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.
176 - 196 of 196 blog posts
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Achieving universal sanitation: Sharing the experience of the SDI affiliate in Blantyre, Malawi
27 October 2014Achieving universal sanitation is a major challenge. A joint delegation from Malawi came to World Water Week in Stockholm to share their work on sanitation in the city of Blantyre
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Can we change the goals of development without changing the implementers?
9 July 2014The latest draft of the Sustainable Development Goals and targets contains a stunning list of commitments, but fails to address how we will achieve them.
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A tale of two cities: Density regulations vs reality
30 June 2014Poor residents in South Asian cities live together in high numbers that easily surpass the limits set in planning regulations. What can be done to create more housing for the poor?
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If you want to go far, go together
24 June 2014How can urban development that reduces risk and boosts low-income residents' standard of living be supported? And how can community-led processes reduce poverty and build resilience? IIED staff and partners from Vietnam grappled with such questions last week in a workshop in Quy Nhon.
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The Multidimensional Poverty Index: Another underestimate of urban poverty
18 June 2014Yet another global study has understated the scale and depth of urban poverty, by failing to appreciate the differences between rural and urban contexts
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If we don't count the poor, the poor don't count
12 June 2014Research in several countries shows how governments and development agencies undercount the scale and depth of urban poverty
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Wanted: Urban data revolution for post 2015 sustainable development goals
16 April 2014Around a billion people live in informal urban settlements that lack essential services and security, so the concerns of these people should be high on the agenda when agreeing a new set of sustainable development goals
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From slum-dwelling carpenter to US$1.25 million prize winner
8 April 2014There's a surprising name on the list of winners of this year's US$1.25 million Skoll Awards for Social Entrepreneurship
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Up in the air: Citizen scientists map food dangers in Nairobi
31 March 2014A balloon, a camera and some interviews are helping researchers map a hidden aspect of food insecurity in an informal settlement in Nairobi
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Setting the bar too low: is there really progress on UN development goals?
3 December 2013The UN report on progress towards the Millennium Development Goals seems so at odds with realities on the ground, says David Satterthwaite.
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To build climate resilience cities must assess diverse drivers of vulnerability
30 October 2013Three new studies from Vietnam show how research can help governments devise solutions that help their citizens adapt to the effects of climate change.
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8 points on financing climate change adaptation in urban areas
20 June 2013As the urgency for governments and international agencies to address climate change increases, an expert meeting identified eight key points on finance priorities.
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How does a changing climate impact on urban poverty?
28 March 2013When floods hit a city, usually low-income groups are hit hardest. The devastation that such disasters cause can be linked to the failure of city governments to manage growth and build infrastructure.
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Rethinking finance for development in city ‘slums’
12 October 2012The Asian Coalition for Community Action is challenging the traditional model of aid by providing small grants to low-income communities to upgrade the ‘slums’ or informal settlements in which they live.
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6th World Urban Forum: will the agenda of slum and shack dwellers ever get considered?
7 September 2012David Satterthwaite asks why representatives from the federations and networks of slum or shack dwellers were absent from almost all the official events and wonders when their priorities will get the attention they deserve.
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Beyond the Millennium Development Goals
1 August 2012How can we ensure the targets that replace the Millennium Development Goals lead to a future that low-income groups want?
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Why enumeration counts: documenting by the undocumented
10 May 2012People living in informal settlements are often deliberately left out of official surveys and maps. Now they're documenting themselves.
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Debunking the myths about migration and climate change
16 November 2011After years of alarmist predictions of hundreds of millions of climate refugees fleeing their homes, there is now a broad-based consensus that while the impacts of climate change will increase the number of migrants, it is not the only factor that drives people to move
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Thailand's floods: complex political and geographical factors behind the crisis
2 November 2011The scale of Thailand's floods are unprecedented. In the midst of the crisis, water management has become a politically sensitive matter
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People power: the urban poor are now a force to be reckoned with
17 October 2011Speakers at the "View from the streets" event in London showed how the urban poor can group together to bring about change
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Why are the main means by which urban dwellers avoid hunger ignored?
5 October 2011The issue of hunger in urban areas has long been neglected, as part of a more general neglect of urban poverty. And when the issue is covered, there are some glaring gaps in the analysis