Applying NFTs to urban planning offers revolutionary potential but raises serious equity concerns. Although NFTs are linked to digital art speculation, their underlying technology, decentralized ownership, smart contracts, and tamper-proof records could transform participatory planning, land-use management, and community asset stewardship. This article discusses how NFTs could decentralize planning power by enabling tokenized community land trusts, zoning-compliance automation, and neighborhood DAOs (Decentralized Autonomous Organizations). However, they also pose dangers, such as digital exclusion, environmental degradation from energy-hungry blockchains, and capture by technocratic elites. Mitigation is needed through hybrid digital-physical participation systems, public sector-led blockchain infrastructure, and equity-sensitive token design if these tools are to benefit the public interest. The article proposes a staged implementation approach, beginning with controlled pilots (e.g., NFT-tracked community benefit agreements) before scaling up to more advanced applications such as dynamic zoning regimes. Lastly, ethical use of NFTs in planning demands visionary public-sector leadership to avert the entrenchment of existing inequalities in the name of innovation. Planners must critically engage with this emerging technology not as eager consumers but as stewards shaping its trajectory toward more equitable, open, and democratic urban futures. The question is not whether NFTs will influence cities, but who will determine that influence and to what ends.
Decentralization is a popular idea that is believed to bring improved public service and sustainable growth that is both inclusive and natural. On the other hand, in the case of developing states, the degree to which it works depends mainly on the local political situation and the existing social order. One of the most notable achievements in the Nigerian judicial system has been a historic Supreme Court judgment in 2024 that gave local governments direct financial allocations. Each of the 774 Local Government Areas in Nigeria must now be directly financed to make local governance more effective by limiting state intervention. Nevertheless, this initiative is carried out in a very politicized setting that is at the verge of breaking apart due to the increase of ethnicity after the 2023 elections, and a citizenship policy that perpetuates a two, class system of indigenes and settlers. This paper illustrates how local financial independence, along with the indigene, settler systems, have an effect on the patterns of resource distribution and the provision of public goods and services. Through a mixture of a research paper on the local financial autonomy of LGAs in the South, West and North, Central zones of Nigeria and a theoretical framework based on Peter Ekeh's works "Two Publics" and a ground reality review, it is established that some of the scenarios created by financial autonomy exacerbated local elite capture and exclusion of so, called "long, term residents" who are defined categorically as "non, indigenes." This is evidenced by the findings on disproportionate capital expenditure distribution within wards, and qualitative viewpoints on local narratives about the justification for exclusion and rightful local belonging. The debate will continue on the proposition that if the idea of citizenship is not changed from one based on birth to one based on residency, it will result in local exclusion and development failure. The solution ends with a conclusion on residency, based citizenship and conditionality in the transfer of funds between different levels of governance
Zubair Ahmed Pirzada, Nida Shafaat, Shoukat Ali Mahar
This study examines how incomplete devolution shapes governance in Sukkur, Pakistan. Despite Article 140-A’s constitutional mandates decentralization, municipal functions including water and sanitation, urban planning, and local revenue mobilization, remain under provincial control. An exploratory qualitative case study drew on six semi-structured interviews with municipal officials, legislators, and citizens, supplemented by government documents, and scholarly literature. Thematic analysis identified four interlinked challenges: (1) limited local authority and overlapping jurisdictions, (2) fiscal constraints undermining local projects, (3) service delivery gaps that erode citizen trust, and (4) competing narratives over whether devolution deficits are genuine or politically exaggerated. Findings show politicized fiscal transfers intensify constraints, weakening accountability, delaying improvements, and depress civic participation. Local capacity deficits also contributes. Policy recommendations prioritize activating the Provincial Finance Commission, strengthening municipal capacity, and progressively devolving authority. Sukkur’s case illustrates ‘incomplete decentralization’ in the Global South, informing reforms in Pakistan and comparable contexts.
The urban administration in Pakistan has transformed as a result of political and economic shifts. The urban government in Pakistan has been influenced by external financing, which is a reflection of institutional reforms, fiscal decentralization, and the priorities of global development. Over the course of the last three decades, Pakistan's urban management has transitioned from a centralized bureaucratic authority to fragmented local governance systems that are shaped by donor-driven projects and conditional cash inflows. An in-depth analysis of how multilateral development banks and bilateral aid influence urban policy, infrastructure, and service delivery is presented in this specific piece of writing. The evidence demonstrates that the use of external financing has hastened the process of urban modernization while simultaneously exacerbating governance problems such as policy incoherence, accountability deficiencies, and socio-spatial inequities. In this study, political economics research and urban planning perspectives are combined in order to investigate how external funding mechanisms influence the capacities of local governments and the transformation of urban infrastructure in Pakistan's fast-growing cities. The findings highlight the necessity of having governance structures that are adaptable and, in a position, to strike a balance between local interests and global urban finance strategy.
