bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
L' authenticité de Métaphysique « Alpha » (meizon ou elatton) d'Aristote, un faux problème? Une con firmation codicologique
Authors: Hecquet-Devienne Myriam
Published: May 2005

La discussion sur l'authenticité du deuxième livre de la Métaphysique d'Aristote (Petit Alpha), qui dure depuis un millénaire, a pour origine une scholie qui se trouve dans le Parisinus gr. 1853 (Xe siècle) à la jonction du premier et du deuxième livre. Or, cette scholie a été copiée par la même main que celle qui a ajouté une scholie d'un contenu comparable à la fin de la Métaphysique de Théophraste. Ce fait était passé inaperçu, parce que ce scribe a utilisé différentes écritures: droite ou penchée, calligraphique ou cursive. L'ensemble des témoignages et indices déjà examinés par Gudrun Vuillemin-Diem, d'une part, et par Enrico Berti, d'autre part, est analysé et réinterprété à la lumière de cette nouvelle information, qui permet d'établir que c'est le premier livre de la Métaphysique, et non le deuxième, qui était attribué par certains à Pasiclès de Rhodes, comme en témoignait déjà Asclépios.Le contenu et la formulation très proches des deux scholies permettent de penser qu'elles viennent d'un même érudit: à l'aide, notamment, des commentaires d'Alexandre et d'Asclépios à la Métaphysique d'Aristote, de l'étude de Nicolas de Damas ou des catalogues d'Hermippe et d'Andronicos, il a préparé une 'édition' d'Aristote destinée à devenir un modèle de référence.Dans la tradition latine, Grand Alpha a été accidentellement attribué à Théophraste à cause de la seconde scholie. Mais la discussion dont témoigne la première scholie a pu également être provoquée dès l'origine par celle que rapporte la seconde scholie: la Métaphysique de Théophraste avait probablement été transmise comme un traité aristotélicien, jusqu'à ce que Nicolas de Damas en restitue la paternité à Théophraste; par suite, l'authenticité d' autres livres du corpus aristotélicen a pu également être mise en doute, mais parce qu'ils posaient des problémes d' ordre éditorial, il y a deux millénaires déjá.
Logic and Music in Plato's Phaedo
Authors:   Bailey
Published: May 2005

This paper aims to achieve a better understanding of what Socrates means by "συμϕωνɛiν" in the sections of the Phaedo in which he uses the word, and how its use contributes both to the articulation of the hypothetical method and the proof of the soul's immortality. Section I sets out the well-known problems for the most obvious readings of the relation, while Sections II and III argue against two remedies for these problems, the first an interpretation of what the συμϕωνɛiν relation consists in, the second an interpretation of what sorts of thing the relation is meant to relate. My positive account in Section IV argues that we should take the musical connotations of the term seriously, and that Plato was thinking of a robust analogy between the way pitches form unities when related by certain intervals, and the way theoretical claims form unities when related by explanatory co-dependence. Section V surveys the work of IV from the point of view of the initial difficulties and suggests further consequences for the hypothetical method, including the logical relation between the συμϕωνɛiν and διαϕωνɛiν relations, and the need for care in ordering the results of a hypothesis."But anyhow I proceeded in this way: on each occasion hypothesising the λóγoς which I judged to be strongest, I put down as true the things that seem to me to συμϕωνɛiν with it – both about a causal account and any of the other things that are – but those things that did not I put down as false." (Phaedo 100a3-7). "But if someone clung to the hypothesis itself, you would bid him goodbye and wouldn't answer him until you had examined its results, whether according to you they συμϕωνɛi or διαϕωνɛi with one another." (Phaedo 101d3-5)
Perpetuity, Eternity, and Time in Proclus' Cosmos
Authors: Lang Helen
Published: May 2005

Proclus composed 18 arguments for the eternity of the world and they survive only because Philoponus, intending to refute Proclus' arguments one by one, quotes each; one copy of Philoponus' work – and so Proclus' arguments too – survives. Because of their odd history, these arguments have received little attention either in themselves or in relation to Proclus' other works, even though they are intrinsically interesting and reflect his larger philosophical enterprise. I first examine Argument XVIII, in which Proclus calls on "perpetuity", "eternity", and "time" to argue that the cosmos must be eternal. This argument leaves unanswered two important questions. The cosmos is caused by god and is itself a god; how can a cause and its effect both be gods? Proclus concludes that the cosmos is "a copy of the perpetuity of the eternal"; but what does this phrase – and the conclusion that it expresses – mean? To answer these questions, I turn to The Elements of Theology, a systematic progression of 211 propositions disclosing the causal structure of all reality. "Eternity" and "time", along with "being perpetual", also appear here, particularly in propositions 40-55, to which I turn in the second part of this paper. They are conjoined with what Proclus calls "the Self-Constituted". I argue that by understanding the relation of the Self-Constituted as a cause to its effect, what depends upon another, we can also understand the causal relation between god and the cosmos. The cosmos can be called divine because, via the cause/effect relation between them, god and the cosmos are both eternal; the cosmos is "a copy of the perpetuity of the eternal" because via its relation to god, the cosmos becomes what its cause is, and in this precise sense an effect "imitates" its cause.
Jews and the Imperial Cult: From Augustus to Domitian
Authors: McLaren James S.
Published: May 2005

