Using a Socio-Cultural Framework to Understand Leadership Structures Amongst the Urban Poor

Amy Richmond; Richard Wolfel; Karen Walsh

doi:doi:10.11648/j.urp.20190403.11

| Peer-Reviewed

Using a Socio-Cultural Framework to Understand Leadership Structures Amongst the Urban Poor

Amy Richmond, Richard Wolfel, Karen Walsh

Published in Urban and Regional Planning (Volume 4, Issue 3)

Received: 30 May 2019 Accepted: 10 July 2019 Published: 24 July 2019

Views: Downloads:

Download PDF

Share This Article

Twitter
Linked In
Facebook

Abstract

Informal settlements have been the most pervasive form of new urban development over the past half century and the gap between the rich and poor has never been wider. In this paper we determine the characteristics that are critical to understanding leadership structures in deprived regions within dense urban areas. In doing so we establish the key characteristics that contribute to urban poverty and introduce a conceptual model that can be applied to any city and contributes to an understanding of the socio-cultural characteristics of leadership structures in a slum. The framework we use in this paper to understand slum leadership structures is initially applied to Accra and Delhi. Urban poverty is frequently discussed either in terms of the developing or developed world, therefore we also apply the same framework to a disadvantaged community in the United States. This highlights that although the approaches to studying urban poor are often separate and distinct between the Global South and Global North, we believe using a similar framework can emphasize similarities and differences that might contribute to policy that is more effective in both locations. All of our discussed case studies highlight the importance of effective informal local leadership structures that communicate well with a transparent formal city government. Partnerships between all levels of leadership are paramount to successful city planning that focuses simultaneously on economic development and social equity. We expect this research will contribute to a more holistic perspective of how leadership structures within informal regions are related to the city as a whole.

Published in	Urban and Regional Planning (Volume 4, Issue 3)
DOI	10.11648/j.urp.20190403.11
Page(s)	79-90
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Leadership Structures, Informality, Dense Urban Areas, Accra, Delhi

