Archive for Development

This story originally appeared in the October 2011 edition of the Searchlight South Asia newsletter created by Intellecap for the Rockefeller Foundation.

By Nisha Kumar Kulkarni

Hyderabad, state capital of Andhra Pradesh, is the sixth most populated city in India and holds the same ranking for the country’s most populated “urban agglomeration.” The city also has a significant urban poor population. According to the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation(GHMC), more than 33% of the city’s population lives in slums. The overall slum-dwelling population in Andhra Pradesh is approximately seven million people, and Hyderabad claims near two million. Regarding the growth of the city’s slums, the GHMC states: “Slum settlements have multiplied over decades and the living conditions of the poor have not improved. Environmental decline, vehicular pollution, inadequate basic services and infrastructure in the poor settlements hit the poor hardest.” » Continue reading “Vaaradhi: An Urban Ultra Poor Intervention”

This story originally appeared in the October 2011 edition of the Searchlight South Asia newsletter created by Intellecap for the Rockefeller Foundation.

By Carlin Carr

The city of Ahmedabad, India, is one of the country’s—and the world’s—fastest growing urban areas. This capital of Gujarat state has a population of nearly six million and is the seventh largest city in India. The city is experiencing many of the same issues as other mega-cities in the country, like its larger neighbor Mumbai. In spite of this, Ahmedabad is known for its entrepreneurial spirit and inventive nature. After all, it was from Sabarati Ashram in Ahmedabad that Mohandas Gandhi led the people of India on a non-violent freedom struggle to victoriously overcome British rule. Three decades later in 1972, the pioneering Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) formed in the city, and today is one of the leading organizations for underserved women in India, and perhaps the world. The city is also home to the Centre for Innovation, Incubation and Entrepreneurship, which comprises students, faculty and alumni from the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, and is “passionately committed to helping disruptive innovations and aspiring entrepreneurs succeed commercially.” It is not surprising, then, that this city is hosting the international traveling exhibit “Vision of 10” in October 2011, which showcases a vision for 10 sustainable cities in 2030. Ahmedabad is the only Indian city featured in the exhibit, mainly for its progressive transit system Janmarg. » Continue reading “In Ahmedabad, Dharavi’s Redevelopment Model”

This story originally appeared in the September 2011 edition of the Searchlight South Asia newsletter created by Intellecap for the Rockefeller Foundation.

By Nisha Kumar Kulkarni

Over the last two decades, alongside the story of India’s impressive economic growth is the story of its urbanization. Average economic growth has been 6-7% per annum over the last 20 years. Urban centers like Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai have seen their industry and populations explode to new highs, placing tremendous strain on existing systems and infrastructure. The story of urban India’s success, though, seems skewed: media reports and research make allusions to the notion that South Indian cities have handled urbanization more successfully when compared to their northern counterparts. Is this indeed the case? And if yes, why so? » Continue reading “Regional Trends in Urbanization”

Searchlight participants who attended “The Future of the Urban Poor” convening in Mumbai in April 2011 offer thoughts on their experience in Asia’s biggest slum in comparison to poor communities in their home regions.

By Jibrin Ibrahim, Centre for Democracy and Development (Nigeria)

The majority of people in the contemporary world, including in Africa, have moved from the rural to the urban areas. These people live precarious lives trying to make a living from the informal economy. The proletariat Karl Marx assured us would make the revolution are nowhere to be found. What we have in the rapidly expanding mega cities are the precariat whose livelihood, and indeed lives, are at risk from irregular and insufficient income. Their lives are traumatic as they suffer from the toxicity of the water, air and soil around them. » Continue reading “Dharavi Reflection 7″

Searchlight participants who attended “The Future of the Urban Poor” convening in Mumbai in April 2011 offer thoughts on their experience in Asia’s biggest slum in comparison to poor communities in their home regions.

By Tanja Hichert, Hichert & Associates and SA Node of the Millennium Project (South Africa)

Where to even begin in trying to answer the question of what Dharavi signifies about the future of the urban poor? I came away from visiting Dharavi – a most overwhelming experience– with many more questions than answers, and a sense that the complexity governing it cannot be understood, albeit not easily. So suffice to say, I am still thinking and mulling and questioning, and will probably carry on doing so for the time being. » Continue reading “Dharavi Reflection 6″

Searchlight participants who attended “The Future of the Urban Poor” convening in Mumbai in April 2011 offer thoughts on their experience in Asia’s biggest slum in comparison to poor communities in their home regions.

