r *~~~~~~~~~~I 0 -, |~~~Vip tl_-3 AotA'~~ ~ T H E G L O B A L C I T Y M A G A Z I N EW I N T E R 1 9 9 9 / "~~~'~t) 7 0 , = - y *, D -r,4 c, ,s "; - ,- , - = ' ~ - ' atS~5t ' fq.~ -Z- -4J ,;"-, . ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~'.2 'XI~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~- ,4 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ i T H E F U T U R E OF W A T E R CALCULATING THE TRUE COST HOW TO 4 W%~~~~jy.~~~ PAY FOR IT WHO /W'&W.4~,~ ,/t6t.;.- * , HAS ACCESS, AND ~ ~&-"~ WHO DOESN'T WHY RETHINKl FILE COPY also: Fightd urban juvenile crim- Housing the poor in Southeast Asia LEDITOR'S NO TE Uban zg"h Ma~nioermen This issue of UrbanAge is funded by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (Canadian loods, droughts, contamination and reckless extraction-these are the natural and man- International Development Agency), the Dutch - ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the World Bank. * made catastrophes that remind us daily of our very fragile connection to, and control Developmental funding has been provided by the over, water. Hurricane Mitch, which devastated Tegucigalpa, Honduras in October, is a UNDP-UNCHS (Habitat)-World Bank Urban case in point. Many of the people killed or made homeless in the city lived on hillsides Management Programme and the World Bank. that were subject to heavy flooding. These stories make news. As do the statistics about the one billion people in the world who do not have access to taps, toilets or sanitary latrines. Or reports that in Taiz, Yemen, water arrives U rbanA ge in homes only one day in every eight. EDITORIAL STAFF Margaret Bergen, Editor-in-Chief Less newsworthy but equally important is the emerging revolution in the way we approach Nick Harrison, Managing Editor policy-making and the management of water. In the 1990s, the intemational water and sanita- Annabel Biles, Assistant Editor tion community created a new vision: that the use of appropriate technologies and community John Kalbermatten, Guest Editor participation are essential components of successful water supply and sanitation. Prian Noyes, Publication Design Nita Congress, Line Editor This vision brings with it a number of expectations. That centralized authorities retain control Patricia Moran, Circulation over pohcy and regulation, but devolve construction, management and maintenance services to EDITORIAL BOARD independent contractors who, in tum, are accountable to communities and households. That AIioune Badiane, Urban Management Programme, appropriate water and sanitation technologies be adapted and adopted, often by "altemative" Abidjan, Cote dilvoire providers. And that the responsibility for public health be re-invested in private bodies and lo- Yves Cabannes, Urban Management Programme, cal community organizations. Quito, Ecuador James H. Car, Fannie Mae Foundation, Washington, DC, USA How will this vision affect the urban poor? Should we pay for water and, if so, how? What Victor Falkenheim, University of Toronto, are the advantages of private sector participation in the management of water and sanitation Toronto, Canada services? Is there a way to prevent administrative leaks? These are some of the questions we ex- Michael Fishman, Sam Schwartz & Co., plore in the Special Water Report. New York City, USA plore in the Special Water Report. Randa Fouad, Urban Management Programme, Cairno, Egypt Juvenile crime globally is on the rise. In Britain and the United States, recent well-publicized Roger Graef, Films of Record, London, England crimes committed by children have strengthened national inclination for retribution. But, once Nigel Harris, University College, London, England imprisoned, children have little access to education or opportunities for exercise, and are often Nadezhda Kosareva, Institute for Urban Economics, Moscow, Russia subject to sexual and physical abuse, even solitary confinement. Our feature article by Roger Charles Landry, (Chair) Comedia, Stroud, England Graef presents some interesting arguments for dealing with juvenile offenders in non-tradition- Robed H. McNulty, Partners for Livable al ways. Citing academic and social research, he contends that incarceration for juveniles has a Communities, Washington, DC, USA way of compounding and crystallizing criminal tendencies. Several U.S. cities now provide al- Mohamad Machnouk, Eco News Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon tematives-early intervention, education, community policing and a lot of common sense. Lyndsay Neilson, University of Canberra, They are having an effect, and are worth looking at. Canberra, Australia Giovanni Padula, il Mondo, New York City, USA In the 1980s, Manuel Villar made billions of dollars while building housing for the poor in Jonas Rabinovitch, United Nations Development The Philippines. In the 1990s, he turned his energies to politics. Now, from his platform as a Programme, New York CHty, USA Congressman and Speaker of the House of Representatives, he is in a position to create housing opment Studies, Rotterdam, The Netherlands finance policies that will benefit a new generation of Filipino home owners. This is a remark- Yu Li, China Academy of Urban Planning and able story of using good business practices to help the poor. Design, Beijing, China ADVISORY BOARD We hope that you find the magazine increasingly interesting, and that our coverage of impor- G. ShabbirCheema, United Nations Development tant issues such as water, juvenile crime and housing is helpful as you explore the best choices Programme, New York City, USA for your city's future. We also wish you, the reader, a prosperous and peaceful New Year. John Flora, World Bank, Washington D.C., USA Jacques Jobin, Federation of Canadian Municipalities, Ottawa, Canada Bas M. van Noordenne, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Hague, The Netherlands REGIONAL EDITIONS BEIJING: Wang Jingxia, Yu Li, Qin Fengxia, Cao Xinxin and Gao Jian, China Academy of Urban UrbanAge is published four times a year and is available to developing country subscribers free of charge. Developed Planning and Design country subscribers are charged US$20 annually. Editorial offices are at Room F4K-256, 1818 H Street, NW, CAIRO: Randa Fouad, UMP Arab States, and Washington, DC 20433, USA. Fax: 202-522-2125. E-mail: Editorial: mbergen@worldbank.org; Subscriber Services: Wagdi Riad, Chief, Environment Department, pmoran@worldbank.org; Advertising: nharrison@worldbank.org. Ideas expressed in UrbanAge are the authors' and do Al-Ahram Newspaper not necessarily represent the views of any one agency or organization. The boundaries, colors, denominations and other information shown on any map do not imply any judgment on the part of the World Bank Group regarding legal status QUITO: Yves Cabannes, Peter Claessonand Richard of any territory or the endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries. 0 1999 The International Bank for Reconstruction Huber, UMP Latin America and the Caribbean and Development, the World Bank, 1818 H Street, NW, Washington, DC 20433, USA. All rights reserved. Printed by MOSCOW: Nadezhda Kosareva and Yelena Yelagina, United Lithographics on recycled paper using soy-based inks. ISSN 1560-0483 Institute for Urban Economics W I N T E R1 9 9 9 vOL 6 N O 3 | | hqn ^ L O~~~~~~~~~~ N T E N T S| T H E G L O B A L C I T Y M A G A Z I NE "There is not a city in the country that can arrest its way out of crime." -THOMAS WYNDHAM, POLICE CHIEF, FO0R T WORTH, TEXAS F E A T U R E 5 ORTWORTHS 6 Crime And Punishment . B Y R O G E R G R A E F7 The number and severity of crimes committed by juveniles is increasing globally. In some U.S. cities, innovative community programs aimed at prevention and rehabilitation are succeeding. io Homebuilder For The Filipino Poor B Y PAT R A L E K H A C H ATT E R J E E Manny Villar created the low-income housing market in the Philippines. Now, as Speaker of the House of Representatives, he seeks housing finance policies that benefit the poor. D E P A R T M E N T S S P E C I A L R E P O R T - W A T E R 2 Newsstand 14 Should We Pay For Water? And, If So, How? BY JOHN KALBERMATTEN ~~~~~~~5 Letters To The Editor B Y JO0H N K AL BE RM AT TE N Water itself is free, but there are costs associated with its treatment 25 Portrait Of A City: and delivery. Shenzhen, China BY STEPH EN VI N ES 16 Delivering Water To Mexico City 28 Mayor's Corner Providing drinking water to one of the world's largest cities poses environmental, engineering and administrative challenges. Food And Security In Accra, Ghana 30 American Urban Challenge: 18 Bail Out: The Global Privatization Of Water Supply The New Metropolitan Agenda BY PEN ELOPE J . BROOK COWEN BY CURTIS JOHNSON Around the world, national and municipal governments are turning to the private sector to improve their water and sanitation services. 32 City Indicators Solid Waste 2o The Myth Surrounding Waterfront Redevelopment 34 City Resource Guide The herd mentality of city planners and developers has given rise to generic models of success for waterfront areas that often ignore local 36 Urban Calendar characteristics. 22 The Pipes Aren't Leaking But The Water's Gone Theft and inadequate metering cost city utilities dearly. There are ways to solve this problem. 23 State Of The Art News, Products and Innovations Winter 1999 Urban Age1 IN THE WAKE OF HURRICANE MITCH nternational relief experts are counting the lessons learned from Hurricane Mitch, which killed more than 1 1,000 people in Central America and set back development in Honduras by decades. Among the hardest hit places was the Honduran capital, Tegucigalpa, where more than a dozen neighborhoods were erased by flood waters or landslides. A specialist at the Pan American Health Organization makes these points about doing a better job with relief next time: International aid groups tend to withdraw their help once an emergency is over, yet the needs in devastated areas are ongoing. Some groups dispatched supplies to Central America immediately, not INTERNATIONAL CITY waiting to learn what specifically was needed. As a result, sometimes the wrong DESIGN COMPETITION medicines were sent. Also, some medicines were close to their expira- FIVE ARCHITECTS are going to haxe tion date or were labeled in languages their work cut out for them. Once chc - other than Spanish. Wait for instruc- sen as finalists to compete for a new tions before rushing aid. USSIoo,ooo prize, theywillhavetoplt Some groups automatically dis- on paper a new vision for a r2-block area patched food and clothing, but ofNewYorkCitynowcoveredbyroad- money is often more valuable. ways, rail lines, tunnels and ramps. The Incoming materials require precious section on the west side of Midtown local manpower to sort, label and ship them around the country. By contrast, Manhattan bounded by the Hudson moneyallows local officialsto buyexactlywhat is needed and tospend and invest River and EighthAvenue, between30th in the local economy. When in doubt, send money. and 34th Streets, has been named the Local officials busy with relief efforts have to attend to inquiries from donors first focal point in a new international and others. Next time, an NGO or NGOUN team might be formed to collect infor- competition to help cities develop innc- mation on the country's needs and pass it to donors, the press and other govern- vations in architecture and planning. ments, relieving local officials of this burden. The contest, sponsored by the Canadian According to a World Bank official, developing countries need to pay more Center for Architecture, will take place attention to reducing losses from natural disasters if sustainable growth is to be everythreeyearsinadifferentmajorcirV. possible. Poor countries, she noted, are more vulnerable to such events, with, for "Many developers are horrified by example, some people only able to afford to live on hillsides subject to flooding. this site, because of all the roadways and But she adds, the knowledge and technology are now available to avoid trau- tunnels," Phyllis Lambert, founding matic losses. Populations can be prevented from settling in disaster-prone areas, director of the Canadian Center in and citizens can be notified in advance of what to do and where to go in case of Montreal, told the New York Time , a disaster. Improved land use planning, zoning regulations and building codes "but that's what's so good about in. as well as risk maps, produced with the help of remote sensing devices, and warn- Because of the existing infrastructure ing systems e.g., TV, radio, newspapers can also make a difference. and the riverside location, the site is Post-disaster reconstruction can also build in measures to make countries connected to the rest of the city an] more resistant to future calamities, she says. For example, if a bridge in a vul- beyond. We want to see how architecis nerable area collapses, it should be relocated or rebuilt more strongly. might turn it into a place for people." 2 Urban Age Winter9ggg RENAISSANCE ART FUELS COMMERCE Crime Drives Jhannesburg Stock IN THE FLORENTINE RENAISSANCE, wealthy patrons secured their rep- Exchange Out utations by investing in art. That same opportunity-and with the same IN NOVEMBER, the Johannesburg art-will be offered to modern business people when the Bank Credito Stock Exchange (JSE) announced Italiano launches "Leonardo" warrants on international money markets. that it is going to move from its This investment opportunity was orchestrated by Giunti, an art pub- central downtown location to lisher, to fund production of the first complete collection of Leonardo da Sandton, 10 km north, which is Vinci's drawings and sketches. These works have been published indi- slowly becoming the commercial vidually in limited editions, but the costs required to produce the full col- hub of the Johannes- lection-given that the artworks are owned by individuals and institutions burg area. A combi na- around the world-have until now, been prohibitively expensive. tion of inner city Like many other bond issues, the initial investment in the Leonardo decline and relentless warrant (in this case, 25 million lire, or about USSI4,000) will bear inter- crimeoled to this deci- est over the four years of its maturation. Unlike other bonds, however, it will offer investors the oppor- years, large and small will offerinvestors he oppor- businesses have been leaving the tunity to own all or part of a old center for satellite business fascinating art collection. For nodes to the north of Johannes- example, an investment of 2.5 burg. The legacy of apartheid mil'lion lire secures Leonardo's urban planning has legislatively treatise on painting held by the entrenched urban sprawl and its Vatican and described by art associated inequalities and ineffi- historian Lord Clark as the ciencies. These policies have " 1111g ; most important document in | resulted in disproportionate levels the entir historyof art."of safety in some areas while fos- Giunti is confident rehrofrthe tering insecurity in others. Johan- return to investors, pointing to nesburg is popularly referred to as previous Lonardo fasimilesit the country's crime capital; in fact, it's one of the most violent cities in has published such as the the world. Daan Grobier, the JSE's "Atlantic Codex,"? which now acting president, was quoted in changes hands for 40 million The Financial Times as saying that lire-a significant return on the the rise in crime, especially mug- initial asking price of 3.9 mil- gings and car hijackings, was one lion lire. This suggests that any of the reasons that helped per- of the complete collections that suade the Exchange to leave its are not immediately snapped up by investors-998 sets will be produced, premises rather than renew its handbound in leather and inlaid with gold-can be sold on the open lease. A survey conducted in the market at a considerable premium. area in 1997 found that the major- market at a considerable premium. ity of victims of violent crimes live This new bond issue is unlikely to grab the attentions of granite- in townships, informal settlements hearted bond traders in London and New York due to the modest scope and the inner city, as opposed to of the enterprise. Nevertheless the venture is more than just a quest to wealthier suburbs. Manywhite pro- produce the ultimate coffee table book. It represents an important and fessionals regard the central busi- wholly innovative approach that could allow other cities to use their cul- ness district as a no-go area despite tural resources to trigger economic returns-a concept that would have government attempts to tackle made perfect sense to the original Renaissance patrons. crime nationwide. Winter 9ggg Urban Age 3 NEIGHBORHOOD PARK IN HAMBURG H amburg's St. Pauli quarter is one of the most famous where residents have held parties and open days. Neighbc rs red-light districts in the world, replete with sex shops, take turns in clearing the trash; volunteers plant, garden, cabarets and crime. It's also home for a dizzying mix build benches and platforms. of people-strippers and cabaret dancers, Turkish Many conflicts must be resolved before the park can be shop owners, dropouts, beggars, children and young completed. Aside from issues of financing and jurisdiction professionals, retired dock workers, alcoholics and drug ad- (the parkland is on the border of two Hamburg districts, th is dicts-contributing to the area's vitality and diversity. necessitating coordination with two borough authorities as An eclectic neighborhood, perhaps, but a neighborhood well as with the city authority), are issues of cooperation arid nonetheless-as the growth and development of "Park Fic- shared vision. For example, St. Pauli is full of cars in the tion" has demonstrated. evenings, especially on weekends. If roads are blocked off zo In the early I99os, a local citizen's group came together to create the park, this will result in a shortage of parking spac -s oppose a plan to build an apartment block on a nearby vacant and a rerouting of traffic. site. St. Pauli is three to five times more densely built up than The disparate inhabitants of St. Pauli are negotiating arnd the rest of Hamburg; the empty lot was one of a very few planning to resolve such conflicts. Through their engagc- open spaces in the area. The group proposed turning the Planning the park has area in-to a park for all of St. drawn the community Pauli's citizens to enjoy. together as volunteers The idea took firm hold, have interviewed Soon, a iS,ooo-square-me- residents about their ter facility was envisioned, ideas for the park. part of which would be built on the roof of an as-yet-unbuilt school sports hall. The park would be closed off to street traffic, have a boules alley, benches, plants, art, places for children to play, artists to work, night workers to relax. 