The primary concern of the article is to provide a comprehensive review of the available evidence about Jewish interaction with the imperial cult from its beginnings during the reign of Augustus until the last Flavian emperor, Domitian. Six cases are examined: the temples built by Herod, an incident in Alexandria, an incident in Jamnia, the order of Gaius, an incident in Dora, and the offering of sacrifices at Jerusalem on behalf of the emperor and Rome. It will be argued that Herod effectively established separate but parallel sacred space for the imperial cult and the Jewish faith tradition that lasted until the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple.
Re-mapping the Universe: Paul and the Emperor in 1 Thessalonians and Philippians
Authors: Oakes Peter
Published: May 2005

This article considers three texts that are frequently cited in relation to Rome: 1 Thess. 4.15-17; 1 Thess. 5.3; Phil. 2.9-11. Four options for the apparent parallels between Christian and Roman terminology are considered: (1) independent use of common sources, (2) Christian imitation of elements of Roman discourse or practice, (3) Christian writing in reaction to conflict stemming from Rome and (4) Christian writing that conflicts with Roman discourse or practice. The article concludes that 1 Thess. 5.3 and Phil. 2.9-11 conflict with Roman ideology. However, in neither case is Paul either writing polemic against Rome or specifically arguing against participation in the imperial cult. Instead, he is re-drawing the map of the universe in order to encourage Christians who are suffering under pressure from Graeco-Roman society.
A Sly Civility: Colossians and Empire
Authors: Maier Harry O.
Published: May 2005

This article relates Colossian vocabulary, motifs and theological themes to the cultural situation of the cult of the emperor. The author’s language and conceptualization of reconciliation as a cosmic and earthly peace (Col.1.15-23) reflects an imperial backdrop and utilizes civic vocabulary typical of Greek and Roman treatments of concord. His representation of Jesus’ death as a Roman triumph (2.15), and the incorporation of all humankind—including barbarians and Scythians—in a trans-ethnic unity (3.11) similarly reflects the geopolitical notions of a worldwide Roman Empire. The imperial imprint on the Household Code (3.18-4.1) is recognizable through attention to numismatic representations of Nero and his consort enjoying a divinely appointed familial concord. Though used by court theologians like Eusebius of Caesarea to legitimate a Christian application of Empire, the letter may be read as a destabilization of Empire inasmuch as it derives imperial-sounding ideals from the crucifixion of Jesus.
Satan’s Throne, Imperial Cults and the Social Settings of Revelation
Authors: Friesen Steven J.
Published: May 2005

The book of Revelation did not have one single social setting but several, reflecting the fact that its recipients lived in seven different urban settings. These recipients had various external and internal problems but they agreed with John about non-participation in imperial cults. In the last half of Revelation, John used their agreement regarding imperial cults as a way of addressing three disagreements he had with certain members of some of the assemblies. In each case, John connected the disputed issue to imperial cults, and then located the issue in a broader critique of Roman imperial society. Thus he employed the imagery of imperial cults to move his audience from the consideration of particular issues to an analysis of religion, economy, and imperialism.
A snapshot of 2003-4: blind and partially sighted students in Higher Education in England and Northern Ireland
Authors: Gray Gemma , Wilkins Sarah Morley
Published: May 2005

This survey explored the numbers and proportion of partially sighted, blind braille reading and blind non-braille reading students in Higher Education (HE) in 2003-4. As part of a HEFCE/DELNI funded project, all 134 disability offices in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in England and Northern Ireland were contacted by telephone and email, to collect information about the numbers of students, subjects and level of study for each of the student groups; and for blind braille readers also their year of study. Of 114 HEIs responding to the survey an estimated minimum of 1538 blind and partially sighted HE students in England and Northern Ireland were identified, representing 0.13 per cent of the total undergraduate student population of these HEIs. Of these students 90.8 per cent are partially sighted, and 9.2 per cent are blind (i.e. of the total undergraduate student population 0.12 per cent are partially sighted and 0.013 per cent are blind). Of blind students, nearly 66 per cent read braille. Of all blind and partially sighted students, 65.4 per cent were undergraduates, 8.5 per cent were postgraduates, with the level of study for the remaining students unknown. Popular areas of study for blind and partially sighted students included ‘Business Management and Accounting’, ‘Information and Computer Sciences’ and ‘Art, Design and Communication’.
Perceptual impact of environmental factors in sighted and visually impaired individuals
Authors: Gustafson-Pearce Olinkha , Billett Eric , Cecelja Franjo
Published: May 2005

