scholarly journals Navigating Student Motherhood in a Precarious Urban Context: Perspectives from Higher Education in Uganda

2021 ◽  
pp. 001312452110275
Author(s):  
Doris M. Kakuru

This paper reports findings of a study on young mothers living in Uganda’s poor urban areas which have been politically labeled as informal settlements and therefore not eligible for social services delivery. Although 59% of all school dropouts in Uganda are due to young motherhood, the national education policy, and practice automatically exclude young mothers. Past studies on student motherhood addressed student mothers of all ages, and were not focused on poor urban communities. The qualitative study involved young female participants enrolled in institutions of higher learning aged, between the 17 and 25 and investigated the magnitude of their marginalization and exclusion. Study participants were purposively selected using snowball technique. Data were collected using life history interviews and observation. All interviews were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim, coded, and thematic analysis was done. The key themes are the context of urban poverty and student motherhood, lack of counseling services, poor law enforcement, and abandonment. The paper discusses how the young women navigate motherhood and education, thereby advancing the discourse on student motherhood in precarious educational contexts of urban poverty.

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (20) ◽  
pp. 4022
Author(s):  
Li Lin ◽  
Liping Di ◽  
Chen Zhang ◽  
Liying Guo ◽  
Yahui Di

In the past few decades, most urban areas in the world have been facing the pressure of an increasing population living in poverty. A recent study has shown that up to 80% of the population of some cities in Africa fall under the poverty line. Other studies have shown that poverty is one of the main contributors to residents’ poor health and social conflict. Reducing the number of people living in poverty and improving their living conditions have become some of the main tasks for many nations and international organizations. On the other hand, urban gentrification has been taking place in the poor neighborhoods of all major cities in the world. Although gentrification can reduce the poverty rate and increase the GDP and tax revenue of cities and potentially bring opportunities for poor communities, it displaces the original residents of the neighborhoods, negatively impacting their living and access to social services. In order to support the sustainable development of cities and communities and improve residents’ welfare, it is essential to identify the location, scale, and dynamics of urban poverty and gentrification, and remote sensing can play a key role in this. This paper reviews, summarizes, and evaluates state-of-the-art approaches for identifying and mapping urban poverty and gentrification with remote sensing, GIS, and machine learning techniques. It also discusses the pros and cons of remote sensing approaches in comparison with traditional approaches. With remote sensing approaches, both spatial and temporal resolutions for the identification of poverty and gentrification have been dramatically increased, while the economic cost is significantly reduced.


Patan Pragya ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-32
Author(s):  
Chhabi Ram Baral

Urban poverty is one of multidimensional issue in Nepal. Increasing immigration from the outer parts of Kathmandu due to rural poverty, unemployment and weak security of the lives and the properties are core causes pushing people into urban areas. In this context how squatter urban area people sustain their livelihoods is major concern. The objectives of the study are to find out livelihood assets and capacities squatters coping with their livelihood vulnerability in adverse situation. Both qualitative and quantitative methods are applied for data collection. It is found that squatters social security is weak, victimized by severe health problems earning is not regular with lack of physical facilities and overall livelihood is critical. This study helps to understand what the changes that have occurred in livelihood patterns and how poor people survive in urban area.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuaib Lwasa

Africa’s urbanization rate has increased steadily over the past three decades and is reported to be faster than in any other region in the world . It is estimated that by 2030, over half of the African population will be living in urban areas . But the nature of Africa’s urbanization and subsequent form of cities is yet to be critically analyzed in the context of city authorities’ readiness to address the challenges . Evidence is also suggesting that urbanization in African countries is increasingly associated with the high economic growth that has been observed in the last two decades . Both underlying and proximate drivers are responsible for the urbanization, and these include population dynamics, economic growth, legislative designation, increasing densities in rural centers, as well as the growth of mega cities such as Lagos, Cairo and Kinshasa, that are extending to form urban corridors . With the opportunities of urbanization in Sub–Saharan Africa, there are also challenges in the development and management of these cities . Those challenges include provision of social services, sustainable economic development, housing development, urban governance, spatial development guidance and environmental management, climate change adaptation, mitigation and disaster risk reduction . The challenge involves dealing with the development and infrastructure deficit, in addition to required adaption to and mitigation of climate change . This paper examines the current state of urban management in Africa .


