From critplan at ucla.edu Wed Jul 2 07:30:06 2008 From: critplan at ucla.edu (Critical Planning Journal) Date: Wed, 2 Jul 2008 10:00:06 +0800 Subject: [Urbanstudy] Critical Planning : Volume 15, Summer 2008 *Now Available* In-Reply-To: <3a698e340806271657l26db051m22678b05e4452fbc@mail.gmail.com> References: <3a698e340806271657l26db051m22678b05e4452fbc@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <3a698e340807011900g2f41a671u9af0d84248a1e1be@mail.gmail.com> Announcing: Critical Planning UCLA Urban Planning Journal Volume 15, Summer 2008 15TH ANNIVERSARY VOLUME Critical Planning's Fifteenth Anniversary volume is now available. Order online at www.spa.ucla.edu/critplan. Subscriptions: Institutional - $35 Individual - $15 ISSN 1522-9807 Contact critplan at ucla.edu for bulk orders or inquiries This compelling anniversary volume addresses a wide range of current and critical issues facing cities and regions in the US and around the globe. In a special section, renowned scholars and practitioners explore "critical planning" in theory, practice, and educational environments. We invite you to take part in the debate. Order your copy today! Wachsmuth & Pasternak - Use It or Lose It: Toronto's "Abandonment Issues" Campaign for Affordable Housing - 2008 EDWARD W. SOJA PRIZE RECIPIENT // Zeiderman - Cities of the Future? Megacities and the Space/Time of Urban Modernity // Dooling - Ecological Gentrification: Re-negotiating Justice in the City // Duda - Naturalizing Urban Counterinsurgency // Pineda - Enabling Justice: Spatializing Disability in the Built Environment // Shibata - Neoliberalism, Risk, and Spatial Governance in the Developmental State: Japanese Planning in the Global Economy // Thomas - Engaged or Disinterested? Youth Political and Civic Participation in Canadian Transportation Planning // Kanai & Soureli - On Critical Planning Education: Introduction to the Debate // Sanyal - Critical about Criticality // Wolff - What Aspect of Critical Planning Should We Be Concerned With? // Leavitt - Meaningful Convergences // Narsoo - On Knowledge, Action, and Voice in Planning Practice: Stories from South Africa // Editorial Board - Critical Planning Today: An Interview with Peter Marcuse // Ebner - Book Review: Gentrification -- Christopher Gladora Office Manager, Critical Planning MA Candidate, UCLA Urban Planning Critical Planning UCLA Dept of Urban Planning School of Public Affairs 3250 Public Policy Building Box 951656 Los Angeles, CA 90095-1656 U.S.A. critplan at ucla.edu -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20080702/b1dbf9ce/attachment-0001.html -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: CP-Vol15_PressRelease-email.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 170884 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20080702/b1dbf9ce/attachment-0001.pdf From bhargavi_srao at yahoo.com Mon Jul 7 12:48:31 2008 From: bhargavi_srao at yahoo.com (Bhargavi S.) Date: Mon, 7 Jul 2008 00:18:31 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Urbanstudy] Moving forward to create safe and green neighbourhoods Message-ID: <3008.45066.qm@web32607.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Dear All, Many thanks for joining us for the meeting on Saturday and developing our collective understanding of the issues involved in the road widening and lake privatisation programmes.  This discussion sets the stage for us to plan and implement strategies of action that will help us work closely with various Government agencies, and also a wide network of corporate, institutional, civil society networks in order to make our city safe:  walkable, cyclable, motorable, aesthetically beautiful and fair in supporting livelihoods of all classes. To take our efforts forward, I personally feel that we have to change our strategies to make things work. Given the attitude and mindset of most people, if we continue to say don’t widen the roads and don’t cut the trees, we will have very few supporting our campaign. Instead we need to speak a little differently and pick up issues that generate support from wider constituencies.  The issue of pedestrian safety in the city, for instance, can instantly gain the support of lakhs of people who walk daily, resident welfare associations, morning walkers, joggers, school children, college students, teachers, workers, street vendors, etc. We all love to walk – except that it has become fairly impossible to do this in Bangalore. This is not just an issue that affects all of us, but is a deeply problematic dimension of our life in this city.  Whether we walk down the road to get some coriander leaves, bread or vegetables, or take a stroll around the corner, walk to a friend’s house, to school, to work, or simply as an exercise and to clear our minds, walking is fun.  Walking helps our health, our urban environment and the quality of life itself. What is a city if there is no fun in walking on the road? Unfortunately this simplest of life’s pleasures comes at a terrible cost. Every day our news papers are reporting pedestrians being killed and nothing is being done about it. But there are things that we can do to put an end to this and help make our roads safer, besides being greener and livelier. While we talk to people about how unsafe our neighbourhoods are and how risky they have become for children, senior citizens and differently abled people, simply because of the lack of proper foot paths/sidewalks, clearly in violation of law that mandates and prescribes standards for such basic facilities,  people generally will agree on the need for safe and walkable neighbourhoods.  A logical next step would be to elicit their support for a campaign to making walking safe in the city.   Is this a programme of action we can agree will broad-base our campaign, and make it more popular? Let’s imagine a bit!  Imagine that we will work with local communities to help create, design, maintain footpaths/sidewalks.  That once we do this in a neighbourhood, other neighbourhoods will want to adopt this approach.  The dividends of such action are far more impressive than we can imagine. For instance, it would simply make our roads not just for motor vehicles, but ensure pedestrians have a greater right.  Walking becomes not just an issue of pleasure and health, and affordability, but a right that cannot be given up under any circumstance.  So that we can walk, therefore there shall be sidewalks everywhere.  BBMP, for instance, cannot then arrogate to itself the power of overruling this right and making it all seem that the city   is all about cars and nothing else.  A critical result of such an organised, citywide effort would be that we will simply   make it critical to save our avenue trees, and put an end to the madness of road widening.  While we await the Yellappa Reddy Committee to review the road widening proposals, in compliance with the Interim Judgment of the High Court in the PIL filed by ESG, it does not limit us from simultaneously campaigning for pedestrian rights.   Our collective action would make it determinant for the committee to support our demands – make every street walkable.  No road re-designing (for widening or whatever) if it does not meet the basic constitutional right to walk in safety.   Such indicators would play a far greater role in re-shaping our city for our collective comfort than any one of our single issue pursuits – such as saving trees.  Of course, we all want trees to live; we only restate how this has to be achieved, so people can take their horse-blinds off and see what it is to work, live, play, and enjoy a city. Some ideas for us to consider for collective action: 1.       Identify pedestrian problems in different neighbourhoods-  eg: no place to walk, no lights, very narrow sidewalks/footpaths, two wheelers drive on sidewalks, blocked pathways with construction debris, trash on footpath, vehicle parking with metal fencing on footpath, fenced lawns on sidewalks, open drains, broken manholes, no signs to help pedestrians (especially the differently abled), drivers never stop at street crossings and are very rash at turnings, driving on the wrong side of the road, aggressive call centre taxis, etc, etc.  All these are instances of our collective experiences… and none of them seem to make us walk.  Got to change this now, in every neighbourhood .. and thereby across the city in time. 2.       List agencies and departments responsible for making improvements about our roads and sidewalks and initiate a systematic effort to get things done right.  Neighbourhood associations are a great starting point for such actions.. we only need to energise each neighbourhood into action and move to the next, and the next and so on. 3.       Develop public involvement strategies to work regularly and consistently with RTO, Traffic polic, etc. to curtail Aggressive Driver behaviour, and improve pedestrian safety. 4.       Different people have different safety needs- Children, older people, persons with disabilities and migrants from rural areas….Get each of them involved in highlighting their needs and help them take action to make roads work for them. 5.       Survey Poor pedestrian safety issues near schools and bus stands and make clear recommendations and designs (if possible) to improve overall safety. 6.       Pressurise the BBMP, Police department, Traffic police, and other agencies to create walking plazas in every neighbourhood.  To start with it could be once a week, possibly on a Sunday between 4.00 pm -8.00 pm.  It could be at the 4th block Jayanagar, M. G. Road, Commercial Street, Yeshwantpur market, Avenue Road, Gandhi bazaar,  BSK 2nd stage , Malleshwaram, and so on.  Once it captures public imagination and becomes popular, the demand will increase to make it a regular feature.  People will see their memories of streets as packed with vehicles and unsafe, transiting into havens for walking, talking, bargaining, eating, theatre, street gimmicks… etc. 7.       Create awareness in schools, colleges, neighbourhoods, offices, etc. on all these issues.  We need simple presentation material and just about 20 people sparing half hour, even during lunch, and willing to listen.  Let’s create lists of such spaces that are accessible for such conversations.    I am sure that when we brainstorm, we can come up with a lot more exciting opportunities to transform our city spaces, and make our streets (wide and boring) but, useful and interesting.  If we can nudge our conversations into this direction.. surely then our meetings on Saturdays will be something to look forward to, popular, and productive  Looking forward to your comments and conversations. Warm Regards, bhargavi www.esgindia.org www.newsrack.in -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20080707/81d5e6f8/attachment.html From elkamath at yahoo.com Tue Jul 8 08:44:45 2008 From: elkamath at yahoo.com (lalitha kamath) Date: Mon, 7 Jul 2008 20:14:45 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Urbanstudy] Fwd: Human Rights under State of Emergency Monitoring and Protection Coalition Statement Message-ID: <596091.90137.qm@web53607.mail.re2.yahoo.com> Human Rights under State of Emergency Monitoring and Protection Coalition STATEMENT July 6, 2008 Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia The history of humankind has demonstrated time and time again that the likelihood of serious human rights violations is increased during a state of emergency. In light of this, over 20 human rights NGOs formed a coalition and pulled their resources to monitor human rights violations, prevent further violence and inform the public during the 4 day state of emergency that was announced on the night of July 1, 2008 following the election protests that took place in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Over 100 people including lawyers, defense attorneys, psychologists, social workers, students and other human rights activists came together on a voluntary basis and conducted monitoring and fact-finding activities on the situation of the 718 detainees arrested during the state of emergency. At the same time, coalition members have also begun to provide legal counseling, relevant information and other services to the detainees and their families. Within the framework of this monitoring, the coalition members visited the detention sites and hospitals, and met with relevant authorities, the arrested, the injured and their family members. Information collected through interviews, supported by audio and visual documentation, demonstrates that the following violations of human rights and international conventions, to which Mongolia is a signatory, were committed in the process of the organization and implementation of the President's Decree on Announcing the State of Emergency: * Complete and timely measures were not taken to inform citizens who were unable to receive information through radio and television about the announcement of the state of emergency * The police and army corps were not provided with guidelines on how to perform the arrests in compliance with relevant laws and regulations * In violation of the law, the police and army corps performed a mass arrest, using excessive force, severely beating and injuring people * The detainees were kept in conditions that do not satisfy minimum standards. In particular: * 30-50 people were kept in a small room of about 20 square meters, without sufficient air, people were also kept en masse in a detention center garage * Children and women were kept with adult men * The detention rooms did not satisfy minimum health and hygiene standards * The detainees were not allowed access to toilet facilities, which resulted in damage to their health * The detainees were not provided with necessary nutrition. For example, in some detention sites, people were not given food or water for a whole day while in other sites they were given a small piece of cookie with tap water on the first day and chloramine-tainted tea on the second day. * People who required medical attention were not provided with necessary assistance. * During the mass arrests, the Law on Criminal Procedure was seriously violated. In particular: * The detainees were not informed of their rights or the reason for their arrest * The families were not immediately notified about the arrests * During the arrests and the interrogations, the police did not inform citizens of their basic rights such as the right to have a lawyer present and the right not to testify against oneself * People with disabilities and children were interrogated without the presence of a parent, legal guardian, representative or lawyer * The detainees were forced to give and sign statements under torture and duress * Television footage is being used as stand-alone evidence and repeatedly broadcast on the Mongolian National Public Television and Radio. As a result of the above violations, the detainees and their family members and friends have suffered severe psychological damage over and above significant material losses. Even after 5 days have passed since the initial arrests, there are over 70 people who have not been located and their family and friends are still looking for them. Given these serious and numerous violations of international human rights laws such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, International Pact on Civil and Political Rights, Rome Statute on the International Criminal Court, and the International Convention against Torture and Inhuman Treatment, the Constitution of Mongolia and the Law of Mongolia on Criminal Procedure, lead us to conclude that the on-going interrogation process is illegal. Basic human rights principles, which dictate that no one may be subjected to torture, inhuman treatment, humiliation and cruel punishment, must be strictly followed at all times. Violation of these principles can not be justified under any circumstances. Therefore, we demand that egregious violations of human rights and freedoms be stopped immediately. The temporary closure of all broadcast media with the exception of the Mongolian National Public Radio and Television resulted in a dire lack of objective and timely information. In the context of an already distressed and anxious public, this unbalanced and one-sided information further increased people's fears and severely undermined their trust in state protection. These events have clearly demonstrated the fragility of Mongolia's democratic institutions and the weaknesses of Mongolia's national human rights protection mechanisms. For these reasons we call on the government, political parties, citizens and civil society organizations to make a concerted effort to resolve the current situation peacefully, based on human rights, to restore and protect the rights of our citizens who have been affected by the mass arrests, and to strengthen human rights guarantees in Mongolia. It is of vital importance that we work together to protect and ensure fundamental human rights in Mongolia. Center for Human Rights and Development Law and Human Rights Center National Center against Violence Open Society Forum Globe International Philanthropy for Development Center Mongolian Women's Fund Step by Step NGO "Let's Develop" Club Amnesty International Citizen D.Lamjav Mongolian Women's Federation Mongolian Men's Association "Mongolian Family" Psychotherapy Association National Federation of Disabled Citizens' Unions ECPAT National Network "Child Protection" Coalition Association for Family Wellbeing Center for Citizens' Alliance Liberty Center Asian Focal Point for the International Civil Society Forum for Democracy PLEASE NOTE: If you would like to be taken off this emailing list please send an email to informationmongolia at yahoo.com with the word REMOVE in the subject. If you have been fowarded this email and would like to be put on this list please send an email to informationmongolia at yahoo.com with the words ADD ME in the subject. