Final Report Summary - URBAN INEQUALITY (Planning in Equality? Urban Strategy and Inequality in Global South Cities)
Project objectives:
The “Urban Inequality” project (301541) reviews urban strategies, city visions and other forms of citywide planning in several cities in the global South. Specifically, the project analyzes how these strategies address socio-spatial inequality and divisions. It focuses on locally produced visions and strategies in Cape Town and Johannesburg in South Africa, and Mumbai and Delhi in India. It also examines their interrelations with urban strategies sponsored by international development organizations, such as the World Bank. Through these case studies, the project compares how urban strategies in different institutional, social and cultural contexts view and act on urban inequality, and what reactions they engender among different stakeholders and communities. The project also analyzes how concepts and ‘best practices’ regarding socio-spatial divisions and disparities in cities are devised and mobilized between international development organizations, national and local governments and urban communities in the global South.
Specific research objectives are to better understand:
(a) How strategy vis-à-vis urban inequality is conceptualized ‘from above’, within the field of international development (inequality as a global concept).
(b) How urban strategy is viewed at the level of city and metropolitan governments, and how is it experienced ‘on the ground’, at the level of urban communities, in relation to lived conditions of urban inequality (inequality as local context).
(c) How concepts, methodologies and ‘best practices’ regarding urban inequality are mediated along the ‘value chain’ of the urban strategy process (global-local mediation).
(d) What are the ‘principles of vision and division’, spatial imaginary and visual imagery that urban strategies utilize vis-à-vis urban space and inequality, in comparative perspective.
Work performed during the duration of the project:
The project included an outgoing period of 18 months at the Institute for Urban and Regional Development, University of California, Berkeley, followed by an incoming period of 12 months at the Center for Urban and Regional Studies, Technion, Israel. During the two periods, I completed the following main objectives:
- Research design, including submission of detailed research protocol to the Committee for Protection of Human Subjects (CPHS) at the University of California, Berkeley. CPHS approval was granted.
- Data collection and categorization, including policy documents and plans of international development organizations, city governments and stakeholders in the relevant cities.
- 2 months of fieldwork in Cape Town and Johannesburg (June-July 2013) and 2 months of fieldwork in Mumbai and Delhi (April-June 2014). Together, I conducted approximately 50 interviews with international development professionals, local government officials, planners, and representatives of NGOs and business groups; site visits to informal settlements and marginalized urban communities; observation and photographic documentation.
- Qualitative data analysis (QDA) of collected documents and interviews.
- Intensive researcher training activities at UC Berkeley during the outgoing phase of the project, including personal mentoring, courses, seminars and workshops. These provided theoretical and historical perspectives related to the research project, advanced research methods and additional academic career skills.
- Academic networking activities and initial dissemination of research, including academic residency at University College London, organizing a conference at the Technion on “Urban Knowledge between Israel and Developing Countries” and developing a graduate course based on the research.
Main results:
- A set of 3 research articles is in progress and will be submitted during 2015 to high impact factor academic journals in the fields of development, geography and urban studies. These articles address the main research objectives outlined above and report on some of the main findings of the research, including:
(a) The research found increased policy attention to urban strategy generally and to issues of urban inequality specifically at all levels (international, national and local). The urban strategies studied in India and South Africa have been ‘worlded’ and aligned with international ideas and best practices. Nevertheless, there are considerable differences along the ‘global-local urban strategy process’ in regards to conceptualizing urban inequality, as well as dilemmas pertaining to the role of planning and markets in advancing integration and equity.
(b) A systematic comparison of specific strategies and plans across the researched cities reveals significant differences in the level of explicit attention and commitment to issues of inequality and socio-spatial divisions. Yet overall, the strategies still lack sufficient engagement with the social ‘principles of vision and division’ which structure and divide urban social space. Instead, they mostly concentrate on potential spatial and infrastructural integration. Differences between the strategies impact their inclusiveness and effectiveness in moderating urban inequality.
(c) The comparison of city strategies within their local context also reveals that they all face significant challenges pertaining to the relations between political institutions, implementation mechanisms and urban communities, especially in marginalized and informal settlements. In this context, slum redevelopment and affordable housing emerge as critical fields for the success of the strategies. The research also highlights the important role of ‘visual politics’ (i.e. modes of representation, visioning, imaging), which surround and shape issues of urban inequality and slum redevelopment in these cities.
- Additional articles in progress, to be submitted in 2015-6, address other topics related to the research. These include: the implementation challenges of city strategies in the context of neoliberal policy environments; how do these strategies conceptualize wider city-region relations and address challenges at the urban periphery; how do they conceptualize the relationship between urban inequality and socio-environmental sustainability; and how can the systematic study of city strategies inform comparative urban research.