4 Planning the park has drawn the community to- - - gether, as a core group of volunteers-including a so- cial worker, an artist, a landscape designer, a school- teacher, an architect and a cook-has held "open days," interviewed residents about their ideas for the park, elicit- ed and shared opinions. Children, j for example, have been encouraged to come to a trailer set up as an informa- tion center at the edge of the park; ment in Park Fiction, they have there, they can draw or make clay learned the importance of an ac- models illustrating their ideas tive local citizenship, willing to for the park's design. fight for things like parks and The park has already be- oe pcs gun to serve as a recre- : i F _lX opensspaces- ation area and neigh- Pinnseg 81, 0359 Hamburg Websitl] borhood amenity t al,Sbn tvsn,HmugrHcsrse: 4 VibanAge g_ 20359 Hamburg; tel: 319-3623; fax: 317-96495. j il Left, ~~~~cafe owner Thomas Ortmann helps with the park's . t: l sto~~~~~~~~~~ry of the park's creation. 4 Urban Age A ': * . | ~~~~~~~L E T T E k R *41 YOUR WINTER 1997 ISSUE, Feeding the City," is very topical and revealing. City managers and urban/regional planners in developing countries like Nigeria need to reassess their priorities by finding ways and means to formally recognize and incorpo- rate the informal sector-which provides the basic food require- ment of our cities-into their city and regional physical and economic development plans. The incessant harassment of this vital sector under the guise of environmental sanitation only aggravates the vicious circle of deprivation in our cities. The informal sector not only sustains cities' basic food requirements, Standard & Poor's David Raily, left, with Russian Finance especially amongst middle- and low-income earners, it also pro- Minister Mikhail Zadornov vides employment opportunities for a large segment of the urban population. Ignoring this vital sector is ignoring one of the vital ST l D I IA Standard & Poor's Ratings life lines that sustains growth and development in developing RATlNG RUSSIA Services recently signed an country cities. affiliation agreement with EA-Ratings, a Moscow-based rat- AMINU WAZIRI GUMAU ing and credit consulting firm. The agreement is Standard Lecturer & Poor's first in Central and Eastern Europe, and marks an School ofEnvironmental Technology important step in the expansion of its global network of The Federal Polytechnic local rating services. "Recent troubles in global emerging Bauchi State, Nigeria markets underscore the need to provide investors with a comprehensive understanding of credit risk factors in volatile and rapidly changing economies," notes Leo C. O'Neill, S&P president and chief rating officer. The 1999 Institute for Planning and Development Practitioners Opportunities to develop domestic credit ratings in RusINNOVATIONS IN CAPACITY BUILDING Opportunities to develop domestic credit ratings In Rus- FOR URBAN MANAGEMENT sia should expand in the wake of the current economic cri- 12 through 23 July 1999 sis, which is causing a profound and widespread rethinking The purpose of this Institute is to provide a of business practices and the nature of institutions respon- forum for practitioners involved in urban sible for tax and governmental fiscal matters, budgetary management issues around the developing world to learn about new ideas and share their expenditures and financial management. Observes Alexel experience under the guidance of prominent Novikov, executive director of EA-Ratings, "Under almost experts in the field. Themes include: any set of economic policies I ikely to evolve at the federal a Center-local fiscal relationships * Financial management for urban level, transparency will now be critical for companies, development banks, and regional and local governments who wish to bor- * Land management policies row. Since international borrowing is expected to be seri- * Community participation and ously limited in the near term, domestic debt financing * governance. could be more attractive." In addition to activities on the USC campus, EA-Ratings is an independent, private, for-profit credit ; participants will visit local organizations in Los Angeles and spend two days in Tijuana, rating agency established in 1997 to provide objective Mexico. credit risk analysis in the Russian and CIS domestic mar- For more information please contact: kets. EA-Ratings' founder, the Institute for Urban Eco- Anna Sai, Practitioners Institute School of Policy, Planning, and Development nomics, is widely recognized for its pioneering and University of Southern Califomia authoritative work on a broad range of urban and regional Tel +1n2137C4A90303829-042 USA economic issues in Russia and the CIS. li1 Fax: +1-213-740-2476 SCHOOL OF Email: pracinst@usc.edu Web sites for the major international rating agencies: POLICY, PLANNING. Website: http://www-rcf.usc.edu/-pracinst D Fitch IBCA: http://www.fitchibca.com AnDDEVELOPMENT Moody's Investors Service: http://www .moodys.com/moodys/mdyindex.htm 2 Standard & Poor's: http://www.ratings.standardpoor.com/ winteriggg UrbanAge 5 Fear engendered by the rise in juvenile crime hac caused the pendulum to swing from reform back to retribution. Prisons hardly seem to work, but SOmE innovative city programs show promise. by Roger Graef IN 1990, prisoners rioted in Strangeways, one of Britain's largest IN 19901 prisons. Their three-week siege drew national attention to the dreadful state of British prisons. I had been observing the police fo more than a decade, and a newspaper asked me to write about whv judge; send people to prison. I interviewed I4 judges. Astonishingly, they all agreed-prison was needed for a small percentage of offenders to protec:~ the public but was largely useless as a form of rehabilitation. Unfortu- nately, they didnt know what else to do. Appalled at this waste of public money and human life, I set out to find betterways of dealingwith crime-especially by juveniles. Research show; clearly that while most youngsters commit crime while growing up, only a small fraction become chronic offenders. If we could find ways to turn therm into useful citizens, we would certainly increase community safety. So for the past eight years, I have toured European and North American cities in search of practical examples of working successftlly with persistent juvenile offend - ers that could be applied elsewhere. My search was both encouraging and depressing. It was inspiring to find unexpected and imaginative examples, like the restaurant outside Paris staffed and run entirely by former young offenders learning new skills as part of their probation sentences. Or the Healing and Sentenc- ing Circles used by aboriginal communities in northern Canada, New Zealand and Australia. These engage family members and friends of both offenders and victims to use what is known as "reintegrative shaming" j,,, ,. I I * L ioi: i - L. to challenge offending behavior and devise ways of ensuring it does not happen again. _~~~~~~I z But it was discouraging to quiz criminologists and officials about good practice in neighboring cities and countries and discover how ittle sharing of information goes on across local and national borders and among pro- fessional and academic disciplines. Worse still, while evidence determines guilt or inno- cence in court, the use of evidence in assessing criminal justice policy is deeply flawed. For example, most crime statistics refer not to crimes actually committed, but only to offenses reported to the police and to the tiny propor- tion of actual convictions. That means an increase in cases reported to police may not mean more crimes have been committed, but rather that public confidence in police handling of such cases has increased. Gilda Muskwinsky, shown at the gravesite of her murdered daughter, took Most depressing of all was the realization that what part in a Texas program that offers a face-to-face meeting with offenders. passed for debate about crime, punishment and com- munity safety was really, in terms of defenders of the sta- tus quo, a dialogue of the deaf. When it comes to the debate ished, the system's interventions may actually make things worse, about prison, alternative programs are challenged for statistical not better, in terms of their committing future offenses. proof of their success. Yet no such test is applied to prison, from British studies of a group of London children over several which half to two-thirds of ex-prisoners return within two years decades by Donald West and David Farringdon of the Cam- after another conviction (and even more juvenile offenders). bridge Institute of Criminology show that having a parent or The rise in juvenile crime and violence and media attention to older brother convicted before a child is io is the strongest pre- individual cases has resulted in a lowering of the age of criminal dictor of future offending. Then comes harsh and erratic parent- responsibility in Britain and in a number of American states and, ing, poor mental and physical health, school failure and learning in the latter, increasing use of both adult prison and, in extreme difficulties, poor housing and frequent moves, one or both par- cases, the death penalty. Ironically, this punitive approach coin- ents unemployed, a history of substance and alcohol abuse in the cides with the centenary of the founding of the children's welfare family, and sexual abuse and/or domestic violence. In sum, chil- court in Illinois, which regarded youth offenders as more in need dren who grow up in poor, antisocial, violent and neglected of care than punishment. The rise in juvenile crime has been environments are likely to be violent themselves. That may not blamed on the welfare approach itself, rather than the wider be rocket science, but finding ways to address these problems changes in modern life that may have contributed to it. Now the demands a more complex approach than simply trying to catch pendulum has swung back to retribution. them and lock them up for as long as the law allows. Sadly, facts and analysis are not enough to move those who believe in the simplicity of prison as a "solution" to crime, includ- ELIMINATING JUVENILE KILLINGS IN BOSTON ing juvenile crime. Politically, such easy solutions play well with the electorate, fed up with rising crime. The appeal is obvious, BOSTN is a case in point. At the end of the I98os it was despite the expense. By locking young offenders up behind bars, BOSTON a city plagued by youth gang turf wars that ter- one need not be involved in the complex work of addressing the rorized the residents of districts like Roxbury and South Dor- causes of their crimes. Out of sight, out of mind. chester. The lethal cocktail of drugs and a plentiful supply of guns Governor George W Bush, JL, in Texas, newly reelected and sent up from the South produced a spate of juvenile killings. The considered a leading candidate for president, is one of a number of demoralized police force, burdened by a history of corruption conservative politicians driven to explore alternatives to prison sim- and racial conflict with black residents, seemed incapable of gain- ply to stop the hemorrhaging of public money spent on locking up ing control of the violence. more and more people for longer and longer sentences. Once they But a coalition was formed by law enforcement agencies and do the numbers-made worse by so-called "three strikes and you're parts of the city government and community, and it managed to out" legislation-they start looking for different answers. eliminate juvenile killings altogether in a few short years. The Although those committed to punishment remain indiffer- Boston coalition became a national model for other cities suffer- ent to outcomes, politicians and officials concerned about pub- ing from the same rise in juvenile homicide. This multiagency lic safety need to recognize the truth. Even for the modest approach was led by prosecutors from the city, state and federal number of chronic juvenile offenders caught, convicted and pun- district attorneys' offices who were no longer willing to sit back THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM'S INTERVENTIONS MAY AaUALLY MAKE THINGS WORSE, MA FAR MA YOUTHS COMMIlTING FUTURE OFFENSES. Winter 1999 Urban Age 7 and wait for cases to come to court-i.e., wait Brutal Punishment The abuses that punitive treatment of juvenile for crimes to be committed. offenders can lead to were illuminated in a recent Amnesty International report Boston changed things on at least two levels. on human rights violations in the U.S. justice system. According to the report, The turf wars between justice agencies-most "Children in custody have been subjected to brutal physical force and cruEl notably between police and probation-had punishments, including placing them in isolation for lengthy periods. Many chil- meant little or no shared information or coordi- dren are incarcerated when other action could or should have been taken. Chil- nated action. Curfews for individuals ordered by dren are often held in facilities that are seriously overcrowded and cannot providc the court had been ignored because police had adequate educational, mental health, and other important services. no knowledge of court orders that might have "A growing number of children are being tried as adults in the general crim- been issued against juveniles they stopped on the inal justice system and are subject to the same punishments as adults. Childrell streets. This allowed crime to go undetected on are also held for months in jails before they are tried. There, they may be deniedi a massive scale. access to education and adequate opportunity to exercise. Thousands of con- The coalition used federal agents to track the victed children are sent to prisons where they are not separated from adult pris- supply of guns and act against the dealers. Local oners, putting them at serious risk of physical and sexual abuse." criminologists teamed up with special anti-gang The 65-page report, Betraying the Young, is available from Amnesty International, Publications Depar units in the police and probation office to ana- ment, 322 Eighth Avenue, New York, New York 10001, USA; tel: 212-807-8400. lyze the pattern of killings and identify the per- petrators. The coalition then held meetings with gang members on parole or probation to tell them that heavy federal penalties now faced anyone involved in killings-a warn- TWENTY LEVELS OF PROBATION ing that produced a truce in most areas of the city. Meanwhile, other agencies were brought in to work with vic- N E DT Ifl DTU Texas, police chief Thomas tims, local residents and youths in what was called the Safe Neigh- 1N 1OR WOR THuII, Wyndham has no doubt about borhood Initiative. Since most juvenile crime happens before or what direction his city needs to go. He's been a law enforcement after school, local police, probation and social service representa- officer for more than 30 years, in places like Los Angeles as well tives began meeting with a local prosecutor to share information as Texas, and now he is sure "there's not a city in the country that about who was causing trouble in school or on the streets-and can arrest its way out of crime." Although Texas locks up-and decide as a group what could be done before things got worse. executes-more people than any other state, it also sees young Although truancy is not a crime, it puts youths at much greater offenders as good kids who have made mistakes. risk, so police who previously would never bother with such "soft" Fort Worth goes to such efforts to keep youngsters out of concerns, began sweeping the streets during school hours for tru- prison that it has some 2o levels of probation to offer the courts ant youths and returning them to their school or family. before judges resort to locking kids up. Other key players in the coalition are the black churches, led Among the most imaginative is the Youth Advocate Program, in Boston by the Rev. Eugene Rivers, now a national figure in which addresses the wider needs ofyoung offenders. Their work i, America for his crusade to get black communities more involved often part of more punitive sentences like electronic tagging- in the fate of their young people. Since his church was the scene offenders wear small radio transmitters so their movements can br of a killing during a gangland funeral, he has mixed a tough tracked-and curfews. Youth Advocates are older people recruited approach, turning recalcitrant offenders over to the police, with from the community, trained and paid $7 an hour to spend morw a ministry that offers other youngsters a better way of life. He is time with a young offender than any probation officer could pos- also engaged in "adopting" dozens of needy black children from sibly manage. They take them to school, to court, to community an early age to give them the support they would otherwise lack. service, as well as to more pleasurable activities like the beach o bowling, providing the kind of attention and support a good parent might. This mentoring role is vital for _ . . . . * ** *. *, * youngsters, many of whose parents are in prison or oii _*9 1 1 !