In the last decade, Bangladesh has witnessed many industrial disasters including factory fires, the most recent being the collapse of various garment factories housed in a multi-storeyed building named Rana Plaza on April 24, 2013. The collapse killed over 400 workers, with 2500 people injured and missing. A large majority of the workers who perished [...]
May 20, 2013
Increase in consumerism, rapid urbanization and greater population densities have resulted in high proportions of waste being generated in Asian cities. Dhaka alone generates about 5800 tons per day of waste. Bangalore, which generates 3500 tons of waste per day, hosts close to 10 million citizens – more than double the population that it had [...]
April 19, 2013
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 [...]
May 20, 2013
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