towards inclusive cities in asia · 4 towards inclusive cities in asia 4 more than 60 percent of...

Towards Inclusive Cities in Asia

Report from a Regional Multi-Stakeholder Symposium in Delhi

23-24 February 2016

2 Towards Inclusive Cities in Asia

2

Table of Contents

Symposium Background ........................................................................................................................... 3

Introduction ............................................................................................................................................... 4

Emerging Themes ..................................................................................................................................... 5

Setting the context for inclusive cities – Perspectives from India and the Region ...................................... 6

Session I: Assigning the Right to the City for the Urban Poor - Facilitating National Urban Policy and City

Governance .............................................................................................................................................. 8

Session II: Planning and Programming Frameworks for Addressing Informality ...................................... 11

Session III: Inclusive Infrastructure and Alternative Approaches for Upgrading of Low Income

Neighborhoods........................................................................................................................................ 14

Conclusion .............................................................................................................................................. 17

Annex 1: Agenda of the Regional Symposium ..................................................................................... 18

Annex 2: Overview of speakers ............................................................................................................. 20

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The Regional Symposium ‘Towards Inclusive Cities in Asia’ was held in New Delhi on February 23-24, 2016, with

representatives from eight countries including governments at the national and subnational levels, public agencies,

civil society, community-based organizations, development financing agencies, and academia to discuss case studies

on inclusive approaches in Asian cities and metropolitan regions. The event was organized by the Cities Alliance, the

Cities Development Initiative for Asia, the GIZ Inclusive Cities Partnership Programme, the GIZ Inclusive Metropolitan

Environments for the Urban Poor Project and the GIZ Sector Network Governance Asia.

The diverse participants shared their respective approaches and solutions to face the challenges towards developing

sustainable and inclusive cities. The workshop specifically focused on the social and economic well-being of the urban

poor and on questions of the accessibility in face of accelerated urban growth. The Regional Symposium was

designed as a 2-day event with around 40 participants. After a joint inaugural session, Day 1 revealed case studies

from practitioners, and Day 2 was run in a workshop mode to consolidate insights of the key questions including group

work and plenary discussions.

The event deliberate on three thematic areas namely

(1) Assigning the Right to the City for the Urban Poor – Facilitating National Urban Policy and City Governance

(2) Planning, Programming and Monitoring Framework for Addressing Informality

(3) Inclusive Infrastructure and Alternative Approaches for Upgrading of Low Income Neighborhoods

To better approach the concerns of inclusive cities, the symposium looked into (a) stakeholders, both urban and

beyond, that act in the city and collectively impact on urban development; (b) the ongoing urbanization, which is

simultaneously the spatial and social expression of “the urban” and eventually (c) into the best ways forward to

address these issues. In the last session on the second day, participants were organized into working groups which

reflected on the learnings from the presentations and discussed in detail the role of various urban stakeholders, the

challenges and opportunities of inclusive urbanization, and transformative urban innovations. The working groups

came up with a set of recommendations for the New Urban Agenda and Habitat III process leading to the

implementation of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11 - Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe,

resilient and sustainable.

Symposium Background

Symposium Background


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More than 60 percent of the increase in the world's urban population over the next three decades will occur in Asia.

Over 900 million people in Asia and the Pacific live on less than US$1.25 a day, more than half of them in urban

areas. The resultant urban challenges in the region are amplified by fast population growth led by rural-urban

migration, and informality in housing and employment. The urban poor have low access to social services and basic

infrastructure, weak tenure security and low level of participation in decision making. While urban centers have

undergone substantial growth and transformation, the urban legal and institutional reforms have not lagged behind.

The rapid growth of cities combined with existing weak management practices have resulted in large intra-city

inequality in access to urban housing and infrastructure, social facilities and economic opportunities, which are

necessary for sustainable and inclusive urban development.

The growth opportunities to reduce poverty offered by urbanization in the region cannot be harnessed to full potential

at present and there is in fact growing inequality largely due to combination of factors - overlapping institutional

frameworks and weak local institutions; poor city planning and steering (regulatory) mechanisms; nonfunctional land

markets and rigid zoning regulations; and deficient urban infrastructure and social facilities. The key challenges to

improve living conditions for unserved, poor and marginalized population segments in cities are their participation in

city governance, and access to land and secure tenure, infrastructure, community services, and income generation

opportunities, among others. The policies to address these challenges would in effect trigger assigning the

marginalized population with the right to city. Effective urban management necessarily requires a multi-sectoral

approach to planning for urban growth while simultaneously adopting an inclusive approach to transform existing

slums into city areas, recognizing the contributions of informal economy and strengthening its linkages with city

economy.

The challenge for the cities is to address various manifestations of urban poverty by promoting equitable access to

habitat, social infrastructure and economic opportunities. In this context, the event brought together representatives

from governments at the national and subnational levels, academia, community organizations, development agencies,

and financiers.

Local water supply and decentralized wastewater management in Agra, India (Source: Eva Ringhof, February 2016)

Introduction

Introduction


Urban economic development impacts and vice-versa

Urban development is sensitive to the economic processes that happen in

and outside the city. The levels of informality, the state of local economic

development and livelihoods opportunities determine a number of social features,

such as the affordability of housing. Local Economic Development can be

challenged by the macro economy, of which it is however an inseparable part. The

strong connections can be illustrated e. g. by international demand and local

development: investments of global companies, such as the garments in

Bangladesh, in a country have a multiplier impact on the growth of local industries in

the developing world. The local industries including the informal units, provide

relatively cheap inputs for the global companies because of weak enforcement of

labour laws and consequently cheap industrial workers.

Urban economic development impacts and vice-versa

Urban development is sensitive to the economic processes that happen in

and outside the city. The levels of informality, the state of local economic

development and livelihoods opportunities determine a number of social features,

such as the affordability of housing. Local Economic Development can be

challenged by the macro economy, of which it is however an inseparable part. The

strong connections can be illustrated e. g. by international demand and local

development: investments of global companies, such as the garments in

Bangladesh, in a country have a multiplier impact on the growth of local industries in

the developing world. The local industries including the informal units, provide

relatively cheap inputs for the global companies because of weak enforcement of

labour laws and consequently cheap industrial workers.

Urban regeneration program in Sri Lanka

(Source: KA Jayaratne, February 2016)

Setting the

context for

inclusive cities

– Perspectives

from India and

the RegionUrban

regeneration program in Sri Lanka

(Source: KA Jayaratne, February 2016)

Local economic development, a woman making handicrafts on the streets of Agra, India

(Source: Eva Ringhof, February 2016); Waste pickers in India (Source: GIZ, 2009)

Local economic development, a woman making handicrafts on the streets of Agra, India

(Source: E. Ringhof, February 2016); Waste pickers in India (Source: GIZ)

Urban growth, Solid waste and water logging challenges in Bangladesh

(Source: E. Ringhof, February 2016)

Urban growth, Solid waste and water logging challenges in Bangladesh


Existing challenges are magnified by the accelerated pace

of urbanization, which contributes to disparities,

exacerbating shortages of basic services and

accelerating the degradation of the environment

The city as a whole can suffer from segregation, as different

income groups would choose to live separated from each other, often as

result of inefficient land markets. Even within the same neighborhoods,

fragmentations might occur, for example in areas of the middle class,

where informal pockets of housing can be found. The demand and

inefficient use of land also impacts on the urban hinterlands, and while

local governments are not ready to respond to the challenges of

urbanization, the rapid growth results in urban sprawl beyond city

boundaries, dissolving urban-rural dichotomies, and enhancing the

pressure on mobility and spatial justice. It is also required to develop

solutions at micro and even nano-level. Inequality and informality is quickly

growing due to badly managed urbanization. There is the need to

recognize the diverse appearances and implications of informality. For

example, the private sector is both formal and informal – and the informal

economy does not only comprise petty-commodity production and street

vendors, but even important market segments such as real estate and

urban services.