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20080707/f285739c/attachment-0001.html From elkamath at yahoo.com Tue Jul 8 12:06:34 2008 From: elkamath at yahoo.com (lalitha kamath) Date: Mon, 7 Jul 2008 23:36:34 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Urbanstudy] Fw: Iran: Direct, Untargeted Subsidies vs. Cash Transfers to the Poor Message-ID: <284495.87709.qm@web53608.mail.re2.yahoo.com> Ahmadi-Nejad aims to focus subsidies on poor By Najmeh Bozorgmehr in Tehran Published: June 25 2008 03:00 | Last updated: June 25 2008 03:00 Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad has announced plans to revise Iran's costly subsidies scheme and redirect it to the poorest segments of society. The attempt to curb the spending on subsidies, which account for a third of gross domestic product, is, in theory, a move that should be welcomed by economists but it represents a significant political gamble for Iran's president. Given the government's record in implementing new decisions, analysts in Tehran said Mr AhmadiNejad's decision could prove deeply unpopular and affect his chances of re-election next year. In a televised address on Monday, Mr Ahmadi-Nejad lamented that the state forgoes as much as $97bn (€62bn, £49bn) a year because of its energy subsidies and vowed a new targeted plan would start in October. Under the current system, 70 per cent of the subsidies go to people who have a level of income that should mean they can afford to pay for energy. The government also heavily subsidises electricity, water, public transport and basic commodities. "This change has been one of the dreams of our economists and this government is determined to do it even if we in the government get hurt," Mr Ahmadi-Nejad said. "It is worth it." Development economists and donor agencies including the World Bank have long argued that direct, untargeted subsidies for food and fuel are wasteful, encouraging overconsumption and often disproportionately benefiting the wealthier in society. Most economists recommended cushioning the impact of higher food and energy costs by cash transfers to poorer households rather than artificially suppressing the price of agricultural and fuel products. But Iranians expect their oil-rich state to spend generously on their daily needs and they sometimes revolt against any revision of subsidies which they suspect might be a first step to eliminating the scheme. About a dozen petrol stations were set on fire last June when the government rationed petrol to curb over-consumption. But the rationing has continued and the government recently stopped providing subsidised petrol for luxury cars, priced at 11 cents a litre, making the rich pay four times more. "Changing the subsidies system is the most risky step the government is taking because it is a too complicated procedure which may have social consequences," said Mohsen Safayi-Farahani, a deputy minister of economy under the former reformist government. Details of the plan are still sketchy. The government has only revealed that Iranians who would like to receive subsidies in cash must apply next month and they will receive the subsidy into their bank accounts. Many analysts say the government has no other option but to try to reduce the cost of subsidies. Excessive consumption of energy has led to uncontrollable increases in the annual cost. Mr Ahmadi-Nejad acknow-ledged that unbalanced -economic development, in-efficient taxation, two-digit inflation and unemployment were long-standing problems for the country. In a departure from his usual language, which often blames economic problems on "mafias" backed by his reformist and conservative opponents, the president called for help from all political groups. "This plan belongs to all of us and I ask you not to drag this into [political] confrontations. Help [the government] to cure this acute disease," he said. Ahmadinejad to focus subsidies on Iran's poor Wed Jun 25, 2008 1:34pm BST By Edmund Blair TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran's president plans to adjust an unwieldy subsidy system so that it helps the poor more directly despite initial inflation risks, in a reform opponents said was an overdue response to criticism of his policies. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has in the past opposed reforms requiring liberalising prices of goods like gasoline and some foodstuffs for fear of driving rampant price rises still higher, the analysts say. Change may also risk social unrest. But reforms announced in a TV interview and carried by newspapers on Wednesday indicate the president, facing growing grumbles from opponents and the public, may want to rebuff at least some of his critics before the 2009 presidential election. "Mr Ahmadinejad is not able to continue the current situation. He has to do something because the fourth year of Mr Ahmadinejad's presidential term is starting and actually he did nothing for the economy," said Saeed Laylaz, a business consultant and frequent critic of the president's policies. He said he welcomed the reforms Ahmadinejad announced. Ahmadinejad has not said if he will run again but is widely expected to. Analysts say much will depend on keeping the support of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's top authority who has gently urged the government to deal with economic problems while still voicing backing for the president. Ahmadinejad came to power in 2005 pledging to share out Iran's oil wealth more fairly. Despite presiding over record crude earnings, economists say the wealth gap has widened due to profligate spending that has stoked inflation, mostly harming the poor, and via subsidies that often mainly benefit the rich. The president, whose government has in the past sought to tackle inflation by telling businesses to lower prices, accepted subsidies needed changing. "Currently, subsidies are not useful and have the reverse effect (of what was intended)," he said in comments carried by the official newspaper Iran, adding that 70 percent of subsidy spending ended up with the country's richest 30 percent. "With such subsidies, industry cannot compete with the world as it should," the president said, adding that energy subsidies cost Iran 900 trillion rials (about 50 billion pounds) a year. POLITICAL HOT POTATO Gasoline subsidies are an example where the rich benefit most because they tend to have bigger, gas-guzzling vehicles, while the poor may not even be able to afford a small car. Changes are already being made via rationing introduced last year that restricts how much subsidised fuel drivers can buy, with any extra being sold at a higher price. The government originally opposed selling any fuel more expensively. When rationing was introduced, however, several fuel stations were torched, showing how sensitive reforms can be. Ahmadinejad indicated changes in subsidies would involve means testing with Iranians filling a form to establish their position but did not say precisely how payments would be made. The economic daily Donya-ye Eqtesad, citing the president, said the first payments would be made in the second half of the Iranian year. Iran's calendar begins in March. Economists have long argued for a shake up of Iran's system of broad subsidies but say it is a political hot potato because it will initially add to inflation, currently running at more than 25 percent, even if it comes with longer term benefits. "Taking away subsidies is not an easy matter. The government seems to be doing it, but already we are seeing short-term inflationary effects," said one economist, speaking before the president's more sweeping reform was announced. In the longer term, cutting subsidies would reduce budget spending and therefore ease inflationary pressure, the economist said. In his interview, the president also said his economic plan would involve changes to the tax system to improve collection and reform of customs. He did not give a timetable. Economists say one of the main problems fuelling inflation has been the government's spending of bonanza revenues from sky-high oil prices. Although designed to help the poor by boosting spending in villages and provinces in particular, economists say the government has not used interest rates and other tools to soak up the extra liquidity. The president, for example, has been criticised for pushing to keep interest rates below inflation. (Additional reporting by Zahra Hosseinian; Editing by Dominic Evans) In the rice basket and bazaars of Iran, they feel the pain By Zahra Hosseinian Reuters Wednesday, June 25, 2008 CHALUS, Iran: From the lush paddies of northern Iran to the dusty grain bazaars of Tehran, the pain and paradoxes of rising food and fuel prices are starkly on display. Rice prices have more than doubled in Iran since March, but farmers working from sunrise to sunset in the rice-growing northern region around Chalus, a city on the Caspian Sea, say little of that money goes into their pockets. "Traders bought our rice very cheap. They have put it in storage and now capital investors are selling it for a high price," Baqer Kefayati said at his farm in Dasht-e Nesha. "We did not make a profit, but traders did." Capital investors are wealthy traders who buy rice wholesale from farmers. Dealers buy rice in small amounts from capital investors and sell it to shops. They act as brokers and tend not to make large sums of money. Some brokers blame the government, saying its tardiness this year in importing rice, a staple in Iran, helped fuel the price increase by creating a vacuum that could be exploited. Iran, one of the world's biggest producers of oil, is at once a beneficiary of the oil boom, in which prices have risen to nearly $140 a barrel, and a victim. High oil prices are one factor behind rising inflation that is punishing the country's poor. Economists blame profligate spending of windfall oil revenues by the government of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for stoking inflation, which rose to 25.3 percent in the year to May. Higher food prices have also contributed. Iranian newspapers in May said the popular smoked rice had jumped to 50,000 rials, or about $5.40, a kilogram, or 2.2 pounds, from 19,000 rials. The price of another variety of rice rose to 45,000 from 18,000 rials. Some other types have tripled in price, shopkeepers say. The prices remained at almost the same levels in June. The price pain has political consequences, even in tightly controlled Iran. In southern Tehran and some other cities, lower-income Iranians protested inflation and higher prices, newspapers reported. Ahmadinejad came to power in 2005 promising to spread Iran's oil wealth to the people. He faces re-election in 2009. "Ahmadinejad promised to bring the oil money to our tables, but instead he is taking away the rice from our table," said Masoumeh Nayyeri, a mother of five and a cleaner in Tehran. "Rice and bread were the only things we could afford. How will I feed my children now? Life becomes harder every day." Asian rice prices almost trebled to their highest level ever this year as export restrictions fueled insecurity about food supplies. Prices have since come off those highs amid signs of larger harvests and of export curbs being lifted. As a rice importer, Iran has been hit hard, especially as very cold winter weather followed by drought affected harvests of domestic rice, further raising prices for consumers. This month, the commerce minister was quoted in the English language Iran News as saying that Iran needed to import 1.7 million tons of rice in the year that ends in March 2009 to supplement forecast domestic production of 1.5 million tons. Consumption is estimated at 3.2 million tons. For the past few years, Iran has been trying to become self-sufficient, but because of various issues, including the drought, the state has not been able to achieve its goal. Iran has delayed buying rice on world markets - for example, from the traditional supplier Thailand - because of high prices, but to ease public concern about shortages, Iranian state TV announced in May that at least 100,000 tons had been bought from Pakistan. Prices eased, but they still remain high. Just as speculators on world markets have been blamed for inflating the oil rally and adding to volatility, so the capital investors in Iran have been accused of manipulating the retail market. Iranian officials have said some traders tried to capitalize on the drought and the reduced availability of imported rice to make a profit. Local media reports said several traders in different cities had been arrested for stockpiling rice. "Traders hid their rice as soon as they heard there was less rain this year and that global prices were rising. There was plenty of rice in the market, but traders used the opportunity," said Ali Asghar Tezval, 66, a dealer in a grain bazaar in southern Tehran. Tezval, a dealer for more than 50 years, buys rice from capital investors in the north and sells it to shop owners in other cities. "For us, high prices make no difference. We buy rice at higher prices from major traders and we sell it to shops at a higher price too," Tezval said. The traders' role angers farmers and their workers in the northern provinces of Gilan, Golestan and Mazandaran, where most of the rice farming takes place. "The price of rice has really gone up, but who benefits from it? Certainly not us, working for more than 12 hours a day," said Banafsheh Yousefi, laboring in a field near the Caspian Sea, her sleeves rolled up and her black plastic boots deep in water. "We had less rain this year, but it is traders who have pushed prices up," the 33-year-old mother of two said. Siavosh Shirinvash, a rice dealer who works near Rasht in the north, says the lack of imported grain pushed up prices by allowing traders to exploit supply fears. "Some investors bought the rice a few months ago," he said. "They store the rice and wait until there are circumstances like now, including the lack of rain and the rise in global prices, to raise the price." Tezval agrees that the government's delay in importing rice contributed to the price increases. "The government did what it could, but it would have helped if they imported the grain sooner," he said. "The government should have the pulse of the market in its hands." Date : Monday, July 7, 2008 Ahmadinejad confers with experts on economic reform plan Tehran Times Political Desk TEHRAN - President Mahmud Ahmadinejad held talks with over 100 senior Iranian economists on the government's economic reform plan on Saturday evening. Last month Ahmadinejad revealed the long-awaited proposal on economic reform which calls for eliminating energy and bread subsidies, delivering funds directly to low-income families, and reforming the customs, tax, and insurance systems. The president said the process of making fundamental reforms to the economy requires nationwide cooperation and urged the economists to stand in solidarity with the administration in the implementation of the reform plan. The Ahmadinejad administration's economic policy has pushed inflation close to 26 percent by injecting large sums of cash into the economy to fund local infrastructure projects. The economists advised the administration to "spend subsidies in a proper way, slow down the implementation of infrastructure projects, employ highly efficient economic advisors, merge parallel organizations, amend contradictory regulations, tackle financial corruption, and strengthen the private sector" to revitalize the country's ailing economy. The president said economics professors and academics will certainly play a leading role in putting the reform plan into operation. He denied allegations that his economic policy is "unscientific and impractical", saying, "I am committed to the key concepts of economics." "The government is not taking a short-term view on the reform plan" and is seeking to formulate a comprehensive economic reform plan, the president said in response to a suggestion that the administration should implement only a part of the large project. Ahmadinejad, who is expected to seek reelection next year, also asserted that the plan does not serve any political purpose and is only meant to reform the country's ailing economy. Economic talks positive in principle Economics professor Farshad Momeni said on Sunday that the meeting between the president and senior economists was positive in principle. However, "the information which was given to the economists was undeveloped and had just gone a bit beyond the usual generalizations," he told the Mehr News Agency. "The meeting was arranged to inform the economists about the government's reform plan. After the president's address, the economists raised some points in the short time that was given to them," Momeni stated. In response to the economists' warnings that granting cash subsidies would seriously harm the economy, Ahmadinejad vowed not to make hasty decisions on the matter, he added. Although the proposal has serious deficiencies, it also has the potential to prevent a national economic disaster, he noted. Momeni said the economists criticized "the government's imprudent actions under the privatization plan and in the distribution of justice shares." Justice shares are shares in state-run companies that are being privatized that are reserved especially for low-income and underprivileged citizens. The president acknowledged the fact that privatization before the private sector is strengthened can never promote economic competition but he did not give any assurances that he would revise the current wrong strategies, he stated. "The economists also said that the government's economic policy must be based on theoretical principles in order to avoid controversy and contradiction… They also expressed serious concerns over the current non-technical approach to the banking system, which could create serious problems for Iran's economy," Momeni added. Iran: Energy price reforms central to economic plan Posted: 2008/07/07 From: MNN The most important pivot of the economic reforms plan is to amend the price of energy sources in the country, an economic expert told IRNA Saturday. Expressing this, Jamshid Pajouyan added that based on a wrong decision, the price of energy has been kept stable for a decade. During the period, economic experts have always warned about the issue so as to prevent huge losses incurred by country's economy. Fortunately, the ninth government has reached the conclusion that previous strategy is no longer effective and therefore they offered a plan to lift subsidies on energy, which will surely benefit national economy. However, he said, declaring a proper policy does not imply its success; rather the way of implementation is also significant. Pajouyan also maintained that energy saving should also be considered in industries. Referring to the implementation of Article 44 of Constitution, he also said that privatization should not be limited to distributing justice shares; rather management of economic entrepreneurs should be ceded to the private sector. Labor and social security laws should also undergo amendments in tandem with fulfillment of Article 44, he noted. "It's essential to create economic and social conditions for making energy subsidies target-oriented," he said. Identifying low-income strata of the society will help determine welfare needs in the future, he said. --IRNA Iran to launch "international" fuel pricing in 2011 Fri Jun 13, 2008 4:20pm BST TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran, which has some of the cheapest fuel in the world, will begin selling gasoline at "international" prices in 2011, state radio said Friday. Iran is the world's fourth-largest oil producer but lacks enough refining capacity to meet domestic gasoline needs, forcing it to import large quantities which it then sells at heavily subsidised prices, burdening the budget. In order to curb consumption it introduced rationing in June last year, allowing motorists to buy a maximum 100 litres per month at the price of 1,000 rials (around 11 U.S. cents) per litre. The scheme was later amended to increase the subsidised quota to 120 litres per month and also to allow the sale of higher-priced gasoline for motorists who needed more, at four times the subsidised price. The radio report cited Acting Interior Minister Mehdi Hashemi as saying the move to start selling gasoline at international rates in three years' time was based on a parliament decision, without giving details. Energy officials have previously said "international" prices meant selling unsubsidised gasoline, not that the cost would reach the same levels as in the West. "The consumption of gasoline in the country is not as yet moderate and it is hoped it will attain moderation through the implementation of plans that go into effect stage by stage," Hashemi told state radio. The government spends more than $100 billion (500 million pounds) per year on energy subsidies, covering also electricity and natural gas, officials say. But Hashemi also said more public transport was needed to help curb gasoline consumption. (Reporting by Hashem Kalantari; Editing by William Hardy) Cross posted from DEBATE -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20080707/bfe9a774/attachment-0001.html From cugambetta at yahoo.com Tue Jul 8 13:09:52 2008 From: cugambetta at yahoo.com (Curt Gambetta) Date: Tue, 8 Jul 2008 00:39:52 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Urbanstudy] interesting biography/ obit on father of zoning in nyc Message-ID: <548246.8355.qm@web56815.mail.re3.yahoo.com> http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/07/nyregion/07marcus.html curt From carol.upadhya at gmail.com Thu Jul 10 09:33:02 2008 From: carol.upadhya at gmail.com (Carol Upadhya) Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2008 09:33:02 +0530 Subject: [Urbanstudy] Moving forward to create safe and green neighbourhoods In-Reply-To: <3008.45066.qm@web32607.mail.mud.yahoo.com> References: <3008.45066.qm@web32607.