References

[1]	UN-Habitat, “Urbanization and Development: Emerging Futures,” 2016.
[2]	K. Dovey, “Informal urbanism and complex adaptive assemblage,” Int. Dev. Plan. Rev., vol. 34, no. 4, pp. 349–368, 2012.
[3]	D. McDougall, “Waste not, want not in the £700m slum \| Environment \| The Guardian,” The Guardian, 2007. [Online]. Available: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2007/mar/04/india.recycling. [Accessed: 19-Feb-2019].
[4]	A. Richmond, I. Myers, and H. Namuli, “Urban Informality and Vulnerability: A Case Study in Kampala, Uganda,” Urban Sci., vol. 2, no. 1, p. 22, 2018.
[5]	S. Jha, V. Rao, and M. Woolcock, “Governance in the Gullies: Democratic Responsiveness and Leadership in Delhi’s Slums,” World Dev., vol. 35, no. 2, pp. 230–246, 2007.
[6]	G. A. Myers, Urban environments in Africa: A critical analysis of environmental politics. Great Britain: Policy Press, 2016.
[7]	A. K. Richmond, D. Malcomb, and K. Ringler, “Household vulnerability mapping in Africa’s Rift Valley,” Appl. Geogr., vol. 63, pp. 380–395, 2015.
[8]	UN-Habitat, “THE CHALLENGE OF SLUMS,” 2003.
[9]	UN Habitat, “State of the World’s Cities 2006/7 The Millennium Development Goals and Urban Sustainability: 30 Years of Shaping the Habitat Agenfa,” London, UK, 2006.
[10]	R. Mahabir, A. Crooks, A. Croitoru, and P. Agouris, “The study of slums as social and physical constructs: Challenges and emerging research opportunities,” Reg. Stud. Reg. Sci., vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 399–419, 2016.
[11]	S. Smit, J. K. Musango, Z. Kovacic, and A. C. Brent, “Conceptualising slum in an urban African context,” Cities, vol. 62, pp. 107–119, Feb. 2017.
[12]	D. Roy, M. H. Lees, B. Palavalli, K. Pfeffer, and M. A. P. Sloot, “The emergence of slums: A contemporary view on simulation models,” Environ. Model. Softw., vol. 59, no. 2014, pp. 76–90, 2014.
[13]	R. Bardhan, S. Sarkar, A. Jana, and N. R. Velaga, “Mumbai slums since independence: Evaluating the policy outcomes,” Habitat Int., vol. 50, pp. 1–11, 2015.
[14]	A. Roy, “Urban informality: Toward an epistemology of planning,” J. Am. Plan. Assoc., vol. 71, no. 2, pp. 147–158, 2005.
[15]	T. Bunnell and A. Harris, “Re-viewing informality: perspectives from urban Asia,” Int. Dev. Plan. Rev., vol. 34, no. 4, pp. 339–348, 2012.
[16]	J. Minnery et al., “Slum upgrading and urban governance: Case studies in three South East Asian cities,” Habitat Int., vol. 39, pp. 162–169, 2013.
[17]	G. Myers, Urban environments in Africa, 1st ed. Bristol University Press, 2016.
[18]	A. M. Auerbach, “Neighborhood Associations and the Urban Poor: India’s Slum Development Committees,” World Dev., vol. 96, pp. 119–135, 2017.
[19]	A. K. Srivastava, “Leaders of Slum Dwellers -A study based on slums of Jaipur city,” IOSR J. Humanit. Soc. Sci., vol. 8, no. 2, pp. 18–24, 2013.
[20]	L. Binder and J. La Palombara, Crises and sequences in political development. 1971.
[21]	R. Wolfel, A. Richmond, and P. Grazaitis, “Seeing the Forest through the Trees: Sociocultural Factors of Dense Urban Spaces,” Urban Sci., vol. 1, no. 4, p. 40, 2017.
[22]	J. La Palombara, “No Title,” in Crises and sequences in political development, 1971, pp. 233–282.
[23]	W. Fierman, Language planning and national development : the Uzbek experience. Mouton de Gruyter, 1991.
[24]	“Accra Population 2018 (Demographics, Maps, Graphs).” [Online]. Available: http://worldpopulationreview.com/world-cities/accra-population/. [Accessed: 15-Nov-2018].
[25]	C. Amoako and D. K. B. Inkoom, “The production of flood vulnerability in Accra, Ghana: Re-thinking flooding and informal urbanisation,” Urban Stud., vol. 55, no. 13, pp. 2903–2922, 2018.
[26]	M. Oteng-Ababio, A. Tanle, S. T. Amoah, L. Kusi, E. A. Kosoe, and E. Bagson, “‘Informal Exceptionalism?’ Labour Migrants’ Creative Entrepreneurship for Sustainable Livelihoods in Accra, Ghana,” J. Asian Afr. Stud., 2018.
[27]	T. Gillespie, “From quiet to bold encroachment: contesting dispossession in Accra’s informal sector,” Urban Geogr., vol. 38, no. 7, pp. 974–992, 2017.
[28]	Land Links, “Ghana \| LandLinks.” [Online]. Available: https://www.land-links.org/country-profile/ghana/. [Accessed: 19-Feb-2019].
[29]	CEDAW, “Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women Provisional agenda,” 2005.
[30]	Europa Source, “World Toilet Day Ghana ranked 2nd in open defecation - Pulse Ghana,” pulse.com, 2015. [Online]. Available: https://www.pulse.com.gh/ece-frontpage/world-toilet-day-ghana-ranked-2nd-in-open-defecation/ym83fy7. [Accessed: 19-Feb-2019].
[31]	A. Getis, “Analytically derived neighborhoods in a rapidly growing West African city: The case of Accra, Ghana,” Habitat Int., vol. 45, no. P2, pp. 126–134, 2015.
