Habitat Conference Research Articles

THE THIRD WORLD CONGRESS OF FREE UKRAINIANS AS A COMPONENT OF STRUGGLE FOR THE RIGHTS OF THE UKRAINIAN NATION

The article examines the preparation and proceedings of the Third World Congress of Free Ukrainians (WCFU). The author highlights the key challenges faced by the organizers of this event, including a lack of funds and a decline in interest. Furthermore, the article analyzes the influence of international factors on the activities of the WCFU, particularly the processes of decolonization and the increased focus on human rights and freedoms in the 1970s. As a result of these developments, representatives of the Ukrainian, Belarusian, Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian World Congresses jointly drafted a “Memorandum on Decolonization of the USSR” and submitted it for consideration by the United Nations (UN). To conclude the Congress, a demonstration titled “Defending the Rights of Ukraine – For the Decolonization of the USSR” was organized. The article highlights key achievements of the Commission on Human Rights of the WCFU, including the defense of the rights of political prisoners such as Valentyn Moroz, Leonid Plyushch, Mykola Rudenko, Oleksiy Tykhyi, Lev Lukianenko and others. The Commission also participated in conferences under the auspices of the UN in honor of the International Women's Year in Mexico in 1975 and Habitat Conference in Vancouver in 1976. Moreover, the article examines the reaction of the Soviet press to the Third WCFU and identifies the main clichés of Soviet propaganda used to describe this event.

Global experts for historic towns: Leonardo Benevolo and Giorgio Lombardi’s contributions to UNDP/UNESCO Andean region programme

ABSTRACT Italy’s policies for the protection of historical cities in the 1960s and early 1970s met with great praise from European countries and institutions at the time of their implementation. In the following decades, they became a model for architects and planners worldwide and particularly for large international organizations. This article focuses on the international dissemination of Leonardo Benevolo's work during the 1970s, identifying three defining moments: the 1976 UN Habitat Conference, the meetings organized in the framework of the 1975 European Year of Architectural Heritage, and, notably, the consulting work for UNDP/UNESCO carried out in Latin America by Benevolo and his younger colleague, Giorgio Lombardi. In this context, one specific facet of Benevolo's approach emerges: the idea that preserving historic districts constitutes an integral component of the modern city development. The article provides insights into how Benevolo’s approach to the preservation of historical centres was received, manipulated, and used by international agencies, local experts, and institutions in Latin America.

THE TOWNSCAPE MOVEMENT AND THE EVOLUTION OF THE COMPACT CITY CONCEPT

The search for sustainable cities has seen the Compact City as a better way to structure urban areas. This statement is corroborated by the fact that, among the guidelines proposed by the United Nations on the last Habitat Conference, there are several compact city principles. Given the importance of this model, this article presented an overview of its development, its main thinkers, the most relevant publications and the context in which the Compact City concept was developed, focusing on the importance of the thought and activity of the Townscape movement in the consolidation of the model since the end of the 1940’s. From the publications analyzed, one can recognize two phases in the concept’s evolution: a formative period (1940-1970), characterized by the search for an alternative to the postwar urban models; and a second moment (since the 1980’s), when the concept took its current form and started to be proposed as an answer to environmental problems and, secondarily, to other challenges of contemporary urbanization.

Urban Growth and Sustainability. Case Study, Ribera Norte Project, Concepción, Chile

During the last decade of the past century, a new term emerges that extends and introduces all human activity, sustainability. The second World Habitat Conference in Istanbul, under Agenda 21, highlights the role of cities and local authorities in the implementation of the global environment compromises and the generation of life quality and habitat. The design, development and management of “sustainable human communities” points to good urban life quality. Chile joins Agenda 21 and in 1998 promulgates a Law of Environment, together with the launch of various urban projects as mechanisms for recuperation and “relaunching” of its cities. One of these projects was Ribera Norte Project, an initiative that sought to recuperate a degraded area of the city of Concepción and generate urban soil in response of an increasing demand for a sustainable urban growth. The present study attempts to explore the relation and/or articulation between urban growth and sustainability through a concrete urban action, such as the Ribera Norte Project. The objective is to deepen the theoretical knowledge of one of the most discussed urban interventions of the past years in Chile, with the goal to gather lessons about sustainable urban planning in our cities. Starting with the premise that underdeveloped countries have to resolve both problems of urban poverty today and ecological preservation tomorrow, a task that becomes titanic in nature and almost impossible to resolve due to the lack of resources to cover so many urban problems at a time.

