FTurban ingenuity December 6 2012

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foreword

Enduring visions

his, the third FT Urban Ingenuity FTurban ingenuity magazine, marks the end of a year-long December 6 2012 process leading up to the announcement of the winners of the 2012 FT/Citi TIngenuity Awards. Entries for the awards came from all over the world, and from city authorities, community groups, charities and companies. Some entries were high tech, for example looking at how to use data from people’s mobile devices to ease traffic congestion. Others were simpler, but potentially transformative, such as one asking children to document an urban Indian hazard. Our distinguished panel was charged with supported by establishing the most ingenious solutions to urban ft.com/ingenuity problems in the categories of education, energy, healthcare and infrastructure, as well as deciding on an overall winner. But what were the criteria? As the judges’ discussion went on, it became clear that they were looking for originality. Some entries were highly impressive, but the same solution had already been effected elsewhere. The judges wanted FT/Citi Ingenuity Awards: to be sure that the winning projects had had an impact, or were most likely to do so. They wanted Urban Ideas in Action the winners to inspire others. They wanted them to EnErgy engage with a wider community, attracting sufficient Winner: Community Cooker public support to be sustainable. This was the most Foundation, Kenya important criterion: the winning projects needed runner-up: Tokyo Metropolitan to be enduring. All of the category winners, and the Government, Japan overall winner, promise to be exactly that. HEalTH These awards have proved something most of Winner: GSK New Citizen Health us already suspected. Cities are dense networks of Care Project, China systems and people. Disrupting those has immediate runner-up: Child Eye Care effects; witness the upheaval superstorm Sandy Charitable Trust, India caused in New York. But those same densely packed EducaTion people immediately set about re-establishing the Winner: College Possible, US city, just as they did after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. runner-up: The judges preferred Urban dwellers are energetic, and the most not to choose a runner-up innovative go further than simply finding ways infrasTrucTurE to ease their lives. They come up with ideas, Winner: JCDecaux – Vélib’ technologies and systems that benefit us all. It (Lifetime Achievement), France is their endeavours that we celebrate with these runner-up: The judges preferred awards. not to choose a runner-up

Michael Skapinker oVErall WinnEr: Editor, FT Special Reports Community Cooker Foundation COVER PHOTO: MARIELLA FURRER

ft.com/ingenuity | 3 urban ingenuity contents

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6 introduction 22 HeaLtH 36 coLumn with innovation, city community health depends residents of medellín are dwelling can only get better on individuals’ actions reclaiming their city, says alejandro Echeverri 8 Judges 24 gskneW citiZen The awards judging panel a non-profit organisation 38 infrastructure

in Shanghai sets the tone Simple ideas can solve Han brOwninG

10 oPinion complex urban problems aT The world’s poor need their 28 oPinion leaders to show ingenuity, a new community marks 40 VeLib’ writes abhijit banerjee london’s Olympic legacy, The Paris bike hire scheme says lord coe leads the two-wheel field 12 energy Vision and resilience are 30 rio de Janeiro 42 oPinion key to long-term planning rio aims to win from host- new “urban protocols” ing major sports events could bring athens back to 14 community life, writes aristide antonas cooker 32 education foundation closing the gap is good 44 oPinion award-winning cooker for economic growth alain mabanckou recalls a provides multiple solutions childhood in Pointe-noire 34 coLLege 20 oPinion PossibLe 46 oPinion cities evolve according to for a ticket out Small projects offer big the needs of their citizens, of poverty, changes to poor children, says Sir Terry farrell get a degree says Kristin r. lindsey PHOTOS: GETTY, carOlinE blacHE, mariElla furrEr, jOn

4 |ft.com/ingenuity 20 Special reports editor 44 michael Skapinker Editor Hugo Greenhalgh Commissioning editor rohit jaggi Designer Sheila jack Picture editors michael crabtree, john wellings Production editor George Kyriakos Sub-editor lynne O’Donnell Head of strategic sales Patrick collins Head of project delivery rachel Harris Advertising production Daniel lesar

contributors ariSTiDE anTOnaS is an athens-based architect 40 abHijiT banErjEE is an economist and author lOrD cOE is head of the london Olympic Games organising committee cHriS cOOK is the fT’s education correspondent ED crOOKS is the fT’s uS industry and energy editor SHarmila DEVi is a freelance 14 writer Sir TErrY farrEll is a british architect alEjanDrO EcHEVErri is an architect based in medellín EDwin HEaTHcOTE is the fT’s architecture correspondent anDrEw jacK is the fT’s pharmaceuticals correspondent jOSEPH lEaHY is the fT’s brazil correspondent KriSTin r. linDSEY is head of the Global fund for children alain mabancKOu is a writer and academic Yann mOrEll Y alcOVEr is a freelance writer PaTTiwalDmEir is the fT’s Shanghai correspondent 22 Hal wEiTZman is a chicago academic introduction awards EntriEs

Compare and contrast

The awards attracted an impressive field of international entries trying to benefit city dwellers, writes Edwin Heathcote

ities are simulta- versal. As our world urbanises, that can radically transform the neously both the the gap between wealthy and everyday lives of those for whom zenith of civilisation poor widens. Cities attract the fresh running water, sanitation – a word that derives adventurous, the ambitious, the and electricity are still far-off Cfrom the Latin civitas chancers and the crooks just as dreams. for city – and incubators of some they do the wealthy, educated The FT/Citi Ingenuity of the worst poverty and injus- and inventive. There is no single Awards: Urban Ideas in Action tice on the planet. As more than solution to the problems of programme is an attempt to half the world’s population is urbanity. Instead there are myr- find the cream of those ideas, now urban – a figure expected to iad small innovations – surely inventions and innovations. It rise to 70 per cent by 2030 – the many yet to be discovered – that is an effort to gather the most city has become universal. can slightly improve the lot of ingenious solutions to the most The experience of the city, city dwellers in particular places. ubiquitous problems and to however, is very far from uni- There are seemingly simple ideas encourage those with ideas to

