Alan Gilbert

Cities, poverty, and development : urbanization in the Third World

This study presents a comprehensive account of Third World urbanization by reaching across disciplinary boundaries and regional specializations. It discusses the evolution of Third World cities as part of the world system; the nature of urban and regional disparities within countries; the causes and patterns of rural-urban migration; the structure of urban labour markets and the lack of productive employment; the urban housing market and popular responses to it; urban ways of life and the adaptation of migrants; various patterns of political conflict; and current issues in urban and regional planning. The book does not aim to be neutral in its review of different ideas and strategies and is sometimes provocative. It reviews and criticizes the principal ideas relating to development and urbanization drawing on both liberal and Marxist perspectives in an effort to relate urban phenomena to the process of development in an unequal world. At the same time it is cognizant of the fact that major economic and cultural differences exist within the Third World; because these variations are so great it argues that no single response to the urbanization process All those concerned with development problems in the social sciences and in urban and regional planning.

Helping the poor through housing subsidies: lessons from Chile, Colombia and South Africa

Abstract Today, few governments are prepared to offer housing subsidies to the poor unless they are delivered as up-front, targeted capital subsidies. Such a model began in Chile in 1977 and a similar model has since appeared in a number of other countries. This paper examines the experiences of Chile, Colombia and South Africa in implementing a capital housing subsidy model. Most observers in those countries admit that the new system is better than that which preceded it; there is certainly no going back to the public housing policies of the past. But there are problems nonetheless. Most stem from the central dilemma that the resources are always too limited, particularly since fiscal balance is the watchword emanating from all three finance ministries. The lack of resources has forced each government into making difficult decisions about the size and the number of subsidies to be offered. Dependent on those decisions, has come a series of implementation problems relating to the quality of construction, the location of the new housing solutions, the use of credit and how to allocate subsidies between so many petitioners. Capital housing subsidies have reduced housing problems in Chile and perhaps South Africa. But whether it is worth tackling housing problems in this way in conditions of high unemployment, huge income inequality and widespread poverty, is another question.

Third World Cities: The Changing National Settlement System

This is a review of recent literature on trends in urbanization in developing countries. The author examines the decline in the pace of urbanization in the Middle East and Latin America changes in migration related to changes in spatial structure a trend toward a more polycentric form of metropolitan development around some major urban centers a decline in the pace of metropolitan expansion associated with economic recession and the failure of regional policy to affect urbanization trends. (ANNOTATION)

The Poor die young : housing and health in Third World cities

The urban context community action to address housing and health problems - the case of San Martin in Buenos Aires, Argentina housing and health in Olaleye-Iponri, a low income settlement in Lagos, Nigeria housing and health in three squatter settlements in Allahabad, India water supply and the urban poor low cost sanitation surface water drainage in urban areas the collection and management of household garbage the role of house design in limiting vector-borne disease life saving services the future city new partnerships for healthy cities.

Bus Rapid Transit: Is Transmilenio a Miracle Cure?

Abstract Successful mass transit solutions are rare in poor cities. When they appear they are lauded across the globe and too often copied uncritically. The latest exemplar of such best practice is the ‘Transmilenio’ rapid bus system in Bogotá. The article describes its main characteristics and applauds the improvements that it has already brought to urban transport in Bogotá. Naturally, the system is not without its flaws and these need to be drawn to the attention of those who might copy the Bogotá example. This is particularly important at the present time when the jewel of Bogotá has come under surprisingly strong local criticism over its cost, its ownership structure, its decreasing effectiveness and, fundamentally, because it has failed to solve the transport chaos of Bogotá. There is a real danger that ‘Transmilenio’ will stagnate as its popularity declines and as demands for a metro increase. Given the strengths of the system that would be something of a disaster and, most certainly, not in the interests of the poor.

Low-income rental housing: are South African cities different?:

A significant proportion of the black urban population in South Africa rent accommodation. Surveys conducted in two low-income settlements in Cape Town and Johannesburg show that the rental housing scene is in many ways similar to that found in other Third World cities. Landlords are older than their tenants, many are female, their families are larger, their homes have more space and better services. Few landlords make any money and landlord-tenant relationships are not generally conflictive. At the same time, rental conditions in the survey settlements appear to be very different from those found in most other poor cities. Most significant is that few South African landlords build accommodation; the majority merely offer space to tenants who build their own shacks. The poor quality of accommodation helps keep rents low which in turn accentuates the feeling that is it not worth investing in rental accommodation. Few landlords actively seek out tenants, most grant space in the backyard only out of compassion. Further research is investigating whether more typical forms of rental housing exist in Cape Town and Johannesburg. The project also seeks to persuade the South African government that it should develop some kind of rental housing policy.

Pirates and invaders: Land acquisition in urban Colombia and Venezuela

In Bogota the poor purchase the land on which they build their homes; in Valencia they invade public and private land. Why are there such different attitudes on the part of the state in the two cities? Why indeed do the local authorities discourage land invasion in Bogota but permit illegal subdivisions, while in Valencia invasion settlements aresometimes positively encouraged and usually serviced? Does the difference lie in the local political situations, in the nature of the land market, in the planning or legislative framework or in the attitudes of the poor? Whatever the exact cause one fact remains clear; both mechanisms provide the poor with sufficient land to maintain political stability and to prevent incursions into the housing areas of the rich. Such outcomes are encouraged by the policies of the local service and planning agencies. So successful are these mechanisms indeed, that rather than providing a threat to the political and economic system, invasions and pirate urbanizations actively support it.

Community action by the urban poor: Democratic involvement, community self-help or a means of social control?☆

Abstract This is the first of two papers, in which we examine the nature and effectiveness of formal channels for encouraging community action and participation among low-income groups in Bogota (Columbia), Mexico City (Mexico) and Valencia (Venezuela). We are concerned with the forms of community participation among the poor, how demands are channelled to the state, the formal organization of community links with the state, and the origins of community action programmes. Organizations to facilitate popular participation in barrio upgrading have existed since the late 1950s, most of which have been imposed from the top down. We argue that the poor have derived few benefits from these government-inspired organizations although they have sometimes given resources to local communities for the first time. The primary purpose behind these organizations is to legitimate the political system and to encourage compliance with urban policy. Greater power over decision-making has not increased among local groups.

Renting and the transition to owner occupation in Latin American cities

Abstract Self-help home ownership is today regarded as the only possible ‘solution’ to the housing crisis. In the painful process of accepting this reality, most authorities have failed to notice the situation of the tenant population. They have also failed to ask whether ownership is either feasible or desirable for this vast mass of people. Based on research in three Mexican cities, the paper examines the nature of the residential transition, the socio-economic characteristics of tenants and owners, and the nature of urban change. It concludes with some policy recommendations, particularly the need for governments to work towards creating a better balance of residential choices for the poor. Cities need both rental accommodation and the option of home ownership.

Water for All: How To Combine Public Management with Commercial Practice for the Benefit of the Poor?:

Water is critical to improving the health and welfare of the expanding urban populations of the South. Unfortunately, few cities in poor countries have managed to develop institutions able to supply the poor with water, let alone take away the waste. One city that has managed to do so is Bogota, Colombia. The results of this public company are impressive and have been achieved by adopting some elements of neo-liberal economic thought and by maintaining independence from political pressure. Recently, however, the water companys operations, and particularly its efficiency and pricing policy, have come under attack from a new left-of-centre mayor. The paper explores the legitimacy of some of the attacks and examines whether they constitute fair political debate or a means of undermining what, by the standards of the South, is an effective company.