La pobreza urbana es uno de los factores de la ciudad de Buenos Aires más complejos para estudiar. A menudo desestimada meramente como epifenómeno del desarrollo desigual del capitalismo, la pobreza urbana ha jugado, por el contrario, un rol clave en la conformación tanto del paisaje físico como del discurso cultural argentino a lo largo del siglo XX. La definición de la pobreza es quizás el principal problema para quien se enfrenta a su estudio. Existen, por un lado, aproximaciones desde la sociología, la economía y la teoría política. Pero, por otro, también hay una percepción cultural, influenciada por prejuicios, estereotipos, figuras y sentidos. Como imagen y relato, la pobreza tiene mucho peso en moldear nuestra comprensión de la ciudad. Esto es especialmente fuerte en el caso de la ciudad de Buenos Aires. Visiones de Buenos Aires encara esta cuestión, centrándose en las maneras en que los estratos más bajos de las clases populares —cirujas, inmigrantes, villeros y cartoneros— han sido integrados en diferentes prácticas artísticas, desde la literatura hasta el cine, la fotografía y las artes plásticas. Al analizar de cerca varias fuentes primarias, esta tesis examina las imágenes de la pobreza como un elemento de la ciudad en que se descubren las tensiones que afianzan la modernización urbana. Aunque numerosos estudios críticos sobre las ciudades latinoamericanas han reconocido la importancia del planeamiento urbano para analizar la historia cultural, esta investigación contribuye a esta discusión al volver a imaginar el peso cultural de la pobreza para comprender el imaginario de Buenos Aires y su desarrollo. Visiones de Buenos Aires cuestiona las interpretaciones generalmente jerárquicas del planeamiento urbano, señalando, en línea con los trabajos de Henri Lefebvre, Paola Berenstein Jacques y Nestor García Canclini, la necesidad de confrontar los planes oficiales de transformación urbana con las formas en que la cultura y el arte recogieron la presencia de la pobreza en la ciudad. Esta tesis examina la historia de la Buenos Aires del siglo XX a través de la descripción detallada de cuatro momentos fundamentales de su construcción material. En el primer capítulo describo la representación de los conventillos y el asentamiento informal del Barrio de las Ranas en los diarios de viaje de Enrique Gómez Carrillo y Jules Huret y en las fotografías de Harry Olds. Al considerar este corpus en el contexto del modelo que el Estado proyecta para la Buenos Aires asociada con el Centenario de 1910, demuestro cómo la representación de la pobreza y el planeamiento urbano estaban relacionados: ambos conformaron una manera particular de ver la ciudad como una escenografía. En el siguiente capítulo examino los modos en que el pueblo aparece en el cine de los años cincuenta. En específico contrasto estos retratos cinematográficos con el modelo urbano peronista dirigido a rediseñar Buenos Aires como ciudad obrera. Aquí planteo que la interpretación cultural de la pobreza y el planeamiento estatal colaboraron en crear una visión mítica de la ciudad. En el tercer capítulo me concentro en los años sesenta para analizar cómo los planes estatales para erradicar la pobreza constituyeron las premisas para fomentar el interés de la cultura en las villas miseria. Artistas distintos como Fernando Birri, Antonio Berni y Bernardo Verbitsky se preocuparon por construir una imagen de estos espacios de pobreza como territorios llenos de vida y objetos frente a la política estatal de vaciamiento. Esta narración termina con el modelo de la ciudad neoliberal que se produce en el enfrentamiento entre los planes de remodelación de Puerto Madero, los proyectos de urbanización de algunas villas miseria y la simultánea comodificación del pobre en la explosión de productos culturales que lo retratan. Al trazar las formas diferentes en que las clases bajas entraron, a través de las representaciones culturales, al imaginario urbano, esta tesis examina la historia, todavía no contada, del rol cambiante que la pobreza y las villas miseria ejercieron en las principales imágenes que se produjeron de la Buenos Aires del siglo XX.

