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While
cities grew with the acceleration
of the rural exodus and urbanisation, the conflicts of the Cold War
directed humanitarian action towards rural environments. Cities, which
had been the scene of violence up till WWII with the bombing of
Dresden, the siege of Stalingrad and the ruins of Hiroshima, began to
take centre stage again at the beginning of the 90s with wars such as
those in Sarajevo, Mogadishu and Grozny. Humanitarian practices
were not adapted to these new operational contexts [...] |
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| François Grunewald |
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Cities and
crises
Groupe URD has worked on the challenges facing humanitarians and
reconstruction actors in urban contexts for a long time. We have
conducted a large number of field missions and we have produced several
books and numerous articles in connection with this issue.
The
conference of 26 April 2011 was an opportunity to share our experience
in this domain and to revitalise the debate about the interaction
between cities, humanitarian action and reconstruction. It aimed to
review current thinking about vulnerability in built and urban
environments and the issues involved in conducting humanitarian action
and reconstruction in such contexts. This document is the topic
overview which was prepared in advance of the conference to place the
debate in its context and present the different issues raised by these
questions. |
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What is
French decentralised cooperation doing in terms of territorial crisis
management?
The World Bank’s World Development Report of 2009 considers, not
without reason, that the pursuit of economic growth is dependent on
increased human and economic density. Urbanisation would therefore
appear to be a driving force of development.
On the other hand,
this heightened concentration brings with it other factors, such as
those which favour the development of political and social crises.
These concentrated human settlements are too often established in areas
which are unsuitable for human development or in at-risk areas. The
cost of property causes the city to spread, for example, into areas
liable to flooding. In response to this situation, the International
Association of French-speaking Mayors (AIMF) decided to raise awareness
amongst local authority representatives about anticipating crises in
their management of a territory: support for the creation of shared
governance tools, new services to be shared between municipal
authorities and the development of a new form of decentralised
cooperation close to the local population. |
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The challenges of reconstruction
from the point of view of local authorities
Demographic and economic upheaval in the urban centres of
developing countries in particular is bringing new dynamics to
traditional relief and post-emergency action in response to major
disasters.
Decentralisation is leading to a new form of
territorial governance in the world. This has consequences for
prevention and reconstruction following a disaster.
In
addition, the cooperation which has been developing between local
authorities from all over the world in the last thirty years has led to
the development of a new form of emergency and rehabilitation aid. |
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Managing
crises in urban areas: food and nutritional security and urban-rural
links
For more than 10 years, the FAO has been working on urban issues
and urban-rural links via the multi-disciplinary project, ‘Food for the
Cities’. Crises have an impact on the food and nutritional security of
urban populations, and it is essential to reinforce the resilience of
cities in relation to crises, whether these are linked to natural
disasters, armed conflicts or economic crises. What role does and can
the FAO play in this regard? How can emergency response and
rehabilitation be coordinated to re-establish and reinforce the
livelihoods of urban communities? And lastly, why are inter-sector
collaboration and urban-rural links so important? |
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Towards the
sustainable development of urban areas affected by disasters
Natural disasters have recently had devastating effects on cities
and urbanised areas like New Orleans, Haiti and even the Vendée region
in France. These human tragedies have also highlighted the economic
aspects of territorial development. Disasters should be seen as an
opportunity and it is the responsibility of the local authorities that
this is the case. However, they need to be helped to see issues of
territorial development in a broader and more sustainable light. Though
cities become more complex as they become bigger, if they are well
planned, they can be made safer and, in the long term, less expensive
to maintain. The principles of sustainable development can reduce the
main vulnerability of all territories: decisions made by the public
authorities. |
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Cities and
global risks
The events of Port-au-Prince, Benghazi, Abidjan and Fukushima
remind us that the history of cities, wars and natural disasters have
been intimately linked since the dawn of civilisation. As centres of
power and wealth, cities have always been a major driving force of
progress: Babylone, Carthage, Rome, Florence… Paris, Vienna, New-York,
Shanghai, Port-au-Prince… Two characteristics or urban dynamics –
increased population density and the accumulation of wealth and power –
have always created or reinforced both natural and political risk
factors. The collective memory of humanity is full of images of
devastated cities and modified socio-political systems following major
destruction in cities: one of the clearest illustrations of this is the
history of the Mediterranean, and particularly that of Lebanon.