* !** . l '* ! I -. ! 7L ! I ! L I i ! ' ' Udrugs, or simply working too hard to pay enough attention. Research by Mark Lipsey of Vanderbilt Univer- sity of different surveys of rehabilitation program; used for 40 000 young offenders shows that the bes: form of rehabilitation is a job. The least effective forms are punishment and nondirected therapy tha. does not address offending. RICHMONDy suburb just across the bai' _ ! ~~ l. _ RICHMOND 57 ]s California, is an industrial from San Francisco, but worlds awav economically. - The median income of its Iron Triangle neighbor- hood is one-third that of the surrounding counties. "THERE IS NOT A CITY IN THE COUNTRY THAT CAN ARREST ITS WAY OUT OF CRIME. -THOMAS WYNDHAM, POLICE CHIEF, FORT WORTH, TEXAS There are no fewer than 70 gangs among the many ethnic groups local catchment group. When the staff asked local gang members of immigrants who moved north from Central and Latin America what would keep them out of trouble, the response was "a safe hoping for work in what is now a largely depressed city. But Rich- place to go after school and on weekends." So the health center mond's approach to gangs largely ignores law enforcement and provided a teen drop-in center run by local youth workers who addresses the children at a much younger age. Its Head Start pro- have themselves escaped from the gangs. gram picks up needy kids at risk as young as four, providing essen- These examples and the many others I have seen in cities tial skills to prepare them for school. around the world-Chicago, Miami, Marseilles, Durham, At Lincoln Elementary, where 98 percent of the kids are so Belfast, Salt Lake City, Philadelphia-offer evidence that the poor they get government food stamps, the school provides a hot apparent contradiction between public safety (the rationale for breakfast as well as counselors on contract from social service the punitive approach) and the young offender's needs (the basis agencies who meet with groups and befriend children suffering of the welfare model) can be reconciled. Indeed, far from being from violence. All staff are trained in mediation and conflict res- in conflict, as the current debate about soft and hard approaches olution, so no dispute is allowed to get out of hand and escalate to crime suggests, the experiences of cities like Boston, Richmond to real violence after school. Any child missing school for a day and Fort Worth suggest that to achieve the former, it makes sense or two is visited at home by one of the counselors, skilled at to address the latter-including young people's own need to be engaging alienated parents in their child's education. protected from each other. E] The local health center, Familias Unidas, also recognizes the _ wide needs of the many Latino and Asian families whose children ROGER GRAEF is alilmmaker, writer and criminologist working often end up in trouble. Their definition of "health" is broad and in London. Information about the projects in this article can be imaginative, based on the perceived and expressed needs of their found at: http.//www.pbs.org/lawandorderI M AKING The 1998 State of the Future: Issues and Opportunities Millennium "The most comprehensive work on the globalfuture that CITIES WORK Project has ever been done", says Ambassador Harlan Cleveland. It is the second annual review of global change by The The Institute for Housing and Urban . Millennium Project's global network of nearly 300 futurists, Development Studies (IHS) is an international scholars, and policy makers from 60 countries. It provides education institute offering post-graduate , I an independent, inter-institutional, multinational, and education, research and advisory services in , interdisciplinary set of early wamings and analyses. the fields of Housing, Urban Management [ , e wrig and Urban Environment. Since the institute's $' .S ' . 4t The book focus on 15 global issues and 15 global opportunidies establishment in 1958, more than 4.000 distilled from hundreds of trends and developments identified urban professionals from 120 different nations found their way to IHS classrooms to by an international panel, actions and policies to address each take part in a post-graduate diploma course, issue and opportunity plus a range of perspectives from around a Master Programme or a Ph.D. Programme. the world on actions and policies. In April 1999, IHS will offer the -lobal Ftittires Resa trcih Additional sections present global I L. following 3-month post-graduate courses: C reted Glolk, scenarios, both exploratory (to the * Urban Environmental Management year 2025) and normative (to the 8 State of the Future and Pollution Control [ r year 2050), lessons and questions * Real Estate and Project Management Ir,III from history, and an annotated * Inner City Revitalization and Urban (i:lI u.n bibliography of 250 scenarios.tate Renewal h~~~~~~~~(Iini L 'K. * Urban Management and Planning _ i D i [ l g!;l l s XDomains:_ T For applications, or for more inforrnation Demograidcs d Human Resources please contact: t"aIlciinii~3V ehooia aaiy~ Institute for Housing and 1IST TLTE FORr itiiii Technological Capacity Urban Development Studies (IHSI niOLSIG l a P&M Bureau OR ANT'.Itne L1j(i1\I iS]UIN Governance and Conflict RO R Box 1935 STUD ES 44'l1 (irrtlon Siroei: N\\ Economic Policy and Trade 3000OBXRotterdann D( Isi00Ul[l ^H) the Netherlandss c'li',:1 tti-v I < Biodiversity and Environmental Change F-max :0ad5ission@ihs.nl g6lc" ir.og wheeilflenniuProjedtmanagesacoherentandcumulative processthat Web-site http://mww.ihs.nl ruj. . collects and assesses judgements from creative and knowledgeable www.millennium-projeCtorg people about issues and opportunities we face at the Millennium. Wirte, 1999 Urban Age 9 FOR THE FILIPINO POOR Manuel Villar made millions selling low-cost homes to the poor in the Philippines. Then he entered politics and rose to become Speaker of the nation's House of Representatives. Now he's trying to do something about the nation's shortage of over 3 million homes. BY PATRALEKHA CHATTERJEE _~~~~~~~~~~~~ A_ A~~~~~~~~~~~~~ a W 10 Urban Age Winter z999 TRADITIONALLY, PROPERTY DEVELOPERS in the Philippines have made their money from the rich-from the skyscrapers, plazas and luxury condominiums that dot the skyline of Makati, the coun- try's financial hub in Manila. But not Manuel B. Villar, one of the largest homebuilders in Southeast Asia. He has made millions, even billions, by catering to the needs of the poor. Villar started his business supplying sand and gravel to construction sites. By the time he was 27, he had built and sold Ioo houses and made his first million pesos. Ask him why he got into low-cost hous- ing, and the answer is matter of fact. "Because it was the sector of the industry I could afford to get into." But soon it became a "fulfilling task to help low-income families have their own homes." The Philippines went through a severe economic depression after opposition leader Benito Aquino was assassinated in I983. As the country lurched and stumbled, Villar began doing what many considered pre- posterous at the time. He began buying land by the hectare. Villar's strategy was to buy up small and irreg- ularly shaped spaces that big developers could not sell. He subdivided them into small plots and offered buyers not only the land, as was the practice in the Philippines, but also the house to be built on it. Vil- lar realized that building on pockets of land within major projects would bring down the costs of access roads, power and water lines, and other infrastructure. He was building on a mass scale, so his prices plum- meted further. Villar's offerings proved a very attractive proposition to those looking for budget housing. Today, Villar's company, Camella & Palmera (C&P) Homes is the largest private low-cost housing developer in the Philippines. It operates in different regions throughout the country. In addition to its core business of providing low-cost housing to the poorer segment of the population, it is expanding its prod- ucts to include higher value homes that cater to the growing middle class. Smaller houses offset rising land prices For this market, V I L L A R R E F U S E S T 0 a strategic move has been to offer homes that feature less floor space so as to mitigate the effects of escalating land value. Where previously the use prefabricated housing company offered homes with floor areas of 6o square meters, today it also material. He knows he markets zo-square-meter floor area homes. These houses bear names like could build faster that Cassandra, Isabelita and Katrina, and are located in metro Manila and the provinces. The cheapest houses are "row houses"-basically a single room way, but points out, "If we with a toilet and kitchen, costing around US$4,5oo. For $io,ooo, you can go assembly line, many get a house with a 3z-square-meter floor area. One of the current popu- . . .os. lar C&P models is the Katrina. Each unit of this "twin home" consists of people will lose their Jobs. three bedrooms and 45-square-meter floor area and sells for $23,ooo; a six-bedroom version costs $46,ooo. Villar also sells bigger, more expen- sive houses-up tO 74 square meters-costing approximately $82,000. How can the poor finance the purchase of Villar's houses? Many of the buyers obtain subsidized hous- ing loans from the government through the PAG-IBIG mutual fund. The fund is a mandatory savings scheme for employees with matching employer contributions. Individuals can borrow money against their accounts at reasonable rates. The loan usually covers most, but not all, of the cost of the house and lot. C&P homes also provide in-house financing to potential buyers and can help them arrange bank loans. Villar's success has fueled competition in the affordable housing sector in the Philippines. In an arti- cle on Villar in 1995, Aiiaweek pointed out that even developers of upper and middle-class housing in the Philippines such as Ayala Land had begun courting the lower middle bracket Villar has made his own. In addition, points out Joey Dacia of ASP Realty Corporation, a Manila-based real estate firm, low-cost housing developers sprung up in the late '8os, attracted by the prospect of profits, rising demand and a greater awareness among Filipinos of the need to own rather than rent a house. To date, however, these late entrants to the low-cost housing sector have vet to attain the scale of Villar's operations. A key strength ofVillar's business is his emphasis on creating communities. He notes, "Today, our mass housing projects create big communities in their locations. Neighboring areas benefit from their devel- opments-not only in the appreciation of land value but also through creation of economic activities in the area." In this regard, Villar refuses to use prefabricated housing material. He knows he could build faster that way but points out, "Building houses is a socially intensive business. If we go assembly line, many people will lose their jobs." Winter 1999 Urban Age 11 Entering a larger arena In I992, Villar decided it was time to shift from business to politics. He felt that the current crop of leaders was interested in politics for its own sake, while the need of the hour was more exports and jobs. He wonI a seat in the Congress on his first try. In May I995, he was reelected with the most votes in the nationwide balloting. And in July 1998, on the opening of the iith Congress, 171 of the Congress' 221 members voted for Villar as Speaker of the House of Representatives. In his new role, Villar would like to push through hous- ing reforms. These could have a far-reaching effect in a country that faces a shortage of over 3 million dweLlings. He has many ideas, especially with regard to housing AY% &t_IN-As" 0. 4 finance, including how to develop the secondary mort- U,rba.tr g .r g gage market, float bonds and make housing finance sus- tainable. "But all depends on prevailing interest rates, the ro emt g v g ggeneral economic condition and the political will of the government," he says. Villar has pushed for infusion of new capital into the M anuel Villar National Home Mortgage Finance Corporation in the Philippines. So far as models of housing finance go, he DATE AND PLACE OF BIRTH: 1949, Manila, believes the ideal continues to be the housing mortgage the Philippines. system in the United States, where Ginny Mae and Fan- CURRENT PROFESSION: Director, Camella & nie Mae bonds (representing mortgages) are traded in the Palmera (C&P) Homes, the largest private low- secondary mortgage market. "This allows great liquidity cost housing developer in the Philippines and and fast turnabout of capital," he explains. Speaker of the House of Representatives. Within Asia, Villar is highly impressed by the housing EARLY ENTREPRENEURIAL INSTINCTS: After model in Singapore. Most people in Singapore-the most college Villar started a seafood business. One crowded country in the world, with 4,360 people per day he was virtually wiped out when a restaurant square kilometer-live in high-rise public apartments. did not pay him. It was then that Villar chanced Because of a compulsory savings program-the Central upon the Private Development Corporation of the Provident Fund, whereby savings from salary are supple- Philippines and, on the spur of the moment, mented by a matching contribution from the employer- applied for a job as a financial analyst. His most Singaporeans own their own homes. Asian cities application was successful and within one year facing an acute housing crisis, he believes, can learn a lot he recouped his business losses. from both the Singapore and U.S. models. CAREER HIGHLIGHTS: Villar is concerned at the way many cities in the 1996 featured in Forbes magazine's list of region are developing. "Urbanization can be good only Filipino billionaires. if development is well planned. It should take into I 1998 elected as Speaker of the House of account the needs of industry, transportation, residen- Representatives. tial enclaves, commercial districts and so on. For instance, I think, ports should not be near cities, as transportation will be choked. Industrial estates should provide housing facilities to forestall traffic problems." But the prime hurdle is the quality of governance. Asian cities, Villar believes, face a crisis of governance. "You can see the chaotic development in most Asian megacities. There are exceptions of course, like Sin- gapore. But for most cities, there is simply no plan- ning in the development." Despite his success, 49-year-old Villar remains his quintessential restless self, and continues to dream. He would not only like to be the biggest homebuilder in the world, but also a "model for Filipinos." Whenever he is asked how he would like to be known, he says, "I would like to be known as the man who provided the most number of homes for the Filipinos. I real- ized I could alleviate poverty through success in my own business-by generating more jobs. This, I feel, is the greatest accomplishment of my life-not the Speaker's post, nor the seat in the Congress. It is hav- ing built homes." E10 PATRALEKHA CHATTERJEE is Asia correspondentfor Urban Age and a New Delhi-basedjournalist who specializes in development issues. 12 Urban Age Wimteriag I~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~I A CL~~~~~~~~~~~~ 0 _ I _s:; (V14-~-- -h X, v b -F, P-;t :S fg : Ai s X .8 | ~~~t. .,, ', 4 i tt /ais^ t @ ; I t. > ^ -; .St.......X X Qa ! -r -4- | ff '§ > ~~~~~~~~~~ t g~~ N s^' . 