Cities are central to climate adaptation but face growing risks from flooding, heat, and water insecurity that disproportionately affect the urban poor (IPCC, 2022; Dodman et al., 2022). Although urban climate finance has increased, municipalities-especially in the Global South-often lack the fiscal autonomy and institutional capacity to access and deploy these resources effectively (Diezmartínez & Gianotti, 2024). Weak fiscal decentralization, fragmented intergovernmental transfers, and limited borrowing authority constrain local investment in climate-resilient WASH and infrastructure (Sow & Razafimahefa, 2015). In Bangladesh, climate-induced migration intensifies urban service deficits, reinforcing vulnerability among low-income and informal populations (Banks et al., 2011; Tanjeela, 2023).
James Kwame Mensah, Eugénie L. Birch, Zechariah Langnel
This study explores alternative energy sources in informal settlements in Ghana, with a focus on their contribution to achieving Sustainable Development Goal Seven (SDG 7). Drawing on qualitative data from Agbogbloshie, Chorkor, and Avenor in Accra, the research identifies solar and biogas as key emerging solutions addressing energy poverty in these underserved areas. Despite universal access claims, residents continue to rely on unsafe, polluting fuels due to high tariffs and infrastructural exclusion. Findings reveal community-driven transitions to decentralized energy systems, with solar panels and biogas digesters offering cleaner, cheaper alternatives. However, challenges related to maintenance, financing, and space persist. The study underscores the importance of tailored, inclusive energy strategies for informal settlements to achieve equitable and sustainable urban energy futures in Ghana.
Purpose – Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT), one of the latest innovations in the financial world, have succeeded in triggering debate among the public, especially in terms of Islamic financial principles. Therefore, this study seeks to explore the gap between public societies’ perspectives on NFT on Twitter and the discourse conveyed by experts in research articles or journalists in popular articles. Methodology: This study combines two analyses, namely sentiment analysis, using the R Studio application to categorize public opinion into positive, neutral, and negative sentiments. Discourse analysis uses the NVivo 12 application to identify critical themes in scientific writing.Findings – The results show various perceptions of positive sentiments often associated with NFT and innovation. By contrast, negative sentiments focus on speculation, lack of clarity, and the potential to conflict with the principles of Islamic finance. These findings convey concerns about the speculative nature of the NFT and its compliance with Sharia law. However, some scholars argue that NFT can be structured according to Islamic ethics if proper guidelines are followed. Implications – This study contributes to bridging the gap between public perception and scholars, so that insights arise regarding NFT as perceived within the framework of Islamic finance. Originality – We believe this study is the first qualitative study to investigate public sentiment about NFT from Twitter/X and discuss it with the principles of Islamic finance.
This paper examines how African cities can reconcile rapid urbanization and development imperatives with urgent decarbonization goals through structural transformation. It begins by mapping key sources of urban carbon - energy poverty, inefficient buildings, poor planning, transport systems, waste management, and construction practices - and quantifies their contributions to emissions. Building on the concept of a 'latecomer advantage', the study argues that African cities can bypass legacy fossil-fuel systems by investing directly in decentralized renewables, net-zero energy buildings, green transport, and waste-to-energy technologies. It emphasizes how targeted green investment can simultaneously alleviate energy poverty, create skilled employment, and reduce carbon dioxide, while underscoring the critical roles of governance, finance, and policy coherence. Persistent barriers, constrained public and private finance, weak institutional capacity, skills gaps, policy fragmentation, and digital divides are analysed to highlight where interventions are most needed. The paper then proposes an integrated, cross-sectoral framework that aligns urban planning, energy, waste, and construction under coherent policies, supported by inclusive stakeholder engagement and innovative financing instruments such as green bonds and public-private partnerships. It concludes with recommendations for strengthening multilevel governance, formalizing informal sectors, and fostering South-South cooperation to accelerate a just transition towards low-carbon, resilient, and inclusive African cities.
Somalia's urban growth, particularly in the Benadir region, has intensified over the past decades with driving forces such as population inflow, economic opportunities, and post-conflict rehabilitation.This study analyzes challenges encountered by Somalia's Benadir local government administration, such as urban growth and challenges they experience owing to reasons such as weak infrastructure, lack of finance, and inefficient systems of governance.This rapid urbanisation, however, presents significant challenges to local government management, such as inadequate infrastructure, poor urban planning, limitations on resources, and governance challenges.This study investigates the impact of urban development on local government functioning in the Benadir region, with an emphasis on how municipal governments manage urban services such as housing, waste management, public health, and security under the conditions of limited financial and human resources.The research also emphasizes the demand for better infrastructure, more effective institutional frameworks, and better policies of local governance to manage urban growth effectively.By facilitating sustainable urban development, policy concepts consist of decentralizing resources, developing capability, and establishing strategic partnerships with foreign entities.The research applied qualitative methods to approach, analysing secondary data acquired from kinds of literature of local government officials and leaders and data collected from policy documents and urban development reports.The findings show a gap between rates of urban growth and administrative capacity, leading to such governance challenges as informal settlements, poor public services, and undermined institutional arrangements.Strategic urban planning, enhanced mobilisation of resources, and building capacity are recommended by the report to strengthen local government administration and promote sustainable urban development in the Benadir region.These results contribute to the broader debate on urban governance in post-conflict environments, offering policy implications for Somalia and other developing nations experiencing rapid urbanisation.