Framing a new discourse on the notion of habitat in transforming societies

This paper reveals how the second Iran International Congers of Architects (IICA), held in Persepolis- Shiraz in 1974, and the first UN Habitat conference, held in Vancouver, Canada in 1976 played an instrumental role in shaping a discourse on the notion of regionalism in the design for human habitats, especially in developing countries. Building upon a brief analysis of the works of Nader Ardalan, Kamran Diba, Charles Correa, Balkrishna Vithaldas Doshi and Raj Rewal, this paper discussed the incorporation of the ideas published in the Habitat Bill of Rights within their private commissions for large scale housing schemes and master plans in their respective countries, Iran and India. More crucially, this paper argues that both events helped bring together these architects who later, in different capacities, played significant roles as members of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in fostering and promoting an alternative way of adapting modernism to industrializing countries.

Local and Global: Management of Cities in the Information Age by Jordi Borja and Manuel Castells

This "urban manifesto" was based on a report prepared for the Istanbul Habitat Conference of June 1996. In some ways this book should be treated as the fourth volume of Castells' critically acclaimed trilogy: The Rise OfThe Network Society (1996), The Power Of Identity (1997), and The End OfThe Millennium (1998). The strength of this book lies in the authors' attempt to make Castells' theoretical · and empirical works more practical, and it is on these terms that we should evaluate the book. More than half of this book is dedicated to comparative urban policy to illustrate the issues many cities are facing.

Human Settlements and Urban Life: A United Nations Perspective

Since 1978, the United Nations has formally recognized the important role of human settlements in reaching the goals set by the UN Charter. In 1978, following the first HABITAT Conference, held in Vancouver in 1976, the General Assemble established the UN Centre for Human Settlements. With the growing pressure of urbanization, the second and formative conference on Human Settlements was held in Istanbul in 1996. The documents for HABITAT II led, in 2002, to the General Assembly's expansion of UN – HABITAT into the lead UN Agency on issues facing human settlements, both rural and urban, with the clear recognition of the shift from rural to urban life and the increasing number of mega-cities, particularly in developing countries. This article samples the work and transition in the United Nations Centre for Human Settlement (UNCHS) from 1976 to the present.

Learning from informal markets: Innovative approaches to land and housing provision

Substandard and insecure housing conditions are recognised as a crucial aspect of urban poverty. In most large cities in the developing world, the formal market serves only a minority of the population. It is estimated that between 30 and 70 per cent live in 'irregular' settlements, and that up to 85 per cent of the new housing stock is produced in an extra-legal manner, with severe social and environmental consequences. John Turner's groundbreaking work and the first Habitat conference in 1976 marked a paradigm shift towards an enabling and participatory approach to housing provision. However, little progress has been made in translating the new paradigm into practical and sustainable policies. Relocation schemes, social housing, slum upgrading, and sites and services are beset by two related problems: first, they are far too small scale to serve the growing demand and, second, products are far too expensive to be affordable for low-income groups. The paper states that the informal sector's strategy of incremental development and improvement of housing and infrastructure can be incorporated into public policies, and introduces cases from the Philippines and Pakistan as best practices in this direction.

The spanish best practices 1998

The II HABITAT Conference held at Istanbul on June 1996, adopted the Habitat Program -Global Action Plan, in within which two performance lines are especially reinforced to reach the two main goals of suitable e housing for all and sustainable human settlements: the collaboration and participation among all the levels of the government and the civil society and, the recognition of the importance of the urban policies. In this framework is addressed the International Award Best Practices for the Improvement of the Life Conditions that, sponsored by the municipality of Dubai, is celebrated every two years and is awarded to the 10 selected by an International Independent Jury. The goal of the Competition is to promote policies and strategies more effective for the sustainable development of the humanity and their settlements, through the transmission of information and knowledge on experiences and solutions proved in the practice. The obtained results in the last international competition, with 32 of the presented Practices included in the Data Base of the United Nations Good Practices, 18 classified among the 100 best (3 of them included among the 40 finalists) and finally, one, among the 10 awarded (Programs for the improvement of the urban environment of Malaga), allow us to look forward with satisfaction the panorama of the urban policy in our country.

Third-world development: urbanizing for the future.

