Professor Sharit K. Bhowmik, Mumbai Guest Contributor
Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai
For the urban poor, hawking/street vending is one of the means of earning a livelihood, as it requires minor financial input and the skills involved are low. While many migrants are hawkers to earn a small income, many street vendors were once engaged in better paid jobs in the formal sector. Most were employed in the textile mills or in other large factories. Formal sector workers in the city have had to face large-scale unemployment due to the closure of large industries. The textile workers strike of 1981-82 resulted in job losses of over 100,000, after the mills restarted. At present, the mill work force is around 30,000, as compared to 250,000 before the strike. Many of these retrenched workers — men and women — have become street vendors in order to eke out a living. A study I conducted on street vending in seven cities showed that about 30 percent of the street vendors in Mumbai were previously workers in the formal sector.
The working conditions of the vendors are tough. Most of them (90 percent) leave their homes by 6:00 a.m. and return late at night. A recent survey on street vendors [1] showed that in Mumbai, 65 percent of hawkers reside 10 kilometers or more from their places of work, and use suburban trains for commuting. The working day of a street vendor, irrespective of her/his income, is more than 10 hours. In addition, we found that vendors needed preparation time before setting up their stalls. Since the stalls are not permanent built-up structures but are temporary makeshift arrangements on the pavements, the vendors must set aside some time to set up shop every day. This preparation time may vary depending on the types of products. For instance, for the food vendors, the preparation time includes cooking, while for the garment vendor it implies time required to buy the products and later display them. Approximately 95 percent of vendors need one to two hours of preparation time daily. The remaining 5 percent devote a lot more: they spend three to five hours daily in preparation before starting to sell.
Though the hours are long, the income of street vendors is meager. The daily income of the vendors, according to the survey mentioned earlier (see endnote 2), varies. Only one percent of vendors earn the lowest daily income group of less than INR20 (US$0.35). These are vendors who sell goods for a limited period of time in order to supplement their income. The number of vendors in the next income category of INR21-50 (US$0.36-0.90) is two percent. Those earning between INR51-70 (US$0.91-1.25) are another two percent. These vendors are invariably women. Most of the vendors, around 64 percent, earn between INR141-350 (US$2.55-6.34) per day.
At the time of the study, INR146 (US$2.64) was the minimum wage for unskilled workers in the state (it was INR217 (US$3.93) in 2011). The minimum wage is, firstly, the minimum requirement of a family for one day. Secondly, it is calculated on the basis of eight hours of work. A street vendor may earn a minimum wage/income, but the time she/he invests is disproportionate to the income earned.
Most women vendors earn less than men for two main reasons. Firstly, they belong to poorer strata and hence their investment is less than their male counterparts. Secondly, they also have to take care of children and do the household work. This allows them less time for attending to business. The women squatting on the pavements in the working class area of central Mumbai have started hawking after the closure of the textile mills in that area. Their husbands had worked as permanent workers in the textile mills and are now unemployed for the past several years. These women provide for most of the expenses of the household through their meager incomes, as they are the main earners. In comparison to male vendors, the incomes of women are 20 percent lower. We have not come across a single case where a female hawker’s total household income is more than INR3,000 (US$54) per month. In most cases (more than 90 percent) their household income ranges between INR2,000 (US$36) and INR2,500 (US$45) per month. Undoubtedly, these women belong to families that are below the urban poverty line.
Street vendors and the urban economy
Though there are an estimated 250,000 street vendors, the total employment provided through street vending becomes larger if we consider the fact that it sustains certain industries by marketing their products. A lot of the goods sold by street vendors, such as clothes and hosiery, leather and molded plastic goods, household goods and some items of food, are manufactured in small scale or home-based industries. These industries engage a large number of workers but they could have hardly marketed their products on their own. In this way, street vendors provide a valuable service by helping to sustain employment in these industries. Our study of micro-industries in Dharavi showed that many of the goods manufactured there are sold by hawkers in the city. [2]
John Anjaria Shapiro, a research scholar from the United States who studied street vending in Mumbai for over a year, looked at the wholesale market in Vashi, in the northern area of Navi Mumbai, which is the main supplier of vegetables to the city. Shapiro found that of the thousands of tons of vegetables sold daily at the market, two-thirds are for household consumption — marketed exclusively by street vendors in the city — while the remaining one-third are bought by hotels, restaurants, and shopping malls. Besides this, vegetable vendors in the Western suburb of Kandivili (who number more than two hundred) get their supply of vegetables directly from the farmers on the outskirts of the city. Removal of street vendors, according to Shapiro, would have a devastating effect on the vegetable growers in the state.