Environmental degradation from problems of the 'Brown Agenda' is an everyday reality in Kenya's rapidly growing urban centres; and it is the low-income majority who are most affected. Deficient water supply and sanitation, inadequate solid waste disposal, and poor drainage are among the foremost problems that characterize informal settlements in which indigent urbanites are compelled to live. Analysis of environmental problems at settlement and household level can provide vital information about the appraisive environmental perceptions and cognitions of inhabitants of informal settlements, as well as their satisfaction with the infrastructural services to which they have access and their housing conditions, in general. Such information is essential to the formulation of apposite strategies for sustainable improvement of environmental conditions in informal settlements. Based largely on a comprehensive review of theoretical perspectives on the urban housing question in the South, international policy responses and experiences with settlement upgrading, this thesis seeks a better understanding of the socioeconomic and physio-environmental dynamics of urban low-income informal settlements and the formulation and implementation of upgrading policies. A comparative analysis of two majengos in Kenya-one of which has been upgraded while the other has not-serves to contextualize the study. The central thesis in the present study is that settlement upgrading is the most rational approach to improving the residential circumstances of the urban poor majority in Kenya. Applying a fundamentally liberal approach, the development of pragmatic opportunities is discussed, and pursuable policies and programmes, which are realistic and implementable, for effective environmental planning and management of urban low-income informal settlements in Kenya are proposed.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hong Kong, 2007. / Also available in print.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--UCLA, 2008. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 146-154).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Catholic Theological Union at Chicago, 2001. / Abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 162-191).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Catholic Theological Union at Chicago, 2001. / Abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 162-191).

Thesis (M. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 2005.

viii, 88 p. : ill. A print copy of this title is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / In recent years, researchers have taken a particular interest in the spatial concentration of poverty due to evidence suggesting that people liVing within certain densities of poverty are more likely to experience certain problems or what have become known as neighborhood effects. This analysis is a quantitative study, focused on describing changes in poverty concentration between 1990 and 2000 in United States metropolitan areas. The study reports changes seen at the commonly used 40% poverty concentration threshold between 1990 and 2000, while at the same time considering other concentration thresholds and how changing the threshold by which we evaluate poverty informs the general trends policy makers receive information about when changes in poverty occur. / Committee in Charge: Neil Bania, Ph.D., Chair; Jessica Greene, Ph.D.; Jean Stockard, Ph.D.

Climate change affects water resources suitable for human consumption, transforming water quality and quantity. These changes exacerbate vulnerabilities of human society, increasing the importance of adequately protecting and managing water resources and supplies. Growing urban populations provide an additional stress on existing water resources, particularly increasing the vulnerability of people living in poor neighbourhoods. In urban areas, official responses to climate change are currently dominated by Disaster Risk Management (DRM); however, more recently Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) has emerged to support the integration of climate change adaptation in water resource planning. Based on a case study of the city of Douala, Cameroon, the thesis examines the operational implementation of both frameworks, combining observations, semi-structured interviews with different stakeholders and a survey carried out in three poor communities. The research highlights the challenges of improving the joining of both frameworks to adequately reach the urban poor, whilst being alert to, and responsive to, the autonomous adaptation strategies the poor autonomously implement and develop. At present, the IWRM and DRM frameworks are implemented separately and do not clearly reach the urban poor who face three major water-related issues (flooding, water-related diseases and water access). Other institutional water-related measures and projects are carried out by authorities in the low-income communities, but the institutions still struggle to manage the delivery of basic services and protect these communities against hazards. The lack of effective outcomes of the institutional water-related measures and projects has led to a strong process of autonomous adaptation by inhabitants of poor communities. Driven by their adaptive capacity supported by the abundance in groundwater resources, they use coping and adaptive strategies to reduce their vulnerability to water-related issues, such as alternative water suppliers. Similarly, the frequency of the flooding hazard has led the urban poor to develop practices to minimise disaster impacts. However, the autonomous strategies developed face limitations caused by the natural and build environment. In this context, the autonomous strategies of the urban poor and the strategies appear to have a strong influence on each other. While institutional projects have initiated spontaneous strategies, other strategies reduce the willingness of the low-income neighbourhoods to participate in the implementation of official, externally derived development projects.

Bangladesh is known for two things: poverty and floods. It is a delta country burdened with draining large amounts of water from surrounding countries and a heavy monsoon season that have caused numerous severe floods with large scale destruction throughout the country. Rapid urbanization and migration have put an immense pressure on the urban centres. Dhaka, the capital city and the largest urban centre of the country, is struggling to provide adequate housing and basic services for the urban poor who are forced to find accommodation in the flood-prone slums and squatter settlements of the city. The alarming rate of population growth further aggravates the problem of environmental degradation which in turn causes more severe floods. As one of the most vulnerable countries for climate change, Bangladesh must work towards providing flood-resilient, safe and affordable housing for all its citizens. My response was the LIFT (Low Income Flood-proof Technology) House: an affordable, flood-resilient housing solution for the low income families of Dhaka. The LIFT house consists of two amphibious structures that are capable of adapting to rising water levels. The amphibious structures float up on buoyant foundations during floods, and return to ground level when water recedes. It is a sustainable, environmentally friendly house that provides all basic services to its residents without connection to the city service systems, through the use of indigenous materials and local skills. This thesis documents the research, design, and construction of the LIFT house with funding provided by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC). The LIFT house was completed on January 2010 in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and has become a symbol for the city’s desire to provide sustainable, low-cost accommodations that are protected from floods.