Public Participation Processes: Lessons from Israel
What’s the secret to smart urban development? The answer is simple, says Tomer Chelouche: Engage and respect local residents.
Having a Say in What Affects Your Life: Youth Participation in Kumasi, Ghana
In Ghana, several policies and laws aim at including youth in urban planning processes. In reality, however, youth do not take part in city development. Emmanuelle Laurinda Godjo analyses the causes and suggests measures that authorities should take.
Urban Futures: Youth Participation in the Baltics and the Balkans
Citizen participation in urban planning is a quite new concept to begin with. And, even if implemented, cities often neglect to extend the concept to those, whose lives will be most affected by a city's development: Youth
Empowering Syrian Refugees Through Cash for Work Programmes
Living as a refugee is difficult, and often aggravated by not being able to work and earn money in your host country. In Southern Jordan, refugees and locals take part in urban regeneration efforts.
Young People’s Participation: Critical for Responsive City Planning
In the Indian city of Mumbai, different groups participated in revising the city’s Development Plan. This article highlights the importance of the participation of young people in city planning at the neighbourhood level if planning is to respond adequately and responsibly to contemporary challenges.
By the People, For the People: Social and Environmental Revitalisation of the Caño Martín Peña, Puerto Rico
Improving the living conditions in low-income communities always entails the threat of gentrification processes, eventually displacing the original residents. Lorena Zárate claims that this is not an inevitable outcome, as can be seen in the success of the Caño Martín Peña Land Use Plan.
Localisation is Mobilisation: The 2030 Agenda in Asia-Pacific
It is important to think locally when implementing the SDGs, argues Christopher Dekki. Countries in Asia-Pacific, such as Laos and Sri Lanka, are examples of this successful approach.
“City Networks Need to Be Membership-Based Organisations”
In an interview with URBANET, Emilia Saiz from UCLG presents her vision for the city network, talking about how the network can best represent local and regional governments in a democratic manner.
Interview: The Power of Decentralisation
Ghana is one of the frontrunner countries dedicated to implementing the SDGs. Highlighting the local perspective, one area of implementation is the revision of the country's National Urban Policy. URBANET spoke to Sylvanus K. Adzornu from the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development about key drivers for successful implementation of SDGs.
How Nigerian Grassroots Women Promote Sustainable Urban Development
Women at the grassroots are experts in the challenges that urban communities are facing every day. As they fulfil different roles from working informal jobs to caring for children and senior citizens, their input is essential in localising the New Urban Agenda in a way that it meets the needs of all citizens. Dr. Limota Goroso Giwa reports on the involvement of grassroots women in urban development in Nigeria.
Rewriting the Narrative
Children gather numerous stories in their everyday surroundings – Ankur Society for Alternatives in Education, based in New Delhi, India, helps them turn these stories into empowering experiences, making them a voice for their communities.
Interview: “Building resilience requires active public participation” – Vera Bukachi from the Kounkuey Design Initiative
How can vulnerable groups and their needs be integrated into resilience building? URBANET talked to Vera Bukachi from the Kounkuey Design Initiative, who strongly believes that participatory planning and design are key to sustainable urban development.
Accessible Mobility for All: Development Cooperation For Accessible Public Transportation
Accessible public transportation is a critical component of future urban development. Worldwide, more than one billion people live with a disability, and the number of people over the age of 60 is expected to double by 2050. Countries should prioritise accessible mobility—and development agencies can help by encouraging community participation, sharing best practices, and raising awareness, says Jelena Auracher.
Learning from a Frontrunner: German and U.S. Towns Partner on Climate Action
Saerbeck, Germany’s award-winning climate protection project serves as a model for many other towns. Ulrich Gunka shows how the municipality, working with its citizens, transformed a former army ammunition depot into a bioenergy park and how it shares their insights with other cities in the world.
Hyperlocal Neighbourhood Networks: Building Social Capital and Empowering Local Urban Communities
It has never been easier to stay in touch with family, friends and colleagues, wherever they live. Yet most of us still lack a digital infrastructure for connecting with the people living next door. Despite their success in some developed countries, hyperlocal social networks are not a fixture of most local communities. Hence, nebenan.de, Germany’s first hyperlocal communication platform, could offer a model for communities in developing countries seeking to leverage the power of hyperlocal communication to increase social capital, says co-founder Michael Vollmann.