Impacts of displacement on urban livelihoods: a railway project in Metro Manila

Abstract

This article seeks to understand the ways in which urban livelihoods are affected by developmentinduced displacement, with a particular focus on residents remaining in the locality. Through an empirical case study of a railway upgrading project in Metro Manila, the article investigates livelihood impacts of large-scale demolition and displacement, which varied depending on whether the physical capital of remaining residents declined due to land clearance and the extent to which they relied on the local livelihood network established with displaced settlers. In comparison, households remained intact when they had little engagement with the local informal economy.

Displacement in the Name of Development. How Indigenous Rights Legislation Fails to Protect Philippine Hunter-Gatherers

“…The undesirability of development-induced displacement is generally acknowledged by the UN, the major development banks and many national governments. A growing body of safeguards issued by all of these institutions is in place to prevent displacement, and yet displacement is still highly prevalent around the world, particularly among indigenous peoples (Neef and Singer 2015;Cernea and Maldonado 2018), including those of the Philippines (Choi 2015;Gaspar 2015;Drbohlav and Hejkrlik 2017).…”

Debating dams: The World Commission on Dams 20 years on

“…The WCD has been the dominant reference point for analyses of dam planning and performance, especially in regard to social and environmental impacts (e.g., Abrampah, ; Jijelava & Vanclay, ; Legese, Van Assche, Stelmacher, Tekleworld, & Kelboro, ). Many publications simply cite the WCD report as evidence of the number of people displaced by dams, and the impacts upon them (e.g., Choi, ; McDonald‐Wilmsen & Webber, ; Takesada, Manatunge, & Herath, ). It is also used to establish the need for environmental flow assessments (e.g., Arthington, Naiman, McClain, & Nilsson, ), to demand compensation for past injustices (e.g., Johnston, ), or to argue for the involvement of dam‐affected people in decision‐making processes (e.g., Mirumachi & Torriti, ; Singer, Pham, & Hoang, ).…”

Settling into a new place: livelihood recovery and belongingness of households forced to relocate in Yangon, Myanmar

“…Urbanisation trends, especially in Southeast Asia, are driving up demand for new and improved urban infrastructure, which is displacing an increasing number of people as a result (UNESCAP & UN-Habitat, 2015). After decades of research on rurally-located DIDR projects, forced relocation and resettlement in urban areas is relatively understudied, despite growing urbanisation trends and rising cases of forced movement of people (Choi, 2015;Patel, Sliuzas, & Mathur, 2015). Over the last ten years, the literature around the causes and consequences of forced resettlement in urban areas has begun to expand (Patel et al, 2015).…”

“…Forced relocations in urban contexts have particularities that differ to the large-scale rurally located resettlements. Cernea (1993) and Choi (2015) argue that urban relocation deserves greater attention to better understand the forced relocation processes in cities and the distinctions associated with dense population, heightened political tensions, and fewer options for relocation sites. Urban relocation still remains largely understudied compared to large-scale rurally located relocation projects, despite the intensifying trends of forced movement of people in cities (Choi, 2015;Patel et al, 2015).…”

“…The risk of impoverishment from forced displacement, relocation and resettlement is intensified in urban settings as the target communities are usually a heterogeneous group of densely populated poor communities, which makes reestablishment of their lives complex and resource-intensive (Koenig, 2009(Koenig, , 2014. In addition, the land scarcity in cities and the diversity and multiplicity of livelihoods means that forced movement of urban dwellers is complex (Choi, 2015).…”