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <4b84e4260807092103k44c6e4c8w65c674929b88e901@mail.gmail.com> Hi Bhargavi, I agree with you completely, we must come up with creative initiatives and not just say all the time -- stop this and that -- since many people see that as against their interests (e.g. continuing traffic congestion if no road widening). Aside from a pedestrian rights campaign (and on this please check out what Karen Coelho and group have been doing in Chennai -- we could even organise a workshop and invite them to discuss their experiences), we need to create better public awareness about issues of transport/ mobility/ access in general and why the promotion of privatised transport is creating these problems, not lack of roads .. and also discuss alternatives, why public (and non motorised) transport is not emphasised, etc. In the context of rising fuel costs and concerns over global warming etc, we should be able to get these ideas across. Also of course need to interface with the gov't which seems to think that the metro is enough, instead of more buses, BRT, other initiatives .. Will get back to you on this when I return, thanks, Carol On 7/7/08, Bhargavi S. wrote: > > > Dear All, > > > Many thanks for joining us for the meeting on Saturday and developing our > collective understanding of the issues involved in the road widening and > lake privatisation programmes. This discussion sets the stage for us to > plan and implement strategies of action that will help us work closely with > various Government agencies, and also a wide network of corporate, > institutional, civil society networks in order to make our city safe: > walkable, cyclable, motorable, aesthetically beautiful and fair in > supporting livelihoods of all classes. > > > To take our efforts forward, I personally feel that we have to change our > strategies to make things work. Given the attitude and mindset of most > people, if we continue to say don't widen the roads and don't cut the trees, > we will have very few supporting our campaign. Instead we need to speak a > little differently and pick up issues that generate support from wider > constituencies. The issue of pedestrian safety in the city, for instance, > can instantly gain the support of lakhs of people who walk daily, resident > welfare associations, morning walkers, joggers, school children, college > students, teachers, workers, street vendors, etc. > > > We all love to walk – except that it has become fairly impossible to do > this in Bangalore. This is not just an issue that affects all of us, but is > a deeply problematic dimension of our life in this city. Whether we walk > down the road to get some coriander leaves, bread or vegetables, or take a > stroll around the corner, walk to a friend's house, to school, to work, or > simply as an exercise and to clear our minds, walking is fun. Walking helps > our health, our urban environment and the quality of life itself. What is a > city if there is no fun in walking on the road? > > > Unfortunately this simplest of life's pleasures comes at a terrible cost. > Every day our news papers are reporting pedestrians being killed and nothing > is being done about it. But there are things that we can do to put an end to > this and help make our roads safer, besides being greener and livelier. > > > While we talk to people about how unsafe our neighbourhoods are and how > risky they have become for children, senior citizens and differently abled > people, simply because of the lack of proper foot paths/sidewalks, clearly > in violation of law that mandates and prescribes standards for such basic > facilities, people generally will agree on the need for safe and walkable > neighbourhoods. A logical next step would be to elicit their support for a > campaign to making walking safe in the city. Is this a programme of action > we can agree will broad-base our campaign, and make it more popular? > > > *Let's imagine a bit! Imagine that we will work with local communities to > help create, design, maintain footpaths/sidewalks. That once we do this in > a neighbourhood, other neighbourhoods will want to adopt this approach. The > dividends of such action are far more impressive than we can imagine. For > instance, it would simply make our roads not just for motor vehicles, but > ensure pedestrians have a greater right. Walking becomes not just an issue > of pleasure and health, and affordability, but a right that cannot be given > up under any circumstance. So that we can walk, therefore there shall be > sidewalks everywhere. BBMP, for instance, cannot then arrogate to itself > the power of overruling this right and making it all seem that the city is > all about cars and nothing else. A critical result of such an organised, > citywide effort would be that we will simply make it critical to save our > avenue trees, and put an end to the madness of road widening.* > > * > * > > While we await the Yellappa Reddy Committee to review the road widening > proposals, in compliance with the Interim Judgment of the High Court in the > PIL filed by ESG, it does not limit us from simultaneously campaigning for > pedestrian rights. Our collective action would make it determinant for the > committee to support our demands – make every street walkable. No road > re-designing (for widening or whatever) if it does not meet the basic > constitutional right to walk in safety. Such indicators would play a far > greater role in re-shaping our city for our collective comfort than any one > of our single issue pursuits – such as saving trees. Of course, we all want > trees to live; we only restate how this has to be achieved, so people can > take their horse-blinds off and see what it is to work, live, play, and > enjoy a city. > > > *Some ideas for us to consider for collective action:* > > * > * > > 1. Identify pedestrian problems in different neighbourhoods- eg: no > place to walk, no lights, very narrow sidewalks/footpaths, two wheelers > drive on sidewalks, blocked pathways with construction debris, trash on > footpath, vehicle parking with metal fencing on footpath, fenced lawns on > sidewalks, open drains, broken manholes, no signs to help pedestrians > (especially the differently abled), drivers never stop at street crossings > and are very rash at turnings, driving on the wrong side of the road, > aggressive call centre taxis, etc, etc. All these are instances of our > collective experiences… and none of them seem to make us walk. Got to > change this now, in every neighbourhood .. and thereby across the city in > time. > > > 2. List agencies and departments responsible for making improvements > about our roads and sidewalks and initiate a systematic effort to get things > done right. Neighbourhood associations are a great starting point for such > actions.. we only need to energise each neighbourhood into action and move > to the next, and the next and so on. > > > 3. Develop public involvement strategies to work regularly and > consistently with RTO, Traffic polic, etc. to curtail Aggressive Driver > behaviour, and improve pedestrian safety. > > > 4. Different people have different safety needs- Children, older > people, persons with disabilities and migrants from rural areas….Get each of > them involved in highlighting their needs and help them take action to make > roads work for them. > > > 5. Survey Poor pedestrian safety issues near schools and bus stands > and make clear recommendations and designs (if possible) to improve overall > safety. > > > 6. Pressurise the BBMP, Police department, Traffic police, and other > agencies to create walking plazas in every neighbourhood. To start with it > could be once a week, possibly on a Sunday between 4.00 pm -8.00 pm. It > could be at the 4th block Jayanagar, M. G. Road, Commercial Street, > Yeshwantpur market, Avenue Road, Gandhi bazaar, BSK 2nd stage , > Malleshwaram, and so on. Once it captures public imagination and becomes > popular, the demand will increase to make it a regular feature. People will > see their memories of streets as packed with vehicles and unsafe, transiting > into havens for walking, talking, bargaining, eating, theatre, street > gimmicks… etc. > > > 7. Create awareness in schools, colleges, neighbourhoods, offices, > etc. on all these issues. We need simple presentation material and just > about 20 people sparing half hour, even during lunch, and willing to > listen. Let's create lists of such spaces that are accessible for such > conversations. > > > > I am sure that when we brainstorm, we can come up with a lot more exciting > opportunities to transform our city spaces, and make our streets (wide and > boring) but, useful and interesting. > > If we can nudge our conversations into this direction.. surely then our > meetings on Saturdays will be something to look forward to, popular, and > productive > > Looking forward to your comments and conversations. > > Warm Regards, > > bhargavi > > www.esgindia.org > www.newsrack.in > > > > _______________________________________________ > Urbanstudygroup mailing list > Urban Study Group: Reading the South Asian City > > To subscribe or browse the Urban Study Group archives, please visit > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/urbanstudygroup > > -- Dr. Carol Upadhya Fellow, School of Social Sciences National Institute of Advanced Studies Indian Institute of Science Campus Bangalore 560012 India office: +91 80 2218 5000/ 5141 (ext) cell: +91(0) 93413 11453 cupadhya at vsnl.com carol at nias.iisc.ernet.in -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: application/defanged-39362 Size: 11335 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20080710/2b329b33/attachment.bin From bhargavi_srao at yahoo.com Thu Jul 10 15:55:59 2008 From: bhargavi_srao at yahoo.com (Bhargavi S.) Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2008 03:25:59 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Urbanstudy] 'Namma Raste' workshop Invitation Message-ID: <105065.95951.qm@web32608.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Environment Support Group, CIVIC and Alternative Law Forum   Invite you to participate in a workshop   ‘Namma Raste’   Saturday, 19th of July 2008 Vidyadeep (Behind Oberoi Hotel), CRI Brothers Institute, Ulsoor Road, Bangalore   Time: 9.30 am - 5.30 pm (Full day participation is compulsory)   We now have an opportunity to shape our city as a living city for all.  Participate in this workshop and become an active agent to make such a change possible.   Roads in India have always been lived spaces – important sites of social interaction and commerce to those who inhabit the neighbourhoods surrounding these roads. Roads sustain livelihoods, facilitate the smooth flow of traffic and also defining the character of a city.  Charming avenues encourage us to walk, cycle, and shop with street vendors.  With shrinking open spaces, roads remain the only place for children to play and hang out with friends.  Senior citizens look to roads for comfort of interacting with people, while the differently abled are struggling to lead normal lives on our cumbersome street spaces.  For street and working children, there is no life without roads.  Clearly roads mean different things to different people.   In the recent past however, there has been a rising tendency on the part of the state and urban planners to ignore these different shared meanings and reduce the road instead to a single utilitarian function– to enable the passage of vehicles. The shrinkage of neighbourhoods and communities has gone hand in hand with the widening of roads. As roads are widened and then re-widened some more, to accommodate the larger sizes of vehicles, we are rapidly approaching the perfect utopia of vehicle manufacturers – a city inhabited entirely by vehicles.   The new road to the new Airport has killed 8 people in 5 weeks and maimed tens more for life.  This 30 kms. ‘expressway’ has only 6 manned traffic signals and it is now impossible to build pedestrian overpasses as the law prevents such constructions on highways.  This road now tops the list of killing fields of Bangalore!  And Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike proposes to widen 91 roads in similar fashion.    300 kms. of widened roads.  At least 30,000 to be trees felled.  No re-planting.  Hundreds of shops destroyed. Thousands of livelihoods displaced (without compensation).  Homes dislocated.  All of this in order to enable the passage of a few more hundred cars on the street.  And yet, there is no public involvement in any of these decisions.    Responding to a PIL filed by Environment Support Group and CIVIC Bangalore, the Hon’ble High Court of Karnataka in a landmark decision has referred the entire road widening project, as also other similar projects (such as the Metro), for review by a committee of experts headed by Mr. Yellappa Reddy, former Environment Secretary.  This committee has been directed to listen to public grievances and suggestions, and ensure that roads are widened only in compliance with law, conform with national standards and make sure that the rights of pedestrians, children, differently abled, hawkers, cyclists… etc. are carefully regarded.  Decisions of the Committee will be binding on BBMP and all state agencies involved in transport, infrastructure development and land use planning in Bengaluru.   Come celebrate our Street spaces with theatre, arts, Crafts, music and exchange of ideas   Voluntary contributions to cover the workshop costs are welcomeRegister by Thursday the 17th of July 2008, Contact Divya/Nandini 26531339/22441977   High Court of Karnataka constitutes a Committee to review Road Widening Schemes of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike   Background Note   The Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has touted road widening schemes on 91 prime roads of the city as a major initiative to ease traffic congestion and increase mobility of traffic. This multi-crore project has been criticized as focused on relieving congestion only in the short term, without at all addressing a multitude of issues, particularly the fundamental and disastrous transformation it would cause to the city’s landscape and wiping out livelihood opportunities for lakhs across the city.   Hasiru Usiru, a network of organisations and individuals concerned with environmental and land use policies affecting public spaces in Bangalore, has systematically worked with government agencies, local communities, and a variety of constituencies to rationalize this whole process.  However, due to the dogmatic approach of BBMP in pursuing road widening as the only solution, to the exclusion of all other and more progressive approaches, it was becoming increasingly difficult to arrive at rational and long term solutions to the problem.   Constrained by the lack of action by the Government in engaging the public in evolving solutions on a matter of fundamental importance to all, Environment Support Group along with CIVIC Bangalore challenged the road widening schemes in a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) before the Hon'ble High Court of Karanataka. The petition argues that: l  The road widening programme is completely illegal and blatantly violates the provisions under various Acts (Karnataka Town and Country Planning Act, Karnataka Municipal corporation Act, Karnataka Tree Preservation Act and so on). l  In spirit, road widening focuses only on the mobility of vehicles and not people. It blatantly disregards the needs of other road users and compromises on the safety of pedestrians, vendors, hawkers, senior citizens, children, differently abled and so on. l  Thousands of livelihoods are going to be destroyed with properties of businesses being taken over for the purpose of widening, as in the case of Infantry Road. l  Approximately 35-40,000 trees are likely to be felled over a stretch of 300 kilometers. This will adversely affect the micro-climate of city by increasing temperatures in densely populated and built areas by as much as 3˚C. l  In addition to altering character of the city's landscape permanently, road widening does not adhere to basic principles of urban planning and design and does not follow the standards prescribed in the National Building Code. l  Thus the road widening programme is irrational and devoid of any logic and will have irreversible implications.   