The financial independence of state governments hinges on their ability to prioritize Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), which could help them to better achieve the social welfare and infrastructure needs of their citizens. The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of internally generated revenue on infrastructural development in Kwara state. By decomposing IGR into tax and non-tax revenue, we hypothesize that there is no significant long-term and short-term relationship between tax/non-tax revenue and Kwara state infrastructural development. Due to its ability to avoid stationary data problems, Auto-Regressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) was employed to analyze the annual data which were extracted from the Kwara state financial statement report from 1999–2023. This study finds that IGR and loan have a significant positive influence on infrastructural development, both in the short and long run. However, tax revenue influence can only be felt in the short-run and the previous year’s loan exhibits a negative effect on infrastructural development in the current year. Practically, these results imply that IGR is an essential source of revenue for the Kwara state government to finance capital projects, especially non-tax revenue, the effects of which tend to also be felt in the long-run. It can also be linked to the fiscal decentralization concept that supports the state government’s fiscal autonomy. The study suggests that the Kwara state government should increase its tax base and rate in a form that would not yield negative consequences on the state economy, and diversify its non-tax revenue sources to cushion unexpected economic shocks.
Land-use abuse presents a significant challenge to sustainable development in Nigeria, with far-reaching implications for environmental sustainability, economic growth, and social equity. In view of the above premise, this paper critically examines the role of good governance and policy frameworks in monitoring and managing land use abuses across Nigeria. The study explores the multifaceted nature of land use challenges, including urban sprawl, deforestation, unregulated mining, and indiscriminate land conversion for industrial and residential purposes, which exacerbate environmental degradation and socio-economic disparities. By adopting a mixed-methods approach, this paper draws on case studies and policy reviews to evaluate the effectiveness of existing governance mechanisms and land use policies. Particular attention was given to the interplay between transparency, accountability, and community participation in addressing land use abuse. The analysis highlights the gaps in policy enforcement, institutional coordination, and resource allocation that hinder effective land use monitoring and management. This research then provides actionable insights for policymakers, land professionals, and other stakeholders, contributing to the discourse on sustainable land management in Nigeria and offering a blueprint for addressing similar challenges in other developing countries. The specific objectives of this study are to: (a) examine existing land policies and governance structures to assess their effectiveness in addressing land use abuse and promoting sustainable management, (b) investigate the relationship between governance quality and land use outcomes, focusing on transparency, accountability, public participation, and institutional efficiency, (c) identify the technological, institutional, and policy innovations that can improve land use monitoring and management in Nigeria, and (d) provide a framework for multi-stakeholder collaboration in mitigating land use abuse and ensuring equitable land access. Key Findings includes: i. Governance and Institutional Weaknesses: Weak enforcement of regulations, overlapping responsibilities among government agencies, and pervasive corruption are major barriers to effective land management. Institutional capacity is often undermined by inadequate funding and a lack of technical expertise. ii. Policy Gaps: The Land Use Act of 1978, which centralizes land ownership under state governors, has led to bureaucratic inefficiencies and inequities in land allocation. It lacks provisions for modern urban planning challenges and environmental sustainability. iii. Urban and Rural Disparities: In urban areas like Lagos and Abuja, rapid urbanization drives unauthorized developments, while rural regions face issues such as land grabbing, deforestation, and illegal mining. iv. Technological Shortfalls: While Geographic Information System (GIS) and satellite technologies are increasingly used, their adoption remains limited due to high costs, lack of expertise, and inadequate infrastructure. v. Community Exclusion: Limited stakeholder participation and public awareness contribute to the disconnect between policy objectives and ground realities. The study concludes that good governance, characterized by clear accountability mechanisms, stakeholder collaboration, and the integration of digital technologies, is essential for addressing land use abuse in Nigeria. Recommendations includes: i. Policy Overhaul: Amend the Land Use Act of 1978 to incorporate decentralized land governance, stronger environmental safeguards, and clearer guidelines for equitable land allocation. ii. Technological Integration: Expand the use of GIS, drones, and AI-driven monitoring tools to improve real-time data collection, enhance transparency, and streamline enforcement mechanisms. iii. Institutional Reforms: Strengthen land governance institutions through increased funding, training, and capacity building. Establish a centralized, digital land registry to reduce conflicts and improve efficiency. iv. Public Engagement: Foster inclusive decision-making by involving community stakeholders in land governance processes. Conduct awareness campaigns to educate citizens on land rights and environmental conservation. iv. Inter-agency Collaboration: Harmonize the roles of government agencies involved in land management to eliminate overlaps and foster coordinated action. iv. Sustainable Financing: Develop financing models to support technological adoption and capacity-building programs, including public-private partnerships and international aid.
