Resources

Planning for Real is a set of community-building tools which has been developed over the last 20 years, first in the UK, then in various parts of Europe and the US, and currently on trial in parts of Africa, India, South-East Asia and Latin America. The article focuses on the use of the method in urban areas where all sense of community has been lost, and where there is profound mutual distrust between the residents and the local officials. Planning for Real allows people to explore possibilities, sort out options, rank priorities, share out responsibilities and set out a plan of action. It is also a strategy designed to establish common ground between 'Us' and 'Them' as a basis for a combined operation to create a working neighbourhood.

This paper discusses the methods of collecting information in a field study carried out in Salvador da Bahia (Brazil) a suburb of Salvador. The study was part of a training exercise for students of the "International Course for Primary Health Care Managers at District Level in Developing Countries" based in Italy. The study also aimed to explore the potential for Primary Environmental Care and identify ways by which the local health district could support squatter communities. A rapid appraisal was carried out in three squatter communities. Secondary data was analysed, life history interviews were conducted, a "risk map" was drawn in which local participants geographically located problems, focus groups and ranking, key informant interviews, ten institutions with an interest in environmental issues were interviewed, and a feed-back meeting was held for all community members. It is concluded that RRA is well suited to study fast-changing environments, a potential danger of the exercise is taken to be undue expectation-raising of the local community. Finally "microplans" are introduced as a possible means of making RRA action oriented. Five pages are devoted to illustrations arising from the exercises.

This report was written in the context of the special session of the UN General Assembly on the successes and failures of the Habitat Agenda. It analyses the rhetoric of empowerment and examines whether these strategies have led to real improvements in people's lives. It was agreed at the Second UN Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) in 1996, that sustainable urban development can be achieved if poor people are able to assert their own rights, and organise themselves to provide their own services and infrastructure. Successful urban governance depend on people power. Definitions of 'partnership' are discussed, and it is argued that partnership for good governance and poverty reduction involves poor people participating with government in policy and decision-making as well as contributing to implementation and costs. However, the privatisation of services, and lack of real decentralisation of powers to city governments, present challenges to meaningful partnership for sustainable urban governance. The report is illustrated with examples from around the world, particularly Bolivia, Kenya, Brazil and Sri Lanka.

This book is the outcome of a two week field-based workshop. The focus is on two villages in the proximity of Khartoum. Several PRA/RRA techniques were used: secondary data analysis; mapping; transects; seasonal calendars; preference ranking; matrix ranking; wealth ranking; venn diagrams and key informant interviews. RRA techniques offer an approach to understanding the complexity of tree management at regional, village, group and individual levels. At regional level the influences on tree management relate to changing patterns of wood product supply and demand and the interaction of urban and rural markets. At village level uncertainty over economic, tenurial and environmental control are key influences governing the management of trees. Preferences for trees by different village groups influence assessments of the costs and benefits of alternative tree management options. Different socio-economic groups have varying and competing interests in the wood economy. The use of RRA enables the development of integrated insights for a more effective understanding of incentives for tree management in Sudan.

The paper is divided into three sections: I) origins of PRA - its advantages and disadvantages; II) the potential applications of PRA in family planning, health and nutrition. This is discussed with specific reference to India and three stages of PRA development are envisaged i) techniques which are simple enough to be applied on a routine basis with local health workers acting as facilitators (verbal feedback on healthcare performance, recording of seasonal trends, village mapping and verbal autopsies). ii) techniques in category i) which work well might then be applied on a continuous basis to monitor and manage service performance iii) PRA is then used in a more formal way to facilitate research and development. III) suggestions are made on how PRA might be institutionalised, again using the Indian example. NGOs are considered to be vital to institutionalize the PRA process. The speed at which governments are able to absorb PRA techniques will be determined by the rate at which suitable NGO support for the process can be made available.

Article focuses on the lowest-income groups of Khartoum and their struggle to find shelter in the city. After giving an overview of housing conditions and the ways in which poorer groups find accommodation, the author describes the legal and illegal housing submarkets. He argues that understanding these is essential in order to change housing and living conditions. Discussion then turns to government attitudes toward housing problems, and the description of the development of two low-income housing areas in Khartoum. Very little emphasis is placed on participation and nowhere is PRA or RRA methodology mentioned. In the conclusions, the author states that community participation is a realistic alternative to current policies, and that low-income groups have used it successfully for a long time. The author argues that limited public resources could be best put toward supporting community-based organisations who work to improve infrastructure and basic services.