The current paradigm of ‘partnership’ in urban development and management is widely used and accepted but there is little understanding of what makes partnerships work or fail. The broad premise that underpins this book is that a partnership is a relationship based on an agreement to share both benefits and risks. Partnership thus depends upon a high level of trust between partners. Trust depends upon understanding — understanding the strengths and weaknesses, goals and aspirations, and the capacities of each partner. Understanding depends upon communication — the ability to transfer comprehension and information.
Three cities, one from each continent of the South, are studied for their complementary differences in experience and approach to local government and communication. Colombo has a long tradition of government support to community participation in slum upgrading but does not have a well-developed urban NGO movement. Nairobi has a well-organized urban NGO sector but the city has both a weak democratically-elected City Council and a centrally appointed Provincial Administration. Rio de Janeiro, which is considerably bigger than the other two cities, does not have a tradition of participation and recent municipal upgrading initiatives fail to demonstrate much meaningful resident involvement.
What emerges is a picture of misunderstanding, mistrust and prejudice. The manipulation of rumour and half-truths within urban low-income communities by the local leadership marginalizes the ‘non-elite’. The lack of communication, indeed competition, between different departments of local administration militate against coherent partnership in the delivery and management of urban infrastructure and services. The authors examine the potential of clearly focused NGOs to generate an awareness within and between low-income communities and local governments for new approaches to communication and capacity-building.

Communities and Communication: Building Urban Partnerships (Urban Management Series)

ELIZABETH RILEY, Elizabeth Riley, Patrick Wakely

Elizabeth Riley and Patrick Wakely

Riley, Elizabeth; Wakely, Patrick

Practical Action Publishing

ITDG PUBLISHING

Rugby, UK: ITDG

IT Publications

United Kingdom and Ireland, United Kingdom

URBAN MANAGEMENT SERIES, LONDON, Unknown

Includes bibliographical references (p. [183]-187) and index

"Communities and Communication uses in-depth studies of the cities of Colombo, Nairobi and Rio de Janeiro both to demonstrate the enormous challenges faced, and to reveal the existence of strong building blocks for partnerships. It provides a rare overview of the contentious debates surrounding this subject and establishes a set of principles for establishing 'authentic partnerships' based on trust, shared ideals and transfers of power and knowledge, to effectively reduce urban poverty." "This book is a resource for scholars of local government and urban planning and will be of great interest to any practitioners involved in building collaborative relationships and partnerships."--Jacket

x, 192 pages : 24 cm
Includes bibliographical references and index

2024-07-01