To a visually impaired individual the physical world presents many challenges. For a person with impaired sight, way finding through a complex environment is fraught with dangers, both actual and imagined. The current generation of mobility aids have the possibility of addressing a broad range of physical issues through technological solutions. The perception of difficulty, however, can mean that many visually impaired individuals are fearful or uncomfortable about independent mobility or travel. In this context it becomes necessary to discover exactly what environments, environmental factors or items constitute a ‘perception of difficulty’ in the individual’s mental landscape and may trigger a negative response beforethey interact with the physical environment. This article reports on research that sought to ascertain what levels of perceptual difficulties specific environments and factors presented to individuals. The research was conducted with both visually impaired and sighted groups and compared differences and similarities in perceptual difficulty between these two groups.
A ‘Psychology Core Graphics Resource Pack’ for HE: The development of a resource to support blind and visually impaired students in higher education
Authors: Gray Gemma , Wilkins Sarah Morley
Published: May 2005

This project investigated the provision of a set of core tactile and large print diagrams and supporting materials for degree level psychology study, containing diagrams that are central to the majority of UK psychology courses, as an alternative to providing many different bespoke diagrams for individual students. Interviews with 12 blind and visually impaired psychology students and graduates and four psychology lecturers established that such a pack would be a useful resource. After in-depth research of the psychology curriculum and reviews of popular textbooks, a prototype ‘Psychology Core Graphics Resource Pack’ was designed in further consultation with end-users and experts. This contained 33 core tactile and large print diagrams, descriptions of 21 other images, and good practice guidelines for staff and students with a range of visual impairments and tactile diagram experience. An initial evaluation with three visually impaired participants confirmed that the pack was a beneficial resource for blind and visually impaired psychology students and staff at a range of levels. The final challenge for the project is to establish how best to market, produce and disseminate packs to relevant end-users on a larger scale.
Visual disability and horse riding
Authors: Brickell Diana
Published: May 2005

It is now commonplace for horse riding to be included in the extra-curricular activities of students with physical disabilities. In this article an account is given of how visually impaired people can derive physical, mental, and emotional benefits from this supervised activity. It is argued that the rider, in learning to exercise self-control and control of the horse, obtains sensory feedback that is of value for their own posture and mobility. Some riders go on to attain high levels of proficiency, taking part in competitive events. The physical challenges develop decision-making skills, and foster a sense of freedom and independence.
Housing policy after political transition: the case of Bamako
Authors: Vaa Mariken
Published: May 2005

This paper describes the new policy on urban development and housing which the Malian government launched after its transition to democracy in 1991 and discusses its effectiveness in reaching low-income groups in Bamako. After outlining Bamako’s growth and housing situation, and the 1991 political transition, the paper describes the new housing policy, formally adopted in 1995. The policy’s stated objective was to improve access to housing for low-income groups and it contained an ambitious programme of legalization and upgrading covering most of the city’s unauthorized settlements. However, this programme soon ran into difficulties and was suspended by government decree after only four years. Some institutional innovations regarding urban land markets and public works have been more successful but their relevance to improving poorer groups’ access to housing is limited. The legalization and upgrading programme has recently been resumed but its usefulness for low income households is still in question.
Governance, economic settings and poverty in Bangalore
Authors: Benjamin Solomon
Published: May 2005

This paper suggests that an understanding of poverty in cities such as Bangalore (often referred to as India’s Silicon Valley) requires more attention to the governance processes in which different groups compete for public investments and support. It describes the differences between the “local” and the “corporate” economies within Bangalore and their links with government. The local economies provide most of the population (including virtually all poor groups) with their livelihoods. They mostly develop outside the “master plan” areas, with diverse and complex economies and land tenure forms within which poor groups find accommodation and work. Their links with government are through local government - the City Corporation and its councillors and lower level bureaucracy. The corporate economies include the information technology industries for which Bangalore is well-known. Most of their links with government are with state and national parastatal agencies that control most of Bangalore’s development functions and have access to most government funding. But there is little local representation in these agencies. This profoundly disadvantages poor groups and the local economies in the competition for land, infrastructure and services. Rigid land use controls in the expanding corporate enclave areas exclude most pro-poor economic activity and threaten poorer groups’ fragile claims to land. Poor groups suffer demolition, resettlement, increased land prices and a governance system in which their local representative structure has little power. Meanwhile, the publicly sponsored “mega-projects” in Bangalore do little to support the local economies that are so important for the city’s prosperity; indeed, as this paper describes, many serve to disrupt them.
Civil society participation in city governance in Cebu City
Authors: Etemadi Felisa U.
Published: May 2005