Abstract In coming decades, Africa's urban populations will expand, and the effects of climate change be more keenly felt. Land policies and institutions will be key for urban dwellers to be able access productive jobs, breathe clean air, and live in decent housing; for entrepreneurs, especially women, to leverage land for productive investment; and for farmers to diversify, insure against shocks, and accumulate capital. Yet, many African land registries perform poorly, command little trust, and have failed to capitalize on opportunities to improve quality, relevance, and outreach via digital interoperability, use of earth observation, and connectivity. Literature highlights scope for regulatory and institutional reforms to (a) expand property taxation and land value capture and to improve urban service delivery, planning, and land use regulations; (b) increase quality and affordability of land services and access to land price and ownership data; (c) guide issuance of rural land use rights to reduce barriers to rural factor markets, including by spatially enabling farmer registries to improve subsidy targeting and effectiveness; and (d) demarcation and transparent decentralized management of public land to attract investment, including in climate finance, without fueling corruption, and to manage disputes before they escalate into ethnic violence.
в то время как искусственный интеллект готов изменить то, как мы живем, учимся и работаем, слияние технологий искусственного интеллекта и блокчейна изменит глобальную финансовую экосистему. DeFi продолжает разрушать традиционные финансы, он предоставляет огромные возможности для финансовой доступности и инноваций. Однако для устойчивого роста необходимо решать проблемы, связанные с регулированием, безопасностью и масштабируемостью. Оставаясь в курсе последних тенденций и активно участвуя в экосистеме DeFi, частные лица и организации могут внести свой вклад в формирование будущего финансов. Финансовая индустрия изучает возможность его использования для замены дорогостоящих и неэффективных платежных систем, а также может трансформировать цепочки поставок в сочетании с Интернетом вещей и искусственным интеллектом. Кроме того, блокчейн может облегчить практическое использование смарт-контрактов и цифровых удостоверений. Тем не менее, все еще остаются вопросы, связанные с оптимальным использованием технологии, ее воздействием на окружающую среду и управлением. while artificial intelligence is poised to change the way we live, study and work, the fusion of artificial intelligence and blockchain technologies will transform the global financial ecosystem. DeFi continues to disrupt traditional finance, it provides huge opportunities for financial inclusion and innovation. However, for sustainable growth, regulatory, security, and scalability issues must be addressed. By staying up to date with the latest trends and actively participating in the DeFi ecosystem, individuals and organizations can contribute to shaping the future of finance. The financial industry is exploring the possibility of using it to replace expensive and inefficient payment systems, and it can also transform supply chains in combination with the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence. In addition, blockchain can facilitate the practical use of smart contracts and digital identities. Nevertheless, there are still issues related to the optimal use of technology, its environmental impact and management.
Aji Muhammad Fitra Firnanda, Bambang Satriya, Praptining Sukowati
Generally, the problem of housing and settlements is the incompatibility of the number of available housing when compared to the needs and the number of people who live there. The main issues are population, spatial planning and regional development, planning for housing and settlement development that is still not optimal, land and infrastructure, financing, building materials industry technology and construction services, institutions, community participation, and laws and regulations. The East Kutai Regency Government is committed to meeting the housing needs of MBR. However, due to the high number of backlogs where the dominance of the need for housing comes from low-income people at income levels below, a synchronization effort is needed that harmonizesbetween central regulations and local conditions. Therefore, research questions are formulated as follows: 1) How effective is the implementation of the housing grant policy for the MBR in the concept of reinventing the policy?; 2) What are the implementation factors and policy models that are in accordance with the conditions of East Kutai Province after the policy reinventing process? The purpose of this study is to measure the effectiveness of the implementation of the housing grant policy for the MBR in the concept of reinventing public policy, to analyze the driving and inhibiting factors for the implementation of housing finance, to formulate a housing grant policy model . The main theory in this research is public policy, while the supporting theory is the theory of social change, social behavior, functional structural. The concepts used include Reinventing Public Policy, Ecosoc Rights, Regional Autonomy, Synchronization, Residential Housing, Housing Financing for MBR, and Strategies for Acquisition and Acquisition of Houses for MBR. Mixed research methods (mix methods) combine quantitative and qualitative data. The research instruments were questionnaires and interview drafts using data collection techniques through surveys of 135 respondents and in-depth interviews with four informants. Data analysis performed synthesis of quantitative data and qualitative data. The results of this study are that the implementation of public policy on providing financial assistance through the FLPP program is effectively applied to MBR, taking into account the synchronization of the financing. The concept of reinventing describes the complexity of a public policy shifting into social policy in its implementation so as to form social protection originating from local initiatives. The result lies in the strength of MBR in putting forward local initiatives to establish social protection. The position of the MBR and the government are equal in implementing policies so that the concept of development is decentralized and easy to evaluate through synchronizing various things. The driving factor is related to the synergy, cooperation and transparency of stakeholders in interpreting social welfare.While the inhibiting factors underline the integrity and loyalty of stakeholders and MBR to utilize existing resources and adapt to the policy environment. So based on this influence a policy model emerges using the lens of reinventing policies that are based on guaranteeing social welfare and leading to local initiatives. Building a new concept regarding changing the position of public policy into social policy. This change in perspective highlights elements of social welfare guarantees and local initiatives for the implementation of a more autonomous and implementable policy for the MBR
Redento B. Recio, Erich Wolff, Ashraful Alam, Sanjeev Routray · 8 authors
