Slum Upgrading: Can the 1.5 °C Carbon Reduction Work with SDGs in these Settlements?

Abstract

The need to improve slum housing is a major urban planning agenda, especially in Africa and Asia. This article addresses whether it seems feasible to do this whilst helping achieve the 1.5°C agenda, which requires zero carbon power along with enabling the Sustainable Development Goals. Survey data from Jakarta and Addis Ababa on the metabolism and liveability of slums are used to illustrate these issues. The article shows that this is possible due to advances in community-based distributed infrastructure that enable community structures to be retained whilst improving physical conditions. The urban planning implications are investigated to enable these 'leapfrog' technologies and a more inclusive approach to slums that enables in situ redevelopment instead of slum clearance, and which could be assisted through climate financing.

COVID, CITIES and CLIMATE: Historical Precedents and Potential Transitions for the New Economy

“…The technology for waste disposal in the past has been centralised, large scale and largely linear (not circular), i.e., it has had little emphasis on recycling unless cities have been running out of space. The new systems for the circular economy are, like the other innovations discussed above, much smaller in scale and are able to be used in more localised and distributed situations, even in slum areas [112].…”

“…China has led the way in many of these innovations being mainstreamed, and the economic and social benefits are now shown in their cities [155]. The innovations, being small-scale, are also much more relevant to the vast areas of slum developments in the developing world that in modernism were destined only to be cleaned out, thus losing much of their important community structures [112]. These tight structures are ideal for the small-scale energy, water and waste infrastructure opportunities that can be managed locally [156].…”

Special issue: urban regeneration for sustainable development

“…Roberts (2000, p.17) defines Urban Regeneration as the "comprehensive and integrated visions and actions, which lead to the resolution of urban problems and which seek to bring about a lasting improvement in the economic, physical, social and environmental conditions of an area that has been subject to change". Despite the developmental challenges brought about as a result of urbanisation, it also has the opportunity to drive sustainable development (Teferi and Newman, 2018). Sustainable urban regeneration should deliver city DECLARATION OF CONFLICTING INTEREST The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.…”

“…Urbanization should be at the heart of the 2030 sustainable development agenda and SDG 11 in particular is aimed at making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable (UN, 2015). However Teferi and Newman (2018) believe that regenerating the urban slums in the developing world could greatly contributes to the realisation of many of the SDGs including SDG 1 (End poverty), SDG 6 (Clean Water & Sanitation), SDG 7 (Affordable & Clean Energy) and SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities & Communities). Urban regeneration is an essential activity impacting on the agenda towards a more sustainable society (Lombardi et al, 2010).…”

Revealing the Contribution of Informal Settlements to Climate Change Mitigation in Latin America: A Case Study of Isidro Fabela, Mexico City

“…First, this study explores the role of Latin American informal communities in supporting climate change mitigation. Previous research on informal settlements and climate change primarily focused on adaptation strategies to address the sensitivity of precarious infrastructure to extreme climate events [4][5][6]. There is little understanding of the significance of informal settlements for climate change mitigation [7,8].…”