The DPU produces engaging blogs written by staff, students, alumni and partners on a range of relevant and topical subjects

MSc Development Administration and Planning 2017 Fieldtrip. Recount of the visit to the Bujjuko Low Cost Housing Demonstration
The international field trip is an integral part of the MSc Development Administration and Planning Programme (DAP) and this year, the students travelled to Kampala, Uganda for their field trip. This is the second year running that the MSc DAP programme has been working with development partners in Kampala, Uganda.
Yangon: Transformation in a Time of Transition – BUDD Fieldtrip 2017
In the late hours of November 8th 2015 it was clear that Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the National League for Democracy and Nobel Peace Prize winner, had scored an unquestionable electoral triumph. After decades of military rule, the NLD categorically won Myanmar’s latest elections, gaining control of parliament and thus starting a new chapter in the country’s turbulent political history.
‘Sustainability’ is dead. Now it’s time for something completely different
‘Sustainability’ is dead and much of its language should be buried and replaced.
To just ‘sustain’, will always fail to capture the people’s imagination, just as ‘remain’. If I go out for drinks, I want to do more than ‘sustain’ and ‘survive’ the evening, I want to thrive and connect.
Towards an Autonomy of Housing – The Legacy of John F C Turner in Latin America and Beyond: Event Review
Reflections from the ‘Towards an Autonomy of Housing’ event that took place on the 22nd of February 2017 and was presented by the UCL Development Planning Unit (DPU) as part of the series DPU Dialogues in Development.
Between reception and exception. Engaging with refugees dwelling practices and the politics of care in the Italian urban context
By Camillo Boano and Giovanna Astolfo
Statistics confirm that more than 60% of refugees worldwide live in urban areas and in the future, this figure is likely to gradually increase. Such a global phenomenon is forcing us to think not only about how integration and systems of care and assistance have to be shaped, but also about the very nature of the city and their forms.
Women’s Political Participation in Somaliland
Reflections from the ‘Women’s Political Participation in Somaliland’ event that took place on the 2nd of February 2017 and was presented by the UCL Development Planning Unit DPU, Somaliland Mission to the UK and Somaliland Focus (UK).
From heroes to villains: Brazil at risk of moving away from the New Urban Agenda
By Julia Moretti and Alexandre Apsan Frediani
Call to support the mobilisation against a new presidential act that intends to dismantle the regulations for land regularization in Brazil.
The Holy City of Makkah: Growth, Informal Areas and Urban Identity
Spatial transformations caused by a coterie of social and economic factors have profoundly altered the urban landscape in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. In a lecture held at the Bartlett’s Department Planning Unit (DPU), urban specialist Dr. Muhammad Khadim discussed informal settlements in Makkah and measures to address the challenges posed by their growth.
Imagining a Social Enterprise Model for the Provision of Pro-poor Housing Solutions in the Philippines
In November 2013, super typhoon Yolanda hit the Philippines in full swing. Fragile shelter structures across the archipelago’s coastal areas did not withstand the strong winds and storm surges brought about by Yolanda. In the aftermath of the disaster, the government launched an emergency programme with the mission to ‘build back better’ [1]. The government was supported by the international humanitarian community, whose swift response matched the scale of the disaster in its scope and ambition. Yet serious funding challenges were said to hamper recovery.
Lebanon and the Syrian refugee crisis – Lessons to be learnt
The debate and discourse surrounding migration and the current refugee crisis is one that can be contentious and to a certain extent emotive bringing about polarised stands amongst different parties.
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