Urbanization News Roundup March 11

This weeks featured story is by  South African Patrick Magebhula, who once was a slum dweller and now is the chair of the Informal Settlement Network (ISN).  ISN is a “broad network of informal settlement organizations which brings together poor communities, city-wide and nationally, to share concerns and develop solutions.”  Read more about Patrick’s inspiring work below.

From slum survivor to urban planner “In the 1980s and 1990s we invaded land to create settlements that now house formal communities with services, legal tenure and housing development. We have worked with all levels of the government to give the urban poor a voice. Working with communities we have driven home the need to save money, collect information and upgrade. As the government shifts to an incremental approach to upgrading informal settlements, communities are preparing the ground for this historic possibility. Upgrading can take place only with the communities as partners.”

Rio Transit Cars over Favelas “The slums of Rio de Janeiro—the infamous favelas—pile onto and up and over the city’s iconic steep hillsides… There’s nowhere for public transit to go. Nowhere, that is, but up. That’s the direction for the newest transportation system in Rio, slated to open in March: a six-station gondola line running above a collection of favelas known as the Complexo do Alemão. The government says that 152 gondolas will carry 30,000 people a day along a 2.1-mile route over the neighborhood, transforming the hour-and-a-half trudge to a nearby commuter rail station into a 16-minute sky ride.”

China Just Won SimCity With Censorship-Bypassing 3D Baidu Maps “China has repeatedly prevented Google Maps from providing maps of China because the government would like the right to censor landmarks and locations… So what does China do instead? Have Baidu—the most popular search engine there—provide a 3D pixel art version instead. The result is amazing… Instead of just using simple blocky, textureless models of buildings, Baidu’s version is actual, realistic pixel-art version of the buildings.”

Pune’s Metro Rail Moves Forward, Faces Roadblocks Ahead “The Maharashtra Government approved the Pune Metro Rail a couple of weeks ago, but critics are still concerned about whether or not the project is a suitable solution for Pune’s traffic problems. Last month, the Pune Municipal Corporation’s initial enthusiasm for a new metro system was temporarily dampened by some revealing studies on the metro rail proposal. [The study] found weak statistical analysis, faulty data, less than thorough decision-making, and a more pressing need for improvements to the city’s non-motorized transportation facilities.”

Siemens unveils new model for green urban planning “Siemens Taiwan has recently unveiled its “Future Smart Building for Energy Interactive Model,” aiming to incorporate intelligent and green designs into urban… This model will demonstrate how building energy consumption can be transformed from demand-based to supply-based, depending on the availability of renewable energy.”

Urbanization News Roundup March 4

This week’s featured Urbanization report is a a critique of the Economists’ Most Liveable Cities Report by This Big City.  Although the Economist Intelligence Unit clearly states that this ranking is intended for expats thinking of where to relocate, This Big City points out that they may want to use a lesser loaded word than “liveable” to compare cities.  Also even though density is not a direct indicator used to score the cities, it is also interesting to see that the Economist found  the highest rated cities to have very low densities.

The Economist: Liveablity Ranking “Cities that score best tend to be mid-sized cities in wealthier countries with a relatively low population density. This often fosters a broad range of recreational availability without leading to high crime levels or overburdened infrastructure. Seven of the top ten scoring cities are in Australia and Canada, where population densities of 2.88 and 3.40 people per sq km respectively compare with a global (land) average of 45.65 and a US average of 32.”

This Big City: A Critique of the Economists’ Most Liveable Cities Report “The choice of indicators seems ambitiously comprehensive and fair. The top-ten chart is populated by, perhaps unsurprisingly, cities of Canada, Northern Europe, and Australasia. However, as far as ‘liveability’ is concerned, how the cities are ranked exposes a systemic bias… One salient instance is ‘humidity/temperature’ which is rated as acceptable, tolerable, uncomfortable, undesirable, or intolerable. This indicator almost naturally rules out Brasilia, Kuala Lumpur, and other tropical cities as remotely ‘tolerable’, much less questioning how one can assess without bias an in-group’s inclination towards certain weather types.

