UCL DEVELOPMENT PLANNING UNIT

dpunewsissue 50 December 2007

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Focus OnFighting Peri-Urban Povertyby Michael Mattingly

Head OnMSc Fieldtrip Reports

International Networks

Staff Retirements

N-Aerus Conference Staff News

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ObituaryDialogues in Development

focus onfighting peri-urban poverty

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by Michael Mattingly

Recently, a 9-year DPU programme ofstudy of peri-urban production, livelihoodsand poverty was brought to a conclusion.Because there has not been anything like itbefore, professionals concerned with ruralor urban development should know aboutthe findings. Although the field studies werecarried out in just a few areas - Hubli-Dharwad and East Kolkata in India andKumasi in Ghana - their common findingsprobably have applicability to the circum-stances of poor people in many parts of theworld. Defined as the meeting of rural and urbanactivities, a peri-urban interface has longbeen thought to generate changes -physical, social and economic - that arepredominantly negative for those caught upin it. These studies add substantialevidence that this can be so. Yet they alsobring evidence of a potential for changesmore positive than has been supposed,even possibilities for a rural-urban transi-tion that alleviates poverty rather thanentrenching it. This knowledge ought tofigure in future policy decisions. Thefollowing four areas may be consideredparticularly significant.

Managing land useWhen land is taken for city uses, farmersmay not be fairly compensated. In reality,even when the fields they cultivate are nottheirs, they add value to it - yet little, if any,of this value accrues to them. If their com-pensation reflected the true value they add,

even the poorest might possess significantfinancial assets with which to take up newproductive activities. There must be ways,

in addition to laws requiring compensation,for this to be achieved. Would it help toinform them of the urban market values oftheir rights and of speculators' activities? Isit possible to operate a market that wouldby-pass the speculators and sell their rightsdirectly to urban users? Speculation - and sometimes the failure tomaintain soil fertility in the face of urbanisa-tion - can remove peri-urban land fromnatural resource based production longbefore it is actually reused for urbanpurposes. Can it not continue to be farmedor grazed until the last moment, providingfood, jobs, and incomes? Moreover, thiswould prolong its contribution to the foodsecurity of the city. Effective land usecontrol could reduce the amount of idleland, giving peri-urban people more time tomake the rural to urban transition. Thiswould reduce the shock suffered by thepoor by giving them longer to acquire newskills and augment their financial assets.Urban planners could delay changes toareas where the impact on poor peoplethreatens to be worst. They could considerthe circumstances of the peri-urban poorwhen preparing for major urban usesbeyond the city's built up area, such as by-pass roads, new airports, waste disposalsites and industrial estates. At the sametime, rural officials could advise farmers oneffective soil fertility maintenance in peri-

urban conditions andon the cultivation ofsuitable new crops.Rural local govern-ments could do muchmore to battle againsttheir urban counter-parts for thoughtfultreatment of those whoproduce from peri-urban land.In any event, experi-ence in the EastKolkata Wetlands has

shown that it is important to identify thoseperi-urban poor people with livelihoods tiedto land and to achieve their participation in

any land use planning. Being poor does notprevent them from commenting wisely onproposals made from above; they have aunique perception of the realities of theperi-urban context.

Managing local urban and ruraleconomiesAlthough a few benefit straightaway, thetransition from the rural to the urbaneconomy is difficult for many, perhaps formost. The impact of a city eventually cutsshort traditional natural resource basedlivelihoods. Nevertheless, agricultureseems to remain a significant activity inperi-urban environments. Whereas theland available for it may shrink, it becomesmore intensive; it moves towards higher-value products such as vegetables, milk,eggs and fish with a ready urban market.But some subsistence crop production alsocontinues for a while. This makes supportfor good natural resource management par-ticularly important. Yet presently govern-ment agricultural extension services seemto ignore peri-urban farmers and livestockgrowers.Diversifying their productive activities is astrategy that helps poor people manage theshocks caused by increasing urbanisation.It can maintain flows of income andsometimes increase them. The researchfound that trials of new livelihoods can helppeople find new natural resource basedactivities that suit peri-urban conditions,such as the growing of higher value crops,or else to experiment with activities that arenot natural resource based, including theselling of produce or petty commodities.Indeed, new livelihoods can build newskills, some of which have value in the cityeconomy. In this way, fewer peri-urbanpeople will be propelled into an urbaneconomy further impoverished by thechanges their world has undergone, andmore will be able to make positive contribu-tions to the wealth of their new societies.The research showed that switching to newlivelihoods can be encouraged with adviceor training on the selection of alternatives,on growing techniques and other skills, onmarketing, and on obtaining finance. Somenew livelihoods suit a particular case betterthan others. For example, people near toKumasi, Ghana found that growingmushrooms could yield an income withinmonths, much sooner than raising rabbitsor snails. This satisfied better their needsfor quick cash returns, as they were forcedto move into a cash economy (to repay

Michael Mattingly

Peri-urban farming and brick-making in Hubli-Dharwad, India

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loans, for example) by the steady erosionof their rural, largely non-cash livelihoods.

Managing urban wastesSome farmers use wastes from nearbycities and towns to improve the fertility ofthe soil or of fishponds. The practice hasancient roots. Yet this link does not seem tobe made by waste management policy-makers. We found that on the one hand,when disposal options are being consid-ered, peri-urban reuse is simply not thoughtof; and on the other, waste managementpolicies may introduce new obstacles toexisting peri-urban waste-use patterns, forexample by mixing hospital wastes withorganic material or redirecting flows ofsewage that have hitherto gone to enrichfish ponds. Failing to recognise peri-urban farmers orthe disposal services they provide, rarely ifever do local urban governments engagewith them to learn their problems andopportunities, or plan for satisfying theirlegitimate needs for wastes. Opportunitiesto re-use urban wastes are thus shrinking.The result is a reduction in the foodavailable for city consumption, reduction inthe incomes of those soon to be thrust intothe urban economy, and even in somecases, unnecessary increase in the cost ofwaste management.

Governance at local levelsSocial changes (particularly the loss of tra-ditions and the influence of incomingmigrants) seem to weaken the ability ofperi-urban communities, just when theyneed it most, to interact with governmentand NGOs. Yet this research found thatcommunity members themselves can planchanges in their livelihoods in order to dealwith the transition. Participating in planningseemed to strengthen community as wellas individual resolve to act. Not only didthis sometimes renew collective traditions(as when some villagers near to Hubli-Dharwad reinstated a derelict irrigationpond that government used to maintain), italso spurred peri-urban communities toapproach government agencies of both theKumasi and Hubli-Dharwad urban-regionsthat had shown little interest in theirproblems and opportunities. Interventionsby NGOs and the use of community facilita-tors were key factors in initiating this partic-ipatory planning, in stimulating more inter-action between people and government,and in encouraging shifts to new productiveactivities.

Relationships among organisations can alsobe strained by peri-urban circumstances.(Julio Dávila, Adriana Allen and PascaleHofmann recently studied this problem. SeeGovernance of Water and SanitationServices for the Peri-urban Poor. AFramework for Understanding and Action inMetropolitan Regions, UCL DevelopmentPlanning Unit, London.) Governmentagencies and even NGOs tend to fragmentalong urban or rural lines, creating a systemunsatisfactory for dealing with the transi-tional and mixed nature -rural to urban, rural andurban - of a peri-urbaninterface. No doubt this isone reason why peri-urbanfarmers are so easily over-looked. The advantage of amore flexible approach areshown in the case of theEast Kolkata Wetlands,where interventions wereable to encourage peri-urban poor people, NGOsand government agenciesfrom inside and outside the city as well asfrom the State to engage with one anotherin physical development planning. The division of thinking, administration andaction into "rural" and "urban" has beenaccepted for too long. The prevailing compla-cency with it might be shattered if themounting evidence of its unsuitability is dis-seminated and put to work. Few developmentagencies yet realise what occurs at a peri-urban interface and what can be done aboutit. They need to make their staff more awareof the effects of a city on nearby production,livelihoods, poverty, and governance.

The importance of this new knowledgeNo specific estimates are available of thecurrent or future size of peri-urban popula-tions. The physical dimensions of a peri-urban interface are debatable.Nevertheless, geometric principles tell usthat as urban places increase in physicalsize, the amount of nearby rural landincreases disproportionately. In addition tothe growth of their original populations,these nearby places usually receive a verylarge share of the poor rural-to-urbanmigrants. Therefore, at a global scale, thenumber of peri-urban poor people whocurrently stand to benefit from betterpolicies can be given an order of magnitudeof tens of millions, at the least. The original peri-urban populations are alsorural-to-urban migrants, but ones who do

not move their homes. Probably what hasbeen learned about them also says a gooddeal about the vast numbers of migrants ingeneral. So this knowledge of peri-urbanproduction, livelihoods and poverty mayhelp reduce poverty in the following ways:1. preparing potential migrants to deal withthe changes they face by increasing theirinvolvement in planning their futures. Thiscould result in better use of their meagreresources smoothly to enter an urbaneconomy.

2. giving technical support (e.g. skill andmanagement training, access to financing)that prepare migrants for the pursuit ofmodes of production suitable for an urbaneconomy that is not natural resource based,such as petty commodity retailing. 3. preparing these migrants to be moreproductive and to lose fewer assets in theperi-urban circumstances in which they arelikely to live on arrival at the city. They canbe introduced to new activities that will bespecifically suited to their peri-urban circum-stances, such as high value crop cultiva-tion.

The DPU completed in June 2006 a synthesis

of the findings of peri-urban interface

research that was financed by the Natural

Resources Systems Programme, a

programme of the Department for

International Development of the U K

Government. The findings highlighted above

are from the reports of this synthesis, which

can be found at

www.ucl.ac.uk/dpu/pui/research/previous/synt

hesis/index.html in downloadable documents.