The poorer sections also procure their basic necessities mainly through street vendors, as the goods sold are cheap. The study we conducted on street vendors showed that the lower-income groups spend a higher proportion of their income on purchases from street vendors, mainly because their goods are affordable. Without street vendors, the plight of the urban poor would be worse than it is at present. In this way, one section of the urban poor, namely, street vendors, helps another section to survive. Hence, though street vendors are viewed as a problem for urban governance, they are in fact the solution to some of the problems of the urban poor. By providing cheaper commodities, street vendors are in effect providing a subsidy to the urban poor, something that the state should have done.
Harassment and bribes
Street vendors in Mumbai, especially those in the central business district and the affluent residential areas in the city and the suburbs, work under constant threat of eviction. In fact, from June to November 2000, the municipality carried out rigorous raids in the central business district and in the affluent residential areas, such as Colaba, Cuffe Parade in south Mumbai, Bandra (West), Santa Cruz (West) and Ville Parle (West) in the suburbs. These raids were carried out mainly under the supervision of a reinstated Deputy Municipal Commissioner Khairnar, who had become known for his demolition drives in the city.
The fallouts of the mass evictions were:
- Street vendors reduced to penury. For example, the street vendors in the Fort area, who were envied for being the most prosperous in the city, become paupers overnight. Many of them were back on the streets, as they had no other means of income but were heavily in debt.
- Bribes paid to police escalated. The amount paid as bribes to the police and municipal authorities by hawkers in these areas went up steeply, sometimes as much as ten times the earlier rates. The street vendors were in panic and were willing to pay any amount to enable them to carry out their business or to be forewarned about an impending raid. We had made a brief survey of these areas after these raids and we found that the vendors pay INR100 to INR125 (US$1.81-2.26) at a time to the authorities for these “services.”
- Mental and physical health affected. A study by SNDT Women’s University and ILO [3] shows that 85 percent of the street vendors covered suffered from ailments associated with stress. These include hyperacidity, migraine, digestive problems and lack of sleep.
An almost identical situation occurred after the massive raids conducted in 2003 by another Deputy Municipal Commissioner, Chandrakant Rokde. As in the case of Khairnar, this person, too, had the full encouragement of NGOs representing the elites in the city. The English newspapers sang the praises of these two stalwarts for their courage and honesty. [4]
The survey cited above (endnote 2) showed that 68 percent of the vendors have faced eviction by the municipality where their goods are confiscated. In some cases, we found that the maximum number of evictions a street vendor faced was three in that year. Of those whose goods were confiscated, only 32 percent could recover all of their goods after paying the fine. The others could recover less than half the goods confiscated. Besides raids where their goods are confiscated, street vendors also must bribe the authorities regularly in order to vend, which eats into their income. In this survey, it was found that 33 percent of the total number of vendors did not pay bribes. These were either older people or impoverished women vendors. Almost 66 percent said that they were forced to pay bribes. The bribe amount paid by the vendors ranged from a minimum of INR5 (US$0.09) to a maximum of INR1200 ($22) per day. The mean amount was INR219 ($3.97).
Even in areas where they are unionized, vendors have to pay bribes. In general, we found that male hawkers usually had to pay bribes, and the amount was grater than the bribes paid by the female hawkers. One possible explanation for this is that the income of female hawkers is lower than that of the males. Food vendors tend to pay more bribes to the municipality, as they are frequently faced with threats that their goods will be destroyed for being unhygienic.
Sharit Bhowmik is with the School of Management and Labour Studies, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai.
In Part II of this series on street vendors in Mumbai, we will look at relevant laws and regulations. We look forward to hearing your thoughts on hawkers and vendors and how cities should interact with and regulate this profession.
- How are street vendors treated in your city?
- Have similar demolition campaigns occurred there?
- Are there laws to protect the hawkers in your city?
Notes
1. Sharit Bhowmik and Debdulal Saha, Study of Street Vendors in Ten Cities in India, National Association of Street Vendors of India, Delhi, June 2012
2. Sharit Bhowmik, Varsha Ayyar, Vaijyanta Anand, and Indira Gartenberg, Workforce Development and Mainstreaming Informal Sector in Mumbai Metropolitan Region, Urban Institute, Washington and USAID, 2007 (mimeo)
3. “Study of Hawkers in Mumbai,” conducted by SNDT Women’s University and ILO, 2001 (mimeo)
4. Ironically, Mr. Rokade is under suspension at the time of writing (June 2012) as he has been charged with rent seeking. He was caught while accepting a bribe from a contractor.
