Karachi’s development and the principles of urban planning
To overcome problems created by massive rural-urban migration, industrialisation, increased trade, a phenomenal rise in the number of vehicles, and their related environmental and socio-economic repercussions, Third World cities and governments have invested huge amounts in planning and in development projects.
Political platform of the Women and Habitat network of Latin America
This document was created to respond to some relative issues regarding women and the city. Including gender, needs, political issues and agendas.
Global Coalition Announces Campaign to Stop Forced Evictions and Privatization of Housing and Land. News Advisory
Decrying a sharp increase in massive forced evictions caused by mega-development schemes and property speculation across the planet, the Habitat International Coalition (HIC) will announce a global campaign to "Stop Forced Evictions and Privatization of Housing and Land” in Montevideo and in London on October 2, with worldwide actions scheduled throughout October.
London Olympic Housing Impacts
There is currently a multifaceted crisis in housing supply, particularly of affordable social housing. This has arisen from decades of the privatisation of the existing social housing stock combined with gross underfunding of new building. Into this crisis comes the Olympic games ‘gentrification’ effect to compond the crisis at the poor end. But agencies dealing with the homelesss are currently trying desperately to deal with another unplanned- for effect of the ‘enlargement’ of the housing market. Read the document " Probable impacts of the Lower Lea Valley Developments (particularly the Olympics phase) on tenants in privately rented accommodation," prepared from research by Martin Slavin.
Increasingly received reports on forced evictions and displacement around the world
Forced evictions and displacement are taking place in countries world wide, ranging from democratic to authoritarian states. Many are so-called development-based evictions, which include evictions often planned or conducted with the justification or under the pretext of serving the "public good," such as those linked to slum-clearance drives, large-scale infrastructure or other development projects, and land-acquisition measures associated with urban renewal, housing renovation, city beautification, or other land-use programmes. Evictions are also on the rise due to the reluctance of States to control speculation in housing and property. Statement of the Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing to the Human Rights Council, Miloon Kothari.
Housing and Land Rights Crisis! 2004-06. Violations Escalating around the World. Housing and Land Rights Network
On the occasion of World Habitat Day, 2006, Habitat International Coalition (HIC) is reporting on global trends in housing and land rights violations. This initiative, in cooperation with HIC members and structures, arose from the urgent need to highlight the struggles experienced at the local level, as well as to understand how these struggles are linked at the global level. It is intended that this report, based on the best available information, marks one step in a continuing process emphasizing the interconnectivity among seemingly disparate factors.
October World Habitat Day – Focus on Africa
Across Africa hundreds of thousands of people each year are forcibly evicted. They are removed from their homes without notice or compensation and in many cases are left homeless, stripped of their possessions. Often they are displaced far from sources of clean water, food, sanitation, livelihood or education.
Statement of the President of Habitat International Coalition (HIC). World Habitat Day 2006
This year the United Nations Habitat Program (UN-Habitat) invites the world to celebrate Habitat Day with the theme: “Cities, Magnets of Hope.” For its part, HIC and other international networks have called on their constituencies and communities throughout the world to organize broad mobilization against evictions and forced displacements and growing processes of privatization of land, social housing, water, and other basic services.
Will China honour its Olympic promises?
"The Olympics is good for China... But it should not be used as an excuse to hurt ordinary citizens, to drive people from their homes.” A resident of Beijing's Qianmen district, whose home is to be demolished. When China won the 2008 Olympics bid in 2001, it promised to improve its human rights record. Beyond enhancing procedural safeguards in death penalty cases, that promise remains largely empty.
U.N. Expert on Extreme Poverty reports that amercicans are denied Economic Human Rights
Dr. Arjun Sengupta is to present his report to the Human Rights Council and Cheri Honkala, National Spokeswoman of the Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign (PPEHRC), will speak to the council on poverty in America and the movement for economic human rights. A side event will be held entitled, "The Poor of the U.S.A. confront Human Rights Violations under the Bush Administration”
Globalization of socialisation struggles
While world's leading powers continue to force the planet to implement a deregulated global economy which is totally based on free market competition between private investors and property owners, the social and ecological costs are becoming more and more catastrophic.
German companies face scrutiny on social issues
DaimlerChrysler, Siemens, Deutsche Bank and Germany's other global companies can in future expect to be scrutinised more closely on whether their pledgesto behave more responsibly on social and environmental issues are borne out in reality.