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May 12, 2002
REVIEW: How the other half lives
THERE is not much to cheer about when the state of the mega-cities of the world is under discussion. The quality of life of the majority of city dwellers has worsened over the years. Hordes of the newly dispossessed join the ranks of the marginalized. An experts’ report acknowledges that the urban crisis has deepened as cities have continued to expand amidst the widening gulf between the rich and the poor.
The booklet titled Governing our cities: will people power work? aims at reviewing the progress made in implementing the operative recommendations of the Habitat II agenda adopted by the City Summit in Istanbul in 1996. Some 171 governments attended this conference. The study was prepared as a five-year progress review.
A Karachiite, just as a person from Mumbai, Lagos or Sao Paulo, can easily understand and relate to the problems of cities addressed in the study. He lives through them. Whether they are the issues of governance, housing or land, privatization or the lack of political will to resolve such grave problems, all of them touch city dwellers alike. This makes the study under review relevant and stimulating.
The study carries some interesting quotations of notables in the field and personal accounts of those living on the periphery of glamour zones in cities. “This is a century of cities...and the battle for sustainable development will be won or lost [here],” says Anna Tibaijuka of the UN Centre for Human Settlements. Ester, who lives in a slum in Sao Paulo, Brazil, says, “I don’t feel like a citizen of Sao Paulo, I feel like an animal that nobody feels sorry for. The government, the Mayor, the local politicians, they never come around unless it’s election time. They are just worried about our votes.”
The study describes the sense of isolation of the majority of the city dwellers (30-60 per cent) who live in slums as a very serious problem. It sees little hope for sustainable well-rounded development in these cities unless the vast majority of people with subsistence incomes, no security and very little power can gain a stake in the future of their cities.
On the basis of national reports from signatory countries the conclusion is drawn that significant progress has been achieved in recognizing the need for good urban governance as a key to poverty reduction. Many countries are said to have taken steps to promote decentralization to strengthen local institutions; to strengthen and support participation and civil engagement and to ensure transparent, accountable and efficient governance.
However, growing social inequality is identified as a factor that hinders urban improvements. The strength, commitment and penetration of community-based organizations determine the extent to which benefits of such programmes filter down to the most marginalized people. Besides, cities are not completely independent to make their own choices as they operate within the larger framework of the state. Their power to take decisions depends on the extent to which the central government is willing to relinquish power and provide fiscal space and autonomy.
A problem that has emerged from experience over the years since the Istanbul summit is the multi-layering of civil society. The study pinpoints that civil society is not one homogeneous mass, but represents many different interests, which can be contradictory and conflicting. The challenge is to reconcile these interests in favour of the most vulnerable. The situation becomes even more complex if the decision-making process involves the local authority, the private sector, the civil society, the national government and also the international players.
The study, however, fails to focus on the fact that the youth of mega cities need special attention. This alienated disoriented but highly energized lot fall easy prey to anti-social elements who suck them in their folds and use them for their narrow ends. Thus society suffers the loss of its most prized asset.
Despite conscious efforts by many governments, the crisis shows no sign of easing. The fact is that behind all the glitter and glamour, the situation is quite bleak with no signs of the problems diminishing.
Governing our cities: will people power work?
By Kalpana Sharma, Sameera Khan and Kitty Warnock
Panos Institute, 9 White Lion Street, London N1 9PD Tel: 44- 20-7278-1111.
Email: markc@panoslondon.org.uk
44pp. £5.00
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