The synthesis drew from more than a dozen

individual peri-urban research projects, the

reports of which can be accessed at

www.nrsp.org.uk . The DPU advised the

Natural Resources Systems Programme on

its management of peri-urban research during

the final seven years of the fund's life.

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Peri-urban Kumasi, Ghana

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Karen Magnuson, ESDRecently, in May 2007, the ESD and UDPprogram undertook fieldwork in Mumbai, India.The goal of our work was to put into practicethe skills and tools we had learned throughout

the year. Pascale Hofmann, Eleni Kroyu andChris Jasko (an associate of DPU) led a groupof ESD and UDP students to Mumbai with theobjective of assessing the impact of resettle-ment on the livelihoods of three different popu-lations of slum-dwellers and to develop a set ofstrategic interventions. Each case had uniquecharacteristics, and the larger group wasbroken down into three smaller teams: the firstteam carried out research on the resettlementof pavement-dwellers from Byculla, in centralMumbai to Milan Nagar, on the outskirts ofMumbai; the second group researched theresettlement of railway slum-dwellers toMankhurd (adjacent to Milan Nagar); and thethird group worked on the resettlement ofslum-dwellers living along major roadways toOshiwara and Mankhurd.Our work would have been impossible withoutthe guidance and aid of the local NGOSPARC, which has been working withpavement dwellers and slum-dwellers inMumbai since 1984. Sheela Patel, the directorof SPARC, along with her colleagues Celined'Cruz, and Sundar Burra began working witha group of women pavement-dwellers in 1984,to support the community, which was especial-ly vulnerable to demolitions (as are all slums in

the city), the women formed Mahila Milanwhose main work centers on communitysavings schemes. The third actor, the NationalSlum Dwellers Federation (NSDF), whichmakes up "The Alliance" was founded byJockin, to oppose demolitions in his local slum.All three of these organizations allowed us touse their expertise and knowledge to grasp theextent of the work which has been done. Withtheir help we were able to visit the people attheir homes, who were so welcoming andopen with us, while we listened to their storiesof struggle and achievement, and askedquestions which enabled us to understand thetransformations in their lives and the issueswhich remain today. We were also fortunateto have lectures and discussions with manygovernmental and private organizations;including MCGM (Mumbai Corporation ofGreater Mumbai) and MHADA (MaharashtraHousing & Area Development Authority),municipal bodies which deal with services andmaintenance of the resettlement sites, ICICIbank, and many others. All of our intense work culminated in presenta-tions, which were attended by many of theactors with whom we had spoken during ourtime in Mumbai. As consultants to SPARC, wesuggested further work and possible solutionsto the remaining problems which had beenidentified during our interviews andresearch. It is our sincere hopethat our suggestions were of someuse and may produce positiveresults if implemented in the areaswe visited. Our work built uponfieldwork carried out on the samecases in Mumbai by DPU studentsin 2006, and will hopefully be builtpositively upon by the class whichwill follow in 2008.

Natalia Duarte, BUDDThere is a place called Sulukulewhich is really an amazing place,fit to be included in Italo Calvino's1970s magical realist novel,Invisible Cites. In this place the citydissolves in an uninterrupted time-space frame that leads you tothink that you are in either animaginary world or an ancientepoch; but this place reallyexits and is located in one of

the oldest cities in the world, Istanbul, a cityrelated to water, a city that carries the historyof the modern world, a city in which you canfind that there is a place called Sulukule. 'Placing Sulukule' was the culmination of theMSc in Building and Urban Design inDevelopment (BUDD) fieldtrip to Istanbul in2007. This fieldwork was carried out by agroup of nine students and four staff membersfrom the Development Planning Unit (UCL),and aimed to explore design solutions for thedevelopment of Sulukule neighbourhood. Thelatter is currently under threat of demolitiondue to the regeneration project proposed byFatih Municipality, itself situated withinIstanbul's wider urban transformation agenda,which is supposed to include conservation ofheritage sites alongside protection againstnatural disasters etc., but comes under strongpressure for new development. Sulukule is partially located inside the bound-aries of the UNESCO world heritage site. Ithas been the home of a Romani populationfor more than 1000 years, since they settledalong the ancient Theodosian Walls.Currently, Sulukule people are well knownthroughout Turkey and worldwide for theircultural skills related to dance and music. Inthe past, the community operated a series ofentertainment houses which served as themain source for income generation. In 1992the entertainment houses were shut down, amajor factor for the decline of economic condi-tions in the community. In 2005, FatihMunicipality started to consider the area's

Railway slum dwellers in Mumbai fetching water

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Mumbai Field Trip

Istanbul Field Trip

head onMSc field trip reports from 2007

BUDD fieldwork in Sulukule

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In March 2007 Cassidy Johnson attendedthe Future Buildings Forum Think TankWorkshop on Future Sustainable Buildingsand Communities in Espoo, Finland.This workshop, concerning energy efficiencyin buildings and was organised by VTTTechnical Research Centre of Finland, thebiggest contract research organisation inNorthern Europe. Its aim was to identifyR&D needs and new business opportunitiesfor sustainable buildings and communities,producing a vision and a roadmap towardsthe vision (draft of strategy) - with atimeframe extending till 2030 - concerningthe energy system and its most importantcomponents. The emphasis was onprocesses and co-operation models whichcan step beyond traditional "limits andborders", as well as on integral technologysolutions. The roadmap is expected todefine future International Energy Agency(IEA) implementing agreements, andresearch areas. Many of the 34 delegateswere part of the IEA Energy Conservation inBuildings and Community Systems(ECBCS) Programme.

Cassidy delivered a presentation on "ZeroEnergy Solar Buildings and Cities," basedon her research for Natural ResourcesCanada on the urban planning and develop-ment perspectives for the use of photovolta-ic (PV - solar electricity) in housing projects.The term "solar communities" is a broaddefinition that can encapsulate manydifferent initiatives, activities and technolo-gies. Generally, it implies housing develop-ments that employ solar energy coupledwith other forms of renewable energy,energy efficiency, new urban planningmethods, private housing markets, support-ive government policies, architectural inno-vation, sustainable transport options andenvironmental health. Solar communitiesare springing up in several countries,including in Europe, Japan, Australia andthe United States. Cassidy's research seeksto 1) understand the urban developmentprocess of two solar communities, one in theNetherlands and one in California, focussingspecifically on the stakeholders involved,their roles and activities, and 2) using thisdata, to put forth ideas for proposing thedevelopment of solar communities inCanada. Her findings are that the housebuilder is key to diffusing solar technologiesat the community scale, and therefore whatis needed are effective approaches to helpbuilders in this endeavour. In Canada, thereare a growing number of innovative home-builders who are gaining expertise in solarand other renewable energy technologies;the introduction of Ontario's Standard OfferProgram will further accelerate this process.As well, new sustainable housing develop-ments, such as the Rockcliffe LandsRedevelopment in Ottawa, offer excellentopportunities for exploring use of solar atthe community scale.Cassidy writes: The feedback from my pres-entation was positive. Since most comefrom a very technical background, partici-pants were pleased to have the viewpoint ofcommunity planning, and also to understandwhom the participants are in the buildingprocess, and how they interact in partner-ships. The workshops were split intogroups to conduct visioning exercises onbased on four aspects: InnovativeTechnologies; Products and SystemsSolutions; Innovative Business Models andcustomer Needs; Implementation (barriers,incentives, policies). I ended up leading thegroup on Implementation, and we came upwith the vision of 'Culture of EnergyAwareness', based on the idea that imple-mentation of energy efficient communities

will follow if demand exists. Demand will becreated by consumer knowledge of energythat they consume and the effects this hason the environment. We came up with an 18point action plan for implementation, whichincluded aspects such as education ofchildren about energy efficiency in buildingsand including this technology in schools,education of builders and contractors aboutnew systems, public knowledge about howmuch energy buildings consume (orproduce) in real time, financial credits forsustainable technologies, and more.Future research ideas include expandingthe research to look at how PV can beimplemented in existing communities. Thereis a very good possibility to make existinghouses more energy efficient and to installrenewable systems. But how can this bedone? Who is involved, and how can webring this technology to contractingcompanies, for example those installing newroofs on houses? Who will market thesetechnologies, what are the incentives?There is also scope for modelling analysisto determine the built urban form of acommunity that is most energy efficient, andreduces resource consumption, i.e. types ofhousing stock, whether it should be singlefamily, high rise, etc.

Babar Mumtaz attended a meeting inPakistan organised by the World Bank onRural Housing for earthquake affectedareas. This was a major event, with about ahundred and fifty participants, many of themfrom international aid and bilateral agencies,international and local NGOs and govern-ment officials. The main purpose was forthe Earthquake Reconstruction andRehabilitation Authority (ERRA) to seekconsensus for its programme and policy -which it had developed in conjunction andconsultation with most of the major stake-holders (over 80 in the case of the Habitat-led training programme). The Conferencealso marked the start of the transition phasefrom relief to reconstruction (the former ledby Gen Farooq, the Federal ReliefCoordinator). Babar remarks: "House con-struction, planning and layout have beendeveloped and are responsive to goodpractice - mainly following the US codes.(Why don't we build buildings with curvedcorners? There must be alternatives tosteel reinforcement or the traditional timberbeams: some form of man-made plasticrope/netting would be more durable,stronger and, most importantly lighter andmore easily transported?)”.

international networks

redevelopment potential. But what they under-stand by this is to demolish the existing settle-ment and renovate the area for a newfunction. As in many redevelopment schemes,the needs of the current population - and morespecifically their ability to access a new housewithin the new project - receive scant consid-eration.'Placing Sulukule' is thus an attempt to drawup an alternative approach for urban develop-ment that helps to conserve Sulukule and itspeople and to integrate them in the context ofcontemporary Istanbul, allowing its residentsto stay in this location and participate in thecity's urban transformation while ensuringimprovements in both their living conditionsand their opportunity for income-generationand recognising Sulukule as both a space tosupport livelihoods and as a pool of culturaland social wealth.In this study, the students developed theirskills in working in a context of urban develop-ment where different agents are pushing fortheir own interests, and to stimulate discussionas a means of finding alternative scenarios ina multi-stakeholder planning process. Byestablishing Guiding Principles and PilotAction Projects, we sought strategies wherebystakeholders may find common ground andparticipate in developing a future for the areabased on social inclusion.