Existing challenges are magnified by the accelerated pace

of urbanization, which contributes to disparities,

exacerbating shortages of basic services and

accelerating the degradation of the environment

The city as a whole can suffer from segregation, as different

income groups would choose to live separated from each other, often as

Emerging Themes

Emerging Themes

Access to land determines the city’s shape and equity

The access to urban land and all its related determinants are forces that shape

the city also in terms of the equity of its citizens. Determinants of access such as land

markets and prices, informality, distances and location, the access to services and many

others, divide the urban population into markedly different strata, eventually leading to

segregation and inequality.

Access to land determines the city’s shape and equity

The access to urban land and all its related determinants are forces that shape

the city also in terms of the equity of its citizens. Determinants of access such as land

markets and prices, informality, distances and location, the access to services and many

others, divide the urban population into markedly different strata, eventually leading to

segregation and inequality.


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Relevance of International Cooperation

The German Embassy, on behalf of Susanne Dorasil, Head of Economic Cooperation and Development

emphasized that the symposium is very relevant as India in its growth trajectory needs to follow an inclusive

path. Multi- and bilateral organizations need to support advocacies for making smart cities but obviously

following an inclusive approach. Cross-learning events like the symposium offer a great opportunity to learn from

each other – to identify actions that have worked and that didn’t work – and determine which ones are relevant in

the specific local context. In conclusion, she stated that the lessons, especially the recommendations from the

two day symposium would be relevant in a larger regional context. This signifies the importance of cooperation

and communication among countries in the process of building smart inclusive cities.

Cities as Centers for social process

Dr. Wolfgang Hannig, Country Director of GIZ India, opined that cities should be an important focus of the

government’s policies and programs. In order to make smart cities inclusive, strong and reliable partnerships

should be forged. Cities are centers for social processes and have a bigger impact on people and the systems,

as compared to the rural areas. This makes failures much more tangible and rapid in cities than in rural areas. It

is important for urban planners and municipal administrators to use holistic approaches to address urbanization

issues. He emphasized the need “to give voice to those who do not have enough voice” and these are no other

than poor, jobless, and other vulnerable groups. He remarked that “urban development is really a complex issue

and no one can decide on it alone. Complex issues need the knowledge of many.” Development Agencies’ task

within this context is to support in partnering with several countries, learn from each other, and move towards the

path of “safe, resilient and equitable growth.”

Transition phase and demand for inclusive growth

Rajiv Ranjan Mishra, Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, underlined the

urban challenges and opportunities in India. He stated that urbanization brings numerous opportunities, so it is

crucial to know the implications of urbanization and determine the preparedness of cities. Development is a

continuous process and there is need to strive for safe, resilient and inclusive solutions. He presented an

overview of various Mission-Mode Programmes and initiatives undertaken by Government of India for urban

inclusiveness. He further informed about various task forces that have been created to better understand the

urban phenomenon. This includes a task force on impacts of migration on urbanization, strengthening public

private partnership for delivering affordable housing, encouraging rental housing etc. He apprised the gathering

that India is in a transient phase and has to look into rural-urban continuum critically. RURBAN mission has been

launched for the development of rural growth clusters which have latent potential for growth and trigger overall

Setting the context for inclusive cities –

Perspectives from India and the Region

Setting the context for inclusive cities –

Perspectives from India and the Region


development in the region. These clusters would be developed by provisioning of economic activities,

developing skills and local entrepreneurship and providing infrastructure amenities.At the conclusion of his

address, a message from Mr. Venkaiah Naidu, Honourable Minister, Urban Development, Housing & Urban

Poverty Alleviation, and Parliamentary Affairs, Government of India was read out. In his message to the

speakers and participants of the symposium, he highlighted the challenges of the hour i.e. to ensure equitable,

inclusive and sustainable development of cities in India. He requested for inputs from the gathering for the

formulation of National Habitat III Report of India.

Setting the Context: The Need for Inclusive and Good Governance Approaches in Asia

UNDP India country director Dr. Jaco Cilliers, stressed that 2015 had been a landmark year for global

development with establishment of five historic agreements in global community i.e. Agenda 2030 for

Sustainable Development, Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, Addis Ababa Action Agenda, Paris

agreement for climate change and Habitat III. He opined that the world has realized that development cannot be

done in silos anymore and the government, academia, business all have to come in as partners.

Cilliers pointed out that there is greater social mobility in cities. However, the relative and multidimensional

poverty is rising, measuring and targeting poverty has not been sufficient. Poverty needs to be measured and

addressed across multiple dimensions which includes a closer cooperation between policy makers and experts

as well as a shared understanding of the interconnectedness of the various poverty dimensions.

Integrated solutions would be needed to address various issues related to urbanization. With the principle to

“leave no one behind” he also stressed upon the need to include urban poor in the planning processes, to

change the mind set in dealing with the poor and marginalized and on cooperation mechanisms to reduce

poverty and inequalities Policymakers need to understand the multidimensional nature of poverty and the

efficient use of resources to target those that need the most. Cilliers highlighted four issues to be addressed in

order to shape inclusive cities: Urban poor communities need to be strengthened and poor households need to

be targeted by the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) in order to address the multiple dimensions of poverty.

There is further a need for a multi-stakeholder approach to give poor people a voice as well as the need for more

inclusive local government systems and the recognition of the rural-urban continuum to find out who is left

behind.

Dr. Jaco Cilliers during his keynote address for the regional

symposium in New Delhi. He is joined by (from left to right)

Wolfgang Hannig (GIZ-India Country Director), Susan Dorasil

(German Embassy), and Rajiv Ranjan Mishra (Ministry of

Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation-India).

Session I: Assigning the

Right to the City for the

Urban Poor - Facilitating


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Sustainable Development Principles in NUP

Sustainable Urban Principles in NUP

(Source: Alain Grimard, February 2016)

Sustainable Urban Principles in NUP

(Source: Alain Grimard, February 2016)

The key issues discussed in the session were:

Enabling national urban policies for cities to provide the poor with right to the city for national equitable

economic growth

Legal and institutional challenges to the poor’s participation in urban governance and decisions

impacting city planning, development strategy and investments.

Governance structures at a metropolitan level to foster balanced territorial development, improve delivery

of basic services to all and combat regional and social disparities.

Enabling National Urban Policies

Urbanization projections for Asia reveal that the region will cross 50 per cent urbanization level by 2020 and will

accommodate 55 per cent of the world population. Asia will demonstrate unprecedented scale and speed of

urbanization during the next decade. The region, however, has the largest concentration of urban poor and

slums across the globe. The emerging urbanization pattern also shows fast growth of peri-urban areas,

increasing rural-urban connectivity and spatial concentration of population in metropolitan regions. National

urban policies (NUP) need to provide the enabling institutional and legal framework for cities to provide shared

prosperity, universal access to services, livable housing, environmentally-sensitive growth and broad-based

citizens’ engagement in governance. The policy framework would also need to enable the shift from public

provisioning, financing and management of services to various new institutional arrangements with an

appropriate regulatory mechanism, engaging multi-stakeholders and emphasis on the urban poor. National

urban policies shall be seen as a government-led process of coordinating and rallying various actors for a

common vision and goal that will promote more transformative,

productive, inclusive and resilient urban development for the long term.

