Displacement, Development and the Public Interest: Interrogating the Links

Displacement is happening at scale globally. Beyond violence and conflict-related displacement, much of current population displacement in urban areas is explained in terms of economic and infrastructure development, or as a response to climate change processes. In other words, a dominant narrative from State institutions is that displacement can be explained away in terms of the ‘public good’ or public interest rationales. Yet, such legitimating discourses sit uneasily with widespread evidence of the unequal impact of ‘public-interest’ displacement/evictions. Under what conditions can displacement be justified? What are the stakes involved in public interest arguments? Can other processes of urban transformation be imagined?

This Dialogue on Development session will seek to address such questions with insights from Nigeria where various kinds of displacement are continuing unabated. Colleagues from UCL and IIED will respond with insights from their current action research, including the impact of climate change on displaceability trends, and advocacy around housing justice.