Babar Mumtaz retired in September 2006after 32 years as a member of the full-timeacademic staff of the DPU, culminating as itsDirector in 2003-05.Babar’s career at the DPU reflected hisbroad range of interests and his creativeimagination and abilities. He studiedArchitecture at Kwame Nkruma University ofScience and Technology, Kumasi, Ghanaand at the Architectural Association inLondon, and Economics at the University ofEast Anglia. Following a period working asan architect for the British Foreign Office andas a planner in Pakistan, he joined the DPUExtension Service in 1974, conductingcourses in Urban Housing in Iraq, Thailand,Pakistan and Kenya; he was the first Directorof the Unit’s Training and Advisory Service(TAS) for which he undertook more than 30assignments in some 20 countries of Asia,Africa and the Middle East; he ran theDiploma programme in Urban DevelopmentPlanning Practice during its most successfulyears in the 1980s when it was centred onthe annual Nairobi Project for which thecourse (15-20 students) moved to Kenya fora month to work with the University of Nairobiand Nairobi City Planning Department onalternatives for the city’s development. In the1990s he recast, and for ten years directed,the MSc programme in Building and UrbanDesign for Development with which hedeveloped an innovative and excitingapproach to participatory local planning and

in the LIFE (Local Initiative Facility for theUrban in Environment) Programme in Centraland Eastern Asia.However, perhaps his most significant andinnovatory work has been in the field ofdemand-based strategies for housingfinance. Challenging the deep-rooted con-ventions of supply-driven, long-termmortgages that are invariably out of reach tolow-income urban communities, Babar’sdemonstration of the financial viability andmanagerial efficiency of short-term incremen-tal loans for the development and extensionof housing presents a real and imple-mentable alternative. This work started withthe ‘Mumtaz Model’ for the analysis of invest-ment in land and infrastructure for low-income housing. In 1993, jointly with theAsian Coalition of Housing FinanceInstitutions, he organised a major internation-al conference at the DPU on the ‘EmergingRole for International Donors in HousingFinance’. This brought together participantsfrom the World Bank, the Asian, African andInter-American Development Banks andnational housing finance institutions in Asiaand Africa to discuss the ‘Mumtaz approach’to low-income housing without subsidies.Babar went on to test the approach in hissecondment to the Asian Development Bankin Indonesia in 2002-03.Babar’s retirement from a long and variedcareer in the DPU in no way signifies theending of his influence on the field of urbandevelopment and housing, which continuesto make itself felt, particularly in Asia and theArab States.

environmental management that hasattracted considerable international attention.He successfully combined these activities

within the DPUwith longer-term(twelve-month)secondmentsthat brought awealth of experi-ence to histeaching andthat of his col-leagues (LahoreUrbanDevelopmentand TransportStudy, Pakistan1978-79; sec-ondment toVirginiaPolytechnic

Institute, Washington to set up a Centre forInternational Development Planning andBuilding, 1985-86; ADB advisor to theIndonesian Ministry of Settlements andRegional Infrastructure on establishing acommunity-based housing finance system2002-03).Throughout his career at the DPU Babarmade a major contribution to the understand-ing of community engagement in housingand urban development. This, particularlythrough his work with the Sri Lanka MillionHouses Programme and Indian SlumImprovement Programme in the 1980s,which developed new approaches tocommunity organisation, managementtraining and localgovernance inslum upgradingand the widerissues of urbanlow-incomehousing policiesand programmes.This continued inmany subsequentshorter-termengagements,particularly thosein Pakistan,Bangladesh andIndonesia as wellas his engage-ment by UNDP

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Babar MumtazAn appreciation by Patrick Wakely

staf f retirements

Michael Safier (centre) and Babar Mumtaz (right) with Patrick Wakely

After 35 years at the DPU, Michael Safierretired at the end of September 2006.Michael is a loved and respectedcolleague who has played a crucial role inthe intellectual life of the DPU. Hisbreadth of knowledge on the affairs ofhuman beings and how they live is aston-ishing. He brought this special insight intotwo broad fields in his work in the DPU:urban development planning and cosmo-politan development. For Michael thesefields are more than an interest, but a life’spassion, and true to form, he sees themas very much connected.In the field of urban development, Michaelcommunicated his fascination for planningto a generation of DPU students. All willbe familiar with his commitment to thedevelopment of actionplanning in countries of theSouth, building on the workof Professor OttoKoenigsberger, and withinthis, his quest for an articu-lation of the ‘room-for-manoeuvre’ for plannedintervention in urbanaffairs. From his earlyexperience at MakerereUniversity, Kampala,Uganda (1967-70), hecombined his academicwork with a concern forprofessional practice. Forexample, during this timehe was on secondment tothe Ministry of Planning toassist in the preparation ofurban and regional programmes in the 3rdFive-Year Development Plan. This inter-section of academia and planning practiceis a theme that runs through all ofMichael’s working life, epitomised in theterm, ‘reflective practice’, which he oftenuses, and with which he is alwaysengaged.Based on a range of research and appliedwork in different parts of the world,Michael committed himself to the intellec-tual advancement and promotion of ‘urbandevelopment planning’ in which the actionplanning approach and methodology wasthe centrepiece. His research hasincluded some major studies in Lusaka,Zambia (1973-75); in East and CentralAfrica (1977-80, with Jaya Appalraju); inChina (1982-83, with Richard Kirkby); in

Zimbabwe (1985-86).One of Michael’s great gifts is to be ableto contextualise his work in the greaterscheme of ideas. Two contributions inparticular have both influenced andbecome a great source of debate amongstcolleagues and students alike. The first isthe notion of ‘planning traditions’, in whichhe placed and refined his work on urbandevelopment planning, and the second hisconception of the ‘organisationallandscape’ of urban development planning(building on his think piece for UN Habitat,1989). Both provide the kind of overviewof urban development planning whichadvances thinking in our field.Michael’s move into “cosmopolitan devel-opment” in the early 1990s was a logicalextension of all his concerns in urbandevelopment. He argued that with increas-ing globalisation, global mobility and

cultural revival, there is a “…gatheringinto cities of larger and more variedmixtures of national, ethnic, linguistic,racial, religious and communalgroups…the consequences for urban lifeare complex and can be easily disruptive,as people with contrasting affiliationscompete for more adequate opportunitiesand representation, and make conflictingdemands for political and cultural recogni-tion within the same shared city space.’(Safier, 1996:15) For him, there is “aninescapable contemporary choice betweenconflict and co-existence” in most citiesand societies today. (Safier, 1996; 2003)Focusing on the development of what heterms ‘cosmopolitan planning’, Michaelhas spent the last 15 years developing aframework and form of planning that will

promote peaceful co-existence betweencultural groups in urban areas. This workinevitably led him to engage with conflictand post-conflict planning in some of themost troubled parts of the world at the endof the 20th century, Bosnia and Jerusalem,and with the notion of 'urbicide’.On the 5th December, 2006, Michaeltreated a select audience of his peers andfriends to his vision of 'Cosmopolitanism,Cosmopolitan Development andDevelopment Planning’, in the first lectureof the Urban Legacies Lecture Series atthe DPU. The lecture demonstratedMichael’s unique intellectual contribution.I know, from students, colleagues, hispeers as well as through the professionalwork we have done together, for examplein UNESCO, that his cosmopoliticanplanning framework is much valued for itsability to link theory with methodology and

practice in planning.For students, Michael hasalways had the capacity to con-textualise ideas, historically andpolitically in a way that isexciting and often startling. Hiseloquent lectures and consid-ered observations often containthat “ah ha” factor. He does thisfor his colleagues as well, deliv-ering that challenging questionin unequivocal but gentlefashion, opening up debaterather than closing it down. Weare all familiar with thosethought provoking remarks inthat tiny, almost illegible hand-writing on a piece of workpresented to Michael forcomment.

Michael’s departure feels like the end ofan era – not just because he is leaving theDPU. He is also the last of the ‘older’generation of our colleagues to retire. Aswith the others, Michael remains verymuch in ‘our orbit’, not only as a DPUAssociate but also as an occassionallecturer, and as someone who can alwaysbe relied upon for considered discussionand debate.All this speaks to Michael’s generosity ofspirit. This is reflected in the unswervingethical perspective mirrored so clearly inthe substance of his work, as well as inhow he conducts himself. His humanityand compassion comes through in all hisdealings. As I said at the end of his tributelecture last year, I am grateful to have thispublic occasion to say: thank you, Michael.