A high proportion of Cebu City’s population lives in informal settlements. This paper describes the range of partnerships between government and non-government organizations in the city which provide services targeted at low-income groups or at settlements with a predominance of low-income households. It also describes how a coalition of NGOs and people’s organizations seeks to ensure the election of mayors with pro-poor policies and to ensure these policies are implemented. It discusses the successes, which mainly involve improved service provision, and the limitations, which include very limited economic benefits for low-income groups despite rapid economic growth, the difficulties that such groups face in acquiring land for housing and the limited influence of NGOs and people’s organizations on the policies of city government.
Local government, poverty reduction and inequality in Johannesburg
Authors: Beall Jo , Crankshaw Owen , Parnell Susan
Published: May 2005

This paper discusses the difficulties facing the post-apartheid metropolitan government of Johannesburg as it reforms itself, seeking to better respond to the needs of all its citizens, while also attracting new investment. These difficulties include high levels of poverty, unemployment and inequality as well as the apartheid legacy of “separate development” with its large backlog of poor quality housing and inadequate basic services, much of it concentrated in former “black townships” and peripheral informal settlements. Limited budgets and overloaded bureaucracy have limited the scale, quality and speed of delivery. Meanwhile, the need for organizational change and for good fiscal performance compete for attention and resources with poverty reduction and with the need for a more integrated, cross-sectoral poverty reduction policy. The paper ends with a discussion of how the principal challenges facing Johannesburg are also challenges for contemporary urban governance in many other cities.
Santiago de Chile: metropolization, globalization and inequity
Authors: Dockemdorff Eduardo , Rodríguez Alfredo , Winchester Lucy
Published: May 2005

The paper describes how poverty and exclusion within Santiago has been overlooked, in part, because of the city’s strong economic performance and impressive aggregate social indicators. It highlights how segregrated the city has become - for instance the political fragmentation and the large differentials between the 34 municipalities that make up Greater Santiago in terms of their per capita income, quality of education, extent of new building investment, and municipal authorities’ levels of income and expenditure. It also describes the loss of social and physical space for public interaction and the rising perception of insecurity. It suggests that such problems are in part linked to the lack of democratic structures within Santiago since it lacks a democratic metropolitan government and most power, resources and decisions remain with national ministries.
Urban economic growth, infrastructure and poverty in India: lessons from Visakhapatnam
Authors: Amis Philip , Kumar Sashi
Published: May 2005

This paper describes the rapid economic growth in the city of Visakhapatnam which is now one of India’s largest ports and an important industrial town and seaside resort/retirement centre. It highlights how the city’s further growth is constrained by inadequate investment in infrastructure - especially for water and electricity - and discusses the political and institutional reasons for this. It then presents the findings of participatory research on poverty, and the many dimensions of poverty which are emphasized by urban poor groups, including inadequate incomes, lack of assets (“no shelter, no property, no gold”), lack of support (especially for widows, deserted women and the handicapped), illness and debt. It discusses the direct and indirect impacts on poverty of a DFID slum improvement project, showing which improvements low-income groups particularly appreciated. This demonstrated the importance of infrastructure and service provision to poverty reduction within a wider recognition that this is but one important aspect.
The formation of social organizations and their attempts to consolidate settlements and neighbourhoods undergoing transition in Buenos Aires
Authors: Herzer Hilda , Di Virgilio María Mercedes , Lanzetta Máximo , Rodríguez María Carla , Redondo Adriana
Published: May 2005

This paper examines the formation of social organizations in the two forms of urban habitat most commonly used by low-income groups in Buenos Aires - the invasion of vacant land, mostly in peripheral areas, and the occupation of vacant buildings within the city centre. In the first, community organizations are widespread, of long standing and relatively effective. They helped develop (and negotiate for) basic infrastructrure and services and helped negotiate land tenure. Government agencies recognize them and work with them. In the second, community organizations are less evident and less effective, in part because the illegally occupied buildings are scattered between those legally owned by higher-income groups, in part because the inhabitants seek to disguise their illegal status and in part because government organizations do not recognize the legitimacy of such organizations and have made no provision to allow their tenure to be regularized.
The politics of sustainable cities: the case of Bengare, Mangalore in coastal India
Authors: Budhya Gururaja , Benjamin Solomon
Published: May 2005

