scholarly journals Inclusive Governance of Urban Informal Economy From the Perspective of Shared Development

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 49-56
Author(s):  
Xi LUO ◽  
Xiaozhen XU
Keyword(s):  
Informal Economy ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Urban Governance ◽  
Institutional Constraints ◽  
Urban Identity ◽  
Rapid Urbanization ◽  
Competition And Cooperation ◽  
Root Cause ◽  
Important Object ◽  
Inclusive Governance

Under the background of China's rapid urbanization, the informal economy in urban areas has become the rational choice of the action subject under the institutional constraints. The root cause is the insufficient supply of the action subject's rights in urban governance. Rural immigrants lack urban identity and their original identity suffers from identity crisis. Urban rights to share the fruits of urban development are suspended. Urban informal economy has gradually become an important object of urban governance. Adopting inclusive governance policies has become an inevitable choice for urban governments. From the perspective of Shared development, the future approach of urban governments to inclusive governance of urban informal economy lies in eliminating policy bias, reshaping competition and cooperation relations among government and market and implementing equalization of urban public services.

scholarly journals STREET TRADE AND THE ATTAINMENT OF URBAN RESILIENCE AND ADAPTATION IN LAGOS, NIGERIA

2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Ademola Omoegon
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
Working Conditions ◽  
Informal Economy ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Urban Governance ◽  
Urban Resilience ◽  
Rapid Urbanization ◽  
Significant Damage ◽  
Development Policies

Rapid urbanization rates and the proliferation of informal activities in vulnerable locations present significant challenges to urban resilience and adaptation, particularly in cities seeking to reduce poverty and improve economic growth. Inclusive urban governance has been identified as being vital to building resilience. Informal employment is the life blood of African cities, as evidenced by the multitude of street traders which abound in urban areas. However, in recent times many city authorities in Africa have adopted neo-liberal development policies which have led to the sanitization of public space and displacement of street traders, as well as a consequent worsening of the already precarious working conditions of traders and a significant damage of their limited associational structure, thus reducing their capacity to participate in urban governance. Through a case study of Lagos, Nigeria which possesses the largest informal economy in Africa, this paper examines the challenges which associations of the working poor face and the effect of this on urban resilience efforts. By exploring the experiences of street traders, the paper aims to investigate their current forms of organisation, their role in urban governance and how these factors can enhance or hinder urban resilience and adaptation. Keywords: Street trade, urban resilience, informal economy, urban governance, Lagos

Food security and nutrition in an urbanizing world

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 162-168 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shenggen Fan ◽  
Emily EunYoung Cho ◽  
Christopher Rue
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Food Security ◽  
Informal Economy ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Food Policy ◽  
Value Chains ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Rapid Urbanization ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Food Security And Nutrition

Purpose The paper is a synthesis of the 2017 Global Food Policy Report, and the purpose of this paper is to put into perspective the major food policy issues, developments, and decisions of 2016 and highlights challenges and opportunities for 2017. Design/methodology/approach The paper presents an overview of recent changes in the global context for food security and nutrition, and synthesizes research findings on major issues that arise in an urbanizing world. Based on its findings, the authors present policy recommendations and areas for future research for food security and nutrition. Findings Urbanization is linked with dietary changes to more energy-dense diets, and, the triple burden of malnutrition is increasing, particularly in rapidly urbanizing developing countries. Rural-urban linkages are key to improving food security and nutrition in both rural and urban areas, and traditional agricultural value chains linking farms to cities are undergoing a “quiet revolution.” Governance to enhance food security in the context of rapid urbanization faces various challenges in the institutional, administrative, and political realms, especially for the informal economy in developing countries. To address the unique challenges of urbanization, policies will need to create enabling environments, promote efficient and inclusive value chains, improve governance, and promote tailored programs. Research gaps that need to be filled include better, updated, and disaggregated data on food security and nutrition, as well as an enhanced understanding of enabling environments. Originality/value The paper highlights the increasingly relevant issue of rapid urbanization, especially in developing countries, for food security and nutrition, and synthesizes recent research in this area.

Urbanization and Changes in Cropping Patterns at Kathmandu Valley

2007 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raj Man Shrestha
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Cropping System ◽  
Considerable Change ◽  
Rapid Expansion ◽  
Leafy Vegetables ◽  
Kathmandu Valley ◽  
Rapid Urbanization ◽  
Average Growth ◽  
Cropping Patterns ◽  
Agriculture Land

The increase of population in Kathmandu valley is bringing a considerable change in cropping system. Rapid urbanization and introduction of new agriculture technology have encouraged the valley’s farmers to change their cropping patterns from traditional (low value crops) to new crops (high value crops). According to numerous studies made in Nepal, the change is seen considerably in winter crops than in summer crops and the land under cultivation of green leafy vegetables is increasing rapidly in the urban and semi-urban areas. An average growth of population at 3 % in the valley during the period 1951-2001 has resulted in the rapid expansion of area under urban coverage (24.6 % growth per year from 1984 - 2000) has made agriculture land of Katmandu valley to decline per year by 2.04 % (836.27 ha per year). If this trend of decline in agriculture land in Kathmandu valley continues in future too, it is expected that there will be no agriculture land left over by two and half decades in the valley. The planners should take note of this fact that if fertile land of Katmandu valley is to be preserved for agriculture necessary planning is urgently needed. <i>Nepal Journal of Science and Technology</i> Vol. 7, 2006