The Court order   Responding to the concerns raised in the PIL, Justice Mr. Gopalagowda and Justice Mr. Ravi Malimath constituting the Division Bench of the Hon'ble High Court of Karnataka, criticized the BBMP and other agencies for carrying out such schemes in total disregard of public opinion, legal procedures, and public rationale. Emphasizing that such a project cannot be undertaken without addressing the concerns of the larger public the Court held that the Petitioners contentions against the road widening schemes were “just and necessary in public interest”.    In its interim directions issued on 28 June 2008, the Hon’ble Court has held that “suggestions made and its acceptance by all the parties before the court and the learned Advocate General and other counsel is a welcome sign with a view to find out workable solution to redress the public interest.  ….. An ideal and balanced view is therefore necessary in a matter of this nature.”  With this in view, the Hon’ble Court has vested in the Biodiversity Committee of BBMP headed by Mr. Yellappa Reddy, former Environment Secretary, the additional duty to review the entire programme of road widening.     In so doing, the Hon’ble Court has appointed three experts suggested by the petitioners and three by respondents to assist the Committee in taking decisions.   The terms of reference for this Committee are articulated as “duty bound to take into consideration the views of the public before any developmental works is to be undertaken keeping in view the public interest.  It is needless to mention that the suggestions, if any, by the public would necessarily have to be considered, provided they are in true public interest, within the realm of law and in furtherance of sustainable developmental works to be carried on by the Statutory Authorities…. The… Committee… would pass such orders as are necessary by taking into consideration all the suggestions that may be offered by the above newly added Members…. Keeping in mind the various legal grounds urged in the Petition and also to see that the sustainable developmental works are carried out to widen the roads in the City in the larger interest of the public.” (emphasis supplied)   The High Court issued the following directions as an interim measure:   l  “We refer this matter to the Karnataka High court Legal Aid Committee headed by its President, Justice K. L. Manjunath for resolving the issues that are raised by hearing all the parties from time to time and monitor the sustainable developmental works to be executed by the 6th respondent” (BBMP). l  “The Committee would hear the parties……to determine the issues regarding the widening of roads, the felling of trees and also trees replanting in the City as required under Section 8 (5) of the Karnataka Preservation of Tree Act, 1976.” (emphasis supplied) l  “The persons who are included in the Committee headed by Mr. Yellappa Reddy shall offer suggestions to assist it in the decision making process to maintain ecology and environment in the urban area where the widening of road work will be executed.” l  “The parties are at liberty to request the Committee for an interim arrangement with regard to widening of the roads and the felling and replanting of trees in urban area where the widening of the roads work is launched and executed.” (emphasis supplied) l  “The Committee shall also take into consideration not only the felling of trees and the widening of roads to reach the international airport but also such other incidental and related matters which result in the traffic hazards and also in relation to public/private transport, senior citizens, physically handicapped persons, children, ecology, environment and health.” (emphasis supplied)   This interim direction of the Hon’ble High Court is an emphatic statement in support of the need for executing urban infrastructure development works in consultation with the public and maintaining high levels of transparency.  We are particularly pleased that the Hon’ble Court has emphasized the importance of considering multiple interests of various types of road users in executing such schemes and ensuring all legal procedures are complied with.    The opportunity of interacting with the committee headed by Yellappa Reddy provides a lee-way for the public to ensure public projects are implemented by exploring a range of progressive ideas while ensuring wider rationale and legal compliance is not sacrificed on the altar of “developmental works”.   Contact Address:   Environment Support Group ® 105, East End B Main Road, Jayanagar 9th Block East, Bangalore 560069.INDIA Tel: 91-80-22441977/26531339  Voice/Fax: 91-80-26534364 Email: esg at esgindia.org or esgindia at gmail.com Web: www.esgindia.org     www.esgindia.org www.newsrack.in -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20080710/52e6a557/attachment-0001.html From esgindia at gmail.com Fri Jul 11 11:49:35 2008 From: esgindia at gmail.com (ESGINDIA Gmail) Date: Fri, 11 Jul 2008 11:49:35 +0530 Subject: [Urbanstudy] Landmark Resolution in Kerala State Assembly Message-ID: <4876FB77.1050701@gmail.com> I just got off the phone with Mr. Rajaji Thomas, MLA (CPI), Kerala State Assembly. In an historic move, his motion against the EIA Notification 2006 was supported unopposed. A similar Notification against the Indo US Nuclear Agreement was also opposed. I will share details in a while. best Leo -- Leo Saldanha Environment Support Group 105, East End B Main Road, Jayanagar 9th Block East, Bangalore 560069. INDIA Telefax: 91-80-26341977/26531339/ 26534364 Email: esgindia at gmail.com or esg at esgindia.org Web: www.esgindia.org ["We plant trees not for ourselves, but for future generations." - Roman Poet Caecilius Statius] From Swetha.RaoDhananka at unil.ch Fri Jul 11 15:18:22 2008 From: Swetha.RaoDhananka at unil.ch (Swetha Rao Dhananka) Date: Fri, 11 Jul 2008 11:48:22 +0200 Subject: [Urbanstudy] Collective Action in Slums Message-ID: <48772C66.6020207@unil.ch> Hello dear study group members, I am Phd student at the university of Lausanne, Switzerland. I am at the very beginning of my research. It would be greatly helpful if you could help me out to get my research question right. I would be interested in looking at social movements / collective action of the poor (slum dwellers) in the broadest sense in the city of Bangalore. I would pinpoint the problem of whether denizens (non-citizens, those denied of social rights) do mobilise, if yes how, who and if not, why not. A comparative approach between groups or issues could be foreseen. For this I would like to know if any of you have information / literature on: * slums in Bangalore (locality, ethnic composition, activities) * has anyone done "protest event analysis" in the context of Bangalore or other regions in India? * What relevant literature or evidence exists on sovial movements / collective action in India / Bangalore * What orgnisations / NGO's specifically work in slums in Bangalore? * What literature exists on India as a Welfare state? I would be very greatful for any type of input on these issues. With best Regards Swetha Rao -- *Institute of Political and International Studies University of Lausanne, Switzerland* *Swetha Rao Dhananka* IEPI Quartier UNIL-Dorigny Bâtiment Anthropole, 5121 CH-1015 Lausanne *Swetha.RaoDhananka at unil.ch* Tel: +41 21 692 31 69 Fax: +41 21 692 31 45 From cugambetta at yahoo.com Mon Jul 14 12:00:30 2008 From: cugambetta at yahoo.com (Curt Gambetta) Date: Sun, 13 Jul 2008 23:30:30 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Urbanstudy] Fw: ' Namma Raste' workshop on road widening on 19th July at Bangalore Message-ID: <818875.35914.qm@web56804.mail.re3.yahoo.com> From: Prashant Iyengar To: alf at altlawforum.org Sent: Friday, July 11, 2008 12:07:50 PM Subject: ' Namma Raste' workshop on road widening on 19th July at Bangalore ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Bhargavi S.Rao Date: 2008/7/10 Subject: Namma Raste workshop Invite Dear All, Please find enclosed the Invitation to the Namma Raste workshop. Please send it to all your contacts and make sure there is good representation from all the different constituencies of our city. Warm Regards, Bhargavi -- "The judicial activism gets its highest bonus when its orders wipe some tears from some eyes". Justice Krishna Iyer www.esgindia.org www.newsrack.in Environment Support Group, CIVIC and Alternative Law Forum Invite you to participate in a workshop 'Namma Raste' Saturday, 19th of July 2008 Vidyadeep (Behind Oberoi Hotel), CRI Brothers Institute, Ulsoor Road, Bangalore Time: 9.30 am - 5.30 pm (Full day participation is compulsory) We now have an opportunity to shape our city as a living city for all. Participate in this workshop and become an active agent to make such a change possible. Roads in India have always been lived spaces – important sites of social interaction and commerce to those who inhabit the neighbourhoods surrounding these roads. Roads sustain livelihoods, facilitate the smooth flow of traffic and also defining the character of a city. Charming avenues encourage us to walk, cycle, and shop with street vendors. With shrinking open spaces, roads remain the only place for children to play and hang out with friends. Senior citizens look to roads for comfort of interacting with people, while the differently abled are struggling to lead normal lives on our cumbersome street spaces. For street and working children, there is no life without roads. Clearly roads mean different things to different people. In the recent past however, there has been a rising tendency on the part of the state and urban planners to ignore these different shared meanings and reduce the road instead to a single utilitarian function– to enable the passage of vehicles. The shrinkage of neighbourhoods and communities has gone hand in hand with the widening of roads. As roads are widened and then re-widened some more, to accommodate the larger sizes of vehicles, we are rapidly approaching the perfect utopia of vehicle manufacturers – a city inhabited entirely by vehicles. The new road to the new Airport has killed 8 people in 5 weeks and maimed tens more for life. This 30 kms. 'expressway' has only 6 manned traffic signals and it is now impossible to build pedestrian overpasses as the law prevents such constructions on highways. This road now tops the list of killing fields of Bangalore! And Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike proposes to widen 91 roads in similar fashion. 300 kms. of widened roads. At least 30,000 to be trees felled. No re-planting. Hundreds of shops destroyed. Thousands of livelihoods displaced (without compensation). Homes dislocated. All of this in order to enable the passage of a few more hundred cars on the street. And yet, there is no public involvement in any of these decisions. Responding to a PIL filed by Environment Support Group and CIVIC Bangalore, the Hon'ble High Court of Karnataka in a landmark decision has referred the entire road widening project, as also other similar projects (such as the Metro), for review by a committee of experts headed by Mr. Yellappa Reddy, former Environment Secretary. This committee has been directed to listen to public grievances and suggestions, and ensure that roads are widened only in compliance with law, conform with national standards and make sure that the rights of pedestrians, children, differently abled, hawkers, cyclists… etc. are carefully regarded. Decisions of the Committee will be binding on BBMP and all state agencies involved in transport, infrastructure development and land use planning in Bengaluru. Come celebrate our Street spaces with theatre, arts, Crafts, music and exchange of ideas Voluntary contributions to cover the workshop costs are welcome High Court of Karnataka constitutes a Committee to review Road Widening Schemes of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike Background Note The Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has touted road widening schemes on 91 prime roads of the city as a major initiative to ease traffic congestion and increase mobility of traffic. This multi-crore project has been criticized as focused on relieving congestion only in the short term, without at all addressing a multitude of issues, particularly the fundamental and disastrous transformation it would cause to the city's landscape and wiping out livelihood opportunities for lakhs across the city. Hasiru Usiru, a network of organisations and individuals concerned with environmental and land use policies affecting public spaces in Bangalore, has systematically worked with government agencies, local communities, and a variety of constituencies to rationalize this whole process. However, due to the dogmatic approach of BBMP in pursuing road widening as the only solution, to the exclusion of all other and more progressive approaches, it was becoming increasingly difficult to arrive at rational and long term solutions to the problem. Constrained by the lack of action by the Government in engaging the public in evolving solutions on a matter of fundamental importance to all, Environment Support Group along with CIVIC Bangalore challenged the road widening schemes in a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) before the Hon'ble High Court of Karanataka. The petition argues that: * The road widening programme is completely illegal and blatantly violates the provisions under various Acts (Karnataka Town and Country Planning Act, Karnataka Municipal corporation Act, Karnataka Tree Preservation Act and so on). * In spirit, road widening focuses only on the mobility of vehicles and not people. It blatantly disregards the needs of other road users and compromises on the safety of pedestrians, vendors, hawkers, senior citizens, children, differently abled and so on. * Thousands of livelihoods are going to be destroyed with properties of businesses being taken over for the purpose of widening, as in the case of Infantry Road. * Approximately 35-40,000 trees are likely to be felled over a stretch of 300 kilometers. This will adversely affect the micro-climate of city by increasing temperatures in densely populated and built areas by as much as 3˚C. * In addition to altering character of the city's landscape permanently, road widening does not adhere to basic principles of urban planning and design and does not follow the standards prescribed in the National Building Code. * Thus the road widening programme is irrational and devoid of any logic and will have irreversible implications. The Court order Responding to the concerns raised in the PIL, Justice Mr. Gopalagowda and Justice Mr. Ravi Malimath constituting the Division Bench of the Hon'ble High Court of Karnataka, criticized the BBMP and other agencies for carrying out such schemes in total disregard of public opinion, legal procedures, and public rationale. Emphasizing that such a project cannot be undertaken without addressing the concerns of the larger public the Court held that the Petitioners contentions against the road widening schemes were "just and necessary in public interest". In its interim directions issued on 28 June 2008, the Hon'ble Court has held that "suggestions made and its acceptance by all the parties before the court and the learned Advocate General and other counsel is a welcome sign with a view to find out workable solution to redress the public interest. ….. An ideal and balanced view is therefore necessary in a matter of this nature." With this in view, the Hon'ble Court has vested in the Biodiversity Committee of BBMP headed by Mr. Yellappa Reddy, former Environment Secretary, the additional duty to review the entire programme of road widening. In so doing, the Hon'ble Court has appointed three experts suggeDEFANGED.305> ----- Forwarded Message ----sted by the petitioners and three by respondents to assist the Committee in taking decisions. The terms of reference for this Committee are articulated as "duty bound to take into consideration the views of the public before any developmental works is to be undertaken keeping in view the public interest. It is needless to mention that the suggestions, if any, by the public would necessarily have to be considered, provided they are in true public interest, within the realm of law and in furtherance of sustainable developmental works to be carried on by the Statutory Authorities…. The… Committee… would pass such orders as are necessary by taking into consideration all the suggestions that may be offered by the above newly added Members…. Keeping in mind the various legal grounds urged in the Petition and also to see that the sustainable developmental works are carried out to widen the roads in the City in the larger interest of the public." (emphasis supplied) The High Court issued the following directions as an interim measure: * "We refer this matter to the Karnataka High court Legal Aid Committee headed by its President, Justice K. L. Manjunath for resolving the issues that are raised by hearing all the parties from time to time and monitor the sustainable developmental works to be executed by the 6th respondent" (BBMP). * "The Committee would hear the parties……to determine the issues regarding the widening of roads, the felling of trees and also trees replanting in the City as required under Section 8 (5) of the Karnataka Preservation of Tree Act, 1976." (emphasis supplied) * "The persons who are included in the Committee headed by Mr. Yellappa Reddy shall offer suggestions to assist it in the decision making process to maintain ecology and environment in the urban area where the widening of road work will be executed." * "The parties are at liberty to request the Committee for an interim arrangement with regard to widening of the roads and the felling and replanting of trees in urban area where the widening of the roads work is launched and executed." (emphasis supplied) * "The Committee shall also take into consideration not only the felling of trees and the widening of roads to reach the international airport but also such other incidental and related matters which result in the traffic hazards and also in relation to public/private transport, senior citizens, physically handicapped persons, children, ecology, environment and health." (emphasis supplied) This interim direction of the Hon'ble High Court is an emphatic statement in support of the need for executing urban infrastructure development works in consultation with the public and maintaining high levels of transparency. We are particularly pleased that the Hon'ble Court has emphasized the importance of considering multiple interests of various types of road users in executing such schemes and ensuring all legal procedures are complied with. The opportunity of interacting with the committee headed by Yellappa Reddy provides a lee-way for the public to ensure public projects are implemented by exploring a range of progressive ideas while ensuring wider rationale and legal compliance is not sacrificed on the altar of "developmental works". Contact Address: Environment Support Group (R) 105, East End B Main Road, Jayanagar 9th Block East, Bangalore 560069.INDIA Tel: 91-80-22441977/26531339 Voice/Fax: 91-80-26534364 Email: esg at esgindia.org or esgindia at gmail.com Web: www.esgindia.org -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Namma Raste Workshop Invitation_July 19th 2008.doc Type: application/msword Size: 46080 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20080713/ca789319/attachment-0001.doc From bhargavi_srao at yahoo.com Tue Jul 15 12:39:54 2008 From: bhargavi_srao at yahoo.com (Bhargavi S.) Date: Tue, 15 Jul 2008 00:09:54 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Urbanstudy] A lecture on 'Rethinking the Indian city, reclaiming its Commons" by Prof Michael Goldman Message-ID: <686043.91980.qm@web32604.