Cottam, H.

Parallels are drawn between the current treatment of poverty and the classical approach. Similarly, investment in infrastructure is considered to be non pro poor, since it emphasises the rehabilitation of infrastructure which does not serve poorer people in the first place. Where interventions do occur they are generally of a blueprint nature. This is illustrated through a case study of an urban area in Sambia, which highlights several of the issues and concerns.

The article describes the experience of participatory research in a squatter settlement in the Dominican Republic. The research was undertaken as part of a larger study which aimed to explore the links between urban women's changing and multiple productive roles and their health. The article summarises the qualitative participatory research, concentrating on the implications of PUA, in terms of method (what worked, and what did not), and where appropriate, substance (the urban debates uncovered in the process).