Guiding principles in establishing a national urban policy shall focus on

(i) fostering ownership and leverage on national policies and strategies;

(ii) balancing regional development; (iii) serving as a platform to

strengthen participation and collaboration; (iv) promoting aspirational

goals and key planning principles (compact, socially inclusive,

connected, integrated, resilient); (v) being affordable, implementable

and measurable. Lessons from countries having a NUP demonstrate

that the policy is a political process of mobilization and sustained

efforts, and technical process of building institutional capabilities,

procedures and financial instruments for urban development. NUP

shall also be looking towards devolution of powers and resources to

city institutions.

Session I: Assigning the Right to the City for the Urban Poor

- Facilitating National Urban Policy and City Governance

Session I: Assigning the Right to the City for the Urban Poor

- Facilitating National Urban Policy and City Governance


Slum locations in Raipur, India (Source: Aparna Das, February 2016)

Slum locations in Raipur, India (Source: Aparna Das, February 2016)

Statutory Planning’ vs ‘Informal Planning’

Poverty is gradually gaining an urban character. From the Indian perspective, it is observed that ‘Urban’ does not

yet have enough political mandate and this affects the other institutional processes as well. The budget resource

allocation is heavily tilted towards rural areas. Therefore, there is an urgent need to look beyond the debate

about ‘Statutory Planning’ vs ‘Informal Planning’. The discussion has to move on to define ‘Institutional’ which

has certain administrative recognition but may not be necessarily legal. Housing is also a major concern for the

urban poor and should be addressed as a sector

and as a whole. Addressing the affordable

housing sector in isolation has been unable to

reach the intended target groups as the market at

present is much skewed. Any amount of housing

stock provided for this segment gets usurped by

the higher income categories. In this context, the

GIZ Inclusive Cities Partnership Program

mandates to provide housing solutions for the

urban poor.

Urbanization challenges extend beyond city

boundaries and need to be addressed by

adopting a regional approach. While previous

experiences show us that most slums and urban

poor areas are located in and around the city

core, they also tell us that they are not connected

to city-wide trunk infrastructure. A GIZ study on

planned resettlement colonies in Delhi captures

the de-link between the housing and laying of

infrastructural facilities (water supply, sewerage,

drainage etc.). This mismatch has impacted the

environment (water bodies) adversely.

Integrated metropolitan solutions to address

the emerging need for cooperation beyond

city boundaries

Metropolitan regions are increasingly becoming the predominant form of human settlement worldwide.

Urbanization challenges, such as urban sprawl, natural resource consumption, growing carbon footprint and

energy use, and widening inequality, poverty concentration and informality, exceed far beyond city boundaries

and hence cannot be tackled by government mandates that stop at the border of cities. Integrated metropolitan

approaches are needed that promote cross-sectoral strategies, multi-level coordination and collaboration

mechanisms and coherent solutions between urban and rural areas. Accordingly, SDG Goal 11, target 11.a

emphasizes the need to “support positive economic, social and environmental links between urban, peri-urban

and rural areas by strengthening national and regional development planning.”

If spatial concentration in the region continues and metropolitan areas become more populated, urban issues

can be expected to grow broader in scope and will call for policies and initiatives at the metropolitan level,

defined by land use and economic activity, rather than at city level. Metropolitan cooperation can foster a more

balanced territorial development, strengthen equitable and inclusive urban growth and take into account the

different dimensions of the rural-urban continuum. By saving costs through economies of scale and joint

investments, fragmentation can be overcome and the capacities of local governments can be boosted,

especially in the delivery of basic services for all. It is thereby crucial to adapt the cooperation structure to the

local context and always strike a balance between efficiency gains and issues of accountability and

responsiveness to citizens. In order to be sustainable, a clear division of functions is needed, horizontal and

vertical cooperation should be ensured and some flexibility in the cooperation setting given. This will, however,


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require an enabling framework and support of higher tiers of government. Cooperate, don’t compete – that is the

key to success in many strategic areas.

The right to the city – the poor as ‘citymakers’

The urban poor face residential vulnerability such as access to land, shelter, basic services like water, electricity,

road, sanitation facilities, threat of eviction etc.; Social vulnerability such as deprivations related to factors like

gender, age and social stratification, lack of social protection, inadequate voice and participation in governance

structures, etc. and Livelihood vulnerability, e.g. precarious livelihoods, dependence on informal sector for

employment and earnings, lack of job security, poor working conditions, etc. The policies to address these

challenges would in effect trigger assigning the marginalized population with the right to city.

The right to the city does not merely entail the right to city spaces but it also pertains to the right to participate in

the formation of city values and culture to determine the kind of people we become. It is a collective right to

demand a transformed and renewed approach to urban life and its constituents are: Right to housing; which

includes housing, land and shelter rights; Right to Livelihood; Right to Identity and dignified life; Access to

amenities and basic services: water, electricity, fuel etc., and linkage with health schemes, pension and other

social security schemes. The poor and marginalized members of the society need to be viewed as ‘citymakers’

with the capacity to contribute to the development of cities and communities. In order to empower the poor,

governments must be able to recognize this fact and work towards the establishment of NUPs that define and

recognize everyone’s right to the city. Moreover, they

must not only look for national solutions, but also

regional, metropolitan, and city-level solutions to the

challenges of urbanization.

Residents building their neighborhood street; Community work in

Agra, India (Source: Eva Ringhof, February 2016)

Residents building their neighborhood street; Community work in

Agra, India (Source: E. Ringhof, February 2016)

Vendors selling their products along the streets of Old Delhi, India (Source: Beverly Lumbera, February 2016)

Session II: Planning and Programming

Frameworks for Addressing InformalityVendors selling

their products along the streets of Old Delhi, India (Source: B. Lumbera, February 2016)



Procedures and planning issues in formalizing and regulating the land tenure in slums and informal

settlements and addressing challenges in planning peri-urban areas

Approaches for inclusive infrastructure design and investment

Addressing livelihood concerns of urban informal economy and managing migration to cities

Addressing informality through inclusive Local Economic Development

Formalizing and regulating land tenure in slums

In most cases, informality is negatively associated with growth and productivity and this is supported by the

experiences of the people living in such conditions. They have no social safety nets and are exposed to a high

risk of abuse and exploitation, and lack of institutional protection, among others. Most South Asian countries’

economies have substantial contributions from the informal sector. This shows the massive capacity that this

sector has despite its unsettling conditions. In order to further harness these potentials, appropriate planning and

programming must be set in place.

Cities have enough land to house everyone, but the market economy is not serving the poor. In India, for

example, people in slums face complex problems of land tenure. Despite the existence of programs favoring

grant of legal title to slum dwellers, the latter becomes a lost cause if it is not supported by the proper

implementation of well-established rules and regulations, and streamlined mechanisms through well-equipped

institutions. Current planning practices have little or no impact on housing the poor, thus making the concept of

inclusive city elusive.

Planning peri-urbanization for inclusive cities

Asia, in its peri-urban areas, is experiencing uncoordinated economic, demographic, social, and environmental

processes driven by a whole range of actors, both private and public, who act on personal interests. The lack of

supervisory authority in these peri-urban areas further results in messy urbanization. The messy urban growth

leads to environmental degradation, ground water depletion, cramped housing prone to disasters, depletion of

wet lands and green patches, and non-hierarchy of roads leading to traffic congestions. This inefficient

expansion often leaves [blind] plots with little or no market value where the poor move to live. The resultant is a

mixed incompatible land use. There is a lack of coordination among urban planners and economic policy makers

which results to a sporadic implementation of plans.


Frameworks for Addressing Informality


Frameworks for Addressing Informality


12

The unplanned development of the urban periphery

(Source: Prof. K.S. Yap, February 2016)

The unplanned development of the urban periphery

(Source: Prof. K.S. Yap, February 2016)

In order to address these challenges, an

authority for expected urban expansions

should be set up; arterial roads to guide

urban development need to be developed;

adequate land supply should be ensured to

meet the demand for low income housing;

wetlands, sensitive habitats and nature parks

need to be protected; and finally, the rights of

peri-urban farmers need to be respected.