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Dear All, Environment Support Group Invites you to a lecture on 'Rethinking the Indian city, reclaiming its Commons" by Professor Michael Goldman on Thursday the 17th of July 2008 at 5.30 pm. Please find enclosed the Invitation with contact details and route map to the ESG office. Looking forward to seeing you all, Warm Regards, Bhargavi S.Rao Environment Support Group www.esgindia.org www.newsrack.in -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20080715/24a46c43/attachment-0001.html -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Michael Goldman_ 17July2008.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 53875 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20080715/24a46c43/attachment-0001.pdf From cugambetta at yahoo.com Wed Jul 16 13:56:36 2008 From: cugambetta at yahoo.com (Curt Gambetta) Date: Wed, 16 Jul 2008 01:26:36 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Urbanstudy] Fw: [HasiruUsiru] Divided we fall Message-ID: <430680.93566.qm@web56810.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Of interest re: road widening issues. Curt From: ESGINDIA Gmail To: hasiruusiru at yahoogroups.com; Esg_Team Sent: Tuesday, July 15, 2008 7:21:49 PM Subject: [HasiruUsiru] Divided we fall Hi Ken Kruckemeyer spoke at an ESG organised talk about a year ago. Here is something he recently wrote on developments in Boston. Very relevant to what we are going through. Leo Saldanha http://www.mysouthend.com/index.php?ch=opinion&sc=guest_opinion&sc3=&id=77221&pf=1 Back to: Guest Opinion » Opinion » Home Opinion :: Guest Opinion Divided we fall by Ken Kruckemeyer MySouthEnd.com Contributor Thursday Jul 10, 2008 If city engineers and a select task force of residents get their way, Massachusetts Avenue - which was just repaved a couple of years ago - will be torn up again next spring. After three years of reconstruction, we will end up with a wider street designed to carry more cars at higher speeds, a few cement planters at mid-block and narrower sidewalks paved in brick. The city and the task force say it is "a very good plan - the best we can get." I am positive that this plan is not the best we can get. This project should be an opportunity for the South End - the city is ready to rebuild Mass. Ave.: Mayor Thomas Menino, an early signer of the Kyoto Accord, wants to reduce fuel consumption. The city has a new and energetic Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator. Gas prices are up. The traffic counts on Mass. Ave are down. Throughout the US, there is a new focus on quality of life in cities, on reducing the impact of traffic, on walking and cycling for health, on mobility alternatives as we get older, on healthy street trees, on improving public transportation. Cities across the country are putting roads "on diets" and testing new ways to calm traffic. "Complete streets" that satisfy all needs are being built - to the delight of users and neighbors alike. Yet, here are the details of what we will get on Mass Ave: The street pavement will be widened by two feet. Existing trees will be removed. New sidewalks will be a foot narrower - so narrow we will be forced to walk single file to get past the newly planted trees in narrow pits, if they even survive. And what about safety? The street is being designed for 35 miles per hour. At crosswalks, the existing medians are to be taken out and replaced by left turn lanes, leaving no place to pause when you cross the street. The outside travel lane will be wider (proven to speed up traffic) and there will not be a separate bike lane. And there is nothing designed to improve bus service and no space for bus shelters. How could this have happened? The city has been working on this plan since 1993, spurred by the desire to get more cars from the expanding Prudential Center to the Southeast Expressway. The city’s own Streetscape Guidelines for Boston’s Major Roads (1999), the AccessBoston 2010-Boston Bicycle Plan (2001) and Mass. Highway’s Design Guide (2006) all require a design that satisfies the needs of pedestrians, bikes and buses as well as cars. The current project doesn’t embrace any of these new guides, but instead, adheres to outdated guidelines. Public meetings were held and neighbors listed a broad set of goals. Over the past several years, city engineers selected a task force, primarily from the neighborhood associations, to review the details. Advocacy groups working on similar issues city-wide - the Livable Streets Alliance, WalkBoston, MassBike, and the Institute for Human Centered Design - were not included in the task force. Also left out of the process were many other Mass. Ave residents including people in elderly housing, assisted living, and affordable housing developments. Why is the makeup of the task force important? Because in diversity, in knowledge and in numbers comes strength. Because when everyone is represented a design will work for everyone. Because a design will benefit from knowledge about what is happening on the other side of town, in other cites across the country and around the world. And it helps to have a lot of support when it comes time to get a project funded. The task force says that it voiced many of our common goals: reducing the impact of traffic, widening sidewalks, medians at intersections. But they were constantly told by the city that these goals could not be funded - that by raising objections they risked losing the project all together. South Enders have not always been so ready to accept what the engineers told us was the best we could get. In the 1970s, we scotched the city’s plans for the South End By-Pass and the state’s plans for the Southwest Expressway, and we helped get the money to build the Southwest Corridor with its parks and transit. In the 1980s, we got Tremont Street and Columbus Avenue reconstructed as four-lane and two-lane streets; the city had planned to widen Tremont to six lanes. Narrowing Columbus from four lanes to two was the first time federal highway money was used to reduce travel lanes and widen sidewalks. These successful projects were the result of inclusive public design processes; yet for Mass. Ave, the city and its select task force overlooked the reality that broader representation would have assured a better solution. On June 24, at a public meeting open to all residents of the South End, we heard about another plan, a better plan. This plan would eliminate left-turn only lanes in exchange for wider sidewalks and bike lanes. At the meeting, it was neighbors shouting at neighbors, opinion split right down the middle, with half backing the new plan and half opting to stick with the old. Unfortunately, state officials voted that plan down on June 26, putting us on track for 36 months of construction for the old plan. But at that meeting on June 24, there was a glimmer of hope. A diverse group of people had gathered. The city acknowledged that there were better solutions and that the traffic numbers are down. Task force members said they really did want to reduce traffic and that they would rather have wide sidewalks and medians at the intersections. There was near consensus on the desires. But the city’s threat that the money would disappear and the task force members’ desire for planters in mid-block medians, brick sidewalks and "historic" lighting won the day. The remaining half of the attendees was left wondering if a little more time and effort wasn’t necessary. After all, we will have to live with this design for the next 40 years. And there are people at the city and state who want to lead us toward the future rather than tie us to old ideas. Shouldn’t $12 million and three years of construction result in a project that would be safer and more beautiful and more functional for all? If we are to live in a healthy and prosperous neighborhood, one that that consumes less fossil fuel, one that is safe for all of our neighbors, then our public streets have a lot of work to do. We need a generous place to walk, to stop for a moment and talk. We need space to roll a shopping cart, to jog without tripping, to bicycle safely. We need healthy trees to provide shade and keep our houses cooler. We need space for bus shelters and frequent, reliable bus service. It will be hard to turn this project around, but if we want these goals to become reality we need to find a new way of coming together, and we need to support progressive leadership that will help us create a Mass. Ave that works for our neighborhood. South End streets are too precious for us to allow them to be overwhelmed by cars. /Ken Kruckemeyer has lived in the South End for 41 years. He was a Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Public Works and has taught transportation, civil engineering and urban planning at MIT. He co-directs the IHP "Cities in the 21st Century" program./ ------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HasiruUsiru/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HasiruUsiru/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:HasiruUsiru-digest at yahoogroups.com mailto:HasiruUsiru-fullfeatured at yahoogroups.com <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: HasiruUsiru-unsubscribe at yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ DEFANGED.998> ----- Forwarded Message ---- From bhargavi_srao at yahoo.com Wed Jul 16 14:12:27 2008 From: bhargavi_srao at yahoo.com (Bhargavi S.) Date: Wed, 16 Jul 2008 01:42:27 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Urbanstudy] [HasiruUsiru] Regarding Namma Raste Workshop Message-ID: <765261.70222.qm@web32607.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Dear All, Kindly send in your confirmations for the Workshop on 'Namma Raste' on 19th July, Saturday. Registration is compulsory as we need to make necessary arrangements. Pls call ESG office and do the same ASAP Regards Divya -- "Only when the last tree has died And the last river has been poisoned And the last fish has been caught We will realize that we cant eat Money" http://captured- on-camera. blogspot. com __._,_.___ Messages in this topic (1) Reply (via web post) | Start a new topic Messages | Files | Photos | Links | Database | Polls | Members | Calendar MARKETPLACE Yahoo! Groups users, check out this limited time offer from Blockbuster! Rent DVDs free for a month! Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required) Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch format to Traditional Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe Recent Activity  4 New Members Visit Your Group Y! Messenger Want a quick chat? Chat over IM with group members. Learn to live a full life with these healthy living groups on Yahoo! Yahoo! Groups w/ John McEnroe Join the All-Bran Day 10 Club. . __,_._,___ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20080716/e6553bd3/attachment-0001.html From umesh_varma at yahoo.com Fri Jul 18 13:22:09 2008 From: umesh_varma at yahoo.com (Umesh Varma) Date: Fri, 18 Jul 2008 13:22:09 +0530 (IST) Subject: [Urbanstudy] Master Plan Provisions for EWS housing Challenged by Builders in Hyderabad Message-ID: <989001.65306.qm@web94615.mail.in2.yahoo.com> Dear Friends, This is a request from Hyderabad to all of you.   Please find attached the GO notifying Master Plan for Hyderabad. Please go through pages 17,18 and 19 in which provisions for EWS housing are included (we do have our objections on the quality of these provisions). They have been challenged by the Builders and Developers lobby in A.P. High Court. We intend to file an intervention petition demanding that the provisions be retained. We will need data on similar provisions existing in other city Master Plans in India and any other material which is relevant for fighting out the case. Thank you very much in advance. Please do take out some time and send the material as soon as possible. We intend to file our petition in the coming week. Cordially, Umesh Varma Umesh Varma.P ****************************************************************************** House No: - F-57, Madhura Nagar, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh - 500038,India Ph: - 098494-93009(M) umesh_varma at yahoo.com Bring your gang together. Do your thing. Find your favourite Yahoo! group at http://in.promos.yahoo.com/groups/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20080718/b80caed9/attachment-0001.html -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: GO.288.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 281566 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20080718/b80caed9/attachment-0001.pdf From elkamath at yahoo.com Mon Jul 21 14:25:08 2008 From: elkamath at yahoo.com (lalitha kamath) Date: Mon, 21 Jul 2008 01:55:08 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Urbanstudy] Invite to Bengaluru Speaks Message-ID: <482772.98836.qm@web53607.mail.re2.yahoo.com> Meta-Culture Dialogics, in partnership with Koshy's, invite you to: Bengaluru Speaks An evening of uncommon conversation. Come be part of the first in a series of monthly community Dialogues where you and other Bangaloreans will have an opportunity to engage in honest and constructive conversations about issues that matter to you and your city. If successful, the series will be continued in Bangalore beyond 2008, and expanded to other cities throughout India. The first Bengaluru Speakswill take place on: Friday, July 25th 7-9:30 pm Koshy's Chill Out Ice Cream Parlour No. 39 St. Mark's Road, Bangalore, next to Koshy's Restaurant. Featuring: C.K. Meena (writer) All are welcome. Snacks are on the house. Subsequent Bengaluru Speaks will take place on the 4th Friday of each month, 7-9:30pm. The December session will take place on the 3rd Friday, December 19th. For more information, please read the description, below. Feel free to photocopy and distribute the attached flyer. Looking forward to seeing you there! Bengaluru Speaksis part of an effort to create a "culture of dialogue" where people can address conflict and talk about important issues in ways that are honest, meaningful and productive. The goal of the community Dialogue series is to introduce to India's urban public innovative and non-adversarial ways to have conversations about difficult issues. The Dialogues will address topics that, while important, are often contentious, rarely spoken of publicly or typically "owned" by politicians and "experts." Open to all Bangaloreans, the monthly community Dialogue sessions will be facilitated by MCD's trained Conflict Resolution professionals. Participants will have meaningful conversations to deepen their understanding of views and ideas that are different from their own. To encourage creativity and free expression, talented local artists will open each session with a performance related to the evening's Dialogue topic. MCD staff will select the monthly Dialogue topics by researching current local issues and inviting suggestions from Bengaluru Speaksparticipants. These topics may include: · urban development and quality of life; · civic engagement and the urban middle class; · cultural space in urban Bangalore; · the urban-rural divide; · water and environment in Bangalore; · multi-nationals vs. small business; · urban poverty; · caste, class and color in urban India; and · the urban Indian "family." Given the numerous Dialogue forms in the field of Conflict Resolution today, each month we will use and experiment with a different form. What is Dialogue? Dialogue is a methodology used to help people with differing views and beliefs to engage in focused and productive conversation so that they deepen their understanding of each other. Dialogue is not debate. With the help of an impartial "third party" facilitator, participants in a Dialogue process agree to cease rhetoric and argument, and instead strive to communicate respectfully, listen to each other and ask questions to improve their understanding. They talk about their experiences and values, the why behind what they believe. Today, there are many different Dialogue forms that have been used effectively in numerous different contexts throughout the world. About Meta-Culture Dialogics Based in Bangalore, Meta-Culture Dialogics was created in May 2005, as a response to the increasing number of conflicts arising out of rapid economic, social and cultural changes in India. The organization endeavors to build peaceable and sustainable communities by changing how individuals and groups in conflict talk with each other and helping them address serious problems constructively. MCD's intervention strategies and education programs are based on proven methodologies in the field of Conflict Resolution. Its team of trained professionals provides training, mediation, facilitation and consulting services to individuals, organizations, communities and special interest groups. For more information about Bengaluru Speaks or Meta-Culture Dialogics, contact Beth Fascitelli at 080-4152-4785 or beth at meta-culture.org. ________________________________ This is your window into tinsel town. Keep abreast with the latest movie releases, star shockers and juicy gossip. Try it!--------- -- Dr Lalitha Kamath Urban Planner and Researcher Bangalore Tel: +919845120810 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20080721/dce7ffcb/attachment-0001.html -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Bengaluru_Speaks_Flyer_A4.