Situating Self-Employed Urban Women Conducting Business through Contemporary Social Media

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shruti Kalyanaraman
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Women Workers ◽  
Informal Economy ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Technological Advancement ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Self Employment ◽  
Home Based ◽  
Business Women ◽  
Employed Women

Informal economy includes varied set of economic activities, enterprises, jobs, and workers. The economy typically consists of enterprises and/or people that are not regulated or protected by the state. The concept originally applied to self-employment in small unregistered enterprises. It has been expanded to include wage employment in unprotected jobs. A home-based self-employed women worker can be involved as a fashion designer, a tiffin service provider, a home tutor, a person working with vendors, selling and reselling apparel, accessories to name a few. Informal self-employment is very large and heterogeneous as a category itself. There are different people working within in an informally self-employed category. The review tries to understand home based business women within the ambit of informal employment. The focus of research turns to technological advancement, social media and its impact on womens economic and business efforts. The review, using a feminist lens, understands academic researches on womens economic efforts. The reviews focus will largely be owners and own account (individually run enterprises) women workers of informal enterprises in urban areas which for ease of reference, I have termed as home-based self-employed urban woman.

Managing African Urbanization in the Context of Environmental Change

2014 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuaib Lwasa
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Economic Growth ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Urban Governance ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Urbanization Rate ◽  
Development And Management

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 .

scholarly journals Where Do I Allocate My Urban Allotment Gardens? Development of a Site Selection Tool for Three Cities in Benin

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 318
Author(s):  
B. G. J. S. Sonneveld ◽  
M. D. Houessou ◽  
G. J. M. van den Boom ◽  
A. Aoudji
Keyword(s):  
Food Insecurity ◽  
Urban Agriculture ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Urban Poor ◽  
Site Suitability ◽  
Rapid Urbanization ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Support Tool ◽  
Allotment Gardens

In the context of rapid urbanization, poorer residents in cities across low- and middle-income countries increasingly experience food and nutrition deficiencies. The United Nations has highlighted urban agriculture (UA) as a viable solution to food insecurity, by empowering the urban poor to produce their own fresh foods and make some profit from surplus production. Despite its potential role in reducing poverty and food insecurity, there appears to be little political will to support urban agriculture. This is seen in unclear political mandates that are sustained by information gaps on selection criteria for UA sites. The research reported here addresses this issue in the form of a decision-making support tool that assesses the suitability of cadastral units and informal plots for allotment gardens in urban and peri-urban areas. The tool was developed and tested for three rapidly expanding cities in Benin, a low-income country in West Africa, based on an ordered logit model that relates a set of 300 expert assessments on site suitability to georeferenced information on biophysical and socio-economic characteristics. Soil, land use, groundwater depth, vicinity to market and women’s safety were significant factors in the assessment. Scaled up across all cadastral units and informal sites, the tool generated detailed baseline maps on site suitability and availability of areas. Its capacity to support policymakers in selecting appropriate sites comes to the fore by reporting changes in site suitability under scenarios of improved soil fertility and enhanced safety for women.

scholarly journals Towards eco-social housing in Vietnam: challenges and opportunities

2018 ◽  
Vol 193 ◽  
pp. 01001
Author(s):  
Van Thuong Le ◽  
Tuan Tran ◽  
Truc Truong
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Social Housing ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Housing Demand ◽  
Living Conditions ◽  
Local Economy ◽  
Rapid Urbanization ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
The Government

Since Doi Moi (Reform) policy in 1986, Vietnam has experienced rapid urbanization and economic growth. Urbanization has resulted in increasingly high housing demand in the urban areas but this has largely unmet, especially housing for low-income people. Development of social housing for low-income and under-privileged people in cities has been seen as an urgent and important task of the government to pursue stable social and economic development. Low-income people are most vulnerable to environmental impacts and in need of energy-efficient houses to reduce their cost of living. Eco-social housing is seen as a solution to protect the natural environment as well as to boost local economy, improve living conditions particularly for low income people. Through preliminary assessments of three social buildings at three distinct regions of Vietnam, this paper found that despite many challenges, eco-social housing is a solution to Vietnam's needs in providing houses with adequate living conditions to low-income people while protecting the environment and achieving sustainable eco-social development in the long run.

scholarly journals Spatial–Temporal Impacts of Urban Sprawl on Ecosystem Services: Implications for Urban Planning in The Process of Rapid Urbanization

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 1210
Author(s):  
Xiaoyan Li ◽  
Gulinaer Suoerdahan ◽  
Zhenyu Shi ◽  
Zihan Xing ◽  
Yongxing Ren ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Urban Planning ◽  
Carbon Storage ◽  
Crop Yield ◽  
Urban Sprawl ◽  
Habitat Suitability ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Water Retention ◽  
Rapid Urbanization ◽  
Study Region