Programming and monitoring of pro-poor and inclusive infrastructure projects

After the policies and development plans have been put in place, next steps need to ensure that the project will

have positive impacts on the urban poor and disadvantaged groups. The Cities Development Initiative for Asia

(CDIA) developed a tool called the Inclusive Checklist which describes certain steps as minimum requirements,

and raises awareness among municipal decision-makers and sector specialists to understand that pro-poor

infrastructure development will improve the local environment and increase local economic dynamism and

competitiveness. Based on case studies from Asian countries, CDIA explained the key factors in programming

projects, so that city development plans are translated into action. For instance, Colombo city showed that

specific inclusive design features as an affordable service provision or skills training for new employment

opportunities are essential to improve the conditions of poor people. There are many innovative ways for

inclusive design features. The city of Tangerang installed waste management banks to involve women and the

informal sector in formal employment opportunities through recycling and handicrafts. In particular financial

considerations like agreements for the compensation of unavoidable resettlement or social safeguard costs need

to be included in the total project implementation estimates. CDIA’s inclusive development approach provides

many benefits for cities and financiers as it allows an integrated, sustainable, and pro-poor project preparation:

Institutional arrangements are addressed at the beginning of a project concept, guiding further impact

assessments and considerations in order to reduce resources for a feasibility study and ensure the commitment

of stakeholders.

Livelihood opportunities for the urban informal economy and migrant worker

Aside from access and tenure of land, the informal urban sector also faces major labor issues. In Bangladesh,

about 90 percent of the jobs are informal, employing as many as 48 million people. The informal jobs are more

prevalent in rural areas (92 percent) as compared to urban areas (76 percent). Increasingly, informal workers

are shifting towards urban centers in search of better livelihoods. But because of limited or absence of facilities,

they are forced to live in unplanned and unregistered settlements, making them vulnerable to hazards and

natural disasters. To understand the ground realities, Oxfam piloted a project “Exploring the option to systemize

the ‘Domestic & Sale Service Workers’. Some of the key project interventions include skills development training

on different trades, life skills training, developing linkages for legal and health support, awareness sessions,

working in tandem with trade unions and labour organizations, and support for job placements. Scaling up this

effort would require inclusive steps such as systemizing the recruitment process, supporting the development of

social enterprise, encouraging the involvement of private organizations, introducing Police Registration System,

influencing Government to develop implementation plan, raising community awareness and mobilizing media.

Climate change has also put the informal sector in very vulnerable situations. Those living in slums, informal and

temporary settlements are the worst hit because of disruption to livelihood and access to basic infrastructure


services. Growing social divide also runs the risk of ensuing conflicts and violent politicization of the issue.

Again, in Bangladesh for example, focusing on Climate Migrants in cities is crucial because of the insufficient

economic absorption capacities in cities, except Dhaka and Chittagong, leading to hyper-concentration of

industry and people. Also, a comprehensive strategy and effective national response to climate-induced

migration is absent because of availability of limited information on migration patterns, needs and challenges in

accessing social protection and basic services and conditions under which migrants would return to place of

origin.

The Bangladesh experience also highlights the importance of implementing several projects at various levels: 1)

City level (Urban Management of Internal Migration due to Climate Change (UMIMCC)); 2) City and National

levels (Resilient and Inclusive Urban Development (RIUD)); and at the National level (Adaptation of Climate

change into the National and Local Development Planning). It also notes the importance of partnerships that

work for the success of inclusive growth for the poor. The GIZ project UMIMCC for example, provides for basic

support and access to social services, short-term income generation and basic infrastructure, and skill

development in cooperation with local SMEs.

The nexus between urbanization, informality and economic growth

Urbanization and informality are contributors to

economic growth, and vice versa. Economic

development can actually impact in two ways: It

can contribute to sustainability and inclusion, and

the downside is, it can also cause problems in the

urban fabric. The main issue is to find linkages that

would work for sustainable and inclusive urban

development. Robust urban planning and strong

governance are key factors for ensuring

sustainable economic development. Local

economic development is more of an ecological

system than an economic system, having

comparable characteristics like adaptive capacities,

diverse elements, more circular than progressive,

less dependency on growth, and vulnerability

towards changes in the balance. It is necessary to

go beyond the constructed dichotomy of “the formal

vs. informal” by acknowledging its contribution in

the local urban economies. Also, the lack of

resources, of capacities and of legal frameworks

should not act as hindrances. It is important to

assess and recognize local economies for their

contribution to social and economic stability, by

making use of these three Cs: Communicate,

Cooperate, and Capacitate.

Natural filtering of waste water in Agra, India

(Source: Eva Ringhof, February 2016)

Session III: Inclusive

Infrastructure and

Alternative

Approaches for

Upgrading of Low


14

Rickshaw driver, informal transport in Indonesia

(Source: CDIA, 2011)

Rickshaw driver, informal transport in Indonesia

(Source: CDIA, 2011)


Options and approaches for inclusive infrastructure projects and the upgrading of low income

neighborhoods

The challenges to communities initiating actions for developing small infrastructure facilities in their

neighborhoods

The approaches and measures that have to be taken in order to improve public infrastructure provision

in an inclusive and equitable way

While there is some similarity in the impact of urbanization among cities and communities, their responses to

urbanization vary greatly. The measures and approaches of the communities depend mainly on the specialized

context where they operate. This has been amplified by the case studies which include different types of

infrastructure projects implemented by communities from different countries – informal public transportation in

Indonesia, affordable housing in Mongolia, community-led upgrading in Sri Lanka, and slum upgrading in India.

Altogether they showcase the variety of options and alternative approaches by which infrastructures can be

made more inclusive for upgrading low income neighborhoods.

Integration of formal and informal transportation modes in

Indonesia

River transportation plays a major role in the transportation

system in Palembang City, Indonesia as many of the city’s

activities occur on the riverbanks. However, as urbanization

has affected the city’s dynamics through time, its morphology

has also changed and these changes have then modified the

transportation system. The conditions encouraged the

proliferation of informal public transportation (IPT) in various

forms. IPT has then produced good positive effects for the

people and the government of Palembang City. It provides

service to different industries and businesses surrounding the

riverbanks as well as livelihood for low-income people. It also

serves as a strong platform of urban-rural linkages.

Session III: Inclusive Infrastructure and Alternative

Approaches for Upgrading of Low Income Neighborhoods

Session III: Inclusive Infrastructure and Alternative

Approaches for Upgrading of Low Income Neighborhoods


IPT is flexible for the people and it complements formal transportation. The case of Palembang is a testament to

the positive effects of the integration of the formal and the informal. Principles to improve the transportation

options available to the urban poor are:

The mobility needs of the urban poor can often be met by harnessing the solutions being created by IPT

providers, rather than by introducing new services or technologies.

Opportunities to improve services are usually found where IPT complements existing formal public

services.

Initial activities should focus on the small-scale, since this is where IPT operates.

Regulation comes in many forms- IPT providers often regulate themselves given even a minimal level of

self-organization and recognizing.

Affordable Housing and Urban Redevelopment in Mongolia

In Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, rapid urbanization has outpaced urban infrastructure, sped up the mobility of people

coming into the city, and overloaded its air and water supply. This has then prompted the increasing demand for

affordable housing in Ulaanbaatar, wherein 60% of population live in so called ger areas (traditional tent

communities) which are not connected to basic infrastructures and basic services. As a response, the

Government has initiated a series of policies and actions to cope those problems, especially in the housing

sector. The government enacted Urban Redevelopment Law to redevelop existing ger and built-up areas, and

launched Housing Mortgage Program and Rental Housing Program to support affordable housing development.

