The Urban Guru Website


Cities of the World

15/03/2011 16:07

The UN and the Urban Agenda, a journey from Vancouver to Nairobi, Istanbul and Naples

  This article constitutes a chapter of the book “Which cities for the 21rst Century?", published in French in 2012 and coordinated by Françoise Lieberherr and German Solinis.   The urban agenda is probably too broad to be an international priority.  This explains why...

—————

22/11/2010 00:00

Les enjeux de l’urbanisation en Afrique

A l'ouverture de la Conférence de Bamako je voudrais partager quelques chiffres et quelques réflexions. Je décrirai ensuite la situation actuelle avant de conclure sur les enjeux de l’urbanisation que notre réunion devrait analyser et soumettre aux Ministres Africains de l’Habitat et du...

—————

15/11/2010 00:00

About the role of international cooperation

Speech in Mexico City as farewell to the Cities Alliance Executive Committee, 15 November 2010 . As you may know I have worked for 30 years in international cooperation on housing and urban development. I have managed the technical cooperation division of UN-Habitat since 1994, established the...

—————

12/10/2010 00:00

The Challenges of Urban Development in Hanoi

UN-HABITAT was very proud to participate in the Hanoi Millennium Conference, celebrating 1000 years of the city’s cumulative history and development, on 12-13 October 2010. The coming together of many experts for the celebration of Hanoi Millennium was a very important initiative to look back...

—————

10/10/2010 00:00

Singapore Housing Policy, the ultimate best practice?

Fifty years ago, the self-government of Singapore created the Housing and Development Board (HDB). When the country became fully independent in 1965 the first Prime Minister, Lee Kuan Yew, saw dilapidated housing and slums, which were widespread at the time as the most visible mark of...

—————

04/10/2010 00:00

Infrastructure, foundations of the Shanghai powerhouse

In 2010, Shanghai counts a population of some 16.5 million inhabitants according to the United Nations Population Division[1]. It is China’s largest city and the economic capital of a country that has experienced a growth rate of over 10 percent per year for more than 20 years.   Located in...

—————

30/09/2010 00:00

Kenya's new constitution, a progressive framework for decentralisation

An article by Daniel Biau[1] and Alain Kanyinda[2] published in "Urban World", September 2010. On 4 August 2010, a new Constitution was approved by two third of the registered Kenyan voters in a national referendum organised as a part of the fundamental reforms agreed upon by the Kenyan...

—————

28/04/2010 00:00

Arab Cities on the way to Better Urban Life?

In April 2010 the first international meeting on the State of Arab Cities took place in Kuwait City, in a place only three hundred kilometres from Uruk, the Mesopotamian city-state. Located on the Euphrates, Uruk is considered as the first city in the world history. Under King Gilgamesh, five...

—————

14/07/2009 00:00

Villes et Violences

Depuis trois décennies la criminalité urbaine augmente dans de nombreux pays en développement, notamment en Afrique et en Amérique Latine[1]. Les homicides, vols et cambriolages font partie du quotidien des métropoles africaines et affectent une grande partie de la population dans des villes telles...

—————

17/05/2009 10:37

Credito Inmobilario Equivocado

Buenos Aires.pdf  This article is the Spanish version of the article on "Misguided housing credit" published in "Urban World" in March 2009. Thanks to Claudia Laub, Editor of PoSIbles, Buenos Aires.  

—————