URBIZEN

A new report by the United Nations Human Settlements Programme warns that unless governments around the world take action the world faces a massive urban crisis as housing shortages could lead to mega-slums. According to "recent estimates, more than two billion people would be added to the number of city dwellers in developing countries by 2030. To meet the needs of that additional population, some 35 million new housing units would have to be built every year for the next 25 years. "But unless adequate financial resources are invested in the development of urban shelter and services, including clean water and sanitation, billions of people will be trapped in poverty, deplorable housing conditions, poor health and low productivity, making today's enormous slum challenge even greater." Full article here: http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0914-03.htm

By Abheek BaruaSeptember 05, 2005 Life gets evermore surreal in this city. Two buildings have collapsed over the last fortnight in the heart of the city, killing more than 10 people. One had been certified as being perfectly safe by civic authorities some days before its implosion. To be fair, the authorities had warned of the precarious conditions of the other building but residents did not bother to vacate. The price per square feet of floor space in these neighbourhoods (dotted with buildings of similar vintage and decrepitude) is apparently between Rs 2,500 and Rs 3,500, a price that up-market localities in Delhi or Bangalore would fetch. These disasters come in the wake of the deluge of July 26 and its aftermath. The devastation that the tsunami-like waves that flooded the northern suburbs had started, rat droppings carried forward. Hospitals were spilling over with leptospirosis patients, a disease the transmitted from rats to humans as they came into contact with rat faeces, wad...

NATIONAL CONSULTATION ON URBAN DEVELOPMENT PLANNING AND SPACE FOR THE POOR October 15,16 2005 Mumbai MASSIVE RALLY ON OCTOBER 17TH IN MUMBAI Dear Friends,Greetings! The recent massive demolitions in Mumbai and the struggles all over have brought the issues of displacement & destitutionalisation in the name of urban development and renewal, again to the forefront. This process is not limited to Mumbai alone but has been fast spreading to all other metros, medium cities and towns. The denial of space for the poor and the massive violations of human rights have led to deprivation not only of shelter but also of services and livelihood, which has necessitated an in-depth sharing of ideologies and perspectives, strategy & experience, as well as an alliance building across the country. It is in this context that a NATIONAL CONSULTATION ON 'URBAN DEVELOPMENTAL PLANNING AND SPACE FOR THE POOR' is being organised in Mumbai on the 15th & 16th October 2005. A massive ral...

Hassan Fathy was a remarkable man: artist, antiquarian and social reformer to the world's poor. He was slightly built and enveloped by an air of virtuousness, projecting the intellectual vigour, tranquillity and inner calm reserved for the elect. These qualities, accompanied by a twinkle in his eye and a willingness to listen, made him a favourite of students, who responded to him with warmth and humour, and vied for his attention. Fathy's architectural and social ideas were based at first upon his colonial education, and only later moulded by a deep knowledge of his country's long history and in particular its architecture, which had often been controlled by mathematics and mystical geometries. Six general principles guided him throughout his career: the primacy of human values in architecture; the importance of a universal approach; the use of appropriate technology; the need for socially oriented, co-operative construction techniques; the essential role of tradition; and...