Livelihoods

Breathing in a jungle of concrete

Stories from the field Author: Naeema Jihan Zinia

The capital of Bangladesh, Dhaka, is one of the fastest growing megacities in the world. More than 77% of Dhaka has been urbanized. Wetlands are disappearing drastically because of increased residential, commercial and industrial activities. City scale wetlands preservation or artificial wetland creation is a widely implemented adaptation strategy worldwide as it helps in storm water management, urban flood prevention, increased climate resilience, biodiversity protection, water purification and creating provision for raw materials.


Kok Noi River: from being a dump to being productive land

Stories from the field Author: Porpla Khuan-arch

In the past, the way of life of Thai people has been to live near the water, whether it was in rivers, canals, lakes, ponds or various other water sources. And rivers in Thailand were used in so many ways: water for consumption, as sources of food, for transportation, recreation, and in many more ways. As time passed, water resources and rivers changed both naturally and as a result of human activity. The main transportation routes have moved from rivers to roads.


Metamorpolis

Stories from the field Author: Tim Franco

Chongqing city, one of the biggest in central China, went through one of the fastest development process in the country. The main reason is, located upstream of the three gorges dam, the government has welcomed all displaced population from submerged region into its main urban areas. Find out more from the images that captured the story of Chongqing city.


The poor by any other name

Takeaways Author: Sarah Reed, Richard Marshall, Nguyen Bui Linh

Roughly 54 per cent of the world’s population now lives in cities, with Asia and Africa urbanizing faster than other regions. Urbanization is generally seen as a route to rising prosperity and better living standards. But critical researchers like David Sattherthwaite and Diana Mitlin argue that standard ways of measuring poverty underplays its significant scale.


Common Property Resource Management in Peri-Urban Villages of Gorakhpur

Stories from the field Author: Nivedita Mani, Ajay Singh, Shiraz Wajih

In Gorakhpur, India, common property resources (CPR) such as pastureland, water bodies, and orchards are victims of illegal encroachment by individuals, land developers or even disputed land conversion by government. Unplanned urban growth in peri-urban villages of Gorakhpur results from ignorance of laws governing CPR and weak enforcement of regulations by relevant government departments. City expansion in peri-urban villages exceeds environmental carrying capacity, and often ignores responsible stewardship of natural resources.