Practising ethics guides to built environment research: Researching Internationally

Researching internationally presents peculiar kinds of ethical issues and concerns that range from the risks of conducting fieldwork in what can be an unfamiliar terrain to the need for a nuanced understanding of the culture, politics and relationships encountered in the chosen site of research. Although these guidelines present you with a simplified and somewhat linear approach to working internationally across three distinct moments of research, it is in practise a very fluid and iterative experience. Depending on the nature, scale and length of your research, the collaborations and international work will demand multiple field trips and engagements. This guide to Practising Ethics briefly defines appropriate ways to engage ethically in doing research internationally

Freetown's Mudslides and the Slippery Slope of Urban Risks in Africa

To break these cycles and prevent or reduce the effects of disasters such as the recent mudslide in Freetown, a better understanding is needed of how knowledge of risk can lead to action. This requires collaboration between government, humanitarian actors, and civil sector organisations in partnership with local communities in both formal and informal areas

The data gap: An analysis of data availability on disaster losses in sub-Saharan African cities

Urban centres in sub-Saharan Africa are increasingly affected by disasters as well as smaller, everyday hazards. Decision-makers in the region require better information about urban disaster impacts to plan how best to use their resources to reduce risks to the people most affected. This paper reviews the different kinds of publicly available data on human and economic losses from large and small disasters as well as on health impacts of everyday hazards to assess the quality and breadth of information available for urban areas. The findings reveal emergent information about disaster losses in urban areas generated by the DesInventar methodology, but the quantity of data and the coverage of disaster events is not enough to make robust conclusions for a particular city. Data about losses to health from everyday hazards are provided by demographic and health surveys, but their sample sizes are too small to provide accurate or detailed data on individual urban centres or on 'slums'/informal settlements. The findings highlight the need for more robust data collection that would assist national and local decision-makers to make more informed and location specific choices about disaster risk management. Systematic collection and cataloguing is needed to make information robust enough for planning and policy-making - and to have relevant information for each ward and district within urban areas, including informal settlements

Pathways to the 'Good Life': Co-Producing Prosperity Research in Informal Settlements in Tanzania

Residents of informal settlements in urban centres in Africa are known to suffer disproportionate burdens of environmental and socio-economic inequalities and are often excluded from macro-level visions and policies that seek to make cities safer and prosperous (Birkmann, 2007; da Silva & Braulio, 2014; Dodman et al., 2013). This tension undermines the validity of orthodox, ‘expert-led’ visions, policies and measures of prosperity that are distant from the lived-experience of marginalised urban residents. Based on new empirical work with communities in three informal settlements in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, this article argues that novel methodological and theoretical approaches to co-producing context-specific policy-relevant knowledge about pathways to prosperity (translated by the communities as maisha bora, ‘the good life’) creates inclusive spaces for both community participation in processes of urban knowledge production and critical social enquiry that can lead to grounded theory building. By co-producing both an agreed and relevant methodological approach for the study, and its subsequent documentation and analysis, this work contributes valuable empirical insights about the capacities and capabilities of local communities to shape and influence urban policy-making and in this way speaks to calls for a global urbanism (Ong, 2011; Robinson, 2016) that brings diverse voices and geographies to urban theory to better account for the diversity of urban experiences and processes found in twenty-first century cities

Pathways to the 'Good Life': Co-Producing Prosperity Research in Informal Settlements in Tanzania

Residents of informal settlements in urban centres in Africa are known to suffer disproportionate burdens of environmental and socio-economic inequalities and are often excluded from macro-level visions and policies that seek to make cities safer and prosperous (Birkmann, 2007; da Silva & Braulio, 2014; Dodman et al., 2013). This tension undermines the validity of orthodox, ‘expert-led’ visions, policies and measures of prosperity that are distant from the lived-experience of marginalised urban residents. Based on new empirical work with communities in three informal settlements in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, this article argues that novel methodological and theoretical approaches to co-producing context-specific policy-relevant knowledge about pathways to prosperity (translated by the communities as maisha bora, ‘the good life’) creates inclusive spaces for both community participation in processes of urban knowledge production and critical social enquiry that can lead to grounded theory building. By co-producing both an agreed and relevant methodological approach for the study, and its subsequent documentation and analysis, this work contributes valuable empirical insights about the capacities and capabilities of local communities to shape and influence urban policy-making and in this way speaks to calls for a global urbanism (Ong, 2011; Robinson, 2016) that brings diverse voices and geographies to urban theory to better account for the diversity of urban experiences and processes found in twenty-first century cities

