Andrea Rigon

Andrea Rigon

working on inequalities, diversity and cities in global South. Based at Bartlett Development Planning Unit, University College London. Founder of Sierra Leone Urban Research Centre. T: @rigonandre

Location London

Activity

  • I read great comments on the challenges of dealing with the very important issue of mobility. one of the key elements for a just city

  • just a small point. state retreated in the late 1970s and 1980s following the most hardcore neoliberal policies but more recently there has been an increased recognition of the importance of the role of the state. in many contexts, including in African countries, the state is building its own capacity, including in urban planning

  • thanks for sharing this example from Wolwerivier

  • totally agree

  • nicely put

  • very interesting comparison with Accra whose residents also suffer from regular flooding

  • you have identified the core of the issue. too often, they just get evicted or a threat of eviction. Also the situation in some high risk area can be mitigated. Although in other areas, relocation is the only viable option

  • Thanks for your thoughtful comments

  • Welcome to week 4!

  • this sounds better. unfortunately, in the UK often you have time to submit some written comments that are barely considered

  • thank you for this very interesting example

  • I am not sure that giving time for comments is a form of participatory planning. like you say it should be an interactive process

  • thanks, great to read about this great work in Lima

  • Thanks, very interesting example!

  • interesting perspective adding a time dimension

  • great comments but I don't see direct answers to the question posed. What policies towards informal settlements can unleash residents’ resources and capacities, and so improve their lives? Can you think about a positive example?
    The example can be from any country. The more details you provide about the policy, the more we can learn!

  • Thanks for your nice comment!

  • nice example!

  • which city?

  • great example. I live in Elephant & Castle and I have seen exactly what you describe

  • very interesting point about inside views. When we move to participatory planning we will discuss how communities develop their own understanding of spatial injustices. On the inequalities within informal settlements, I have a book coming out in May.

  • complex concept but opens up the way we look at social phenomena spatially

  • Thanks for sharing this great sourcebook

  • great to see this historical comparative discussion!

  • whose perspective? for whom? and with whom are key questions. Thanks for pointing it out @EileenJahn

  • very comprehensive understanding of planning!

  • @AndreaOyuela great to hear about this. My colleagues have worked on food systems and urban health in nairobi. Here is a summary of their project: Integrated studies on the emergence of zoonoses in urban settings
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufp49jhqUKE

  • nice to see you here. I read your pice with Acuto and Butcher on urban knowledge in an infodemic. Brilliant work

  • welcome!

  • look forward to hear if there is any connections or comparative learning we can do between Buenos Aires and Freetown

  • Salvador is one of my favourite city! look forward to hear more about your work there

  • bienvenida!

  • Welcome!

  • References are not always relevant to the course but they have been quoted in the materials presented and so we have to put them, should learners want to verify or learn more

  • Thanks for sharing this interesting link

  • immanent is not about merits or not, it is there whether we like it or not. We need to understand it in order to properly plan intentional Big D development

  • great point! we will discuss relocations and evictions of informal settlements in the coming weeks and how participatory planning can counter these processes

  • I like how you highlight that urban planning is about responding to a set of values! often planning is presented as purely technical and neutral while like you say it is informed by normative values

  • I like thinking of urban planning as an interdisciplinary field. unfortunately, it is often conceived and taught as a very strict and narrow discipline and this causes major problems in African cities

  • i'd say that planning is broader and much more than physical design

  • great point about planning being a process made by a plurality

  • I like how succinct this explanation is. it gets to the gist

  • @PaulaPriebe good point about the need to clarify the meaning of development and often discussing this with all stakeholders is fundamental to collectively decide its direction

  • at the end of the course, those who want can submit an essay and the submission process will be explained clearly

  • Hello everyone! I look forward to get to know you and learning from you through this course!

  • look forward to hear about your work in Morocco

  • welcome on board

  • livelihoods is definitely a topic we will address and I look to hear new ideas from all participants

  • look forward to hear about Kinshasa from you. governance, land grabs and evictions are all topics we will discuss

  • you are on the right course!

