|
> I4D > I4D-day 2010
I4D-Day 2010: Slums: Poverty and Opportunity
Innovation and Entrepreneurship to Improve Quality of Life in Slums
Draft programme Practical information Registration
May 19, 2010 / Eindhoven University of Technology
 Poverty...Most people associate slums with areas that are overcrowded and show profound inequality, and correctly so. The existence of slums is both a result and a cause of poverty. Poor people come to large cities in the hope of overcoming poverty, but because of their lack of means end up in the informal housing areas that slums are. Often slum dwellers lack adequate food, safe drinking water, hygienic sanitation, medical care, education and therefore have little prospect of escaping poverty.
… and opportunity Yet, at a closer look slums show a great enterprising spirit as well, evident, not only in their countless informal businesses, but also in the constant upgrading and expansion of homes. This humming economic activity in slums and the proximity to city centers represent opportunities. Indeed, slums embody many of the principles frequently invoked by urban planners: a walkable, high-density mixture of housing, shops and work places. Buildings are often made of materials that would otherwise be piling up in landfills. Recently, some countries are starting to try mitigating the problems in slums rather than eliminating the slums themselves. Many development agencies and churches set up activities to improve the quality of life in slum areas.
Similarity in diversity Improving slums is needed to increase the quality of life of the one billion people living in slums today, and according to UN-Habitat this number is still rising. Slums are located all over the world, in Rio de Janeiro, Nairobi and Mumbai. Although facing similar problems, each slum is inherently different. In Rio de Janeiro the problems with housing are of a different nature compared to the housing problems in the slums of Nairobi.
Embedding innovations: how? As such, there is a need for a wide variety of technological innovations in the field of water supply and hygienic sanitation, provision of energy for cooking, electricity supply, waste recycling, urban agriculture and construction technology for housing. These technologies can only be successful if embedded in the slum society, being a solution preferred by the local community for a problem on their priority list. Furthermore, the solution has to be affordable or even better; income generating, as well as adapted to existing social structures, cultural values, and environmental conditions. Where do these technological solutions come from and how do they ‘enter’ a slum? Should these be community-developed, participatory or expert-driven, or does this depend on the problem context?
Organization This is the third I4D-symposion. I4D is a collaborative forum of the Universities of Technology in Eindhoven and Delft, University of Wageningen, Engineers without borders and Oikos foundation. This forum aims to promote awareness of the role technological innovations can play in achieving a more just and sustainable global development, with a special focus on developing countries. The topics of the previous two symposia were Energy and Development (2006) and ICT and Development (2008).
For Who? The I4D symposium offers students, academics, consultants, NGO representatives and policymakers an arena to share knowledge and discuss potential solutions. In the morning there will be workshops on the above mentioned topics. In the afternoon plenary lectures and discussion will be held featuring key note speakers on entrepreneurship, policies for upgrading slums and strategies for development cooperation.
Draft programme
Practical information
Registration |
|