The Urban Portal is an online gateway to the latest research, events, and resources in urban social science. With a particular focus on urban research at the University of Chicago and efforts to translate that research for broader audiences, the Urban Portal highlights the urban scholarship of University of Chicago faculty and the many research units on campus. The Urban Portal also contains a current list of workshops and events at the University of Chicago.

To help connect scholars to urban research occurring in other settings, the Urban Portal offers a robust array of tools to assist researchers and students, including a comprehensive list of urban-related datasets; constantly updated reports on new and noteworthy developments in urban research or policy; links to journals; details about conference events worldwide; and other resources of interest to scholars, journalists, and policy makers.

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

moonofsouth.com. Hordes of frustrated residents evicted from buildings and land they have been occupying illegally, mushrooming of squatter camps (slums) on the outskirts of cities, middle-aged men and women sleeping rough at bus and train stations, four or five entire families squeezed in one room or one-bedroom flat, rent increasing every three months as demand outstrips supply, landlords asking up to one year of paid rent in advance in countries such as Ghana, Nigeria and Togo, and rural folks flocking to cities to search for jobs and wondering where to sleep.

These scenes, including many more not included here, are the realities of Africa, a continent in full mutation where UN Habitat says 46 cities are now larger than one million people.

What can be done to deal with this situation? This has become a one-million dollar question on every policymaker and investor’s lips.

Read more: http://moonofthesouth.com/africas-urban-housing-crisis/

adf.ly. Slums sind mehr als Elend. Eine Ausstellung in Winterthur zeigt, wie Menschen in einem besetzten Hochhaus in Venezuela leben.
Kaum fliessend Wasser, kein Strom, ungenügende sanitäre Einrichtungen. Slums assoziieren wir oft nur mit hoffnungsloser Armut. Doch damit machen wir es uns zu einfach. Jeder zweite Mensch weltweit lebt in einer Stadt. Ein Grossteil jener, die vom Land in die Metropolen fliehen, strandet in notdürftigen Unterkünften. Es sind also nicht wenige, sondern viele, die in prekären Verhältnissen hausen. Und: Sie ersticken nicht im Chaos, sondern haben sich organisiert.

Weiter lesen: http://adf.ly/WEwQo

Home to Johannesburg and Pretoria, Gauteng is the centre of South Africa’s trade and transport networks. Responsible for close to 10% of the sub-Saharan Africa’s GDP, it attacks business and people from around the continent and further beyond. As a primary node on the air and road transport networks, the majority of immigrants to South Africa arrive in or pass through Gauteng Province.

This short paper summarises a variety of trends and concerns related to migration and other forms of human mobility in Gauteng Province. For present purposes, this includes most forms of international and domestic into, through, and out of the Province. (This report explicitly excludes movements associated with short-term tourism.) Although less politically visible than cross-border flows, this study finds that domestic migration (urbanisation and migration within the Province) has been and will continue to be the most significant and challenging form of mobility affecting Gauteng’s development trajectory. Given its brevity, this report is highlights only a limited number of migration’s real and potential impacts.

Read more: http://urbanlandmark.org.za/download/42_LandauGindrey.pdf

An amazing documentary on the reality of the slums of India. BBC documentary.

asu news. Students design, build solar-powered home for Southwest desert environment

A collaborative team of Arizona State University and University of New Mexico (UNM) students is set to participate in the 2013 U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon. The international competition challenges student teams from institutions of higher education to design, construct and operate solar-powered houses that are functional, energy-efficient and attractive.

The team, called ASUNM, is one of only 20 from across the globe selected to compete in the biennial event, which takes place Oct. 3-13, at the Orange County Great Park in Irvine, Calif.

The team’s project, named SHADE – Solar Homes Adapting for Desert Equilibrium – is an adaptable 800-square-feet living space powered by solar panels and designed for an older, active couple.

Read more: https://asunews.asu.edu/Solar-Decathlon