ESF/N-AERUS International Workshop Geneva, Palais des Nations - May 3-6, 2000 CITIES OF THE SOUTH: SUSTAINABLE FOR WHOM? CALL FOR PAPERS

We invite contributions to this workshop. The main issues to be addressed in these contributions are listed below in order of the session of presentation. Session Two: Sustainable Development for Our Cities: Southern Perspectives 1. In your country do concepts of sustainable development have an impact on urban planning, policy formulation or social policy at the local level? 2. Do these policies take carefully into account the nature, problems and resources of the informal city? 3. Do alternative visions of a sustainable, healthy and livable informal city exist in your country? What prevents these visions from being implemented? lack of commitment by public officials lack of commitment by residents of the informal city lack of external resources (including technology or information) entrenched opposition by different interest groups other? 4. What kinds of internal (national and local) and external actions or resources are needed to implement the alternative vision? Session Three: Innovations for Sustainable Development in Cities of the South The aim is to discuss a broad cross-section of innovations (though not in individual papers). Individual papers should focus on one of the three categories of innovation: (a) public policy (relating to different combinations of allocative and delivery methods , roles of market, government and third sector provisioning, etc.); (b) technical/technological solutions; and (c) social participation in decision-making. The following questions may be referred to in analysing the value of different innovations: 1. Why don't people use environmentally sustainable technologies? Affordable but not acceptable? Acceptable but not affordable? Acceptable by some groups, not by others? 2. Why do governments not promote environmentally sustainable approaches? Lack of resources? Lack of knowledge and know-how? Institutional inertia? Opposition by vested interest? No percieved demand? 3. What ongoing social and political changes in the South will influence the adoption or rejection of environmental sustainable technologies: Globalisation? Cultural prejudice? Democratisation? 4. How successfully do the innovations described balance socio-economic, technological and environmental concerns? Session Five: What Kinds of International Cooperation Contribute to Socially and Environmentally Sustainable Cities in the South? 1. To what extent is recent North-South cooperation helping to improve the present situation of cities in the south? 2. Are the policies and interventions of major multilateral and bilateral donors that are likely to predominate in the next few years designed genuinely to support sustainable development in cities of the south? If not, why not? 3. What are the obstacles to reform of these policies? lack of resources lack of understanding of what is needed conflict of interest among/within donor community conflict of interest within the recipient countries other factors? 4. What reforms are needed; how shall they be realized; by whom? In the second part of this session, the focus will shift more directly to how the European Union should direct its interventions, and the role of the ESF/N-AERUS in influencing its choices. 5. Does the European Community have a different role to play than those played by national bilateral cooperation and multilateral aid agencies and financial institutions? 6. What can / should be the role of the European research community? 7. What should be the contribution of N-AERUS in promoting research that enhances the propects of aid to genuinely sustiainable development? Papers may address, for example, the ESF/N-AERUS role in: identifying research priorities for interventions (geographic, sectoral, target groups, etc.) developing and promoting research partnerships within EU and between EU and South proposing normative standards for development assistance other?

PRESS RELEASE (May 2000) CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVES WORKSHOP PAPERS ORGANIZATION REGISTRATION CALL FOR PAPERS FORMAT OF PROPOSALS AND PAPERS

N-AERUS: Network-Association of European Researchers on Urbanisation in the South
http://www.naerus.net