In June 2005, demolition crews destroyed hundreds of homes in an impoverished suburb of Mutare, under ‘Operation Murambatsvina’ (Move the Rubbish), the government of Zimbabwe’s campaign to forcibly clear ‘slums’ across the country. Many of those made homeless joined housing cooperatives to

In the world's second most populous country, there is an estimated shortage of about 20 million homes in urban areas CHENNAI, India, Oct 9 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Sustainable, low-cost homes must become the default option for builders and buyers amid increasing pressure on land and the

BHUBANESWAR: Four bills including the much-awaited Odisha Land Rights to Slum Dwellers Bill, 2017 were passed in the Assembly on Wednesday.Introducing the Odisha Land Rights to Slum Dwellers Bill, 2017 in the Assembly, Housing and Urban Development Minister Niranjan Pujari said it is a historical

MUMBAI (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Female farmers urged the Indian government on Wednesday to protect their land rights and keep them safe from abuse as women increasingly run farms abandoned by men for jobs in the city. Women own just 13 percent of land in India although they do two-thirds of

Last month, the South African Independent Electoral Commission announced in frustration that it needs USD 22.9 million to collect addresses ahead of a court-mandated deadline, a problem compounded by the fact that most townships don’t have well-marked street names.

Residents of low cost housing can design their communities better than an architect, says legendary planner and designer Balkrishna Doshi LONDON, Aug 23 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Balkrishna Doshi began his illustrious career as India was born, and many of the architect's most influential

Investment in urban infrastructure such as new roads, public utilities or parks invariably increases real-estate prices. In Pakistan, stories of riches earned overnight due to new highways passing through agricultural lands are common.

NEW DELHI, Aug 21 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Upgrading slums and giving tenancy rights to residents is key to climate change adaptation and disaster mitigation in India's cities, an analyst said, as the country braces for extreme weather events of greater frequency and intensity. With 1.3

Odisha Government on Tuesday took a decision to grant land rights to the slum dwellers living in Municipal Councils and Notified Area Councils of the State and property rights to those living in Municipal Corporation areas. Accordingly, the State Cabinet approved promulgation of two ordinances for

“Us guys, we bust our butts. It’s dangerous work doing what we do, but I love it out here. There’s nothing like it.” So stated Tony Gale, a veteran logger from rural New York, in an interview with Huffington Post. The digital media company recently published a comprehensive piece on the

The President of Ghana Institutions of Surveyors (GhIS), Mr. Edwin Addo-Tawiah has said, it is time surveyors take strategic decisions for the development of the country, considering the United Nations Development Goal (UNDG) which has been estimated that, 60% of Africans would be living in the

"We think it's a crisis when one-in-three households - one-in-three citizens that live in cities - don't have adequate, secure or affordable housing" TEPIC, Mexico, July 12 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Booming cities in developing nations should upgrade slums, build on underused land and