'V _~~ S, * t54= _|_~~~~~~~~~~ IL I OT~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Water is too complex-and vital-a resource to be left to the mercy of uncontrolled market forces. But some form of market valuation must be found if water users are to be encouraged to increase the efficiency of their use. BYJOHN KALBERMATTEN ANY COUNTRIES are fast approaching the point, if they accomplished by, for one thing, doing have not already reached it, when there will simply away with unrealistic standards. Tha. means not designing distribution system; not be enough fresh water to meet all the unrestricted for high residual pressures or for fire- demands from the various sectors-municipal water fighting capability in areas with single. story shacks that rarely have water at an)' supply, industry and irrigation-that feel they have a priority right pressure-and which are inaccessible to to this raw material. For instance, to produce a pound of beef takes fire trucks in any case. Another way o reducing costs of service is by providing seven pounds of grain; this grain in turn takes 7,000 pounds ofwater. conventional sewerage for populatior This same amount ofwater, if treated to potable standards, is enough groups unable to pay for the water ) r * 1 r a * a n * r r r ~~~needed to operate sewers-and even less; to meet one person's basic needs for about six months. Which would aeed to faeaate dispos-al lacili able to finance adequate disposal facili- be the better use, in a drought-stricken African country? ties. We also know that families car receive service that is far better than whal The fact that water resources allocation important stimulus to the efficient use of they have now, even if not ideal, througl- is complex and contentious is an argument resources and to better environmental pro- a mixture of public standpipes and patic for dealing with the matter sooner rather tection. It will also provide a valuable connections, and through low-cost sani- than later-we do not have too many years source of revenue to ensure service to the tation facilities. Designing on this basil left to get the answer right. absolute poor, whether slum dwellers or can reduce the costs of distributing When customers complain about the subsistence farmers. water by as much as 40 percent, and by price of water, what they're really decrving So we are faced with a classic dilemma. similar or greater amounts for sanita- is not the cost of the water itself, but the On the one hand, additional charges are tion-undermining the excuse that it is cost of treatment and delivery. The raw essential to provide adequate revenue for too expensive to extend service to low- material, water, is free. It's there, in the the sector and allow services to be income areas. river, for the taking by anyone. Having extended and properly maintained for sus- access to raw material at no cost is in fact tainability. On the other, these same Recover costs the cause of much of what ails the water charges are beyond the means of many of HAVING EXTENDED the service, some supply and sanitation sector. It leads to the people most needing the services. way has to be found to recover the cost. the-false-impression that it is much Therefore, we need a better way to bridge Public utilities usually give up trying to cheaper to expand abstraction and pro- the technical, financial and institutional control the mass of illegal "spaghetti con- duction than to make better use of existing gaps that prevent the extension of con- nections" that seem to spring up overnight supplies. The availability of water as a free ventional services to low-income users. in many slum and squatter areas. But resource, and the related view that waste- Fortunately, solutions to that dilemma are some recent experiences show that com- water is something to be disposed of rather becoming increasingly clear. munities themselves can be the most effi- than reclaimed for use as an additional cient controllers, buying water wholesalc resource, leads to an inefficient allocation Reduce costs to extend service from the utility, distributing it and recov- of both water and financial resources. THE FIRST ELEMENT of a sustainable ering the cost themselves. In this way. The introduction of fees and charges solution is to reduce the costs of service. management costs are lowered-and for the use of all fresh water can be an We have known for years that this can be remain within the community. The sys- 14 Urban Age Winterig99 tem is affordable because the cost of this placed by political upheavals (which may who already have service or who can public water supply is often only a frac- include slum clearance)-and who gen- afford to get connected to the existing tion of the cost people were already paying uinely cannot pay for water and sanita- system. The urban poor will again be vendors. tion, even if provided by conventional overlooked. For this problem, there are Withdrawal of external funding, or means. The traditional response has been no easy solutions. provision of funds only against demon- to provide them with water at a subsidized strated progress in improving perfor- rate (forexample, "lifeline tariffs"). How- IN THE FINAL ANALYSIS, this much is mance, would impose much-needed ever, the United Nations Development clear, even if all the logistics and politics discipline on this situation. It would force Programme's I998 human development have not yet been determined: service providers to recover their costs report has called for such subsidies to be * If we want good water supply service, from consumers and minimize unac- phased out since, all too often, they do we have to pay for it. counted-for water. With such discipline, not benefit those intended: the urban * If low-income users are to benefit from payment for raw water utilization would poor often do not have any service at all, service, technologies and methods that become more feasible, since a habit of real- and so do not receive the subsidy. lower the cost of service must be used. istic payment for services would have been In fact, the present trend toward pri- * If we want water to be sustainable, established. vatization is likely to end all such subsi- we also have to pay it. [l1 dies. In the absence of effective regulation Subsidies: An unresolved problem (a real risk in most developing countries), JOHN KALBERMAITEN is aformer water OF COURSE, there will always be people privatization is likely to result in effi- and waste adviser of the World Bank who are destitute-jobless, disabled, dis- ciency gains and better service for those and is now a consultant. Having access t-Iraw material Winter 2999 Urban Age 15 Mexico City's water system leaks in more ways than one. Despite feats of engineering, the city cannot meet the needs of an ever-growing population. But it's trying. rM ETTING DRINKING WATER to the inhabitants of one of Even all these engineering feats can't the world's largest cities poses almost every imaginable meet the capitals thirst for water. Although 98 percent of Mexico City polm, and making that water safe to drink only homes have running water, that still leaves . complicates matters. The aquifer that lies under some 400,000 people without domestic hookups, says Juan Carlos Guasch, deputy Mexico City is bountiful and provides about 70 percent of the director of the city's hvdraulic department. water needed by the capital. But the underground water supply The eastern section of the city, a fast-grow- ing working class area, is prev to constant cannot keep up with the demands of the population of the city water shortages. "It's like a chess game, proper, which has nearly tripled to 8.5 million in the last 45 years. sometimes there's no water here, other 1 s r 1 . n * 1 1 * r 1 ~~~~~~~~~~times there's no water somewhere else," The other 30 percent of the city's water is brought in from the said era no Matez s 7-yer ese- 'ad Elv'ra Pefna Martinez, a 27-vear resi- Lerma and Cutzamala river systems from as far away as 12o kilo- dent of the Ixtapalapa neighborhood in meters and pumped I,ooo meters over a pass to reach the Valley e e C F M t Augus meters ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~of this year, she and her neighbors had no of Mexico, a huge basin 2,500 meters above sea level. water coming out of their taps. The east- i6 Urban Age wfnter, 999 ern section suffers water shortages for sev- city water authority on their behalf, says collects fees for only about 300 of every eral reasons: it lies beyond the city's Jesuis Rebollo, an employee of the Atten- i,ooo liters of water that enter the distrib- aquifer, the wells nearby are inadequate tion to Citizens' Module, a service created ution system, says Guasch. He estimates and water pumped in from sources to the by the Mexico City Assembly, which is for that the fees charged for water add up to west beyond the Valley of Mexico is either the first time controlled by politicians about 50 percent of the cost of supplying consumed or lost in leaks before it reaches from the National Action Party (PAN). and delivering the water. Other specialists the eastern end of the city. Mexico City's water authority is work- say they cover only I5 percent of the cost of Even when water does flow through ing simultaneously on several fronts to water brought from Cutzamala. the pipes in Ixtapalapa, it's repugnant and increase and improve the capital's available In 1992, the city began to install meters sometimes contaminated. "It is not water supply. In the eastern region, the to measure water consumption and charge potable water," Pefia says. "It is yellow hydraulic works department is drilling according to use. Today, however, more with a lot of sediment, it looks like wells and is treating wells that already exist than zo percent of the consumers still do tamarind juice." Worse than the color- to make the water they provide potable, not have meters and pay a flat fee for water which comes from a high level of miner- says Guasch. regardless of how much they use. Not only als-are the contents. Pefia has seen little No less than 37 percent of Mexico are these residents underpaying, they have worms in the water at her house. Samples City's water is lost through leaks in the no incentive to conserve water. By the of water from Ixtapalapa have contained distribution system, so repairing leaks is same token, there is no control over how fecal matter that could cause digestive tract problems ranging from colic to salmo- nella and cholera, according The problem of water to Roberto Gilrcl'a, a biolo- qaiyi eyrltdt ic' poiinGenPrygist and researcher for Mex- quality is very related to In Mexico City, ioo percent of the city's tap water is dis- n i nfected, but even so 585 w at r sc aIty. people per IOO,OOO residents died of infectious intestinal illnesses in 1995, the national statistical another vital program. Water is abun- much water is consumed in the city. In institute (INEGI) reports. dant at the western edge of the city, but addition, some industries do not pay Getting enough water and making it by the time it reaches Ixtapalapa, the because they have their own unregulated safe to drink for the residents of Ixtapalapa leaks have drained much of it off. "We wells, says Garcia. And some users are sim- are one and the same. "The problem of repair 50,000 leaks a year, but without ply not charged. water quality is very related to water any methodology to recover the flows of The city's master plan for potable water scarcity," says Garcia. Scarcity of water water," Guasch says. to the year 2010 sets the goal of increasing causes the Mexico City water authority to A major building project to tap more the number of bills sent out and collections draw water from inadequate sources. water in the Cutzamala river system is made so that all users are covered. Meters Overexploitation of the aquifer forces under way; it will increase the water sup- are being installed and work is under way drilling ever deeper, to depths of 300 ply by 8 percent. Even when this costly to bring in more water from the Cutza- meters, to extract rusty-colored water project is built, it will provide less mala. Perhaps mostimportant, for the first laden with manganese and iron. Seeking water-5 cubic meters per second-than time the private sector has been given con- water from sources outside the Valley of the amount lost through leaks-iZ cubic tracts to set up the billing systems and Mexico automatically means bringing in meters per second. "If we repaired the install meters. unsafe water, because 68 percent of under- leaks, it would end our [water] deficit," But even if all the leaks, physical and ground and surface water sources through- Guasch says, referring to the needs of administrative, were sealed, the greater out Mexico are contaminated, according Mexico City proper. But, he adds, there metropolitan area of Mexico City would to INEGI. would still be a shortage in the greater still be crying out for more water. In the Community organizations were metropolitan area. long run, only water conservation and formed last year in Ixtapalapa to demand Mexico City's system for collecting water treatment and reuse can quench steady and safe water service. The district payments for water is a major obstacle to the thirst of one of the world's most pop- government is filing complaints with the enhancing the water supply. Mexico City ulous cities. lIE Winter9ggg Urban Age 17 They did it with the airlines, railroads, electricity and telecommunications. Now federal, state and municipal governments around the world are positioning themselves to privatize their water systems. For many cities, changing the government's role holds enormous potential, but there is resistance in some quarters to what is perceived as private sector overreach. BY PENELOPE J. BROOK COWEN RIVATE SECTOR PARTICIPATION is a general term covering COUNTRIES AND Ct'IES that have a broad variety of options for involving the private sec- implemented private sector contracts have in many cases seen significant improve- tor in service provision. This may range from service ments in service efficiency and respon- contracts-by which the private sector provides specific siveness, as well as more rapid expansion of services to households formerly forced technical services such as pipe repairs or meter reading-to man- to rely on poorer quality or more expen- agement contracts and leases-under which the private sector takes sive informal services. Buenos Aires in 1993 granted responsibility for operations, on responsibility for the overall operation and maintenance (O&M) maintenance and investment in water and of a water and sewerage system-to concessions-through which, sanitation to a private sector consortium, in addition to & , the private sector takes on overall investment Aguas Argentinas. Within the first two in addition to O&M, the prlvate sector takes on overall mvestment years of operation, production capacity responsibilities for the improvement and expansion of water and expanded 27 percent, an additional sanitation services. These options differ in their allocation of risks 500,000 people received water services, an additional 400,000 received sewerage ser- and responsibilities between the public and private sectors, their vices and response time for repairs fell complexity and their duration, but all involve a partnership from over a week to just two days. More recently, Aguas Argentinas has begun to between the government and the private sector. work with local communities and non- governmental organizations to find inno- Governments' motivations for seeking expansion, or for new water and sewage vative ways to expand services more private sector participation in water and treatment facilities-looking both for rapidly and affordablv into informal sanitation vary. They may be looking to greater efficiency in the design and imple- settlements. secure sustainable improvements in the mentation of investments, and for relief Not all attempts at private sector efficiency with which services are deliv- for national and municipal budgets. Or involvement in water and sanitation have ered-often after years of failing to attain they may be looking for ways to make serv- been as successful as the Buenos Aires this through public sector projects focused ice providers more sensitive to customer case. In Caracas, Venezuela, an attempted on training and the upgrading of manage- needs and preferences. Often, their moti- concession failed to attract any bids; this ment systems. They may be looking for vations are a mix of some or all of these. was due, at least in part, to both a failure new sources of finance for needed invest- Private sector participation can answer all to establish good working relationships ments in network rehabilitation and of these goals. among participating municipalities and a 18 Urban Age Winter 1999 TOP FIVE PRIVATE SPONSORS, BY REGION, 199OH97 Number of projects company East Asia Europe and Latin America Middle East Sub-Saharan Total Total investment and Pacific Central Asia and Caribbean and North Africa Africa in projects with private participation (1997 US$mWilions) Suez Lyonnaise des Eaux, France 11 7 6 2 2 28 16,153 Vivendi, France (formerly CGE) 4 3 3 0 3 13 5,275 Aguas de Barcelona, Spain 0 0 6 0 0 6 9,072 Thames Water, UK 4 1 1 0 0 6 1,375 SAUR Intemational, France 1 1 0 0 3 5 38 Source: PPI Project Database in the Private Sector Deeopment Depment, The Worl Bank political commitment that was perceived nity organizations-and transparencv strategies in the water and sanitation sec- as weak. In Tucuman, Argentina, a con- and fairness. Finally, it means listening to tor that take full advantage of the potential cession arrangement collapsed because of prospective private sector investors to find for private sector involvement; building the unwillingness of the government to out their concerns about the local envi- consensus in favor of appropriate policy, stand behind promised tariff increases. ronment and their ideas about what is regulatory and institutional reforms; And in Guinea, a lease arrangement that possible. designing and implementing specific has had some success in improving serv- Private sector arrangements are based reforms and transactions; and-finally- ice quality is hampered by a lack of cred- on partnership between the public and developing government capacity in the ible provisions to extend affordable private sectors. Establishing a good part- design and execution of private infrastruc- connections to a very low-income popu- nership means defining and preparing for ture arrangements and in the regulation of lation. In each of these cases, the govern- the government's future-as well as cur- private service providers. ment failed to provide credible and secure rent-roles and responsibilities. A criti- There are no blueprints for a success- arrangements for striking a balance cal aspect of this process is putting ful engagement with the private sector to between a fair rate of return for the pri- arrangements in place for monitoring improve water and sanitation services- vate operator and appropriate protection and regulating private contracts so they and no substitutes for careful prepara- of consumer interests. are perceived as competent and indepen- tion, political commitment and early The success of private contracts in dent of political or industry pressures. attention to the broader regulatory and delivering benefits to consumers depends Another aspect is determining exactly institutional framework that will support -first and foremost-on a high level of what risks and responsibilities the gov- and sustain a partnership with the private political commitment, the design and ernment will retain once the private sec- sector. Where these features are present, quality of the private sector contract itself, tor contract is in place-and how it strong benefits can flow to consumers in and the institutional arrangements a gov- intends to manage them. the form of better, more responsive, more ernment puts in place to support that con- Developing country governments can cost-effective services. lE tract. It also takes rigorous