… the right to be counted is a struggle for legibility, visibility, and enlisting; it is a contingent and contextual struggle to lay claims to space and infrastructure in the city. (Routray, 2022a, p. 267). As signalled in the above quote, The Right to be Counted offers a unique perspective into the tactics deployed by communities to achieve urban citizenship in India. The book is structured around eight chapters and guides the reader through an investigation of how ‘the poor respond to the contradictory intentions and goals of various state agencies by either partaking in or subverting the quotidian practices of the state’ (Routray, 2022a, p. 266). It does so by delving into the experiences of the urban poor, who are portrayed as active agents in the production of new forms of citizenship in response to calculative state governmentality. The book is theoretically solid and empirically grounded and contributes to the literature on the right to the city. Centred on the concept of ‘numerical citizenship’, the book sheds light on how the urban poor struggle to be seen and accounted for in contemporary Delhi. Numerical citizenship is ‘the systematic, protracted, and incremental political process by which the poor become entrenched in the city’ (Routray, 2022a, p. 2). It involves the struggle of the urban poor ‘to be visible, to be identified, and to be recognised, and to be made eligible for food, shelter, and basic amenities and infrastructure in the city’ (Routray, 2022a, p. 2). The urban poor's incremental efforts to become visible to the local state are characterised by complex relationships in which the urban poor sometimes operate within the purview of state calculative governmentality and sometimes challenge and subvert governmental plans. In this sense, the book offers a timely and provocative expansion of the ideas of insurgent citizenship and other forms of representation as proposed by key authors such as James Holston (2009) and Asef Bayat (2000). The book draws on ethnographic insights to develop a series of arguments regarding numerical citizenship. Against a backdrop of the daily practices and institutionalised tactics deployed by city residents, the experiences discussed in the book illustrate how bureaucratic frameworks are applied in practice and how communities respond to them. In doing so, the book reveals how communities find ways to counter technocratic visions of the city and the processes that shape urbanisation (Wolff, 2020). These community narratives serve as immersive explorations of what it means to fight for recognition and access to public services for the residents of India and, to some extent, for millions of people in the Global South. The key arguments in this ethnographically rich volume contribute to the ongoing SEED conversation series focused on scholarship from peripheralised places, unpacking the spatial politics of uneven geographies of North and South as well as bringing marginalised indigenous, racial, sexual, gendered and ‘other’ narratives to the fore. SEED, the Space for Engagement and Epistemic Diversity, is an international platform hosted within the University of Melbourne's Informal Urbanism Research Hub.1 Routray's book is an epitome of scholarly work that enriches our understanding of the multiple forms, relations and spatial politics of grassroots political agency in different parts of the globe. In what follows, we offer our collective reflections on the book and Sanjeev, as the author, responds. Using a dialogical format, our respective voices are denoted in what follows as ‘review collective (RC)’ and ‘Sanjeev Routray (SR)’. Review collective (RC): Your book draws on an ethnographic study of three state-recognised settlements and their different levels of entrenchment in the city's political landscape. There is a rich discussion of the complex negotiations undertaken by the residents to be visible and assert their numerical strength. Your choice of research sites—a jhuggi jhopri (hutments) settlement, a transit camp and a resettlement colony—provides a nuanced understanding of the varying processes that shape the built environment in Delhi. The diverse research sites offer the opportunity to explore some of the similarities and differences among the various tactics that residents adopt to navigate their precarious living conditions and engage with state authorities. Your long engagement with the residents in your research sites and other urban poor networks in India comes alive through your writing about how caste, class and gender intersect in the urban poor's struggle for citizenship. You identify Muslim women and the oppressed castes as the most vulnerable groups, both facing severe daily struggles and often having restricted means to achieve socio-political mobility. Your descriptive account also shows that, as well as being spaces of discrimination, urban informal settlements can also be emancipatory spaces. Over time, the caste-specific clustering of houses merges with the surrounding settlements, leading to a more heterogeneous community. Additionally, residents adopt a myriad of ways to break caste oppression, such as changing surnames, engaging in identity-based politics and renaming their settlements. It is important to understand better what occurs when residents set aside their caste, class, gender differences and prejudices and come together to demonstrate their numerical solidarity. When do these differences flare up and fragment the community? Sanjeev Routray (SR): The primary objective of my book was to examine how the poor incrementally secure housing and a range of citizenship entitlements in the city. I show how they assert their numerical strength and deploy various tactics and counter-tactics to be visible, identified and counted in their political struggles. So, my first goal was to zero in on social spaces that provided an analytical anchor to examine the processes and temporal dynamics of settlement, displacement and resettlement at different historical conjunctures. As I have argued in the book, the social spaces do not represent stable categories or mental abstractions, as Lefebvre has reminded us in his work (Lefebvre, 1991). Rather, as I show, these spatial settings are suffused with social relations, which both enable and constrain the entrenchment of the poor in extraordinary ways in Delhi. As the state routinely under-enumerates and arbitrarily deems a considerable segment of the poor ineligible for housing and welfare, the primary challenge is to assert numerical strength and presence from a particular cutoff date. To claim welfare entitlements, the residents challenge state enumeration procedures and carry out a multitude of documentary and inscriptive struggles in the city. In all these neighbourhoods, the poor build varied social, economic and political relationships, forge kinship ties, and initiate alliances with politicians, state officials, activists and interlocutors across the social and political spectrum. Their fundamental aim is to systematically build collective solidarity, even if it is fraught, tenuous and often contingent. Despite the above overlaps, there are differences that underpin the tactics of the poor across these spaces. As the