Rio Residents say Olympic Projects violating rights “nearly 300 families already have been removed from their homes because of the construction of two bus systems that will run across the city and are expected to improve Rio’s clogged traffic during the Olympics and the 2014 World Cup…nearly 300 families already have been removed from their homes because of the construction of two bus systems that will run across the city and are expected to improve Rio’s clogged traffic during the Olympics and the 2014 World Cup.

China’s New Urban Plan – Buy a Car, Don’t Use It! “…cities here are trying hard to pry drivers out of their shiny new cars and lure them into mass transit. By 2015, on average, 1 out of 3 commuters should travel by mass transmit in big cities, up from 1 out of 5 now, according to China’s Ministry of Transportation’s proposed development plan…Already, Beijing’s emergency medical centers have begun sending paramedics by motorcycles, instead of ambulances, to maneuver through stalled traffic.”

A Leg Up: The World’s Largest Cities are Failing in their historic role of providing opportunities for upward mobility “A recent World Bank report argued that large urban concentrations—the denser, the better—are the most prodigious creators of opportunity and wealth… A closer look, however, suggests a more nuanced reality. Cities in the developing world are growing, but largely because they’re the only alternative to poverty and even starvation in the countryside. These cities are not only failing to provide opportunities for upward mobility; they’re producing the class inequalities found in “luxury cities” such as London and New York.”

India’s Huge Census: A national head count should show dramatic changes “The survey will also give details of how a decade of rapid economic growth has changed the daily life of ordinary Indians, especially among the fast-growing middle class. Questions will produce hard data to show rapid migration of rural dwellers to the towns. Consumption habits are also changing. The previous head count revealed that at the start of the century fewer than half of India’s households owned a bicycle, television or toilet. Under a tenth of households had a phone, and a mere 2.5% owned a car.”

The Wagner Planner: The Impact Issue

This year’s Wagner Planner, the annual newsletter of NYU Wagner’s Urban Planning Student Association, has just been published.  It features work about both New York and international planning issues.  As the editors write:

In the latest edition of The Wagner Planner we asked what current students, alumni, and faculty are doing to have a real impact on tough urban challenges.

Three Encountering Urbanization writers also have pieces about India, the Philippines, and Brazil.  Read the whole publication here.

- Melissa

Squatters in Skyscrapers

Today’s New York Times features and article about an abandoned 45 story building in downtown Caracas that has become one of the world’s tallest squatter settlements.  Built in the 1990′s the “Tower of David,” after its architect and financier David Brillembourg, now houses over 2,500 squatters.  The New York Times also made a great a video about life in the tower.

This tower in Caracas is just one of many hundreds, perhaps thousands of abandoned towers in the world that have provided informal housing for urban poor populations.  Below is a list of a few other towers originally intended for rich urban residents, but now occupied by some of the poorest.

Sao Paulo Treme-Treme was filled with squatters up until the city began to empty it in 2004.  It was not until 2009 however that this 27 story tall tower was successfully cleared of squatters and now it sits empty awaiting demolition.

 

 

Rio de Janeiro Torre Abraham Lincoln is one of two never completed towers designed by Oscar Niemeyer as part of Lucio Costa’s master planned southwest expansion of Rio de Janerio in the 1960s.  Each tower has 37 floors, 454 apartments and is 110 meters high. In 2004 more than 400 people from the surrounding favelas invaded the Torre Abraham Lincoln as squatters. Watch a video from PARAÍSO OCUPADO to learn more about the towers today.

Bangkok The Sathorn Tower in Bangkok is also known as a “ghost tower” because supposedly no one lives in the 50 story abandoned building.  Built during the 1990s it is one of many victims of the Asian Financial Crisis of the period.  It is a beautiful example however of one of just over a few hundred abandoned buildings in Bangkok, many of which are occupied by squatters.  See more photos from 6000Times.

There are also many tall abandoned buildings in the U.S., however none of them seem to be as overtaken by squatters as these towers abroad.  Here is a list of 12 tall abandon buildings throughout  the world that also includes many examples in the U.S. including.  As our cities throughout the world change more sustainable methods of adaptive reuse will certainly need to be explored for these buildings to maintain their historic and architectural significance.  However converting them to more affordable forms of housing instead of restoring them as high rise condominiums may be one of the best and most viable options.

