See Part 1- Introduction As the urbanization of sister cities, such as El Paso and Ciudad Juarez, is extremely interesting – starting with their singular origin to their development as Continue reading
On January 28, The New Yorker published an article about Caracas under Hugo Chavez with the provocative title “Slumlord.” The author, journalist Jon Lee Anderson, has spent time with Chavez Continue reading
I wanted to share a very interesting link to a book edited by Gerard Martin on the transformation of Medellin. The book is in spanish, but it is quite graphic Continue reading
Last week the city of Mumbai successfully evicted 4500 hawkers from its streets. The streets looked cleaner, pedestrians seemed happier, and residents rejoiced. “A special squad has been formed to Continue reading
The evening before visiting El Tepito, a neighborhood just a few blocks north of the Zocalo, to explore its ever-sprawling, six days a week street market, I was advised not Continue reading
Just about every American I know who’s been just about anywhere in Latin America baffles about how all the good real estate is the bad real estate. In the US, Continue reading
Social psychologists at the London School of Economics partner with Brazilian researchers and challenge us to consider grassroots struggles for social inclusion rather than focus solely on marginality and exclusion. Researchers Continue reading
Every so often, a book about poor people captures the attention of large numbers of first-world readers. Journalist Katherine Boo’s Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death and Hope in a Continue reading
Part 1- Introduction To begin our 2013 posting series, I want to focus on the urbanization of the US-Mexico border, particularly focusing on sister cities- namely Ciudad Juarez and el Continue reading
Dear Readers, As the FAVELissues team will be taking a break for the holidays, I wanted to leave you with a pretty funny- yes, mocking- but quite illustrative video on Continue reading
In a recent The Atlantic Cities post, a collection of Google Earth images of Mexico City’s tianguis (or street markets) by Fabian Neuhaus of Urban Tick, were featured. The images Continue reading
Leaving behind last year’s adventures in the slums and cities of Latin America (LAC) I recently started new adventures in Eastern Europe and Central Asia (ECA). First stop Tbilisi, in Continue reading
Post by Silvia Soonets [Proyectos Arqui 5] on Caracas This week the CAF announced the results of the second international competition of Urban Development and Social Inclusion. I’m proud and Continue reading
In 2009 I was talking with a friend of ours in Santa Elena de Uairén, Venezuela just North of the Brazilian border. While we talked he described visiting an American Continue reading
“Paving Streets for the Poor: Experimental Analysis of Infrastructure Effects” is an economics paper published last month by Marco Gonzalez-Navarro and Climent Quintana-Domeque. According to the abstract, “This study is Continue reading
For the last 7 months, I have been working in Haiti on a large housing reconstruction and urban rehabilitation project. During this time, I have had a good chance to Continue reading
Following is a link a to good, quick article on Medellin’s transformation. It nicely resumes and simplifies the situation, as well as compliments the information already present in FAVELissues (on Continue reading
With increasing pressure on countries for reducing carbon emissions and building for climate resilience new practices and models of development are seen emerging. One of them, is the idea of ‘eco-villages’. Bringing Continue reading
During my Winter 2011 visit to Lima, Peru, what intrigued me most of the street vending culture there were the innovative wheeled carts covering the city’s dense landscape. Perhaps a Continue reading
Pavement unit for two Jugaad: A creative idea, a quick, alternate way of solving or fixing problems This is an interesting housing unit I saw on a pavement in my neighborhood. Continue reading
