Who inspires you? There are many celebrated ideas and personalities in the field of urban development, but how many survive the test of time? John Turner's argument that housing is most successful when produced through the autonomy of its residents remains popular, influential, but often misunderstood. Today two writers, representing very different generations, reflect on the legacy of a quiet hero of global urbanism.
Slum neighbourhoods are teeming with industry and commerce, yet the policy sphere still tends to treat them as residential spaces alone. What are the consequences of this misconception, and is it time to invoke a right to space, not just of housing?
Yusaf Samiullah OBE argues for the complexity of urban environments, stating that this is what international development organisations must apprehend and address if they are to improve the quality of urban livelihoods.
Eminent housing and urban development consultant Geoffrey Payne offers a personal view on the international framework governing the global urban agenda.
Who sets the global urban agenda? What are the world's urban priorities? What should they be? Three international experts and a roomful of readers battled out these questions and more.
DfID's decision to withdraw from UN-HABITAT demonstrates an ignorance of the contradictions in the mainstream development agenda, and the intractability of the problems facing urban areas.
Vijay Govindarajan's proposal to design a $300 one-room shed to solve the world's housing problems is riddled with stereotypes and prejudices.
Timeyin Uwejamomere is Senior Policy Analyst for urban water and sanitation services and current Country Representative for Nigeria at WaterAid.
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The Global Urbanist is an online magazine reviewing urban affairs and urban development issues in cities throughout the developed and developing world.
Its readers are drawn from the urban policy and international development sectors, and include urban planners, officers in local, national or international government agencies, civil society leaders, and researchers.