management, a realize great benefits from private sector high degree of technical skill, careful atten- involvement. Planning is needed at every PENELOPE J. BROOK COWEN is a senior tion to the concerns of stakeholders- stage to ensure the greatest possible bene- private sector developmentspecialist with from employees and unions to commu- fits. This planning begins with developing the World Bank. Winter 1999 Urban Age 19 Revitalization of the waterfront has been a principal feature of urban development over the last 30 years. The herd mentality of city planners and developers has given rise to generic models of success that ignore local characteristics. Opportunities exist for more experimental approaches that accommodate a wide range of uses and users and that adapt their form to the uniqueness of their place and topography. VER THE LAST TWO DECADES, cities as diverse as I commercial property developer. The Barcelona, Baltimore, Bangkok and Buenos Aires have result was Harborplace, a lively market occupied by food stalls, specialty shops, a attempted to reclaim their waterways. City officials and gallery and cafes. It became the catalyst developers have radically restructured abandoned and that made all the other attractions per- underused urban waterfronts; transforming their physical layout, form, drawing hundreds of people day and night for 12 months of the year function and use. In the igth century the waterfront was a place instead of the previous 6-month season. devoted to commerce and industry. A post-war shift away from But that was i6 years ago. The aging Inner Harbor attraction sorely needs a the manufacturing economy to the informational and service econ- us$2o million facelift to upgrade the omy (leisure, recreation and tourism) led to the emergence of a building's operating systems and mod- ernize the market spaces. On top of the wide array of new uses for waterfronts-from parks and walkways, physical deterioration, Baltimore has restaurants and casinos to mixed-use and residential projects. another little secret. The senior vice pres- ident of Rouse, Robert Minutoli, admits The obsolescence of the port began in Toronto in the I960s and '70s. These were that visitors to Harborplace are no longer America during the late 1950s. The rest of followed in rapid succession by projects in local residents, they are mostly tourists the world followed suit in the I96os and Europe-the Docklands in London and and conventioneers. So while the area I970s. Advances in transport technol- Liverpool, the Vieux Port in Marseilles- continues to attract a number of tourists, ogy-the intercontinental jet aircraft, the and on the other side of the world, Dar- it has failed to address the city's more automobile and the railway-weakened ling Harbour in Sydney and the Victoria immediate problems such as arresting the dominance of the city port as principal and Alfred Waterfront in South Africa. white flight, suburban sprawl, inner city transport center. Maritime passenger traf- Baltimore's Inner Harbor is often cited crime and unemployment. ic rapidly disappeared, eliminating the as one of the best and earliest examples of Cities have drawn from each others' need for liner berths and terminals. At the waterfront revitalization. The first devel- experiences, and that is a good thing. U.S. same time, the emergence of containerized opment was the Charles Center which Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis shipping forced many ports to relocate arose from a public-private initiative. The once dubbed this phenomenon "the lab- further away from the city where land was city bought the land, cleared it and sold oratory of the states." That is, a system in abundance-enabling quick and inex- plots to developers who constructed where state governments, cities and pensive access and construction of rail- 400,000 square meters of new retail municipalities are given free rein to roads and highways. The combination of space, 300 apartments, a hotel, science experiment with various kinds of legisla- large plots of derelict land in the heart of museum and aquarium. Impressive as all tion, programs and financing. In theory cities with the rapid growth in the service this was, the waterfront lacked a focus, it this initiates a process of trial and error sector industry made waterfront redevel- had no center to draw people and was that ultimately uncovers optimal forms opment an obvious and valuable opportu- only used by the public for special annual of governance. Similarly in urban devel- nity for city planners and entrepreneurs. festivals. In the late 1970s a project to opment, the pitfalls and triumphs of pio- Programs for renewal and rebuilding enhance the leisure and tourist compo- neering cities around the world quickly first began in major North American cities nents was spearheaded by the Rouse become textbook case studies for city such as Boston, Baltimore, St. Louis and Company, a national shopping mall and officials and other important observers. 20 Urban Age Wi.ter9ggg .~~~ . In Prov/idence, Rhode Island,e-to * °bringng people to the p downtown waterfront. - ; t3ut while Brandeis' formula has rhetori- spaces so that ciry residents, not just visi- Another example of bringing a creative cal appeal, it has not worked as smoothly tors, enjoy the area. sohltiton to a local problem can be found as he might have envisaged in waterfront in Bangkok. After years of pollution and redevelopment. In their enthusiasm to THE WATERFRONT offers the opportu- neglect, Bangkok is beginning to view its import ideas from abroad, cities have nitv to create an urban environment that waterfront as an asset. Private ferries and tended to adopt generic models of suc- may not be experienced in other parts of long boats carry passengers along the cess without taking into account local the city. It is a place for experimentation canals and the Chao Phraya River. New characteristics and conditions that con- and innovation. Rotterdam, for example, restaurants, hotels, housing estates and tribute to those successes. The result is a decided against complete commercial shopping areas have sprung up along the homogenous group of building.s-aquar- development of the docklands. Instead, banks due to the increased traffic. There iums, convention centers, museums, the city government renovated substan- may be instances where the ports can be sho ps and resta uran ts-that p rove dard housing and buillt new low-income given an ecological function-creating a-n remarkablv similar the world over. housing on the abandoned docks outside environment that might sustain local fish- Rino Bruttomesso, director of The the central port area. In Providence, ery, wetlands and native bird life. Such Cities On Water Centre in Venice, sug- Rhode Island, conceptual artist Barnaby measures have been taken to clean the gests that "if the scope of waterfront rede- Evans created Waterfire-a kind of soniet river Thames in London; as a result, velopment is limited to refurnishing them luiniere-which has dramatically trans- salmon and other fish have returned. and turning them into copies of the same formed the downtown waterfront area, For waterfront redevelopment to suc- model-based on the presence of com- filling the beautiful but previously empty ceed, city governments must be prepared mercial structures-then the result is spaces with people. The installation is to finance infrastructure that may not give debatable." Developers need to identify composed of bonfires which burn on a dollar return for some years to come. Opportunities that are specific to their city metal braziers in the middle of both the This is obviously a tall order in times of rather than replicate the experience of oth- Providence and Woonasquatucket fiscal austerity and shrinking government ers. It can be a process not just of eco- Rivers. The spectacle is accompanied by responsibilities. More conservative nomic reinvention but also of a world music soundtrack that can be approaches are likely to be ';onc size fits cultural/artistic endeavor and social invig- heard for miles as people stroll, talk and none"-banal urban landscapes that oration. Living spaces, says Bruttomesso, simply stare at the flames. "lt's a social as deprive the cit-y of any individual charac- should be given a central role. The aim is well as a spiritual experience" says Evans. ter. City of ficials must be receptive to new to join the city with the waterfront "Getting Americans out of their cars, ideas and encourage a creative, flexible and through different activities-residential, walking and talking together on the entrepreneunial environment for develop- of fice, retail, entertainment-and open streets" has been a principal motivation. ers and other partners. N0 Winteri74g Urban Age 21 3sE~~~ Huge amounts of water disappear from city systems due to theft, inadequate metering and poor billing practices. Controlling such commercial leaks can not only reduce water losses but increase utility revenues. EAKY PIPES WILL OCCUR in any water supply system rates to charge, revising billing systems for maximum revenue and closely monitorng over time, and cities spend a lot of money patching the installation and maintenance of meters. them. But there is another-potentially much Cities that have aggressivelyattacked larger-type of loss that can ultimately cost cities and the problem report considerable benefits. 0 larger-type of loss that can ultimately cost cities and tSingapore, for example, brought the per- their utilities much more. centage of lost water due to physical and commercial leaks down from io.6 percent Water disappears from city systems levels in New York City, was not enough to 6 percent in six years. Singapore water around the world from theft, inadequate to avoid rationing. Most of the water was officials ensure that there are meters on all metering and inaccurate billing. Studies in disappearing without a trace. outlets, and the devices are replaced every several cities consistently show that as Utility revenues go up when cities con- four to seven years. Controls are in place to much as 70 percent of the losses result trol commercial leaks. Managing water prevent tampering, and the entire water from customers siphoning it off or utili- more effectively can also reduce, or at least distribution network is swept for leaks ties failing to manage it properly- postpone, the need to build new capacity once a year. The city discontinues service so-called "commercial losses." Controlling into the system. Overall consumption if bills are not paid on time, but the rate of those losses can result in a better use of usually goes down and, as a bonus, when nonpayment is only 0.3 percent of users. existing supplies and an increase in rev- water consumption is reduced, sewage Residents of Murcia, Spain, did nothave enues to finance expansion and improve- flows generally go down as well. water available throughout the day in the ment of the systems. Experts say the first step in controlling late I98os when the city administration dis- Some water is simply stolen by people commercial leaks is to make a solid assess- covered that as much as 44 percent of the who make illegal connec- ment of the situation and to citys water was being lost. Billing was also tions to the svstem. Other look at the numbers from the slow; at times it took 90 days after a meter losses stem from practices standpoint of business effi- was read to produce a bill. Over the next six of the utilities poorly ciency. This may require the years, a stringent billing system xvas put into maintained customer assistance of outside advisors, place. Once all users were accounted for, files, improperlvy read since utilities may not have the unmetered users were brought into the sys- meters, lack of meter expertise to do areliable analy- tem, and meterswere upgraded. Billingtime maintenance and testing, sis or provide accurate data. was reduced to nine days, and the percent- and inadequate billing and collection pro- Standard measure- ments include door-by- age of lost water was reduced to 23 percent. cedures. In many cases, there is no incen- door inventories of consumers, tabulations Service has been extended to Ioo percent of tive to identify or control the losses of which connections are metered and how households, water is available at all times, because utility managers are not held well the meters are functioning, and deter- and pressure has been stabilized. Remark- accountable for the cost of the water, and minations of whether the meters are suitable ably, the city was able to reduce water rates city administrators concern themselves for accurately measuring the level of water by 4 percent over the same period. primarily with physical leaks. being consumed. For instance, a consistent No city can stamp out leaks entirelv- One study of Bogota, Colombia, change in the amount of water used by a whether physical or commercial. How- showed increases in losses between 1975 companv-whether up or down-may ever, with the right plan to identify and and I990 that cost the utility over US$44o require a corresponding change in the size of understand the problem, most commer- million-42 percent of the utility's total the meter to ensure accurate measurements. cial leaks can be plugged. income for the period. In Tblisi, Republic Other steps include periodically updat- of Georgia, a recent studv found that the ing the consumer census, setting up pro- Reduction of Unaccounted for Water. The Job Can Be Done! By Gu llermo Yepes is ava lable from the amount of water entering the system per cedures to add new customers or modify World Bank Water Help Desk, tel: 202-473-4761; e- person, while substantially higher than consumers' files, identifying appropriate mail: whelpdesk@worldbank.org. 22 Urban Age Winteri999 ml~ N E W S , P R O D U C T S A N D I N N O V A T I ONS Americans Using Less Water New statistics challenge the assumption 'fDoll 1l which is that water use inevitably increases along with economic and population growth. Ameri- CORRURI [U N, rampant cans' use of water declined by 9 percent from 1980 to 1995, even as the U.S. popula- in many transitional and developing tion was growing by 16 percent. This amounts to a decline in the use of water of about countries, has not been formally 20 percent per person, Dr. Peter H. Gleick, director of the Pacific Institute for Studies in recognized as one of the main reasons Development in Oakland, California, told the New York Times. for the failure to provide sustainable For many decades, water use in the United States far outstripped population growth. water and sanitation. A discussion Now experts see Americans gradually shifting away group on "Corruption in Infrastructure i ^ = from trying to capture more water toward more effi- Provision" is being set up so that the cient use and conservation. A good example is dams. issue can be openly discussed, America has lost its appetite for dam building. "The debated and researched. To become a best sites have all been taken, and building is too member of the proposed group dear; the fashion now isto remove dams," argues The send your name, profession and Economist. Industry and agriculture have also postal address in an e-mail to: become more frugal with water. Industry has turned abdulrk@psh.brain.net.pk. to recycling, other water conservation measures and new technologies, and industrial expansion itself has slowed down. Industrial use-apart Hayatabad, Peshawar 25100, Pakistan. from water used to cool power plants-fell 35 percent to the lowest level since record- Tel: 92-91-817-138/816-766. keeping began in 1950. In the West, the depletion of underground water and rising pump- - ing costs have led farmers to employ less wasteful methods of irrigation. The average amount of water used per acre of irrigated land fell by 16 percent. ,', 1 I,',utt, O'.. The U.S. experience may benefit developing countries, where increasing population .t , jfi./U b and rapid industrialization are expected to put pressure on water supply. Gleick told the New York Timesthat these countries might be able to exploit U.S. gains in water efficiency / . and skip America's earlier, wasteful stage. "Their steel industry will never use as much f o r ' - water as our old steel industries," he said. /,, j j , Approximately 300 major river basins and many under- ground aqusfers cross national boundaries. Winter 1999 Urban Age 23 STATEo~ART - | -LNEWS, PRODUCTS AND INNOVA IO I -NS Water Treatment Kiosks __ Clean drinking water is in short supply in many cities. Water production cannot keep Periodicals Books pace with the demands of burgeoning pop- ulations, and residents are forced to rely in Urban Water-a new journal will be Alternative Solutions for Water Supply part on rainwater and wells. Old or deteri- launched early in 1999 to focus on and Sanitation in Areas with Limited orated water networks frequently result in water-related and water-based systems Financial Resources. Lyonnais des burst pipes and leaks. Repairs can take in the urban environment. The editors Eaux, 72 avenue de la Liberte, years. Bottled water is popular, but the are seeking reviews (8,000 words) 92753 Nanterre cedex, France. poor cannot afford it. Might not the solu- and research papers (5,000 words). Tel: 33-1-4695-5000; Web site: Contact: Prof. C. Maksimovic, http://www.suez-lyonnaise-eaux.fr; tion be small water treatment plants Imperial College, UK. E-mail: http://www.suez-lyonnaise-eaux.com installed all around a city? c.maksimovic@ic.ac.uk; Web site: Enter the water treatment kiosk, a http:l/www.mailbase.ac.uk/lists/ Customner Interaction in Low-Cost device designed to be installed in hospitals, Icsewerage/1998-11/0001.html; Urban Sanitation in Brazil. Gabrielle schools, bus stations, places of worship and http://www.elsevier.com/inca/ other locations that provides good quality publications/store/6/0/1/3/4/8/index.htt Division, World Bank, Washnington, drinking