[32]	G. Owusu and S. Agyei-Mensah, “A comparative study of ethnic residential segregation in Ghana’s two largest cities, Accra and Kumasi,” Popul. Environ., vol. 32, pp. 332–352, 2011.
[33]	J. R. Weeks, A. G. Hill, A. Getis, and D. Stow, “Ethnic residential patterns as predictors of intra-urban child mortality in Accra, Ghana,” Urban Geogr., vol. 27, no. 6, pp. 526–548, 2006.
[34]	E. K. Dapaah and L. M. Harris, “Framing community entitlements to water in Accra, Ghana: A complex reality,” Geoforum, vol. 82, no. April, pp. 26–39, 2017.
[35]	E. Aggrey-korsah and J. Oppong, “Researching Urban Slum Health in Nima, a Slum in Accra Emmanuel,” in Spatial Inequalities: Health, Poverty, and Place in Accra, Ghana, vol. 110, no. May 2013, J. R. Weeks, A. G. Hill, and J. Stoler, Eds. 2013, pp. 109–124.
[36]	M. M. Jankowska and R. Engstrom, “Spatial Analysis of Accra, Ghana,” vol. 17, no. 4, pp. 221–235, 2013.
[37]	P. Stacey and C. Lund, “In a state of slum: Governance in an informal urban settlement in Ghana,” J. Mod. Afr. Stud., vol. 54, no. 4, pp. 591–615, 2016.
[38]	S. Banerjee-Guha, “Neoliberalising the ‘Urban’: New Geographies of Power and Injustice in Indian Cities,” Econ. Polit. Wkly., vol. 44, no. 22, pp. 95–107, Jun. 2017.
[39]	D. A. Ghertner, Rule by aesthetics : world-class city making in Delhi. 2015.
[40]	L. Weinstein, “Mumbai’s Development Mafias: Globalization, Organized Crime and Land Development,” Int. J. Urban Reg. Res., vol. 32, no. 1, pp. 22–39, Mar. 2008.
[41]	H. Baweja, “How Arvind Kejriwal became the little, big man of Indian politics,” Hindustan Times, 08-Dec-2013.
[42]	Delhi Development Agency, “Kathputli Colony - DDA \| Slum Rehabilitation Delhi,” 2014. [Online]. Available: http://www.kathputlicolonydda.com/. [Accessed: 19-Feb-2019].
[43]	Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, “About PM Ujjwala Yojana,” 2019. [Online]. Available: http://www.pmujjwalayojana.com/about.html. [Accessed: 19-Feb-2019].
[44]	N. Naryanan, “Narendra Modi’s Ujjwala Yojana: LPG connections has gone up but the actual use has not kept pace,” 2019. [Online]. Available: https://scroll.in/article/908643/the-modi-years-are-more-indians-using-cooking-gas-because-of-the-ujjwala-scheme. [Accessed: 19-Feb-2019].
[45]	Z. Kovacic, “Governing informality through representation: Examples from slum policies in Brazil and South Africa,” Cities, no. January, pp. 0–1, 2018.
[46]	C. Collins, J. Uwilingiyimana, and L. Fothergill, “Community conditions field study NewBurgh NY,” 2013.
[47]	“City of Newburgh Vision Plan 2018,” Newburgh, NY, 2018.
[48]	PD&R Edge, “Rental Burdens: Rethinking Affordability Measures \| HUD USER.” [Online]. Available: https://www.huduser.gov/portal/pdredge/pdr_edge_featd_article_092214.html. [Accessed: 19-Feb-2019].
[49]	L. Sparks, “Newburgh ‘giving up’ on reopening primary water supply,” Times Herald Record, 2018. [Online]. Available: https://www.recordonline.com/news/20180814/newburgh-giving-up-on-reopening-primary-water-supply. [Accessed: 19-Feb-2019].
[50]	J. Howland, “16 defendants in Hudson Valley drug ring enter guilty pleas,” Poughkeepsie Journal, 2018. [Online]. Available: https://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/story/news/local/2018/05/12/16-defendants-hudson-valley-drug-ring-enter-guilty-pleas/603047002/. [Accessed: 26-Jan-2019].
[51]	L. Bellamy, “20 charged in Newburgh drug, prostitution sweep - News - recordonline.com - Middletown, NY,” Times Herald-Record, 2018. [Online]. Available: https://www.recordonline.com/news/20181130/20-charged-in-newburgh-drug-prostitution-sweep. [Accessed: 26-Jan-2019].
[52]	H. de Soto, The mystery of capital : why capitalism triumphs in the West and fails everywhere else. New York : Basic Books, [2000] ©2000, 2000.
[53]	A. Gilbert, “On the Mystery of Capital and the Myths of Hernando De,” Int. Dev. Plan. Rev., vol. 24, no. 1, pp. 1–19, 1990.
[54]	R. Florida, “A Better Way To Solve the Global Housing Crisis - CityLab,” 2017. [Online]. Available: https://www.citylab.com/equity/2017/07/solving-the-global-housing-crisis/533592/. [Accessed: 27-Jan-2019].
[55]	Reuters, “Brazil Slum Dwellers Shun Home Ownership, Fearing Gentrification,” VOANews, 2017. [Online]. Available: https://www.voanews.com/a/rio-slum-favela-home-ownership-gentrification/3705588.html. [Accessed: 27-Jan-2019].
[56]	A. Chum, “The impact of gentrification on residential evictions,” Urban Geogr., vol. 36, no. 7, pp. 1083–1098, 2015.
[57]	N. Carmon, “Three generations of urban renewal policies: analysis and policy implications,” Geoforum, vol. 30, no. 2, pp. 145–158, 1999.
[58]	C. Murray, “Looking Back,” Wilson Q., vol. 8, no. 4, pp. 94–136, 1984.

