Development Planning Unit

The development of remediation solutions for coal ash disposal (CAD) sites is a priority in the current context of thermal electricity production for many CEE and rapidly developing countries which rely on coal as their main energy source. However, evaluation processes for remediation solutions rarely incorporate explicitly local concerns of residents who suffer the consequences of the pollution. These concerns may be of particular relevance when there are few resources available for remediation but urgent action required. This paper presents an evaluation process for CAD site remediation solutions. It was developed and tested as part of an EU 6 th FP project, RECOAL, using coal ash pollution from a coal-fired power plant in Tuzla (Bosnia and Herzegovina) as a case study. The process incorporates local concerns related to the CAD sites. The application of the evaluation process is demonstrated for two remediation proposals considered in the case-study.

At a time when Somalia is widely viewed as a political and humanitarian disaster, it is significant that the northwestern territory of Somaliland has installed a comparatively stable government and held a series of elections that have been declared 'relatively free and fair' by observers. This article considers a key period in the establishment of the current system of state, from the 1991 collapse of the Siyaad Barre regime to the 1993 conference in the northern town of Borama which saw the transition from an interim military government to civilian administration. While the Borama conference did not end conflict in Somaliland, it resulted in an interim constitution that eventually enabled a more lasting peace, along with popular elections for local government, President, and Lower House of Parliament. The article argues that the success of the 1991-3 process was built on a set of deeply embedded social norms that emphasized the importance of dialogue between antagonists; a willingness to accept that the most complex grievances would be set aside indefinitely to avoid the contentious process of negotiating compensation payments; the opening of space for the intervention of mediators; and a sustained commitment to consensus building in preference to divisive voting. In short, local resources have been employed effectively in the cause of achieving a lasting peace and what appears to be a viable system of democracy. SOMALIA IS FREQUENTLY CITED AS THE PARADIGM OF A FAILED STATE. Rotberg uses the term to describe a territory that is 'tense, deeply conflicted, dangerous and bitterly contested by warring factions' and 'hospitable to and harbouring non-state actors-warlords and terrorists', 1 thus justifying Michael Walls

On 13 December 2017, Somaliland's fifth president, Musa Bihi Abdi was inaugurated. Bihi ran as candidate for the ruling Kulmiye party after the incumbent president, Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud 'Silanyo', decided not to seek re-election. Article Nine of Somaliland's Constitution allows for only three political parties, and Bihi defeated Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi 'Irro' of Waddani party, and Faisal Ali 'Warabe' of the For Justice and Development (UCID) party. The race was widely expected to be a close contest between Kulmiye and Waddani, with UCID playing a minor role. Ultimately, though, Bihi secured an outright majority with 55.1 percent (305,909 votes) to Irro's 40.7 percent (226,092 votes) and Warabe's 4.2 percent (23,141 votes). In securing more votes than the other two parties combined, Kulmiye's margin of victory of 79,817 votes exceeded most expectations. Domestic and international observers found minor problems with the election but generally hailed its peaceful and orderly nature. This briefing reflects on the election and campaign, and assesses the key challenges facing the new administration. President Bihi's daunting 'todo' list includes determining the future of Somaliland's iris-based voter registration system, enabling badly delayed legislative elections, reevaluating Somaliland's increasingly

Many African states struggle to reconcile traditional social institutions with the precepts of nation-state democracy within colonially defined borders. Since the 1991 fall of the dictatorial Somali regime of Siyaad Barre, Somaliland has gradually pieced together what appear to be a durable peace and an increasingly sophisticated, constitutionally based nation-state democracy. It is still negotiating the relationship between identity, nation and territory in which there is a differential commitment to democracy between the political elite and the wider population. Accommodation between a clan-based social structure and a representative democracy has been enabled by local socio-cultural traditions. External intervention, while minimal, has on occasion proved fruitful in providing a way out of crises. The territory has escaped the violence and political breakdown experienced in Southern Somali areas. This contribution argues that the remarkable resilience of the present socio-politica...

This report is the product of three months of research undertaken by students in the MSc Social Development Practice (SDP) programme, as a part of the London-based field work of the SDP practice module. It follows the story of Carpenters Estate—a 23-acre council housing estate located with in Newham Borough—and the site of significant attention as the proposed location for a second campus of the University College London (UCL). This UCL initiative represents just one element in a wider set of regeneration processes taking place in East London in the wake of the 2012 London Olympic Games, raising both the profile and financial value of the area. While the regeneration process and UCL bid are underpinned by particular city visions, the motivation to undertake this research emerged out of the desire to better understand the impacts of this regeneration process on those people directly affected by the plans: the current residents themselves.

The report is the result of a three month research assignment carried out from February - June 2013 by MSc students on the Social Development Practice (SDP) programme at the Development Planning Unit, UCL. Each year during terms two and three, the practice module of the programme focuses on an action learning initiative embedded in a real case scenario, taking place in an urban area within the Global South. In 2013 the project focused on three informal settlements in Kisumu, Kenya, looking to understand how a process of community-led planning could support the full range of residents’ aspirations. This was undertaken with the support of international NGO Practical Action, an organisation that works to implement sustainable technologies in relation to urban services, energy, food and agriculture and disaster risk reduction, to challenge conditions of poverty.

This book documents a two-week action research workshop, Change by Design, undertaken in Nairobi, Kenya from 19th June - 1st July 2011. The workshop was developed and coordinated under the banner of Architecture Sans Frontieres - United Kingdom (ASF-UK), in partnership with the Pamoja Trust, a Kenyan NGO, and the Housing Policy Section of UN-HABITAT with support from the Development Planning Unit of UCL, the Royal Institute of British Architects, and the Scarcity and Creativity in the Built Environment Research Project.

The report outlines the findings of the 2-week workshop that took place in Quito from August 10 to 24 of 2013, resulting from the collaboration between ASF-UK with Universidad Politécnica Salesiana, El Institute de Altos Estudios Nacionales (IAEN) and the Comité de Desarrollo Comunitario ‘Los Pinos’, with the support of The Bartlett Development Planning Unit and the research project Scarcity and Creativity in the Built Environment (SCIBE). The workshop was aimed at defining cross-scalar design options for the future upgrading of Los Pinos, a peri-urban informal settlement located in the municipality of Mejia, south of Quito. Based on the exploration of residents’ spatial practices and imaginations, the workshop investigated ways in which present occupiers can be meaningfully involved in an integrated design/development process as active agents of change, rather than beneficiaries of top-down visions and spatial solutions.

The book outlines the methodology and findings of a two-week participatory design workshop undertaken by Aarchitecture Sans Frontieres-UK (ASF-UK) in the municipalities of Quito and Mejia, Ecuador, in August 2013. The workshop was aimed at articulating cross-scale design options for the future regularisation and upgrading of the nirghboudhood of Los Pinos. Based on the exploration of residents' spatial practices and imaginations, the workshop investigated ways in which present and prospective residents of Los Pinos can be meaningfully involved in an integrated design/development process as active agents of change, rather than beneficiaries of top-down visions and spatial solutions.