Fighting COVID-19 in Freetown, Sierra Leone: the critical role of community organisations in a growing pandemic

As the COVID-19 pandemic spreads in Africa, attention is increasingly shifting to the potential and ongoing impact on informal settlements, which face considerable challenges around the implementation of conventional control measures of social distancing, hand washing and self-isolation. In Freetown, Sierra Leone, residents of informal settlements have relied on local community organisations and groups, and their resourcefulness to provide essential preparedness, response and on-going support to alleviate the public health and economic risks associated with the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak. This is also premised on lessons drawn from dealing with previous epidemics, notably the Ebola virus disease in 2014–2015. This paper will explain the nature and form of community organisation that can be galvanised and leveraged for COVID-19 preparedness and responses that are suited for informal settlements. Secondly, it highlights the critical contribution of community organisations in social protection measures that tackle deeply entrenched inequalities in rapidly urbanising contexts. Finally, the cases examined seek to provide evidence of the value of processes of continuous learning within community organisation that are essential for both humanitarian assistance and emergency management. Although situated in Freetown, the broad lessons drawn are relevant for urban-poor communities and informal settlements in many urban African centres

Knowledge co-production for urban equality

This working paper serves as the basis for a critical examination of the notion of knowledge co-production. The paper examines how the idea of knowledge co-production has emerged in relation to the parallel but distinct concept of service co-production and the participatory development planning tradition. It also examines the variety of processes of knowledge co-production that may take place in the context of academic research. In doing so, the working paper highlights the centrality of knowledge co-production in the Knowledge in Action for Urban Equality (KNOW) project’s research strategy, with a focus on actionable knowledge that may support transformative trajectories towards urban equality. Such an approach is based on the view that knowledge production underpins the process, ethics, and outcomes of any urban development intervention

Communicating risk from the frontline: projecting community voices into disaster risk management policies across scales, in: Urban Ark Briefing No 19. October 2018

Research carried out in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania on cross-scalar risk communication and disaster risk governance reveals that, while there is considerable potential for communities to measure and communicate risk and to prioritise actions, there is little scope for them to influence disaster risk governance at this point in time. This is partly because, although disaster risk management (DRM) is devolved in Tanzania, it has not gone far enough to give adequate powers and financing to the lowest level of government at the sub-wards, which are at the frontline of managing the biggest everyday risks that people face. The effective communication of risks upwards from communities to governments, and of DRM policies and opportunities downwards to communities and across sectors is crucial to overcome these gaps. When communication is participatory and collaborative, there is scope for local city actors to reflect on the need for action to be joined across governance scales, and to ensure communication plays a key role at and between all levels

Uncertain pasts and risk-sensitive futures in sub-Saharan urban transformation

This chapter explores the status and the scope for transition of risk- sensitive and transformative urban development in diverse cities of sub-Saharan Africa. Sub-Saharan Africa is important because of its large proportions of urban populations with high vulnerability and growing exposure to risks. High rates of urban growth pose increasing risks as we go into the future, yet there is also opportunity to reduce risk through integrating risk management into development. However, this opportunity space is often constrained by limited capacities to plan and manage the rapid urbanisation process, particularly in informal settlements. Limited capacities to prevent processes of risk accumulation pose threats to poverty reduction and sustainable development. In this context, there is an increasingly urgent need for squarely recognising and addressing the underlying vulnerabilities of urban populations and their root causes. Transitioning towards such sustainable urban pathways will require the strengthening of capacities and accountability of city authorities and broader governance systems, both formal and informal

Towards risk-sensitive and transformative urban development in sub Saharan Africa

Risk-sensitive urban development is required to reduce accumulated risk and to better consider risk when planning new developments. To deliver a sustainable city for all requires a more frank and comprehensive focus on procedure: On who makes decisions, under which frameworks, based upon what kind of data or knowledge, and with what degree and direction of accountability? Acting on these procedural questions is the promise of transformative urban development. This paper explores the status of risk sensitive and transformative urban development and the scope for transition towards these components of sustainability in urban sub-Saharan Africa through the lens of diverse city cases: Karonga (Malawi), Ibadan (Nigeria), Niamey (Niger) and Nairobi (Kenya). The paper draws from a 3-year research and capacity building programme called Urban Africa: Risk Knowledge that aims to address gaps in data, understandings and capacity to break cycles of risk accumulation. A common analytical framework is presented to help identify blockages and opportunities for transition towards a risk-sensitive and transformative urban development. This framework is then illustrated through each city in turn and a concluding discussion reflects on city observations to draw out recommendations for city level and wider action and research partnerships