primary struggle of jhuggi jhopri residents is to build jhuggis, gain recognition from the local state, claim welfare services, prevent demolition and demand resettlement upon demolition, the poor routinely auto-archive their individual biographies and the life histories of the communities, especially if they intersect with key social and political events in the city, so as to establish authentic presence in the city. Moreover, in the jhuggi jhopri neighbourhood, the residents invoke the memory of their neighbours and kin if state officials reject their proof documents and deem them ineligible for resettlement. While the residents of the transit camp also fight against demolitions and claim basic services, they reclassify and recategorise themselves as ‘regular’ or ‘legal’ by challenging state enunciations and categories, including ‘transitory’, ‘temporary’ and ‘illegal’ through their unique legal tactics to contest their lack of numerical entrenchment in the city. In refining my arguments about collective solidarity, I have emphasised how the poor deploy their demographic calculus as a significant tactic in their claims to housing and citizenship entitlements in general terms. I have emphasised how the tactic of demographic calculus is preeminent in the resettlement neighbourhood as the residents leverage their numerical strength to contest host populations, nominate successful electoral candidates and assert numerical presence in demonstrations. As I have emphasised in the book, the poor do not represent a homogenous category. The collective solidarity marked by bhaichara (brotherhood) and ristedari (relationships) is often disrupted over material and identity-based struggles. For instance, the dalits (oppressed communities at the bottom of the caste hierarchy) of the jhuggi jhopri neighbourhood (oppressed communities at the bottom of the caste hierarchy) often remain alienated from the upper and intermediate-caste leaders and the language of the court due to their low literacy levels. When the court made a distinction between eligible petitioners and ineligible non-petitioners and approved resettlement flats only for the petitioners, a few dalit members expressed their disappointment. They even casually demanded a return of their monetary contributions as a threat. Often the dalit residents (who carried out ‘scavenging’ and recycling work and earned the least) lacked the time and social connections to navigate the labyrinthine bureaucratic structures to demand their entitlements. Similarly, the purchasers of flats/plots in the transit camp and resettlement neighbourhoods often appropriate scarce resources due to their relative economic power and social/political connections if you compare them with the original allottees. Nevertheless, the purchasers also have a precarious existence because the state may reject their sale-purchase affidavits as legitimate documents in offering housing in the city. Thus, at key historical conjunctures, the purchasers share the vulnerabilities of residents who lack legible error-free documents. To give you another example, the intermediaries who mediate between residents, state and different actors are divided along the lines of caste, gender, class, regional origin, and so on. While they engage in significant activities that support the residents, they often foster dependencies and arbitrary exclusions in their so called ‘public dealings’. Moreover, a stark division between male and female chiefs disrupts collective solidarity in the neighbourhood. Male chiefs consistently disparage the work of female chiefs by classifying various activities in gendered terms. They label their own work as contributing to ‘development’ in the neighbourhood, whereas they regard the work of female chiefs as merely contributing to domestic dispute resolutions. At times, the residents also resort to character assassination and rumour-spreading about female intermediaries despite receiving support from them. Most importantly, the passing of the Citizenship Amendment Act in 2019 has exacerbated the divisions between Hindu and Muslim residents. 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Nevertheless, there are of successful I have how the poor and to displacement the the to the transit camp neighbourhood. The poor their numerical state officials and politicians, deployed members and residents, and carried out including and, most importantly, to prevent the demolition of their neighbourhood. In most of the residents in resettlement against demolition in their of Your book a of not only how work on the in the three sites also how shape the of negotiations and … political (Routray, 2022a, p. for in the of their displacement and resettlement in the of Delhi. It is well in the literature that lack legal due to their and a lack of to urban which them to into precarious relations with urban to secure living to their and often in the city, state often from urban services The of has a on their settlements and of in the city. So, at a it is to that there is for these to claim citizenship and entitlements. you that the urban poor's in is a citizenship is over time and As long as the urban can assert their ‘numerical strength and community (Routray, 2022a, p. to themselves as a (Routray, 2022a, p. they can a range of social and entitlements in the city. Your of the numerical citizenship the a within which informal residents are as agents and, are provided with services in for you for a of the collective and political (Routray, 2022a, p. of the urban that agency only through the of a that is to the (Routray, p. that politicians, state and urban often in their for the the book, your of offers a the informal and the of the urban poor in For example, the the and incremental political in means and means shows how temporal and numerical politics intersect to resettlement and citizenship The choice of the reader to the better and the practices of the poor from the in you show the of and and so numerical power is to these of that, be with of While there is the book on the of the urban it does not from within some of the on or the of the you us more about how this concept on and I have to a and to understand urban citizenship in the Global South. In so I the general arguments about the to city’ I remain to the and of urban citizenship the of In this I build on from the frameworks of James and Asef James I the that the poor build to demand citizenship entitlements in the city. I also on his of to understand how the poor build and navigate in the urban the of the poor do not claim citizenship as and in Delhi. The poor are from a resettlement or if they own in Delhi. the poor do not contest relations in they in and with these relations and the in their they do not to a of urban operate with a complex of tactics and Nevertheless, my also (2009) claims that citizenship claims and are homogenous and While I on Asef of how the poor claim housing and in I offer a nuanced understanding of how the poor navigate the in the city. Moreover, in to the of the the of collective solidarity citizenship struggles is in of India. The struggles of the poor do not merely represent and claims of by an extraordinary of and with to