Michael SafierAn appreciation by Caren Levy

staff retirements - DPUNEWS 50 7

Michael Safier in his study at the old DPU building

Last summer, UCLappointed YvesCabannes to thenew Chair ofDevelopmentPlanning. He hastaken over as DPUDirector ofResearch. He

teaches on the Masters programme,including the MScs in Urban DevelopmentPlanning and BUDD, plays a major role inPhD supervision and leads significant newResearch Projects, including those onUrbanization and municipal development inMozambique and Innovative Policies forSocial Inclusion at municipal level.Yves is an urban planner specializing inurban and municipal governance, with longexperience coordinating Research andResearch & Development programmes inAsian, Latin American, African and Arab citieson issues such as participatory planning andbudgeting, innovative practices for municipal

staff news

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of low-cost housingprojects in develop-ing countries andreconstruction afterdisasters. Sherecently completedher PhD on strategicplanning for post-disaster temporary

housing programmes, based on fieldresearch in Turkey. Before her post at theDPU Cassidy worked as a course lecturer inArchitecture and Urban Studies at McGillUniversity, Université de Montréal andConcordia University (Canada) and was avisiting researcher at Istanbul TechnicalUniversity (Turkey). She is a foundingmember of i-Rec, a network dedicated toproviding information to specialists in recon-struction, as well as joint co-ordinator of theInternational Council for Research andInnovation in Building and Construction(CIB) Task Group 63 on Disasters and theBuilt Environment.

poverty reduction, revitalization of urbancenters, community-based microfinance, low-income housing, urban agriculture and appro-priate technologies for local development. Yves is also an activist and advocate ondevelopment, social justice and pro-poorissues. He is currently the convener for theUN Advisory Group on Forced Evictions anda visiting post-graduate scholar in a numberof universities in Europe and Latin America.Previous appointments include RegionalCoordinator for the UN Habitat/UNDP UrbanManagement Program for Latin America andthe Caribbean; senior advisor to theInternational Centre for Urban Management,CIGU, Ecuador, and the Municipality of PortoAlegre, Brazil; and lecturer in Urban Planningat Harvard University Graduate School ofDesign.Cassidy Johnson joined the DPU fulltime inJanuary 2007 as the new Course Director forthe MSc Building and Urban Design inDevelopment. She has a background inurban development, design and management

In September this year the DPU, in collab-oration with IIED (International Institute forEnvironment and Development) hosted the8th Conference of the Network-Associationof European Researchers on Urbanisationin the South (N-Aerus).This year’s event focused on“Grassroots-led Urban Development:Achievements; Potentials; Limitations”and researchers working on urban issuesin the South were invited to submit paperson any topic of relevance to the confer-ence theme. The conference was attendedby over 100 participants from academicinstitutions, non-governmental bodies andgrassroots organisations from all aroundthe world.The conference started with a panel dis-cussion on the definitions and ideologicalunderpinnings of grassroots-led organisa-tions and the kinds of relationships theyform and with whom, starting with presen-tations by Diana Mitlin (IIED), AlainDurand-Lasserve (National Centre ofScientific Research, France) and YvesCabannes (DPU).

Presentation and discussion of theselected conference papers (a total of 26)then followed, organised in 4 parallelworking group sessions with the followingthemes:A. Social Movements: nature, limitationsand potentialsB. Civil society and urban governanceC. Struggle for land and housingD. Tools and methods in grassroot-ledpracticeTopics ranged from a concern withcommunity organisations operating atneighbourhood level to social movementsaimed at improving access to housing,land and infrastructure. It was important todefine what grassroots organisationsactually are, what kind of citizenship theypromote, and the kind of roles the privatesector and state play in supporting them.Different types of relationships that can beformed within the communities themselvesand with external bodies were explored.Depending on the influence and scale ofthese grassroots organisations, they canform various relationships with the govern-

ment at municipal, city and state levels.The conference examined cases in bothdemocratic and non-democratic systems,and what tools are needed to makeprocesses more democratic. The specificcontext in which such initiatives arise isvery important, not just in socio-economicterms, but also with regard to the politicalculture.The closing panel discussion started withpresentations by Celine D’Cruz(Shack/Slum Dwellers International -http://www.sdinet.org/ ) and RocioLombera (Centro Operacional de Vivienday Poblamiento - COPEVI, Mexico) aboutparticular examples in Asia, Africa andLatin America where grassroots organisa-tions play a role in bringing about large-scale urban development. This wasfollowed by discussions on the potentialsbut also limitations of grassroots organisa-tions in taking on such a role.Papers presented at the conference areavailable on the N-Aerus website atwww.naerus.net/web/sat/workshops/2007/london_2007_papers.htm

n-aerus conference

The recent publication Making PlanningWork: a guide to approaches and skills(ITDG Publishing) by Cliff Hague, PatrickWakely, and recent graduates of the DPU'sUrban Development Planning programmeJulie Crespin and Chris Jasko, drawsupon case studies from some 20 countries,to show why new urban developmentplanning and management skills are neededso urgently, and what can be done to growsuch skills and enhance capacities. Aimedat political leaders, professional planners,engineers, architects, lawyers etc., the bookshows how professionals and NGOsare creating and deliveringinnovative responses, often insituations of extremely scarceresources. Its tone is optimistic, butnot utopian. The global challenge ofurbanization is daunting, butimagination and skills can make animpact. The Guide is associatedwith an interactive website -www.communityplanning.net - thatenables readers to contribute anddiscuss their own experiences andideas.

Yves Cabannes has co-authored withLeticia Osorio the Executive SummaryReport of the Advisory Group on ForcedEvictions (AGFE) to the Executive Directorof UN-HABITAT (in Spanish) under the titleEncontrar soluciones a los desalojosforzosos en todo el mundo: Unaprioridad para alcanzar los Objetivos deDesarrollo del Milenio (MDGs) eimplementar la Agenda Habitat (2007)(http://es.habitants.org/filemanager/download/401)

Robert Biel has recently published theSecond Edition of his major work The NewImperialism - Crisis and Contradictions inNorth-South Relations. The SecondEdition, published in Arabic and Spanish,includes an important new chapter(unpublished in English), employing a novelmethodology derived from systems theory toanalyse the reasons for the decay of themode of production and its current self-destructive momentum towardsmilitarisation. The title of the Spanishedition is Biel R., El nuevo imperialismo -Crisis y contradicciones en las relaciones

norte-sur, México, Siglo XXI, 2007

Part of this explanatory model (minus theinternational politics, but focusing on theenvironmental relationships) is furtherexplored in Biel R., "The interplay betweensocial and environmental degradation in thedevelopment of the international politicaleconomy", Journal of World-SystemsResearch, Vol. 12, no. 1, 2006 onhttp://jwsr.ucr.edu/archive/vol12/number1/pdf/jwsr-v12n1-biel.pdf

Território, Ambiente e Políticas PúblicasEspaciais (2006) is a collective publicationcoordinated by Professor MaríliaSteinberger, with chapters contributed byAdriana Allen and Edesio Fernandes fromthe DPU and a number of scholars from deuniversities of Brasilia, São Paulo and Riode Janeiro and from professionals from theBrazilian Ministries of the Environment,

National Integration and Cities. Thispublication is the outcome of a six-yearacademic link between the Núcleo deEstudos Urbanos e Regionais, University ofBrasilia and the Development PlanningUnit, University College London, withsupport from the British Council, UKDepartment for International Developmentand the Brazilian Conselho Nacional deDesenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico(CNPq).The book suggests that environmental,territorial, regional and urban and ruralpolicies, which are often formulated asseparated policies, need to be understood,conceived and applied as a specific set ofspatial public policies. Through its variouschapters, the authors examine thepossibilities for an integrated andcomplementary application of differentpolicy instruments, such as ecological-economic zoning, extractive reserves,hydrographical basin committees and thedirector plan promoted by the Cities Statute.

publications

The New Imperialism - Arabic and Spanish versions

publications / office move - DPUNEWS 50 9

In June 2007, after 30 years at the old building inEndsleigh Gardens, the DPU relocated to newpremises close by at 34 Tavistock Square(pictured right). The move, co-ordinated byManager Linda Bruch with help from the adminstaff and UCL’s Estates and Facilities Division,proceeded smoothly and classes started inOctober. As well as housing offices for the academic andadministrative staff, the building features 3teaching / seminar rooms with new audio-visualinstallations. These rooms are also used to hostreceptions and special events such as theDialogues in Development lecture series (seeback page).

The DPU has moved

10 DPUNEWS 50 - phd programme

photographic technique, exploring methods- for example operating the zoom in themidst of a long exposure - which illuminatethe dynamic of the ritual scenes in a waywhich a 'flat' image could not. In theprocess, he created images of great beautywhich made a striking impression on everyvisitor to the DPU during this period.Reza's blog supplies a constantly-evolvingglimpse of his work:http://rezamasoudi.blogspot.com/ Robert Biel

PhD CompletionPhD candidate Christoph Woiwoderecently successfully passed hisExamination at the DPU. His thesisconcerns Urban Risk Communication inAhmedabad (India) between Slum Dwellersand the Municipal CorporationThere is an increased recognition thatmodern technologies, shifts in social andeconomic organisation and the growth ofurban areas put 'risks' on the globalagenda. But, as Christoph shows, suchmacro-level risk may be very different fromthe local reality. Consequently, it is crucialto take account of the diversity of risk con-ditions and contexts.In the Indian context, megacities like Delhi,Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai face largescale threats that undermine theireconomic, environmental and socio-culturalviability, and a range of large cities in Indiaare following suit: Ahmedabad, the seventhlargest agglomeration, is one such. Thesecities normally have no provisions for riskmitigation and prevention.

The discourse on riskmanagement in Indiahas hitherto beendominated by thenatural disaster riskdebate as promoted bythe International Decadeof Natural DisasterReduction (in the1990s) and InternationalStrategy for DisasterReduction. Whilst theseendeavours certainlydeveloped newnetworks and insights,they are limited in atleast two respects.