The Municipality of Ulaanbaatar (MUB) is taking an important role for the redevelopment of ger areas and

housing development by developing policies including Affordable Housing Strategy and City Housing Program

for Ulaanbaatar and taking correspondent actions. Since 2013, the MUB has initiated two large scale

redevelopment projects in ger areas, land readjustment and ger area redevelopment projects. The MUB is

implementing ger area redevelopment projects in cooperation with private sector and local communities and thus

far achievement has been positive.

A major positive outcome of ger area development is the increasing economic value of land around the area.

Consequently, this improvement created ripples that benefit the rest of the city. Prior to development, land in ger

areas was very cheap, but now (i) given the increased land value, ger area residents can either swap their land

to apartments; (ii) sell it at market prices (which allows residents to capture the increase in land values , or (iii)

develop their plots with standard housing and facilities thus becoming integrated into the formal city and (iv)

formulating a new redevelopment approach which would be suitable and applicable in ger areas that mixed

international land readjustment experience with local background.

Low income settlements, “Ger areas” in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia (Source: Sarnai Battulga, 2015)

Low income settlements, “Ger areas” in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia (Source: Sarnai Battulga, 2015)


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Re-imagination of slum redevelopment in India

Every member of the city needs to be included but how can this be achieved when a bulk of the people live in

slums? This question triggered the re-imagination of slum redevelopment in India. Lessons from the slum

upgrading narrate the importance of establishing more flexible mechanisms of planning, enhancing community

participation, simplifying conventional methods of project implementation, and providing more innovative

solutions and proposals to community issues. A comprehensive approach to the process and development of

the informal sector must also be in place, thus, planning and implementation should not only be done on a

macro scale, but they should also focus on the micro

solutions. In order to achieve this, a great partnership

between and among the stakeholders must be

established. The government in particular must listen

and understand the context of the people who should

be empowered to also seek their own solutions to

their issues. It also needs to look at diversity not just

across slums but within slums in order to recognize

the different ways of dealing with the same problems.

Community led upgrading and infrastructure provision in Asia

While pro-poor urban and housing policies at the national level are important initiatives, this must be enhanced

by community led, city-level measures as well. There is a need to empower the cities in directing these policies

into their communities since they are the ones who have a direct impact on them. It is also important to

strengthen partnerships among the public sector, the private sector, and the communities as each one has a role

to play and a contribution to give in order to help in the improvement of infrastructures for the cities.

The Sevanatha Urban Resource Center in Sri Lanka has successfully aided the people in building their own

communities through a variety of programs that cater to different situations. They have helped several countries

in Asia to innovate effective community led structures, methods and approaches to address serious deficiencies

in urban infrastructure and livelihoods programs. CDF (Community Development Funds) being implemented in

Thailand, Sri Lanka and Cambodia help cities to improve city infrastructures. Another good example is CLIFF

(Community Led Infrastructure Finance Facility) supported by REALL that has helped to mobilize community

finance to support urban infrastructure upgrading and housing.

Across all case studies, it is evident that forging partnerships among all stakeholders is essential. The public

sector, the private sector and the communities can all play major roles in making inclusive infrastructures and

improving the lives of low-income people. Inclusive and pro-poor policies are crucial in order to initiate the

planning and implementation of urban

development projects. It is also important to

emphasize that the integration, as opposed to the

isolation of the formal and the informal is the most

appropriate way of including the urban poor.

Lastly, it must be realized that the times call for a

variety of innovative measures and approaches

and these can only become successful if they are

contextualized and applied while taking into

consideration the immense capacities of

communities.

Community work supported by CURE in Agra, India

(Source: Eva Ringhof, February 2016)

Community work supported by CURE in Agra, India


Neighborhood improvement supported by Sevanatha Urban Resource

Center in Sri Lanka (Source: KA Jayaratne, March 2014)

ConclusionNeighborhood improvement supported by

Sevanatha Urban Resource Center in Sri Lanka (Source: KA Jayaratne,

March 2014)


In Asia, inclusiveness and urban poor must be the key words dominating the thinking process of urbanization.

One of the major issues to be settled is how we define these terms, together with related terms such as

urbanization and formality or informality. Urban areas are conceived as high density areas replete with economic

activities, interactions, and ideas. Cities, in particular, are spaces that offer higher access to opportunities, be it

economic and cultural. In this context, it is important to realize that the impact of a multitude of activities trickles

down to every member of society – with the urban poor absorbing an immense degree of it, and further

transcends beyond the city sphere. It is likewise crucial to identify key challenges to focus on, as well as define

the measures and approaches to be taken.

When there is a lack of appropriate planning and design, the concomitant processes and institutions would all

fail to serve their purposes. We should then change our perception and ameliorate the process through

integrated planning, administration of institutions, and implementation of policies aimed to include the cities and

the urban poor. These could be supported by establishing a National Urban Policy, which most countries

worldwide do not possess. All urban stakeholders including the private sector and the informal sector will be

intricately linked with the development of cities. It is also imperative that these sophisticated institutions are

backed by a strong political voice to manage the aspirations of citizens. These political institutions must have a

higher level of capacity, a keen appreciation of diversity as well as a high capacity to manage the complex

density of movements, jobs, people and communities. If the planning process actually becomes more

participative and provides power to communities, it is possible to realize inclusive cities.

Left photo: Members of the panel (from left to right) Alexander Jachnow (IHS, The Netherlands), Jagan Shah (National Institute of Urban Affairs, India), Alain

Grimard, UN Habitat India), and Barjor Mehta (World Bank India) giving their concluding remarks for the regional symposium; Right photo: Participants having

a discussion during the group workshops

Left photo: Members of the panel (from left to right) Alexander Jachnow (IHS, The Netherlands), Jagan Shah (National Institute of Urban Affairs, India), Alain

Grimard, UN Habitat India), and Barjor Mehta (World Bank India) giving their concluding remarks for the regional symposium; Right photo: Participants having

a discussion during the group workshops

Conclusion

Conclusion


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Annex 1: Agenda of the Regional Symposium

Tuesday, 23 February 2016

08:00-09:00 Registration

09:00-09:10

09:10-09:20

09:20-09:30

09:30-09:45

Opening and Introduction (Moderator)

Welcome Remarks, Susanne Dorasil, Head of Economic Cooperation & Development, German

Embassy

Welcome Remarks, Wolfgang Hannig, Country Director, GIZ

Inaugural Address by Rajiv Ranjan Mishra, Joint Secretary (Housing), Ministry of Urban

Development, Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation, Government of India

09:50-10:05

10:05-10:25

10:25-10:30

Setting the Context: The Need for Inclusive and Good Governance Approaches in Asia, Dr.

