ACTION AND INNOVATION RESEARCH
iSyudad 2021: Adaptive capacities of urban poor communities during the COVID-19 pandemic and other disasters
April 2021
Already conflicted by existing pressures to secure adequate housing amid frequent disasters, the urban poor sector has been pressed even more to rise above the health and socio-economic impacts brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. These overlapping challenges are discussed in iSyudad 2021 through case studies that demonstrate the many forms of collective, context-specific solutions local communities are ingeniously devising in an attempt to adapt to the so-called “new and better normal.”
Outcomes Report: Tahanan Secure Tenure Summit 2019
November 2019
Land is key. And with rapid urbanization, land has become more and more scarce. The urban poor is at risk of being displaced - away from their homes, from their livelihood, and from their families. With an eye to this problem, Tahanan: Secure Tenure Summit 2019 was held aiming to influence policies on land and housing to secure tenure for all.
This Outcomes Report synthesizes the proceedings of Tahanan Summit that convened national key shelter agencies, local and international development organizations, civil society and advocates to talk about pressing issues on tenure insecurity, especially in urban areas.
iSyudad: Selected narratives of HPFPI communities in asserting their right to the city
October 2019
The book builds on the immense wealth of grassroots knowledge and experiences amassed by the Homeless People’s Federation Philippines Inc. (HPFPI) in its almost 20 years of fight for tenure security. Telling tales while offering a critique, the book is wished to shed a new light to the current legal systems and practices on land and housing that shape the very struggles and victories of the urban poor sector in asserting its right to the city.
Outcomes Report: Regional Learning Exchange on Strengthening Land Governance in Asia-Pacific
February 2018
Focusing on the theme "Strengthening Land Governance in Asia-Pacific," the regional learning exchange (RLEx) gathered representatives from the civil society, government, and communities to share, discuss and learn about the challenges, experiences, and lessons on community mapping and land administration and policies from 16 participating countries. The RLEx, held on February 6-7, 2018, served as a prelude to the 9th Session of the World Urban Forum from February 7-13, 2018 in Malaysia. This RLEx likewise builds on the November 2017 RLEx on "Strengthening Land Tenure Security for Urban Poverty Reduction in Asia-Pacific" facilitated by Habitat for Humanity International in Manila, Philippines.
A Handbook on Community Upgrading through People's Process
August 2016
This community upgrading handbook belongs to a series of ACHR handbooks for housing by people. Experiences and insights of people working for people were compiled while case studies on projects in different parts of Asia were included to represent the numerous processes from which this collective manual for community upgrading was largely based on. This handbook aims to provide technical professionals, community development practitioners and local leaders with practical knowledge and basic skills in facilitating processes in community upgrading.
Grounded planning: People-centered urban development in the Philippines
August 2016
This output is a result of the Phase II Junior Professional Internship Programme run by the Development Planning Unit (DPU), University College London (UCL) in association with the Asian Coalition for Housing Rights (ACHR) and the Community Architects Network (CAN). Born from a long-standing partnership between the three institutions, in 2015 the programme placed DPU alumnae Laura Hirst, Jessica Mamo and Mariangela Veronesi with the Philippine Alliance. The interns brought varied academic and professional backgrounds to the programme, from architecture and participatory design to environmental and social development planning. The alumnae worked with the Alliance to support and learn from community-driven processes in Metro Manila, Mandaue and Davao, to help develop tools and methodologies, and to work together to find sustainable and practical solutions to local issues. Building on learnings from Phase I of the programme (2013) the 2015 programme aimed to increase the overall body of knowledge and shared experience of community-driven planning and upgrading in practice between the three partner institutions.