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 92366 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20080721/dce7ffcb/attachment-0001.pdf From yanivbin at gmail.com Wed Jul 23 01:07:52 2008 From: yanivbin at gmail.com (Vinay Baindur) Date: Wed, 23 Jul 2008 01:07:52 +0530 Subject: [Urbanstudy] Forced gentrification plan spells end for old Roma district in Istanbul 550-year-old community and Unesco battle city's blueprint for urban renewal * Robert Tait in Istanbul Message-ID: <86b8a7050807221237j3fe4c77bh5adcfeae9f8d93f0@mail.gmail.com> Forced gentrification plan spells end for old Roma district in Istanbul http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jul/22/roma.turkey 550-year-old community and Unesco battle city's blueprint for urban renewal * Robert Tait in Istanbul * The Guardian, * Tuesday July 22, 2008 * Article history Link to this video A lifetime of memories is wrapped up inside the rickety wooden house that Necati Celik, 76, has called home since he was five. It is where he lived with his wife and brought up his children. But Celik is unlikely to fulfil his wish of seeing out the rest of his days tending his flowers outside the 100-year-old listed building - a classic late Ottoman structure in Sulukule, Istanbul. He cannot afford the extensive renovations that local officials are demanding as part of a controversial renewal scheme for the historic district, which borders the city's 5th-century walls and is home to Turkey's oldest Roma community. "The municipality says we have no option but to agree to sell otherwise they will expropriate the property and put the money in the bank, giving it to us in instalments," he said. "All my family were here and I want to die here. I don't want to transfer it to the authorities but the mayor keeps saying, it's up to you to make a deal with us." Celik's plight is shared by most of Sulukule's 3,400 impoverished residents, who are being forced out under a gentrification project conceived as part of Istanbul's preparations for becoming the European city of culture in 2010. Most of the district's houses are earmarked for demolition and many long-term residents have already left. City officials deem the work essential to transform a district blighted by drugs, prostitution, unemployment and illiteracy. But critics of the project say it threatens the survival of a Roma population that is thought to have been in Sulukule since the time of Mehmet the Conqueror, the sultan who captured Istanbul, then known as Constantinople, from the Byzantines in 1453. Turkey's Roma community dates back at least 1,000 years. Romas have traditionally eked out a living as street hawkers, shoemakers, musicians and dancers in a close-knit environment rendered all the more intimate by Sulukule's ramshackle network of low-rise houses. That historic setting will be wiped out, campaigners say, by a blueprint that proposes several new four-storey blocks as well as 620 modern villas, a hotel and facelifts for 45 listed Ottoman houses. Sulukule's 503 homeowners have been offered the new houses at discount prices by the local Fatih municipality, which is running the regeneration project along with the city council. But the Sulukule Platform, a protest group fighting to save the district's heritage, says few residents can afford it. Its criticisms have won the backing of Unesco, which this month warned that Istanbul could lose its world heritage site status if plans proceed in their current form. That has led Istanbul's mayor, Kadir Topbas, to promise a review but opponents remain unconvinced. The authorities are already preparing to re-house Sulukule residents in a new development in Tasoluk, 30 miles away. Many owners and tenants have agreed to go, but campaigners insist many do not understand the agreements they have signed and may not cope in an alien environment. "People are knee deep in ignorance," said Mehmet Asim Hallac, a community leader and one of five residents trying to halt the project by taking court action to prevent their homes being demolished. "This is a street culture and the people can't adapt to modern city buildings or blocks of flats. They spend most of their time outside their homes. They eat and drink outdoors and only go inside for proper family meals or to sleep at nights. Disrupt this with a modern lifestyle and they will be unable to breathe." It is a far cry from Sulukule's heyday, a time when its street musicians and raucous nightlife attracted tourists until the authorities shut down its entertainment spots in the 1990s after concerns about law and order. "Every night was like the Rio carnival. There were 5,000 or 6,000 people here each night dancing and enjoying themselves," said Sukru Punduk, the president of Sulukule Roma cultural development and fraternity organisation. "We want to be included in the preservation effort alongside the houses. We do not want to be sent elsewhere." Mustafa Demir, the local mayor, described the plan as a "miracle" for Sulukule's residents, 85% of whom, he claimed, supported redevelopment. "This is an important part of the historic peninsula of Istanbul," he said. "The people are living in really squalid conditions. Most have no electricity or water. The infrastructure is inadequate and as mayor of this district you should definitely do something about such a chaotic situation." Such sentiments ring hollow with some people in Sulukule. Guler Yilnaz, 51, whose home lies just outside the renewal zone, said the project was forcing her mother and other relatives out, leaving her alone. "My family and I have been together since I was born," she said. "When they leave, what am I to do?" About this article Close This article appeared in the Guardian on Tuesday July 22 2008 on p17 of the International section. It was last updated at 00:03 on July 22 2008. From varanashi at gmail.com Wed Jul 23 07:22:31 2008 From: varanashi at gmail.com (varanashi) Date: Wed, 23 Jul 2008 07:22:31 +0530 Subject: [Urbanstudy] Panel Discussion Message-ID: <48868ee7.02066e0a.5625.ffffaf4b@mx.google.com> FYI Sathya Goethe-Institut Talking the Walks - where leads the road? Panel Discussion on Urban Change Panel Discussion Saturday, 26.07.2008, 6:00 p.m. Goethe-Institut/Max Mueller Bhavan All are welcome! This event brings together two related projects - the current exhibition on display at the Bhavan, Urban Changes - An Exhibition of Photography, and the four Bangalore City Project Urban Space Events (or City Walks as they are popularly known). The photo exhibition, dealing with change in Indian cities, as perceived by South Asian photographers, provided the ideal backdrop to debate the experiences and issues arising out of the recently concluded City Walks - in Gavipuram, Whitefield, Old City and Hessarghatta. We are fortunate to have the organisers of the walks on the panel and equally privileged to have Ramachandra Guha to moderate the discussion. Talking the Walks - where leads the road? serves as a wrap-up of the BCP Urban Space Events and is also designed to offer a forum for all the participants of the walks who will have an opportunity to interact and exchange views, ideas and suggestions with like-minded people. The discussion is however expected to go beyond the Bangalore City Project itself and into the realm of how to address urban change, especially in the light of the disappearance of public spaces and heritage, and perhaps create a vision as to where it could and should lead. Moderator: Ramachandra Guha, social scientist, historian and writer Panelists: Dr. Chandra Shekar Balachandran, cultural geographer and Director, Indian Institute for Geographical Studies Champaka Rajagopal, urban planner Krupa Rajangam, architect with UDBHAVA Sathya Prakash Varanashi, architect and founder of UDBHAVA Suresh Jayaram, artist, art critic and art historian S.Vishwanath, Rainwater Harvesting Club and Arghyam The photo exhibition Urban Changes Related links * Bangalore City Project english * Indian Institute of Geographical Studies english * 1 Shanti Road english * Rainwater Club english * Arghyam english -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20080723/10569e13/attachment.html From clifton at altlawforum.org Wed Jul 23 10:40:40 2008 From: clifton at altlawforum.org (Clifton D' Rozario) Date: Wed, 23 Jul 2008 10:40:40 +0530 Subject: [Urbanstudy] Protest against murder of A.T.Babu in front of Mahatma Gandhi Statue (Bangalore) on Thursday (24th July) from 10.30 a.m. onwards Message-ID: <1216789840.5672.28.camel@alf-desktop> NAPM condemns murder of its Karnataka state convenor Day-long protest organised in front of Mahatma Gandhi Statue in Bangalore on Thursday (24th July) from 10.30 a.m. onwards Dear Friends, The gruesome murder of senior activist and campaigner for prohibition of liquor, Mr. A.T. Babu, one of the state convenors of NAPM in Karnataka, on Monday has shocked everyone. The National Alliance of People's Movements is organising a half day protest at Gandhi statute (M.G.Road) between 10.30 hrs and 15.00 hrs on Thursday (24th July). Senior NAPM activists from all over the country including Medha Patkar will be attending the protest. We invite you to attend the protest in great numbers to protest this brutal murder. Sr.Celia will be the lead organizer (9945716052) please encourage institutions, students and friends to participate in large numbers. Whoever can prepare banners, placards, please do. The focus should be on: demanding a CBI enquiry into the murder of A.T.Babu, a social activist. Secondly a condemnation of the dastardly actions of the liquor lobby. Finally on the same day, after the protest, we will have a hall meeting during which time, Medha Pathkar, P.Chennaiah and other leaders of the NAPM and PUCL, Karnataka will address the participants and help plan a future course of action. NAPM Karnataka NAPM contact Numbers in Karnataka: Sr. Celia, 09945716052; Balakrishnan: 080-23392354; David Selveraj, 09880290181 From elkamath at yahoo.com Fri Jul 25 11:16:03 2008 From: elkamath at yahoo.com (lalitha kamath) Date: Thu, 24 Jul 2008 22:46:03 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Urbanstudy] Fwd: Walking becomes a nightmare in many Asian cities Message-ID: <352277.13910.qm@web53602.mail.re2.yahoo.com> The problem in all these cities is that the middle and upper class just does not walk. We know people in Jakarta and Manila who take the chauffeur to cross the street. The non-motored rabble, they tell us, is unsafe, and the municipal authorities seem to have steadily eliminated what few sidewalks once existed. And bike paths? You must be kidding. Given that the wealthy run things, they do not even consider the possibility of making their cities walkable. The usual excuse for this is "the heat." The heat is often just an excuse for hiding the status issue in a region where having money means not having to raise a sweat except perhaps in the company of one's personal trainer at the gym to which your driver delivers you. People with any kind of status simply do not walk or take the bus in most parts of Asia. They go by car, from one side of Ayala Avenue to the other or to traverse the 100 meters from the Mandarin Hotel in Jakarta to the Grand Hyatt on the other side of Sudirman. People in KL will spend hours struggling from, say, Bangsar, to the central business district by car rather than walk 10 minutes to get on a train that takes another 10 minutes. --------- Asia's Good Walks Spoiled Our Correspondent 19 July 2008 Asia Sentinel A list of great walking cities in the US reminds us of what we are missing in this region Tired of pouring money down the gaping maw of your gas tank? Want to get fit and do a small favor for the environment? Then dust off the sneakers and walk to work or bicycle your way to the next meeting or lunch appointment. Unfortunately, that's easier said than done in most Asian megacities, few of which offer incentives to walkers and bikers compared with many cities in Europe and Australia and some even in motor-obsessed USA, including New York, San Francisco and Boston – the three most walkable cities in the United States, according to the website Walkscore.com, which released a list of the most pedestrian-friendly cities in the US this week. While we are not aware of any footpath rating system for Asian cities, we have our preferences. Tokyo is tops by a long, long way in our view with its sidewalks, bike paths and traffic lights that give plenty of time and space for non-motorized traffic. Tokyo is just too easy – and if rains too much one can slip into a subway and keep walking most of the way. Other Japanese cities are similarly designed and walking Kyoto is a delight surpassed only by Paris. Seoulis also a good walkers' city. A friend recently completed a tour of duty there and was delighted to spend a year walking to work downtown along broad avenues with relatively clean sidewalks punctuated by the occasional park or temple. Strolling from the Insa-dong tourist district through a nearby warren of traditional hanok houses (they still exist, though in declining numbers in Seoul) and on to the Blue House became a weekend treat for our friend. The only downside was walking home at night and having to dodge the occasional salaryman vomiting on his shoes from too much after-office soju. But at least there was usually room on the sidewalk to swerve away from revelers. Taipei, too, has come a long way now that subway trains have greatly cut street-level gridlock and pollution. Indeed, even in Beijing and Shanghai it is more the pollution that deters the serious stroller than the lack of accesses and underpasses for walkers – though bicycles, once the symbol of urban China, now get short-shrift in such a car and status conscious country. But when it comes to the negative impact of car consciousness on walkers and bikers, Southeast Asia's booming metropolises — with the exception of clean and green Singapore — take the prize. Consider Kuala Lumpur, still only a small city. Walking in what used to be a green and low rise capital can now be positively dangerous. The pedestrian must makes huge detours around new buildings, negotiate a mix of concrete barriers and missing drain covers to make what on the map seems the simplest of journeys in the Golden Triangle – the downtown, up-market office, shopping and hotel district. Manilaand Jakarta are equally bad though they at least have the excuse of more people and less money. A friend can see his closest shopping mall, Pacific Place, from the window of his Jakarta apartment but has yet to discover any plausible way to get there by foot. Another acquaintance and his wife in Indonesia take the car and driver to a shopping mall on the weekends and then walk up and down the air-conditioned aisles for exercise. Manila's deteriorated infrastructure and car-clogged streets have become so treacherous that none but the foolish or the poor dare walk anywhere. Bangkokfortunately is a little less hazardous for pedestrians than it used to be now that the Skytrain and underground rail have made it more convenient to walk, even for the suited class. And the sois still provide some relief for the walker if you don't mind dodging tuk-tuks on the narrow streets. But few recommend it. Ho Chi Minh Cityis still just about walkable if you can stand the motorbike fumes and Hanoi is definitely Ok for walkers and even – just – for bikers. Its broad avenues and older districts are welcoming but it may not be long before limos and diesel-belching buses drive away the pedal and shoe leather set. The problem in all these cities is that the middle and upper class just does not walk. We know people in Jakarta and Manila who take the chauffeur to cross the street. The non-motored rabble, they tell us, is unsafe, and the municipal authorities seem to have steadily eliminated what few sidewalks once existed. And bike paths? You must be kidding. Given that the wealthy run things, they do not even consider the possibility of making their cities walkable. The usual excuse for this is "the heat," as if this would also constitute a sufficient excuse for tropical farmers refusing to plant rice during the daytime. Lightly dressed and with an umbrella against rain or sun there is no reason why a 30 minute walk should be a problem. Yet how often do businessmen sit in cars for 30 minutes to get to an appointment a mere 10 minutes walk away? The heat is often just an excuse for hiding the status issue in a region where having money means not having to raise a sweat except perhaps in the company of one's personal trainer at the gym to which your driver delivers you. People with any kind of status simply do not walk or take the bus in most parts of Asia. They go by car, from one side of Ayala Avenue to the other or to traverse the 100 meters from the Mandarin Hotel in Jakarta to the Grand Hyatt on the other side of Sudirman. People in KL will spend hours struggling from, say, Bangsar, to the central business district by car rather than walk 10 minutes to get on a train that takes another 10 minutes. Needless to say, those who neither use their feet or public transport see little need for walkways or convenient train terminals, In Jakarta, for example, a great howl was raised when the city government put in a busway to accommodate the commuting masses a few years ago, thus reducing the number of lanes available to private motorists. Hong Kongis a rather different case. Its public transport is excellent and even tycoons and senior bureaucrats sometimes use it. But just try walking from, say, Causeway Bay to Central, a stroll that used to be quite convenient not too many years ago. The harbor-front is impossible for the uninitiated now that it has been almost obliterated and requires numerous bits of backtracking to figure out which overpass goes where. The route along the main thoroughfares, Hennessy and Lockhart roads, is simpler but fraught with hazardous crossings. Meanwhile in Central, Causeway Bay and Tsimshatsui the density of development has meant that sidewalks are often so crowded that walking becomes an obstacle course. Those who insist on using their legs must figure out how to traverse the central area above ground and indeed it is possible to go from the Star Ferry to Wanchai without even touching the ground by learning how to use the pedestrian bridges that link office towers and shopping malls to one another. And it remains to be seen how much of Macau — a truly great walking place — will remain intact given the development fever underway in that once-sleepy enclave. All of this is a shame because the street-level view of any great city is always illuminating — but the region seems determined to pave over every vestige of the past as rapidly as possible in order to accommodate the next shopping mall to be filled with people desperate to avoid the man-made clutter of the street in favor of staring at windows filled with identical goods in city after city. But cities are made to be walked in. Imagine San Francisco without a stroll through North Beach, New York without a walk down Broadway or Rome without its history viewed at a leisurely pace. Many of Asia's cities were also laid out with an eye toward plazas and walkways — downtown Manila, for example, has its Plaza Lawton and magnificent old post office but few visitors would risk tangling with the traffic to get there. Bangkok, Jakarta and KL have similar pleasures that are steadily being ignored by car culture. Oh well. Perhaps the people at walkscore.com can take on this region next. We like to take a walk also and maybe they can tell us where to go. