1. Learning from Others An International Perspective on Asset Based Development:Dharavi and Slum Dwellers International Rod Purcell University of Glasgow / IACD

3. In this presentation….. • Asset Based Development in an international context • Global Mega Slums • Dharavi, Mumbai • Community organising model – Slum Dwellers International

4. CONTEXT - The Western World has changed foreverThe AFTERMATH debate (Castells)www.aftermathproject.com • Long term debt crisis • Unsustainable national deficits • Declining government expenditure (as %GDP) • Less state involvement in welfare and service provision • Need for competitive economies re BRIC countries • = Need for innovation in economic and social spheres • = Developing new models of living and collective action

5. Main Global Urban Development Issues • Urban Sprawl - mega cities 20m+ • Collapse of public service (too many people, not enough money) • Employment • Affordable housing • Transportation (public and roads) • Water and sewerage • Crime and violence • Education, Health and Welfare • Environmental collapse • Corruption • Continued inward migration / ethnic and cultural tension • How far is this relevant for us in the UK?

6. Common Lessons From Overseas • Positive approach – assets not deficits • Building powerful autonomous organisations • Building effective local leadership • Strength through co-operation

7. Asset Based Approach: Building on the Capitals (or recognising what you have and making the most of it) Social Human / Economic / individual Trust, networks, collective action financial Wealth, Skills, spending employability power ‘Well -being’ Pollution, Built environment, infrastructure, natural resources air, water quality Influence over organisations; political access Physical Physical Built Natural Environmental Environmental Institutional

8. The Centrality of Slums Anna Tibaijuka, then Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations said “make no mistake, we live at a time of unprecedented, rapid, and irreversible urbanisation. The cities growing fastest are those of the developing world, and the fastest growing neighbourhoods are the slums. ….. Urban poverty is now becoming a severe, pervasive – and largely unacknowledged – feature of modern life. Huge numbers of people in towns and cities are suffering levels of deprivation that are often worse than those experienced by the rural poor.”

9. UN-HABITAT defines a slum household as a group of individuals living under the same roof in an urban area who lack one or more of the following: • Durable housing of a permanent nature that protects against extreme climate conditions. • 2. Sufficient living space which means not more than three people sharing the same room. • 3. Easy access to safe water in sufficient amounts at an affordable price. • 4. Access to adequate sanitation in the form of a private or public toilet shared by a reasonable number of people. • 5. Security of tenure that prevents forced evictions. • (Not everyone living in a slum area is in poverty, although most will be. And not every person in poverty lives in a slum)

11. World Mega Slums (UN estimates)

12. Dharavi, Mumbai – 20 million people(?) and growing

20. Slum Dwellers International The SDI network was officially launched in 1996 with the unification of urban poor federations in six Asian countries, four African countries and one country from Latin America. SDI Network currently extends to Asia: Cambodia, India, Nepal, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Africa: Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Uganda and Latin America: Brazil. There are also emerging initiatives in Indonesia, East Timor, Mongolia, Africa: Lesotho, Swaziland, Madagascar, Angola and Latin America: http://www.sdinet.org/

22. SDI Guiding principles (what can we learn from this?) 1. An autonomous ‘voice of the urban poor’ and not a voice for the urban poor. 2. Dailysavingby members is a mobilising & developmental tool, creating accountability, self-reliance and financial and human resource management skills. 3. The participation of women and of the most marginalised members of slum communities is central. 4. Communitylearning and solidarity through horizontal exchange programmes. 5. Incrementalhuman settlement development (identifying and building assets). 6. Grassroots-driven gathering of information through surveys, enumerations and settlement profiles (knowledge is power). 7. Solution-finding through negotiationsand dialogue. 8. Community-basedsheltertraining, including house modelling, community action planning and community design. 9. Small core groups of professionals to provide technical and financial support to federations. 10. Consistent engagement with local authorities through urban poor funds, enumeration data and citywide development strategies (note power relationship). 11. Internationaladvocacy in order to strengthen local city level initiatives.

23. And finally…… Own the problem – don’t wait for others to solve it You, your family, neighbours, friends, community, other allies and assets are the collective solution