All research content

Infrastructural Voids in Congested Cities

Infrastructural Voids are empty spaces inside city congestion that have the peculiarity of having enough scale and proximity with dense city to be extremely relevant and, at the same time, that are completely underused as places of chaos, disorder and general infrastructures.

They are the symbols of present congestion, precisely because they are some of the only existing remaining free spaces in high-dense cities.

They are a consequence of fast-urbanization processes, and their relevance could be enormous if well understood and managed, mainly by public institutions.

Name: Joaquin Mosquera - Mon 6 May, 2013

Land Rights Issues in International Human Rights Law

Up to one quarter of the world’s population is estimated to be landless, including 200 million people living in rural areas, and approximately 75% of the world’s population living in extreme poverty (less than $1/day) live in rural areas.

Name: Ed Kerry - Wed 17 Apr, 2013

Increasing Transparency and Accountability in Municipal Public Procurement through Citizen Engagement

Public procurement is a major area of public expenditure that is highly vulnerable to corruption. OECD Global Forum on Governance 2004 concluded that lack of transparency and accountability is a major stumbling block to fairness, equal treatment and integrity in public procurement. As an approach to ensure good governance in public procurement, citizen actors are increasingly engaged in public procurement process as oversight mechanism. This policy note explores the possibilities of citizen engagement in public procurement with focus on municipal public procurement in Bangladesh.

Name: Kazi Haque - Tue 9 Apr, 2013

Urban Trends and Policy in China

This working paper is one in a series of OECD Working Papers on Regional Development of the OECD Public Governance and Territorial Development Directorate, conducted under the responsibility of Marcos Bonturi, Head of the OECD Regional Competitiveness and Governance Division.

Name: Ed Kerry - Tue 19 Mar, 2013

Implications of Land Policies for Rural-urban Linkages and Rural Transformation in Ethiopia - Working Paper

Rural-urban linkages (RUL) and rural-urban migration are key components in rural transformation – an important step toward industrial growth. Post-Keynesian development theory has recognized the central role of intersectoral linkage between agricultural and nonagricultural activities to bring about agricultural growth and agrarian transformation. Thus, there exists an economic, social and environmental interdependence between urban and rural areas.

Name: Ed Kerry - Tue 12 Mar, 2013

Urban Trends and Policy in China

China surpassed the United States in the mid-1970s to become the nation with the largest number of urban dwellers in the world. Although still a predominantly rural country, with an urbanisation rate just under 20%, in absolute numbers China had become – over 30 years ago – the world’s largest urban nation in human history. Paradoxically, this ascendance occurred at the end of a period in which China’s public policy was profoundly anti-urban. Much has changed since then.

Name: Ed Kerry - Tue 12 Mar, 2013

The East Japan Earthquake Archive

"The East Japan Earthquake Archive" is a pluralistic digital archive for visualizing and telling the real state of the damage situation of the East Japan Earthquake using Google Earth. Since data such as photographs, panorama pictures and disaster victims' testimonies are unified on Google Earth, users can browse all the data in bird's-eye view. Furthermore, the time stamp function is mounted in this archive. Users can also browse all the data along with the time progress after the occurrence of The Earthquake disaster.

Name: Ed Kerry - Tue 12 Mar, 2013

Tools for the Assessment of School and Hospital Safety

South Asia is one of the most disaster prone regions in the world. A combination of multiple layers of geo-physical and climatic hazards, as well as a complex range of physical, social and economic vulnerabilities contribute to this. In 40 years, from 1967 – 2006, some 784 reported disasters took 800,000 lives and affected over two billion people. Economic losses amounted to an estimated $80 billion.

Name: Ilija GUBIC - Mon 4 Feb, 2013

Building Successful Neighborhoods

Increasingly, researchers and practitioners recognize the need for neighborhood revitalization policies that improve conditions in neighborhoods where low-income and minority households are concentrated. Although there is a rich literature describing past efforts to revitalize distressed neighborhoods, this literature provides little concrete guidance for today’s policymakers. This What Works framing paper focuses on basic neighborhood improvement strategies and the specific mechanisms at work that provide “levers” for revitalization.

Name: Edna Osebe - Wed 30 Jan, 2013

Cycle Rickshaws in Dhaka, Bangladesh

Mini media research:

example of the state as target or mediator of a social movement:

Cycle Rickshaws in Dhaka, Bangladesh

Name: Akshima Ghate - Tue 18 Dec, 2012

Towards a theory of local governance and public goods’ provision in sub-Saharan Africa

Under-provision of essential public goods is a key source of the malaise of development in sub-Saharan Africa. It is widely accepted that this is largely a governance problem, but current approaches to improving governance are not working.

Name: Edna Osebe - Mon 3 Dec, 2012

Clear the smog around climate change information

A survey reveals that people think government efforts at spreading the word about global warming are inadequate

Name: Ed Kerry - Fri 9 Nov, 2012

Health and quality of life - Synthesis Report

The second in a series of Synthesis Reports (SR) produced by FP7 URBAN-NEXUS project is already available on the internet. Each SR will address a different theme; this one is highlighting the importance and urgency of integrating health and quality of life in urban areas.

Name: Raquel Ubach - Tue 6 Nov, 2012

The Political Economy of Urban Space: Land and Real Estate in Dhaka City

A critical political economy analysis of the struggle over space in Dhaka city, world's fastest growing megacity, focusing on its land & real estate sector.

Name: Kazi Haque - Sat 3 Nov, 2012

SPIN-UP 4 low carbon. Research Methodology for Design and Renovation of Interchanges and their Environment

Yellow Design Foundation is a European platform for research providing information on design & mobility and promoting well designed interchanges. Well planned interchanges contribute to improve urban mobility, urban economy, urban environment and the quality of life of all the citizens.

Presented at the SUD-Net Session on Quality Public Space for Sustainable Urban Development at the 6th World Urban Forum, Naples, Italy. 5 September 2012.

Name: Sara Deye - Tue 30 Oct, 2012