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 people’s federations
to support each other’s 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?
© Network-Association of European Researchers on Urbanisation in the South, 2007
