DPU at the Asian Housing Rights Summit

William Hunter, DPU Teaching Fellow on the MSc Building and Urban Design in Development is currently attending and representing the DPU at the annual UPCA/ACHR/ACCA Regional Meeting being held in Bangkok from February 23-28. This joint summit is the rendezvous point for the Asian Coalition for Housing Rights and is attended by community representatives and delegates from 19 countries throughout Asia who are reporting on their involvement in ACHR’s Asian Coalition for Community Action Program (ACCA).

This fascinating event has so far seen individuals from as far reaching as the Fiji Islands to Mongolia and South Africa enthusiastically presenting their challenges and future agendas for the second implementing phase, ACCA II.

What is emerging from these uniquely geographic regions and diverse communities is a shared directive focusing on community savings through the prioritised role of women, better communication within and between communities and government, and the evolving participation of community architects in the upgrading of generally informal settlements. The opportunity to share experiences and learn from the successes and failures across such a large landscape is proving to be a most beneficial time for all involved. As ACHR Secretary General asserts, the point of this movement and any appropriate development is for “the poor themselves (to) become the doers and the deliverers of solutions to the huge problems of urban poverty, land and housing.” Here in Bangkok, amongst the passion and pride, this charge seems very possible.