Beyond the “Slums”: Informal Housing and Urban Governance in Megacities of China, India, and Brazil
Overview
Urbanization is a defining phenomenon of the 21st century. Whereas 54% of the world’s population lives in cities today, the number is expected to reach 70% by 2050, and most of this growth will take place in the Global South. One of the most important and common characteristics of urban expansion in southern metropolises is the development of informal housing settlements that fall outside of government control or regulation. According to UN-Habitat, one third of the world’s urban population lives in “slums.” While there is consensus among researchers and policymakers that informality has become a phenomenal organizing urban logic in the developing world, it remains largely unknown how cities are governed under informal modes of urbanization.
In this seminar, Wilson Center Fellow Yue Zhang will present her research on informal settlements and urban governance in megacities of China, India, and Brazil. The cross-national comparative study in six megacities reveals that informality must be understood not as the object of state regulation but rather as produced and institutionalized by the state itself. Urban governance structure, defined by the interrelations between various state and nonstate actors, is key for understanding the different outcomes of state intervention in the informal space. Please join us for a discussion of housing and governance policies to promote inclusive and livable cities in an era of rapid global urbanization.
Speakers
Yue Zhang, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Illinois – Chicago, and Wilson Center Fellow
Adam Auerbach, Assistant Professor, School of International Service, American University
Michael Donovan, Senior Housing and Urban Development Specialist, Inter-American Development Bank
Victor Vergara, Lead Urban Specialist, Global Urban-Social Unit, World Bank
Richard Stren, Emeritus Professor of Political Science, University of Toronto, and Senior Fellow, Global Cities Institute
Hosted By
Urban Sustainability Laboratory
Since 1991, the Urban Sustainability Laboratory has advanced solutions to urban challenges—such as poverty, exclusion, insecurity, and environmental degradation—by promoting evidence-based research to support sustainable, equitable and peaceful cities. Read more
China Environment Forum
Since 1997, the China Environment Forum's mission has been to forge US-China cooperation on energy, environment, and sustainable development challenges. We play a unique nonpartisan role in creating multi-stakeholder dialogues around these issues. Read more
Brazil Institute
The Brazil Institute—the only country-specific policy institution focused on Brazil in Washington—works to foster understanding of Brazil’s complex reality and to support more consequential relations between Brazilian and US institutions in all sectors. The Brazil Institute plays this role by producing independent research and programs that bridge the gap between scholarship and policy, and by serving as a crossroads for leading policymakers, scholars and private sector representatives who are committed to addressing Brazil’s challenges and opportunities. Read more
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