understanding how the poor engage in and local practices to navigate the of bureaucratic and political on an I show how the activities of the poor do not merely contest the state, and the of activists and negotiations with a multitude of in the city. In this I examine an of and to understand how power relations, of legal and historical the Most importantly, my arguments on from concept of political work is important as it offers a to understand contextual of and of communities in I as a who has some of the most ideas to challenge the and ideas the of and an ethnographic offers a more nuanced understanding of the of the character of the the dynamics of caste, class, gender relations, the of and the of neighbourhood As a I have his ideas for their in understanding the politics of the For instance, I do not the poor as merely an to the state I show how the poor their claims to be and with and and legal and to secure their entitlements. In a I offer a understanding of urban citizenship in different historical by the complex and labyrinthine of tactics and counter-tactics in Delhi. contextual and these my arguments have in the of the Global South. Your discussion of numerical citizenship how support informal settlements to their to the city through recognition to or at within the city. with the literature how of residents are as the for even the process of right to the city. For example, in how often to a to and fight to their right of ‘numerical is also in between residents and state officials, with enumeration The numerical strength often seen by both and officials as the for visible in the urban environment and citizenship and, a of a dispute in either on The of this numerical residents and community to their and public recognition in the informal settlements. your account that alliances with various across the social are in to claims in these You the of the members of the in and among the informal settlements of Delhi. alliances with local politicians, political and the agency from numerical strength to citizenship and services it has also that the the have become of such the of their the or to for residents the demolition of the camp is such of of local residents in local people in India is seen as the of important that the of informal residents and local social a in them. In this what is your on how the urban poor in navigate the alliances of this complex social to their how have the social in the urban poor's political numerical tactics and in to the struggle for social and the right to the fundamental in this book is to examine the politics of the poor on their own terms. As you can I have my from I remain to social and as they shape the political of the In this I systematically how the activities of the poor intersect with and across the social and political spectrum. The poor in the political and bureaucratic in Delhi. they develop alliances by multiple of and collective They contest the of activists and and their and with a multitude of At times, the poor the at other times, they reject the While the work of the activists is the activities are often at with I have and struggles and how these struggles have to a to claim citizenship entitlements in the city. While there are alliances across in housing and citizenship entitlements, it has on the of the activists as well as the poor to forge a social in Delhi. is because there are differences among in of tactics and political and and of The poor and their on They from legal and across spaces and the poor have it to a social a set of in Delhi. In to we to on The work is the of of ethnographic this your book shows how ethnographic can be to explore the of politics and the of offers a that the of and the to light on both the local and of the struggles for numerical citizenship (Routray, p. your with and experiences with urban poor communities, your account shows the of ethnographic engagement in urban that is a or of has a for and both new and ethnographic in sense, economic and and In this sense, you on how your and ethnographic engagement have the of and the for can you on the you for instance, in different jhuggi jhopri settlements and your as a and as an of the of the I to build to understand the of political practices on the of the poor in the of the Global South. The ethnographic over a temporal has to contest and frameworks about how the poor and with the state in their of housing and other entitlements on an I have deployed a to develop my of numerical citizenship to understand the political agency of the I have to how the poor contest as well as to in the city. In this I show how the poor establish and their political and to gain a in the city. I writing a on the of my research and I some of these arguments to at a in (Routray, ethnographic I show how I built what conditions I built and how these my I light on the of with different members of a heterogeneous community. I also into the of for the and of and the of of the in the As a can you give an of your ongoing there another book in the that the scholarly and there new you are At I writing my book on the of Delhi. Most of the in and also in India from particular in the state of primary objective is to compare and how caste negotiations and community and citizenship struggles among communities of in Delhi. is different from my first Nevertheless, I some of my insights to understand how the their citizenship struggles in a that the deploy various tactics and counter-tactics across space and time to become eligible for citizenship entitlements. the poor communities who own or resettlement in various social most of the houses in the city. they are not to secure documents that establish proof of to welfare in the city. As a they are more in the and political in their They routinely to their to and support for their political leaders These are as they the support of local to claim their citizenship entitlements and welfare In the few I have in other to with the and other of the I for my research a to my our of grassroots and has to a significant of with the and for the that this support the to claim welfare from the are for the time and of the has for us to this and on the has the
Norazmawati Md. Sani Abd. Rahim, Muhammad Shafiq Kamaruddin
Affordable housing has become the main issue of concern among Malaysians, especially those from low-income background in Klang Valley. Limited housing supply in key areas within Klang Valley due to no interest from private developers has forced low-income people to live far from their workplaces. It is considered unprofitable by many private developers because of heavily regulated policies sanctioned by the government, decentralization of affordable housing agencies, and requiring specific design, which can drive the cost of development. Furthermore, access to home financing for low-income people is limited due to their current economic situation and financial constraints. The research focuses on the factors to facilitate private developers in financing and the possibility for the private developers to venture into a home financing structure and analyze other possibilities and solutions that can be implemented with the collaboration between the developers and government.