Rapid urbanization drives land cover change, affecting urban ecosystems and inducing serious environmental issues. The study region of Changchun, China was divided into three urbanization categories according to different urbanization levels and the characteristics of urban sprawl and changes and relationships between typical ecosystem services (ESs) under rapid urbanization were analysed. The results showed that Changchun has undergone considerable urban expansion since 2000, which has significantly impacted all ESs in terms of spatial and temporal heterogeneity. Habitat suitability and crop yield have relatively stronger service capacity in the study area. Since the expansion of large-scale infrastructures, the mean ES values of developed urban areas are the lowest among the three zones, except for water retention and sandstorm prevention in 2015, when the balance between all services decreased. Over the past 16 years, habitat suitability in developing urban areas has decreased to a large extent due to urban sprawl. Because of the improvement in agricultural science and technology, crop yield in three regions increased, while the area of cropland reduced from 1720 km2 to 1560 km2 (9.3%). Synergies between habitat suitability and carbon storage and habitat suitability and soil retention were detected in three areas. A trade-off between habitat suitability and water retention was detected in three areas. The interactions between crop yield and carbon storage, habitat suitability, and soil retention were more complex in this study region. In addition to water retention, urbanization index has a negative correlation with ESs. According to the results, some suggestions to alleviate ES loss during the process of rapid urbanization were proposed, which may guide scientific urban planning for sustainable urban development.

scholarly journals Living and Planning on the Edge: Unravelling Conflict and Claim-Making in Peri-Urban Lahore, Pakistan

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 189-201 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helena Cermeño
Keyword(s):  
Urban Governance ◽  
Urban Migration ◽  
Spatial Transformation ◽  
Rural Settlements ◽  
City Development ◽  
Rapid Urbanization ◽  
Population Growth Rates ◽  
Governance Practices ◽  
Inclusive Approach ◽  
High Population Growth

In Lahore, Pakistan’s second largest city, high population growth rates, decades of rural-urban migration, and rampant land and real-estate speculation have contributed to the rapid urbanization of peri-urban land and the engulfing of pre-existing rural settlements. Lahore’s spatial transformation goes hand in hand with an increasingly complex urban governance framework. Historically shaped by colonial planning institutions and decades of political instability as power alternated between military and civilian regimes, Pakistan’s governance practices have contributed to increasing levels of urban segregation and inequality. This raises questions around the in- and exclusionary role of planning in fostering or constraining residents’ access to housing and services. Comparing three vignettes and drawing upon insights gained from extensive fieldwork, this article employs the concept of ‘access-assemblages’ to analyze how access to urban resources—i.e., land, housing, and services—is experienced, disputed, and negotiated in the rapidly urbanizing peri-urban fringe of Lahore. The cases represent different spatial and socio-political configurations brought about by a variety of actors involved in the planning and development of the city’s periphery as well as in contesting development: private developers, the army, the city development authorities, and the residents of affected villages. The analysis unpacks the planning rationalities and mechanisms that reinforce inequalities of access and exclusions. Unfolding practices that enable or hinder actors’ ability to access resources sheds light on the complex layers assembled in urban planning in Lahore and serves as a basis to rethink planning towards a more inclusive approach.

scholarly journals A Cultural Governance Coalition in Regeneration. A Case Study of Historical Quanzhou City

2019 ◽  
pp. 145-164
Author(s):  
Shuxiang Cai
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Land Reform ◽  
High Speed ◽  
Urban Governance ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Urban Landscape ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Spatial Transformation ◽  
Common Path

Compared with the gradual and long exploration processes typical of European and American countries, China experienced a period marked by extremely high-speed modernisation and urbanisation, following the Land Reform. This is exemplified by a great number of urban reconstruction projects which have changed the traditional fabric of most cities. Yet, following the trend of cultural consumption since the late 1990s, numerous integrated restoration projects for historic districts were implemented to promote tourism as a promising industry to sustain economic growth. As a consequence of growth-oriented urban entrepreneurship, public spaces in these historic urban areas have also been perceptibly privatised. To a large extent, the capital and the authority of the local government directs the future prospect of the historic urban landscape in Chinese cities. On the other hand, development-oriented urban construction stimulates a rise in awareness of the need for protection strategies to conserve historic urban fabric. On a global scale, the public sector has begun to introspect on urban governance under the spirit of entrepreneurship. The urban renewal has now been extended to urban regeneration and the previous public-private partnership has been substituted with a multi-sectoral cooperative model. In recent years, the Chinese central government has proposed the core concept of “Seeing people, Seeing things, Seeing life”, which is re-orientated towards historic-city regeneration as a way of promoting “Micro-renewal and Micro-disturbance”. Among such activities, the use of exhibitions as a strategy for simultaneous spatial transformation and activation has gradually formed a common path, encouraging many cities to regenerate historic urban areas. This article is based on on this reorientation, taking Quanzhou as an example, making a critical observation on the new form of public space it has produced, and digs into the operational mechanism behind it as well as the possibility for publicness.

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