Alexander Jachnow, Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies

Key Note: Urban informality, infrastructure, and the urban poor in Asia, Jaco Cilliers, UNDP India

Country Director

Vote of Thanks: Farhad Vania, GIZ

10:30-11:00 Group Photo and Coffee Break

11:00-12:30

12:30-13:00

Session 1: Assigning the Right to the City for the Urban Poor – Facilitating National Urban

Policy and City Governance

Chair: Rajiv Ranjan Mishra, Joint Secretary (Housing), Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty

Alleviation

Setting the Context by Prof. Om Prakash Mathur, Institute of Social Sciences, India

Presentations/Case Studies

National Urban Policy: Key Tool for Asian Transformation

Alain Grimard, UN Habitat India

Contributing in the Formulation of National Urban Housing and Habitat Policy, 2017

Aparna Das, GIZ Inclusive Cities Partnership Programme, India

Enhancing Efforts for Inclusive Urban Development through Metropolitan Cooperation

Verena Maier, GIZ Sector Programme Sustainable Development of Metropolitan Regions,

Germany

Asian Perspectives of the Global Platform for the Right to the City (GPR2C)

Indu Prakash Singh, Action Aid India

Chandana Das, Youth for Unity and Voluntary Action

Comments from the Floor and Panel Discussion

13:00-14:30 Lunch

14:30-16:00

Session 2: Planning and Programming Framework for Addressing Informality

Chair: Aparna Das, GIZ India


Bridging the Gap between Informality and Urban Planning Bijal Bhatt, Mahila Housing Trust, India

Planning Peri-Urbanization for Inclusive Cities

Prof. Kioe Sheng Yap, Independent researcher and consultant, Thailand

Programming and Monitoring Inclusive Urban Infrastructure Investments

Eva Ringhof, Cities Development Initiative for Asia, Philippines

Urban Informal Economy: Domestic Workers' Experience in Bangladesh

Simon Rahman, Oxfam, Bangladesh

Management of Internal Migration to Cities in Bangladesh

Ulf Neupert, GIZ, Bangladesh

The Role of Inclusive Local Economic Development for Sustainable Urban Development –


16:00-17:00

Findings from 8 Asian Cities Dr. Alexander Jachnow, Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies,

Netherlands


18:00-20:00 Reception Dinner, Vice Regal Hall, Claridges Hotel

Wednesday, 24 February 2016

09:00-10:30

10:30-11:00

Session 3: Inclusive Infrastructure and Alternative Approaches for Upgrading of Low

Income Neighborhoods

Chair: Eva Ringhof, Cities Development Initiative for Asia


Informal Public Transportation in Palembang

Dr. Korlena Alkat, Palembang City, Indonesia

Ger Area and Affordable Housing Development in Ulaanbaatar

Sarnai Battulga, Capital City Housing Corporation, Mongolia

Unthinking Inclusive Urban-Economic Development

Dr. Renu Khosla, Centre for Urban and Regional Excellence, India

Financing Community led Upgrading

K A Jayaratne, Sevanatha Urban Resource Center, Sri Lanka


11:00-11:30 Coffee Break

11:30-12:00 Group Work to Consolidate Insights on Key Questions and Recommendations for Habitat III

and the New Urban Agenda

12:00-14:00 Working Lunch

14:00-15:00

15:00-15:45

Group Work to Consolidate Insights on Key Questions and Recommendations for Habitat III

and the New Urban Agenda

Presentation of Workshop Results

15:45-16:45

Concluding Session

Barjor Mehta, Lead Urban Specialist, World Bank, India

Prof. Jagan Shah, Director, National Institute of Urban Affairs, India

Alain Grimard, UN Habitat, India

16:45-17:00 Closing Remarks


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Annex 2: Overview of speakers Susan Dorasil, Head of Economic Cooperation and Development, German Embassy

Susanne Dorasil is the Head of the Economic Policy, Financial Sector Division at the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development ( BMZ), in charge of sustainable economic development (Economic policy, financial and private sector development), corporate social responsibility and innovative business models for development as well as ICT for development. She is currently serving as German co-facilitator of the G20 development pillar on Private Investment and Job Creation and as the German co-chair in the Sub–group on SME Finance of the Global

Partnership for Financial Inclusion. She was formerly the Deputy Head of the Central Africa, West Africa II, Madagascar Division; Senior Advisor to the German Executive Director at the World Bank Group; Private Secretary to the Permanent State Secretary of the BMZ; and Deputy Head of the Legal Division. She studied law at the Free University of Berlin and holds a Master of Laws degree from King’s College London. She passed her bar examination in Berlin. Wolfgang Hannig, Country Director, GIZ

Dr. Wolfgang Hannig took over the office of the Country Director of GIZ India in January, 2015. His expertise encompasses sustainable economic development, organizational development, cross-sectoral policy fields and development policy in general. As Country Director of GIZ, he is responsible for coordination with the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), German implementing agencies, various international stakeholders as well as partner agencies at high levels. In a fascinating career spanning over 36 years, he has worked as the Country Director of GIZ in Ethiopia, Head of Programme Sustainable Economic

Development in Indonesia and also led various projects in Germany, Thailand, Indonesia, Malawi and Madagascar. Dr. Hannig holds a doctorate degree in Development Sociology. He has contributed to various publications, especially in areas pertaining to sustainable economic development and employment, and development policy in general. Jaco Cilliers, UNDP India Country Director

Jaco Cilliers is the Country Director of UNDP in India. Prior to that, he was the Deputy Resident Representative for UNDP in Uzbekistan, where he was responsible for the management and coordination of Programme and Operations. He also worked with UNDP Cyprus as Senior Programme Manager and Head of Office. Before joining the United Nations, Mr. Cilliers worked as Deputy Regional Director for Southern and Central Africa for an international NGO and in senior advisory and management positions for development organizations in various parts of the world. He has significant experience of working in development and conflict areas. Jaco Cilliers completed his Ph.D. and Master’s degrees from George Mason University

in the United States, and his Bachelor of Arts and BA Honours degrees from Nelson Mandela Metropolis University in South Africa. He specialized in sustainable development, social and political interventions, as well as reconstruction and transformation processes. Rajiv Ranjan Mishra, Joint Secretary (Housing), Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation

Rajiv Ranjan Mishra is a bureaucrat belonging to the Indian Administrative Services with over 28 years of experience. He is currently the Joint Secretary (Housing) in the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, Government of India. He is a Mechanical Engineer by training from IIT, Kanpur (India). He also has Certificates in Advanced Studies in Public Administration from Maxwell School, Syracuse University, USA; Public Budgeting from Georgia State University, Atlanta, USA and Project Management from University of California, Berkeley. As Secretary/ Principal Secretary at the state level, he headed various departments such as Irrigation, Municipal Administration and Urban Development, Infrastructure and


Investments. He worked in the areas of Export Promotion of Handicraft and Textile, Training of Civil Servants at National Academy of Administration. He also set up a Centre for Disaster Management during his tenure with Government of India. He has been a National level resource person on Incident Response System (IRS)/Incident Command System (ICS) & participated in many national/ international training –cum- orientation programmes. His last assignment as the Joint Secretary and Mission Director of the National Mission for Clean Ganga, an ambitious programme for rejuvenating the mighty River, involved activities such as basin management planning, pollution abatement, river-front development, institutional development and research. In his current position as Joint Secretary (Housing), he is responsible for the formulation of policies and regulations for the National Urban Housing and Habitat Policy, Real Estate industry, Model Real Estate Developer Regulation Bill, Rental Housing Strategy and Model Rental Law, Housing Finance and Housing Micro Finance and matters relating to Bilateral and Multilateral Cooperation. Prof. Om Prakash Mathur

Prof. Om Prakash Mathur is Senior Fellow and Head Urban Studies at the Institute of Social Sciences, New Delhi. He has served as a Distinguished Professor of Urban Economics, National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA), and held the IDFC Chair in Urban Economics and Finance at the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy for over 15 years. Om Prakash Mathur was Director of the NIUA, New Delhi from 1984-1992. His earlier assignments include the manager positions at the United Nations Centre for Regional Development in Japan and the UNDP Decentralization Project Imperial Government of Iran. Om Prakash Mathur has served as a member of the Prime Minister's National Review Committee on JnNURM (2005-2014), a member of the High

