Urban Housing, Livelihoods and Environmental Challenges in Emerging Economies

Abstract

In the twenty-first century, for the first time in history, the world’s urban population exceeded its rural population. However, the rural–urban migration driving this urbanisation in developing countries has resulted in a growing informal economic sector and informal settlements such as slums. This informality lies at the heart of urban policy challenges in developing countries.

This volume highlights the connected issues of urban housing, livelihoods and environment through perspectives from key emerging economies—Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa and Thailand—so as to harness the different histories of different societies for an exploration of common contemporary problems.

Researchers and practitioners working on policy formulation, critical research and grassroots activities from around the world provide case studies, micro-histories and macro-comparisons that shed light on the vexed problem of unchecked urbanisation in developing nations. Key questions are highlighted: the role of the state in low-income urban housing; the role of the community and civil society in the context of ethnic diversity and informality of urban growth; and the impact of liberalisation and globalisation on housing policies.

The authors advocate involving the poor in housing questions so that they become ‘negotiating partners’ in navigating solutions that affect their lives and livelihoods. Critiquing the imposition of a ‘smart cities’ mentality onto ill-prepared urban spaces, they highlight the unequal burden this places on the urban poor and their ways of living, moving and working in the cities. Instead, the authors stress the need for creative, inclusive policies that can provide sustainable solutions for modern cities. This exciting and critically important volume will interest urban and environmental planners, policy-makers, civil society organisations and urban management professionals. Students and scholars of urban studies and urban sociology will also find these perspectives engaging.