With
the growing urbanization of the planet and the growing number of
megacities, the human population is increasingly concentrated in and
around cities. There is therefore an urgent need to take a closer look
at these “fragile cities”, where more than 50% of the earth’s
population already lives. |
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Post-earthquake
Haiti: supporting the post-earthquake urban reconstruction process
Chaotic urbanisation in a context where public authorities lacked
the necessary planning and management capacity, poor people’s houses
built in concrete in at-risk locations with inappropriate construction
materials and serious defects – all these factors contributed to the
terrible impact of the earthquake which took place on 12 January 2010.
In order to help rebuild Haiti’s cities, it will be necessary to do
away with certain dysfunctional aspects and inequalities which existed
before. Building new cities would cost too much and so there is no
alternative but to help communities and households to restructure
neighbourhoods and rebuild safer houses: they are, and will continue to
be, the main actors and funders of the reconstruction. This principle
should be at the heart of a strategic and participatory planning
process, coordinated at the levels of the neighbourhood, the
Municipality and the metropolitan region of Port-au-Prince. This will
be used to guide the reconstruction, prioritise projects and begin the
necessary institutional reforms. Significant support from the
international community will be needed to help the state and the
municipalities to implement such a process. |
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Kabul - Port
au Prince, reflections on post crisis aid operations in urban
environments
Having observed humanitarian operations in cities on the ground in
two countries destabilised for different reasons – war in Afghanistan,
an earthquake in Haiti , it is clear that whatever the crisis that
leads to the intervention of humanitarian organisations, it is
essential to adapt the response to urban contexts. |
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Post-disaster re-housing in
cities: should we support social dynamics or reinforce the status quo?
The increasing number of conferences and debates about urban
vulnerability show how important it is to tackle this subject and
improve understanding about it within humanitarian
organisations.
This gradual change has a number of symptoms: the use of ‘uncommon’
approaches to post-disaster housing such as financial aid and host
families means that international organisations are moving away from
traditional emergency solutions like tents and tarpaulins.
Finding
housing solutions in emergencies in big cities is extremely complex:
lives and expertise, goods and workers have been lost, there is an
urgent need to identify provisional locations to re-locate people,
there are political and legal constraints and issues of fairness and
loss of memory and identity to consider. Many of the lessons which have
been learned – in terms of building partnerships to prepare for
disasters and in terms of working within the framework of legal and
property procedures – can help to overcome these recurring
problems.
There is not just one correct answer, but it is
certain that making the most of urban opportunities such as access to
technology, a developed market economy and innovation can act as a
guide to help design a response in relation to housing which is more
adapted to needs. |
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Urban social vulnerabilities
Action
Contre la Faim’s operations in urban environments have forced it to
revise its operational methods. A city’s buildings, inhabitants and
local authorities are so many interlinked factors which need to be
taken into account. The organization has added value to bring to both
emergency relief programmes and long-term development programmes: it is
continuing to evolve, adapting and revising its methods in order to
obtain the same legitimacy in cities as it has in rural contexts, where
it has established a reputation for quality. |
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Humanitarian action in cities: new
challenges, new roles ?
Humanitarian action is increasingly common in urban contexts:
Indonesia, Chile, Haiti, Japan… These are complex new fields which have
forced professional humanitarians to rethink their operational
strategies. Taking the reconstruction in Aceh as a starting point, we
will consider how to implement reconstruction projects which are
legitimate, planned and coherent with the reality of the regions where
they take place. |
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| "Conférence Nationale
Humanitaire ", 16 November 2011, Paris |
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| Quality Management in
Humanitarian Action (Quality COMPAS© method), 24-28 October 2011 |
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| "Integrating the
Environment into Humanitarian Action and Early Recovery": development
of a training kit |
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| 14th International
Solidarity Week, 12-20 November 2011 |
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| 6th "Journée
provençale de la santé humanitaire" (Marseille), 17 November 2011 |
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| “Ecological
Sanitation” training course, Plaisians, 24-27 November 2011 |
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Responding
to crises in cities by strengthening local governance and capacity |
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