In honor of World AIDS Day (December 1st), this week’s URB.im conversation focuses on the diverse and innovative ways cities around the world are combating HIV/AIDS in response to their unique local contexts. Globally, the spread of HIV is reversing course: UNAIDS reports that new infections have fallen by 33 percent since 2001. Government agencies and NGOs are tackling HIV/AIDS from all different angles, including interventions targeted at orphaned youth with HIV, outreach to eliminate barriers to testing, as well as initiatives to improve treatment for current patients. Read on to learn about some of the strategies being implemented in Chittagong, Bogotá, Bangalore, Lagos, and Mexico City to raise HIV/AIDS awareness and reduce its prevalence, then join the conversation below.
বাংলাদেশে এইচআইভি/এইডস ১৯৮৯ সালে প্রথম সনাক্ত করা হয়। জাতীয় এইডস এবং এসটিআই প্রোগ্রাম (এনএএসপি) অনুমান মতে, ২০১০ সাল পর্যন্ত ৭৫০০ বাংলাদেশী এইচআইভিতে আক্রান্ত হয়ে বসবাস করছে। এই বৃদ্ধিজনক ঘটনার বিপরীতে, মুষ্টিমেয় এনজিও এইচআইভির বিস্তার থামাতে এবং ইতিমধ্যেই সংক্রমিত যারা তাদের সেবা প্রদানের জন্য এইচআইভি/এইডস শিকার এবং তাদের সম্প্রদায়ের সঙ্গে ঘনিষ্ঠভাবে কাজ করা শুরু করেছে।
Se estima que por cada persona diagnosticada con HIV hay al menos otra contagiada pero que desconoce su estatus, lo que probablemente nos aproxima a una dimensión mas real del problema. Pero la falta de diagnóstico es un problema con un alcance mucho mayor que el estadístico: la detección precoz puede mejorar el tratamiento y el pronóstico, y es un instrumento de gran importancia para frenar el contagio. Para la ONG Liga Colombiana de Lucha Contra el SIDA, la falta de infraestructura, laboratorios y asesores, así como la falta de confianza en el sistema de atención a la salud, y, muy especialmente, el temor a la no confidencialidad de los resultados, constituyen los dos factores decisivos a la hora de frenar el acceso a las pruebas de diagnóstico. Ha estos factores hay que sumar la falta de información sobre la enfermedad, y en especial el desconocimiento de que los síntomas pueden tardar años en manifestarse.
Critics say that there has been a major lapse in the focus on children in addressing HIV/AIDS. An article in the journal Lancet says that while the National AIDS Control Program places special emphasis on “medical treatment and after care, access to schooling, and adequate nutrition, government interventions for AIDS orphans are conspicuous by their absence in any area other than pediatric ART.” Children often drop out of school to care for their sick family members, and if they are orphaned, they often face severe social stigmas against them.
While considerable effort is being made to galvanize the mitigation of HIV prevalence in the city of Lagos through the creation of agencies whose programs work to support civil organisations programs and advocate HIV prevention and care, there is a clear need for increasing efforts towards communication of screening centers and available care services in the city. Considering the population of the state — roughly 17.5 million people— a few hundred thousand people screened is relatively low. Also requiring more attention is the cost of these services: while the state can provide information on where to get services, protect the rights of people living with HIV, and advocate for care and prevention methods, most important is the cost of treatment. Subsidizing this cost will go a long way in providing care, as most people living with the virus cannot afford its care. It is understandable the state may not be able to afford free care for all, but incorporating favorable payment and affordable cost systems will help move the mission forward.
En comparación, en México se identifican grandes desafíos para tratar esta enfermedad. En primer lugar, es necesario lograr la cobertura universal, porque se encuentra un subregistro de personas asintomáticas que viven con VIH/SIDA y esto es un fenómeno recurrente que no permite identificar la cobertura necesaria. El segundo desafío es ofrecer mejor atención médica por profesionales altamente calificados que respondan ante las complicaciones de la enfermedad que abarcan diversas áreas de especialidad. Por último, el tercer reto es buscar medidas eficaces y éticas que garanticen la identificación temprana de las personas contagiadas y asintomáticas. De esta manera, los tratamientos tendrán mayor eficacia en mejorar la calidad de vida de las personas y en la reducción de la propagación del virus.
