Barbara Speed ~10 African Cities Whose Economic Importance Will Triple By 2030

January 2015. Global Economy Watch, a monthly report released by PwC, usually leads with stories on US employment figures or an analysis of the Eurozone crisis. In August, though, it turned its attention to a more neglected part of the world, running an article titled, “Africa: Growth is on the horizon but where should you look?”

The audience for such reports are the senior executives (CEOs, CFOs and COOs) referred to as occupants of “the C-suite”. Most of these guys haven’t spent a great deal of time thinking about sub-Saharan Africa’s potential as an investment target. But, it turns out, they should.

Read more: http://www.citymetric.com/10-african-cities

The Cities Papers ~ An Essay Collection From The Decent City Initiative

January 2015. How can the core characteristics of big cities be mobilized to make human life more just and democratic? Premised on the centrality of urban space to human experience and the great challenges and opportunities produced by urban concentration across the globe, the Social Science Research Council’s initiative on The Decent City seeks to deepen understanding and improve practice by creating interactions among social scientists, humanists, architects, designers, and urban planners. The Cities Papers are thought pieces produced by scholars and practitioners from all these perspectives who participated in several gatherings to further shape the initiative’s agenda.

Read more: http://citiespapers.ssrc.org/

Fatima Hassan ~ The Link Between Functioning Toilets And Justice

In Khayelitsha, an informal settlement on the outskirts of Cape Town, residents play near toilets that are crumbling, clogged, and dirty. This lack of access to proper sanitation is not just a health hazard—it’s a crucial issue for development, safety, access to justice, and human rights.

The South African constitution guarantees the right to equality and dignity, and also an extensive list of socioeconomic rights, the realization of which is frustrated by a lack of access to basic sanitation facilities. Millions of South Africans still lack access to basic sanitation, including at least 500,000 in Cape Town.

Read more: http://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/

Naomi Ng & Sofie Buch Hoyer ~ Hong Kong’s Sky Slums Highlight Wealth Gap

Hong Kong (CNN) January 2015. With an unrestricted, panoramic night view of the city’s twinkling skyline and the breezy air right outside the front door, a 15th floor penthouse apartment ticks all the boxes for a million-dollar property in the heart of Hong Kong.
But there’s a catch.
Fung, 59, who prefers not to divulge his full name, lives in an illegal rooftop slum — a 75-square-feet shack just big enough to host a bed, a cupboard, and everyday knick-knacks thrown pell-mell in the dusty room. The rent costs $1,700 Hong Kong dollars (US$220) a month.

Read more: http://edition.cnn.com/hong-kong-rooftop

Aparna Piramal Raje – Why And How Cities Succeed

Photo: www.roadtraffic-technology.com

livemint.com. January 2015. Mumbai: Edward Glaeser’s best-selling book Triumph of the City is an ideal starting point for anyone interested in learning about urbanization. The book examines cities across the world and describes why and how “urban spaces make us human”. An economics professor at Harvard University, Glaeser was in New Delhi to speak at the London School of Economics’s Urban Age Conference. On the sidelines of the conference, he spoke about how cities succeed. “I think triumphant is empowering the citizens to make their own choices, enabling them to find economic success and have freedom. Different cities have different dimensions. Singapore is mind-bogglingly well-run, but it can also be a little sterile, and certainly it does not enjoy perfect freedom from every dimension. Rio is a magnificent city but certainly not particularly well-run; it has huge problems of crime. Many Northern European cities are glorious in terms of their combination of prosperity and equality, but they are also not necessarily great at being inclusive to new residents, and can be very expensive. So, I don’t see one triumphant city,” Glaeser explains.

Read more at: http://www.livemint.com/Why-and-how-cities-succeed

GBE – Building A Tiny House With Straw Bales

greenbuildingelements.com. January 2015. According to Click Green, hay bales can make an affordable, energy efficient, and sustainable tiny house that can keep you and yours safe and warm far off the grid. The bales have 75% more insulating power than a traditional stud wall filled with fiberglass insulation, and are non-combustible because they have little to no oxygen inside.

To begin, frame the dwelling as you would a “conventional” tiny house‘s post and beam structure, then fill in the openings with the hay bales. They should be stacked on top of a cement footing (or foundation) in order to prevent moisture seeping into the straw. Setting some protruding metal pieces into the cement will help lock the bottom bales in place and prevent them moving around.

Read more: http://greenbuildingelements.com/a-tiny-house-with-straw-bales/