By Fernando Prada, FORO Nacional / Internacional (Peru)

Visiting Dharavi has made me reexamine some ideas about social networks, leadership, and sense of community. First, that social networks tend to be strong where conditions are adverse is a common idea but very hard to appreciate in the field, let alone to measure. For every case study supporting this hypothesis, there is another cross-country study showing that poverty conditions erode social networks. Second, that leadership can make the difference does not say anything about how leadership surges and how communities can survive their leaders. Third, that the sense of community can make people work together for their common good regardless of their differences sometimes sound like wishful thinking and an impractical idea to implement in the field. In the three cases, visiting Dharavi has provided clear evidence that social networks become stronger when a group of people face a common problem; that leadership guiding efforts toward a common goal can make the difference and promote the surge of new leaders in the process; and that the sense of community can make communities work more efficiently. » Continue reading “Dharavi Reflection 5″

Searchlight participants who attended “The Future of the Urban Poor” convening in Mumbai in April 2011 offer thoughts on their experience in Asia’s biggest slum in comparison to poor communities in their home regions.

By Sowmya Suryanarayanan, Strategic Foresight Group (India)

In the first instance, Dharavi comes across as a typical slum with shacks of varied sizes and shapes piled on top of one another. However, what is remarkable about Dharavi is how this large group of migrant population has managed to create employment opportunities that support them and their families with minimal aid from the government. In addition, they have created markets for their products both within and outside the slum area, which has made the community self sustaining. » Continue reading “Dharavi Reflection 4″

Searchlight participants who attended “The Future of the Urban Poor” convening in Mumbai in April 2011 offer thoughts on their site visits to pro-poor initiatives in Mumbai. Attendees discuss the need and role of these social enterprises in their current context as well as in the writer’s home region. 1298 Ambulance is a low-cost pay-per-use ambulance service, the first of its kind in India.

By Sheila Ochugboju, African Centre for Economic Transformation (ACET) (Kenya)

Our field visit to the Dial 1298 Ambulance in Mumbai revealed the concept of “Mission Command” first explained by Helmuth von Moltke the Elder, the great military strategist, Chief of Staff for the Prussian Army in the late 19th century. Simply put, it illustrates the art of defining and refining good adaptable plans, a process whereby the company goals and objectives are allowed to filter way-down the lines authority, allowing the deepest level of delegation to create an empowered workforce, able to deliver critical results in very difficult circumstances. » Continue reading “1298 Ambulance”

Searchlight participants who attended “The Future of the Urban Poor” convening in Mumbai in April 2011 offer thoughts on their experience in Asia’s biggest slum in comparison to poor communities in their home regions.

By Dinh The Phong, National Institute for Science and Technology Policy and Strategy Studies (NISTPASS) (Vietnam)

The problem of the urban poor is a permanent one of all developing countries and an inherent characteristic of these countries. Thomas Friedman’s 2005 book The World Is Flat focused on the idea that countries in the world are getting more equal chances to compete on an increasingly level playing field. However, looking at this issue from another angle might reveal a quite spiky world. The problem is predicting whether the world will be flatter or spikier. If we compare the worst conditions of the present urban poor to those of the past, then we see an improving world. If we, however, look at the gap between the condition of the poorest and the richest in the world, then we might see a decreasing trend. So, it depends more or less on how we want to see and perceive the world. » Continue reading “Dharavi Reflection 3″

Searchlight participants who attended “The Future of the Urban Poor” convening in Mumbai in April 2011 offer thoughts on their site visits to pro-poor initiatives in Mumbai. Attendees discuss the need and role of these social enterprises in their current context as well as in the writer’s home region. URBZ is an organization operating in Dharavi that facilitates the production and exchange of information, knowledge, ideas and practices towards better cities for all.

By Mario Bazan, FORO Nacional/Internacional (Peru)

The visit to URBZ in Mumbai was more than interesting.  I come from Lima, Peru’s largest city, and the size and number of people living in Mumbai impressed me. In particular, Dharavi showed a permanent landscape of contrasts, between poverty and entrepreneurship, overcrowding and coexistence, and exclusion and innovation, which clearly presents challenges and the potential for improving the lives of people that live there. » Continue reading “URBZ”