- A published paper in Environment and Planning A, which develops a part of the theoretical grounding of the project (“Planning as Principle of Vision and Division”, http://www.envplan.com/abstract.cgi?id=a46301(si apre in una nuova finestra)).
- A series of conference papers, presented at leading international conferences: Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (2012, 2014), Urban Affairs Association (2013), American Association of Geographers (2013), International Sociological Association RC21 (2013, 2015).
- Facilitation of academic collaboration and networking between the outgoing and incoming institutions (UC Berkeley and Technion), as well as with researchers from other institutions and networks (African Center for Cities, University of Cape Town; Tata Institute for Social Sciences, Mumbai; Center for Policy Research, Delhi; Development Planning Unit, UCL; Antipode Institute).
Potential scientific and socio-economic impact:
- The project makes a significant contribution to academic and policy knowledge through its forthcoming publications. It advances understanding on how urban strategies view and act on inequality in different cities in the global South, at the international, national and local level; how the researched city strategies are articulated through different professional, political, social and cultural contexts; and how differences between the strategies impact their potential to promote more equitable cities. More generally, the publications will contribute to the literature on global comparative urbanism, international development, urban planning, geography and sociology.
- Beyond its direct scientific contribution to knowledge, the project has facilitated ongoing collaboration with researchers, academic institutions and relevant organizations in Europe, the US, Israel, India and South Africa. This would lead to long-term research on issues related to urban strategy, inequality and sustainability. Following the project’s formal completion, I will continue to explore ways to expand its impact on policy makers and civil society and actively share its findings with organizations working on issues of urban planning, development and governance in cities in India, South Africa and other developing countries. This will include publications in open journals and dissemination of ‘executive summaries’ of research findings to local policymakers and communities.
- Among its wider societal impacts, the project seeks to inform policymakers at the European and international level on specific development policies for the urban sector. In 2015-16, I will pursue activities geared towards a wider public through various media, and will actively link research findings and recommendations to the Habitat III process and the Sustainable Development Goals.
Overall, the project has made a critical contribution to my career development and reintegration in the European scientific sphere. Following the project, I am due to begin an academic position as senior lecturer at the School of Sustainability, Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) Herzliya in October 2015.
(The project does not have a website. Future visibility of the project’s publications will be maintained through the researcher’s personal academic website at the IDC.)
Contact: For more information, please contact Nathan Marom: nathanmarom@idc.ac.il
The “Urban Inequality” project (301541) reviews urban strategies, city visions and other forms of citywide planning in several cities in the global South. Specifically, the project analyzes how these strategies address socio-spatial inequality and divisions. It focuses on locally produced visions and strategies in Cape Town and Johannesburg in South Africa, and Mumbai and Delhi in India. It also examines their interrelations with urban strategies sponsored by international development organizations, such as the World Bank. Through these case studies, the project compares how urban strategies in different institutional, social and cultural contexts view and act on urban inequality, and what reactions they engender among different stakeholders and communities. The project also analyzes how concepts and ‘best practices’ regarding socio-spatial divisions and disparities in cities are devised and mobilized between international development organizations, national and local governments and urban communities in the global South.
Specific research objectives are to better understand:
(a) How strategy vis-à-vis urban inequality is conceptualized ‘from above’, within the field of international development (inequality as a global concept).
(b) How urban strategy is viewed at the level of city and metropolitan governments, and how is it experienced ‘on the ground’, at the level of urban communities, in relation to lived conditions of urban inequality (inequality as local context).
(c) How concepts, methodologies and ‘best practices’ regarding urban inequality are mediated along the ‘value chain’ of the urban strategy process (global-local mediation).
(d) What are the ‘principles of vision and division’, spatial imaginary and visual imagery that urban strategies utilize vis-à-vis urban space and inequality, in comparative perspective.
Work performed during the duration of the project:
The project included an outgoing period of 18 months at the Institute for Urban and Regional Development, University of California, Berkeley, followed by an incoming period of 12 months at the Center for Urban and Regional Studies, Technion, Israel. During the two periods, I completed the following main objectives:
- Research design, including submission of detailed research protocol to the Committee for Protection of Human Subjects (CPHS) at the University of California, Berkeley. CPHS approval was granted.
- Data collection and categorization, including policy documents and plans of international development organizations, city governments and stakeholders in the relevant cities.
- 2 months of fieldwork in Cape Town and Johannesburg (June-July 2013) and 2 months of fieldwork in Mumbai and Delhi (April-June 2014). Together, I conducted approximately 50 interviews with international development professionals, local government officials, planners, and representatives of NGOs and business groups; site visits to informal settlements and marginalized urban communities; observation and photographic documentation.