water to the various consumers. Waterlines magazine focuses on low- DC, USA, 1995. The treatment kiosk avoids contamination cost water and sanitation. Quarterly. Institutions, Organizations and Viable from the distribution system by treating Annual individual subscription: £16. Water Services: A Capacity water at the point of consumption. It can Contact: Subscription Manager, Development Model for Drinking combat excessive iron concentrations or Intermediate Technology Publications Wateroviint nde Pro ion. salinity in well water and eliminates the Ltd., 103-105 Southampton Row, Water Provision and Production, need for expensive bottled water. The London WC1B 4HH, UK; e-mail: 1998. kiosks, sold by Aqua Technique in Paris, subscriptions@itpubs.org.uk; are compact, container sized and can be fax: 44-171-436-2013; Managing Water Resources for Large connected immediately to local networks or tel: 44-171-436-9761 Cities and Towns. Report for Beijing Water Conference. UNCHS (Habitat), bore holes. They are autonomous, equipped Nairobi, 1996. with their own power generator for use in case of power failure. They use an advanced Pater Sector Partipatio in cthe technology-ultrafiltration-and include, LWe Suppl ad aixtDeveloprng as options, iron removal and desalination Countries. Daniel Rivera, World Bank, units. The kiosk's dimensions are 6.1 x 2.5 Washington, DC, 1996, pp. 49-50. x 2.6 meters, and its weight (without the UbnWtrMngmn:Fec ultrafiltration unit) is 400 kilograms. A ExpeeUrban WaterrManagenent: French seven-meter container can be converted l E "_ l l l g Dominique Lorrain, ed., Hydrocon into a water treatment kiosk. Kiosks consist Editions, Paris, 1997. of two separate compartments accessible by double doors at each end. The walls are Organizations insulated and soundproof.Oraiaton Aqua Technique touts decentralized International Association on Water water treatment as having two advantages. Quality, Duchess House, 20 Masons One, both the installation and maintenance Yard, Duke Street, St. James's, of kioskscan beself-financingwiththesup- S om 0 i/hilli5npep5le London SW1Y 6BU, UK. Tel: 44- port of local water traders operating as fran- / 171-839-8390; fax: 44-171 839- chisesto collect income. Two, the number a? re I i/ cled eUCh Vear 8299; e-mail: infol@iawq.org.uk of kiosks can be increased over time. ./ Stockholm Intemational Water d ' f sf ed bi Institute, SE-106 36 Stockholm, Contact: Aqua Technique, Parc de I'lle, 15/27, rue .1 s cIt ,ES diu Port BP 727 92007, Nanterre Cedex, France. Sweden. Tel: 46-8-736-2078; fax: Tel: 33-1-4614-7173: fax: 33-1-4614-7169; co lt'l /i n/t// i wL'ate. S 46-8-736-2022; e-mail: e mail: Aquatech@club-internet.fr dave.trouba@siwi.org EIUl 24 Urban Age Winter1999 PORT RAI T OF A C I TY AN~~~ Fortunes have been made and lost as Shenzhen's citizens have adapted to Hong Kong's hand-over to mainland China. Hong Kong provides the capital and know-how that has made this former fishing village prosper. BY STEPHEN VINES The lights have beeni turned off on the electr-onic clock Vha towers over the footbridge connecting the buzzinga Chinese 0~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Z:l -- S border town of Shenzhen with Hong Kong. In th run-u to Julo i, 1997h it counted off the days, ho-rs anrd nintts until Hong Kong was to rejodhe Clhinese mainland in palorious unification." On the other side of the bridge, in Honr Koeg, an electronic sign promise s the forner British colony a nor beautiful future." Strangely, the same promiise has not been mid Winteri999 UrbanAge 25 to the citizens of Shenzhen. Maybe this unconsciously reflects ferent planet from their fellow citizens in the Chinese heartlands. the sense of anticlimax and disappointment that has come a year Shenzhen is rich because Hong Kong is richer and providing after the hand-over, as many of the promised benefits of unifica- the capital and know-how to make the SEZ an economic power- tion have failed to materialize. house. "The way I look at it," says Kenneth Tse, who runs the Expectations were very high indeed. In I996, the casino-style Hong Kong-controlled Yantian container port, the largest of Shenzhen stock market soared to dizzying heights on the back of Shenzhen's three ports, "this is all part of the southern China rumors that Hong Kong people would flood across the border region. Hong Kong is the jewel in the crown, but the boundary and buy property-not to mention swallow up vast amounts of between Hong Kong and Shenzhen is losing significance. The products made by Shenzhen-listed companies. Like many of the poLitical boundary is still there, but as an economic region, it is one rumors that have swept this volatile stock exchange, the Hong entity." Asked whether there is resentment among local people Kong rumor helped some people get rich while others got badly about being under the thumb of Hong Kong bosses, he replies: " I burned. "The market was very hot in 1996," recalls Zhang Jie, wouldn't be surprised if some people had strong feelings." But resentment is not the word he would use. ___ _____ _____ _____ ____ "We bring management expertise," he SHENZHEN PRESENTS A VISION of an infinitely ~~explains, "and people recognizerthis an.] S H ENZH EN PR ES ENTS A V I S I ON of a n i nf i n ite ly say: 'Hey! They're bringing new wavs c I more prosperous China, where the rule of doing things. If we learn from on. law is taki ng hold, where h igh tech nology is the A-tiam and everyone else as, ar besto moving center stage, where the market struggling to get onto the B-team moving ~ ce trsa e heetem re Kong people are very proud,"' says i economy is strong but the state still retainsyoung female university graduate from) eWconomy i s strong but the state st i I I reta i ns Jilin who works for a computer printer control, and where authoritarian rule manufacturer. "They look down on us. "There's been no relaxation of th,. remains intact with little sign of challenge. border,"notesZhouXiaoming,deput director general of Shenzhen's Bureau of Foreign Investment. "In fact, things have gotten even stricter. I've heard some manager of the China Securities Co., one of the biggest stock- complaints about this, but the idea is to protect the Hong Kong brokers in Shenzhen. "You couldn't move downstairs," she says, government from interference by mainland Chinese." Zhou doe; pointing in the direction of a large hall on the ground floor where not mention the other side of the coin: the supposed need to pro - stock prices flash up on electronic scoreboards and computer tect Shenzhen from the "spiritual pollution" and political liber- trading terminals blink furiously. "They dream of getting rich, alism of Hong Kong. In fact, the spiritual pollution has already but it's impossible for everybody to get rich," she continues. seeped over the border. Those who can speak Cantonese-a Zhang is referring to the so-called "small fish" investors, who pour minority, since most of Shenzhen's population is from the non their savings into the stock market. Yet this is precisely the dream Cantonese-speaking North-have their radios and TNVs perma- that has lured almost 4 million people from all over China to this nently tuned to the lively Hong Kong stations where commen frenetic special economic zone (SEZ). Established in I980 under is free and the news infinitely more interesting than the stodgy the guidance of the late Deng Xiaoping, this was China's labora- diet dished up by Central Television. As for other vices-pri- tory for experimenting with the market economy. marily of a sexual nature-it is arguable whether Shenzhen's Supported primarily by investment from widespread prostitution, business Hong Kong, this once tiny fishing village has _ corruption and crime are influencec developed into one of China's most prosper- by Hong Kong or are the sort o: ous cities. In fact, the economy has grown each ' home-grown variety common ir year at a breathtaking average of 34 percent border towns everywhere. since the SEZ was established. Back in 1979, The hookers mix freely with yen- the biggest building in Shenzhen was four sto- dors of pirated goods and the highly ries high; now, a 68-story office tower, the King skilled pickpockets, who-for obvi- of Prices Building, looms over a tightly packed ous reasons-do not advertise theii mass of skyscrapers. The per capita gross presence. Despite the sleaze, Shen- domestic product of Shenzhen is some zhen is increasingly turning intc US$3,ooo. That's about four times higher than the national aver- Consumption and something much more than a back- age. Wages are anything from double to four or five times higher communism are not a yard of cheap labor for prosperous than elsewhere in China. And it shows: look at the local people contradiction in Hong Kong or the home for count- with mobile phones clasped to their ears and fake designer clothes Shenzhen-even if less "second wives" of businessmen on their shoulders. They might just as well be inhabiting a dif- Deng's influence is fading. and managers who flood back and 26 Urtan Age Winter9ggg forth across the border. In many ways, Shenzhen, with all its man- concedes before explaining that local government is having "to ifest shortcomings, is emerging as the prototype the leadership in work very hard" to attract investors because neighboring areas Peking would like to see develop throughout the nation. Shen- are matching the tax breaks and other benefits offered by the SEZ. zhen presents a vision of an infinitely more prosperous China, "In the future, the SEZ will focus on the development of high- where the rule of law is taking hold, tech and finance industries," says Cai Yu, a divi- where high technology is moving center sion chief at Shenzhen's State Planning Bureau. stage, where the market economy is "The SEZ will still exist at the beginning of the strong but the state still retains control, next century," he explains, "but by then its poli- and where authoritarian rule remains cies will be no different from those pursued in the intact with little sign of challenge. rest of the country." Shenzhen is also home to almost a In the center of town stands one of the few bill- third of those in China holding a doc- boards in China still emblazoned with the image torate. In a city where the average age is of the late paramount leader, who almost single- 27, as many as Io percent are estimated handedly brought Shenzhen into being: "Adhere to be graduates; by contrast, less than Futuristic malls and to the Basic Policies of DengXiaopingforaHundredYears," pro- half a percent of the Chinese popula- office complexes claims the big character slogan under Deng's picture. While the tion as a whole has been through higher underscore likeness of Deng has begun to fade, the background of the picture education. The aim is to transform Shenzhen's has been repeatedly repainted to reflect Shenzhen's ever-changing Shenzhen into one of China's main prosperity. skyline. Like a metaphor for the whole idea of economic reform high-tech centers. as experienced in Shenzhen, the billboard seems to tell us that the As matters stand, Shenzhen is already responsible for half the genie of the free market has escaped from the bottle, eclipsing the nation's information technology output. The old factories turn- luster of the leaders who let it out in the first place. [IN ing out garments and assembling electronic goods are rapidly being replaced by high-tech industries, which now account for 35 STEPHEN VINES is a correspondentfor The Independent in percent of output. The emphasis on high-tech is also a pragmatic Hong Kong. This is an abridged/edited version ofan article that response to an outflow of investment toward neighboring areas appeared in the July 1998 issue of New World magazine. to the north of the SEZ. "Shenzhen is becoming expensive," Zhou o New World. Development Planning Unit University College London The Development Planning Unit specializes in academic teaching, practical training and research in the field of urban and regional development in developing countries UCL PhD Degree by Research Urban and Regional Development Policy, Planning and Management Contact: Reach a Unique International UA3 Courses Masters Degrees in Development Planning Audience in Urban Planning, Administrator *Urban Development Planning Infrastructure Development, Development aBuilding and Urban Design in Development Finance and City Government Planning Unit *Environmentally Sustainable Development 9 Endsleigh Gardens *Cosmopolitan Development Your advertisement can now be a part of London WC1 H OED * International Housing Studies the world's premier publication dedicated United Kingdom * Development Administration and Planning to urban affairs in the developing world. Telephone: . Economics of Urbanisation and Managing the City Economy With a combined circulation of over e 44 one. 38,000 and editions in English, Arabic, + 44(0)171 388 7581 Short & Special Programmes Spanish, Russian, Mandarin and French, Facsimile: Urban Age is ideally situated to reach the + 44 (0)171 387 4541 *Urban and Regional Environmental Management: expanding urban development market- Email: *Management for Metropolitan and Municipal Development place in finance, managment, infra- dpu@ucl.ac.uk * Urban Development Planning Practice: Action Planning structure development and planning. Website: Approaches and Techniques For more information, contact: http //www.ucl.ac. * Urban Land Policy and Management Nick Harrison, Managing Editor, Urban Age uk/dpu/ . Housing: the Design and Implementation of Enabling 202-458.8002 202-522-2125 (fax) Strategies E-mail: nharrison@worldbank.org *Social Development Policy, Planning and Practice Winter 1999 Urban Age 27 Production of food has traditionally been a rural preoccupation, but mayors around the world increasingly need to understand and support the vast and complex distribution system that supplies their cities. Ank SERIES OF DEVASTATING FIRES that nearly The US$250,ooo award annuallv commemorates outstandin! destroyed several central market buildings in Accra, achievement in food production or management. This year's con- Ghana, during the middle I990s marked the begin- ference focused on the impact that rapid global urbanization will ning of an important educational process for Nat have on future food requirements. Nuno-Amartiefio, then mayor of the city. The fires Nuno-Amartiefio told UrbanAge that most mayors focus oii spurred his administration to investigate moving some of the what happens to food once it arrives in the city, but their per- markets to more suitable locations. What Nuno-Amartiefio sub- spective should expand to include how it is produced and how i E sequently discovered was a powverful web of economic and polit- reaches the city. "There is a fair amount of staple food grown," he ical relationships involving food that reached from the central said. "The problem is the infrastructure necessary to deliver it into government, through regions surrounding the city and down to cities and how the people of the cities manage it once it is there.' the small stalls where food is sold. The production, distribution and protection of food has tra- An epiphany bore of fire ditionally been perceived as a rural preoccupation. Around the NUNO-AMARTIEFIO'S EPIPHANY came when he embarkedl world, mayors like Nuno-Amartiefio increasingly realize that the on a project to modernize Accra's markets, some of which are I30 food production system-from farmers toiling along rows of vears old. Maintained by the citV administration and located ir crops far from the bustle of the city to the transporters and sell- some of the busiest neighborhoods, they often compete for spact crs who eventually make it available for sale-requires under- with newer businesses. The markets were crowded with both standing and support from within the city. Otherwise, shoppers and sellers who often spill onto adjacent streets. "These Nuno-Amartiefio concludes, "the cities themselves run the risk of roads become impassable and are choked with traders, hawkers overrunning and consuming the very source of their physical customers, passing cars and stationary lorries unloading theil well-being and future prosperity." Providing food "clearly should goods," he said. be priority number one," he says. The series of fires were the catalyst for his administration to A large man with a ready laugh, Nuno-Amartiefio recently begin studying a plan to improve the administration of the mar- ended his four-year term as mayor and now runs a consulting kets and to move them to locations better suited to a city that has firm in Accra. He was a featured speaker ar an international gath- tripled its population over the past 25 years. Having analyzed the ering of agricultural scientists in Des Moines, Iowa, to present the problem as one of safety, land use and traffic administration, Wlorld Food Prize to Badrinarayn Ramulal Bulewara of India. Nuno-Amartiefio thought he had a solution. 