Sustainable upgrading for informal areas (original) (raw)
Related papers
Procedia Engineering, 2011
One of the biggest obstacles for development in the developing countries is the rapid population growth. This, together with continuing poverty and lack of basic needs for an acceptable life imposes a great challenge for sustainable development. The paper deals with the problem of the informal settlement phenomenon in Egypt and the means of its upgrading by adopting the concept of sustainable urban development through firstly analysis for relevant example, secondly setting a criteria and guidelines to be applied finally on a case study of an informal settlement in Alexandria, Egypt.
2020
Problem of informal areas received a great attention of the scientific research over years. Yet, regrettably the problem is still developing quantitatively and qualitatively. It is considered as a pressing and urgent issue which needs to be handled in an effective and sustainable way. This paper will propose a new approach for upgrading informal areas depending on complementing and prioritizing four sustainable dimensions. First, this paper will argue the predicament of defining informal areas on international and local scope, and its effect on upgrading strategies.Second, it will define the proposed approach with its four axes with brief review on its vision and a main focus on the proposed definition and classification for informal areas to overcome problems resulted from existed definitions. Third, the paper will validate the inclusion of the four dimensions of the proposed approach within local and international classification of informal areas;moreover, it will validate the inc...
The concept of sustainability has moved from the realm of the environment and natural resources into the arena of urban areas management. Such a move meant that sustainability, from the urban areas management perspective, represents a general framework within which urban areas management would operate in a way ensuring harmonization between economic, social and environmental aspects in these areas. It is well known that all developing countries are suffering, with varying magnitude, from rapid rates of informal areas expansion in their main urban centers. The magnitude of informal areas and their problems are considered to be a real threat to urban sustainability. Therefore, one of the MDGs, proposed as means to ensure sustainability, states that noticeable improvement in the living conditions of no less than 100 million inhabitants of the informal areas should be attained by the year 2015. It could be argued that, taking into account the limited resources available to governments o...
From Informal Settlements to sustainable communities
Alexandria Engineering Journal, 2017
Informal Settlements and urban informality is a serious and common problem in Third World countries. These settlements are not marginal actors in the real estate market. They play an important role affecting greatly the housing supply and demand market. In Egypt, Informal Settlements emerged in and around big cities since the sixties of the twentieth century, due to natural growth and the flux of rural-urban migration. Alexandria-as the second biggest city in Egypt after Cairo-is witnessing a rapid population increase, therefore monitoring Informal Settlements locations, expansion and growth is important for possible urban development. This study focuses on the continued transformation of Alexandria's backdrop productive agricultural land into Informal Settlements causing serious encroachment on agricultural land. The study intends to find solutions through examining local needs and potentials for a selected case study named ''Houd 10". This case is an example that sheds the light on means that can be utilized in Informal Settlements to improve living conditions and reach socioeconomic potentials. Analyses of the current situation and challenges at Houd 10 are examined on three levels; economic, social and environmental. The research also highlights the role of non-profit organizations and social participation for developing such areas.
Regeneration of informal settlements towards sustainability: a case study
Modern societies are called to confront a number of changes that concern urban conservation and human settlements. One of the areas of sustainable development, with direct influences on human and natural environment, is the management of urban space and the planning policies. Many modern cities have experienced intense urbanization and expanding without the appropriate means to support them, due to lack of planning policies. In the not too distant past, the term development referred to the expansion of the city seeking for better living conditions. The continuous expansion of built environment, the degradation of the environmental conditions and quality of life, the continuing poverty and the lack of basic needs in a time of crisis, are some of the factors that threaten the contemporary urban environment and hinder progress towards the sustainable city. Modern societies, especially in Greek countries, are called to deal with the phenomenon of informal urban planning, because of lack of appropriate legislature, socio-economical institutions about urban and suburban space, political will, bureaucracy in land and spatial planning, and the general lack of consistent interrelationship between land management and land administration. One of the most important problems in developing countries is the integration of the informal settlements with city centers and formalizing of the property rights. The aim of this paper is to investigate the effects of informal urban planning and settlements in modern cities, as well as to propose an approach that would help rehabilitate degraded city areas and connect them with the urban fabric. An attempt is made to evaluate the condition of a city in Northern Greece, Komotini, with rich historical and natural background, which has accepted a great number of immigrants. Due to lack of local authorities, dwelling areas and planning, there are many areas with informal settlements within the city. The paper explores the problems of the site and approaches the prospects of urban revival in the light of sustainability. The ultimate goal is to reorganize the basic factors that compose the function of this urban center, towards the sustainable city.
New Urbanism, Smart Growth and Informal Areas: A Quest for Sustainability
2010
Informal urban growth has been the primary trend of urban growth for the past decades, mostly in developing countries where there is a clear lack of proper urban planning and management. Thus the study of these areas and their impact is most needed. On the other hand, in the developed world, there has been a debate about sustainable development and whether to go compact or to disperse and integrate with nature. There are a number of middle positions; the urban village, 'new urbanism', the sustainable urban matrix, transit-oriented development, smart growth and sustainable urbanism, which try to combine the energy efficiency gained from a compact urban form with the broader quality-of-life aspects gained from the dispersed city. This paper attempts to compare the main guidelines of sustainable urbanism theories to informal urban development, addressing issues of sustainability. The study will depend mainly on informal areas built on agricultural land, which is almost exclusive to Egypt rather than squatter areas. By highlighting their sustainability advantages and the disadvantages, potentials can be preserved when attempting to upgrade or rebuild these areas and assure their sustainability based on local proven experience. Thus, participating in the quest for more sustainable cities locally rooted rather than globally induced.
Sustainable livelihoods in informal settlements
The purpose of this essay is to provoke how we can empower people living in the informal settlements through the concept of sustainable livelihoods. This concept arose at the early 1990’s by R.Chambers1 and then developed by further researches done, the most important were the ones done by the DfID2 (Department for International Development). The aim of this new topic or concept is to make the livelihoods of the people sustainable by using the capabilities and opportunities available to the people. To achieve this new kind of sustainability we need to know our tangible and intangible resources that can help us in this kind of development. We can define these resources as assets, capabilities and activities. The most important aspect of sustainable livelihoods is to deal with the people as an asset and to make them centered in the whole process to achieve sustainability (DfID 1999b). This can help in solving the issue that informal settlements’ dwellers are being marginalized as the governments cannot solve their problems and cannot deal with their rapid growth in population.