- Qualitative data analysis (QDA) of collected documents and interviews.
- Intensive researcher training activities at UC Berkeley during the outgoing phase of the project, including personal mentoring, courses, seminars and workshops. These provided theoretical and historical perspectives related to the research project, advanced research methods and additional academic career skills.
- Academic networking activities and initial dissemination of research, including academic residency at University College London, organizing a conference at the Technion on “Urban Knowledge between Israel and Developing Countries” and developing a graduate course based on the research.
Main results:
- A set of 3 research articles is in progress and will be submitted during 2015 to high impact factor academic journals in the fields of development, geography and urban studies. These articles address the main research objectives outlined above and report on some of the main findings of the research, including:
(a) The research found increased policy attention to urban strategy generally and to issues of urban inequality specifically at all levels (international, national and local). The urban strategies studied in India and South Africa have been ‘worlded’ and aligned with international ideas and best practices. Nevertheless, there are considerable differences along the ‘global-local urban strategy process’ in regards to conceptualizing urban inequality, as well as dilemmas pertaining to the role of planning and markets in advancing integration and equity.
(b) A systematic comparison of specific strategies and plans across the researched cities reveals significant differences in the level of explicit attention and commitment to issues of inequality and socio-spatial divisions. Yet overall, the strategies still lack sufficient engagement with the social ‘principles of vision and division’ which structure and divide urban social space. Instead, they mostly concentrate on potential spatial and infrastructural integration. Differences between the strategies impact their inclusiveness and effectiveness in moderating urban inequality.
(c) The comparison of city strategies within their local context also reveals that they all face significant challenges pertaining to the relations between political institutions, implementation mechanisms and urban communities, especially in marginalized and informal settlements. In this context, slum redevelopment and affordable housing emerge as critical fields for the success of the strategies. The research also highlights the important role of ‘visual politics’ (i.e. modes of representation, visioning, imaging), which surround and shape issues of urban inequality and slum redevelopment in these cities.
- Additional articles in progress, to be submitted in 2015-6, address other topics related to the research. These include: the implementation challenges of city strategies in the context of neoliberal policy environments; how do these strategies conceptualize wider city-region relations and address challenges at the urban periphery; how do they conceptualize the relationship between urban inequality and socio-environmental sustainability; and how can the systematic study of city strategies inform comparative urban research.
- A published paper in Environment and Planning A, which develops a part of the theoretical grounding of the project (“Planning as Principle of Vision and Division”, http://www.envplan.com/abstract.cgi?id=a46301(si apre in una nuova finestra)).
- A series of conference papers, presented at leading international conferences: Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (2012, 2014), Urban Affairs Association (2013), American Association of Geographers (2013), International Sociological Association RC21 (2013, 2015).
- Facilitation of academic collaboration and networking between the outgoing and incoming institutions (UC Berkeley and Technion), as well as with researchers from other institutions and networks (African Center for Cities, University of Cape Town; Tata Institute for Social Sciences, Mumbai; Center for Policy Research, Delhi; Development Planning Unit, UCL; Antipode Institute).
Potential scientific and socio-economic impact:
- The project makes a significant contribution to academic and policy knowledge through its forthcoming publications. It advances understanding on how urban strategies view and act on inequality in different cities in the global South, at the international, national and local level; how the researched city strategies are articulated through different professional, political, social and cultural contexts; and how differences between the strategies impact their potential to promote more equitable cities. More generally, the publications will contribute to the literature on global comparative urbanism, international development, urban planning, geography and sociology.
- Beyond its direct scientific contribution to knowledge, the project has facilitated ongoing collaboration with researchers, academic institutions and relevant organizations in Europe, the US, Israel, India and South Africa. This would lead to long-term research on issues related to urban strategy, inequality and sustainability. Following the project’s formal completion, I will continue to explore ways to expand its impact on policy makers and civil society and actively share its findings with organizations working on issues of urban planning, development and governance in cities in India, South Africa and other developing countries. This will include publications in open journals and dissemination of ‘executive summaries’ of research findings to local policymakers and communities.
- Among its wider societal impacts, the project seeks to inform policymakers at the European and international level on specific development policies for the urban sector. In 2015-16, I will pursue activities geared towards a wider public through various media, and will actively link research findings and recommendations to the Habitat III process and the Sustainable Development Goals.
Overall, the project has made a critical contribution to my career development and reintegration in the European scientific sphere. Following the project, I am due to begin an academic position as senior lecturer at the School of Sustainability, Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) Herzliya in October 2015.
(The project does not have a website. Future visibility of the project’s publications will be maintained through the researcher’s personal academic website at the IDC.)
Contact: For more information, please contact Nathan Marom: nathanmarom@idc.ac.il