Urban Matters
Urban environments will see the greatest growth and change in coming years. IIED's Urban Matters blog focuses on urban poverty, climate change in cities and rural-urban linkages. It is part of IIED’s hub for research and action to influence policy and practice. Building on our longstanding work on equitable, inclusive, sustainable and resilient urban development, it represents the voices of our staff and partners in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
1 - 25 of 162 blog posts
-
How regional and national capital cities influence urban change
10 September 2020David Satterthwaite discusses how building government institutions in capital cities contributes to urban change
-
COVID-19 highlights three pathways to achieve urban health and environmental justice
27 August 2020The pandemic is an opportunity for cities to dramatically rethink use of housing, transport and public spaces in ways that would serve all citizens, especially the socially vulnerable
-
Lima's community-organised soup kitchens are a lifeline during COVID-19
7 August 2020In Lima’s informal settlements, ollas comunes – community-led soup kitchens – are reviving strong traditions of self-organised crisis response and resilience among the urban poor.
-
Alada Ghor: working with low-income communities to design a rapid response to COVID-19
30 July 2020A group of young architects in Bangladesh have worked alongside low-income communities to develop a practical, hands-on guidebook to help residents manage the impacts of the virus
-
Bringing urban refugees into local planning
20 July 2020Can we move from emergency to developmental response to the large and growing numbers of refugees living in urban areas by bringing them into local planning processes?
-
The global geography of world cities
9 July 2020Various lists and indicators are used to determine which cities are deemed ‘world cities’. David Satterthwaite examines different indicators and discusses which cities come out on top
-
How Dhaka's urban poor are dealing with COVID-19
1 July 2020COVID-19 presents not only a health crisis, but a food crisis for Dhaka’s poorest. Guest blogger John Taylor describes how urban poor communities have risen to the challenge
-
Cities’ development trajectories
16 June 2020David Satterthwaite examines the factors driving the development of cities
-
Community-led COVID-19 response: the work of the Philippines Homeless People’s Federation
9 June 2020Based on member interviews and accounts, the Philippines Homeless People’s Federation describes how community organisations have rallied to support vulnerable groups, hit hardest by the pandemic
-
COVID-19, JAGA Mission and the value of already existing solutions
4 June 2020Guest blogger Antarin Chakrabarty reflects on one Indian state’s successful programme to provide work and incomes to migrants, enabling a rapid and efficient government response when crises such as COVID-19 hit
-
Internal and international influences on urban change
27 May 2020David Satterthwaite takes a closer look at drivers and influences of urban change
-
COVID-19 in Guayaquil: from global notoriety to family responses
20 May 2020From the virus-ravaged Ecuadorian city come personal accounts of struggles to survive
-
Responding to COVID-19 in a high-density low-income district in Mumbai
13 May 2020A representative from a grassroots federation in Mumbai describes how the community is self-organising for an effective COVID-19 response
-
Karachi, informal settlements and COVID-19
6 May 2020How our Karachi's informal settlements managing the COVID-19 lockdown and how can existing government structures support the city’s settlements during the COVID-19 recovery, and beyond
-
What drives the world’s changing urban geographies?
23 April 2020David Satterthwaite discusses how evolving economies and new technologies have changed the shape of urban centres
-
Transitioning to a better global ‘new normal’
22 April 2020COVID-19 has changed our world. To mark Earth Day 2020, and the global call to act on climate change, we ask: what lessons can we apply from the pandemic response to help tackle other global crises, including the climate emergency?
-
An urbanising world
9 April 2020David Satterthwaite examines global trends in the size, growth and distribution of the world’s urban population. He also considers climate change and COVID-19
-
The impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on the diets of Hanoi’s urban poor
8 April 2020The urban poor in Vietnam depend heavily on informal food systems. How will COVID-19 lockdown measures impact their food security and what will be the knock-on effects for daily life?
-
A world without refugee camps? IIED launches research on urban refugees
6 April 2020Most refugees and displaced people live in towns and cities – not camps. New research from IIED will build understanding of how urban areas could be the best place to meet the needs and aspirations of these groups
-
Dealing with COVID-19 in the towns and cities of the global South
27 March 2020Diana Mitlin looks at the particular challenges the COVID-19 outbreak will pose to people living in informal settlements, what steps can be taken to reach the populations in need, and how community organisation networks can be supported to scale up their efforts
-
The world’s fastest growing cities
24 March 2020Which factors determine whether a city makes it onto the list of the world’s fastest growing cities? In the latest in a series focusing on the transition to a predominantly urban world, David Satterthwaite takes a closer look
-
Alternative data sources for cities and communities
12 March 2020In the latest in our series of blogs and interviews focusing on the transition to a predominantly urban world, David Satterthwaite looks at community-driven data collection and mapping
-
Cartel or chemist?
27 February 2020Could tapping into the informal services in Nairobi’s Mukuru slum be the answer to better health, schools and water provision?
-
Coronavirus threat looms large for low-income cities
26 February 2020Weak infrastructure would leave urban settlements in low-income countries highly vulnerable, should the rapid spread of COVID-19 continue
-
Invisiblising cities: the obsession with national statistics and international comparisons
25 February 2020David Satterthwaite discusses the vast gaps in city data, and explains why planning, governing and servicing cities calls for data that is broken down into city and sub-city level