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20080724/46caaad7/attachment.html From anant_umn at yahoo.co.uk Fri Jul 25 14:38:28 2008 From: anant_umn at yahoo.co.uk (anant maringanti) Date: Fri, 25 Jul 2008 17:08:28 +0800 Subject: [Urbanstudy] =?windows-1252?q?Walkers_and_hawkers=3A_bit_of_stati?= =?windows-1252?q?c_on_world_class_carriageways=85?= Message-ID: <8d5106ed0807250208h7bae219k61e5c1e7fcd0a233@mail.gmail.com> Walkers and hawkers: bit of static on world class carriageways… http://www.7oclocklive.com/?p=35#more-35 As Indian cities scramble to become 'world class cities' a strange battle has begun for their footpaths. Middle class led civic initiatives in many cities are demanding that footpaths be cleared of all encroachments like hawkers and pavement dwellers. As fatal and near fatal accidents involving pedestrians are escalating on Indian roads, as roads are occupied ever more by fourwheelers and two wheelers, the demand for pedestrian safety is unquestionable. Yet these same footpaths have historically served as dwelling and working places for thousands of urban poor. In fact, what is commonly referred to as the 1985 Olga Tellis case, Indian courts established their progressive credentials by interpreting the claim of the urban poor to live and work on pavements as justifiable under the constitutionally guaranteed right to life and liberty. How is one to chart out a new direction in public discourse now between two entirely justifiable claims — pedestrian safety and livelihood opportunities? Dr. Karen Coelho, gives an overview of a new initiative in Chennai to bring the two claims to the same side of the battle lines. Read on… As capital tightens its grip over urban public space (this time we are talking about bigger faster cars taking over the city roads), politics at the margin gets thornier. In other words, you get same-side struggles over sidewalks! Walkers and hawkers. People who cling bodily to road edges, weaving their precarious ways to work, to schools, to busstops and markets, and people spinning precarious livelihoods off these intrepid footsoldiers. Clearly, walkers and hawkers need each other, when they are not the same persons!! Yet, most initiatives advocating for pedestrian rights tend to put hawkers at the top of the list of obstructions and hindrances, along with billboards, electric transformers, garbage bins and commercial encroachments. An article on the Pedestrian Satyagraha organized by Sahasi Padyatri in Bandra, for instance, talks about claiming "the right to use road space encroached upon by autos and hawkers." Standing up for pedestrian issues, we found, can bring strange bedfellows, in a time when the landscape of Singapore defines the common imaginary of urban utopia. So we find ourselves in airconditioned conference halls, making common cause with the well-shod women of Soroptimist International, in a workshop that lays Chennai's traffic woes at the door of too many cars, and applauds the ground-breaking initiative proposed by one member, the correspondent of an elite school in the city, to promote carpooling in her school. They also advocate more reliance on public transport, and improvement of pedestrian facilities – all very encouraging, despite the not-so-encouraging fact of a carpark full of luxury cars outside. The discussion then promptly homes in on hawkers, everyone chimes in about these illegal, unmanageable nuisances, politically patronized, swarming around the gates of schools, selling food laced with drugs to unsuspecting children! As a group that calls itself "Walking Classes Unite", we have set ourselves the task of defining a politics that is inclusive of street vendors and their rights to public space. Ours is not a "clean up the pavements" campaign with a vision of shiny sterile sidewalks, Singapore-style! The idea is to reclaim public space and resources for access, mobility and basic livelihood needs of common people, especially the more vulnerable. Thus, we push for enforcement of existing norms and policies that a) uphold the rights of pedestrians, disabled people and street vendors, b) advocate promotion of non-motorised and public modes of transport, and c) recommend the provision of hawking zones on roads and streets. Familiarity with the National Policy on Street Vendors (2004) has become as essential for all our campaign volunteers as familiarity with the National Urban Transport Policy (2006). Walking Classes Unite at the moment is a (hopefully) growing group of volunteers with the ambitious mission of building a city-wide platform for pedestrian concerns. The platform includes four important constituencies of pedestrians: school and college students, disabled people, elderly people and informal sector workers. These are constituencies whose daily mobility on foot and/or by public transport is threatened by measures aimed to facilitate private vehicles, high-end commercial establishments and luxury consumers. Such measures include road widening at the cost of pavements, flyovers and metros at the cost of buses and cycle-paths, and speed-promoting one-ways at the cost of safe and accessible crossing facilities for pedestrians. We launched the platform and the campaign in April with an "audit walk" in partnership with the Spastics Society of Tamilnadu (SPASTN), on a stretch of Chennai's famous "IT corridor" leading from the Thiruvanmiyur MRTS station to the SPASTN school, just off the corridor. A large group of teachers and students from the school walked this stretch, along with volunteers from other parts of the city, demonstrating (for the press, among others), the vast number of obstacles faced by people with disabilities on this state-of-the-art showpiece of a road. We have conducted other audits of roads and pavements, partnering with resident associations and other local groups, and have presented reports to local authorities. Each time, an immediate challenge we encounter is the common tendency of local groups to single out hawkers as Enemy Target No.1 in the campaign for pavement space. Ongoing interactions between campaign volunteers and local groups do eventually help in establishing a commitment to explore solutions more inclusive of street vendors, and it certainly helps to have a national policy to lean on. The audit itself also helps, by revealing that commercial encroachments, municipal installations, political hoardings, storage of building materials and parking of private vehicles constitute as much or more of a hindrance as/than hawkers. The audit also helps in identifying potential hawking zones on each street. Nevertheless, we are still searching for ways to create a credible convergence between the two sets of demands – of walkers and hawkers, or at least to ensure that our struggles to expand pavement space for pedestrians do not feed into discourses that support evictions of street dwellers and hawkers, or the felling of trees. Our efforts include discussions with leaders of hawker federations, who are often sympathetic with our efforts but stop far short of collaboration. One leader told us that the main organized demand of the hawkers was implementation of the street vendors' policy and the recommendations of the Justice Kanagaraj committee, set up in 2003 to recommend hawking zones in Chennai. After the report languished for some years, the Chennai High Court set up another committee in 2006 to oversee implementation of its recommendations – we are trying, through RTI and other means, to obtain copies of both reports. We also plan to hold a city-wide rally in late August as part of the annual "Chennai Week" – the walk will highlight issues of hawkers as well as walkers. Meanwhile, as we pursue and cultivate and otherwise indulge our newfound obsession with pavements, zebra crossings and other pedestrian concerns, we discover the interlocking circuits of legitimate and not-so-legitimate "value" operating on the edges of the road, largely unnoticed. Restaurants or shops rent patches of pavement to lime juice or chaat stalls for substantial sums. Blue-painted bunk shops, contributed as part of government assistance schemes, are securely installed on crowded pavements. Temples, toilets and teashops mark their territory, undisputed, on pavements. The "walking eye", which lends a very different perspective from that of planners at their desks or of drivers at the wheel, or for that matter, of the driven, seated at the back, uncovers an intricate politics of pavements. That neglected residue of roadspace, the shat upon and spat upon and never walked upon, the dug up and dumped upon margin, is clearly the center of an intense economics of space. From geoajeet at gmail.com Fri Jul 25 15:27:25 2008 From: geoajeet at gmail.com (ajeet singh) Date: Fri, 25 Jul 2008 02:57:25 -0700 Subject: [Urbanstudy] Urbanstudygroup Digest, Vol 53, Issue 11 In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <9d8dffcb0807250257g23b03fc7h3fd1511b90639451@mail.gmail.com> On 7/25/08, urbanstudygroup-request at sarai.net < urbanstudygroup-request at sarai.net> wrote: > > Send Urbanstudygroup mailing list submissions to > urbanstudygroup at sarai.net > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/urbanstudygroup > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > urbanstudygroup-request at sarai.net > > You can reach the person managing the list at > urbanstudygroup-owner at sarai.net > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of Urbanstudygroup digest..." > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. Fwd: Walking becomes a nightmare in many Asian cities > (lalitha kamath) > 2. Walkers and hawkers: bit of static on world class > carriageways… (anant maringanti) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Thu, 24 Jul 2008 22:46:03 -0700 (PDT) > From: lalitha kamath > Subject: [Urbanstudy] Fwd: Walking becomes a nightmare in many Asian > cities > To: urbanstudygroup at sarai.net > Message-ID: <352277.13910.qm at web53602.mail.re2.yahoo.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="windows-1252" > > > > The problem in all these cities is that the middle and upper class just > does not walk. We know people in Jakarta and Manila who take the chauffeur > to cross the street. The non-motored rabble, they tell us, is unsafe, and > the municipal authorities seem to have steadily eliminated what few > sidewalks once existed. And bike paths? You must be kidding. > Given that the wealthy run things, they do not even consider the > possibility of making their cities walkable. The usual excuse for this is > "the heat." > The heat is often just an excuse for hiding the status issue in a region > where having money means not having to raise a sweat except perhaps in the > company of one's personal trainer at the gym to which your driver delivers > you. People with any kind of status simply do not walk or take the bus in > most parts of Asia. They go by car, from one side of Ayala Avenue to the > other or to traverse the 100 meters from the Mandarin Hotel in Jakarta to > the Grand Hyatt on the other side of Sudirman. People in KL will spend hours > struggling from, say, Bangsar, to the central business district by car > rather than walk 10 minutes to get on a train that takes another 10 minutes. > > --------- > Asia's Good Walks Spoiled > > Our Correspondent > 19 July 2008 > Asia Sentinel > A list of great walking cities in the US reminds us of what we are missing > in this region > > Tired of pouring money down the gaping maw of your gas tank? Want to get > fit and do a small favor for the environment? Then dust off the sneakers and > walk to work or bicycle your way to the next meeting or lunch appointment. > Unfortunately, that's easier said than done in most Asian megacities, few > of which offer incentives to walkers and bikers compared with many cities in > Europe and Australia and some even in motor-obsessed USA, including New > York, San Francisco and Boston – the three most walkable cities in the > United States, according to the website Walkscore.com, which released a list > of the most pedestrian-friendly cities in the US this week. > While we are not aware of any footpath rating system for Asian cities, we > have our preferences. Tokyo is tops by a long, long way in our view with its > sidewalks, bike paths and traffic lights that give plenty of time and space > for non-motorized traffic. Tokyo is just too easy – and if rains too much > one can slip into a subway and keep walking most of the way. Other Japanese > cities are similarly designed and walking Kyoto is a delight surpassed only > by Paris. > Seoulis also a good walkers' city. A friend recently completed a tour of > duty there and was delighted to spend a year walking to work downtown along > broad avenues with relatively clean sidewalks punctuated by the occasional > park or temple. Strolling from the Insa-dong tourist district through a > nearby warren of traditional hanok houses (they still exist, though in > declining numbers in Seoul) and on to the Blue House became a weekend treat > for our friend. The only downside was walking home at night and having to > dodge the occasional salaryman vomiting on his shoes from too much > after-office soju. But at least there was usually room on the sidewalk to > swerve away from revelers. > Taipei, too, has come a long way now that subway trains have greatly cut > street-level gridlock and pollution. Indeed, even in Beijing and Shanghai it > is more the pollution that deters the serious stroller than the lack of > accesses and underpasses for walkers – though bicycles, once the symbol of > urban China, now get short-shrift in such a car and status conscious > country. > But when it comes to the negative impact of car consciousness on walkers > and bikers, Southeast Asia's booming metropolises — with the exception of > clean and green Singapore — take the prize. Consider Kuala Lumpur, still > only a small city. Walking in what used to be a green and low rise capital > can now be positively dangerous. The pedestrian must makes huge detours > around new buildings, negotiate a mix of concrete barriers and missing drain > covers to make what on the map seems the simplest of journeys in the Golden > Triangle – the downtown, up-market office, shopping and hotel district. > Manilaand Jakarta are equally bad though they at least have the excuse of > more people and less money. A friend can see his closest shopping mall, > Pacific Place, from the window of his Jakarta apartment but has yet to > discover any plausible way to get there by foot. Another acquaintance and > his wife in Indonesia take the car and driver to a shopping mall on the > weekends and then walk up and down the air-conditioned aisles for exercise. > Manila's deteriorated infrastructure and car-clogged streets have become so > treacherous that none but the foolish or the poor dare walk anywhere. > Bangkokfortunately is a little less hazardous for pedestrians than it used > to be now that the Skytrain and underground rail have made it more > convenient to walk, even for the suited class. And the sois still provide > some relief for the walker if you don't mind dodging tuk-tuks on the narrow > streets. But few recommend it. > Ho Chi Minh Cityis still just about walkable if you can stand the motorbike > fumes and Hanoi is definitely Ok for walkers and even – just – for bikers. > Its broad avenues and older districts are welcoming but it may not be long > before limos and diesel-belching buses drive away the pedal and shoe leather > set. > The problem in all these cities is that the middle and upper class just > does not walk. We know people in Jakarta and Manila who take the chauffeur > to cross the street. The non-motored rabble, they tell us, is unsafe, and > the municipal authorities seem to have steadily eliminated what few > sidewalks once existed. And bike paths? You must be kidding. > Given that the wealthy run things, they do not even consider the > possibility of making their cities walkable. The usual excuse for this is > "the heat," as if this would also constitute a sufficient excuse for > tropical farmers refusing to plant rice during the daytime. Lightly dressed > and with an umbrella against rain or sun there is no reason why a 30 minute > walk should be a problem. Yet how often do businessmen sit in cars for 30 > minutes to get to an appointment a mere 10 minutes walk away? > The heat is often just an excuse for hiding the status issue in a region > where having money means not having to raise a sweat except perhaps in the > company of one's personal trainer at the gym to which your driver delivers > you. People with any kind of status simply do not walk or take the bus in > most parts of Asia. They go by car, from one side of Ayala Avenue to the > other or to traverse the 100 meters from the Mandarin Hotel in Jakarta to > the Grand Hyatt on the other side of Sudirman. People in KL will spend hours > struggling from, say, Bangsar, to the central business district by car > rather than walk 10 minutes to get on a train that takes another 10 minutes. > Needless to say, those who neither use their feet or public transport see > little need for walkways or convenient train terminals, In Jakarta, for > example, a great howl was raised when the city government put in a busway to > accommodate the commuting masses a few years ago, thus reducing the number > of lanes available to private motorists. > Hong Kongis a rather different case. Its public transport is excellent and > even tycoons and senior bureaucrats sometimes use it. But just try walking > from, say, Causeway Bay to Central, a stroll that used to be quite > convenient not too many years ago. The harbor-front is impossible for the > uninitiated now that it has been almost obliterated and requires numerous > bits of backtracking to figure out which overpass goes where. The route > along the main thoroughfares, Hennessy and Lockhart roads, is simpler but > fraught with hazardous crossings. Meanwhile in Central, Causeway Bay and > Tsimshatsui the density of development has meant that