Reza Masoudi Nejad: Photo exhibitionAn exhibition of the photographic work ofPhD candidate Reza Masoudi was held atthe DPU in November 2006 to January2007, to coincide with his Upgradingseminar. The exhibition concerned theAshura ritual in the city of Dezfoul in Iran,and significantly contributed to the DPUboth at an academic and at an aestheticlevel. Academically, research agendas arerightly increasingly highlighting the impor-tance of innovative methodologies, andmore specifically of the creation ofdatasets. Reza thus assembled two com-plementary datasets: his recordings andinterview-transcriptions; and (the subject ofthis exhibition) his photographic record. Reza's work addresses a ritual of complexsignificance, in which elements of profoundanthropological importance - such as purifi-cation - intermingle with visual demonstra-tions of social networking and social status(themselves subject to rapid developmentand transformation reflecting that of Iraniansociety itself). The verbal record alonecould not do justice to this. For this reason,Reza's exhibition supplied a welcome andsignificant contribution, in emphasising thepower of innovative methodologies.From the aesthetic angle, Reza's work is nomere passive record of events. His workgraphically expresses the problematicinherent in any research: the researcherinevitably impinges on the reality beingobserved, and it is better to acknowledgethis than pretend it doesn't exist. Hetherefore operates at the cutting edge of

phd programmenews from the dpu research degree programme

Firstly, they focus primarily on so-callednatural disaster risks, and less on everydayand slowly accumulating risks. Secondly,they concentrate mainly on top-down scien-tific and technological solutions and strate-gies. Even though the involvement of 'thepublic' is recommended, no further thoughtis given to communication, either ignoringthis aspect completely or seeing it as atask for non-governmental organisations. In contrast, in the socio-cultural riskdiscourse the leading concepts are society,culture and human beings with a focus onthe holistic perspective of interdependentissues. This viewpoint has the greatadvantage that other related issues, envi-ronmental hazards, health hazards, sociallyand culturally rooted hazards, are treatedmore equally. The cases of slum dwellerspresented in this study crucially exhibit thisdimension when looking at micro-levelanalysis, consequently supporting the needfor such a conceptual shift in (disaster) riskmanagement.Based on a socio-cultural understanding ofrisk, the study develops a new conceptualframework to investigate the communica-tion of urban risks. It places four twinconcepts - power & control, fairness &justice, trust & credibility, knowledge &rationality - in the centre of the urban gov-ernance principles of efficiency, equity,security and participatory democracy. Todate, the understanding of urban risks andthe vulnerability of inhabitants is an under-represented subject in urban planning, and'Urban Risk Governance' to mitigate urbanrisks for the poor has not been includedproperly. Yet the incorporation of the poorurban communities' viewpoint in urbandevelopment planning can contribute to amore equal communication betweendiverse agents involved in the planningprocesses.Two contrasting case studies revealdifferent perceptions of the key issue inrisk. In one (Meladinagar) it is the dynamicprocess of change in the form of globalisa-tion, resulting in the disillusionment ofmany residents. In the other, Nitinagar, it isthe perpetual insecurity of employment,deprivation and chronic poverty. Slumdwellers apply an integrated understandingof their risk circumstances at the predomi-nantly micro-level of the locations in whichthey live and work. Their perspective is to ahigh degree holistic, contextualised andbased on experiences of everyday life inwhich disasters are recurring and oftenunavoidable sporadic events like drinkingwater shortages and health risks. For them,Social relations: Ashura ritual in Dezfoul, Iran

Sixth Biennial Conference of IranianStudies; SOAS, University of London,London.

Ernesto LOPEZ-MORALESImpacto del Crecimiento del GranSantiago en el Deterioro Funcional de susEspacios Pericentrales. Construyendo laCiudad del Siglo XXI. Retos yPerspectivas Urbanas en España y Chile.H. Capel and R. Hidalgo. Santiago,University of Barcelona-CatholicUniversity of Chile: 323-336.http://www.ub.es/geocrit/sn/sn-194-47.htm

Review: "BIEL, Robert. The NewImperialism: Crisis and Contradictions inNorth/South Relations. London: Zed,2000." Biblio 3W, Revista Bibliográfica deGeografía y Ciencias Sociales 11(686).http://www.ub.es/geocrit/b3w-686.htm

Fernando ARAGÓNManual de Operación del Fondo deDesastres Naturales. LEAD-MÉXICO-ElColegio de México. (en prensa). Secretaría de Medio Ambiente yRecursos Naturales (2006) La Gestión delMedio Ambiente y los Recursos Naturalesen México, en: La Gestión Ambiental enMéxico, 2000-2006. México, D.F.

Sonia ROITMAN"Who segregates whom? The analysis ofa gated community in Mendoza,Argentina", in Housing Studies, vol.20, No2, p. 303-321.

Gabriela GRAJALES"Microestructuración del sector serviciosde la Ciudad de México" (pp. 457-502).in Gustavo Garza (coord.) La organiza-cion del sector servicios en Mexico, ElColegio de Mexico, Mexico.

Hieu NGUYEN NGOC 'Urban development control, a perspec-tive of the Skyline Tower case', in TheBuilder, Vietnam Federation ofConstruction, No 3 and 4, 2007. (inVietnamese)"Restructuring driving force of change",conference paper, N-AERUS (Network-Association of European Researchers onUrbanisation in the South) conference on'International Aids Ideologies and Policiesin Urban Sector', Darmstadt, Germany,09-2006.

Reza Masoudi NEJAD (Available fromhttp://www.ucl.ac.uk/~ucftrma/papers.htm)"The Modern Transformation andGeneration of the Image of Social Life inIranian Historic City:field study, and quali-tative methods in urban studies" at 3rdInternational PhD Seminar, Urbanism andUrbanisation; Universit IUAV di Venezia,Italy. "Iranian Cities from Local to MacroSystem: a study on transformation ofIranian cities during Modernisation" at

risks materialise cumulatively in small-scaledisasters. Necessarily, and in stark contrastto the policies of the Ahmedabad MunicipalCorporation (AMC), risks are so much partof people's life that they have internalisedstrategies of coping and adaptation.The current governance structure of theAMC is not equipped to tackle risks facedby slum dwellers. Principally, within theAMC risks are dealt with on a sectoral, top-down, technical basis with a focus largelyon macro-level (city-wide) disaster risksrather than daily risks faced by slumdwellers. This results in a kind of technical-oriented, and somewhat vague 'meta-per-ception' about risks in the city; or where, atthe department level, there is awarenessabout specific risks faced by citizens (suchas health issues in slums), these two levelsare not analysed or systematically linkedtogether.The findings show that communication hasnot been used strategically to negotiateurban risks among stakeholders inAhmedabad. Apart from some NGO activi-ties, clear lines of communication betweenthe parties, acknowledging normative andethical concerns of communication, havenot been developed. Consequently, the keyfindings suggest that a meaningful commu-nication process can only take place, if theinteraction of stakeholders is understood asa human relationship which goes beyondtechno-bureaucratic co-ordination and thecurrently prevailing ('Western') understand-ing of communication.

phd programme - DPUNEWS 50 11

The Geography of Services inMexicoGabriela Grajales

While completing my fieldwork in Mexico,I had the opportunity to participate in theseminar “LA ORGANIZACIÓN ESPACIALDEL SECTOR SERVICIOS EN MÉXICO”(The spatial organization of the servicesector in Mexico) organized by ElColegio de México (www.colmex.mx)and the Federal Ministry of SocialDevelopment (SEDESOL). The aim ofthe seminar was to clarify the pivotalimportance within Mexico’s futureeconomic development of the phenome-non known as servicialisation – byanalogy with industrialisation – whichrefers to an economic transformationassociated with the rise of the servicesector (Graza 2000).

De-industrialisation, as a structural shift,is the name given to a steady decline ofmanufacturing employment. In thecontext of developed countries, it is con-sidered a natural evolution and thereforeit normally has a positive or neutral con-notation. But its significance in develop-ing countries still needs to be assessed.In Mexico, in terms of employment, man-ufacturing has ceded territory to services.In 1960 both activities employed a similarnumber of workers, since a gap haswidened in favour of services. By 1993,there were 1.85 service workers per onemanufacturing employee, in contrast to1.09 in 1960. The tertiary sector, orservice sector, from being consideredinsignificant or residual activities as itwas by classical economists, hastherefore come to occupy the centre ofthe economic arena in recent decades.

The seminar followed a deductiveapproach, presenting in the first place

papers on the main features of the sectorat the national level, as well as on thelabor market. It then analysed services’behavior in specific regions and specificservices, such as banks. Finally, theseminar considered the intra-metropoli-tan analysis of services in Mexico City,Puebla and Toluca. Remarkably, half thepapers presented were masters theses,mainly from the MSc in Urban Studiesrun by El Colegio de Mexico, and PhDtheses from other centers. The papershave been edited into a book, publishedby El Colegio de México, SEDESOL andCONACYT.

s.martinez@ucl.ac.uk

Reference ListGarza, G. (2000). "Servicialización de la

Economía Metropolitana, 1960-1998." La

Ciudad de México en el Fin del Segundo

Milenio, G. Garza, ed., El Colegio de

México, Gobierno del Distrito Federal,

México, 178-184.

