Originally posted to polis] Recent developments in Kibera and Dharavi, two of the most high-profile slums in the world, underscore the importance of including informal workers in planning decisions. In Kibera, a UN-backed slum clearance is underway amidst protest from residents whose livelihoods are at risk (and landlords who control informal real estate). The redevelopment plan for Dharavi has been stalled due to upcoming elections, as politicians appear reluctant to alienate the millions of voters involved in the economy it would displace. Slum redevelopment often exacerbates poverty when informal workers are not involved in decision-making processes.
Living conditions in slums can be improved without uprooting local economies. An international research network called WIEGO has been addressing occupational health and safety (OHS) in the informal sector. Through this initiative, researchers find out which government agencies are in charge of OHS and help informal workers open channels for dialog in policy development. WIEGO makes sure they have the resources for effective advocacy. OHS researchers also compile best-practices among government programs that have established successful workplace standards in informal settlements.
WIEGO is part of the Inclusive Cities Project, which promotes the representation of informal workers in planning decisions. They work with membership-based organizations in slums to influence municipal policy. Informal businesses are considered essential to poverty reduction, especially when accompanied with adequate infrastructure, regulation, and stimulus. If these businesses were included under effective legal structures, worker exploitation could be monitored and tax revenues used to finance improved living conditions.
Elinor Ostrom, Basudeb Guha-Khasnobis, and Ravi Kanbur have recently published a book titled Linking the Formal and Informal Economy: Concepts and Policies. It includes theoretical and empirical studies that identify close relationships between the two sectors. Understanding informal business as an integral part of a city’s economy could encourage legal representation, protection, and accountability. In addition, Ostrom’s research on commons, institutions, social capital, and human-environment interaction is very relevant to planning and development from within informal settlements.
Communities like Kibera and Dharavi have complex and active economies that can be included in legal governance. It’s essential for informal workers to have a way of protecting their rights and livelihoods.
In the window on the left there’s a bird, I think it’s some kind of brown dove? It built a nest there while I was away over the summer. When I returned, it was sitting there on two tiny eggs. One of them hatched the next day. The other followed the day after. There was another bird that would come in the mornings to feed the babies, giving the first one time to fly off. It would open its beak and let the little birds eat from there. Two weeks after hatching, they flew off on their own.
Well, it used to bring me great sadness to think about the end of summer. Now I find myself looking forward to the fall. Changing leaves have something to do with it, but also the cool sunny days and almost menacing evenings. I like the idea of thanksgiving. Seasonal associations are very tied to place, and it’s curious to think that another hemisphere is now transitioning to spring. So, from this part of the world, happy fall and spring.
This is a statue just off Stanley Island in Vancouver. I like the way it gazes so serenely at the mountains, houses, and shipping docks. Sometimes statues in isolated or uncomfortable places leave me feeling unsettled. This one seems alright, as if maybe it can be replaced by a friend for a while if it wants to get away.
[Originally posted to polis] Picking up on Ivan’s reference to Gordon Matta-Clark, I’d like to consider relationships between art, power, and space. The term anarchitecture, as commonly associated with Matta-Clark, provides an interesting way of thinking about these relationships. In connection with a recent AIA event on art and architecture, it implies a sort of freedom from client specifications. James Attlee sees a response to high-modernist rationalism, as well as the foundations of a more iterative, collective, locally contingent approach to architecture. He finds that Marcel Duchamp, Jane Jacobs, and “self-built shanties” may have been important influences.
It’s probably not correct to say horsewoman, as in horseman, but I’ll have to find out what they’re really called. These riders, both men and women, are fairly common on Moscow sidewalks. They’ll bring you to your destination for a negotiated price. Though just one of many transportation options in the city, they offer an interesting counterpoint to the powerful traffic rushing through the streets.
[Originally posted to polis] In memory of September 11th, 2001, I’d like to ask three questions. What stands out most as you look back? Did it alter the path you’ve taken in life? And does its meaning for you change with time?