2010 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 227-230 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul H. Gobster

What does ecological restoration mean in an urban context? More than half of the world’s population now lives in cities, and in response to the dynamic patterns of urbanization, a growing number of ecologists, land managers, and volunteers are focusing their efforts in and around cities to restore remnants of natural diversity (Ingram 2008). Ecological restoration is still a quite youthful field, yet many scientists and practitioners hold a relatively fixed set of criteria for what defines a successful restoration project, irrespective of where sites are located. Among the criteria commonly stated, sites should be composed of indigenous species, have a structure and diversity characteristic of currently undisturbed or historically documented “reference” sites, and be maintained through ecological processes such as fire that ensure long-term sustainability with minimal human assistance (Ruiz-Jaén and Aide 2005; SER International 2004). Application of these criteria has led to many ecologically successful restorations, but some ecologists in the field have begun to question whether the same standards can be realistically applied to sites such as those within urban areas that have been radically altered by past human activity (e.g., Martínez and López-Barerra 2008) or are being influenced by novel conditions that result in unpredictable trajectories (Choi 2007). Perhaps more significantly, it is becoming increasingly recognized that the broader viability of restoration projects, especially those in urban areas, hinges on how socially successful they are in gaining public acceptance for restoration activities and practices, building constituencies to assist with implementation and maintenance, and addressing a broader set of sustainability goals that reach beyond the protection of native biodiversity (e.g., Choi et al. 2008; Hobbs 2007; Rosenzweig 2003).


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chloé Duffaut ◽  
Nathalie Frascaria-Lacoste ◽  
Pierre-Antoine Versini

<p>Hydro-meteorological risks are increasing and this could be due to global changes. These risks are particularly important in the urban context where most human beings live. Indeed, the impervious surfaces present in cities increase the risk of flooding, for example. Nature-Based Solutions can help to reduce these risks by creating permeable soils or storing water while promoting biodiversity. In this context, it is essential to understand what hinders the development and sustainability of these Nature-based Solutions in the city and what could help to deploy them on a large scale. For this purpose, various professionals working on Nature-Based Solutions in the city in France, were interviewed between 2020 and 2021, both in the academic and operational sectors, or even at the interface between the two: researchers in ecology or hydrology, IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) project manager, project managers at the Regional Biodiversity Agency, director and natural environment manager of a watershed union, agro-economists engineer among others. They were asked what are the barriers and potential opportunities for Nature-Based Solutions implementation and sustainability in city. By analysing their answers, it emerges that the obstacles are more often cultural, political or financial than technical. The potential levers often mentioned are education and awareness-raising at all levels, especially for elected officials and the general public. Regulations such as the PLU (Local Urban Plan) and new funding for more natural spaces in the city also seem to be means of promoting Nature-based Solutions in urban areas. These interviews with diverse professionals directly involved in Nature-Based Solutions in cities allow to give real courses of action to be taken to democratize these Solutions throughout the French territory, or even internationally, and therefore ultimately reduce the risks of hydro-meteorology. This is one of the objectives of the French ANR project EVNATURB (Assessment of ecosystem performance of a renaturation of the urban environment), in which this study has been carried out.</p>


2013 ◽  
Vol 648 (1) ◽  
pp. 136-158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monica A. Magadi

Of the estimated 10 million youths living with HIV worldwide, 63 percent live in sub-Saharan Africa. This article focuses on migration as a risk factor of HIV infection among the youths in sub-Saharan Africa. The study is based on multilevel modeling, applied to the youth sample of the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), conducted from 2003 to 2008 in nineteen countries. The analysis takes into account country-level and regional-level variations. The results suggest that across countries in sub-Saharan Africa, migrants have on average about 50 percent higher odds of HIV infection than nonmigrants. The higher risk among migrants is to a large extent explained by differences in demographic and socioeconomic factors. In particular, migrants are more likely to be older, to have been married, or to live in urban areas, all of which are associated with higher risks of HIV infection. The higher risk among youths who have been married is particularly pronounced among young female migrants.


