Hyun Bang Shin, London School of Economics and Political Science
In a nation where urban living is the ultimate attainment, some households are bracing against the surging tide of development.
Just another day in Nairobi’s Kibera slums. Slums are characterised by densely packed settlements with inadequate provision of services.
Reuters/Noor Khamis
Alex Ezeh, African Population and Health Research Center; Blessing Mberu, African Population and Health Research Center e Tilahun Haregu, African Population and Health Research Center
Despite increased global awareness about poor conditions in slums, the health of their inhabitants is a little studied phenomenon.
Wildlife in the Athi-Kaputiei ecosystem with new development in the background.
Flickr/Kamweti Mutu
Here’s how social and political power can come together in cities, to counteract the focus on short-term profit.
Bombardier (right), the reigning champion and ‘King of the Arenas’, prepares to defend his crown against the popular young challenger Modou Lô.
Mark Hann/ Global Sport
Wrestling is Senegal’s national sport. But the presence of an ethnic discourse within the sporting arena may well threaten the notion of the multi-ethnic nation state.
Johannesburg skyline: the challenge is to create a city that is liveable, safe and resource efficient.
Reuters/Siphiwe Sibeko
Populations revolt when lives are improving but not fast enough to meet their rising expectations.
From its earliest days, the influx of outsiders created the distinctive urban character that has driven the development of Shanghai into a modern metropolis.
Wenjie, Zhang/flickr
From its earliest days as a haven for refugees, Shanghai developed a distinctive character and urban identity that have driven its emergence as one of the world’s great metropolises.
Local residents walk past a collapsed building in Huruma, Nairobi. Many of the city’s current problems emerged at its birth as a colonial town.
EPA/Dai Kurokawa
Building better, inclusive cities involves enabling the wise use of public land and taxes to ensure that high-quality housing and amenities are provided for all at a lower cost.
The mountain village of Novara di Sizilia, Italy.
from www.shutterstock.com
In many rural areas, poor people are suffering from malnutrition, which takes the form of stunting and obesity. To change this, their food environments must change.
Research on animals like the Black Sparrowhawk, using biomarkers, can help map how urbanisation affects animals.
David Berliner/ Flickr
Developing countries, specifically in sub-Saharan Africa, are urbanising without industrialising, a trajectory that leaves them with relatively higher poverty rates and share of slums.
Low-carbon initiatives in cities like Rwanda’s Kigali can help citizens to deal with the harsh effects of climate change.
Shutterstock
Astrid R.N. Haas, London School of Economics and Political Science
To achieve its ambition of becoming a middle income country, Uganda must accelerate the movement of workers from agriculture and the informal sector into modern industries.
Fragments of woodland surrounded by cleared land in south west Australia.
Google Earth
Australia may have reputation for vast areas of wilderness, but in reality the continent’s ecosystems have been chopped and diced. Now we need to protect what’s left.
Traffic jams in major African cities such as Lagos, pictured here, as well as Uganda’s Kampala, are a major drain on productivity.
Reuters/Akintunde Akinleye
Kampala generates about 60% of Uganda’s GDP. In the coming decade urbanisation is the single largest opportunity to spur economic growth in the coming decade.