The chilling suddenness, the heroism, the remaining scars all come to mind. The initial terror was replaced by a constant feeling of impending crisis. I began listening to the news constantly.
I think it changed my path. At the time I believed world trade would bring peace and prosperity. The Seattle protests of 1999 seemed narrow-sighted. September 11th didn’t change my thinking on this, but I no longer saw business as the answer.
It wasn’t that I blamed the attacks on global capital. Instead, they reminded me that other pursuits were more important when life could be taken so unexpectedly. There were problems to address directly. September 11th nullified assumptions that these problems would subside as more people took part in the world economy.
Still, the World Trade Center is more than a symbol of globalization and its discontents. It means different things to different people and at different times. It is inspiration and excess, monotony and simplicity, power, vulnerability, and cooperation. Its meanings contradict themselves, like another legendary resident of the city.
We often hear that September 11th changed the world. It has also changed us individually, and we change it. Somewhere in our minds, the World Trade Center is still a marriage site and workplace. It is where our parents took us on first visits to New York, dizzying pillars to the sky from below, windswept lookouts on the city from above.
I hope you’ll also share your memories. Let’s be sure to never lose them.
[Originally posted to polis] I’m not sure about the accuracy of this title. :) Maybe someone else can shed light on that, but there are a lot of impressive moves here. This song reminds me of how audio spaces mix in cities. The way you can hear so many kinds of music, transportation, work, and other activities from your window or while walking down the street. Also how cultural forms combine when a lot of different people are together in one place.
[Originally posted to polis] Plans for Governors Island are gaining momentum! Located in the New York Harbor less than half a mile from Manhattan, the island offers breathtaking views of the city. For nearly 200 years it was a military base with limited public access. In 2003, the state purchased the island for a dollar with the stipulation that it not be used for permanent housing or casinos. It is now open on weekends from the end of May through mid-October.
Big ideas have been proposed, including a New Globe Theater by Foster + Partners and a gondola system by Santiago Calatrava. Perhaps even more impressive are the steps initiated by Leslie Koch of the Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation (GIPEC). There is now a ferry service free of charge. There are wooden bikes to borrow, hammocks along the shore, and a miniature golf course designed as part of an annual arts festival. The island is currently hosting Plot/09, an exhibition curated by Creative Time. GIPEC has sought ideas from the public and proposals from private developers. They’ve commissioned the design of a park with allées, wetlands, flower gardens, and scenic hills built from local debris covered with soil.
Funding for the island’s renewal is tenuous, so I’d like to ask how you might go about making ideas happen inexpensively. This takes a creativity that compliments the generation of ideas. It brings together the contributions of many, and can gain momentum through a succession of small victories. It is an essential part of shaping the world around us for a common good. If you’d like to get involved or follow the island’s development, more information can be found at govisland.com and govislandblog.com.
Credits: Photo of Governors Island from the gallery section of the GIPEC website.
I’m not sure why this stands out so much for me, or even what kind of mushroom it is. Although it’s hard to tell from the photo, it was probably the size of a dinner plate. It’s not the size though. I think it’s just the way it breaks in certain parts. Also the texture and color against such dark soil. What does it have to do with cities? Maybe nothing. Or maybe it will come to me later, hopefully.
WIEGO is part of the Inclusive Cities Project, which promotes the representation of informal workers in planning decisions. They work with membership-based organizations in slums to influence municipal policy. Informal businesses are considered essential to poverty reduction, especially when accompanied with adequate infrastructure, regulation, and stimulus. If these businesses were included under effective legal structures, worker exploitation could be monitored and tax revenues used to finance improved living conditions.
Well, it used to bring me great sadness to think about the end of summer. Now I find myself looking forward to the fall. Changing leaves have something to do with it, but also the cool sunny days and almost menacing evenings. I like the idea of thanksgiving. Seasonal associations are very tied to place, and it’s curious to think that another hemisphere is now transitioning to spring. So, from this part of the world, happy fall and spring.
[Originally posted to 
