On 31 January join a discussion about surging city populations and slums co-hosted by the Global Development Professionals Network and the London International Development Centre

The global population is projected to rise to 9.7bn people by 2050, and it is estimated that around 66% of that total will be living in cities, with the majority of urban growth expected to take place in developing regions in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

On the one hand, slums give people opportunities, allowing them to move to cities, driving economic growth and lifting societies out of extreme poverty; however, they can also lead to overcrowding and squalid conditions resulting in problems of inadequate sanitation, poor health and social unease.

In October 2016 a New Urban Agenda was adopted at the Habitat III Summit in Quito to provide global standards for the achievement of sustainable urban development; but how should developing countries effectively respond to the challenge of surging city populations and the growth of slums? Is it possible to have slum-free cities and should developing countries be focusing on upgrading slums or eradicating them?

Details

Date: Tuesday 31 January 2017

Time: 6-8pm

Location: John Snow Theatre, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London

Cost: £5.50

Panellists:

Professor Julio D Davila

Julio D Davila is a professor of urban policy and international development and director at University College London’s development panning unit. He is a civil engineer and urban development planner with over 25 years’ experience in research and consultancy projects in Latin America, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Follow @DavilaJulio on Twitter.

Amina Khan

Amina Khan is a senior research officer at the Overseas Development Institute, and specialises in urban issues and poverty reduction.

Himanshu Parikh

Himanshu Parikh is a structural engineer who has worked in the UK and India. He has held various positions outside his practice, including professor at school of planning, Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology in Ahmedabad, visiting lecturer at Cambridge University and member of the Indian government’s council for the department of science and technology.

Anna Walnycki

Anna Walnycki works at the International Institute for Environment and Development and is a specialist in urban poverty, water and sanitation, as well as ethnographic and participatory research. Her current work involves research on the role of partnerships in urban poverty reduction, particularly for the delivery of water and sanitation services.

Bibi van der Zee (chair)



Bibi van der Zee is a writer and editor at the Guardian who specialises in development and environmental issues. She edits the Guardian’s Global Development Professionals Network and is also author of The Protester’s Handbook.



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