6 |ft.com/ingEnuity PHOTOS: EYEVINE, PANOS absent. remains often – is growth real Th ed a eeog ocrip- to enough be can these fields of any in progress or ideas investment, intelligence, of lack it of citizens to broadly most apply that issues cities. of success and sustainability ment, develop- growth, the to mental funda- most issues the address to intended were – energy and infrastructure education, care, cause. can populations in shifts these that education, to health from problems, many the of some alleviate to looking entries tain. whose workers migrant of millions absorb to it urban- incubating of issues own their have class middle emerging in built being cities middle-tier ing innov low-tech worthy and north global the for solutions tech high- worlds, developing and developed into polarised often is conditions. slum in survive who dwellers city of one-third the of needs basic aimed ideas Th cities. those in life and transport air, of quality the and cities wealthy in commuters of lives at aimed ideas high-tech and plex books. school simple to cities smart from cling, ev spectrum. international truly a from at urbanit of ences their improve as possible dwellers city many as help to and out them roll y, y. rce huge a tracted rtigfrom erything nrmnal mrvn the improving incrementally Ch idehwvr–weethe where – however middle e r eeignos low-tech ingenious, were ere Th Th Th ls n noebrack income and class Th It n n lehr o an for elsewhere and ina at orctgre health- – categories four e cities around discourse e the for year first is ey was osfrtegoa south. global the for ions Th Th r lobigrequired being also are e Th ey go ex at ev da addressed ideas e Th dt e some see to od oetal grow- ponentially locvrthe cover also drsigthe addressing r national- ery st y. cy ra r eecom- were ere at ex ft ln orecy- to cling si uncer- is us otthem, port cu fentries of rrently ex aw peri- et ards A . ieaaesokn.Arguably, shocking. are Kibera big world the of some in conditions world the of capital gas-guzzling and Ho iecagn opportunit life-changing a things. other do to them allows time opportunities st infra- public no with communities to facilities basic supply to aims that Cooker Community the with – planet the on city green least Te in space office mercial more make to ra admi- an comparing up ended oaigfrfuel. for foraging simply day each time of amount inordinate an spend least the on living those that transpires footprint. carbon a create to categor people. est plane the of some of lives other the while system city smart a with city sophisticated a in congestion traffic improves One dwellers. ami’s iKhalay- with Bitcarrier tech high- Barcelona’s compare to We process. judging the in of difficulties number a up threw also ness, rich- and diversity remarkable ot n north. and south global spanning inventions and innov programmes, spread of wide a such see to judges the for heartening was it and remarkable a up throw indeed did categories four them. in for living life millions prejudice to or city a ple utr,adfew and ructure, l programme ble a ehp the perhaps – xas Th nryi nte broad another is Energy Th so,teair-conditioned the uston, ge on ourselves found st at at otat be contrasts e ’s epst eos slum rehouse to tempts It y, nryindustr energy n os lm like slums worst and Fo aesetu,i its in spectrum, same n nwihtejudges the which in one ra sasalavnebut advance small a is undation ial rnfrsthe transforms dically ev ef cetcom- ficient en ra Fr at g fideas of nge tw en pthat up eeing at tempting tempting een at y, Ho Deba sha is the mi misses citi Th ions n the and t’ poor- s uston, y. ose ddle, es It re pp te ’s oft lgr al ening ou abo wh en migrants influx the to many citi as frin the On ow the t co ere ut ewith pe es st th ruggle gr of ow ge s: httoecte foster. cities those that innov the disseminating for a mechanism and ideas best the for a magnet be to continue hope, we will, energ as well as disposal rubbish of lem Th pests. and disease for a magnet becomes and up piles it tion informal cit the of bane the is bish slums. the afflicting lems address iously ingen- to managed it because winner overall the as selected slums. the in changes to make is it than ways its change to north global the for planet the of future the for more important the all is it means that the world. the across halfway are they whether or employment and industry of tres cen- nearest the are cities those whether themselves, for be lives make to cities to come ple inevitable. and entrenched dwellers. city of lives the of quality the to big the make and people most the touch to able innov and ingenious most finest, the find to petition same. the remain comparisons. clearer make to us allow hope, ge a on submissions inviting future, the for approach regional more year next for categories the to changes some make to us prompted have process judging the ing acclaim. mous unani- to emerged that winner an tog people brings that at n elcmuiyresource community real a ing gahclbssta il we will, that basis ographical y. okradessteprob- the addresses cooker e Th No Th We Th ex FT ihn raie collec- organised no With rodnr n deserving and traordinary okrpoetwas project cooker e rn oad raiyis urbanity towards trend e dur- had we debates e htte r established, are they that w /Citi aedcddt aea take to decided have ft y, ’s at .c at submissions. o n ingenuity and ion In om h aetm cre- time same the Th ge tw /i nuity rnil will principle e ueprob- huge o ge Th ng st ev at si com- a is is En difference et Aw eryday v ideas ive  her. ui ards Ru y| ty Pe It b- tt o- er is 7 judges the Panel

Profiles

he judges for the FT/Citi John Bowis OBE Bruno Lanvin Ingenuity Awards were A former UK member of The executive director chosen to cover the broad- parliament and mem- of the Insead business est possible spectrum of ber of the European school’s global knowl- Tknowledge and specialism parliament, John Bowis edge engine eLab is a in the issues affecting cities globally. served as both a health former senior executive Chaired by Edwin Heathcote, the and a transport min- at the World Bank and panel covered a wide range of speciali- ister in the Conserva- the United Nations. ties, ranging from the economics of tive government in the He has been a commis- poverty, to aid delivery in the develop- 1990s. He is currently sioner of the Broadband ing world, public and private sector the executive president Commission since it healthcare, education and communi- of Health First Europe. was established in 2010, cation. The panel generated a lively and is a member of discussion of the entries, and we hope Sir Terry Farrell the World Economic the winners will both make a real dif- One of the world’s most Forum’s Global Advisory ference and inspire others. respected architects, Sir Council on the Future of Terry Farrell is responsi- Government. ble for an array of highly David Adjaye recognisable buildings. Prof Carlo Ratti One of the foremost His practice has huge Prof Ratti is an architect architects of his gen- experience in infra- and engineer practic- eration, David Adjaye’s structure and transport, ing in his native Italy work spans art and and in setting out the and teaching in the US, large institutional and frameworks for the way where he set up MIT’s municipal buildings. cities will grow. Senseable City Lab. Born in Tanzania, he He holds a number of moved to London as Reinier de Graaf patents and has co- a child but maintains As a partner of Rotter- authored more than 200 a critical interest in dam-based architecture publications. His work urbanism in Africa. His practice OMA and the with Senseable is based designs include East supervisor of the Think around the study of the

London’s Idea Stores Tank AMO, Reinier de urban environment and INOV, AFP, GETTY

and the Nobel Institute Graaf has combined transforming our under- VO

in Oslo. the design of ambitious standing of cities. D. buildings and urban Abhijit Banerjee plans with an analysis of Luanne Zurlo India-born Abhijit global issues, including After a career as a

Banerjee is the Ford energy and education. Wall Street securities VID LEVENE, Foundation Interna- analyst, Luanne Zurlo DA tional Professor of Edwin Heathcote founded, in 2002, the LL, Economics at the Mas- Edwin Heathcote is the non-profit Worldfund, YA sachusetts Institute of FT’s architecture and aimed at using educa-

Technology. He is one design critic. He is also tion to fight poverty in MES RO of the most important an architect, a writer and Latin America. With JA contributors to the field designer and co-founder a network of partner- of development econom- of architectural hard- ships, it has launched ics and co-founded the ware manufacturer izé. innovative teacher Poverty Action Lab. His He is a contributor to in- training programmes ideas are outlined in his ternational architectural and literacy, numeracy award-winning best- journals and has written and arts projects across seller Poor Economics. numerous books. the continent. PHOTOS: CHARLIE BIBBY,

8 |ft.com/ingenuity

opinion Abhijit bAnerjee

Difficult truth

The poorest people are often the most ingenious because they are forced to make up for the failures of their leaders

e don’t need would throw down so his clients road, quite literally under the more urban did not have to step through the wheels of commerce. then they ingenuity. We garbage surrounding his shop sold the sand to their neighbours need a world and then quickly pull up to leave who used it to scrub their pots. Wwhere less the pavement unobstructed. it is Abdul, one of the central ingenuity is necessary to survive. it is the group of women figures in Beyond the Beauti- ingenuity is everywhere the described by esther duflo and i ful Forevers, Katherine Boo’s world’s poor live. ingenuity is the in Poor Economics, our book on magnificent description of life in tiny tailor shop i saw in dakar. it how to fight poverty, who sat on a Mumbai slum, who figured out was a kind of treehouse a couple the kerb across from the stock how to sort the “new garbage” of feet off the ground, with a exchange in Mumbai drying wet that came with modernisa- wooden ladder that the tailor sea sand by laying it out on the tion and globalisation into the PHOtOS: GettY, reUterS