En este último factor, la Ciudad de México va avanzando en rumbo a la detección oportuna y a la atención universal de las personas que viven con VIH/SIDA. Un ejemplo es CAPPSIDA, una de las organizaciones en la Ciudad de México que brinda diversos servicios para la atención integral y que mantiene y mejora la calidad de vida de las personas con VIH/SIDA. Sus servicios van dirigidos a la prevención, atención y acompañamiento de la enfermedad. Algunos ejemplos son: la aplicación de pruebas rápidas para el diagnóstico de infección por transmisión sexual acompañada de consejerías pre y post-prueba; atención especializada para Infecciones de Transmisión Sexual; taller para padres sobre “La salud sexual y reproductiva”; terapias individuales, familiares y en pareja; atención domiciliaria; atención médica especializada y distribución de condones. Una de sus estrategias innovadoras son las jornadas de prevención que constan de aplicación de pruebas para el diagnóstico en las estaciones del Metro, reclusorios, ferias de salud municipales y visitas a instituciones.
Por su lado, el Colectivo Sol dio origen a la organización Condomóvil, una camioneta móvil que recorre la Ciudad de México y diversas rutas en el país y Centroamérica, para realizar campañas de prevención a través de la realización de pruebas, distribución de preservativos y talleres informativos con la asistencia de promotoras de salud sexual y reproductiva, las cuales realizan sus intervenciones caracterizadas de Dragg Queen. Esta unidad es una estrategia de alcance directo con la población, que ha permitido visitar zonas vulnerables de paso de migrantes en México en las rutas de Centroamérica a Estados Unidos a través del Latin Condom 2013, el cual parte desde la Cd. de México hasta Chile y es patrocinado por Aids Healthcare Foundation (Fundacion del Tratamiento de Salud para el SIDA), Positive Action (Acción Positiva) y Viiv Healthcare.
Para atender a necessidade de cooperação técnica entre países e promover a experiência brasileira em temas de politicas e programas sociais, o Ministério de Desenvolvimento Social, a instituição do governo federal que lidera as iniciativas de erradicação da miséria no país, organiza reuniões periódicas e troca de experiências com vários representantes de distintos governos. Especificamente para Bolsa Família, o MDS providencia informação detalhada sobre a legislação do programa e sobre temas chave como o registro único de programas sociais e esquemas de implantação local que envolve a participação ativa dos municípios. Com referencia ao Programa de Aquisição de Alimentos, o MDS compartilha vários modelos de promoção da agricultura familiar em áreas remotas.
Enabling health care access in low-income neighborhoods in Rio de Janeiro is not an easy task. Violence, lack of infrastructure, and lack of trained personnel willing to work in these areas are just some of the obstacles to the improvement of health services for people living in this city’s poor communities. To respond to these concerns, some non-governmental organizations have begun to partner with the local government in order to improve coverage and quality of health services in the favelas. One organization that stands out is VIVA RIO (VR), a part-research, part-service-delivery institution that has been operating as a service provider with the local government since 2008 and has successfully contributed to improvement of basic health service coverage in Rio’s southern and northern zones. Currently, VR operates 57 basic health units and 2 psychosocial units, benefiting 950,000 people in 35 of the city’s neighborhoods. Learn more.
Women living in informal settlements in Rio de Janeiro are undoubtedly among the most vulnerable inhabitants of these areas. Their lack of basic health and education services makes them vulnerable, and they are strongly affected by various forms of violence. They also earn less than men living in the favelas. In a study from 2010, the Fundação Getúlio Vargas found that women in informal settlements in the city earn an average monthly wage that is slightly more than half of what men earn (R$262 versus R$423). The same study found that the lack of education and insufficient reproductive health access has contributed to the rise of adolescent pregnancy within informal settlements, producing teen pregnancy rates five times higher in favelas than in other neighborhoods. Such well known informal settlements as Cidade de Deus and Rocinha have, respectively, 27 percent and 21 percent of newborn babies born to women who are not even 20 years old. Learn more.
