What happens when a foreign charity introduces a development agenda that aligns with local social entrepreneurial initiatives? Will local entrepreneurs be seen as like-minded stakeholders, or as 'competition'? The story of the development of cycling on the Caribbean island of Nevis shows how agendas can clash despite everyone's good intentions.
Lots of 'solutions' get presented at events like the Urban and Housing Development conference in Cape Town, but can a model be sustainable if it excludes large parts of the city?
There are many celebrated ideas and personalities in urban development, but how many survive the test of time? Two writers reflect on the legacy of John Turner, 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?
Eminent housing and urban development consultant Geoffrey Payne offers a personal view on the international framework governing the global urban agenda.
WaterAid's Timeyin Uwejamomere calls on lead agencies to reprioritise their water and sanitation expenditure on informal settlements to prevent slum conditions from spreading as urbanisation intensifies.
The international community is increasingly optimistic about the wealth generated in Africa's cities. But with rising slum populations projected from the same trends, how shall the former overcome the latter?
Mike Duff (Twitter: @MrMikeDuff) is a consultant on strategy, planning and sustainability for cities at WSP, based in London.
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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.