10 |ft.com/ingenuity credit h albehind. fall who first-gener the of master to ability the emphasising poor, in like countries in system tion did. brother his like to tr chance the given been had he that true probably is it economic such from young the protect to little th school. high to child one send to afford only could work—they ones. usual the are correctly, book the schooling? his finishing from benefit not he would days; very long in put to willing and ter, bet- rubbish sort to how out figure to enough bright was school? in not he was Why development? physical his for do that did What rubbish? pile of a over hunched day a more or hours 12 spending 15, of rec of owners the that categories ous? salubri- more somewhere not locate Why illness? of risk the and waste, the from rising fumes noxious the endure Why rubbish dump. a in shop tailor a was a including those, for support no providing and rat y, i seems dia e e hnbscuieslskills, universal basic than her We th boy a Abdul, was why But yc ewudhv ukdout, flunked have would he in th igpat demanded. plants ling th nwr,i mreading am i if answers, e hudas s h there why ask also should dian va nwr rsmby is presumably, answer, e aiynee i to him needed family e st go mut fcontent of amounts st enetdoes vernment ce gis the against acked ex at gnis And igencies. va o learners, ion th st majority ev educa- e nif en He onre alt raejobs. create to fail countries developing many means factors other of host a and economies labour-scarce more from imported are that nologies tech- on reliance regulations, mark capital developed poorly of tion combina- A hard. work do: to equipped best are they one thing the on focus can they so know-how) and capital the (and ingenuity the supply to else someone prefer people te a fmkn living. a making of way other no had they because presumably, th so. done easily have could sand; one the watch to there be to needed women four that not clear is it inspired, is cars of wheels the under sand the ing solutions. “creative” out seek th centre. the outside infrastructure other and transport in vesting underin- by and construction, restricting by centre city the in prices estate real inflate ficially arti- cities most but what happened, is this that swear to dakar clientele. (poor) his of most for unaffordable tailor the make probably would neighbourhood Pa nevertheless was that visible, be could the shop where spot one was this that igfrapoe hpi that in shop proper a for ying esnfu hwdu is, up showed four reason e to businesses forces what is is th dry- of idea the while Finally, don i et rt sta otpoor most that is truth e ,ilcniee labour ill-considered s, ’t nweog about enough know av ial n cheap. and ailable at all re ec fr pr le are poor the wits: their Living om ast aliti ote onomic ne hi in their poor re be In we harsh cted es on duc ge ed ll ne nuit to eded fo the e ge the r re will y your ingenious. be to person the for need the reduce hopefully will which of all policies, urban changing and mark land and capital labour, improving education, secondary and primary quality a to access enhancing like things in are need world developing the in we hthappen. that make to ingenuity of deal great neut of ingenuity liber Abdul people like offer to able be we will questions these to answers real slum-lik Ho ex st ture? ra without those to loans tiny offers which microcredit, mean not do cash? on short and ity ingenu- on long are who people to lend to willingness greater a is there so borrowers, and banks for incentives the improve and borrowers, monitoring of cost science? a have selves them- teachers potential the of few relatively where countries in science high-school of delivery poor. themselves are who many include certainly will who social, and political economic, future, and present bii aejei neconomist an BanerjeeAbhijit is n authorand nuit ly et fKlaao Karachi or Kolkata of reets igthe zing ldn rmgoigtraffic? growing from ploding to u eei hr idto lied i where is here But that reforms primary the So nywe we when Only Ho ow aetesusless slums the make we do w on at Ho osoeipoethe improve one does w ft y eto:w ilne a need will we tention: e? Ho ow rvn the prevent we do w .c ex om of ow euethe reduce we do w ev oiis without policies, bad of years of tim vic- the landscape, urban the change go really with those for loans larger much mean i ingenuity; demonstr any siginfrastruc- isting go Fr Po rdysurvival. eryday dideas. od /i Ho at morleaders, our om dgonigin grounding od av reconomics or ng o rmthe from ion st rg poor erage owe do w r finding art en He ui ei re at y| ty ed ge et  s t 11 energy overview

Balance of power

Planning for the energy needs of the future requires long-term vision and withstanding short-term market volatility, writes Ed Crooks

he fundamental field can remain in production port for nuclear power in the UK, problem of energy is indefinitely, depending on how and the looming end of the Us that it is a long-term the reservoir is managed. production tax credit for wind business perpetually yet all of these investments power – which expires at the end Tswayed by short- are critically affected by govern- of the year unless the Us govern- term influences. ment policy and commodity ment agrees to extend it – have A wind farm will last for at market fluctuations. made it difficult to assess those least 20 years; a gas-fired or coal Attention is often focused industries’ financial prospects. power plant potentially for 60. on the uncertainty induced by A report earlier this year Companies building new reac- the instability of government from the brookings Institu- tors say there is a good chance supports. the cuts to many solar tion, the World resources they will still be in service a power feed-in tariff programmes Institute and the breakthrough century from now. An oil or gas in europe, the debate over sup- Institute said the low-carbon photos: getty, bloomberg

12 |ft.com/ingenuity out of the window. the crisis towards greater energy effi- Sunny days: in the Us coal mining industry ciency – voluntarily in houston, glass tubes today, for example, has less to do by law in tokyo – saving money made for solar with the administration’s sup- as well as cutting pollution. panels by posed “war on coal” than it does the energy and resources Solyndra find with plunging North American Institute of India has innovated use in the art natural gas prices resulting from with institutions, creating a new installation the shale gas boom. financial structure to allow poor SOL Grotto When thinking about innova- communities to buy cleaner, safer tion in energy, it is essential liquid petroleum gas cookers so to consider how a product or Air power: a they can stop burning wood. service can be robust to a wide wind farm can the only advanced technol- range of possible outcomes. last for at least ogy is the electric bus from solyndra, the manufacturer of 20 years proterra of south Carolina. It innovative solar panels that col- focuses on cost as well as envi- lapsed last year owing $528m to ronmental benefits, promising the Us government, might never to be “the lowest-cost solution have been a commercial success, for safely transporting human but any chance was made worse beings in urban areas”. by the precipitous drop in the the Community Cooker price of conventional crystal- Foundation from Kenya, winner line silicon panels of the category and overall win- caused by huge ner this year, developed a tech- global overcapacity Technological nological advance at a brilliantly in the industry. change can simple level to address health A common problems caused by traditional feature of the short- alter market cooking methods. listed entries for relationships Among this impressive range urban ingenuity of ideas there are some conspic- was that they were and industry uous absences – for instance, able to withstand structures there are no technologies for this kind of shock, power generation. but given the and be effective in uncertainties about the econom- a world of energy that is very ics of energy supply, it might different from the way it looked be difficult for one of those to four or five years ago. emerge as a clear winner. energy policy always tries to the greater potential, per- hit the three moving targets of haps, lies in energy storage, an value for money, security of sup- area attracting serious entrepre- ply and environmental protec- neurial interest. Intermittency tion. With the resources of both still bedevils renewable genera- governments and the private tion, especially wind power, and energy industry is failing to sector under pressure, the trade- existing storage technology is move “beyond boom and bust”. offs between those criteria have not adequate to provide the What is less often noticed been sharpened. back-up that would enable it to is that the threat of volatility All of the shortlisted entries replace fossil fuels entirely. applies equally to fossil fuel in the energy category showed While there is a great deal of industries. Commodity markets both resilience to changing activity going on in this area, the fluctuate, and in energy markets conditions and the ability to results have been mixed. Identi- where supply and demand are meet multiple objectives. In two fying what works and highlight- often relatively inelastic, fluctua- cases – houston’s green office ing it would be an extremely tions can be large. Challenge and tokyo’s cap-and- valuable service. technological change can trade system for carbon dioxide It would be welcomed if next throw established market rela- emissions – there are new insti- year’s awards inspired exciting tionships and industry structures tutions that will push businesses submissions in this area. 