Rio Cómo Vamos (“How are we doing, Rio?”), aka RCV, is a citizen-led organization that aims to improve living conditions in the city of Rio de Janeiro. It was established in 2007 by a group of residents who took as their inspiration a successful initiative in Bogota — where, for the past 15 years, Bogotá Cómo Vamos has given residents a window on the management of the city and a way to communicate concerns and monitor improvements. The same model has been introduced in many other Latin American cities, with those organizations joining together to form the Red Latinoamericana por Ciudades Justas y Sustentables (Latin American Network for Just and Sustainable Cities). Brazil also has its own network, the Rede Brasileira por Cidades Justas e Sustentáveis (Brazilian Network for Just and Sustainable Cities), with more than 20 participating municipalities. Learn more.
Rio+20 has offered a space for reflection and exchange on many aspects of our relationship with the environment, as well as stimulating focused discussion on concrete changes we can make as we move forward. One such subject — one that concerns all of us in its various aspects — is waste and the need to massively reduce it, better collect it, systematically recycle it, and make it the basis for profitable green businesses. An event on Wednesday entitled PlastiCity offered an excellent opportunity to learn from different approaches to waste in its various dimensions. It touched on issues related to plastics, but also explored the importance of recycling and partnering with all actors in the “recycling chain.” Learn more.
The official sessions of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development Rio+20 started today, with 193 heads of state in attendance. Although specific agreements are still to be announced, it is already known that key topics of discussion include the need for urgent measures for poverty reduction and for making communities more resilient in responding to climate change. In the meantime, the parallel sessions of Rio+20 have been discussing a range of topics, most related to these priorities; some participants have presented global, regional, and national perspectives, while others have examined these issues from a local point of view. Two events worth highlighting took place today at Rio Centro, both of which explored the importance of building more resilient communities capable of adjusting and adapting to shocks and adversity. Learn more.
The Cúpula dos Povos is located at the Aterro do Flamengo, close to the center of Rio de Janeiro. It is the main congregation point for social movements that want to have their voices heard during Rio+20. The Cúpula is also where indigenous communities from several parts of the world have gathered to discuss issues that range from climate change and poverty reduction to land rights. An estimated 1,500 to 1,700 indigenous people are said to be present at the event. Learn more.
With more than half of the world’s population now living in cities — and estimates suggesting this figure will reach 70 percent by 2050 — the debate about how to achieve more sustainable and inclusive cities is at the heart of the Rio+20 discussions. Well worth highlighting were two events on “The Sustainable and Just City: Rio+20 and Beyond,” which were sponsored by the Ford Foundation and took place June 17 at the Forte de Copacabana and June 18 at Rio Centro. Learn more.
The Rio+20 side events have just begun. The main gathering place is in the Rio Centro complex in Rio de Janeiro’s southern region. The event seems well organized: there are plenty of local people helping with logistics and providing information; the venue is spacious and comfortable. There are countless rooms where different kinds of conferences, discussions and debates are taking place. There are even blogging rooms, where participants can work on their computers and report back to their virtual communities about the events … and yes, there’s a lot to report. But covering everything is just impossible, so we’ll be reporting on selected events that focus on issues related to urban problems and the challenges of sustainable development in cities. Learn more.
Twenty years after hosting the first Rio Summit (in Portuguese, Eco ’92), Rio de Janeiro is once again the host city for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, better known as the Earth Summit Rio+20, which will take place from June 20-22, 2012. Although state leaders from several developed nations — including the United States — will not be there, more than 100 heads of state have confirmed their attendance, along with some 50,000 other participants representing country delegations, local and global civil society organizations, key policy makers, members of the private sector and the media, and many other interest groups. The summit will focus on the green economy from the perspective of sustainability and the eradication of poverty, as well as aiming to create an institutional framework for sustainable development. Learn more.
Vinte anos após de sediar a Eco 92, Rio de Janeiro vira novamente a cidade sede da Conferência das Nações Unidas para o Desenvolvimento Sustentável, conhecida como Rio+20, que acontecerá em Junho 20-22, 2012. Embora tenha algumas ausências de chefes de estado de países desenvolvidos, como os Estados Unidos, a conferência já tem confirmada a presença de mais de 100 chefes de governo além de mais de 50.000 participantes incluídos representantes de delegações, da sociedade civil, de empresas e da media e de outros grupos de interesse. O encontro estará focado na economia verde desde a perspectiva da sustentabilidade e da erradicação da pobreza, além da criação de um marco institucional para o desenvolvimento sustentável. Learn more.
