Addressing poverty and inequality – new forms of urban governance in Asia

This issue has seven papers that consider the design and implementation of an ambitious Asia-wide initiative to support community-driven citywide upgrading − the Asian Coalition for Community Action (ACCA). This has supported 950 grassroots initiatives in 165 cities in 19 Asian nations and has set up Urban Poor Funds in more than 100 cities to help continue such support. These initiatives were also to encourage and support communities to learn from each other and to work together to get the support of city governments for citywide upgrading.

The papers consider different aspects of ACCA, including how it evolved and how it uses finance to support community action and engagement with local governments. Also, how it supports collective processes within low-income communities, including: collective information collection (settlement mapping, citywide surveys); collective definition of problems and search for shared solutions; and bringing together savings networks. One paper explains how the community initiatives are being assessed by peers (those engaged in comparable community initiatives) rather than outside ”experts” who have no experience of living in informal settlements on very low incomes.
In this issue, there are also five papers are on climate change and cities: lessons from practice in Asia for building climate change resilience; addressing climate change in New York City; incorporating cities into the post-2012 climate change agreements; Ibadan’s vulnerability to wind hazards; and assessing climate change adaptation for water and sanitation providers.

Papers in Feedback include: why enumeration counts; the health and social implications of living in a non-notified slum in India; financing urban agriculture; and mapping and enumerating informal Roma settlements in Serbia.