In the media

Battle to balance urbanisation with ecological sustainability in China

Published in Thursday December 13th, 2012 In In the media

By the time you finish reading this article, more than 400 Chinese people will have left the countryside and put down new roots in a city. China’s cities, which already house a tenth of the world’s population, are swelling every minute. It is the largest migration in human history, and is a driving force behind China’s demand for everything from steel to sugar to electricity. Perhaps more surprisingly, cities have become a key front in the country’s fight against pollution and efforts to shift toward more sustainable growth.

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Haiti quake survivors face eviction from camps says Oxfam

Published in Wednesday December 12th, 2012 In In the media

Tens of thousands of homeless earthquake survivors living in camps sprawled across the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince are at risk of eviction, Oxfam said on Monday. Some 78,000 living in camps on property owned by schools and churches and on private land face eviction by landowners and local authorities wanting to reclaim their land. “Thousands of people are in a very precarious situation and at risk of finding themselves on the street with nowhere to go. This government should ensure the security and protection of displaced people against violence, intimidation and unlawful threats to evict families,” Andrew Pugh, Oxfam’s country director in Haiti, said in a statement.

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Eviction threat hangs over 581 families in India

Published in Friday December 7th, 2012 In In the media

December 07, 2012 The threat of eviction is hanging like the sword of Damocles over 581 families living since many decades in Kalasa hobli. The high court has directed the forest department to evict them within December 31. With the decades-old inam land issue still remains unresolved, the residents are now caught in a catch-22 situation. […]

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Pain in Spain grows as evictions spark new wave of protests

Published in Friday December 7th, 2012 In In the media

The fact that several of the banks repossessing homes are receiving state funds has fuelled Spaniards’ anger. On December 2nd, Tarragona city hall in northeastern Spain revealed it was planning to cut off ties with any bank that evicted local people who could not pay their mortgage. In doing so, it was following a handful of other towns and cities across Spain which have responded in a dramatic way to a deepening evictions crisis.

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A battle for social justice in South African townships

Published in Friday December 7th, 2012 In In the media

International gatherings of the great and the good often proclaim their commitment to poor people, but then end with the powerful maintaining profits before people. But, with the poor actually getting a say for a change at a cities summit this week in the Senegalese capital Dakar, their aim will be to ensure the urban needs of Africans are addressed. Nearly 5,000 participants, representing the public and private sectors, including ministers for local government and sustainable progress, will share their experiences and ideas at the summit. It makes the event, Africities, the most important forum on the continent for dialogue on decentralisation, governance and development.

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China to flatten 700 mountains for new metropolis in the desert

Published in Friday December 7th, 2012 In In the media

In what is being billed as the largest “mountain-moving project” in Chinese history, one of China’s biggest construction firms will spend £2.2bn to flatten 700 mountains levelling the area Lanzhou, allowing developers to build a new metropolis on the outskirts of the north-western city.
The Lanzhou New Area, 500 square miles (130,000 hectares) of land 50 miles from the city, which is the provincial capital of arid Gansu province, could increase the region’s gross domestic product to £27bn by 2030, according to the state-run China Daily. It has already attracted almost £7bn of corporate investment.

Obama’s Storm-Aid Bid to Be About $50 Billion

Published in Thursday December 6th, 2012 In In the media

President Obama plans to ask Congress for about $50 billion in emergency funds to help rebuild the states that were ravaged by Hurricane Sandy, challenging deficit-minded lawmakers while worrying regional leaders, who complained Wednesday that it was not enough.

The White House will send the proposal to Capitol Hill this week, and while the final sum is still in flux, it should be between $45 billion and $55 billion, according to officials briefed on deliberations over it.

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Rabat Declaration on Making Slums History adopted

Published in Thursday December 6th, 2012 In In the media

December 04, 2012 The Rabat Declaration on Making Slums History was unanimously adopted by country delegations at the closing of the international conference held in Rabat, Morocco late November. The declaration reaffirms the irreversibility of urbanization and its positive impact in advancing human development and poverty reduction. It recognizes the need to promote inclusive slum […]

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The Affordable Housing Crisis in the US

Published in Thursday December 6th, 2012 In In the media

December 04, 2012 New York Times Editorial The precious few federal programs that provide rental assistance to the nation’s poorest and most vulnerable families are already underfinanced. These programs provide decent housing for about only a quarter of the low-income families who qualify for them. And with nearly nine million households teetering on the verge of […]

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London councils face questions for housing families outside the capital

Published in Wednesday December 5th, 2012 In In the media

The government has called in London councils over concerns that homelessness numbers are soaring, after research revealed the scale of plans being drawn up to send families to live in temporary housing outside the capital.
As cuts shrink the number of properties affordable to people on benefits, more than 20 London local councils have rented properties as far as Corby, Cornwall, Blackpool, Southampton and Newcastle to house families that could end up on the streets in London.

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