This paper describes a local-national conflict over a power generation scheme in Mangalore (India) in order to highlight two important issues. The first is that the planning of large projects by national and state governments in India often bypasses local government and, as such, avoids accountability to local populations. The second is that the politics of sustainable cities is in the institutional domain; in this instance, the conflict was between what was perceived locally as being sustainable as opposed to external interests that sought to exploit resources in response to larger markets. The paper describes the political organizations in a fishing settlement (Bengare) that falls within the boundaries of the city of Mangalore and how they worked with elected city corporation representatives to halt a scheme for barge-mounted power generation. It also describes how the city government of Mangalore has become more committed to participation.
Sustainable sanitation: experiences in Pune with a municipal-NGO-community partnership
Authors: Hobson Jane
Published: May 2005

This paper describes a communal toilet construction programme in the city of Pune (India) undertaken through a partnership between the municipal corporation and eight NGOs. It focuses on the 13 toilet blocks that are the responsibility of one of these NGOs, Shelter Associates, and includes details of how they have been working with local residents with regard to design, construction, provision for maintenance and incorporation of space for community activities. It highlights the positive aspects, especially the municipal corporation’s willingness to try a new approach, while also describing the difficulties that NGOs face in having to meet official implementation schedules and cope with bureaucratic delays while delivering for, and remaining accountable to, low-income groups.
New models for the privatization of water and sanitation for the urban poor
Authors: Hardoy Ana , Schusterman Ricardo
Published: May 2005

This paper draws on the authors’ experience working in informal settlements in Buenos Aires and with the privatized utility (Aguas Argentinas) to consider how privatized provision for water and sanitation can best meet the needs of low-income groups, especially those living in informal settlements. It includes a discussion of the key issues that should be taken into account when government agencies responsible for privatization design the bid, and an elaboration of the different organizational models through which private utilities can provide water and sanitation in informal or otherwise unserved low-income settlements.
Cities, disasters and livelihoods
Authors: Sanderson David
Published: May 2005

This paper describes the impacts of recent disasters in urban areas and their contribution to poverty, and highlights how little attention urban development planning and disaster relief organizations give to disaster mitigation. It also describes CARE International’s Household Livelihood Security (HLS) model and how this allows an urban livelihoods approach to integrating measures for reducing poverty with measures for reducing risks from disasters. It pays particular attention to supporting low-income groups and community organizations in building and diversifying their asset bases. A focus on reducing household vulnerability to shocks and stresses (including disasters) also reveals the supporting actions needed from municipal authorities and disaster relief organizations.
Urbanization and the consumption of fertile land and other ecological changes: the case of Buenos Aires
Authors: Morello Jorge , Buzai Gustavo D. , Baxendale Claudia A. , Rodríguez Andrea F. , Matteucci Silvia Diana , Godagnone R. E. , Casas R. R.
Published: May 2005

This paper describes the conflict between agriculture and urban development in the Pampa Ondulada, the eco-region where the city of Buenos Aires is located and which is one of the world’s richest and most productive agricultural areas. It describes and analyzes the ecological changes brought about by urban expansion in peri-urban and rural areas between 1869 and 1991 and the form that these have taken. It also includes an analysis of the soil types where this expansion has taken place. The paper ends with a discussion of the lack of control over the continued expansion of the urban agglomeration including that caused by the closed settlements now favoured by middle and upper-income groups and the speculative parcelling of land in advance of its development.
Integrative analysis of city systems: Bangkok “Man and the Biosphere” programme study
Authors: Ross Helen , Poungsomlee Anuchat , Punpuing Sureeporn , Archavanitkul Krittaya
Published: May 2005

This paper argues that integrative analysis of city systems helps us to see beyond their current environmental and social problems to underlying causes, and it suggests different opportunities for possible interventions. Focusing on a single aspect of a city or its people without understanding its context risks interventions which treat symptoms rather than causes and whose short-term “solution” often means that the problem returns in the same or perhaps a different form. Our integrative analysis of Bangkok suggests that the root of its environmental (and some social) problems lie in decision-making structures and a political culture which has historically fostered self interested decisions by stakeholders rather than the public interest. This has produced a land use and built environment configuration that largely ignores the functioning of the natural flood plain ecosystem and the well-being of residents. People adapt their behaviour to their environment but often in ways that have serious cumulative impacts on the city. This analysis suggests that problems need to be addressed at their source: the nature of decision-making by stake-holders, at every level. This requires the engagement of all parties inside and outside government, the élite and otherwise. To the extent that planning has a viable role, the focus needs to be on the source of the impacts, such as national development planning, rather than in sectors such as transport, where the problems are evident.
The potential for recycling household waste: a case study from Mexicali, Mexico
Authors: Ojeda-Benitez Sara , de Vega Carolina Armijo , Ramírez-Barreto Ma. Elizabeth
Published: May 2005

