Urban Reconstruction in the Developing World Learning through an international best practice
edited by Peter Robinson, Jeff McCarthy, Clive Forster


Publisher: Heinemann
Language: English
ISBN: 0 79621 036 5



Presentation

Urban Reconstruction in the Developing World offers a multi-disciplinary perspective on urban reconstruction and addresses several different audiences, namely: students of urban development disciplines; urban development practitioners; public, private and NGO sectors; and citizens, community leaders and development workers in developing countries.
The case study that forms the basis of this book, the Cato Manor area of Durban in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, has been one of the most hotly contested urban localities in the history of South Africa. It is also an internationally acclaimed example of urban reconstruction, and has been conferred the status of International Best Practice by the United Nation's Commission on Human Settlements.

Urban Reconstruction provides an analysis of the following themes that have emerged internationally, and particularly in cities of the developing world:
contested landscapes
turning urban problems into solutions
multi-disciplinary approaches to problem-solving with a view to achieveing integrated development outcomes
managing complex, large-scale, urban development projects
area-based urban development agencies and management
establishing the pre-conditions for delivery at scale
maintaining progress in continually shifting political and institutional environments.

"Urban development is destinated to be an importnat theme in the 21th century as over half the world's population lives in cities, rising to 61% by 2025. For this reason, it is in cities that the future quality of people's lives will be determined. Urban policy will thus assume increasing and crucial significance." (Hall & Pheiffer)

Contents

Preface

List of Contributors

Abbreviations and Acronyms

Part one Introduction

Issues in urban reconstruction

Mega-projects and mini-projects

Part two History, politics and institutions - The context and foundations for urban development

Historical and political context: Cato Manor, 1845-2002

Socio-economics conditions in Cato Manor in the 1980s and 1990s

Unfolding of the Project - Institutional and planning history of Cato Manor Development Project

Spatial planning as a tool for integraton

Urban development and land invasions

Achievements of the Cato Manor Development Project

Disjuncture between project design and realities on the ground

Political interpretations


Part three Institutional dimensions of urban reconstruction

Representation and governance

Structuring for delivery: A separate legal institution with a public mandate

Urban development partnership

Learning from chameleons: Problem- solvers and problem- solving techniques

Thriving on chaos and planning on the run: Management lessons and Cato Manor

Approache to outsourching and procurement

Efficiency in resource utilisation


Part four Developmental dimensions of urban reconstruction

Poverty in Cato Manor: Perceived or actual?

Sustainable livelihoods

Public health challenges in an era of HIV/AIDS

Gender and urban development in Cato Manor

Community safety and public security

Area-based local economic development

Housing and in situ upgrading

Land claims and conflict resolution


Part five Lessons for future urban development

The rationale for area-based policies: Lessons from international experience

Training for replicability

A research method to generate knowledge

Questions on an agenda for the next decade