This article reviews some issues reflected in the 1996 UN Habitat II agenda and recent research on urbanization. The themes of the 1996 Habitat conference were urban development, urban poverty, and governance, civil society, and social capital. It is expected that over 50% of total world population will live in cities in the year 2000. Cities are viewed both as engines of economic growth and centers of severe economic, environmental, and social problems. There is some disagreement about whether cities are rational economic structures or what the World Bank's urban agenda is and its relationship with macroeconomic policy. Discussions of global urban issues are criticized for their neglect of issues of equity and poverty, cultural diversity, and identity and representation. Habitat II also stressed urban sustainability. There is growing recognition that urban management involves more than the "Brown Agenda" of environmental and physical aspects of urban growth. Recent studies identify how politics and power affect people's access to basic urban services. Urban economic activity can also contribute to environmental problems. Urban growth affects the provision of health services. Although there is not a consensus on the role of cities in expanding economic and social development and the best management practices, there is sufficient evidence to indicate that urban processes are varied throughout the developing world. The links between urban and rural areas differentiate cities and expose the need to understand the role of intermediate urban areas surrounding and between larger cities. Poverty has become increasingly urbanized, but the extent of poverty is unknown. Habitat II was an unprecedented effort to engage nongovernment groups, local government staff, trade unions, and the private sector and to emphasize community participation. Networks of trust and reciprocity are key to solving poverty, inequality, and disempowerment problems.

Indigenous Women on Stage: Retracing the Beijing Conference from Below

In a remote Quichua community, thirty-five kilometers away from Tena, the capital of the Amazonian Province of Napo, forty-five indigenous women of the Ecuadorian Amazon met to construct a position platform for the World Women's Conference in Beijing.' The workshop, convened by the Confederation of Indigenous Organizations of the Ecuadorian Amazon (CONFENIAE) and the Federation of Indigenous Organizations of the Napo Province (FOIN), drew together women representing six different ethnic groups, each with its own language; some of the participants did not speak Spanish. Most of the delegates, ranging in age from twenty-one to sixty-two, had little or no previous experience with such political gatherings. Given this last characteristic, one might ask what relationship this group of indigenous women might have to forming an international feminist environmental agenda. International economic and political concerns in the post-Cold War era have privileged discussions about the conservation of natural resources and ecologically sound technologies and practices; the contribution of indigenous peoples to sustainable development alternatives; and the role of women in caring for the environment, maintaining biodiversity, and advancing a rhetoric of sustainable development. In the last five years there have been five major conferences to discuss global problems and policies: the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development, which was followed by the Population Meeting in Cairo, the Social Summit in Copenhagen, the World Conference on Women in Beijing, and the Habitat Conference in Istanbul.

Shelter Policy and Planning in Developing Countries: Introduction

Abstract The United Nations General Assembly has designated 1987 as the International Year of Shelter for the Homeless (IYSH) to draw attention to the problems of inadequate housing for the poor, especially in developing countries. By doing that, the U.N. hopes to stimulate consolidation and sharing of technical knowledge that in turn will lead to the development and demonstration of new techniques for meeting the housing needs of low-income families. Those objectives are being pursued through a variety of IYSH activities being undertaken by numerous countries (de Boer 1985). In addition, a series of international conferences and regional seminars will review progress since the 1976 Habitat Conference in Vancouver and help chart the course for meeting shelter needs to the year 2000. This symposium is a contribution to IYSH that the JAPA editors and I believe will contribute to the formulation of effective strategies for housing and related shelter needs. This symposium will also introduce and sensitize pl...

A review of ten years of: Habitat international

HABITAT INTERNATIONAL was established at the United Nations Habitat Conference in Vancouver in 1976. Its principal aim is to publish original research, review articles and case studies which are relevant to the implementation of the Recommendations for National Action adopted at the Habitat Conference by the delegates of the attending 132 states. This year HABITAT INTERNATIONAL celebrates its 10th birthday. This is an appropriate moment to review the achievements of the Journal during the first decade after Vancouver. In the first section of this review we are recalling the circumstances which led to the UN Habitat Conference, its results and the creation in 1977, of the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (UNCHS) in Nairobi. In the following sections an attempt is made to order and review the main articles of the Journal’s 10 volumes according to the main subject areas so far covered, i.e. Settlement Policies and Strategies, Urban Land Policy, Urban Transport, Housing, Technology, Development Planning and the Role of Planners, Education and Training. The last section is dedicated to the Special Issues of HABITAT INTERNATIONAL in honour of the pioneers of our cause, which were contributed by their friends and disciples. Volume references are to this Journal.