sidewalks are often so > crowded that walking becomes an obstacle course. Those who insist on using > their legs must figure out how to traverse the central area above ground and > indeed it is possible to go from the Star Ferry to Wanchai without even > touching the ground by learning how to use the pedestrian bridges that link > office > towers and shopping malls to one another. > And it remains to be seen how much of Macau — a truly great walking place — > will remain intact given the development fever underway in that once-sleepy > enclave. > All of this is a shame because the street-level view of any great city is > always illuminating — but the region seems determined to pave over every > vestige of the past as rapidly as possible in order to accommodate the next > shopping mall to be filled with people desperate to avoid the man-made > clutter of the street in favor of staring at windows filled with identical > goods in city after city. > But cities are made to be walked in. Imagine San Francisco without a stroll > through North Beach, New York without a walk down Broadway or Rome without > its history viewed at a leisurely pace. Many of Asia's cities were also laid > out with an eye toward plazas and walkways — downtown Manila, for example, > has its Plaza Lawton and magnificent old post office but few visitors would > risk tangling with the traffic to get there. Bangkok, Jakarta and KL have > similar pleasures that are steadily being ignored by car culture. > Oh well. Perhaps the people at walkscore.com can take on this region next. > We like to take a walk also and maybe they can tell us where to go. > > > -------------- next part -------------- > An HTML attachment was scrubbed... > URL: > http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20080724/46caaad7/attachment-0001.html > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 2 > Date: Fri, 25 Jul 2008 17:08:28 +0800 > From: "anant maringanti" > Subject: [Urbanstudy] Walkers and hawkers: bit of static on world > class carriageways… > To: urbanstudygroup at sarai.net > Message-ID: > <8d5106ed0807250208h7bae219k61e5c1e7fcd0a233 at mail.gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="WINDOWS-1252" > > Walkers and hawkers: bit of static on world class carriageways… > > http://www.7oclocklive.com/?p=35#more-35 > > As Indian cities scramble to become 'world class cities' a strange > battle has begun for their footpaths. Middle class led civic > initiatives in many cities are demanding that footpaths be cleared of > all encroachments like hawkers and pavement dwellers. As fatal and > near fatal accidents involving pedestrians are escalating on Indian > roads, as roads are occupied ever more by fourwheelers and two > wheelers, the demand for pedestrian safety is unquestionable. Yet > these same footpaths have historically served as dwelling and working > places for thousands of urban poor. In fact, what is commonly referred > to as the 1985 Olga Tellis case, Indian courts established their > progressive credentials by interpreting the claim of the urban poor to > live and work on pavements as justifiable under the constitutionally > guaranteed right to life and liberty. How is one to chart out a new > direction in public discourse now between two entirely justifiable > claims — pedestrian safety and livelihood opportunities? Dr. Karen > Coelho, gives an overview of a new initiative in Chennai to bring the > two claims to the same side of the battle lines. Read on… > > > > As capital tightens its grip over urban public space (this time we are > talking about bigger faster cars taking over the city roads), politics > at the margin gets thornier. In other words, you get same-side > struggles over sidewalks! Walkers and hawkers. People who cling > bodily to road edges, weaving their precarious ways to work, to > schools, to busstops and markets, and people spinning precarious > livelihoods off these intrepid footsoldiers. Clearly, walkers and > hawkers need each other, when they are not the same persons!! Yet, > most initiatives advocating for pedestrian rights tend to put hawkers > at the top of the list of obstructions and hindrances, along with > billboards, electric transformers, garbage bins and commercial > encroachments. An article on the Pedestrian Satyagraha organized by > Sahasi Padyatri in Bandra, for instance, talks about claiming "the > right to use road space encroached upon by autos and hawkers." > > > > Standing up for pedestrian issues, we found, can bring strange > bedfellows, in a time when the landscape of Singapore defines the > common imaginary of urban utopia. So we find ourselves in > airconditioned conference halls, making common cause with the > well-shod women of Soroptimist International, in a workshop that lays > Chennai's traffic woes at the door of too many cars, and applauds the > ground-breaking initiative proposed by one member, the correspondent > of an elite school in the city, to promote carpooling in her school. > They also advocate more reliance on public transport, and improvement > of pedestrian facilities – all very encouraging, despite the > not-so-encouraging fact of a carpark full of luxury cars outside. The > discussion then promptly homes in on hawkers, everyone chimes in about > these illegal, unmanageable nuisances, politically patronized, > swarming around the gates of schools, selling food laced with drugs to > unsuspecting children! > > > > As a group that calls itself "Walking Classes Unite", we have set > ourselves the task of defining a politics that is inclusive of street > vendors and their rights to public space. Ours is not a "clean up the > pavements" campaign with a vision of shiny sterile sidewalks, > Singapore-style! The idea is to reclaim public space and resources > for access, mobility and basic livelihood needs of common people, > especially the more vulnerable. Thus, we push for enforcement of > existing norms and policies that a) uphold the rights of pedestrians, > disabled people and street vendors, b) advocate promotion of > non-motorised and public modes of transport, and c) recommend the > provision of hawking zones on roads and streets. Familiarity with the > National Policy on Street Vendors (2004) has become as essential for > all our campaign volunteers as familiarity with the National Urban > Transport Policy (2006). > > > > Walking Classes Unite at the moment is a (hopefully) growing group of > volunteers with the ambitious mission of building a city-wide platform > for pedestrian concerns. The platform includes four important > constituencies of pedestrians: school and college students, disabled > people, elderly people and informal sector workers. These are > constituencies whose daily mobility on foot and/or by public transport > is threatened by measures aimed to facilitate private vehicles, > high-end commercial establishments and luxury consumers. Such measures > include road widening at the cost of pavements, flyovers and metros at > the cost of buses and cycle-paths, and speed-promoting one-ways at the > cost of safe and accessible crossing facilities for pedestrians. > > > > We launched the platform and the campaign in April with an "audit > walk" in partnership with the Spastics Society of Tamilnadu (SPASTN), > on a stretch of Chennai's famous "IT corridor" leading from the > Thiruvanmiyur MRTS station to the SPASTN school, just off the > corridor. A large group of teachers and students from the school > walked this stretch, along with volunteers from other parts of the > city, demonstrating (for the press, among others), the vast number of > obstacles faced by people with disabilities on this state-of-the-art > showpiece of a road. We have conducted other audits of roads and > pavements, partnering with resident associations and other local > groups, and have presented reports to local authorities. Each time, > an immediate challenge we encounter is the common tendency of local > groups to single out hawkers as Enemy Target No.1 in the campaign for > pavement space. Ongoing interactions between campaign volunteers and > local groups do eventually help in establishing a commitment to > explore solutions more inclusive of street vendors, and it certainly > helps to have a national policy to lean on. The audit itself also > helps, by revealing that commercial encroachments, municipal > installations, political hoardings, storage of building materials and > parking of private vehicles constitute as much or more of a hindrance > as/than hawkers. The audit also helps in identifying potential > hawking zones on each street. > > > > Nevertheless, we are still searching for ways to create a credible > convergence between the two sets of demands – of walkers and hawkers, > or at least to ensure that our struggles to expand pavement space for > pedestrians do not feed into discourses that support evictions of > street dwellers and hawkers, or the felling of trees. Our efforts > include discussions with leaders of hawker federations, who are often > sympathetic with our efforts but stop far short of collaboration. One > leader told us that the main organized demand of the hawkers was > implementation of the street vendors' policy and the recommendations > of the Justice Kanagaraj committee, set up in 2003 to recommend > hawking zones in Chennai. After the report languished for some years, > the Chennai High Court set up another committee in 2006 to oversee > implementation of its recommendations – we are trying, through RTI > and other means, to obtain copies of both reports. We also plan to > hold a city-wide rally in late August as part of the annual "Chennai > Week" – the walk will highlight issues of hawkers as well as walkers. > > > > Meanwhile, as we pursue and cultivate and otherwise indulge our > newfound obsession with pavements, zebra crossings and other > pedestrian concerns, we discover the interlocking circuits of > legitimate and not-so-legitimate "value" operating on the edges of the > road, largely unnoticed. Restaurants or shops rent patches of pavement > to lime juice or chaat stalls for substantial sums. Blue-painted bunk > shops, contributed as part of government assistance schemes, are > securely installed on crowded pavements. Temples, toilets and > teashops mark their territory, undisputed, on pavements. The "walking > eye", which lends a very different perspective from that of planners > at their desks or of drivers at the wheel, or for that matter, of the > driven, seated at the back, uncovers an intricate politics of > pavements. That neglected residue of roadspace, the shat upon and > spat upon and never walked upon, the dug up and dumped upon margin, is > clearly the center of an intense economics of space. > > > ------------------------------ > > _______________________________________________ > Urbanstudygroup mailing list > Urbanstudygroup at sarai.net > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/urbanstudygroup > > > End of Urbanstudygroup Digest, Vol 53, Issue 11 > *********************************************** > i m ajeet singh, journalist with BUSINESS BHASKAR. its a hindi business daily of DAINIK BHASKAR group. i m looking for some walkbility survey or study on indian cities. it will be helpful in my reporting if someone provide me such details. regards, ........................................................... Ajeet Singh correspondent-BUSINESS BHASKAR Mobile: 9971123077 Email: ajeet.s at businessbhaskar.net geoajeet at gmail.com web: www.businessbhaskar.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20080725/6f4ad360/attachment-0001.html From yanivbin at gmail.com Sat Jul 26 14:39:30 2008 From: yanivbin at gmail.com (Vinay Baindur) Date: Sat, 26 Jul 2008 14:39:30 +0530 Subject: [Urbanstudy] The BRA shapes our city without us Message-ID: <86b8a7050807260209j43c5e88dt68c2621a99b40177@mail.gmail.com> *The development authorities have violated our zoning and public spaces laws for long and now with NURM in the picture there is ongoing massive forced urban renewal for the benefit of the "Global Investor" the city and its citizens are being entered into a Great Competition and the Competitive city has arrived here ---- conditions apply The BRA shapes our city without us* by Shirley Kressel contributing writer Thursday Jul 17, 2008 http://www.mysouthend.com/index.php?ch=columns&sc=city_streets&id=77590 In my last column, I reviewed some of the ways the *Boston Redevelopment Authority* takes money from all of us. Now, let's turn to some of the BRA's impacts on development, planning and public policy. The BRA, created in 1957, used stealth legislation to eliminate our Planning Board in 1960, elbowing the City Council, our legislative branch, out of its rightful role in planning and land use regulation. It has since taken over many other Council roles, depriving us of essential checks and balances. The BRA uses its planning/zoning role and its urban renewal powers to make what is illegal, legal. The BRA confers enormous wealth on favored developers with its loophole-laden zoning code, shielding them from lawsuits for violating laws meant to protect the community. Politicians can make private deals with developers, drawing campaign contributions that keep them in office. The BRA conducts the "public process" of review and approval and absorbs the helpless wrath of citizens, while the officials remain insulated from public retribution. The BRA's "four finagles," as I call them, are: - Planned Development Areas (PDA), projects of an acre or more; - Chapter 121A agreements granting tax breaks, zoning relief, and eminent domain power, for sites the BRA declares "blighted" *(in Boston, City Council is cut out of 121A review);* - U-Districts, within the BRA's 3,000 acres of original Urban Renewal Plan areas and constantly added "Demonstration Project" areas, where the BRA conveys land to a developer; and - *Institutional Master Plans (IMP) of expanding tax-exempt institutions.* In these self-zoning districts, development rules are simply negotiated with the BRA. But such relief is illegal. It violates the Boston Zoning Enabling Act, which gives the power of zoning relief only to the Zoning Board of Appeal, whose process provides legal recourse: aggrieved parties can sue. Thus, the BRA, having disarmed the legislative branch, has also largely deprived us of the judicial branch, leaving the "three-legged stool" of democratic government standing on the executive alone. No neighborhood is protected from the BRA's magical self-zoning wand, given its liberal criteria - *although the BRA routinely violates even these*. Even a project with only a half-acre of land has been made a PDA, by counting nearby streets and sidewalks. Abracadabra! Even when the zoning code included provisions that the BRA's own lawyers warned cannot be changed by a PDA, it used a PDA designation (indeed, the half-acre one) to remove the code protection of the historic Gaiety Theatre and destroyed it for an unlawful tower. Hocus pocus! Even where the code prohibits PDAs altogether, the BRA simply gets the puppet Zoning Commission to delete the prohibition when it approves a PDA. The tower replacing Filene's in Downtown Crossing was legalized this way. The Columbus Center project was given a PDA, when, as a Turnpike air rights area, it is not even subject to city zoning. The BRA's project manager on the Columbus Center wrote in a memo in 2003 to the several local neighborhood associations: "PDAs are not permitted in the Bay Village Neighborhood District, the Open Space Urban Plaza subdistrict of the South End Neighborhood District, or the portion of the Downtown IPOD that includes the Site. Text Amendment No. [blank], submitted by the BRA for approval immediately prior to approval of the PDA Plan, would make such provisions inapplicable to the Site." Presto! The BRA granted a 121A to Two Financial Center, a tower proposed in the booming historic Leather District. Residents sued and lost: the BRA, the court said, may declare blight at its discretion. That developer's revised proposal for a still over-sized building stated that if the community opposed a variance, he would take the 121A and not only over-build but take the tax exemption as well. Loew's (now W) Hotel near the Theatre District got a U-District when the BRA seized a few square feet of land near the site and conveyed it to the developer. Shazam! Coming up: the redevelopment of the Government Center Garage. It's big enough for a PDA, but the BRA owns the adjacent parcel. By adding it to the project, it can make a U-District, become an equity partner, and profit by approving the biggest possible building. A 121A is also possible, and would leave more money in the developer's budget for the BRA's lease fee. Institutional Master Plans are by used all colleges and health care facilities. With their unfettered expansion, residential buildings become student dorms, neighborhood-serving retail disappears, neighborhoods are destabilized, voting power diminishes, families move out. And the tax burden of their exempted property is shifted to the rest of us. The BRA owns hundreds of acres of land rights, where it simply writes it own rules, an egregious conflict of interest the Boston Globe editorialized about on April 6, 1999, "On top of South Station?": "The BRA ought to be the watchdog for the project, but it owns the air rights over the station and stands to gain a fortune in lease payments..." It is a profit-seeking - and unfairly advantaged --competitor in the real estate market. It tilts the playing field with cronyism in developer designations (it is exempt from competitive bidding laws), encourages (and engages in) speculation, permits development that hurts our environment and quality of life, causes an artificial land scarcity, and drives up land costs, driving up housing and business costs. These few examples barely scratch the surface; the BRA's zoning shenanigans could (and should) fill a book. Meanwhile, for a half-century, we, in the cradle of democracy, have been without a planning entity that cares about anything besides the profits of big developers (including itself). Its social mission remains to remake Boston for better people. Its political mission as an "ethics laundry" remains as well: to do the dirty work while keeping politicians' hands clean. Accountable only to its own board, dissolvable only by its own hand, and apparently out of reach of the ethics commission or any law enforcement agency, the BRA is "da bums" we can't "t'row out." Shirley Kressel is a landscape architect and urban designer, and one of the founders of the Alliance of Boston Neighborhoods. She can be reached at Shirley.Kressel at verizon.net. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20080726/86af20a7/attachment.html