28 Urban Age wmnte,'999 But he had not anticipated the Sowing The Seeds Of Success The agricultural extensive financial, social and political experts who gathered recently in Des Moines, Iowa, were there relationships that existed within the to honor a "seedsman" from India who helped his country avoid market system. Among the most formi- famine. Badrinarayn Ramulal Bulewara, recipient of the 1998 dable groups were the "market queens," World Food Prize (pictured at right), not only created a large seed usually women, who are elected by company in his native country, but brought missionary zeal to a commodity traders to supervise and personal campaign of education for small farmers. Over a period of 20 years, he improved regulate trade in that commodity, and and expanded his company's seed offerings in many basic foodstuffs, from okra to who work with city administrators to wheat-significantly contributing to India's return to self-sufficiency in basic foodstuffs. operate the markets. They protect the As a young man, Bulewara saw that the majority of Indian farmers did not use seeds traders' interests, help settle disputes, as well as they might, primarily because they were not able to read even simple instruc- bring young traders into the business tions on a package. After starting a seed firm in 1964, he not only put his efforts into pro- and "generally ensure discipline in the viding good, clean seeds, but he took it upon himself to travel from village to village, market." Nuno-Amartiefio also discov- explaining the proper way to plant and nurture the crops. Bulewara's work, the Food Prize ered that the market queens extended officials said, "not only helped deliver much of the Green Revolution to India, but it can credit to small farmers who were unable be said that he truly helped sow the seeds of freedom through increasing food security." to obtain bank financing. Thus market Over the past 10 years, Food Prize recipients have included scientists and policy mak- queens were often able to control prices ers who have been responsible for vital but often unsung accomplishments, from devel- at the point of production as well as at oping ways to sterilize plant-eating insects to increasing rice production or guiding national the point of sale. programs aimed at feeding the poor. The city slowly began to regain con- This year the conference turned its attention to the implications for food producers trol of the markets after very difficult posed by the phenomenal growth of urban centers-a doubling of the urban population in and extended negotiations. Two of the the developing world by 2025; an even more dramatic rise in Africa, from 310 million to 50 official markets are already under a 804 million, with a projection that Lagos will become the world's third largest city with new system. After being relocated, they some 24 million people by 2015; and a shift toward urbanization so drastic in Asia and will be managed by boards of directors Latin America that the rural population will actually shrink while the population as a whole and financed by banks and insurance continues to grow. companies, which will provide the "Obviously much of the work of farmers is aimed at feeding people in urban areas," buildings. "There is a recognition that said the conference organizer, Herman Kilipper. "But people in cities tend to look at food this is an important function within the differently than people on the farms. It is time that they all understood a lot more about city and that it must be handled effi- how connected their lives and work really are." ciently and equitably," Nuno-Amar- tiefio said. local officials and police can stop trucks carrying food and levy Farm to mark(et to homcfees and taxes for using the roads. These roadblocks, when com- WORKING ON THE MARKETS taught Nuno-Amartiefio "a bined with inclementweather and poor roads, can cause serious lot about the nature of food, that it relies on a very complex sys- delays. Fully a third of the tomatoes destined for Accra spoil tem to get it into the city and into the houses of the residents." before they arrive. He began examining, for instance, how the city's growth was The food supply would be more reliable and the cost of deliv- encroaching on surrounding farmlands while at the same time ery would be lower if the central government helped secure the siphoning off young people who would otherwise have become transit routes, he said. The road system itself should also be exam- the next generation of farmers. Some 40 percent of the people ined, he added, since it was originally designed to support the of Accra are under 14 years old, he noted. He believes that two export of products rather than to supply cities. He believes a con- things-laws to create greenbelts around cities and greater certed effort on the part of the country's cities could convince access to bank credit for farmers-are important tools for the central authorities to take steps to provide a better infra- improving the interaction of cities with rural areas.- structure for supplying food. Transporting food from remote farming areas also poses Nuno-Amartiefio urges that, despite their vast differences, cities problems for cities' supplies, he added. As mayor, he had begun and agricultural areas need to gain a greater understanding of each working with the central government to research the construc- other and work to ensure their joint survival in a future where tion of farm-to-city transportation corridors. At present, he said, cities will increasingly dominate the world's landscapes. Im1 There a foa amount of staple food frowr< ne probflem is the infrastructure necessary to deliver it in*o ctfes arl. hvw the peopie of the cites manage it orce it i stere. 17 -Nat Nuno-Amartiefio Winteriggg UrbanAge 29 AM ER I CA N U R BAN CHALLE NG E BY C U RT I S J O H N SO N U N DERNEATH THE UNITED STATES' long-run- ing up open space, creating mind-boggling traffic jams, bestow ning boom economy, a quiet revolution is brew- ing on us endless strip malls and housing developments, and con ing in its metropolitan regions-where So suming an ever-increasing share of our resources." perceng in Imericans olitan Fuegion s-where revoluion i Elsewhere in the country, ii governors made regional growtl percent of Americans live. Fueling the revolution is planning a major focus in their "state of the state" speeches lasi weariness with lengthening automobile commutes, a winter. Maryland passed a law in 1997 that limited spending or growing interest in living in real neighborhoods and an roads, schools and sewers to the areas already planned for urban- awareness that a region can't have a sinking center city ization. In Tennessee, a dispute about annexation law evolved intc and poor schools without economic decline and a a mandatory planning process for growth boundaries. decrease in rep utatio n. B But if this is the leading edge of a revolution, many regioni seem oblivious to it. Take Las Vegas, Nevada, currently the fastest The driving forces of sprawl that dominated development for growing region in the nation. Better land use or regional planning 50 years still have the edge. Financial policies still favor spread-out gets scant attention there. The most expensive federal trans- suburban development portation law in the and segregated areas for - - nation's history, the Trans- retail, residential and com- portation Equity Act for mercial/industrial activi- 1 - - l the 2ISt Century-more neighborhoods and better zin U l l U 1p-was approved by schools, people are still l * - Congress last fall. It adds buying homes where _ fresh impetus for growth, cookie-cutter planning l IuI TA IJ . ........ providing for more high- breeds a bland composite h ways and urban roads- of housing patterns, inter- A confirming that the spersed with big-box dis- ~ *road-builders remain a count stores and strip 5 * powerful political force. malls. Manv people like it A closer look at che that way. "Edge cities"- same lawx, though, reveals major commercial cen- __ an unprecedented parade ters-still spring up where of communities petition- cornfields or forests once ing for transportation stood. choices. Despite the enor- On the other hand, r ' W i mous coscs involved, nearly voters in the I998 fall elec- 2oo regions are officially tions sent a strong message IIf %T A IA I listed as seeking funds to about land use. After _ J ,_ I M I1Xl IK I i choose rail transit over decades of growth that tm tJ TA INIMA BL) ELL more roads. Some regions, gobbled tIp forests and such as the Twin Cities in fields for new suburbs at a neigh borhoods are in Minnesota, have put the rate far outpacing popula- brakes on further road tion increases, some 2oo expansion and will build a state and local ballot mea- network of transit corri- sures aimed at conservation and more compact development got dors, so there will be choices as congestion increases. citizen approval. On the political front, new coalitions are forming to force change From California to Florida, policies to support smarter in regional policies. In cities like Detroit, Milwaukee, Baltimore, St. growth-involving more than US$7 billion-will underwrite Louis, and Gary, Indiana, coalitions of churches are pushing for tax urban revitalization and strategies for land conservation. One bil- sharing and a fairer distribution of investments for center cities and lion dollars was approved in New Jersey alone, where the state will older suburbs. The Cleveland area now has an organization dedi- preserve about half of all remaining undeveloped land. Republi- cated to reviving what are called "first suburbs"-older, working- can Governor Christine Whitman condemned sprawl as "...eat- class suburbs threatened with decline. Admittedly, these efforts 30 Urban Age Winter i995 Please place postage here The Registrar LEARN HOW YOUR CITY CAN COMPETE World Competitive Cities Congress IN THE GLOBAL ECONOMY c/o World Congress 7th Floor 1120 Avenue of Americas New York, NY 10036 USA World Competitive Cities Congress May 19-21, 1999 - Washington, D.C. FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE COMPLETE ANDRETURN THIS FORM Fresented by The World Bank, Please contact me about participating as a: VWorld Economic Development Congress, Urban Age Magazine, DC Agenda and George Washington University I Delegate J Government Delegate QJ Exhibitor u Strategic Partner/Sponsor Learn how your city can: Compete in the global economy E Attract international investments * Build partnerships with NAME TITLE iiternational business and investment communities Determine the best solutions for: Infrastructure COMPANY/ORG. __ clevelopment * Building ITand communications strategies ADDRESS a Delivery of public services * Accessing international and domestic capital markets * Outsourcing * Responsible CITY - _ __-__-_ civic and financial governance in capital cities STATE/COUNTRY__ -POSTAL CODE Case studies from Sofia, Rome, Santiago, Mexico City, TELE _-__-______ FAX Barcelona and many others. EMAIL Py invitation only-Mayors' Summit on Policy Reform Mail or fax back to 1-212-869-7414 BtUsiriess eXecutives re lrin (others tha t regions are the platform for worldwiiIde econiomc Competition. encounter resistant politics and abundant suspicion from newer ing, traffic grew ever worse, producing increasingly polluted air. In suburbs. Property rights advocates stand guard to protest sharing of the summer of I998, EPA lowered the boom, putting a freeze on tax revenues or restriction of land uses. An intense preference for the federal funding pending a serious plan from Atlanta for making the smallest, most localized government hinders regional action. air more breathable. Corporate leaders no longer dictate the future of communities, Even worse news was soon coming. The Hewlett-Packard but their influence can push mayors to look beyond city boundaries Company last August cancelled a $700 million expansion plan. and past the next election. Business executives remind others that Corporate executives said they had lost confidence in the region's regions are the platform for worldwide economic competition. future livability. After more than two years of work on its Metropolis Project, the No one said big was bad, but a region now scattered along a iio- Commercial Club of Chicago-a partnership of nearly 300 com- mile axis, burdened with the longest commuting times anywhere panies-will urge the Illinois Legislature to sweep everything from in America, could easily fall from Olympic heights to the terrain of land use and transportation to water and housing into a regional a community struggling for basic livability. When the glow ofworld coordinating body. The new authority would finance major capi- attention faded and the athletes and visitors went home, the Adanta tal projects and have the region reverted to the power to redistribute tax rev- tougher agenda of restoring enue. Regional action on this everyday livability, sustaining scale in a nation where only , .,,< . v-. - a climate for business invest- exist (P ortland, Oregon, and *- - t* . s , & S ment and making an asset of eitw(oregional Orgovenmeantsd its racial diversity. MinneapolisI-Sr. Paul, Min- trI i,The reality now dawning nesota) would be a truly radi- L , . on Atlanta-as well as many cal development. The plan's i e ^ other concerned regions-is goal is to ensure that the i- . that it faces a future in which Chicago area remains the businesses, and employees, giant engine of the Illinois will be increasingly "foot- economy. The business com- loose." With corporations munity is saying that sprawl merging and moving, entre- cannot continue unchecked preneurs and businesses scan and that a tax system that dis- the map for more nurturing torts the economy, traps the communities. Meanwhile, poor and encourages more .. people with talents in high traffic is dangerous to the demand-scientists, com- region's future. ,, puter engineers, finance In Atlanta, a robust south- 1 experts-have become picky ern region legendary for long- about places to live. term thinking about its future, The revolution in regions signs of change are also evi- may currently be quiet and dent. Decades ago, it invested slow, but the message is sink- in a larger airport, continuing ing in: success is not sustain- its long tradition as a trans- able in places that do not offer portation center. It was early high quality of life. Regions in introducing passenger rail expecting to be listed as "best (though not to its developing suburbs). And it captured the world places" in this new era will have found the formula for preserving stage in I996 when hosting the Olympic games. their mobility and protecting their good air, water and recreational Over the past decade, no list of "best places to do business" or resources. They will sign a truce between cities and suburbs, between "best places to live" seemed to miss nominating the Atlanta region. old and new, finding cooperation a better asset than conflict. [!E But a lengthening shadow is looming over this "best place." The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) years ago warned CURTIS JOHNSON is a principal with the Citistates Group, a that the region's air quality was out of compliance. Growth was network ofjournalists and consultants focused on metropolitan scattered over several counties, and despite constant road-build- regions. Winterig99 Urban Age 31 INDICATORS WHAT CITIES DO WITH THEIR li'giii S QOLID WASI lE DISPOSAL along with water supply, sanita- * * ton, electricity and telephone services a-re areas of critical W O concern in human settlements. Lack of adequate services most greatly affects the urban poor n terms of health pro ductivity, reduced income and quality of 1ife. Deficiencies in these services manifest themselves most obviouslv in the form Africa 36.2% 0.27 n 1, . ,. , . . ' ~~~~~~~~~~Arab States 64.9 0.28 of pollution, disease and economic stagnation. Ara 64.9 0.29 Solid waste disposal becomes an increasing problem for Asia 99.4 0.29 cities, where households have fewer possibilities for informal Industrialized 99.4 0.51 recvcling or disposal. The removal of garbage rapldlv becomes I ~~~~~~~~~~~~~Transitional 91.4 0.49 a matter of urgency. Even for cities with fully formed solid waste ansities 68.4 0.35 collection systems, waste disposal becomes increasingly prob- All cities 68.7% 0.35 lematic as less suitable or more remote sites must be found for landfill. A / 'tW The Global Indicators Database has collected data on kev . . / ~Very low 28.0% 0.20 indicators relating to solid waste disposal in cities around the world. These are (i) households receiving waste collection and Low 73.1 0.30 (2) amount of waste produced per household by weight. Higher 89.1 0.34 IN A NUMBER OF COUNTRIES, garbage is not collected on a reg- Developed 99.1 0.53 ular basis, and the garbage that is collected is discarded in open dumps around the citvy While few least-developed countries use formal incineration, a number recycle significant proportions of may be disposed off-site. At the public level, waste is the mate- waste both formally and informally. In the major Latin Ameri- rial that leaves the household, which may be disposed either for can cities, three-quarters of waste goes to landfill and the rest mally or informally. Many cities have only included formal waste goes to open dumps, with very little formal recycling. The data collection in their data, which may only be a small percentage of on waste disposal methods need to be treated with some care, as the total. Incinerated waste refers to waste burnt in formal incin- there are several possible definitions for domestic waste. At the erators, while recycling refers to formal recycling of paper, met- household level, waste is all material left over from consump- als, etc. However, some cities have included informal disposal in tion, which may be recycled or incinerated on the premises, or their data. GARBAGE DISPOSAL METHODS BY REGION Numberof Cltes~ 'Region Wfet aset as&oWste to, waste to andfl~ icineator open dump reycn othe 87 Africa 16.89% 8.81% 63.37% 2.09% 12.22% 11 Arab States 37.89 5.00 32.11 12.50 19.29 42 Asia Pacific 25.44 7.08 46.19 11.44 11.54 33 Industrialized 56.26 26.52 0.69 14.79 2.61 32 Latin America 69.35 5.17 25.48 1.77 1.51 32 Transitional 37.07 6.72 48.75 11.94 3.42 Sanitary landfill is the preferred method of disposal in developed countries, but a number of cities in France, Scandinavia and East- Central Europe use formal incineration. Cit Wasteto, A*setao~ wadteto "Waste to -waste to ~andfllJ inCinrtr e dump ~ reycling Other Melbourne 95.0% 1.0% 0.0% 4.0% 0.0% Dubai 95.0 0.0 0.0 5.0 0.0 Rio de Janeiro 4.5 0.0 0.0 5.5 0.0 Athens 85.0 0.0 10.0 5.0 0.0 Quito 82.5 0.0 10.0 7.5 0.0 Toronto 73.0 0.0 0.0 23.0 4.0 Prague 55.0 22.0 5.0 16.0 2.0 Addis Ababa 51.4 0.0 0.0 2.7 0.0 Moscow 50.3 2.9 0.0 43.1 3.7 Hanoi 50.0 0,0 20.0 5.0 25.0 Sana'a 46.0 0.0 49.0 5.0 0.0 Budapest 43.0 57.