[URBANTH-L]Call for papers: 8th N-AERUS Conference, 6th-8th September
2007, London, UK
Eleni Kyrou
ucfuelk at ucl.ac.uk
Tue Mar 20 13:44:04 EDT 2007
We are proud to announce the 8th N-Aerus
Conference titled "Grassroots-led Urban
Development: Achievements; Potentials; Limitations".
The conference will take place from Sept 6th to
Sept 8th 2007at the Development Planning Unit
(DPU/University College London) in London.
------------------------------------
Call for papers: 8th N-AERUS Conference, 6th-8th September 2007, London, UK
English | Spanish | French
Grassroots-led Urban Development: Achievements; Potentials; Limitations
There is a growing recognition within development
of the role of grassroots organizations in
addressing problems in urban areas in low- and
middle-income nations not only in what they
demand and negotiate from governments but also in
what they themselves can do. Their achievements,
innovations and capacities are documented in a
growing number of case-studies for instance of
slum/squatter financing and upgrading, new
house developments and basic service provision.
There are also many nations where grassroots
organizations have formed their own
slum/shack/homeless peoples federations to
support each others initiatives and press for
support and change within municipal, city and national governments.
This development of collective capacity by
grassroots organizations and federations has led
to large-scale programmes in many nations and
many strong and innovative partnerships between
these organizations, the private sector and local
governments. There are also some examples of
national governments and international agencies
developing mechanisms to team up with grassroots-led urban development.
These initiatives emerge in specific social,
political, cultural and economic contexts and
there is much to be learnt from understanding the
contexts within which the potential for
interaction between grassroots-led actions,
initiatives and movements and state structures and supports is realised.
At the same time, such recognition is accompanied
by a debate highlighting the limitations of the
role that grassroots-led initiatives can play in
urban development. This debate questions the
capacity of grassroots organisations to bring
about urban change at scale, efficiently and
effectively; the legitimacy and accountability
deriving from their growing political role and
its claim for bottom-up politics; and the way in
which the emerging configurations of grassroots,
private sector and local authorities tend to
marginalise central government involvement.
This Conference aims to provide an opportunity
for researchers, policymakers, development
practitioners, private sector representatives et
alia from Europe and elsewhere to reflect
critically on the achievements, potentials and
limitations of grassroots-led urban development.
Papers are encouraged on any topic of relevance
to this Conference theme, including:
* Networking and federating as strategies to
increase grassroots organizations scope for action and for negotiation;
* The interface and configurations of power
between grassroots-led initiatives and other
institutional stakeholders within an understanding of local context;
* Tools, methods and financial provisions
that support grassroots-led urban development;
* Intra-city, inter-city and international
exchanges as means for promoting learning and action;
* Grassroots perspectives on livelihoods and
on social protection/safety nets;
* Avoiding evictions and negotiating tenure
or, where this is not possible, community-managed relocation;
* Grassroots-led strategies and actions for
changing urban governance; and,
* Current and potential roles for
international donors: do they support, co-opt or
subvert grassroots-led development?
The Conference is organised and hosted by the
Development Planning Unit (DPU / University
College London) and the International Institute
for Environment and Development (IIED).
Submission timetable:
Abstracts of between 150 and 250 words should be
submitted in .rtf or .doc by Friday, 1st June 2007, to calls at naerus.net
Abstracts should:
a) state the issue to be addressed
b) define the context
c) highlight the main arguments
Authors of the selected papers will be notified
by e-mail by Friday, 15 June 2007. Final papers
should be submitted by Wednesday, 15 August and
will be posted on the N-AERUS website.
N-AERUS will try to provide paper copies for
distribution at the Conference. However authors,
particularly from Europe, are strongly encouraged to bring their own copies.
FUNDING: Limited financial support will be
available to support the participation of some
researchers or practitioners from Africa, Asia
and Latin America, whose papers are accepted for
presentation at the Conference (deadline for
abstract submissions: 1st June 2007). Candidates
are encouraged to indicate their wish to be
considered for funding when submitting their abstracts.
ACCOMMODATION: Some low-cost accommodation will
be available for participants. Relevant details
to apply for low-cost accommodation will be
provided on the conference website
(www.naerus.net) along with supplementary
information on additional accommodation at special negotiated rates.
COSTS: No registration fee accompanies attendance
of the conference. There will be however a charge
for all participants to cover the costs of
documentation, lunches and coffee/tea and an optional excursion.
Network-Association of European Researchers on Urbanisation in the South
WWW site: http://www.naerus.net
Please visit the naerus-website www.naerus.net to
find the call for paper document in three
languages (English, French and Spanish)
(http://www.naerus.net/sat/workshops/2007/london_2007_en.htm).
Peter Gotsch (GLORA, Universität Karlsruhe, Germany)
Eleni Kyrou (DPU, London, England)
Harry Smith (CEHS, Edinburgh, Scotland)
mail for inquiries:
info at naerus.net
(Ms) Eleni Kyrou
Lecturer
MSc Urban Development Planning
Development Planning Unit
9 Endsleigh Gardens
London WC1H 0ED
+44 (0)20 7679 1104 (direct)
+44 (0)20 7679 1111 (DPU)
+44 (0)20 7679 1112 (fax)
E-mail: e.kyrou at ucl.ac.uk
DPU Website: www.ucl.ac.uk/dpu
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