Rasha Ali El Ashmawy, Amany Ragheb, Ghada Ragheb, Dalia Abdelrazik
Many developing countries as well as some developed countries suffer from the problem of slums. They constitute a real defect in the economic and social development plan of the concerned countries. The methods used to finance development projects in countries vary according to the different social, economic, and legislative influences. The process of providing the expenses required for these projects is one of the most important problems that governments face. The study aims to establish some rules and principles in a proposed theoretical framework and to document some of the experiences of supporting cities globally as well as in the African and Arab countries, by using a general analysis model that includes Egyptian experiences to understand the most important problems related to sustainable development and how to achieve efficiency and effectiveness in the development of urban planning and management. An analytical study is conducted to the experience of participatory development of Manshiyet Nasser is presented and the proposed development programs to determine their advantages and disadvantages. The study concluded to identifying several recommendations for dealing with slums and setting an integrated urban development model for low-income areas that can be replicated in other similar sites. The study also concluded that in development projects, focus is placed on popular participation and decentralization in decision-making, seeking to solve existing problems in society and taking the initiative to experiment new methods from which the government refrains for fear of failure.
Adalgisa Costa Melo, Francisco Meton Marques de Lima
Resumo A presente investigação busca descrever as principais políticas públicas habitacionais brasileiras pós Constituição Federal de 1988, com ênfase para o Estado do Piauí. Para isto, alicerçada no método hipotético-dedutivo, optou-se pela pesquisa descritiva, desenvolvida com base na análise temática de conteúdos. Desta forma, abordou inicialmente, a descentralização da política habitacional e o papel dos entes federativos, num ambiente marcado pela redemocratização do país. Em seguida, voltou-se para a Política Nacional de Habitação desenvolvida a partir de então, aprofundando-se na sua evolução desde a criação do Sistema Nacional de Habitação de Interesse Social até a criação do Programa Minha Casa Minha Vida. Dedicou-se, ainda, aos fundos que abastecem a Habitação de Interesse Social e aos fundos de financiamento da habitação social no Programa Minha Casa Minha Vida, finalizando com uma reflexão sobre a atual política de acesso à moradia, que vem sendo planejada e construída de maneira mercantilizada.Palavras-chave: Moradia. Políticas Públicas Habitacionais. Sistema Nacional de Habitação de Interesse Social. Programa Minha Casa Minha Vida. Mercantilização da Moradia. Abstract The present investigation seeks to describe the main Brazilian public housing policies after the 1988 Federal Constitution, with an emphasis on the State of Piauí. For this, based on the hypothetical- deductive method, we opted for descriptive research, developed based on thematic content analysis. In this way, it initially addressed the decentralization of housing policy and the role of federative entities, in an environment marked by the redemocratization of the country. Then, it turned to the National Housing Policy developed since then, deepening its evolution from the creation of the National Housing System of Social Interest to the creation of the Minha Casa Minha Vida Program. He also dedicated himself to the funds that supply Social Interest Housing and the social housing financing funds in the Minha Casa Minha Vida Program, ending with a reflection on the current policy of access to housing, which has been planned and built in accordance with commercialized way.Keywords: Home. Public Housing Policies. National Social Interest Housing System. Minha Casa Minha Vida Program. Housing Mercantilization.
This publication provides a detailed overview of India’s public–private partnership (PPP) environment, with a focus on the national, local government, and sector PPP landscapes. India has a reasonably mature PPP market with approximately $265 billion invested across 1,150 projects since 1990. Based on a decentralized enabling framework, the PPP ecosystem in the country has been supported by key preparation, financing, and delivery institutions, policies, guidelines, and standardized bidding documents. To attract increased private investments across infrastructure sectors, the government has recently introduced innovative PPP models such as the hybrid annuity model and toll–operate–transfer, which will play a critical role in implementing the India’s $81 billion National Asset Monetization Pipeline, and help finance the $15 trillion National Infrastructure Pipeline, 2020–2025.
The term "urban governance" refers to the effective planning, financing, and reforms in the delivery of urban services to people. Deficits in India's urban basic infrastructure pose a threat to inclusive governance. As a result, schemes such as AMRUT have been developed to fill infrastructure gaps and improve service delivery through effective planning, financing, decentralized-digital reforms, and people's participation. This paper will critically investigate the underlying process that projects like AMRUT use to develop urban planning, financing, reforms, and services more accountable, effective, transparent, and inclusive.