries has grown significantly over the last decade. In the words of Ann Tibaijuka, Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Program:
"Cities can and should be centres of creativity and economic development. If we want to unlock the economic potential of Africa, a continent known for its riches and natural resources, then we must commit ourselves to the urbanization of Africa. . . the future of the continent is urban and the world will be surprised by the rise of dynamic African cities."There are many organizations working to create livable cities around the world. In Jakarta, where one-quarter of the city’s nine million people live in slums, Canada’s International Development Research Centre worked with Mercy Corps to redesign the space underneath an elevated toll road where a community of 10,000 people faced eviction. They decided how they could avoid eviction by improving the space for recreation, small market gardens, cultural events, businesses and infrastructure for drainage, sanitation and water supply.
The World Urban Youth Assembly is a forum for young people committed to transforming their communities into peaceful and healthy places. The assembly meets annually at the World Urban Forum, which was held this year in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Read what slum dwellers have to say about the importance of secure land rights for helping communities dig themselves out of poverty.
International Centre for Sustainable Cities is a Vancouver based network that brings together youth, the business community, citizens groups and government institutions to catalyze positive change in 30 cities around the world.
The UN Habitat works to improve access to safe water and adequate sanitation for millions of low-income urban dwellers.
The rapid growth of cities around the world presents unlimited opportunity for International Development students to become part of the global movement for sustainable cities. Fourth year INDEV students work side-by-side with urban entrepreneurs and community leaders working for positive change in their cities.
Jim Enright went to Preston High School in Cambridge and graduated with a Bachelor of Environment and
Resources Studies from the University of Waterloo in 1990. “I would have definitely chosen the International Development program at Waterloo had it existed back then,” says Jim. His interest in development issues really sparked on a special field trip to India, Sri Lanka and Nepal organized by the Faculty of Environment. “This was my first trip outside of Canada and it had a huge impact on me. There was culture shock at first but by the end of the trip I was scheming how I would get back overseas.”
Through Canadian Crossroads International’s Kitchener Committee he spent eight months working with the National Appropriate Technology Council of Belize. He then went to Indonesia with Canada World Youth for two years. And from there he went to Thailand with CUSO where he works to this day. “My first job as a national park interpreter with CUSO really prepared me for the work that I really love and continue to this day: coastal resource management and community-based mangrove management.”
Through CUSO, Jim joined the Yadfon Association, whose pioneering work with marginalized fishing communities has led to the successful restoration of mangrove forests and increased income for local fishing communities in southern Thailand. “One of the most rewarding aspects of my work,” says Jim, “has been bringing fishermen and women from three or four countries at a time to learn from one another about their common struggles to defend their fishing livelihoods. Environmental management for the long term depends upon empowerment of local people.” Since 2001, Jim has led an office in Asia for the Mangrove Action Project, campaigning to reverse the degradation of Asia’s mangrove forests, while promoting the rights of small-scale fishers to sustainably manage their resources.
To INDEV students, Jim offers this advice: “volunteering with international development organizations is a great hands-on way to learn about development issues and work with people from different cultures.”
January 2010- Education for Global Progress
