Between March 22 and 26, the city of Rio de Janeiro will host the 5th edition of the World Urban Forum (WUF), sponsored by the United Nations agency for human settlements, UN-Habitat. It is the first time this event will be held in Latin America. A record number of people from over 170 countries have signed up to participate in this year’s event to discuss how to promote urban development with justice and equity, in a democratic fashion.
The theme of this week-long event is called “Right to the City: Uniting the Divided City.” The idea is that every individual is entitled to access the same cultural, economic, environmental, and civic liberties as everyone else. By discussing the future of the urban world, Right to the City can provide a starting point for the construction of a new paradigm in which development does not repeat the same mistakes or provide the same worthlessness illusions of previous models.
This week, I will take you inside the WUF and relate some of the dialogues with representatives, thematic roundtables, as well as networking and training events. I am particularly excited to discuss and network with global experts in urban and environmental policy and design and housing management. I am such a nerd.
Today’s events began as I stood in line for almost two hours while 21,000 people registered for the event, receiving a bag, program, and free metro pass to be used throughout the week. Once inside the WUF, I was able to join one full session titled “Slum Improvement, a Development Opportunity” where heads of international corporations, academics, as well as favela entrepreneurs and residents gathered in the same room. So cool!
The resulting dialogue was great, but I can’t help but feeling frustrated. The panel talked about the problems with slum upgrading, of which there are many, and they decided that simply writing policy is not sufficient. In order to implement slum upgrading and urbanization processes, there must be capacity building and participation by the slum residents. I could not agree more! However, I am simultaneously discouraged that although everyone was in agreement about the need for dialogue, communication, and exercising the right to voice opinions, this luxury is not always offered as an option.
Ultimately, the question becomes, how can we encourage participation in the process of upgrading, sharing information, and modernizing slums in a sustainable fashion?
Jamie Worms is currently a volunteer for Catalytic Communities in Rio de Janeiro. For more about life in Brazil, check out her other posts.
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I haven’t studied urban development much outside of the United States but many of the same principles can be applied internationally. I am glad that the session speakers acknowledged that slum residents must participate if there will be any lasting change. What I’ve seen in America is that any change must involve the community itself. Middle-class Americans can’t change underprivileged urban neighborhoods without those urban dwellers participating. Internationally, I don’t believe middle-class Westerners can do anything to change slums without leaders from that slum doing a lot of the work. I would say the best way to encourage leaders in the community would be education. I am a big believer that education is where change begins. Not just education for the potential leaders, but everyone interested and, of course, the children. They know that the way they’re living isn’t right, they need to know what they can do to change it.