Cite This Article

Plain Text BibTeX RIS

APA Style

Amy Richmond, Richard Wolfel, Karen Walsh. (2019). Using a Socio-Cultural Framework to Understand Leadership Structures Amongst the Urban Poor. Urban and Regional Planning, 4(3), 79-90. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.urp.20190403.11

Copy | Download

ACS Style

Amy Richmond; Richard Wolfel; Karen Walsh. Using a Socio-Cultural Framework to Understand Leadership Structures Amongst the Urban Poor. Urban Reg. Plan. 2019, 4(3), 79-90. doi: 10.11648/j.urp.20190403.11

Copy | Download

AMA Style

Amy Richmond, Richard Wolfel, Karen Walsh. Using a Socio-Cultural Framework to Understand Leadership Structures Amongst the Urban Poor. Urban Reg Plan. 2019;4(3):79-90. doi: 10.11648/j.urp.20190403.11

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.urp.20190403.11,
  author = {Amy Richmond and Richard Wolfel and Karen Walsh},
  title = {Using a Socio-Cultural Framework to Understand Leadership Structures Amongst the Urban Poor},
  journal = {Urban and Regional Planning},
  volume = {4},
  number = {3},
  pages = {79-90},
  doi = {10.11648/j.urp.20190403.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.urp.20190403.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.urp.20190403.11},
  abstract = {Informal settlements have been the most pervasive form of new urban development over the past half century and the gap between the rich and poor has never been wider. In this paper we determine the characteristics that are critical to understanding leadership structures in deprived regions within dense urban areas. In doing so we establish the key characteristics that contribute to urban poverty and introduce a conceptual model that can be applied to any city and contributes to an understanding of the socio-cultural characteristics of leadership structures in a slum. The framework we use in this paper to understand slum leadership structures is initially applied to Accra and Delhi. Urban poverty is frequently discussed either in terms of the developing or developed world, therefore we also apply the same framework to a disadvantaged community in the United States. This highlights that although the approaches to studying urban poor are often separate and distinct between the Global South and Global North, we believe using a similar framework can emphasize similarities and differences that might contribute to policy that is more effective in both locations. All of our discussed case studies highlight the importance of effective informal local leadership structures that communicate well with a transparent formal city government. Partnerships between all levels of leadership are paramount to successful city planning that focuses simultaneously on economic development and social equity. We expect this research will contribute to a more holistic perspective of how leadership structures within informal regions are related to the city as a whole.},
 year = {2019}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Using a Socio-Cultural Framework to Understand Leadership Structures Amongst the Urban Poor
AU  - Amy Richmond
AU  - Richard Wolfel
AU  - Karen Walsh
Y1  - 2019/07/24
PY  - 2019
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.urp.20190403.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.urp.20190403.11
T2  - Urban and Regional Planning
JF  - Urban and Regional Planning
JO  - Urban and Regional Planning
SP  - 79
EP  - 90
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2575-1697
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.urp.20190403.11
AB  - Informal settlements have been the most pervasive form of new urban development over the past half century and the gap between the rich and poor has never been wider. In this paper we determine the characteristics that are critical to understanding leadership structures in deprived regions within dense urban areas. In doing so we establish the key characteristics that contribute to urban poverty and introduce a conceptual model that can be applied to any city and contributes to an understanding of the socio-cultural characteristics of leadership structures in a slum. The framework we use in this paper to understand slum leadership structures is initially applied to Accra and Delhi. Urban poverty is frequently discussed either in terms of the developing or developed world, therefore we also apply the same framework to a disadvantaged community in the United States. This highlights that although the approaches to studying urban poor are often separate and distinct between the Global South and Global North, we believe using a similar framework can emphasize similarities and differences that might contribute to policy that is more effective in both locations. All of our discussed case studies highlight the importance of effective informal local leadership structures that communicate well with a transparent formal city government. Partnerships between all levels of leadership are paramount to successful city planning that focuses simultaneously on economic development and social equity. We expect this research will contribute to a more holistic perspective of how leadership structures within informal regions are related to the city as a whole.
VL  - 4
IS  - 3
ER  -