PhD Speakers’ Corner

Major recent publications by currentDPU MPhil/PhD students

The Third Session of the World UrbanForum, organised by UN-HABITAT, was heldin Vancouver, Canada, in June 2006. Asalways in an event such as this, it wasexciting to share ideas and experiences withour international 'community of practice'. TheDPU was represented at WUF 3 in a numberof events. "Urban development strategies are notrelevant to PRSPs" On 19th June, Caren Levy chaired thisdebate organised by Com-Habitat. Speakersincluded Siku Nkombe (Head, CCODE,Malawi); Joseph Muturi and Jack Makau(Pamoja Trust, Kenya); Carl Wright (SecGen, Commonwealth Local GovernmentForum); and Eduardo Lopez Moreno (Chief,Global Urban Observatory, UN-Habitat). "Planning and Managing SustainableCities: From Research to Practice"On the 19th June, Patrick Wakelymoderated this Researchers Roundtable,with Paula Jiron (DPU Alumna) in the chair.The event was organised in cooperation withthe Global Research Network on HumanSettlements (HS-Net), University of TorontoUrban International (UTUI), the EuropeanCommission Directorate-General forResearch (EC DG-Research), theinternational Human Dimensions Programme(IHDP); Urbanization and GlobalEnvironmental Change Project; theInternational Development Research centre(IDRC); Centre for Demographic, Urban andEnvironmental Studies (CEDUA) and ElColegio de Mexico."Building Capacity for Better Cities: Whathave We Learned?"On 20th June, Pat Wakely and Caren Levywere panel members for this joint DPU,Institute of Housing and Urban DevelopmentStudies (IHS), Rotterdam; HousingDevelopment and Management (HDM),University of Lund; and UN-Habitat (Trainingand Capacity Building Branch) networkingsession. During the session, UN-Habitatexpressed interest in using Caren's 'web' asan evaluation tool for training (UN-HabitatTIE programme in which the DPU is currentlyinvolved through Eleni Kyrou, Julian Walker

hands onDPU staff consultancy work, training and professional courses

and Caren Levy). "Participatory Budgeting: buildingParticipatory Democracy"On the 21st June, Yves Cabannes chairedthis session, which highlighted a range ofinteresting international city-level experiencewith participatory budgeting.

Making Planning Work: A Guide toApproaches and Skills", ITDG PublishingOn the evening of 21st June, the DPU andits partners launched this book, with themain address given by Anna Tibaijuka. TheDPU partners in this initiative were the DFID,Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI), UKOffice of the Deputy Prime Minister,Academy for Sustainable Communities(ASC), Commonwealth Association ofPlanners (CAP) and UN-Habitat. The DPUwas represented by Caren Levy, PatWakely and Chris Jasko (co- author andDPU Alumnus, MSc Urban DevelopmentPlanning 2004-05). The event was made allthe more pleasurable because of thenumber of DPU Alumni there. After the book launch, Caren Levy and ChrisJasko (DPU Alum 2004-05) co-ordinated adinner for 18 DPU staff and Alumni attendingWUF 3. It was a wonderful evening ofreminiscences as well as catching up withthe new and exciting work in which peopleare involved. It was also an opportunity tointroduce Yves Cabannes, the DPU's newChair of Development Planning, to membersof the DPU 'family'. Those present were:Shannon Bradley (Outreach ProgrammeAdvisor, Georgia Basin Action Plan,Environment Canada), Beatriz Echeverri(activist and consultant), Ilias Dire (LocalGovernment International Bureau), AxumiteGebre-Egziabher (Director, New York Office,UN-Habitat), Angelique Hablis (UN-Habitat,Capacity Building), Chris Jasko (consultant),Paola Jiron (Director, Housing Studies,University of Chile; currently doing her PhDat LSE), Jose Luiz Lezama and SergioPuente (National Autonomous University ofMexico - UNAM), Asa Jonson (UN-Habitat,Capacity Building), Wandia Seaforth (UN-Habitat, Best Practices), Shadia Touqan(Technical Office Director, Old city JerusalemRevitalization Plan, Welfare Association),Sophia Sprenger and Louise Kielgast (DPUMSc Urban Development Planning, 2005-

06), Nguyen Ngoc Hieu (DPU PhDresearcher), and from the DPU staff CarenLevy, Pat Wakely and Yves Cabannes.

In collaboration with professionals fromHalcrow UK, and Tsinghua University, China,Le-yin Zhang has since August 2006 beenworking on an ADB-funded project, entitled"Sustainable Urbanisation in MetropolitanRegions" in China. The project has been supported by variousministries of the Chinese government, mostnotably the National Development andReform Commission (NDRC). It consists ofseveral elements:• Formulation of three urbanisation scenarios

for China up to 2020• Formulation of three linked urbanisation

scenarios for Chengdu and Wuhanmetropolitan regions

• Identification of the implications foremployment, service provision,infrastructure (especially transport),environment, municipal finance, etc.

• Recommendation of policy instruments forthe purpose of promoting sustainabledevelopment of Chinese metropolitanregions

• Recommendation of policy options to ADBfor its future activities in China

Le-yin writes: This project evidently formspart of the Chinese government's endeavourto implement its 11th five-year plan, anoutline of which was issued in early 2006.The plan features several interesting andnovel ideas. It proposes, for example, todivide the entire national territory into fourtypes of areas: areas for optimisingdevelopment, areas for priority development,areas for restricted development and areaswhere development is prohibited. Moreover,such classification will assume legal status.Chengdu and Wuhan, respectivelybelonging to the Western and CentralRegion, are type II areas (i.e. areas forpriority development).Another feature to note is that the 11th planemphasises the quality of urbanisation,rather than its speed as in the past. Inparticular, the plan stresses the importanceof metropolitan regions, especially those inthe western and central regions. The idea isthat the development of the latter will notonly stimulate economic development in thesurrounding areas, but also relievedevelopment pressure from denselypopulated coastal areas in East China.

Chinese UrbanisationStudy Project

12 DPUNEWS 50 - hands on

The DPU at the WorldUrban Forum

Between 16th and 17th May, Le-yin Zhangparticipated as a resource person in the pre-sessional expert meeting on economicdiversification, organised by the UnitedNations Framework Convention on ClimateChange (UNFCCC - http://unfccc.int) inBonn. She made two presentations,respectively entitled "EconomicDiversification and SustainableDevelopment: Linkages and barriers" and"Fostering Economic Diversification". The purpose of the meeting was to consider,in the context of implementing responsemeasures in accordance with Article 4.8 ofUNFCCC, the following questions: • How economic diversification might be

integrated into and support sustainabledevelopment strategies

• What technical assistance may be neededto develop structural and institutionalcapacity for facilitating efforts to achieveeconomic diversification

• How foreign and domestic private sectorinvestments in these areas may beencouraged

In fact, these questions arose from theworkshop on economic diversification in2003, for which I wrote the backgroundpaper and acted as a resource person. Itwas therefore interesting for me to observethat points raised in that workshop werebeing reiterated at the Bonn meeting. Itappeared that the key argument of the paper(i.e. that the pursuit of economicdiversification must be integrated into thesustainable development agenda) had wonwide support. But there had been limitedprogress in implementation. The issue is partly political. While UNFCCCdecisions call upon the OECD countries(known as 'Annex II parties') to support theeconomic diversification of developingcountries (known as 'non-Annex I' countries),especially those "whose economies arehighly dependent on income generated fromthe production, processing and export,and/or consumption of fossil fuels andassociated energy-intensive products", thesuspicion that the principal beneficiaries ofsuch support would be rich oil-exportingcountries has led to delayed actions on thepart of the OECD states, who would have toprovide the funding. The danger is therefore that the argumentabout the need to integrate economicdiversification into a sustainabledevelopment agenda may have become an

excuse for inaction. At the Bonn meeting, thesuggestion was raised that the issue shouldbe taken out of the UNFCCC process andput into the hands of more appropriateagencies such as the World Bank andUNCTAD, who would be better equipped todeal with the issue. But some of theparticipating developing countries arguedthat doing so would marginalise the issue.

In February 2007, Eleni Kyrou participatedin the Capacity Building Workshop for NGOsin Leadership, Management, CommunicationSkills and Project Planning, held in Indonesiaby the UN Population Fund (UNFPA). Sheacted as trainer/facilitator in a 2-memberteam running a capacity-building workshoporganised by UNFPA Field Office-Indonesiaand implemented by the Greek NGO "Centrefor Mediterranean Women's Studies"(KEGME). Her special responsibility wasProject Planning and Management, usinggender analysis throughout. The audiencewas largely made up of UNFPA Field Officepersonnel, Indonesian gender/women's NGOstaff members, parliamentarians, Ministryofficials and media workers.Eleni writes: Since the adoption of UNSecurity Council Resolution 1325 onWomen, Peace and Security in 2000,UNFPA has been in the forefront of itsimplementation, notably producing aStrategy for Gender Mainstreaming inPopulation and Development Programs inconflict and post conflict situations. TheStrategy, which focused on the protection ofwomen at the same time as theirparticipation in peace processes, has 4elements: Reproductive Health (incl.HIV/AIDS), Gender based violence (GBV)and trafficking, the role of peace-keepingforces, and the role of women's groups andgrass roots organization in peace buildingand reconstruction.UNFPA has recognized that women's groupsimportant role in the peace process could befurther developed by strengthening theirskills and capacities. Consequently, it hasbeen supporting a number of capacitybuilding training workshops for women'sNGOs and grassroots organizations globally.In Indonesia, the UNFPA field office workedclosely with the Women, Peace and SecurityInitiative and developed a GBV case study inthe Aceh region as an entry point toimplement 1325. The case study was a veryuseful evaluation and monitoring tool, as wellas a good example of how lessons can be

learned and influence practice. Based on thegaps identified by the study, a multi-sectorapproach to GBV training was organized withparticipation of different partners from severalconflict and post conflict regions, fromgovernment and NGOs, including legaljustice groups, health sector, media, etc. Itwas clear that the NGOs in the country aretaking the major responsibility for addressingGBV. The pilot case highlighted NGOs' andwomen's groups' need to hone their skills andcapacity if they are to continue to developtheir work of protecting and empoweringwomen, and supporting women's participationin rebuilding and peace process. In this vein,the UNFPA field office in Indonesia is activelypromoting capacity building as a crosscuttingand critical mechanism towards the effectiveimplementation of UNSC 1325. In total, thirty-two female and male participants from 12different regions of Indonesia attended theworkshop, comprising a diverse range ofbackgrounds including: a policewoman fromPapua, an Ulama from Lombok who workson women's empowerment, staff membersfrom the Ministry for Women'sEmpowerment, a politician from WestKalimantan who is helping women farmers tofind ways of earning a living, and NGOactivists working to combat sex trafficking. Asits title suggests, the five-day workshop'sscope was predominantly practice-orientedand interactive. The first two days werefocused on leadership and teamwork, humanrights, project management tools andproposal writing methodologies andtechniques. The second part addressedcommunication skills, including advocacy onGBV and sex trafficking, aiming to strengthenthe ability of participants in putting acrossmessages through public speaking and givingeffective interviews to the media; it alsotackled gender budgeting and fundraising,negotiation and/or advocacy practices relatedto it and media representation/utilisation.Overall, the experience was refreshing,particularly the contact with mid-careerprofessionals, and all aspects of theworkshop (content, organization, delivery)received excellent evaluation feedback fromall participants. My particular trainingcomponents were informed by the DPUGender methodology developed over severalyears, thereby promoting both the Unit andthe particular methodology. DPU's visibilitywas further facilitated thanks to the happycoincidence of the UNFPA's RegionalDirector having been herself a DPU ShortGender Course alumna in the 1990s.

