VGU Urban Development Planning Overview over Modules and ...

Technical University Darmstadt www.urban-studies.de
International
Co-operation
and Urban
Development
Course description
Year One
1 Course identification
2.2.4.
2 Module 2.2
Urban management,
governance &
housing policies
3 Name of course Slum and neighbourhood improvement
4 Course instructor Prof. Dr. Sudha Mohan, Mumbai University
Prof. Dr. Kosta Mathéy (TUD)
5 Contents /syllabus Between 30% and 70% percent of urban population in
the South live in slums or informal settlements - 128
million just in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Shelter of this type mostly lacks adequate basic
infrastructure and its residents are submitted to all
sorts of deprivation and insecurity of land tenure. Just
by the the sheer numbers, informal settlements are
becoming a socially and politically explosive problem
in cities of the developing world. In addition, criminal
organisations involved with drugs and narcotics often
have settled in defiance to the rule of law and city
governance.
The lack of comprehensive response from local
governments has a direct impact on the overall quality
of life in cities, threatening their viability and
sustainability. The problem is complex. Over almost 30
years Slum and Squatter upgrading projects and
programmes have tried to address the problem of
substandard housing in a comprehensive manner –
some with better, other with worse results. The initially
rather crude approach has been refined and today the
programmes usually consist of a mix of physical,
social, economic, legal and environmental
improvements that are conceived and executed in
partnership with citizens, community groups,
businesses, and local authorities. In concrete terms,
these improvements often focus on introducing or
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