In August, 2007-The Global Urban Summit, was held at the Rockefeller
Foundation's study and conference center in Bellagio, Italy, convened
leaders from the private and public sectors to explore opportunities
to foster healthy and sustainable cities.
In preparation for the summit, the Center for Sustainable Urban
Development, in collaboration with the Rockefeller Foundation,
identified leading research scholars involved in the areas of summit
focus areas to prepare expert background papers and summaries that
helped to inform and frame the summit discussions for each of the four
themed summit weeks: financing shelter, water and sanitation; building
for climate change resilience; improving urban population health
systems; and reorienting planning and design pedagogy and practice for
the 21st century.
One of the background papers was an interesting article by Elliot
Sclar covering the planning pedagogy and differences between the
global north and global south. The summit was oriented to discover the
varied needs of global north (or the developed world) and global south
(or the developing world- with its varied problems of trying to
address the profession of planning and design to the urban poor)
[1]
http://www.earthinstitute.columbia.edu/csud/documents/Final%20Paper
s/Week%204/Week4_Sclar.pdf
Few of the querries addressed in the summit are enlisted. One could
further search for various other background papers- they are an
interesting read!
[2]
http://www.earthinstitute.columbia.edu/csud/projects/global_urban_s
ummit.html#csudpapers
Are urban planning and design professionals relevant to the needs of
the urban poor?
* Are changes needed in planning and design methodologies and
technologiesas distinct from models of practiceto more effectively
incorporate the perspectives, needs, and values of those poor and
vulnerable communities affected by planning and design decisions?
[INS: [DEL: · :DEL] § :INS] To what extent does the traditional
model of a professional-client relationship help or hinder the
alleviation of problems of global urbanization?
[INS: [DEL: · :DEL] § :INS] Can participation of the urban poor in
the traditional model of the professional-client relationship, in
which the professional is paid by a third party ( i.e. donor,
international agency, national or local government), ever be more than
a perfunctory consultation?
[INS: [DEL: · :DEL] § :INS] How can alternative models of
professional practice be developed that more effectively address the
needs of the urban poor?
[INS: [DEL: · :DEL] § :INS] How can career ladders that take these
concerns into account work more effectively? How are teachers of
planning and design addressing the problems of adaptation to climate
change, financing water, sanitation and shelter, and urban population
health in their training of the next generation of professionals?
[INS: [DEL: · :DEL] § :INS] How can academics and practitioners
incorporate concerns for social justice and equity into planning and
design pedagogy?
[INS: [DEL: o :DEL] § :INS] Can technical competence be divorced
from social concerns?
[INS: [DEL: · :DEL] § :INS] What specific skills are required of
design and planning professionals, regardless of whether they are
trained in the Global North or the Global South, to better address the
challenges of cities in the developing world, such as those addressed
in this Summit's previous weeks?
[INS: [DEL: · :DEL] § :INS] What actions are needed to
institutionalize such skills in the pedagogy and practice of design
and planning training institutions?
Nidhi Batra
Architect & Urban Designer
References
1.
http://www.earthinstitute.columbia.edu/csud/documents/Final%20Papers/Week%204/Week4_Sclar.pdf
2.
http://www.earthinstitute.columbia.edu/csud/projects/global_urban_summit.html#csudpapers