This paper demonstrates the great potential for recycling and for reducing waste volumes based on a study of household waste in a neighbourhood in Mexicali. The research recorded the weight of waste generated and analyzed its composition, drawing on 1,292 samples from 120 households. Most of the waste was recyclable or potentially recyclable and a recycling programme would bring benefits not only by reducing waste volumes and pollution but also by greatly lengthening the life of the existing city dump. The paper also considers which other neighbourhoods in Mexicali are likely to have comparable waste patterns and discusses the measures needed to develop a recycling programme.
Environmental management in Surabaya with reference to National Agenda 21 and the social safety net programme
Authors: Santosa Happy
Published: May 2005

This paper describes various programmes implemented in Surabaya (Indonesia’s second largest city) to improve the environment and address poverty. These include the Social Safety Net Programme, the Urban Forum and the programmes to address air and water pollution. When combined with the long-established Kampung Improvement Programme and the city’s success within the Noble City (Adipura) award, these demonstrate the links that can be developed between improving living conditions, environmental quality and ecological sustainability. They also show the importance of the participation of all parties in the management of the city including government, the private sector, community organizations, NGOs and the university.
Who is afraid of ashwaiyyat? Urban change and politics in Egypt
Authors: Bayat Asef , Denis Eric
Published: May 2005

Drawing on the 1996 census, this paper challenges the orthodox view that rural migrants are causing a rapid expansion of Egyptian cities and have created “cities of peasants”. It describes how most major cities have ceased to be centres for rural in-migration and looks at the spatial diffusion of urban development through the growth of agro-towns, urban villages and new industrial towns. Many settlements officially classified as “rural” are growing rapidly and acquiring urban characteristics. The paper also questions commonly held assumptions that the large informal settlements in which much of the urban population live are “abnormal” and associated with social deviance and political violence.
The international secretariat for child-friendly cities: a global network for urban children
Authors: Riggio Eliana , Kilbane Theresa
Published: May 2005

This paper discusses the establishment of an international Child-Friendly Cities Secretariat in Florence. The Child-Friendly Cities Initiative (CFCI), active since Habitat II, is a loose network of municipalities that are committed to improving the quality of life for their child residents. The paper describes some of the wide range of projects that have been undertaken in response to this initiative and lists the activities that the secretariat plans in order to support these efforts and share information about them.
Participation and sustainability in social projects: the experience of the Local Development Programme (PRODEL) in Nicaragua
Authors: Stein Alfredo
Published: May 2005

This paper describes the work of the Local Development Programme (PRODEL) in eight cities in Nicaragua where it provided small grants for infrastructure and community works projects, and loans for housing improvement and micro-enterprises, targeted at low-income groups. The external funds provided by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) were matched by municipal, community and household contributions. Between 1994 and 1998, more than 38,000 households benefited, and both loan programmes achieved good levels of cost recovery. The paper describes the micro-planning workshops and other methodologies through which households and communities were given more scope for participation. It explains how local governments and the bank responsible for managing the loans learned to work in a more participatory way, and it outlines the measures taken to ensure that the needs and priorities of women and children were addressed. The paper ends by considering some of the lessons learned in terms of sustaining the initiatives after projects are completed, and institutionalizing citizen participation in social programmes. It also describes how PRODEL’s methods have come to be used by central and local governments in other programmes.
Urban assistance and the material world: learning by doing at the World Bank
Authors: Cohen Michael
Published: May 2005

This paper explores the contradictions between the ambition to establish a more effective framework for the development and management of cities, and some of the realities of urban life. It discusses this through the lens of the World Bank’s evolving urban assistance programme during the 1980s and 1990s as it shifted from urban projects to strengthening municipal and metropolitan capacity, and from “supply” to “demand” orientations. The first section sets out the as yet unresolved problems of metropolitan management. The second describes the difficulties and dilemmas that international agencies faced as they developed urban programmes. The third describes the World Bank’s efforts to strengthen urban institutions in different urban and country contexts. The paper concludes by emphasizing the need for more attention to the “material world” - the physical and spatial context of homes and neighbourhoods where urban dwellers spend most of their lives and make most of their investments. To ignore this it to risk cities in the future having even less cohesion than the sprawling metropolises of today.
In the shadow of politics: US AID-government of Egypt relations and urban housing intervention
Authors: Taher Nadia
Published: May 2005

