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Yanacocha Mine, in Cajamarca, Peru. The country's Supreme Court last year ruled in favour of a farmer that a US gold miner claimed was illegally occupying land it wanted to develop (Golda Fuentes, Creative Commons, via Flickr)
Getting community voices heard in investor-state arbitration
… at ways civil society groups are bringing community perspectives, human rights, and environmental issues to the attention of arbitral … can affect communities' access to land and natural resources, their human rights, or damage the environment on which these communities … for a multilateral investment court , and the UNCITRAL Working Group on Investor-State Dispute Settlement Reform  needs to consider how …
Insight, 05 March 2018
Community reblocking to improve settlement design and the quality of the neighbourhood in Namibia (Photo: Diana Mitlin/IIED)
Namibia shows how to support low cost housing
… Shack Dwellers Federation of Namibia and the Namibian Housing Action Group were working with the city of Windhoek to improve options for … need remains. Five years ago the federation surveyed Namibia's shack settlements in detail, documenting living conditions in 235 settlements … Mitlin ([email protected]) is a principal researcher with IIED's Human Settlements Group . …
Insight, 13 June 2014
This map of the covered and open drains in Jamshed Town, Karachi illustrates how communities have led on installing sewers and drains (Image: Orangi Pilot Project–Research and Training Institute)
Reducing risks in urban centres: think 'local, local, local'
… dangers particularly affect low-income populations living in informal settlements. These areas often lack most risk-reducing infrastructure … ([email protected]) is a senior fellow in IIED's Human Settlements research group and visiting professor at the Development Planning Unit, …
Insight, 08 May 2017
A 'living room on the street' in Paposh Nagar, Karachi (Photo: Fareena Chanda)
Alternative routes to urban density
… Under the leadership of Arif Hasan , the IIED Human Settlements research group engaged with local partners to identify plot-based planning …
Project, 16 July 2015
A 'peace wall' in Mukuru, one of the largest slums in Nairobi, Kenya (Photo: Urban ARK)
A special approach to slum upgrading: the Special Planning Area in Mukuru, Nairobi
… such an ambitious and comprehensive approach to upgrading informal settlements is novel and exciting. The use of an SPA clearly indicates … world.  David Dodman ([email protected]) is director of IIED's Human Settlements research group , and a co-investigator of Urban ARK. This blog was originally …
Insight, 18 October 2017
An image showing local people building a house in a slum in Bolivia, where Shack Dwellers International has worked with authorities. Many Latin American cities are leading the way in working with community organisations (Photo: Shack Dwellers International, Creative Commons, via Flickr)
Is community-based adaptation suited to cities?
… faces in cities is that much of the population lives in informal settlements on land that is illegally occupied, and works in the … ([email protected]) is a senior fellow in IIED's Human Settlements Group. This blog was written while he was attending the 10th …
Insight, 26 April 2016
Although aid agencies provide emergency help in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, only long-term planning can deal with the wider environmental stresses (Photo: Caroline King-Okumu/IIED)
Unblocking the cycle of water stress, crises and innovation in the Bekaa Valley
… Water and climate stresses in urbanising dryland regions can reduce human wellbeing. People in the drylands face many short and long-term … water pumping, treatment and regulation. There are many ways in which human populations can innovate to overcome these problems. But in a … planned well digging, accelerated extraction rates and temporary settlements with makeshift sanitation arrangements – can also add to …
Project, 04 January 2017
The rice fields on outskirts of the city of Bandung, Java, Indonesia: urban areas often have damaging impacts on the areas around them (Photo: Ikhlasul Amal, Creative Commons via Flickr)
New publication looks at environmental impacts of urban areas
News, 16 March 2015
IIED will be participating in a range of event at Habitat III, the global UN summit on urban issues
IIED at Habitat III: event listing
… briefings and blogs. IIED director Andrew Norton , members of IIED's Human Settlements research group  and their research partners attended the conference. IIED and …
Event, 20 October 2016
An image of crouching community members in a village in Champasak province, Laos identify areas where open defecation is taking place ahead of implementing sanitation measures (Photo: Viengsompasong Inthavong/World Bank, Creative Commons, via Flickr)
An urban approach to 'leaving no one behind'
… participate.   Internally displaced people and refugees are another group routinely left behind in urban centres and were recognised in the … and opportunities for all" and "ecological and resilient cities and human settlements": the current debate appears to position leaving no one …
Insight, 02 June 2016