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 Lima 35.0 0.0 58.9 6.0 0.1 Metro Manila 34.0 0.0 41.0 10.0 15.0 Bratislava 28.0 71.0 0.0 1.0 0.0 Cairo 20.0 5.0 5.0 30.0 40.0 Shanghai 17.8 0.0 46.3 35.9 0.0 Stockholm 15.0 71.0 0.0 14.0 0.0 Duisburg 2.0 35.0 0.0 63.0 0.0 Luanda 3.1 33.5 60.9 1.6 0.9 Jakarta 0.0 24.6 61.6 9.9 4.0 Kampala 0.0 0.0 80.0 0.0 20.0 Asuncion 0.0 8.0 84.5 0.1 7.4 Rabat 0.0 0.0 90.0 10.0 0.0 Accra 3.0 0.0 97.0 0.0 0.0 Baku 0,0 0.0 97.4 2.7 0.0 Belize City 0.0 1.0 99.0 0.0 0.0 Riga 0.0 0.0 99.5 0.5 0.0 Abidjan 0.0 0.0 100.0 0.0 0.0 Ouagadougou 0.0 0.0 100.0 0.0 0.0 Sofia 0.0 0.0 100.0 0.0 0.0 liii RT ~~~A comprehensive collection of solid waste data for the East Asia and Pacific region has just been SOLID WASTE REPORT~published by the World Bank. The report estimates that in 25 years solid waste in urban areas of East Asia will increase from 76o,ooo tonnes of waste per day to i.8 million. Costs for waste management will almost double from US$25 billion to $47 billion by 2025. Whatt a Waste: Solid Waste Maniagement in Asia will be available in early igg Contact: Daniel Hoornweg, The World Bank Urban Development Sector Unit, East Asia and Pacific region; tel: 202-458-4731; fax: 202-477-1205. REf] Winter i999 Urban Age 33 Awards and Competitions 1999 World Habitat Awards. Projects are Settlements in Latin America can be being sought in both developed and found at the following: First Jorge E. Hardoy Memorial Prize for developing countries that offer practical http://pisces.sbu.ac. Best Paper by a Researcher from a and imaginative solutions to current uk:80/BE/SUDP/uhealth/latinam/ Developing Country. Papers must housing problems. Preliminary contribute new insights into housing and submissions are due July 1, 1999. Print Resources the built environment in the developing Contact: Diane Diacon, Deputy Director, world; text must be in English. Winner will Building and Social Housing Foundation, Alternate Route: Towards Efficient Urban receive US$250. Qualifying submissions Memorial Square, Coalville, Transportation. Clifford Winston and Chad will be published in Habitat International. Leicestershire, LE67 3TU, UK. Tel: 44- Shirley, Brookings Institution Press, Papers must be received by June 30, 1530-510-444; 44-1530-510-332; e- Washington, DC, USA. 1998. 1999. Send four copies to: Willem van mail: bshf@compuserve.com; Web site: Vliet, College of Architecture and http://www.bshf.org Chasing Rickshaws. Tony Wheeler and Planning, CB 314, University of Colorado, Richard l'Anson, Lonely Planet Boulder, CO 80309-0314, USA. Education Programs Publications, Melbourne, Australia, 1998. E-mail: info@lonelyplanet.com 1999 Exemplary Systems in Government Environmental Engineering Technician- Awards. Nominations are being sought Waste Management. Two-year diploma Cities in Civilization. Peter Hall, Pantheon for exceptional achievements in the program. Fanshaw College, Woodstock Books, London, UK, 1998. application of information technology Campus, 369 Finckle Street, Woodstock, that has improved the delivery and Ontario, Canada, N4V 1A3. Tel: 519-421- Fixing Urban Schools. Paul T. Hill and quality of government services. Contact: 0144. Mary Beth Celio, eds., Brookings Wendy Francis, The Urban and Regional Institution Press, Washington, DC, USA. Information Systems Association, 1460 On-line Resources 1998. Renaissance Drive, Suite 305, Park Ridge, IL 60068, USA. Tel: 847-824- Citistates Happenings. The Citistates The Future of African Cities: Challenges 6300. Nomination form is available on Group is a North American-based network and Priorities for Urban Development. the URISA Web site: http://www.urisa.org of journalists, speakers and consultants English version. Catherine Farvacque- who believe that successful metropolitan Vitkovic and Lucien Godin, The World The Global Bangemann Challenge, a regions are today's key to economic Bank, Washington, DC, USA. 1998. nonprofit awards program initiated by competitiveness and sustainable the city of Stockholm and supported by communities. http://www.citistates.com Saving Buildings in Central and Eastern the European Commission, aims to Europe. International Association for identify and promote useful information United Nations Habitat 1998 Best Bridge and Structural Engineering technology projects that help people Practices Database. Reports, Zurich, Switzerland, 1998. reach new levels of prosperity, health http://www.bestpractices.org and democracy. Web site: The Twenty-First Century City: http://www.challenge.stockholm.se The on-line project site for the European Resurrecting Urban America.Stephen Commission-funded Health and Human Goldsmith, The Manhattan Institute, 34 Urban Age winteri 99 Regnery Publishing Inc., Washington finance. IUHF, 111 E. Wacker Drive, DC, USA, 1997. Suite 400, Chicago, IL 60601-3704, Media USA. Tel: 312-946-8200; Urban Infrastructure Finance. Royston A.C. fax: 312-946-8202; Web site: The Idea of the City. First broadcast in Brockman and Allen Williams, Asian Develop- http://www.housingfinance.org/ 1996, this series of five 30-minute ment Bank, Manila, Philippines, 1996. programs produced by the BBC examines International Urban Development the impact of urban life on human The Work of Cities. Susan E. Clarke and Association is an international not-for- behavior and human values, and asks Gary L. Gaile, University of Minnesota profit association of public and private whether the information revolution will Press, MN, USA, 1998. organizations, government agencies, make cities obsolete or whether the world businesses and individuals dedicated to is moving toward a global megalopolis. Urban Organizations promoting and improving urban and Web site: http://www.bbc.co.uk/ regional development. Nassau worldservice/whatsnew/ideacity.htm Asia Pacific Cities Forum is an action Dillenburghstraat 44 NL-2596 AE, the partnership promoting business Hague, the Netherlands. Tel: 31-70-324- Port-au-Prince Haiti: Drop by Drop. The citizenship in urban development. APCF, 4526; fax: 31-70-328-0727; e-mail: Challenge of Supplying Drinking Water. 2203 246th Place, NE, Redmond, WA intainfo@inta-aivn.org; Web site: This video is produced by Macumba 98053, USA. Tel: 425-898-9739; fax: http://www.inta-aivn.org International Inc. Distributed by The 425-898-9649; e-mail: Multi Media Group of Canada. Tel: 514- abadshah@msn.com; Web site: Network-Association of European 844-3636; fax: 514-844-4990. [M] http://www.apcf.org Researchers on Urbanisation in the South collaborates with researchers throughout The Building Research Unit, Ministry of the world on issues and policy options To contribute to the Urban Age City Lands and Human Settlement related to urban development and urban- Resource Guide, please send brief Development, Tanzania. Contact: based projects. Fax: 33-5-5699-1585; descriptions and contact information to Director, Building Research Unit, e-mail: naerus@araxp.polito.it; Web site: Annabel Biles, fax: 202-522-2125; Box 1964, Dar Es Salaam. http://obelix.polito.it/forum/n-aerus e-mail: Abiles@worldbank.org Tel: 255-051-74003/71971. _ Council for Urban Economic The Challenge for the New Urban Age: Development, 1730 K Street, NW, Suite The Management of Cities 700, Washington, DC, 20006, USA. Tel:Th Ma ge nt C is 202-223-4735; fax: 202-223-4745. ; 4 fx 2 4 * It Is Essential for Governments to Train Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific L Managers for This Challenge Studies, the Chinese University of Hong . . . * The Centre for Developing Cities Provides Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Centre for Developing Cities the Necessary Education and Training Kong. Tel: 852-2609-8780; fax: 852-2603-5215; e-mail: The Centre's Urban Management Program welcomes your participation in our hkiaps cuhk.edu.hk; Web site: http:// education and training programs: Twelve months Masters Degree by course www.cuhk.edu.hk/hkiaps/homepage.htm work: Six months Graduate Diploma by course work. A short course program for professional development; PhD research programs Institute for Transportation & Development Participation in any of the courses offered will enable Policy, 115 West 30th Street, Suite 1205, students to develop knowledge and expertise in: New York, NY 10001, USA. Tel: 212-629- * Urban Economic Development 8001; fax: 212-629-8033; e-mail: * Sustainability of Urban Systems mobility@igc.apc.org; Web site: * Urban Poverty Alleviation http://www.itdp.org * Urban Environmental Management I * Urban Politics and Governance International Centre Cities on Water, San * Globalisation, Urbanisation and Economic Growth Faculty of Marco 4149, 30124 Venice, Italy. Tel: 39- * Infrastructure Financing and Management Environmental Design 41-523-0428; fax: 39-41-528-6103; e-mail: * Strategic Planning University of Canberra citiesonwater@iuav.unive.it; Web site: http://www.iuav.unive.it/citiesonwater/ Cities, Faculty of Environmental Design, University of Canberra ACT 2601 Australia. Phone: 61 2 (02) 6201 2315 Fax: 61 2 (02) 62()] 2342 International Union for Housing Finance Email: Irn@design.canberra.edu.au Web Site: http://cities.canberra.edu.au is a nonprofit trade association focusing on international developments in housing Intensive ard-or .upplementary Engh,h l1nguage courme can be provided to ,upport vtudent, whose pinnnry language is not Enghsh Winter 9ggg Urban Age 35 Conferences Schiller, Course Director, e-mail: An International Perspective, mailto:schiller@genie.uottawa.ca international workshop sponsored by the CHICO,CALIFORNIA-January 11-15, 1999. Economic and Social Research Council. Working at a Watershed Level. Contact: ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA-May 23-26, Contact: Elizabeth Storey, Centre for Dr. Donald Holtgrieve, tel: 530-898- 1999. Cities in Conflict. Contact: Douglas Urban Technology, Department of Town 5780; fax: 530-898-6781; e-mail: Gordon, Suomi-Finland Housing and and Country Planning, Newcastle holtgrieve@facultypo.csuchico.edu; Planning, tel: 358-9148-8422; University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. Web site: http://www.csuchico.edu/ fax: 358-9148-2196; e-mail: E-mail: elizabeth.storey@ncl.ac.uk -donald/January course.htm douglas.gordon@ara.fi; or Vitali Andrienko, City of St. Petersburg, tel: NEW DELHI, INDIA February 8-10, 1999. 7-812-272-7892; fax: 7-812-279-6783. Educational Programs International Seminar: Urban Infrastructure-Financing and Pricing. ABERYSTWYTH, UK-July 9-11, 1999. BIRMINGHAM, UK-March 1-26, 1999. Tel: 0091-11-469-1535; fax: 0091-11- Water in History: Global Perspectives on Governance, Partnerships and Poverty. 464-1292; e-mail: dtudp@nda.vsnl.net.in Politics, Economyand Culture. Contact: School of Public Policy, University of Owen Roberts, Water History Project, Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, BIRMINGHAM, UK March 25-26, 1999. Department of History and Welsh History, B15 2TT, UK. Tel: 44-121-414-4969; The Third International Research Hugh Owen Building, Penglais, Aberystwyth fax: 44-121-414-4989; Web site: Symposium on Public Management: SY23 3DY, UK. E-mail: ogr997@aber.ac.uk http:l/www.bham.ac.uk/lntDevl Public Management-Dead or Alive? Contact: Pat Clark, Aston Business STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN-August 9-12, 1999. TORONTO, CANADA-May 2-15, 1999. Core School, Aston University, Birmingham, Stockholm Water Symposium: Urban Course on Urban and City Management UK; fax: 44-121-333-5620. Stability Through Integrated Water- covers regional growth and urban Related Management. Contact: dynamics, municipal finance, private PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA-April 5-9, 1999. Stockholm Water Institute, SE-106 36 sector provision of public services, Urban Planning and Environmental Stockholm, Sweden. Tel: 46-8-736- housing and land markets, urban poverty Management: Third International 2078; fax: 46-8-736-2022; e-mail: and urban environment. Contact: Mila Symposium. Contact: The UPE 3-PTA siwi@siwi.org; Web site: Freire, the World Bank, tel: 202-473- Symposium Organizer, Room 622, http://www.siwi.org 9508; e-mail: mfreire@worldbank.org Box 6338, Pretoria 0001, Republic of South Africa. Tel: 27-12-337- cHIcAGo-August 21-25, 1999. Urban and LOS ANGELES-July 12-23, 1999. 4167/4172; tax: 27-12-337-4158/4340; Regional Information Systems Association Innovations in Capacity Building for e-mail: hneethl@gpmc.org.za or Annual Conference and Exposition. Urban Management. Contact: Anna Sai, mvermaak@gpmc.ac.za; Web site: Contact URISA, tel: 847-824-6300; fax: Practitioners Institute, School of Urban http://upe3.up.ac.za 847-824-6363; e-mail: infoİurisa.org; Planning and Development, U niversity of Web site: http://www.urisa.org Southern California, Los Angeles, CA OTTAWA, CANADA-May 16-21, 1999. 90089-0042, USA. Tel: 213-740-2332; Water Supply and Sanitation in DURHAM, UK-November 22-24, 1999. fax: 1-213-740-2476; e-mail: Web site: Developing Countries. Contact: Dr. Eric J. Cities in the Global Information Society: http://www-rcf.usc.edu/-pracinst 1I 36 Urban Age Winter 999 Postage Subscription Department UrbanAge Room 4K-258 The World Bank Group 1818 H Street, NW Washington, DC 20433 USA ASE PRINT ame: Please check one box in each category. tile: *rganization: Type of organization 21 O Housing 17 O Environmental Worker ddress: 01 O Architecture 22 0 Health 180 Other ity: _____________________________ 02 O Central Bank 23 0 Other 03 0 Central Government Type of Work 04 0 City Government Profession 01 O Application Development ountry: 05 O Commercial Bank 01 0 Architect 02 0 Community Development )stal Code: 06 O Community Improvement 02 0 Banker 03 0 Computers dlephone: 07 0 Computers 03 0 City Government 04 0 Construction ix: 08 0 Cultural Arts 04 O City Official 05 0 Economic Planning mail: 09 LI Donor Organization 05 Ft Computer Programmer 06 LI Education 10 O Financial Institution 06 0 Consultant 07 0 Finance/Lending Current Subscriber II O International Organization 07 0 Economist 08 0 Infrastructure Development New Subscriber 12 O Manufacturing 08 O Educator 09 0 Marketing Address Change 13 O Non-Govemment Organization 09 O Engineer 10 O Programming lere is a charge of U.S.$20.00 per year for subscribers from 14 Ol Press/Broadcast I 0 O National Official I I LO Research & Development PReloped countries, except for students and public libraries. 15 O Research Institution I I 0 PresidentNice President 12 O Strategic Development ease tell us what editorial topics you would like to see 16 O Retail/Commercial 12 O Project Manager 13 O Urban Management )vered in future issues of UrbanAge: 17 0 University 13 U Student 14 O Urban Planning 18 0 Urban Planning 14 0 Urban Planner 15 O Environment 19 O Environment 15 O Writer/Editor 16 0 Health 20 0 Urban Planning 16 0 Health Worker 17 0 Other www.worldcongress.com WORLD COMPETITIVE CITIES CONG RESS CITIES INVITED TO PARTICIPATE M A Y 1 9 -2 1 1 9 9 9 ASIA / PACIFIC THE WORLD BANK, WASHINGTON, D.C. We invite you to participate in this important initiative hosted by James Wolfensohn, President, The World Bank The objective of this Congress is to assist the world's largest cities to increase their overall competitiveness in the global economy. ^ The congress is focused on mobilizing international investment and building partnerships of urban development between Governments 9Yd and the international business and investment community. EUROPE Determining best practice solutions for: * Investment and development of infrastructure Moscow * Building IT and communications strategies P-,ns * Delivery of public services p "u': * Accessing international and domestic capital markets O Solutions for outsourcing administration and public services * Responsible civic and financial governance in capital cities LATIN AMERICA Featuring: N Successful case studies from Sofia, Rome, Santiago, Mexico City, Barcelona and many others. * A special-by invitation only-Mayors' Summit to discuss beneficial policy reform Presented by The World Bank, World Economic Development Congress, AFRICA & MIDDLE EAST Urban Age magazine, DC Agenda and George Washington University. To request more information on participating please use the card inserted into this issue of Urban Age magazine, or contact: NORTH AMERICA Malcolm Locke, Director World Competitive Cities Congress Secretariat Dailas Tel: I-212-869-7S67 ext:20 Houstan Los Agi,Ics Fax: 1-781-00,!7414 New York Email: m.locke@worldcongress.com PsiRldAdelptil Waishington. DC Geography matters,. . The central part of almost every- thing we do involves geographic information. For nearly 30 years, : .. - s = a=-the largest mapping a. -u- software company-has developed Geographic Information System . cc1 GIS) technology, which is now Crea More Livable Cities - used in more than 100,000 - governments, businesses, and educational institutions. Swving Lives 4'9 d E i.˘ (Z 5rV/˘f°< 6 ;5 f 55ow soving millions of dollars A-Vi-w GIS ARC/INFO Ar-Expl-rer MapObjects and making better decisions. 5e.'i,,~_ nas,,. _,q, SpJlt.ll)jqwb Spataitvw EZai,. Al RnSM5,,t?fl t -z SDE OprJen r,ichswlgvfo l. aww,,i.n ',3 4 _t _ Database . SvbaseoEducating O u r Childre% I e ESRI GIS software is putting geography into - mainstream comnputing (on the desktop, in Helping Businesses Locate databoses, and on the Internet). This will transform the way people create, understond, f . and conmnunicate knowledge. It) the information society, maps are becoming ,r-. part of our language, and geography is Responding to Natural Disasters emiierging as the framrework for almost everything we do. Pi ,k d"., FSRI*-1*, .' Delivering Products ond Services 'L7 ' t~ * GIS BY ESRI nTrgeting Customers and Markets AV~ AV ~~~~~~~~1-800-447-9778 .. X .. ..... ................. Fax: 909-307-3051 Dcsigning and Managing Our E-mail: geography(4lesn.com Inf'o t VctZYe Web: www.esri.com/geography -- International: 909-793-2853. ESRI _ESR_I_ ext t-1235