ft.com/ingenuity | 13 Trash to treasure

A brick and metal stove that uses rubbish to produce clean, cheap and safe energy is also helping to fuel communal harmony, writes Katrina Manson Photographs by Mariella Furrer ENERGY COMMUNITY COOKER FOUNDATION

aroline Adhiambo rolls out dough for more of the thick chapatis that are Csizzling on the huge stove beside her, marvelling at the new technology that is trans- forming her community in the Karagita slum. “Strange,” she calls the six- ring, rubbish-burning stove that is helping clean the local environment and provide faster, cheaper and safer energy for local householders. “It is some- thing that we have never seen.” The “community cooker” she is using is the brainchild of Kenya-born architect Jim Archer, of Planning Systems Ser- vices. It not only won the energy category but was chosen as the overall winner of this year’s FT/ Citi Ingenuity Awards. The industrial-scale oven safely incinerates food and household waste while chan- nelling the energy it produces to cooking, heating and boiling water, helping cut reliance on more traditional fuel sources such as wood and charcoal. It also provides a commu- nal meeting point in a country that has long been blighted by ethnic tensions, and this slum of 54,000 people, in the midst of Kenya’s most important flower growing region, has not been immune to the violence such conflict can bring. If teething problems with a business model can be overcome, the community cooker will also be a self-sustaining source of income from a complementary Community Café. “It is something good because we are not going to use things like firewood and charcoal, so it’s cheap,” says 29-year- old Adhiambo, one of several flower farm workers who are busy firing up the recently installed community cooker.

FT.COM/INGENUITY | 15 xx pr safer To wh ethnic ease Ka mu epar |F ge ra ile nal iasu has slum gita thern spac pr T. at co ov CO ion ok e es id fo M/ te er n a ing :the s: r nsi at xxxxxxxxxxxxx fo the on od cle co help s m- aner, ed

CredIT ENERGY COMMUNITY COOKER FOUNDATION

The cooker reaches tem- peratures above 800 degrees Celsius, in line with World Health Organisation standards aimed at ensuring that noxious fumes, such as those produced by plastic bags and polythene packing, are eliminated during the incineration process. The oil for Adhiambo’s chapa- tis is spitting at temperatures of about 880C, and the air around the stove shimmers with the heat it is creating. The metal-and-brick stove can burn 12kg of rubbish an hour. Judy Wambui, a rose buncher at a local flower farm, says her rice cooks in half the time on the communal cooker than it does at home. The Karagita area of Naiva- sha, two hours north-west of the capital Nairobi, is home yet is unaware of the potential Tesco and Marks and Spencer to more than 50 flower farms health risks. “We cook inside chains, first looked into the idea that earn vital export income but we have ventilation,” says in 2010. for Kenya. A group of workers the 39-year-old flower grader, “We built it about eight times here took it upon themselves to pointing to five narrow slits in before we actually got it right,” explore the possibility of install- the concrete walls. The econom- says the foundation’s Janice ing the cooker after learning of ics of charcoal, however, do not Muthui. The foundation – with the benefits it had brought to escape him. “In the rainy season the help of the rubbish collectors other communities where it was the roads are bad and the trucks who sift the rubbish to remove already in use. can’t make it and so the price recyclable and sellable items – The improvement in the goes up too high,” he says. are still working out what type quality of life in this small cor- Slice of life: A short walk to of rubbish provides ner of the slum stands in stark the Karagita the fringes of the Workers saw the highest energy contrast to the rest of Karagita, slum is home slum, and life could output when it where children brew tea and to 54,000 not be more differ- that the cooker burns. cook tomatoes in metal mugs people who ent: men are stoking could clean the For now, farm they sit on plastic waste that live without the community workers are run- smoulders at temperatures too formal civic cooker with refuse environment ning the cooker, low to burn off the toxic fumes. services such collected locally and and generate but plan to soon rubbish – food refuse, plastic as rubbish dried in a three-tier hand it over to bags and bottles, wood shav- collection storage unit. rice, an income the community as ings – piles up in breeze block beef stew and veg- a going concern, enclosures that punctuate the etables bubble away in pots on earning its keep from selling tracks separating rows of con- the stove top. food in a cafeteria that will be crete huts roofed with sheets of The Community Cooker called the Community Café. beaten zinc. Godwin Simiyu calls Foundation, the charitable trust “eighty to 90 per cent of our a one-room hut in the midst of set up by Archer’s Planning Sys- workers live in Karagita and it this squalor home, and tries to tems Services, installed the stove was very congested and dirty,” brighten the gloom with huge for 1.85m shillings ($22,600) says Julius Njuguna, packhouse posters of red and yellow roses. after farm workers at Longonot manager and Fairtrade officer He uses a charcoal-burning Horticulture, which grows roses for Longonot Horticulture. The stove for heating and cooking, for, among others, the UK’s company uses the 8 per cent

FT.COM/INGENUITY | 17 ENERGY COMMUNITY COOKER FOUNDATION

premium charged on Fairtrade- Kibera cookers, and a pilot unwind and mix freely after a labelled flowers sold in the UK cooker set up at Archer’s offices, hard day’s work, or bring their and elsewhere to fund a number a fourth is under construc- families on the weekend.” of projects, including workers’ tion at Kawangware Children’s Adhiambo says her neigh- transport to work and childcare Garden Home in Nairobi, and bours were among the victims of facilities, and a tree nursery that another four are expected to be the 2007 violence, but she adds grows seedlings to be planted built elsewhere in Kenya soon. that few in the slum escaped. throughout the slum. enquiries have come from the “even me, I lost my property, The Longonot Fairtrade Indonesian island of Bali, Corn- they stole everything; I started Association decided to go ahead wall in the UK, and Nigeria. afresh,” she says. with the cooker after seeing its Muthui says the cooker is Today she is among flower potential in Nairobi’s helping to nurture Flourishing farm workers from different sprawling Kibera The cooker peace in a commu- future: time parts of the country who mingle slum, where the first creates a nity that five years to take the happily at the community one was set up in ago was wracked Kibera cooker cooker. Simiyu, who saw people 2007. “We saw this communal by ethnic violence to the next killed on this very spot, hopes cooker can clean the area where that followed the level with a it will complement plans for a environment (and) 2007 elections Community park. “People can interact as they generate income, so people come and left more than Café that pays cook food,” he says. “Before, they it could be a sus- to mingle 1,100 people dead. its own way were avoiding each other.” tainable project,” Some of the worst The lack of a business plan is says Njuguna. of the violence took a problem facing the community Kibera is the largest slum in place in Naivasha. cooker, with concerns about a east Africa, consisting of 13 vil- “Flower farm workers come lack of clarity dating back to lages and home to hundreds of from all over Kenya and there- 2008, according to an early thousands of people who live in fore Karagita is a real melting report from Arup consultants. rented shacks that are literally pot of different tribes and cul- While the benefits of the held together with string. Thanks tures,” says Muthui. cooker might be obvious to to Archer’s communal cooker, “There is a very deeply rooted those who have funded, built much of the ubiquitous garbage need for the community to and installed it, it cannot work is now recycled into energy that engage in common activities, without local involvement. has transformed the lives of and the community cooker and The Kibera cooker provides many of the residents. Community Café offer a recrea- an object lesson – technically, Aside from the Karagita and tional area where they can come, it works well, but the group in charge of it has yet to devise a business plan that matches income with expenses. Muthui is unfazed. “We are confident that this temporary impasse will sort itself out. “We just want to build it and get the community to embrace it and run it without looking back to us. If they feel it’s part of them, they’ll use it.” The foundation is now seek- ing assistance from Jhpiego, the Kenya affiliate of the Johns Hopkins University in the US. “We know that we have to take it to the next level now. And the next level is for the com- munity to come on board with us and really embrace this new technology,” she says. 