  • hi Rochelle, look forward to hear your insights about planning

  • look forward to hear your perspective from the peri-urban areas of Freetown and your work as a civil servant and pastor

  • we are looking forward to hear about your experience as a planner in Mombasa, one of my favourite cities in Kenya.

  • great to have you on board from India

  • look forward to hear about your work in neighbouring Liberia

  • great to have you! look forward to hear about your professional experience in such an important industry for African cities

  • please bring your perspective on Sierra Leone to the course!

  • look forward to hearing about your experience in Syrian cities

  • hi Stephen, great to have you on board. Where are you based?

  • Thanks Joan. Great example

  • Thanks for this great reflection @FonsvanOverbeek

  • another good examples of political use of risk

  • Thanks for sharing these very good examples

  • very interesting to read about the parallels between Luanda and Freetown

  • well said

  • in the global south security of tenure is not just land titling! this is a very important difference.

  • yes, I think 2017. how do you know?

  • @JoanMunch but whose ensuring the security of the returns to private investors? poor people via rents they can't afford? or a state whose revenues are barely enough to cover for salary payments? definitely private sector has a role but large scale social housing building may not be the solution in many contexts

  • @HENRYBATTING sorry I am not very clear about the question. to what text are you referring to?

  • If you are interested in the potential of participatory design, you are welcome to join a free webinar launching a toolkit for participatory design of social infrastructures with children affected by displacement.

    July 16, 2-3pm BST via Zoom. You can register here: http://zoom.us/w/99680856609

    Or watch the livestream on Facebook:...

  • Thanks for sharing your experience

  • you are right, not always work but not sure any other approach would have worked in this case

  • SDI is also working in Nigeria and doing great work

  • absolutely, great point. similar to nigeria fragmentation. We need strong city-wide governance on a number of important sectors

  • Thanks for this details and very engaging example fro m Bukavu

  • Thanks for sharing

  • Thanks for sharing your experience from Luanda

  • We will get to a community lens in the second part of this week! stay tuned

  • Thanks for this great summary of UK local government challenges

  • Thanks for sharing your experience from Akwa Ibom

  • good point! it is great to raise these debates. Vanessa Watson's perspective is just one of many and we learn if we engage critically with each other arguments

  • any learner would like to try to address @CrisSchubarth's question?

  • the problem is not devolution here. is lack of capacity and accountability. you can have accountable and effective local government. See Colombia for example

  • spot on! @AliaaElsayed

  • Thanks for sharing your example of Ghana

  • spot on! everywhere but even more in Africa, cities and especially Capital cities produce a significant part of the country's wealth. Devolving fiscal power for cities can reduce substantially power of central government

  • @YusifuKamara thanks from bringing this example which shows the conflicts between levels of government and the struggle of local authorities to reclaim some power and fiscal autonomy

  • agree

  • @HopeIyawe you are right. also cities are divided in different local government areas and there is not a unified governance at city level. Some cities like Kaduna or Ibadan are particularly interesting. Also some local government areas cover both urban and rural

  • This is a brilliant example! and unfortunately something I learned too well when I studied these issues in Nigeria. You can find my considerations here: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1474968/1/Rigon__URN%20Theme%20C%20Well-being%20Report%202015%20FINAL.pdf

  • yes, you are right. devolution is not enough.

  • it is because of laws, regulations, but also the education of planners and other urban professionals. For example, the African Association of Planning Schools is working to transform the curriculum so that African cities will be planned with ideas of a specific African urbanism rather than European models

  • @MaryAbesoAda Very good point! although sometimes it can be a disaster when inexperienced city managers borrow too much on the financial markets

  • absolutely it is like you say but who wants to give up power to someone else? especially if that someone else is a city governed by the opposition?

  • and the more we interact and learn from each other, the moreywe are going to have a great week!

  • Thanks for remaining with us!

  • not sure if a solution but i hope this week will offer some insights and we can all discuss and think of solution specific of our own cities

  • great to read about your enthusiasm

  • Thanks for your positive and thoughtful comments