Economic Diversificationin Bonn

Capacity Building in Bali

hands on - DPUNEWS 50 13

14 DPUNEWS 50 - connections

connectionsShannon Bradley (DAP 2001-02) writes:

“Following my year at the DPU, I returned to

London to work for Leadership for Environment

and Development (LEAD) International, a non-

profit organization funded by the Rockefeller

Foundation to provide leadership training for

decision makers attempting to implement princi-

ples of sustainable development. As a Program

Associate, I worked on developing and delivering

curriculum on understanding the global food

economy and possibilities for sustainable agricul-

ture. In September 2004, I returned to

Vancouver, Canada to

work for the City of

Vancouver as a Planner

in Food Policy. Food

Policy is a relatively

new and pioneering

area for municipal planners in North America.

Currently, I work with a Food Policy Council (an

elected body of citizens) to chart a number of

programs and develop policy for the city. For

example, I am in the process of developing policy

that will ensure options for community gardens in

high density neighborhoods. Food policy also

includes campaigns for the loss of agricultural

land, nutrition programs for inner city schools,

and composting programs, to name a few.”

shanbrad1@yahoo.com

Takeshi Matoba (ESD 2004-5) now works with

the Japanese embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia,

responsible for projects implemented by Japan

and ASEAN, including the issues of development

and environment. He writes: “I think this success-

ful outcome is attributed absolutely to the study at

DPU and your teaching.”

John Alege (DAP 2005-6) writes, in a letter of

thanks for the Commonwealth Shared

Scholarship which he received: “My one year

study at the DPU, as a result of the scholarship

awarded has noticeably increased my knowledge

and further changed my perception on societal

development needs and the subsequent

strategies and actions that need to be undertaken

to address such ever emerging needs at all

levels. The components of the MSc in

Development Administration and Planning are

very instrumental in my current assignments. The

participatory assessment of development needs,

choice of strategy, monitoring progress and the

evaluation of development interventions all

require a critical analysis. The DPU should

continue to pursue its main purpose of

strengthening development stakeholders to deal

with the range of issues that are ever emerging in

order to transform society and make it a better

place to live in.”

Barkaat Ali (DAP 2002-3) took a year out from

his organization (COMSATS) to work with French

NGO Agency for Technical Cooperation and

Development (www.acted.org), as Reporting and

Liaison Officer, with particular responsibility for

projects in earthquake-struck areas. He writes:

“Lots of development tools and concepts that we

learnt at DPU are being put to use here and I am

glad I was part of DPU. People usually believe

what we learn in colleges

and universities is far

removed from what actually

happens in the practical life.

But in my case I guess if not

100%, I am using 50-60% of

what I learnt at DPU besides the confidence that I

got through interaction with people from all over

the world.”

Julie Crespin (UDP 2004-5) writes from Uganda,

where she is working with Shack/Slum Dwellers

International (SDI) and with the local Slum

Dwellers Federation:

“When I arrived last Spring, SDI and their

partners asked me to set up this independent

support NGO for Uganda. I couldn't have wished

for a more exciting job, I think I would have gone

anywhere in the world to do something like this!!

On a daily basis this is quite intensive and chal-

lenging work and I'm learning a lot, especially

about working with urban poor communities, and

how to set up and run an NGO (on which I barely

had any previous practice). But this is thrilling

experience. A lot has happened during the past

five months. The community savings schemes

have re-organised themselves. We are negotiat-

ing with the government to secure land for con-

struction, which we are planning to start this

spring if everything works well. I've been quite on

my own in Uganda and get to learn by dealing

with issues as they present themselves. It is true

that things on the ground are quite different from

what we read in books. But I would have never

been able to learn how to understand the situa-

tions I'm facing without the knowledge and skills I

gained during my masters at the DPU..”

Frida Khan (DAP 2005-6) is currently working for

the National Technical and Vocational Education

Commission (NAVTEC), a project of the Prime

Minister's Secretariat, to revise the technical and

vocational education policy and review skill

standards and curricula design. She writes:

“I loved the course, and I now realise how

relevant it was for me in Pakistan, and how

ignorant I was (and still am in so many other

ways) about how the world works. Suddenly I am

surrounded by neo-liberals and NGOs, stakehold-

ers and small-scale providers, and women, men,

girls and boys! After the course, I feel its like

being able to differentiate indigo from violet in the

rainbow.” fridakhan@gmail.com

Hassaan Ghazali (UED 2004-5) Is currently

working in Pakistan for the Government of

Punjab's Planning and Development Board. He

writes: “This is a new initiative on urban sector

policy and management which has been set up to

integrate the urban fabric of our cities and I

believe it is an excellent opportunity to advocate

for change from within, rather than without. So

many times I've questioned, what was the gov-

ernment thinking when such and such problem

arose? Now, I have the opportunity to do that

thinking where it is needed.”

Imtiaz Bhatti (DAP 2003-4) writes: “I've joined

Pakistan's premier human development

organization, which is funded by the UNDP and

Govt of Pakistan. This is a very challenging and

interesting assignment with eight social

development programmes in my district. They

are: Universal Primary Education, Adult Literacy,

School Health, Primary Health Care - Extension,

Oral Rehydration Solution, Capacity

Development, Volunteerism for Community

Development, and Community Technology

Learning Centre. Each of them has its own district

programme manager working under my

supervision, with a total field staff of about 2,000

people.”

Insook Kang (UDP 2002-3) is currently working

as a deputy director in the Ministry of Culture and

Tourism in Seoul, Korea. Her main responsibility

is to devise planning policy, and to implement

planning, with respect to the development of new

cities designated "Corporate cities for tourism and

leisure".

Jordi Sanchez Cuenca (UDP 2004-5) has been

working on a reconstruction project in eight of the

villages affected by the December 2004 Tsunami

in Kanyakumari District, Tamil Nadu, India. The

project aims at generating a long-term impact by

integrating the construction of about 100 houses,

5 community centres and a series of infrastruc-

ture/environment micro-projects with human rights

campaigns, capacity building and income gener-

ating programmes. The beneficiaries are defined

as the most vulnerable among the affected

people, those unable to mobilise the resources

needed to create or reconstruct a secure habitat

“My one year study at the DPU hasnoticeably increased my knowledgeand further changed my perception

on societal development needs”

Letters corner

(mainly fisherfolk who live in extremely poor con-

ditions, receive little or no support from their gov-

ernment, and have very meagre and irregular

incomes). During the course of the project, Jordi

writes, “we have spent most of the time planning,

meeting, redoing plans, meeting again, analysing

each meeting, in short, trying to match our objec-

tives with those of the community. Meetings and

exercises are requiring a great deal of reflection

from both ours and the people’s side. Only

though such combined reflective efforts we can

expect to understand and address the underlying

factors that prevent the people from taking the

lead in the development of

their habitat.”

Israel Katega (MPhil/PhD

2002-3) writes to inform the

DPU community that he is

currently working at the Institute of Development

Planning in Dodoma, Tanzania, and that he has

completed his

PhD at the University of Dar es Salaam. He

adds: “I’ll always cherish DPU”.

