Edad Mercier talks to Haitian grassroots activist Gerthy Lahens about the challenges facing the implementation of the Renaissance Project, a proposal to build a self-sustainable village to the north of Port-au-Prince in one hundred days.
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.
A number of positive civil movements that Haitian authorities could easily engage with to develop a more sustainable and inclusive future for the country.
Vijay Govindarajan's proposal to design a $300 one-room shed to solve the world's housing problems is riddled with stereotypes and prejudices.
Monthly reflections from The Global Urbanist.
This month's topic: the international relations of cities.
This article was first released as an email newsletter on Sunday, 16 May 2010 to our subscribers, and posted here on Friday, 28 May.
Despite the well-known demographic trends, much of the mainstream development industry still have trouble seeing that cities need their attention.
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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.
