Renewed direction for research

Hey everyone,

Just to recap from the meeting:

- Next meeting will be Wed. Nov. 24 at lunch, eat and chat

- Prepare and post to this blog more individual research based on:

-Shelter

-Water

-Agriculture

(all considering Economy)

- Try and find unique case studies where solutions to the problem of survival have formed beyond the intentionality of governments or aid agencies

- look for connections between the given subjects through the solution

- consider how we can uniquely present the information as a stand alone entity (ie. narrative, story line, audio/visual, etc.

Ok, i think thats all, see you next week

almost forgot....

Check out this link: a video trailer to an interesting documentary. We could potentially begin our presentation with this to hook our audience and transition into a case study on urban agriculture in Cuba http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSkrQE5HCSY

Just a thought, check it out and before next Wed

Peace

Sources of Water

Cynthia Eng - Nov 7 2010

Source: http://nyc.gov/html/dep/html/drinking_water/history.shtml

City Water Systems

· Early settlers obtained water for domestic purposes through privately-owned wells

· Later public wells dug

· Well water pumped into reservoirs and distributed into mains

· Water distributed through pipes

· As population and/or pollution increases, deeper wells need to be sunk

· In response to increased pollution, People created cisterns and drew water from springs

· Water impounded from rivers, aqueducts built to transport water from reservoirs to city

· Water collection systems include many reservoirs and controlled lakes with large storage capacities

Group Meeting 03/11

DEADLINES

Slides due MONDAY NOV. 8th 11:59PM

Meeting WEDNESDAY NOV. 10th 9:00AM (may be cancelled if deemed unnecessary)

WORK

Topic #	Title	Person in charge
1	Title slide
2	Shelter (definition of a slum, description)	Maryia
3	Shelter (how slums are created [open to interpretation])	Rachel
4	Shelter (types of slums)	Jen
5	Slums (Bogota)	Jen
6	Slums (Shanghai)	Maryia
7	Slums (Kowloon)	Rachel
8	Shelter + Economy  (role of economy in determining settlement patterns)	Sneha
9	Shelter + Economy (rural populations -> urban areas)	Justin/Kyle
10	Shelter + Economy (land tenure)	Justin/Kyle
11	Shelter +Economy (Bogota)	Kyle
12	Shelter + Economy (Shanghai)	Justin
13	Shelter + Economy (Kowloon)	Sneha
14	Shelter + Water (evolution of water retrieval methods)	Hannah
15	Shelter + Water (different ways to access water)	Cynthia
16	Shelter + Water (consequences/problems that arise from bad water systems)	Janice
17	Shelter + Water (Bogota)	Janice
18	Shelter + Water (Shanghai)	Hannah
19	Shelter + Water (Kowloon)	Cynthia
20	Conclusion

 
*Justin/Kyle, decide amongst yourself which of the two you want to do.

NOTES

Minimum 1 slide, maximum 4 slides; maximum 5 bullet points per slide (try to use as little text as possible, it makes the presentation boring)

Shelter + Economy, Kowloon Walled City (Sneha)

Snehanjali Sumanth
Nov. 2nd, 2010
Kowloon walled City

The city is an ungoverned settlement in Kowloon, Hong Kong. It is densely populated and the population increased after Japan occupied Hong Kong during World War II. Between the 50's and 70's, it had high rates of of prostitution, gambling and drug use. In 1987, the Walled City contained 33 000 residents within its 6.5 acre borders.

Triad Rule

The triad were a group of newcomers and/or former residents that occupied the Walled City and resister the British from driving them out. Their rule lasted till 1974.

Urban Settlement

During the 1960's and 1970's, the city underwent massive construction. For the water system, eight municipal pipes provided water to the entire structure.

A few of the streets were illuminated by fluorescent lights as sunlight rarely reached the lower levels.

Economy

Although crime rates decreased in later years, the Walled City was known for its high number of unlicensed doctors and dentists. Despite the large amount of criminal activity, many of its residents lived peacefully and numerous small factories and businesses thrived inside the Walled City.