18 |FT.COM/INGENUITY opinion Sir Terry farrell

here has been much talk recently about big projects and the need to recapture Tthe heroic Victorian spirit when addressing future infrastructure needs in london, and the UK. In my view, there is often a fundamental misreading of these Victorian times, driven by the additional misreading of the country’s post-industrial position in the world. Britain’s infrastructure genius was in adapting, incrementally and pragmatically, the benefits of inventions, usually much more than the inventions themselves. Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the 19th-century engineer, is often raised as a model but, while brilliant, he left a trail of failed applications of his inventions. His first project (with his father) was the Rotherhithe pedestrian tunnel, which was rescued when it was reused as part of the underground rail network. Then the great Hungerford suspension bridge failed because the town planning concept was flawed. The market at Charing Cross failed to rival Covent Garden – and its ultimate success in Bristol was a triumph, more than anything, of prag- matic reuse. Broad gauge rail was the ideal design, but, like the perfectly designed and conceived Betamax video format, it failed to become a part of the bigger commercial network. It is not the inventive hardware of these or any civil engineering projects on their own, but the software, the town planning integration From the ground up and their part in the bigger net- work of systems that were key to

what prevailed. ll, GeTTy and so it was with all our ya Britain’s big cities have evolved with the gradual and infrastructure systems networks. pragmatic integration of transportation technology, Our industrialised water trans- meS RO Ja rather than the imposition of grand projects port of canals and docks were brilliant town planning products of experimentation and step-by- PHOTOS: step integration into a network Vale, Paddington and around to sidered in the light of looking of related patterns of use, reuse elephant & Castle, destroying first at what we have now, and and practical application. So it inner london in the process. how they can be better utilised, was with rail: london’s mainline What was then built? Well, not only within themselves but stations were originally built as we learnt that the motor car in the light of a mature existing goods stations outside the city had to be radically tamed to network of other transport core. When it became clear that be integrated and adapted to systems in road and rail, and the main trade was in passengers the prevailing town planning also the addition to these rather than goods, the answer realities and we have instead networks of high-speed rail and was to invent the Underground congestion charging, and pedes- other considerable rail improve- Railway (eventually reusing trianised streets, and invest- ments that will change and Brunel’s tunnelling shield from ment in the reinvention of the rebalance all the potentialities the failed Rotherhithe tunnel). tram, more underground rail, Engineering of the total system. But the Tube grew, and con- and even cycling revisited and a future: the my own conviction is that an nected, and grew again, and it reinvented with rental bicycles audacious evolutionary, networked system continues to evolve today with as part of a comprehensive, genius of approach to our airport capac- new computerised card ticket- integrated network solution Isambard ity will obviate the need for new ing systems. It is still a live and that has evolved pragmati- Kingdom mega-projects. They never were evolving project, with the Vic- cally without grand projects. Brunel laid the how we did things, and will be toria, Jubilee and now Crossrail China, with 1.3bn people, foundations too grandiose and too costly and lines all adding to and enriching where my firm has built the for modern risky for us now. the existing system. world’s two largest (high-speed) infrastructure all the shortlisted projects The “ideal and perfect” design railway stations, is only now brilliantly recognise and apply response to the motor car was industrialising and urbanising. this bottom-up, dynamic drawn up by town planner Pat- But its gross national product is systems approach to city mak- rick abercrombie in the 1940s projected to be twice the size of ing. Bitcarrier in madrid uses – an eight-lane, limited access the US’s by 2050. This is not a communication technologies motorway that ran through the model for the UK – our infra- – Bluetooth, WiFi and mobile centre of Camden Town, Prim- structure has matured and inte- devices – to manage traffic more rose Hill and on through maida grated into our lives and built effectively, reducing congestion, fabric. also, the UK protecting the environment and is quite a different These projects improving quality of life. The model and national brilliantly use Vélib’ self-service bicycle system scale, and we will in Paris uses old technology (the no longer be in the a bottom-up bike) and integrates and re- big league of China, approach to charges it to create a collective Brazil and India. yet individual form of transport. So we need to dynamic city Riverpark Farm in New york look at all infra- development expands a growing movement in structure planning urban agriculture, reinventing as it meets our needs now and in with new technologies and reuse the future. It is about adding to of unconventional urban spaces, networks that exist. Our airport the relationship between the planning cannot be based on city’s inhabitants and its food the huge scale of China. Neither production. and iKhayalami can it afford the hit-and-miss reorganises and enables poor experimentation of early UK communities by incrementally industrialisation – Brunel’s and upgrading the more disadvan- many other historic failures are taged central urban informal not conceivable in our demo- settlements in a way that has cratic, historically well settled, global application for the bil- post-industrial age. lions of people living in impov- Closing major airports, build- erished urban environments.  ing giant new hubs or any other Sir Terry Farrell is an award- grand gestures must only be con- winning British architect

fT.com/ingenuiTy | 21 health overview

A clean bill

Empowering citizens to counter the health risks of living in cities helps them function as communities working for the greater good, with powerful results, writes Andrew Jack

eneath the bright fied by less physical exercise and impoverished pockets of people lights of big cities unhealthy diets. with far worse health outcomes, around the world, As David Wilson, global HIV/ harbouring some of the highest not all is so alluring. Aids programme director of the rates of tuberculosis infection BUrbanisation may World Bank, noted at a pioneer- in western Europe, for instance. be the desirable result of the ing City Health conference in Immigrants, who are essential benefits of city living, but conur- London in October that already for urban growth, get a particu- bations also bring the negative more than half of the globe’s larly poor deal from prevention consequence of intense concen- total population is urban. By and treatment programmes. trations of illness and death. 2025, there will be more than The City of London itself has With globalised travel, infec- 600 cities, each with more than exceptional challenges in cop- tions are able to move across 1m inhabitants; and the majority ing with an enormous transi- borders more quickly and effec- of the poorest people on Earth tory population of workers and tively than ever. Non-communi- will be living in urban areas. evening visitors far outstripping cable diseases are also spreading “Cities concentrate and incubate permanent residents. as wealth rises, bringing pollu- new health threats,” he says. That suggests the need for tion, traffic accidents, mental Londoners may overall have innovative approaches to bring health problems and lifestyle ail- relatively high average income convenient healthcare services to ments such as diabetes intensi- and longevity. Yet that conceals people wherever they spend time PHOTO: GETTY

