What does it mean to be a man? Prescriptive gender norms limit the lives of both men and women. Earlier this week Neha Kagal described how women’s empowerment in wastepicker communities in India has had a transformative impact on gender relations. Here Shannon Philip looks at how men and women in New Delhi are affected by ideas of masculinity and …
Does resilience thinking help or hinder urban development?
As climate and weather-related risks increase in urban areas, resilience discourses and ideas have gained traction in urban development policy. Arabella Fraser, Research fellow at the Overseas Development Institute and Richard Friend, Lecturer in Human Geography at the University of York, explore the complexities of urban development and resilience. Is resilience thinking a help or a hindrance? And how can …
Claiming rights for women in Pakistan’s informal economy
Urban growth in Pakistan brings new challenges for women and new gender inequalities. Hadia Majid and Ammar A. Malik identify key factors which could help women workers in the informal economy to advocate for better recognition, greater access to services and a larger share in economic growth. Pakistan is the sixth most populated country in the world and it is …
A new model for economic growth and youth inclusion
Investing in the skills of young people, start ups and the sharing economy, could be key to fostering socially inclusive economic growth in Asia, argues urban development consultant Nicholas Taylor. Our cities, their inhabitants, and our planet are in danger from cascading sets of urban woes including unsafe housing, rising waters, increased incidences of natural disasters, temperature extremes, inequitable development, …
How entrepreneurship can support post-disaster recovery
Post-disaster situations can open up opportunities for small businesses, boosting the local economy and enabling disaster-affected communities to support themselves. Caroline Baxter Tresise reflects on the role of coffee shops in Indonesia after the 2004 tsunami. The role of entrepreneurs in post-disaster community recovery should be supported and encouraged as entrepreneurs occupy key positions when assessing and planning for rapidly …
Recycling computers, strengthening Nepal’s women leaders
Ganga Bhandari responded to Oxfam Asia’s call for young people to blog about urban development issues. Here she explains how an independent project she has set up is providing rural Nepali women with access to computers as a step up to access work and take advantage of business opportunities. In the 21st century everyone wants to simplify their life with …
Sexual harassment and victimization of women on public transport
It is estimated 35% of women globally have experience sexual violence, with many more reporting sexual harassment. In the rise of urban living, how does this affect gender equality in today’s world? Yasemin Irvin-Erickson and Annie Gurvis from the Justice Policy Center examine how this can be tackled. The past 40 years have seen dramatic changes in the policy, practice, and research on …
Nothing for us without us: Participatory processes and the New Urban Agenda
Half the world’s population live in cities, and urban informal workers make important economic, social, and environmental contributions to city life. Rhonda Douglas from WIEGO argues that the New Urban Agenda must include all urban stakeholders, including the working poor, to ensure it doesn’t leave anyone behind. More than 50% of the non-agricultural work force in most developing countries is …
The new urban agenda: Rights and transformative change
Richard Friend explores The New Urban Agenda in the SDGs and assesses issues around governance in the context of urban development. The New Urban Agenda with its call for “a shared vision of cities for all” appears to offer much in setting development objectives for the coming decades, but it is undermined by a combination of its inability to draw on history …
New series launch on urban development
Hashim Zaidi, Global Urban Work Lead, introduces a new blog series on urban development and why it is important to Oxfam. Cities today are home to 3.9 billion people accounting for 54% of the total world’s population. UN-Habitat estimates that an additional 2.5 billion people will live in cities by 2050 with almost 90% of this increase happening in Asia and Africa. …