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 + Economy, Bogotá (Kyle)

John Kyle Paisley
Oct. 31st, 2010


The Economy of Shelter: Bogota (Kyle Paisley)

-Bogotá is the capital city of Colombia, as well as the most populous city in the country, with an estimated 7,304,384 inhabitants as of 2009 (Wikipidia)

-Bogota has Bogotá over 1400 informal settlements occupying 24% of its area and housing 22% of its population."(World Bank 2008)

- Many Colombians come to the city to escape rural violence, particularly the guerrilla violence of the FARC. Too poor to afford housing rents, they have to find alternative solutions, such as building their own houses.

Ciudad Bolivar
-The largest informal settlement of Bogota comprising 10% of the population

-the main economic activities are carried out by trade, hotels, restaurants, transportation and warehousing

-Between 1993 and 2002, the population of Ciudad Bolivar grew by 50%, more than twice as much as the city as a whole. (5 Proyecto Bogot. Como Vamos, La Pobreza en Bogota, Bogota D.C. Agosto de 2003, p. 2)
-The population grew from 35,000 residents in 1973 to a projected 713,000 in 2005. This data is probably a huge underestimation of the population of Ciudad Bolivar. By other accounts the population was somewhere between 1,2 millionand 2 million. (Ciudad Bolivar, Mas Cerca de las Estrellas, La Expresion, Bogot Colombia, http://www.laexpresion.com)



Economy of Shelter
-Most of the 400,000 houses of Ciudad Bolivar were built with very basic means, without plan or permits by the residents or by slumlords.
-A house in Ciudad Bolivar costs between $700,000 and 1 million pesos (USD $270 - $380).
- Unlike in developed countries, houses have limited potential as a financial asset in Ciudad Bolivar since the market is generally stagnant. This is due to the minimal means of Incomers, while the middle-class is not interested in living in the area.
- rather than upgrade to a larger house, lower income families generally add floors to their houses, which causes all kinds of safety issues and increases density.
(http://www.urbanology.org/Bogota/)

Unemployment / Underemployment

- The labour force is defined as the number of people employed plus the number unemployed but seeking work.

-The underemployed are those who work below their potential, either in skill level or pay/hours; Divided into subjective underemployed, those who, despite their dissatisfaction, do not for a variety of reasons make an efforts to find another job, and the objective underemployed who make an effort to find another job.

-Unemployment stopped growing, but the phenomenon of underemployment continues to rise. In July 2009, the number of underemployed came to 7.34 million in Columbia

-underemployment often supplemented by work in the informal sector, particularly in the slums

- The unemployment rate in Colombia was last reported at 12.80 percent in June of 2010, slightly higher than the year before at 12.6 percent,

-According to the National Bureau of Statistics (DANE), the subjective underemployment reached 34.2 percent in July 2010, up from 30.2 percent in the same month of 2009 (http://avilacmg.wordpress.com/2010/09/01/portafolio-one-million-people-are-underemployed-according-to-dane-unemployment-stood-at-12-6/)

Country	Interest Rate	Growth Rate	Inflation Rate	Jobless Rate	Current Account	Exchange Rate
Colombia	3.00%	1.00%	2.24%	12.80%	-1396	1811.5000

http://www.bogotalab.com/articles/bogota_edge.html

Attempts to change: Public Infrastructure

- Typically, the government legalizes established settlements in Ciudad Bolivar rather than evicting residents or resettling.

- It is very costly to provide illegal settlements with water systems, electricity and telephone lines.

-In an effort to cut the cost of retrofitting informal settlements, the City created an agency called Metrovivienda. It acquires land at the edge of the city, puts in place the necessary infrastructure and then sells the lots to developers who build for sale affordable housing units.

-The principal weakness of this program is that it leaves out families too poor to buy a house.

-Efforts have been made to connect Ciudad Bolivar to the rest of the city through public transportation networks.

(Haslam et. al. 2009) Introduction to International Development

USEFUL PAPER ON BOGOTA: http://www.unu.edu/unupress/unupbooks/uu23me/uu23me0u.htm