22 |ft.com/ingenuity solutions, even when public become the subject of a legal sector support is limited. challenge; but it is a pioneer- China and India are the ing effort to limit cheap sup- world’s most populous nations, plies that intensify local health with a large and growing problems. number of its biggest cities. Their counterparts in New migrants are essential to Vancouver have defended the maintain that dynamism but provision of a supervised site are among the most precarious, for drug users, designed to disorientated and disenfran- respond to a reality rather than chised inhabitants. Many live in stigmatising a practice that marginal areas with poor infra- would otherwise operate under- structure and suffer dispropor- ground. The result has been to tionately bad health. help rehabilitate the deprived Yet they are sources of ideas Downtown Eastside district. and energy, as GSK’s winning The Stad initiative – Stock- New Citizen Health Care Project holm Prevents Alcohol and Drug in Shanghai, and the runner up, Problems – has shown progress the Child Eye Care Charitable through a combination of tough Trust in Mumbai, demonstrate. enforcement of sales, commu- Empowering people to improve nity education and training of their own lives and function as doormen and serving staff. The a community to help others can results far outweigh the costs. deliver powerful results. In future urban innovation Similar innovation is taking award applications, place in urban locations world- Inspiration in it would be worth- wide. Many may think of Latin while highlight- American cities as chaotic and dealing with ing and crediting crime-ridden, none more so than new health such initiatives Medellín in Colombia, with its challenges can that come from Overwhelming: association with the country’s elected officials every city has its notorious drug cartels. come from and civil servants own public health Yet local civic leaders have anywhere working alongside challenges transformed the environ- the non-profit and ment through urban planning, private sectors. It enhanced public transport, the would also be useful to provide and not just where they live. provision of libraries, bike lanes rigorous analysis demonstrat- As elsewhere in the UK and and car-free zones. ing efficacy, and highlighting beyond, that also means finding As John Ashton at Liverpool lessons for others seeking to new ways to cope with the corol- Medical School put it at Lon- replicate the best approaches. lary of the superficially attractive don’s City Health conference, Urban areas in long-industri- and wealth-generating urban citing a long tradition of urban alised countries provide a taste entertainment “eco-system” of renewal, planning, community of things to come in the best and pubs and clubs: a thoroughly involvement and innovation the worst of global health trends. mixed cocktail of drug abuse, over decades: “The city can be Yet the use of new technol- alcoholism and violence. such a powerful focus for health ogy including mobile phones This year’s laureates in the protection and improvement, as gives poorer countries the award for urban healthcare a total place where all can come chance to leapfrog their richer innovation highlight both the together round the table to work peers in developing innovative pressures of living in built- for the common wealth and approaches. Innovation can up areas around the world, common good.” come from anywhere. And in the and the continued ability of Edinburgh’s politicians earlier struggle against the escalating residents, social organisa- this year took a stand against epidemic of non-communicable tions and the private sector to granting licences to sell alcohol diseases, humanity needs inspi- work together to generate new to supermarket outlets. It has ration from everywhere. 

ft.com/ingenuity | 23 XX |f T. Co m/ XXXXXXXXXXXXX

CREDIT HEALTH GSK NEW CITIZEN

Fit for purpose

Community health centres are showing local governments how to fill a gap for migrants to China’s big cities, writes Patti Waldmeir Photographs by Jonathan Browning

wo years ago in Kline, the drug company, and Shanghai, an infant operated by the Xintu Centre for girl with a heart Community Health Promotion, defect was aban- a local non-governmental organ- Tdoned in the shadow isation (NGO) that specialises in of the luxurious Four Seasons public health education. hotel, possibly because her In Sanlin town, a crowded migrant worker parents could urban community of 100,000 not afford her medical care. migrants in Shanghai’s Pudong That child’s plight cast a district, the GSK project has sharp light on one of the biggest built one of four community social problems facing China’s centres, complete with air-con- new political leaders: how to ditioned playroom, classrooms improve healthcare for tens of and lecture rooms, provided millions of migrant workers who rent-free by the local govern- live in desperate poverty amid ment. The project has been such the conspicuous consumption of a hit with local residents that its biggest cities. GSK is planning to open a simi- The abandoned infant, who lar centre in Beijing next year. now lives in an orphanage after At the macro level, the her heart repair was paid for Chinese government has made by the local government, is one healthcare reform a top priority, of 230m migrants who have fully aware that as their stand- boosted urbanisation to the ard of living rises, peoples’ will- point where last year, for the ingness to tolerate the country’s first time, more Chinese lived in antiquated healthcare delivery cities than in the countryside. system is fading. In 2009, Bei- In Shanghai alone, she is one of jing set itself the ambitious goal nearly 10m migrants who make of providing universal access up 40 per cent of the popula- to effective, safe and low-cost tion – and whose numbers are healthcare by 2020. Since then, forecast to rise to 14m, or half it has extended some form of the city’s population, by the end health insurance to 95 per cent of the decade. of the population, says a recent Life at the sharp Helping those new migrants report, “Healthcare in China: end: the Sanlin integrate into a city that is not ‘Entering uncharted waters’”, centre provides their home - and where their from McKinsey, the consultancy. healthcare for lack of a residents’ permit, or But when it comes to the migrants and hukou, still makes it harder micro level – the level of daily their children for them to get education and life in a migrant community healthcare – is the mission of the such as Sanlin – the picture is GSK New Citizen Health Care much less rosy. In theory, for project, funded by GlaxoSmith- example, migrants to Shanghai CREDIT

fT.Com/INGENuITy | 25 HEALTH GSK NEW CITIZEN

Education for as knowing about a free service,” life: migrant says Guo. “You may have the women can right in theory, but first you have attend classes to know that you have it – which at the health most migrants don’t. And then centre on a you need various certifications in wide range of order to get it.” topics, from Most migrants “don’t have the using Skype resources to go through the whole to sanitation process”, she says, adding that implementation is the problem, not policy. The GSK project does not try to provide the medical care that migrant workers and their families are lacking. Rather, it tries to prevent them getting sick, by offering basic preven- tive education on topics such as sanitation, childhood nutri- tion and childhood diseases. From its annual budget of RMB 1m ($160,320), it have the same healthcare rights provides a mix of as those who hold Shanghai Authorities are services, even beyond hukou. “But without health eager to learn its public health insurance, the services are too focus: recent work- expensive,” says Guo Xiaomu, how they can shops have been held director of Xintu. extend the covering such areas as Migrants may have some preventing hand, foot form of health insurance, but project to other and mouth disease, most can only use it in their communities but also on domestic province of origin. The central violence, and how to government is working hard use Skype and shop to improve the portability safely online. of health insurance across Guo says local provincial borders, but there governments are is a long way to go before that watching her projects becomes reality. Even provinces to learn how they can that allow insurance portabil- be extended to other ity often make it so difficult to communities. But claim that in practice reim- while other NGOs bursement is impossible. provide help to In Shanghai, where the best migrant schools, the hospitals have some world-class GSK project seems equipment and practitioners, to be one of the few the local government provides in China to focus on some healthcare services free migrant healthcare. for poor residents, including Reform of Chinese migrants, and foreign and local healthcare has only charities fund many healthcare just begun: projects services, including free opera- such as this could tions, for instance to repair the blaze a trail others heart defect that prompted the will follow.  abandonment of the migrant Additional reporting infant. “But it’s not as simple by Yan Zhang

26 |fT.Com/INGENuITy

opinion SEBASTiAn coE

he seeds for the He was spot on. Under- Game on London Olympic developed since the war, the area Games and Paralym- of east London near Stratford pic Games were sown chosen for the Olympic Park Tmore than a decade was, on the surface, prime real A new sustainable community ago. A handful of people met in estate with strong transport is emerging in the UK capital’s a West End pub to discuss the links. But with multiple land use prospect of London hosting the over hundreds of years, much of East End, built on the vision games, and a feasibility study it was contaminated and would and success of the London was duly commissioned. Fast require significant investment 2012 games forward to November 2012, and to make it suitable for develop- the rest is history. ment. The prospect of hosting Looking at it in such linear the games provided the catalyst terms does the process a disser- to bring together three critical vice because the reason we man- things – host the world’s great- aged to garner such support in est sporting event; regenerate a the sporting community, in the large area of London; and create UK and beyond, was the vision a blueprint for new, sustainable, we had for a London Olympics. urban communities. Our dream was to use the Add to this the prospect of power of the games to inspire inspiring young people to take lasting change. up sport and providing the The games had the potential UK’s capital city with sport- to provide opportunities for ing facilities it should have had the UK that would never come generations ago, and the idea of around again in our lifetimes, London 2012 had an unstoppa- so the vision would have to run ble momentum that transcended through every aspect of the party politics. London 2012 had project. This included where we become an opportunity for the would locate the Olympic Park. nation that could not be missed: The support of Ken Livingstone, inspire a generation – and create then mayor of London, was total, a new postcode. but he was adamant that any We brought together the UK’s development should be centred greatest creative minds to help on London’s East End. prepare the bid and then deliver the games. From town planning to sustainability, architects to crowd management specialists, everything was planned and developed in great detail. The work done by the London 2012 team demonstrated that when it comes to large infrastructure projects, we have vision and we can deliver. And we can do both on time and within budget. So on July 27, 2012, when the eyes of the world turned to London for the opening cer- emony of the Olympic Games, we were ready. The sports had been meticulously planned and tested, crowd movements modelled to ensure a smooth experience for our spectators,