A metropolitan urban structure for self-sufficiency

Planning policies are basically concerned with the distribution of resources in general, and land-use in particular. Facilities, such as shelter, leisure amenities or transportation are coordinated within the framework of human settlements’ policies, and implemented in a variety of land-uses in rural, urban or metropolitan areas. Since the beginning of the 20th~century, various planning innovations such as garden cities, new towns, growth centres, action planning, have all been seen in their time as a panacea, roads to utopia. Each, with the relevant theories, has a vital contribution to make in the complex jigsaw of the ultimate pattern of human settlements. In 1976, the Habitat Conference at Vancouver’ focussed attention on some specific problems of human settlements in developing countries. In 1980 the Brandt Report* was concerned with major international development issues. It incorporated a specific brief, “How can these (developing) countries be ensured an economic environment in which they can cope with their own problems?“. The Report struck a note of realism. The needs of developing countries are to be dealt with primarily by the countries themselves. The Report is often criticised for totally ignoring human settlements and their development; local planners were faced with having to develop their own policies and strategies according to their circumstances. Was this a deliberate omission? The message was simple: to follow strategies of self-reliance and self-sufficiency. Faced with the problems of shelter, the traditional strategies of self-help, aided self-help, or housing by the people scored a measure of success. In the metropolitan context, with multimillion populations, the problems tended to be more complex, and more difficult to resolve.

Vancouver recommendations for national action: Preliminary report on Latin-American case-studies∗ †

This paper is the product of the first stage of a research which is being carried out on different countries in the world in order to ascertain to what extent the recommendations on human settlement policies, approved at the Habitat Conference held at Vancouver in 1976, were implemented. Our study covers four Latin American countries, selected to conform to a varied universe in so far as human settlement problems in the region are concerned. The countries are: Brazil, Mexico, Colombia and Bolivia. Thus, the set includes countries of different sizes, levels of development, industrialisation and urbanisation. Besides, the study considers countries where the population concentrates in a great primate metropolis as well as examples where the population and economic activities are more equally distributed among several major centres.

N.G.O. Follow-up to U.N. Habitat Conference

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Advanced urban systems: A World wide opportunity

While human settlements can be viewed as a concentration of problems, and while many observers seem to believe that rational analysis is based on problem identification, there is also justification in thinking positively about human settlements as a market opportunity for future innovations. The inventions which provided the technical basis for the rapid growth of urban areas in this century were the result of special conditions existing in the last quarter of the nineteenth century. There are a new set of conditions emerging in this final quarter of the twentieth century which will likely spur a new set of major inventions out of which mankind can fashion human settlements in the twenty-first century. The HABITAT Conference comes at an opportune time for the recognition of this turning point.

REMARKS OF THE ONTARIO MINISTER OF THE ENVIRONMENT TO THE 28th ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF THE C.W.R.A. TORONTO, JUNE 23, 1976

The Habitat Conference in Vancouver exposed the issue of interjurisdictional cooperation and the need for clean water supply on a global scale, a situation reflected also in the Great Lakes Basin. Progress under the 1972 Canada-United States Agreement on Great Lakes Water Quality is reviewed. New contaminants are complicating clean-up attempts, but new tools are being developed to monitor and regulate such threats the federal contaminants legislation, Ontario ’s environmental assessment act and regional planning and development strategies, exemplified by Nanticoke.

Informal Economic Activity in African Cities: proposals for research

This brief note will argue the case for certain lines of investigation, both empirical and theoretical, in African cities. It is increasingly recognised that the constellation of issues revolving around urbanisation and its effects will be a major factor in development for the rest of the century: witness the convocation of the Habitat Conference in Vancouver, June 1976, and the World Bank's new Urban Policy Task Force. Yet, as always, comprehension trails behind actual developments.

Habitat—Home Comments on U.N. (or United Nations) Habitat Forum on Human Settlements, Vancouver, 1976

The event of a United Nations Habitat Conference and Forum on Human Settlements, two gatherings held simultaneously in Canada in May-June, 1976, must bring to mind the question—WHY? These are assemblies of enormous numbers of people and governments; they cost a lot and they entail much concentrated preparation and thought. To warrant them there must be great issues at stake—something, in this case, must be wrong with the living conditions of people in the world; there must be something which needs to be known about or, if already known, reemphasized; and something which needs to be done? Each of these conjectures is right and they all in fact answer the question of why human settlements have become a major project for ongoing U.N. and world attention.