This paper shows how international and local politics influence aid projects, using the example of the Helwan housing project in Cairo funded by the US Government’s Agency for International Development (US AID). Most discussions on aid focus on its economic role, neglecting how politics within donor and recipient countries shape it and often limit its effectiveness. Many aid agencies also assume that they can impose conditions to make “their” project more effective without recognizing the resentment and opposition this generates (which then reduces effectiveness). In describing the implementation of this project, which included upgrading for 200,000 people and 7,200 new serviced sites, the paper also shows the dependency of international donors on recipient government agencies. These agencies have considerable power, both in what they do and in what they choose not to do or to delay. Most of the Helwan’s project’s goals were not achieved. It did not change the government of Egypt’s approach to low-income housing and it did not even meet its goals within the project itself. At the-outset, no consensus was built between the different international, national and local agencies. The donor could not stop the funding in order to enforce project conditionality because it was under pressure to spend the money and because many vested interests would have suffered if the funding had been stopped.
Rhetoric, reality and resilience: overcoming obstacles to young people’s participation in development
Authors: Driskell David , Bannerjee Kanchan , Chawla Louise
Published: May 2005

This paper describes the difficult relationships among those implementing an action research project with children in a low-income settlement in Bangalore (India), the distant and unresponsive bureaucracy of an international funding agency, and the authoritarian management of the NGO through whom its money was channelled. This case study highlights the difficulties that international agencies face in operationalizing the principles of grassroots participation that they officially endorse. The action research was one of several projects within the Growing up in Cities programme. It shows the difficult circumstances under which so many young people live, including six and seven-year-olds thrust into adult roles and lives cut short by disease and violence. But it also shows their astonishing resilience and energy, self-reliance and optimism. External agencies, from local governments and NGOs to international funders, need to work with children to understand what does (and what does not) work for them. This means recognizing that they are important actors in their own communities and that their insights, energy and creativity should be fostered and supported rather than ignored.
The role of external agencies in the development of El Mezquital in Guatemala City
Authors: Díaz Andrés Cabanas , Grant Emma , del Cid Vargas Paula Irene , Velásquez Verónica Sajbin
Published: May 2005

This paper describes and discusses the role of different international agencies (including UNICEF and the World Bank) and NGOs in supporting development in El Mezquital, a settlement formed from a land invasion in Guatemala City the mid-1980s. It draws on interviews with the inhabitants and with staff from supporting agencies. The support from these international agencies and NGOs allowed considerable improvements in infrastructure and service provision, and supported important processes of community empowerment and greater status and possibilities for women. However, the paper also describes the limitations of this support, including the limited scope for participation, the projects that were planned and never implemented and the problems that the international support failed to resolve. It also describes the resentment from groups within the community with regard to what was achieved.
Rethinking UK aid in urban India: reflections on an impact assessment study of slum improvement projects
Authors: Amis Philip
Published: May 2005

This paper reflects on the findings of an impact assessment of slum upgrading programmes in three cities in India. The study was commissioned by the donor that had funded them, the UK Government’s Department for International Development, to consider their effectiveness in reducing poverty. The paper documents the approach taken, including formal survey work and extensive consultation with households in 12 slums, and presents the findings. These highlight the many dimensions of deprivation faced by slum dwellers. They also point to the relative success of upgrading projects in providing basic infrastructure (and its direct and indirect impacts). The paper also discusses the difficulties in drawing simple policy recommendations and the often unexpected (and indirect) ways in which studies such as these influence international donors, including those that commission them.
Hope for the urban poor: DFID city community challenge (C3) fund pilot in Kampala and Jinja, Uganda
Authors: Kiyaga-Nsubuga John , Magyezi Raphael , O’Brien Sarah , Sheldrake Mark
Published: May 2005

This paper describes a new pilot fund to support community initiatives for urban poor groups in Uganda’s two largest cities, Kampala and Jinja. Supported by the UK Government’s Department for International Development, it is called the C3 fund since it is city-based, set up to support community-initiated proposals and includes a focus on capacity building. The approach is unusual in that external aid is supporting a local fund to which community groups can apply and where decisions about the projects that receive funds are being taken locally. The paper first describes the decentralization programme in Uganda and the changes that have encouraged NGOs and foreign donors to work with local authorities. It then describes the C3 fund’s design, how it has been set up, and its operational mechanisms and financial and managerial procedures.
US AID’s private sector housing programme in urban Zimbabwe: examining the terrain from the terraces
Authors: Kamete Amin Y.
Published: May 2005