28 |fT.com/inGEnUiTY PHOTOS: ANTHONy PALmEr, cHArLiE BiBBy next? what But success. massive a were acclaim, popular years. many for seen not pride national of pouring out- and support of wave a witnessed the of ceremony closing the to through right country the in landed flame Olympic the moment the celebr and sport of festival fantastic a was the summer in saw we What ready. and trained were makers games the o l hs er ago. years those all planned for we what of part next the sw oe twudbe. would it hoped we as Olympic the that rat don o a enstu oensure to up set been has ion No Th Le ae,by games, e ene odlvron deliver to need we w Pa ayDvlpetcorpo- Development gacy ra ypcGms we Games, lympic Pa at ksftr is future rk’s ion. Th re vib bl is The Fr e ue to ne om Lo ra nuethe ensure ch pr n- wa nt int allen gr l urban n20 in Ho European the host will park the sporting big art concerts, including from, to choose activities and sports 25 be will We in neighbourhoods. new five in of part this well-connected in created be will homes new ilsaewl rn oejb to jobs more bring will space cial commer- of m sq 91,000 further fo ow diint h magnificent the to addition Th ck st ex ge r edrti eeomn,a development, retail field 17 ych ey iiin n,o course, of and, hibitions in r oiie 8,000 positive: are signs e s the , minhp and, ampionships Wo ev htec a there day each that beyond. and area the in live who those for do to something be always will there – ways innumerable in life to come will area. the ents. l Athletics rld it sestimated is in Th 2015, Lo park e ndon, co ne si br fr the co or Ol Lo after: and Bef om te ow ga ym mmuni mple urban w ndon ore mo (l iesare nisers eft nfield pics ve ting ) ’s to 2012 ty ae raiigcommittee organising Games Olympic London the of head is athlete, former a Coe, Lord future. the into grows east in heart sport with community urban new the for blueprint the that but survives, vision the just that not sure make and 2012 of summer the of success the on place. a promising in are we began, games the before discussions legacy the by and bodies, other of levels all across affected, those all with partnership in delivered was project the sure making realit a becoming is heart its sport with community urban the of Olympic vision the but do, to much ch go ampionships. Th it enet h iyand city the vernment, onsovos u by but obvious, sounds fT hleg o st build to is now challenge e .c Pa om ka irn new vibrant a as rk Lo /i dntrvsand thrives ndon nG Th r is ere En st  arting at Ui its Y| TY st ill y. at 29 Rio DE JANEiRo spoRts

olf is not a sport that courses, this facility in Barra da Go for gold naturally lends itself Tijuca, a newer part of Rio that to association with will host many Olympic events, the upcoming Olym- will be focused on developing the Gpic Games in Brazil, public’s interest in golf. The Olympics and World Cup unlike the national obsessions of “The idea is to build the first will bring Rio more than sporting football and beach volleyball. public golf facility in Rio, to Yet it is in the area of golf that focus on developing the sport, glory. Joseph Leahy reports the 2016 Rio Olympics will leave teaching children and training one of its more idiosyncratic and, professionals,” says Arminio it is hoped, lasting legacies with Fraga, a former central bank the city’s first public golf course. governor and member of the Rio Earlier this year, the city chose 2016 golf advisory committee. US-based Hanse Golf Course In a developing city such as Design to deliver a facility to host Rio de Janeiro, a metropolis of what will be the first golf tourna- around 6m people, the question ment played at the Olympic of legacy has to dominate any Games since 1904. attempt to stage important inter- Unlike the city’s two private national events like the World PHOTO: AFP/GETTY

30 |ft.com/iNgENuity Cup or the Olympic Games. atically cleared armed drug traf- The Olympics organisers esti- City officials working on the fickers from the favelas around mate public transport use will 2014 World Cup and the Olym- the upmarket southern suburbs rise to more than 60 per cent, pics two years later know they and to the north in the Complexo from 20 per cent now. have a limited time to prove the do Alemão, and has installed Another legacy project is the value of the events to residents specially trained community rejuvenation of Rio’s charismatic struggling with such everyday police units, known as UPPs, to old docks area with estimated urban problems as traffic conges- maintain order. investment of R$8bn ($3.87bn) tion, poor housing and sanita- The presence of the state has and including light rail, hotels tion, and urban violence. also allowed for the introduction and some operational centres for For this reason, the golf of city services, such as rubbish All aboard: the games. course is only one of many collection, as well as the begin- some are While Rio Mayor Eduardo legacy projects that officials are ning of ordinary commerce. concerned Paes recently easily won promising the two events will Already, a number of banks, that improve- re-election, not everyone is bequeath to the city. The others department stores and super- ments for the impressed with his plans for the include radical improvements in markets are beginning to enter Olympics international sporting events policing, particularly in the most the “pacified” favelas. Property and World and the city. violent favelas, or slums, and values are on the rise. Cup, such as Residents in areas that are better public transport to ease The UPPs have occasionally a planned to be cleared to make way for congestion, particularly in areas faced problems of police violence golf course Olympics facilities, such as those that are off the tourist trail but and a sporadic return of crime (below), will in some favelas in Barra da are where most of the people live. as a result of the power vacuum only benefit Tijuca, argue that many of the “We are taking advantage of sometimes left by the departure the city’s elite projects are little more than elite the Games to do what we need to of the gangs. Only a small num- real-estate schemes. do for infrastructure,” says Maria ber of the hundreds of favelas Others believe the new public Silvia Bastos Marques, president that spread like patchwork across transport links will make life of Rio de Janeiro’s Municipal the city have been pacified. But more convenient only for resi- Olympic Company, the body in the programme has so far proven dents in upscale suburbs, while charge of co-ordinating projects a success and is said to be popu- leaving many of the peripheral, for the games. lar with residents. poorer and overcrowded neigh- Perhaps Rio’s most lauded “Everyone wants a UPP to bourhoods as disconnected from achievement in the four years come to their area,” said Sany each other, and the rest of the since the city won its bids for the Pitbull, a disc jockey specialising city, as ever. two events has been improve- in “funk Carioca” dance music Even the golf course has come in for its share of The city is criticism because it will swallow up already seeing part of a protected benefits omfr area. But local hosting the reports have said that another nearby world’s biggest parcel of land will sports events be set aside as a nature reserve. Despite the reservations, the people of Rio are generally optimistic about the projects linked to Olympic ments to law and order, particu- who plays in the favelas. Games and the World Cup, larly in the wealthy beach-side Residents are waiting to see including the golf course, which areas of the Zona Sul district, how the big sporting events will is expected to become a tourist near Ipanema and Copacabana, benefit the creaking transport attraction in its own right. “A lot but also in less touristic areas infrastructure. Marques says the of people will... want to play the further to the north and west. government’s plan includes a new course that hosted the Olym- The government has system- bus and rail rapid transit system. pics,” says Fraga. 