Powered Expert Group on Urban Infrastructure Investment Requirements, and a member of the Academic Panel of the McKinsey Global Institute for its India Urban Sector Study. He is a member of the CDIA Advisory Panel, Global City Indicators Programme in Toronto, and the Editorial Board of the journal Review of Urban and Regional Studies in Tokyo. He holds a Master’s degree in Economics from the Delhi School of Economics, and has done graduate studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, Cambridge. Alain Grimard, UN Habitat India

Alain Grimard has held the position of representative of UN-Habitat in India since April 2015. He was previously based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil at the Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean (ROLAC), where he subsequently was appointed as the Officer in Charge of ROLAC and a Senior Officer dealing with countries such as Brazil, Argentina and Haiti. He previously served as a Senior Human Settlements Officer at the agency's headquarters in Nairobi, from 2006 to 2010, where he managed portfolio covering countries in the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa. Prior to joining UN-Habitat, Mr. Grimard served for more than 20 years in the Caribbean and Africa with other UN Agencies (UNDP, UNCDF, UNOPS), as well as a number of Canadian NGOs. A Canadian national from Québec, he holds a masters degree in Economics from

University Laval, Québec. Aparna Das, Inclusive Cities Partnership Programme, India

Aparna Das graduated as an architect from Vallabh Vidya Nagar, Gujarat. She went further to Development Planning Unit, University College London to pursue her Masters in Urban Development Planning. At present, she works as a Senior Advisor as part of the Inclusive Cities Partnership programme (ICPP) at the German International Cooperation (GIZ), New Delhi. As part of this assignment she is working with the Central, state and City level to implement activities under ICPP. At GIZ, she is part of the Gender Core team which supports the GIZ to mainstream gender concerns. Spanning almost twenty years of experience with different sector partners; National and

International NGOs and other multi and bilateral agencies such as UNICEF, UNDP, DFID India, she got the opportunity to work with various city and state governments. Her assignments gave her an opportunity to work in Cairo, Egypt and Bangladesh. Her key sectors of experience are Municipal Governance, urban basic services, urban planning and issues pertaining to land and land tenure in urban areas. In the recent years, she is focusing on the contestations over land in urban areas and equity concerns in cities.


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Verena Maier, GIZ Sector Programme Sustainable Development of Metropolitan Regions, Germany

Verena Maier is working for the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) advising the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) on the topic of sustainable development of metropolitan regions. Her focus is on urban and metropolitan governance in the field of development cooperation. Within her work she deals with key questions of institutional arrangements, inter-municipal cooperation and managing rural-urban linkages in order to create inclusive, livable and sustainable urban areas. She is based in GIZ headquarters in Eschborn, Germany. Within her previous engagements Verena has been involved in projects from the

European Parliament in Brussels and worked for the German Federal Foreign Office in the Latin America department. She studied Governance and Public Policy in Passau, Germany, and Santiago del Estero, Argentina. Verena holds a Masters’ degree in Peace and Conflict Studies from Malmö University, Sweden. Chandana Das, Youth for Unity and Voluntary Action

Chandana Das is currently associated with Youth for Unity and Voluntary Action (YUVA), an NGO accredited with UN-ECOSOC that works on the issues of urban working poor and governance for the last 30 years. She is heading the organization’s national works on Social Security for Informal Workers, Housing Rights for Urban Poor, Improvement of Living and Working Conditions of Migrant Workers and People’s Participation in Planning. Apart from this, she is co-steering Secretariat of the Right to the City Campaign-India. Ms. Das has also published articles at national and international spaces on the issues of subalterns in India.

Indu Prakash Singh, ActionAid India

Indu Prakash Singh is a human rights defender, poet, author, a feminist and a PRA / PLA (Participatory Reflection & Action / Participatory Learning & Action / Participatory Rural Appraisal) practitioner / facilitator. He is also currently the Leader of the Urban Knowledge Activist Hub (Citizens' Rights Collective - CiRiC) of ActionAid India. He also serves as an Executive Committee Member of Shahri Adhikar Manch: Begharon Ke Saath (SAM: BKS or Urban Rights Forum: With the Homeless, in English), a network of over 20 organisations in Delhi. He is also the Convenor for the National Forum for Housing Rights (NFHR). Indu was bestowed with the CNN- IBN (IBN 18 & Network 18) “Citizen Journalist Award” in 2010 and the “Person of the Year, 2003” award by the First City magazine of Delhi. He is an author of four books on Women’s issues: Women’s Oppression, Men

Responsible; Women, Law and Social Change in India (London, New Delhi & Bangalore); Indian Women: The Captured Beings; Indian Women: The Power Trapped. He is the co-author of Delhi: A Tale of Two Cities. He has written numerous articles in journals, magazines, newspapers etc. He also has edited over 50 publications (including training manuals) and been Editor of Health for the Millions magazine (1994-96), Co-traveller, Yaadein… Indu's fifth book on "CityMakers: A Saga of Heroic Struggle of Homeless Residents of India", will soon be out. It captures over 16 years of work with the CityMakers (homeless residents). Indu holds a bachelors from the University of Delhi. He also has a master in Philosophy (DU) and Sociology (Jamia), and a masters of Philosophy (M. Phil) in Sociology (JNU). In 2014, he was honoured with a DOCTORATE in Social Work from Vishwakarama Open University for Self Employment, India.


Bijal Brahmbhatt, Mahila Housing Sewa Trust, India

Ms. Bijal Brahmbhatt is the director of Mahila Housing Sewa Trust (MHT), a NGO with the vision to realise the right to shelter and dignity for all. She is a civil engineer by training and is a recognized expert in habitat improvement, community development and housing finance. She oversees MHT’s operations at the national level. She has proven experience in conceptualising planning, managing and providing support for slum up gradation programmes across India. She has worked on renewable and efficient energy issues for the poor with various stakeholders including the Government of India and the private sector. Her professional experience has focused on a range of poverty alleviation issues, particularly with women, entrepreneurship, slum upgradation, water and sanitation, income and urban planning, housing finance, housing technology, etc.

She has represented MHT on several Government advisory committees including expert committee on Rajiv Awas Yojana, Affordable Housing Task Force by the Prime Minister’s office in 2008 and Steering Committee of the Planning Commission for the 12th Five Year Plan. She is a board member of SEWA GRIH RINN, a housing finance company for the poor women and is also as an advisor to poor women credit cooperatives. Prof. Kioe Sheng Yap, Independent researcher and consultant, Thailand

Prof. Yap Kioe Sheng is an anthropologist with a doctorate from the Amsterdam Free University. He is an honorary professor of housing and urban development at Cardiff University’s School of Planning and Geography. In 2009, he retired from United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) where he was Chief of the Poverty Reduction Section and the Human Settlements Section. He joined ESCAP in 2000 after 13 years as Associate Professor, later Professor of Housing and Urban Development at the Asian Institute of Technology in Bangkok. During 1982-1987, he was employed by the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat) in Nairobi. He has worked extensively in Asia (Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Cambodia, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Vietnam, Indonesia, China and Myanmar) and Africa

(Tunisia, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe) and has written numerous articles and books on urban poverty, low-income housing and urban development issues. Eva Ringhof, Cities Development Initiative for Asia, Philippines

Ms. Eva Ringhof is Social Development Specialist at the Cities Development Initiative for Asia (CDIA) in Manila, and speaker of the urban development working group ‘TUrbOCliC’ of the GIZ Sector Network Governance Asia (SNGA). Since joining CDIA in 2013, Ms. Ringhof has been working on governance aspects and inclusive development of CDIA’s city interventions in Asia. As a country manager, she is responsible for on-going activities in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal. She has 7 years of experience working in environmental consulting, social and environmental standards, and impact assessments among others in Colombia, Peru, South Korea and Singapore. Ms. Ringhof holds a Master in Spatial and Environmental Planning, as well as a post grade in International Cooperation, focusing on Urban Sociology.