Author(s):  
Marilene Santos

The following article, whose nature is descriptive and bibliographic, aims, based on Goal eight of the National Education Plan 2014-2024 (PNE), to identify some indicators for the Countryside Education. For such purpose, we consider the educational reality of the countryside based on: the low schooling of the population; in the negative evolution of the enrollments number in the last few years; and in the circumstances through which the quality benchmark, provided by the Basic Education Development Index (Ideb), has been unproductive to the define public policies aimed for the Countryside Education. Despite the operational difficulties of the educational system to obtain the necessary information for its composition, the results of the last two Ideb, however, already show progress. Based on these indicators, we conclude that some actions aimed at increasing the schooling of the countryside population were undertaken, however, the unequal educational condition among young people living in the countryside and those who live in the urban areas still persists. There is a possibility of fulfilling the goal eight of PNE by 2024, however, this may not mean progress in guaranteeing the countryside population’s rights to an education of quality, but, on the contrary, its reduction.


Author(s):  
Ruá María José ◽  
Huedo Patricia ◽  
Cabeza Manuel ◽  
Saez Beatriz ◽  
Civera Vicente

In the urban context, buildings play a key role as they are energy consumers. In well-established cities with a high percentage of aged building stock, the focus should lie on sensitive urban areas where the weakest population sectors and the worst physico-economic conditions are usually encountered. In this work, the energy refurbishment of social housing is proposed. A block of municipally owned buildings is selected as a case study to consider that public buildings play an exemplary role according to Directive 2012/27/EU. The group is formed by 12 buildings, which account for 120 dwellings.This study is grounded on two levels. First the urban level. The building is located in a prioritised urban Area of Rehabilitation, Renovation and Urban Regeneration (ARRU), according to the new local Land Plan. This area presents multidimensional vulnerability and considers urban, building, socio-demographic and socio-economic features. Second, the building presents very low energy performance. It was built in 1959 when a high demand of dwellings and the economic resources then available led to low-quality buildings that are far from meeting today’s standards.Some proposals are made, having in mind the specific features of the urban context. The energy refurbishment of the building is proposed, selecting the optimal solution, considering technical, environmental and economic criteria. The energy performance simulation shows a remarkable improvement of the energy performance, resulting in an improvement of the thermal comfort of the dwellers. Besides, a reduction in the energy consumption is reached, which would reduce the energy bills and, on the other hand, a reduction of the carbon emissions to the atmosphere, contributing to a better environment quality. Having in mind that the building is intended for social housing, energy poverty situations could be avoided, as dwellings are inhabited by low-income dwellers.


2015 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-43
Author(s):  
Profulla C. Sarker

Natural disasters like floods, droughts, cyclones, storms, burning of houses and river bank erosion along with famine and poverty are the frequent causes of damage to crops, lives and property. Every year millions of people directly and indirectly become the victims of these natural calamities. Many of them are displaced by river bank erosion, and migrate to urban areas in search of employment. Many children are involved in child labor; the young girls are victims of trafficking for prostitution, and many of them are victims of violence while working as domestic maid servants. Many of the elderly people become beggars to survive due to the decline of joint family system. Many of the children do not get a chance to go to school. Many of the people have no ability for treatment due to financial constraints. Often the parents are not able to arrange marriage for their young daughters because of high demand of dowry. In many times to solve these problems, voluntary services play vital role in different perspectives. Voluntarism is a process of voluntary action to serve the people in distress situations. The main focus of this paper is to examine to what extent the social work and social services are rooted in voluntarism by individual, community and organizational initiatives in Bangladesh.


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