- Melissa

Urbanization News Roundup Feb 25

More Low-Down on Tall Buildings “There is a growing body of research on the benefits and drawbacks of tall buildings, and this research gives a decidedly mixed picture. Indeed there are significant negative ecological impacts of tall buildings, as well as other negative factors, and the ecological benefits are not as great as is often assumed. ” Read a longer summary of this research here.

Rio Plans for a massive port renovation for the World Cup and Olympics “The Brazilian city Rio’s government has began in February an eight billion reais (4.8 billion U.S. dollars) renovation effort in its port district to prepare the city for the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games.”

Highway in India Offers Solution to Land Fights “When the state of Uttar Pradesh announced plans to confiscate farmland for a toll road to the Taj Mahal, a grimly predictable plotline ensued. Protesting farmers, angry over low compensation, blocked road work. Frustration boiled into fatal clashes with the police. Then opposition politicians arrived to pillory the state government and pose for photos with farmers. Next, though, came something less predictable. Rather than the usual standoff, the state’s chief minister increased payments to farmers and offered them annuities for the next three decades….”

Population Control in Beijing: Air-raid warnings – As the leaders see it, a plague of human rats in the capital “They do not say so openly, but Beijing’s leaders are busy erecting new barriers to entry for unskilled workers. In December plans were revealed to close down the shelter dwellings within a year. Officials also made it clear that basement accommodation would go too. The local media say the measures could affect more than 1m people.”

Tel-Aviv’s New Master Plan Kept Secret from Residents “The Mayor of Tel-Aviv has called the new Master Plan a ‘constitution for the city,’ yet local officials have stated they will not comment on the plan until after it is approved by the city council. According to a story by Jesse Fox on SustainableCityBlog.com, even Googling the master plan will result in almost no information.”

Urbanization News Roundup

Happy Weekend urbanists!  Welcome to our new feature Urbanization News Roundup, where we help you catch up on the exciting world of international urbanization news from the week.

For Egypt, a Fresh Start, With Cities “It is the only large country to have become less urban in the last 30 years, according to the World Bank. About 43 percent of Egyptians are city dwellers today.”

Car-Dependent Suburbs May Be Slums of The Future, Says Urban Planning Report Peter Newman of Curtin University says ”urban sprawl is finished. If we continue to roll out new land releases and suburbs that are car-dependent, they will become the slums of the future.”

India, Japan Join Forces to Build “Green Cities” “In November, 2010, India and Japan unveiled a plan to launch 24 green cities along the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor. These green cities will have optimized energy supplies, 24-hour potable water supply, bicycle and walking paths, and water and waste recycling systems.”

Rio de Janeio Prime Office Rents Overtake New York Rates for the First Time “The annual cost of renting a square foot of prime office space in the Brazilian city rose 47 percent last year to $120, or $5 more than in Midtown Manhattan, the broker said in a statement today. Rio de Janeiro advanced to fourth from 13th in a global ranking of prime office markets, coming after Hong Kong, London and Tokyo,” according to real estate adviser Cushman & Wakefield Inc.

Melissa

Rio’s Favelas From the Inside Out

The contrast of economic might with staggering poverty in cities like Rio de Janeiro seems to be capturing the world’s attention in a new way. Sure, voices that go beyond the “poverty-tour”-type depictions of life in megacities like Rio aren’t new, but it does seem like they’re being listened to by a wider audience.  Janice Perlman, author of Favela: Four Decades of Living on the Edge in Rio de Janeiro, is one of those voices. She’s making a stop at NYU-Wagner on Wednesday to discuss her most recent book and engage in a conversation about urban poverty, marginality, and her study of four generations of migrants and squatters in Rio’s slums. The event, from 2:00 – 3:30 on Wednesday, November 17  is free and open to the public, RSVP here.

If you’re a fan of Perlman’s work or these types of issues, you might also be interested in a feature that ran recently on Public Radio International – it takes an inside look into Rio’s favelas as well, examining both opportunities and barriers to businesses and entrepreneurship.

Amy Faust