Beng HongSocheat Khemro (MPhil/PhD 1993-

2000) writes: “Since my return to Cambodia in

2000, I have been working for both the Royal

Government of Cambodia and as a freelance

consultant to International Organisations such as

DFID, World Bank, ADB, UN-ESCAP, UN-

HABITAT, GTZ, and World Vision. In this work, I

do appreciate very much the knowledge and

quality of education received during my study

with the DPU. I have contributed as a team with

the Cambodian government leaders and with my

colleagues, especially the Cambodian people

many of whom are urban poor, in initiating and

implementing many programmes and projects in

urban planning and management. These include

issues such as urban conservation, urban

planning, slum upgrading and voluntary reloca-

tion, proving urban security of tenure, and land

reform. A recent achievement as a result of my

hard work with the DPU on urban planning, is the

prestigious World Leadership Forum Awards

(December 2005)”, awarded to Phnom Penh in a

competition for which more than 400 cities were

nominated. The mottos for Phnom Penh’s suc-

cessful entry were: “the city belongs to all”, and

“from Squatter Eviction to Peaceful Negotiation

and Compromise”.

bhskhemro@yahoo.com

Elizabeth Ontaneda (UDP 2004-5): After living

and learning in Argentina for ten months, I moved

to New York City in early June for a job at the

Urban Homesteading Assistance Board (UHAB)

where I work with low-income housing coops

(Housing Development Fund Corporations, or

HDFCs). UHAB played a pioneering role in

creating the largest group of HDFCs in the U.S.

with a total of 1,300 buildings and 27,000 families

in New York City. UHAB emerged in the late

1970s when thousands of buildings became

unprofitable and were abandoned by their owners

until they were foreclosed upon by the City of

New York for non-payment of property tax and/or

water and sewage charges. The city couldn't

continue to play building manager but couldn't

find buyers and residents had few affordable

housing alternatives. UHAB sought to solve both

problems by working with building residents or

squatters who would make the needed repairs in

their buildings in exchange

for being allowed to buy the

buildings for a low fee as

HDFC shareholders. From

this experience, UHAB

helped institutionalize a

process of tenant self-management, training,

building renovation, and conversion to affordable

low-income housing cooperatives that still exists

today called the Tenant Interim Lease (TIL)

program. I can comfortably say that I have

learned more than I could have imagined from my

job. It's been a wonderful mix of experiences that

have made me both more street smart and more

sensitive. elizabeth.ontaneda@gmail.com

Rickie Morain (ESD 2003-4): After working for a

while with the Commonwealth Secretariat in

London on Sustainable Developmend Issues in

Small Island Developing States, Rickie has

moved back home to Grenada to work at the

Agency for Reconstruction and Development,

established after the passage of two devastating

hurricanes over Grenada in 2004 and 2005. His

primary responsibilities include the development

of project proposals (ensuring that sustainable

development issues are well reflected in recon-

struction and redevelopment planning) and

liaison with Regional and International Donor

Agencies for funding and technical assistance.

John Ronan (ESD 1999-00) is currently

employed as Sustainable Communities Officer at

Medway Council, Kent, England. He writes: “I

occasionally look at the DPU web pages and am

very tempted to sign up for another year. More

often I find myself extolling the virtues of the

DPU and the MSc ESD.”

Sikapale Chinzewe (DAP 2001-2) has recently

taken up a post as National Director in Malawi

for the international NGO Habitat for Humanity,

which works with the purpose of eliminating

poverty housing and homelessness.

schinzewe@hfhmalawi.net or

sikapale2006@yahoo.co.uk

Terri-Ann Gilbert-Roberts (DAP 2004-5) is

connections - DPUNEWS 50 15

delighted to have received a Commonwealth

Scholarship to read for a PhD at the University

of Sheffield. Prior to this, she worked as

Development Officer at the Canadian

International Development Agency (CIDA),

based at the Canadian Embassy in Kingston,

Jamaica. She was responsible for the manage-

ment of several projects encompassing issues

ranging from micro-credit and private sector

development to environmental sustainability to

gender equality to civil society and governance

to telecommunications.

Umbreen Baig (DAP 2003-4), having worked

for a while with the DFID/British Council-funded

Gender Equality Project in Pakistan, has now

taken up a new post as Coordinator of the

Program for the Advancement of Gender

Equality (PAGE) sponsored by the Canadian

International Development Agency (CIDA).

umbreen@cidapsu.org.pk

Maarten van Asbeck (1991) has, together with

a group of professionals, launched AfricaNews,

a new bimonthly free internet magazine on

Africa, AfricaNews

(http://www.africanews.com/). Maarten adds:

“My year at DPU was my best year at college

ever, with people who care, classes that matter,

and lecturers that know.”

m.van.asbeck@planet.nl

Victoria Forster-Jones (DAP 2003-4) is

working as Project Development Officer in the

Dodoma region in Tanzania for an environment

and social development organization (directed

by Sheilah Meikle), the Sunseed Tanzania Trust

(www.sunseedtanzania.org). The main project

is the Domestic Energy Project which aims to

improve women and children's health as well as

help tackle deforestation and desertification, by

introducing the low-cost appropriate technolo-

gies of heat retention cookers (hay

baskets/boxes) and fuel-efficient mud stoves

which help people use less wood for cooking

and suffer less damage to their health from

exposure to smoke. Victoria writes: “My role is

enjoyable, demanding, challenging and

character building.”

Births

Many congratulations to Anne Boisvert (IHS 2001-

2) and her partner Olivier on the birth of Etienne,

and to Céline

Veríssimo on the

birth of Ricardo

(pictured).

"My year at DPU was my bestyear at college ever, with people

who care, classes that matter,and lecturers that know."

DPUNEWS is published by the Development Planning Unit, UCL

The Development Planning Unit is an interna-tional centre specialising in academicteaching, practical training, research and con-sultancy in sustainable urban and regionaldevelopment policy, planning and manage-ment.

Editors: Robert Biel & Pascale HofmannEditing & Typesetting: Martin Headon

Development Planning UnitUniversity College London34 Tavistock Square London WC1H 9EZ United Kingdom

Tel: +44 (0)20 7679 1111Fax: +44 (0)20 7679 1112Email: dpu@ucl.ac.ukhttp://www.ucl.ac.uk/dpuC

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dialogues in developmentThe DPU is running a major series of lectures on cutting-edge issues in develop-ment, under the title Dialogues in Development.Among recent topics, Yves Cabannes (DPU) spoke on forced evictions and how tocombat them; José Fogaça, Mayor of Porto Alegre in Brazil described their city’sinnovative system of participatory budgeting, and its recent re-inforcement with theconcept of “Solidarity Governance”; Chen Feng, President of the China Academy ofUrban Planning and Design, spoke about emerging challenges in Chinese urbanpolicy; Paul Maquet (sociologist and planner from the Universidad Nacional deIngeniera in Lima, Peru) and his colleague Rocío Valdeavellano, both activists inPeru’s National Campaign for the Right to Housing, analysed responses from thesocial movements to the housing crisis; Arif Hasan, a leading international figure inhousing and urban development and Principal Consultant to the Orangi Pilot Project(an innovative people-managed project to improve the infrastructure in squatter areasof Karachi, Pakistan - http://www.oppinstitutions.org/) spoke on "The Neo-LiberalUrban Development Paradigm and Civil Society Responses”; a Dialogue was heldwith Secretariat members of the Social Inclusion Commission of United Cities andLocal Governments (the body which represents and defends the interests of localgovernments on the world stage - http://www.cities-localgovernments.org/uclg/index.asp); Tom Carter, UNDP Urban Management Adviserat the Ministry of Housing Lands & Public Utilities in Southern Sudan and part of theDPU Team for the South Sudan Urban Appraisal Study, spoke on the challenge ofpost-conflict Sudanese urban management; Sundar Burra of the Society forPromotion of Area Resource Centres (SPARC, an NGO in Mumbai focussing uponurban poverty, housing and infrastructure - http://www.sparcindia.org/) discussedissues of linking the aspirations of the urban poor with State policy and formal institu-tions, under the heading "Challenging the notion of the 'World Class City' in Mumbai,India". This ongoing series will continue through the current academic year.

Laszlo Huszarwas a distin-guished urbanand regionalplanner and aclose associateof the DPU.Born inHungary, withwhich he main-

tained a close identity and connectionsthroughout his life, he studied regionaleconomics and planning at LSE. In 1960he joined the Research Department of theFaculty of Architecture and Planning,Kwame Nkrumah University of Science &Technology, Kumasi, Ghana where heplayed a significant role in planning theVolta Lake resettlement towns and, withhis colleague David Grove, wrote 'TheTowns of Ghana', a seminal work basedon central place theory. In 1965 he joinedthe staff of the Department ofDevelopment and Tropical Studies at theArchitectural Association (which becamethe DPU in 1971) and transferred to the

newly formed AA School of Planning thefollowing year. In 1969 he joined theacademic staff of the Institute of PlanningStudies in Nottingham University where hemet Michael Brammah with whom, in1971, he established Huszar Brammahand Associates, Urban and RegionalPlanning Consultants (HBA).

Since then, Laszlo and Michael led HBA ina wide range of urban and regional studiesand planning commissions, many of whichhave provided models of innovative andintellectually challenging practice. Laszlo'swork on the Klang Valley Study (Malaysia1972-1973), two years directing the SouthThailand Regional Planning Study (1973-1975) and a year on the Sabah RegionalPlanning Study (1979-1980) all providedopportunities for the practical applicationof central place theory and reinforced acommitment to working closely with localprofessionals and government to ensurethe sustainability of project outcomes. InIndonesia he directed the Bandung UrbanDevelopment Project (1977-1979), whichwas ADB's first venture into informal set-tlement upgrading. He later returned toThailand to direct the Eastern SeaboardRegional Planning Study (1981-82); and inBrunei he directed the National Master

Plan (1985-1987). In one of his last majorroles before retiring from consultingpractice, Laszlo spent three years asSpecial Adviser to Indonesia's AssistantMinister for Planning, a role in which heplayed a key part in formulating regionalplanning and urban development policieswhich are still being applied throughoutthe country.

Laszlo had a sharp intellect and enquiringmind. He was highly cultured and widelyread, a rigorous professional and a criticalacademic, intolerant of carelessness andinaccuracy, though always encouraging ofgood ideas, even if only half developed.He had a passionate belief in regionalplanning as the basis for equitableeconomic and social development and inthe need for well educated professionals.He valued his connection with DPU,because he saw it as a unique institutionwhich stood for the highest educationalideals in those fields which were central tohis own career. In recognition of this, andto provide a fitting memorial to a foundingpartner, HBA has donated an Essay Prizeto be awarded annually to a DPU studentwho might in some way aspire to the highideals represented in the life and work ofLaszlo Huszar.

Laszlo Huszar1932-2007

A tribute by Patrick Wakely

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