SHLC Bulletin 

Lots to Celebrate in a Busy Start to 2020

It’s not even the end of March and I am very pleased to say we have a lot to celebrate at SHLC. 

First of all, a big congratulations to the Philippines team who have recently launched the Centre for Neighbourhood Studies (CeNS). [2] Inspired by SHLC’s neighbourhood approach, CeNS is a not-for-profit organisation that will investigate urban challenges facing different neighbourhoods across cities. 

Congratulations are also in order for our colleagues at the University of Rwanda and University of Glasgow who recently published two journal articles: one in Sustainability looking at three neighbourhood typologies in Kigali, [3] and another in Habitat International looking at i [4]nterconnections between rural and urban areas. [4] It is wonderful to see SHLC research being published.

And last, but by no means least, massive congratulations to Doctor Irene Moshi. Irene successfully received her PhD in Public Health from the University of the Witwatersrand. 

At the beginning of February, SHLC hosted a successful side-event "Studying Cities from the Inside Out: Sustainability of Neighbourhoods in Asia and Africa" [5] at the tenth UN World Urban Forum (WUF). Look out for a blog in the next edition of the SHLC Bulletin, which will feature thoughts and reflections from the lively panel discussion.

After a fruitful and productive international partner meeting in the Philippines (thanks again to Mario and team for their efforts!) it is time to reflect on what tasks lie ahead, in particular the survey. We understand that the emergence and spread of COVID-19 will delay fieldwork. Safety of researchers is our highest priority so fieldwork should be placed on hold for the time being while we wait to see if restrictions lift, and if not, we will explore alternative methods for delivering the survey. There is a lot of work to do between now and then to make sure we have everything we need before getting out into the field.  Look out for actions and next steps following discussions in the Philippines, which have been circulated to all teams. 

I'd like to take this opportunity to say a fond farewell to Dr Arvind Pandey who has moved on to new pastures to join the Tata Institute of Social Sciences as Assistant Professor. Best of luck Arvind, you will be missed! And a warm welcome to three new colleagues who have joined the University of Glasgow team: Alasdair Stewart, [6] Yulia Nesterova [7] and Graeme Young [8]. I am pleased to see the team expanding and have no doubt our growing team will make a valued contribution to our neighbourhood studies.

As always, if you have any news or have read a research article you would like to share with the rest of the team, remember to send updates to our project team to be included in the next SHLC Bulletin: [email protected] [9].

Picture of the Month

"The railway line marks the border of Barangay 836 and Barangay 838. Due to the very busy roads and congestion in Manila this can be quickest way to travel, locals can be seen using hand pumped rail carts both for travel and transportation of goods."

Do you have a photo from your research you'd like to share? Email your photo and description to [email protected] [9] to be featured in the next bulletin.

News and Views from the Sustainable Communities Sector

Do you have a resource you would like to share with the rest of the SHLC team? Email relevant research, articles, news and events to [email protected] [9] for inclusion in the next SHLC update.

Research and Policy:

• Urban Studies Foundation: Internatonal Fellowship Scheme. [13]By Urban Studies Foundation 
• Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. [14] By Leal Filho, Springer
• Which Way to Livable and Productive Cities? : A Road Map for Sub-Saharan Africa. [15] By Kirsten Hommann and Somik V. Lall. World Bank Group.
• Defending the ‘right to the city’: how cities include migrants and refugees in and through education. [16]By Global Education Monitoring Report Team.
• Understanding and researching urban extreme poverty: a conceptual-methodological approach. [17]  By Christopher Yap & Colin McFarlane.
• Bringing the Person Back In: Boundaries, Perceptions, and the Measurement of Racial Context.Bringing the Person Back In: Boundaries, Perceptions, and the Measurement of Racial Context. [18] By Cara Wong, Jake Bowers, Tarah Williams & Katherine Drake Simmons.
• Owning Our Urban Future: Enabling Healthy Cities in Eastern Africa. [19] By the National Science Academies of Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, the Young Academies of Ethiopia and Uganda, and the African Centre for Global Health and Social Transformation.

News and Opinion:

• Vacancy: Knowledge Exchange Associate [20]  in the Sustainable Development of LMIC Countries at University of Glasgow [21]
• World’s Premier Gathering on the Future Sustainability of Cities Ends with Stirring Call to Action [22]. By UN Habitat.
• WUF 10 holds Special Session on Sustainable Urban Development in MENA region. [23] By UN Habitiat
• At world Urban Forum 10 in Abu Dhabi, a 20/20 Vision for Cities [24]. By UN Habitat.
• Rethinking density to build cities of the future. [25] By Somik Lall, Sameh Wahba&Indermit Gill, World Bank Group.
• India’s lauded secular liberalism is being swiftly destroyed. [26] By Mihir Sharma, BusinessDay.
• These will be the most important cities by 2035. [27] By Iman Ghosh, World Economic Forum.

Upcoming Events:

• 14 -18 June 2020: the Summer Institute in Urban Studies 2020. [28]
• 25 - 28 August 2020: ECER 2020: Educational Research (Re)connecting Communities. [29] Glasgow, UK.
• 31 August - 2 September 2020:HER 2020 | Sustainable Development Goals: Their potential and relevance for higher education policy and reform. [30]
• 23 - 25 Septemberr 2020: BAICE, Partnerships in Education. [31]Edinburgh, UK.