In a new book, Dharavi: The City Within, Kalpana Sharma traces the history of Dharavi in her essay, “A House for Khatija.” In it, she explains that former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi visited the slum in 1985 — and, afterward, allotted Rs. 100 crore ($15million) to redevelop the area. The committee he appointed to draft a proposal — which was headed by Charles Correa, one of India’s most renowned architects — had essentially no data on which to base their ideas, since no mapping had ever been attempted there. Surprisingly, the committee thought a detailed exercise in data collection was too “painstaking,” and opted instead to hire the Hyderabad Remote Sensing Agency to do an aerial survey. From above, Dharavi looks like a sheet of cookies that have baked into one; it’s hard to distinguish where one house ends and another begins. The committee counted a population of 250,000 in Dharavi.
Brasil tem se juntado ao grupo dos países que estão experimentando protestos massivos sobre diferentes temas públicos, tais como o aumento das taxas de transporte público e os elevados custos da infraestrutura esportiva da Copa do Mondo. Nas passadas semanas Rio e São Paulo, tem se tornado epicentros de protestos e encontros entre cidadãos e polícia, muitos deles violentos, preocupando o surgimento de maior violência no país. Leia mais o discutir.
Dengue fever is an infectious disease caused by a virus and transmitted by the mosquito Aedes aegypti. It is currently one of the most common public health problems around the world, especially in tropical and subtropical areas. Dengue fever has four main types, in Brazil the most common ones are the classic dengue fever and the dengue hemorrhagic fever. The former is a light virus that with cold-like symptoms. The latter is a much more complex disease that can lead to nasal, urinary, and intestinal hemorrhages, compromised organs, and even death. Read more or join the discussion.
Anyone comparing countries can quickly conclude there isn’t a direct fixed relationship between economic growth and quality public services. Per capita income can be terrible while total national income is high. Economic growth can be high yet maintain widespread inequality. This is not a sustainable way to run a country, yet this is how things are and have always been done in Brazil, the last country in the Americas to abolish slavery and today the world’s 7th largest economy where 21% of the population is still under the poverty line. Brazil today is 106th in GDP per capita. We also rank among the worst in inequality, at number 17, although this is a significant improvement over the 1st place position we occupied two decades ago. Read more.
A city as dynamic as Rio de Janeiro requires a similarly dynamic and effective set of institutions to plan, build, supervise, and maintain local public infrastructure. From roads and viaducts to schools and health centers, the Municipal Secretariat of Public Works (Secretaria Municipal de Obras) is the institution in charge of overseeing construction, reform, and maintenance of all of Rio’s public infrastructure. For example, it is responsible for the functioning of 380,000 street lights, as well as prevention work against floods. Read more or join the discussion.
For over two decades, Brazil has been actively working to eradicate child labor, especially through legislation and by implementing effective interventions. A key step forward was the approval of the Child and Adolescent Statute in 1990, which sets out the rights of children and adolescents, and the Constitutional Amendment from 1998, which explicitly prohibits work by anyone who is 16 years or younger. Work conducted by a teenager aged 14 to 16 can only be training-related and should ensure the individual’s education, health, and overall wellbeing. Read more or join the discussion.
The second day of the New Cities Summit hosted several interesting and thought-provoking discussions. The day started with a panel on participation; highlights included Porto Alegre’s Mayor José Fortunati talking about the city’s renowned participative budgeting exercise which has been in place for 23 years. He attributed the city’s excellent scores on the Human Development Index to the great levels of active and sustained citizen participation in key development issues. Read more.
Influential policy makers, academics, innovators, entrepreneurs, and social and urban development practitioners are currently gathered in São Paulo for a two-day summit organized by the New Cities Foundation. The event focuses on the current challenges that cities face becoming more just and inclusive. Read more.
From such megacities as Delhi and Mumbai to smaller cities such as Jaipur, Ahmedabad, and Dehradun, self-construction is visible throughout India, a country where over 60 percent of the urban poor live in settlements where units have been self-constructed. Contrary to popular belief, these settlements are not all “slums” as seen near railway stations or large drains, but a range of neighborhoods — including urban villages, unauthorized and planned colonies that vary both in terms of their legal status (right to sell, build, mortgage) and access to urban infrastructure and services. In the absence of scalable private and government housing initiatives, these low-income neighborhoods are the largest source of affordable housing for the country’s poor. Read and discuss.