Some residents even formed groups to organize and improve daily life there. Charities, religious societies, and other welfare groups were gradually introduced to the City. While medical clinics and schools went unregulated, the Hong Kong government did provide some services, such as water supply and mail delivery.

Shelter + Economy, Shanghai (Justin)

Justin Lai

Nov. 1st, 2010

Shanghai Economy

• Shanghai is often regarded as the centre of finance and trade in mainland China. Modern development began with the economic reforms in 1992, a decade later than many of the Southern Chinese provinces, but since then Shanghai quickly overtook those provinces and maintained its role as the business centre in mainland China. Shanghai also hosts the largest share market in mainland China.
• According to official statistics from 2005, the non-state sector has grown to generate 42.5 percent of Shanghai's GDP, while the reformed state-sector generates 57.5 percent of GDP.
• Since 2005, Shanghai has ranked first of the world's busiest cargo ports throughout, handling a total of 560 million tons of cargo in 2007.
• Shanghai has strong links to both the Chinese interior and the central government, and a strong base in manufacturing and technology. Shanghai has increased its role in finance, banking, and as a major destination for corporate headquarters, fueling demand for a highly educated and modernised workforce. Shanghai has recorded a double-digit growth for 15 consecutive years since 1992. In 2008, Shanghai's nominal GDP posted a 9.7% growth to 1.37 trillion yuan. The Shanghai Stock Exchange is the world's fastest growing, with the Shanghai Composite Index growing 130% in 2006.
• Industrial zones in Shanghai include Shanghai Hongqiao Economic and Technological Development Zone, Jinqiao Export Economic Processing Zone, Minhang Economic and Technological Development Zone, and Shanghai Caohejing High and New Technological Development Zone.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghai#Economy

Shanghai economy in 2010:

• Shanghai has set a GDP growth rate target for the year of more than 8 percent, almost the same as 2009's economic development rate.
• The city's GDP growth was estimated to be more than 8 percent last year, a little lower than the average national level. Total retail sales of consumer goods rose by about 14 percent and growth of fixed assets investment was around 10 percent in 2009.
• The targeted rate was a suitable development speed for Shanghai, which was hit by the global financial crisis during its economic restructure transition.
• “Regulation and control in the real estate market will be improved to help it develop in a healthy and sustainable way. And 500,000 new jobs will be created to keep the unemployment rate around 4.5 percent.”
• Taking up only 0.06% of the country's land area, Shanghai now generates about 8.3% of China's gross industrial output value, 10% of its ports' cargo-throughput, 25% of the total value of the country's imports and exports and 12.5% of the total revenue of China.

http://www.travelchinaguide.com/cityguides/shanghai/economy.htm
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90778/90862/6864381.html

Settlement/Real Estate in Shanghai:

• The 2000 census put the population of Shanghai Municipality at 16.738 million, including the migrant population, which made up 3.871 million. Since the 1990 census the total population had increased by 3.396 million, or 25.5%.
• By the end of 2004, Shanghai's population stood at 16.7022 million, according to China Statistics 2005. Of those, 1.469 million (8.8%) were in the age group of 0–14, 12.661 million (75.8%) between 15 and 64 and 2.572 million (15.4%) were older than 65.
• As of 2008, the population of long-term residents reached 18.88 million, including an officially registered permanent population of 13.71 million, and 4.79 million of registered long-term migrants from other provinces, many from Anhui, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang Provinces^.
• According to the Shanghai Municipal Statistics Bureau, there were 133,340 foreigners in Shanghai in 2007. Some foreign expatriates are staying in Shanghai as long-term settlers, In addition, there are a large number of people from Taiwan for business (estimates vary from 350,000 to 700,000).
• By 2009, the South Korean communities in Shanghai also increased to more than 70,000. The average life expectancy in 2006 was 80.97 years, 78.67 for men and 82.29 for women. Average annual disposable income of Shanghai residents, based on the first three quarters of 2009, is 21,871 RMB.
• Although total area of newly constructed homes sold doubled last year in Shanghai, supply is vastly inadequate to meet the demands of both investors looking to profit — wealthy Chinese and foreigners descending upon Shanghai — and the 1980s baby boom generation now of marrying age, and who would rather not move in with their parents.
• Over the last five years, Shanghai’s average property prices have doubled to a record RMB14,986 ($2,204) per square meter, according to Shanghai’s Uwin Real Estate Information Services, far outpacing the rise in middle class income.
• The average home in the city's center costs about RMB34,638 ($5,094) per square meter — or the equivalent of $473,216 for a 1,000 square foot condo.
• For about RMB1 million ($150,000), you can afford a yet-to-be-built 90 square meter (970 square feet), two-bedroom condo last June on the edge of Jiading District, the outermost suburb of Shanghai. Su’s parents ran the year-long home search process as well, going out nearly every weekend to see new and recently built condos. When they watched prices jump 20 percent in April alone, they panicked. They called friends and, through a back door connection, jumped the waiting line for a condo in this building.

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/china-and-its-neighbors/100302/china-economy-shanghai-real-estate-marriage

Labor, employment/unemployment

Unemployment rate: The percentage of people out of the total labor force who are currently out of work but are seeking work.

• By the end of 2008, Shanghai employed 9.4607 million people.
• Of the total, 1.4073 million, or 14.9%, were hired by the state enterprises and institutions
• 1.8888 million, or 20%, were employed by collectively-owned work units
• 1.3279 million, or 14%, worked in overseas-funded enterprises
• 2.9968 million, or 31.6%, worked at private businesses.
• The registered unemployment rate in the city’s urban areas stood at 4.2% in late 2008.
• Main exports are: Appliances, Building Materials, Cermaics, Chemicals, Garments/Shoes, Leather Products, Mechanical equipment, Pharmaceuticals, Platics, Rubber products, Textiles
• History of unemployment rate for Shanghai: 4.9% - 2003, 4.3% - 2007, 4.3% - 2009

http://www.shanghai.gov.cn/shanghai/node17256/node17432/node17435/userobject22ai19.html
http://www.shanghai.gov.cn/shanghai/node17256/node18151/userobject22ai30095.html

Just some research compiled on the city of Shanghai and it's current economical state, will need to try to look deeper at the employment situation as there wasn't much online on details.

Shelter + Water, Kowloon Walled City (Cynthia)

Cynthia Eng - Nov. 1

Shelter + Water - Kowloon Walled City

Girard, Greg and Ian Lambot. City of Darkness: Life in Kowloon Walled City. 5^th ed. Watermark Publications (UK) Limited, 2001.

- Water was the most indispensible survival need for people in this self-contained city

- As they did back in the old ancestral village, 77 wells sunk all around the City, with depths of some 300 feet

- “Electric pumps shot water up to great tanks on the roof-tops, from where it descending via an ad hoc forest of narrow pipes to the homes of subscribers” (10)

- City was very dark and damp

- “It was impossible to stand upright because the roof of the alley was lined with a confusion of plastic pipes carrying water, many of them dripping” (12)

- “Government’s longstanding refusal to connect buildings, flats, and factories into the external mains system

- Possible reasons: technical difficulties, disruption, reluctance to further encourage permanent settlement in City

- “Residents and businesses have had to resort to paying private suppliers, to pump water from wells sunk beneath the City, or local Triad groups from water tapped illegally from nearby mains supplies” (36)

- “Running mains water was supplied to various recognized charities inside the Walled City” (36)

- Authorities allowed installation of a few public freshwater stand-pipes, just eight stand-pipes in place by 1987, to supply up to 35,000 residents and hundreds of factories, only one of these stand-pipes was located within the City

- First stand-pipe installed in 1963

- “Residents were paying $12-15 a month for labourers to carry six kerosene cans of water each day from the stand-pipes to their flats”

- “Business of carrying water for entire households became increasingly difficult the more the City grew skywards, during the boom days of the late 1960s and early ‘70s”

- This expanding demand “drove entrepreneurs underground to tap new sources.

