Global urban futures

Source: https://www.gdi.manchester.ac.uk/research/groups/global-urban-futures/ Parent: https://www.gdi.manchester.ac.uk/study/taught-masters/

The challenge

Global urbanisation in the 21st century presents a range of challenges:

The geography of many cities is characterised by inequality, segregation and fragmentation, with concentrations of poverty and wealth existing in close proximity to one another.
Accessing affordable, decent, secure shelter is increasingly difficult as urban land and housing become targets for speculative activities. In the global South, an estimated 3 billion people will be living in informal settlements by 2050. Meanwhile in the global North, austerity policies are exacerbating homelessness and housing insecurity.
Infrastructure and service delivery systems in many cities in developing countries are incomplete. There is an urgent need to develop accessible, sustainable and affordable energy, water and sanitation systems.
Decent employment is a challenge for city dwellers in the context of changing patterns of work and continuing casualization within labour markets. Many rely on informal employment in order to make a living and lack the basic protections and benefits associated with formal sector work.
Many urban residents live in smaller towns with close connections to rural livelihoods. There is a need to understand changing patterns of migration and the flow of goods and services between urban, peri-urban and rural areas.
Climate change is already having a profound impact on cities, and in most cases its impacts disproportionately impact low-income residents. Urban processes will increasingly be influenced by climate change, and cities must simultaneously seek to mitigate climate change while adapting to its most immediate impacts.

How we are addressing it

The global urban futures group seek to understand and address these challenges through engaged research and practice. Research themes include:

Addressing urban inequalities and making cities more inclusive
Exploring innovative solutions to the global housing crisis
Enabling city dwellers to make a decent living
Widening access to public and green space, infrastructure and public transport for all city dwellers
Co-producing knowledge with urban communities and social movements

Research projects

[## African Cities Research Consortium

Led by Professor Diana Mitlin, ACRC and its international partners will tackle complex problems in some of Africa’s fastest growing urban areas.](https://www.african-cities.org/)

[## Scaling up participation in urban planning

This research project, funded by the Leverhulme Trust, looks at how community involvement in urban development can help achieve inclusive cities.](https://www.gdi.manchester.ac.uk/research/groups/global-urban-futures/scaling-up-participation-in-urban-planning/) [## The urban political economy of Africa’s real estate frontier

This project investigates the geographical expansion of urban real estate markets in Africa through a comparative study of Accra, Ghana, and Nairobi, Kenya.](https://www.gdi.manchester.ac.uk/research/groups/global-urban-futures/political-economy-africa-real-estate-frontier/)

[## Second Cold War Observatory

The Second Cold War Observatory seeks to understand China-US competition and how it shapes societies, politics, economies, and ecologies globally.](https://www.secondcoldwarobservatory.com/) [## Turkey's urbanization-led development strategy

Seth Schindler's project is a Newton Advanced Fellowship.](https://www.gdi.manchester.ac.uk/research/groups/global-urban-futures/turkey-urbanization/)

[## Deindustrialisation and its impacts in cities in the Global South

This is the first large-scale multi-site comparative research project focused on deindustrialisation in cities the Global South.](https://www.gdi.manchester.ac.uk/research/groups/global-urban-futures/deindustrialisation-impact-cities/) [## Democratising data on urban land ownership

Smith Ouma and Tom Gillespie have been collaborating with social movement organisations to democratise data on urban land ownership in Nairobi and Manchester.](https://www.gdi.manchester.ac.uk/research/groups/global-urban-futures/democratising-data-on-urban-land-ownership/)

Research project archive

Our teaching agenda

People and publications

Click on the names below to read their latest publications or read the latest publications from the Global Development Institute.

Dr Nicola Banks - Senior Lecturer, International Development: Urban Development and Global Urbanism
Dr Tom Gillespie - Lecturer, Global Urban Development
Prof David Hulme - Professor, Development Studies
Prof Diana Mitlin - Professor, Global Urbanism, Director of Global Urban Research Centre
Dr Johan Oldekop - Reader in Environment and Development
Dr Smith Ouma - Leverhulme Early Career Fellow
Dr Maria Rusca – Senior Lecturer in Global Development
Prof Seth Schindler - Professor, Urban Politics and Development
Dr Alice Sverdlik - Lecturer in Social Development

There are several non-GDI colleagues who are also involved in the global urban futures research group

Dr Alfredo Stein - Lecturer in Urban Development Planning
Dr Leandro Minuchin - Senior Lecturer in Architecture and Global Urbanism

PhD researchers and post-doctoral fellows

Mohd Helmi Abu Yahya - Homelessness and the Political Agenda in Southeast Asia: The Case Study of Malaysia
Laura Hirst - Fire justice in informal settlements in the Global South: evidence from Nairobi, Kenya
Whitney Banyai-Becker - Leaning in to urban social movements: a gendered analysis of Muungano wa Wanavijiji
Daniela Cocco Beltrame - Interstitial Colalitions for Just Urban Futures: The Young People's Federations of SDI
Edwin Rwigi