In March 2013, the Registrar General of India (RGI) published, for the very first time, comprehensive datasets on housing, amenities and assets in Indian slums, based on information collected during the 2011 Census. Up until this report, the assessment of challenges pertaining to urban poverty had no disaggregated numbers to substantiate or inform policy design. [...]
April 19, 2013
Slum redevelopment and rehabilitation projects are often in a state of deadlock: any significant change requires more resources and land. However, availing of more resources and land requires significant change on the ground. Reflecting the magnitude of the challenge, several ambitious slum redevelopment projects have either been ineffective or have become notorious non-starters. For example [...]
February 26, 2013
Many countries face a dead-end in terms of resources, natural or otherwise, due to an unprecedented population growth rate. In recent decades, Pakistan seems to be getting closer to this end. In 1947 when Pakistan was born, its population was recorded at 32 million. Today, 66 years later, the country’s population has risen to approximately [...]
February 26, 2013
Despite a sustained period of high economic growth and significant expenditure on the social sector — nearly 19% of total central government expenditure in 2011-2012 — India today is faced with a multipart development conundrum. Even the most conservative estimates on poverty reveal staggering figures: the Tendulkar Committee, whose report was accepted by the Planning [...]
February 26, 2013
The second Millennium Development Goal (MDG), to achieve universal primary education, has forced countries around the world to the refocus their national education agendas. During the 2010 UN Summit in New York, it was presented that more than 25%, or 18 million, of the estimated 69 million children worldwide not in school are from South [...]
February 26, 2013
For decades now, the proliferation of urban slums across South Asia has inspired dialogue and debate around granting property rights to slum-dwellers. It is a controversial issue. Migrants move to cities like Mumbai, Karachi, Dhaka and Kathmandu seeking better fortunes for themselves and their families, but the price of such a move is to settle [...]
April 19, 2013
0