This paper discusses the role of the United States government’s Agency for International Development (US AID) in housing provision in Zimbabwe. While emphasizing that much of the Agency’s support has helped expand and improve housing for low-income urban groups, it also describes how a US AID-funded project in Harare contradicted the Agency’s own principles of good governance since it was developed without the approval of the local authorities and used a steel-frame technology that had not been approved. This technology subsequently proved to have many disadvantages and the participants in the project find themselves with mortgage repayments that they have difficulty meeting, and poor quality houses within a neighbourhood that the city authorities will not recognize as a legal development.
Reducing urban poverty: constraints on the effectiveness of aid agencies and development banks and some suggestions for change
Authors: Satterthwaite David
Published: May 2005

This paper discusses the institutional constraints that aid agencies and development banks face in being able to address urban poverty. These include their limited capacity to support local institutions that respond to the needs and priorities of low-income groups and that are accountable to them. It describes the distance between the decision-making processes of most international agencies and the “urban poor” and the very limited possibilities for the urban poor to influence what gets funded and by whom. It also discusses the political constraints that have inhibited more effective donor agencies and suggests how support for locally based funds for community initiatives could help overcome some of these. It ends by describing the low priority given by donor agencies to urban poverty reduction and suggests some changes that would help development assistance to meet its targets for reducing urban poverty.
Participatory budgeting in Brazilian cities: limits and possibilities in building democratic institutions
Authors: Souza Celina
Published: May 2005

This paper describes participatory budgeting in Brazil, where citizen assemblies in each district of a city determine priorities for the use of a part of the city’s revenues. This is one of the most significant innovations in Latin America for increasing citizen participation and local government accountability. After describing its antecedents, as various local governments sought to increase citizen involvement during the 1970s and 1980s, the paper reviews the experience with participatory budgeting in the cities of Porto Alegre and Belo Horizonte. It describes who took part in different (district and sectoral) citizen assemblies, the resources they could call on and the priorities established. It also discusses its effectiveness regarding increased participation, more pro-poor expenditures and greater local government accountability. While noting the limitations (for instance, some of the poorest groups were not involved, and in other cities it was not so successful) the paper also highlights how participatory budgeting allows formerly excluded groups to decide on investment priorities in their communities and to monitor government response. It has helped reduce clientelist practices and, perhaps more importantly for a society as unequal as Brazil, helped to build democratic institutions.
Exploring the environmental and political dimensions of poverty: the cases of the cities of Mar del Plata and Necochea-Quequén
Authors: Navarro Lía
Published: May 2005

This paper presents a framework to show how information drawn from different sources for any city allows the construction of poverty profiles and maps. These not only help local governments to act but they also provide a catalyst for more participatory and integrated approaches to poverty reduction. The paper also gives examples of how this framework was used in two cities in Argentina. This framework brings out the multi-dimensional nature of urban poverty, including environmental and political dimensions which are not made evident by conventional definitions of poverty. The framework also highlights the complex linkages between the different dimensions and shows how the environmental dimensions (including housing conditions) are not just visible features of poverty but also key “entry points” through which social, economic and political dimensions can be understood and addressed. Mapping environmental conditions also brings out key social and spatial inequalities.
Constraints to managing urban poverty in Cameroon
Authors: Sikod Fondo
Published: May 2005

This paper suggests that, while there is a lot of public rhetoric in Cameroon about poverty reduction, the existing institutional and management structures constrain the management of poverty in its urban areas. Although Cameroon is well-endowed with natural resources, the institutional and management structures are poor and thus create new types of poverty that are more evident in the urban areas; for example, young, unemployed secondary school and university graduates, large numbers of under-employed, unskilled informal workers, and people suffering from political and human rights deprivation. This paper views poverty as a dynamic social relation reproduced by ongoing social, economic and political processes that result in the concentration, or deprivation, of influence, wealth and environmental assets that are requisites for social well-being. Poverty reduction in the urban (and rural) areas of Cameroon can only come about by restructuring the institutional and management set-up, so that it can be more responsive to the needs of poor people.
Developing community-based watershed management in Greater São Paulo: the case of Santo André
Authors: van Horen Basil
Published: May 2005

This paper describes how watershed protection is being combined with settlement upgrading and land-use management within an area that serves as one of Greater São Paulo’s main sources of fresh water. This is being undertaken in the municipality of Santo André. Unlike previous watershed protection measures, which proved ineffective, it recognizes the need to combine the protection of water-sheds with the improvement of conditions in existing settlements and guiding, rather than prohibiting, further settlement. The paper describes how the community-based watershed management involves the inhabitants of illegal settlements and other stakeholders in an adaptive planning framework that first seeks consensus on what is to be planned before developing the plan, its implementation and its operation, maintenance and monitoring.