- “The new well diggers were mainly property owners who were able to drill on their own land (37)

- 1987, 67 working wells owned by some 40 suppliers

- 300 ‘scientific wells’ said to have been sunk beneath area though many had dried from overuse

- “Recent drillings had to reach as far as 100 metres since shallow sources had been depleted

- Private drilling firms contracted to carry out work

- Water first pumped up to rudimentary storage tanks on City roofscape

- From there, pipes ran downward again branching into blocks and flats

- Installation of a well-water link could cost as much a several thousand dollars, depending on height above and distance from well

- By late 1980s, monthly charges between $50-$70 per household

- Water problems: because of pressure and pumping difficulties, pumps only turned on at set times, usually noon and midnight, to replenish tanks

- Meant residents still had to store water in baths and buckets

- Well-water mostly undrinkable because impregnated with usual seepage of urban and industrial pollutants, water not even fit to boil

- 1970s, underground sources, especially from shallower wells, contaminated by sewage seepage

- Well-water best used for washing and floor-cleaning

- Drinking and cooking water still had to be carried from stand-pipes, a small workforce engaged in this activity till the end

- Illegal tappings of mains water from outside City, monopolized in the beginning by the Triads

- Triad organizations also responsible for much of the construction in the City, they ensured newer buildings had some rudimentary provision for water supply and waste

- “In time Triads sold off most of their ‘business interest in the City but illegal tapping of mains water remained an important source of drinking water until the end” (38)

Shelter, Kowloon Walled City(Rachel)

Jiyeon (Rachel) Kim
Nov. 1st, 2010

Just a brief research on Kowloon Walled City...

Kowloon Walled City

-dense population(in 1987: 33,000 residents within 6.5 acre)

-largely ungoverned settlement in Kowloon, Hong Kong

-originally a Chinese military fort; became an enclave in 1898

-dramatic increase in population following Japanese occupation of Hong Kong during WWII

-high rates of prostitution, gambling, drug use(1950s – 1970s)

-demolition of the city(March 1993 – April 1994) by Hong Kong government

-an anti-architectural entity(abnormal density & living condition)

History

-outpost set up to manage salt trade during Song Dynasty(960 – 1279)

-city improvement plan in 1842 to limit British influence : included the defensive wall around the city

-Kowloon city was eventually claimed by Britain. The Protestant church established an old people’s home in the Yamen(city’s social center)

-not much development by the British

-by 1940 only the Yamen, the school and one house remained(after the demolition)

-Japan occupied the city during WWII and demolished the city’s wall to use its stone

Urban Settlement

-after Japan’s surrender, refugees poured in to take advantage of Chinese protection

-British adopted ‘hands-off’ policy

-no government enforcement

-high crime rate

-massive construction during the 1960s and 1970s

-eight municipal pipes provided water to the entire structure

-few streets were provided with fluorescent lights(sunlight rarely reached the lower levels)

-an attempt by the government in 1963 to demolish some shacks in a corner of the city gave rise to an "anti-demolition committee"

Architecture

-the original fort consisted of a 6.5 acre plot(210m by 120m)

-stone wall(4m tall, 4.6m thick) surrounding the city had four entrances

-due to the Kai Tak Airport near the city, buildings did not exceed 14 stories

-alleyways were only 1-2m wide with poor lighting and drainage

-construction went unregulated

-maximized spaces by adding: wider upper floors, caged balconies, rooftop additions

Population

-10,004 in 1971

-14,617 in 1981

-33,000 in 1987 = population density of 1,255,000/km²

-the rest of Hong Kong had a population density of about 6,700/km²

< http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kowloon_Walled_City>

< http://www.archidose.org/KWC/>