Copy | Download

Author Information

Amy Richmond

Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering, United States Military Academy, West Point, USA
Richard Wolfel

Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering, United States Military Academy, West Point, USA
Karen Walsh

GROW Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA), Tamale, Ghana

Download PDF

Sections

Plain Text BibTeX RIS

APA Style

Amy Richmond, Richard Wolfel, Karen Walsh. (2019). Using a Socio-Cultural Framework to Understand Leadership Structures Amongst the Urban Poor. Urban and Regional Planning, 4(3), 79-90. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.urp.20190403.11

Copy | Download

ACS Style

Amy Richmond; Richard Wolfel; Karen Walsh. Using a Socio-Cultural Framework to Understand Leadership Structures Amongst the Urban Poor. Urban Reg. Plan. 2019, 4(3), 79-90. doi: 10.11648/j.urp.20190403.11

Copy | Download

AMA Style

Amy Richmond, Richard Wolfel, Karen Walsh. Using a Socio-Cultural Framework to Understand Leadership Structures Amongst the Urban Poor. Urban Reg Plan. 2019;4(3):79-90. doi: 10.11648/j.urp.20190403.11

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.urp.20190403.11,
  author = {Amy Richmond and Richard Wolfel and Karen Walsh},
  title = {Using a Socio-Cultural Framework to Understand Leadership Structures Amongst the Urban Poor},
  journal = {Urban and Regional Planning},
  volume = {4},
  number = {3},
  pages = {79-90},
  doi = {10.11648/j.urp.20190403.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.urp.20190403.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.urp.20190403.11},
  abstract = {Informal settlements have been the most pervasive form of new urban development over the past half century and the gap between the rich and poor has never been wider. In this paper we determine the characteristics that are critical to understanding leadership structures in deprived regions within dense urban areas. In doing so we establish the key characteristics that contribute to urban poverty and introduce a conceptual model that can be applied to any city and contributes to an understanding of the socio-cultural characteristics of leadership structures in a slum. The framework we use in this paper to understand slum leadership structures is initially applied to Accra and Delhi. Urban poverty is frequently discussed either in terms of the developing or developed world, therefore we also apply the same framework to a disadvantaged community in the United States. This highlights that although the approaches to studying urban poor are often separate and distinct between the Global South and Global North, we believe using a similar framework can emphasize similarities and differences that might contribute to policy that is more effective in both locations. All of our discussed case studies highlight the importance of effective informal local leadership structures that communicate well with a transparent formal city government. Partnerships between all levels of leadership are paramount to successful city planning that focuses simultaneously on economic development and social equity. We expect this research will contribute to a more holistic perspective of how leadership structures within informal regions are related to the city as a whole.},
 year = {2019}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Using a Socio-Cultural Framework to Understand Leadership Structures Amongst the Urban Poor
AU  - Amy Richmond
AU  - Richard Wolfel
AU  - Karen Walsh
Y1  - 2019/07/24
PY  - 2019
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.urp.20190403.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.urp.20190403.11
T2  - Urban and Regional Planning
JF  - Urban and Regional Planning
JO  - Urban and Regional Planning
SP  - 79
EP  - 90
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2575-1697
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.urp.20190403.11
AB  - Informal settlements have been the most pervasive form of new urban development over the past half century and the gap between the rich and poor has never been wider. In this paper we determine the characteristics that are critical to understanding leadership structures in deprived regions within dense urban areas. In doing so we establish the key characteristics that contribute to urban poverty and introduce a conceptual model that can be applied to any city and contributes to an understanding of the socio-cultural characteristics of leadership structures in a slum. The framework we use in this paper to understand slum leadership structures is initially applied to Accra and Delhi. Urban poverty is frequently discussed either in terms of the developing or developed world, therefore we also apply the same framework to a disadvantaged community in the United States. This highlights that although the approaches to studying urban poor are often separate and distinct between the Global South and Global North, we believe using a similar framework can emphasize similarities and differences that might contribute to policy that is more effective in both locations. All of our discussed case studies highlight the importance of effective informal local leadership structures that communicate well with a transparent formal city government. Partnerships between all levels of leadership are paramount to successful city planning that focuses simultaneously on economic development and social equity. We expect this research will contribute to a more holistic perspective of how leadership structures within informal regions are related to the city as a whole.
VL  - 4
IS  - 3
ER  -

Copy | Download