High maternal and infant mortality rates continue to burden the developing world. Despite calls by international organizations for an increased focus on maternal health, more than 500,000 women in developing nations die during pregnancy or childbirth each year. But a new three-year initiative, Mobile Alliance for Maternal Action (MAMA), is showing mobile phones’ potential to improve the state of women in India — giving expectant and new mothers access to vital, often life-saving information. Read and discuss.
In Mumbai, the ragpickers’ daily collections most likely end up in the city’s largest — though officially unrecognized — recycling center: Dharavi’s 13th compound. In this small area of Mumbai’s sprawling slum, 15,000 single-room factories recycle an estimated 80 percent of Mumbai’s plastic waste. Could it be that these shanty room enterprises — whose supply chain is maintained by one of India’s poorest and most marginalized groups — are actually leading the city’s green movement? Read and discuss.
In Mumbai, the land of extremes, different socio-economic classes live in close proximity, yet their worlds almost never intersect. Nowhere is this separation more apparent than in the education system — but a recent landmark decision by India’s Supreme Court attempts to change the make-up of India’s classrooms forever, providing daily opportunities for these two worlds to meet. However, the educational dreams of girls are often cut short due to a range of cultural and social dynamics — and if girls are admitted under the new quota, schools will need programs to ensure the success of these children. Read and discuss.
Despite rhetoric of equality and empowerment in a country “on the rise,” Indian women continue to experience systemic violence in many forms, and poor women are especially vulnerable. Recent reports show that women in Mumbai feel increasingly unsafe and that instances of violence against them — including rape, kidnapping, and molestation — are up from the previous year. And given the unwillingness of women in this highly patriarchal society to admit abuse for fear of retribution, the current data may mask a much, much larger issue. Read and discuss.
Clean water does not come easily to Mumbai slum dwellers. Women must orient their entire day around collecting and hauling water of questionable quality obtained at exorbitant cost; meanwhile, water-borne diseases like hepatitis and typhoid kill and incapacitate thousands every year. The need for new solutions to India’s urban water crisis has led to distributed models — off the main municipal water grid — that offer the opportunity to work with communities and address their specific needs. One such solution is Sarvajal: solar-powered ATMs that dispense not money, but safe, treated water with the swipe of a pre-paid card. Read and discuss.
Given the state of Mumbai, Innovation Alchemy recently hosted an Alchemix discussion on urban issues at Bombay Connect, an incubator and co-working space for social entrepreneurs in Mumbai. The session focused on the need and opportunity for breakthrough innovation designed for, and implemented with, the urban poor — a rapidly growing challenge in urban centers such as Mumbai, where 54 percent of the population (more than 10 million people) lives in slums. The discussion featured two social enterprises: Swasth India and WaterWalla. Learn more.
A key principle of the central government’s “Slum Free India” policy is to redevelop slums in situ (upgrading their current situation rather than dislocating slum dwellers) and offering them basic tenure security. Still in its pilot phase, the policy, Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY), emphasizes a process for community engagement and has laid down detailed guidelines for the interaction process. Mahila Housing SEWA Trust (MHT) was one of four NGOs tasked by the local municipality in Delhi to work on the pilot to be sponsored by the Ministry of Housing. MHT was to engage the community and propose an alternative design for redevelopment in an eastern Delhi neighborhood of Sundernagari; mHS engaged on data analysis, community facilitations, and architectural and urban design for the site. The results have the potential to influence redevelopment in the capital city as well as other major urban centers such as Mumbai. Learn more.
Of all the state attempts to provide some protection to street vendors, Maharashtra — home to Mumbai — is the worst. In 2010, the state’s legislature modified the Bombay Municipal Corporation Act and all other similar laws governing local bodies. The amendment states that any person engaged in street vending in a non-hawking zone will be fined INR5,000 ($96) and imprisoned for six months. Even pickpockets and other petty criminals are given lighter sentences. Does the government think a street vendor is a bigger criminal? Learn more.
Transportation infrastructure is a key factor in enhancing economic growth and quality of life. Still, many recent transportation initiatives, by focusing on cars and highways, have favored the rich and the middle class. The following articles explore ways to provide safe, affordable, eco-friendly, and reliable transportation to the poor in the Global South. Read on to learn more, then join the discussion below.
Despite a number of post-1994 initiatives, urban transport system problems persist. Recently (2006-2012), in the largest Public Private Partnership yet launched in South Africa, between the Gauteng Provincial Government and Bombela International Consortium, a rapid rail project worth R20 billion (US$ 2 billion) was implemented. The “Gautrain” rapid rail network consists of two spines: one (south-north) linking Johannesburg and Pretoria, and the other (west-east) linking the Sandton business district and OR Tambo International airport. Coupled with this, in 2007 the City began constructing an ambitious Bus Rapid Transit System (BRT) known as the “Rea Vaya” (see Fig. 2).