Mohammad Simon Rahman, Oxfam, Bangladesh

Mohammad Simon Rahman is working as a Senior Program Officer at Oxfam in Bangladesh. He is a development practitioner with experience of around 10 years in the development sector in the country. He specialises in the areas of community based disaster risk reduction approach, disaster management, risk inclusive development, mainstreaming DRR into development, urban WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene), climate change adaptation, urban livelihood etc. He has worked with different INGOs like Islamic Relief Bangladesh and Oxfam in Bangladesh over the last 7.5 years. During this period, he has worked in close contact


24

with rural and urban communities for promoting and capacity building of community based inclusive risk reduction approach. Currently, he is working on the urban resilience program at Oxfam in Bangladesh under which he is managing partners to ensure awareness and capacity building of urban communities to find urban solutions for inclusive cities. Ulf Neupert, GIZ Bangladesh

Ulf Neupert has over 20 years of working experience in Germany, Angola, Kosovo, Mozambique, and Uganda in Community and Urban Development improving the living conditions of marginalized urban groups. Since 2010, he has been working on the effects climate change has on the poor urban population and measure to minimize the negative impacts. Since 2015, he has been working in Bangladesh on the issue to integrate climate migrants into the host communities and to reduce their vulnerability. His areas of expertise include decentralization, community development, urban and regional development, climate change adaptation, participation, local government, etc.

Dr. Alexander Jachnow, Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies, The Netherlands

Alexander Jachnow (PhD) is a senior urban planning expert at IHS, with main interest and focus on the challenges and opportunities of the urbanization in the Global South. He has dedicated the last 17 years of his professional life to urban development, specializing in capacity building, urban governance and management. He was engaged in South Asia in DC programs for urban development and governance for a total of six years in Projects supported by GIZ, KfW, ADB and WB; as team leader of the Municipal Support Team in Nepal and previously the Urban Good Governance Project in Bangladesh. He coordinated the focal area “Governance” for the German Ministry, chaired the Urban Sector for the Donor Harmonization Group, with UNDP, World Bank, ADB, DFID, SIDA and JICA as permanent members. The main focus of his work is on enhancing institutions and human resources in two

aspects: through governance reforms and capacity development and through improvements in urban management. Other practical work experience include slum upgrading in Brazil, housing design and construction in Mexico and field research and program reviews on urban projects in diverse countries including Argentina, Armenia, Brazil, China, Egypt, El Salvador, Ghana, Mexico, Mozambique, Nepal, India, South Africa, Syria and Uzbekistan. Korlena Alkat, Palembang City, Indonesia

Dr. Korlena Alkat is a planner and government employee for the Development Planning Board of Palembang City Indonesia for 16 years. She is responsible for the implementation of official technical activities such as the smart city Palembang project and spatial planning project. Her expertise encompasses urban planning, land zoning regulation and urban environ mental impact assessments. Ms. Alkat holds a master degree in Urban Planning and a PhD in Urban Land Use Control especially study about Zoning Regulation Model in Indonesia.

Sarnai Battulga, Capital City Housing Corporation, Mongolia

Ms. Sarnai Battulga is architect and urban planner in Mongolia. She has 12 years working experience and used to work at the Ministry of Construction and Urban Development and Capital City Governor’s Office as an officer in charge of strategic planning and policy of urban development and housing of Ulaanbaatar. Ms. Battulga was in charge of developing affordable housing policies in UB and establishment of City Housing Corporation. She holds master degrees in urban planning and in Infrastructure management.


K.A. Jayaratne, Sevanatha Urban Resource Centre, Sri Lanka Mr. K. A. Jayaratne is an Urban Planner by profession and the founder member of the Sevanatha Urban Resource Center in Sri Lanka. He has worked as Planner in the Government Sector and pioneered in developing Community Action Planning methodology and Community Contracting system under the Million Houses program in Sri Lanka. He has worked as UN Habitat Advisor on urban housing, planning and secure tenure in Myanmar, Cambodia and Bangladesh. Currently he works on developing guidelines for financing community led urban infrastructure and housing in Colombo city. He holds a Master degree in Human Settlement Planning from Asia Institute of Technology.

Renu Khosla, Centre for Urban And Reginal Excellence, India

Dr. Renu Khosla is the Director of the Centre for Urban and Regional Excellence (CURE). She works with slum communities in a number of Indian cities with the purpose of unthinking and reimagining slum development; nudging change in the city narrative - from top down to bottom-up and people-led development. Her field of work covers strengthening capacity of local and state government agencies for participative planning and development, visualizing community information using mobile media and spatial technologies, localizing implementation strategies and de-engineering solutions for greater equity, simplifying institutions and influencing policy for inclusive development.

Barjor Mehta, Lead Urban Specialist, World Bank, India

Barjor Mehta is the Lead Urban Specialist in the South Asia Urban team and a Co-Global Lead of the City Management, Governance and Finance Global Solutions Group in the World Bank. Since June 2012, he has been based in the Bank's India Country Office in New Delhi, India. Between 2008 and 2012, he worked in the Bank's Tanzania Country Office in Dar es Salaam, involved in urban development projects in Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya. Before moving to East Africa, he worked in several countries from the Middle East, North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asian regions. Prior to joining the Bank in 2000, Barjor was the Director of the School of Planning, CEPT University in Ahmedabad, India; Senior Planner in Bhutan; Program Manager of a consulting firm

working on World Bank supported urban projects in Mumbai; Research Associate at the Human Settlements Department of the Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok. He started his career in 1981 working on UN-HABITAT’s urban planning initiative in Sri Lanka. Prof. Jagan Shah, Director, National Institute of Urban Affairs, India

Prof. Jagan Shah is the Director of the National Institute of Urban Affairs, an autonomous body under the Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India. He directs the innovation activities at NIUA, including the Smart City Lab for CIDCO, Maharashtra, the South-Asia Urban Knowledge Hub for ADB and the Child-Friendly Smart Cities Hub supported by the Bernard van Leer Foundation. He is leading NIUA’s efforts in establishing a capacity building and innovation hub to support the Swachh Bharat Mission. Prof. Shah is an architect, architectural historian and theorist, trained at the School of Planning & Architecture, New Delhi, the University of Cincinnati and Columbia University,

New York. He has served as the Director of the Sushant School of Architecture in Gurgaon. He also teaches an executive education course in Urban Planning & Governance at the Indian School of Business. He is also an author and editor, who has penned numerous books and articles. He is an independent consultant to the Jaipur Virasat Foundation, India Foundation for the Arts and Sir Ratan Tata Trust. He is a founding member of the Modern Asian Architecture Network.


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Published by Cities Alliance Cities Development Initiative for Asia (CDIA) Inclusive Cities Partnership Programme, GIZ Inclusive Metropolitan Environments for the Urban Poor, GIZ Project contact Aparna Das [email protected]

Christine Mayr [email protected]

Eva Ringhof [email protected] Editorial team Aparna Das (GIZ), Dr. Alexander Jachnow (IHS), Beverly Lumbera (GIZ), Christine Mayr (GIZ), Naveen Potti (GIZ), Eva Ringhof (CDIA), Ajay Suri (Cities Alliance), Design and Layout Beverly Lumbera, Arpan Mazumder April 2016 Commissioned by German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) Addresses of the BMZ offices Bonn Office Berlin Office Dahlmannstraße 4 Stresemannstraße 94 53113 Bonn 10963 Berlin Germany Germany Tel. +49 (0) 228 99 535-0 Tel. +49 (0) 30 18 535-0 Fax +49 (0) 228 99 535-3500 Fax +49 (0) 30 18 535-2501 [email protected]

www.bmz.de

http://www.bmz.de/

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