In contrast to the BRT, the Gautrain, in catering purely for the affluent car owner/user, from a social perspective clearly suffers from the criticism of class/mobility-related exclusion; although this could be offset by a BRT system that, unlike the Gautrain where there is no clarity in providing mixed-income residential development around its stations, clearly allows for mixed-income along BRT corridors.
In 2008, Governor Fashola’s state government introduced the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) scheme through the Lagos Metropolitan Transport Authority (LAMATA) to improve road transport system and ultimately reduce congestion. The new fleet of buses were designed to be more comfortable, and introduced an organised system of public transportation. The pilot BRT transport scheme runs through 22 km of exclusive lanes, providing faster transport at affordable prices for commuters. Since its inception, a lot of positive impact has been recorded. Highlights recorded by the World Bank include:
Yet a solution from Chennai offers a comprehensive example for Mumbai on how to move toward sustainable, comprehensive mobility. In August, Shreya Gadepalli, of the Institute for Transportation Development Policy (ITDP), presented her work with a new initiative, the Chennai Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (CUMTA), at the ORF to share the progress Chennai has made and how it might apply to Mumbai.
১৯৬১ অধ্যাদেশে সপ্তম নম্বরের অধীনে বাংলাদেশ রোড ট্রান্সপোর্ট কর্পোরেশন (বি.আর.টি.সি) প্রতিষ্ঠিত হয়েছিল। এটি বাংলাদেশ সরকারের স্বীকৃত পরিবহন কর্পোরেশন যা সকল শ্রেণীর মানুষের জন্য সস্তা এবং আরামদায়ক ভ্রমন ব্যবস্থা প্রদানের জন্য প্রতিষ্ঠিত হয়। বর্তমানে বাংলাদেশে বি.আর.টি.সি এর ১,১১৬ টি বাস পুরো বাংলাদেশে চলাচল করছে কিন্তু এগুলো ৪৭ মিলিয়ন (প্রায় ২৬ শতাংশ) দরিদ্র মানুষের পরিবহন চাহিদা মিটাতে যথেষ্ট নয়।
Sebagai angkutan umum, Kopaja sering mendapat sorotan negatif dikarenakan alasan: Pertama, penumpang Kopaja sering berlebih hingga dua kali lipat sehingga rawan kejahatan seperti pencurian dan pelecehan. Kedua, Kopaja juga dianggap jauh dari aman sebab sering kali alat kemudi dan pengukur kecepatan yang seadanya. Banyak pengemudi mobil pribadi yang merasa terancam sebab cara menyetir sopir Kopaja yang ugal-ugalan dan sering melanggar rambu-rambu lalu lintas dan membahayakan pengguna jalan lain. Ketiga, Kopaja merupakan penyumbang besar polusi perkotaan disebabkan buruknya sistem pembuangan karbon yang cukup membahayakan bagi manusia dan lingkungan.
Iniciemos com o metrô. Embora ele tenha sido inaugurado faz quase 35 anos atrás e apresente um atendimento médio de 650 mil pessoas durante um dia útil, ele está subutilizado. Por exemplo, ele tem só 35 estações em quanto o de São Paulo, tem 62 e aquele de Buenos Aires tem 86. Também existem queixas constantes sobre a superlotação, contribuindo a percursos incômodos e inseguros.
Aunque la situación actual dista mucho de ser buena, el premio se ha otorgado a un proyecto actualmente en marcha y que puede redundar en una mejora significativa de la situación medioambiental. En primer lugar, está previsto que 200 autobuses híbridos comiencen a circular por Bogotá a partir del 15 de diciembre. Los buses, marca Volvo, son fabricados en Brasil y ensamblados en Colombia. Podrán circular tanto por los carriles de alta velocidad del Transmilenio como por rutas convencionales, pues tienen puertas a ambos lados. Está previsto que circulen por la Carrera 7º, una de las principales de la ciudad y por la que en la actualidad solo circulan busetas y coches particulares. Una vez que los autobuses híbridos comiencen a circular por esta carrera, sus elevados niveles de contaminación descenderán de forma significativa. Estos buses no necesitan conectarse a la red eléctrica para recargarse.