ft.com/iNgENuity | 31 less education will not enjoy Learning curve the fruits of innovation. Where learning is confined to the wealthy, growth could come at Projects aimed at closing the education gap the price of rising inequality. The sums involved are big. are fundamental to economic growth in rich According to the Harvard Path- countries as well as poor, writes Chris Cook ways to Prosperity project, the lifetime earnings gap between a US high school graduate and ne of the most It is often cited as an impor- those with a college degree is important ideas in tant reason for rising inequality, estimated at around $1m. education is called although its role is disputed. The labour market is not “skill-biased tech- Thanks to improved technology, creating new low-skilled jobs. Onological change”. bankers and lawyers can do – Poor education means a life at The idea is that scientific innova- and thus earn – more each hour higher risk of unemployment. In tions, from the computer to than ever before. But the people 1972, 32 per cent of jobs in the the mobile phone, have made feeding them or keeping their US needed less than high school higher-skilled people dramati- offices clean can do little more. graduation. Now it is 11 per cent. cally more productive. But the This means that, for all That is why policymakers in less educated have been gifted governments, education mat- the developed world spend so no such growth in efficiency. ters. A country where there is much time worrying about get-

32 |FT.COM/INGENUITY EDUCATION OVERVIEW

Second, it means persuad- A university transition to col- ing students they should apply, education is a lege; and support and be willing to take on the during studies. uncertainty of waiting four years ticket into the College Possible before joining the labour market middle classes is unusual in dealing – and debts. For young people with so many issues. whose families have no experi- for low-income It seems safe to say ence of university, that can feel children that we can expect like an enormous bet. future projects with Finally, it is not enough to similar aims to win the award. get young poor people into the Perhaps some will deal with only colleges. They must stay there. one link in the chain that College Drop-out rates among ethnic- Possible addresses, but in an minority and deprived college innovative way or with better students are worryingly high. data on success. According to the Organisation There are other big chal- for Economic Co-operation and lenges out there, not least the Development, only 56 per cent difficulty in securing education of people who start a four-year in the poorest countries, where degree in the US have graduated school and university systems six years later. are rudimentary. These countries The winner of the FT/Citi sit in an education trap: without Ingenuity Award in education, graduates how, exactly, do you Patience is a virtue: Minnesota’s College Possible, create more graduates? a degree from addresses all these issues. Jim Qatar and the UAE are universities such McCorkell set it up, he says, approaching the problem with as Georgetown, can “because too few low-income money: they have installed provide a lifetime students are making the criti- branch campuses from uni- income $1m higher cal transition to college, one of versities in the developed than that of high- the surest pathways to a solidly world in their own coun- school graduates middle-class life”. tries to inject a nucleus of highly educated people. In countries with less cash, ting poor children into univer- the answers are going to require sity. In countries like the US and more finesse, maybe using tech- UK with top universities, it is nology to leverage up the power an obvious way to boost growth of graduates. while containing inequality. For A future winner might be a cities, inequality means pricing nominee that overcomes other large parts of the community out problems. One that tackles tra- of city centres. ditional gender roles that keep Certainly, their task is easier women out of school, or that than countries without world- takes on structural problems famous universities. But it is that can mean that learning does not straightforward, requiring not pay. The unemployed, over- interventions across a range of educated graduate is a fixture on issues from school and family It aims to raise aspirations the Arab street. life to basic form-filling skills. and to dispel “the stereotype that These are the challenges for First, it means getting chil- only wealthy, privileged students the modern town. Cities act as dren to do well enough at school are meant to go to college”. It pressure valves. If education sys- to make a plausible application. does this in five ways: intensive tems fail, it is cities that take in This is a challenge, especially exam assistance to help over- the rootless and the jobless. But, in the urban US where school come the school disadvantage; with all shades of the population systems are patchy and drop-out help with applications; financial side by side, crowded cities can rates are high. consultancy; support during the also be pressure cookers. 

FT.COM/INGENUITY | 33 EDUCATION COLLEGE pOssIbLE

ollege Possible, a non-profit organi- Brain bank sation that helps young people from Cunderprivileged backgrounds get into university, A US non-profit is helping low-income has big plans. students get into the best universities, By 2020, it hopes to reach 40,000 students annually across report Hal Weitzman and Sharmila Devi the US, up from the current 8,700 young people at 28 high schools and 150 colleges. Jim McCorkell, founder and chief executive of College Pos- sible, is clear about how helping young people can boost produc- tivity and help the economy. “One business leader esti- mated the return driven by contributions to the tax base of someone who gets a college edu- cation at more than $1m over their lifetime,” he says. “We’ve got many companies partner- ing with us to get access to our college students because we’re helping to create a diverse and talented pipeline.” Students on his programme typically graduate with degrees that help them find jobs more quickly than their peers from wealthier backgrounds. “The poorer you are, the more likely you are to major in something that looks like a job, like nursing or accounting,” he says. Since it was founded in 1998, when the programme served 35 pupils at two high schools in the twin cities of Minneapolis and St Paul, the organisation has added offices in Omaha, Nebraska and Portland, Oregon. It aims to Luminary establish a presence in 10 cities alumnus: within the next five years. Iris Hoover is “When we go into a new one of many city, we have the task of rais- successful ing a minimum $2m over graduates of three years from the private the College sector, corporate boards and Possible foundations,” he says. programme The organisation coaches stu- dents to help them find funding to pay college tuition and living

34 |fT.COm/INGENUITy PHOTOS: RICHARD SENNOTT o n a et”says rent,” pay and job a to either I and pushed “She degree. a had only she because down turned were promotion for applications her frustr was and nurse a as worked who mother single were sister net communities. to ence differ- a make that programmes innov highlighting 2009 in Obama by recognised Go Ha achievement alumni years. six within graduate cent per 11 only low-income for tistic national the with favourably years. six within graduate cent per 56 while years, four within graduate course degree four-year a in enrol and programme the through institutions. year the college, to admission earn gramme school literac financial basic in grounding a pupils ex ess n ie ihschool high gives and penses, Ir Mc who cent per 37 Some bu 8prcn fhigh of cent per 98 About enetti er n was and year, this vernment rv is ard okl eevdan received Corkell Ho st at ’s dnso h pro- the on udents vr 5 n her and 25, over, end colof School Kennedy White a tw ra va sdi St in ised -erassociate o-year st Pr go y. aoiyt four- to majority sdn Barack esident Th ocleeor college to Ho at at my aw st dwhen ed compares use Pa dns- udents Ho r from ard sister lb a by ul go ev tw over. at ent st in ive get a- esnwoi raigthat dreaming is who person business successful a or tor partner a person, upper-middle-class racrict nwelding. in certificate a or and college et priv top that view common the overcome and process aid financial the prospective help to is challenges, and aims, mentoring and College for Ho engineering. in PhD her College by coached also was who sister, St programme education continuing the in works now She Wisconsin. in ogy up ended she and ambitions her broadened College but locally ecnetto content be should you colour, of person a or person low-income a you’re if that saying to close dangerously Mc means. financial their beyond ncminority hnic Th Ivery “I organisation the of One To Th considered She vrwre fe graduation after worked over okl.“aypol come people “Many Corkell. at msin omas at gv oehn back”, something “give priv Po at sepcal h aefor case the especially is ra sbe is ssible, at a r,adoc- a firm, law a Po ge st eyme an meet rely at eotCollege Beloit e at go dnsnavigate udents st sbe advising ssible, Mi a t nvriisare universities e the st digsociol- udying st oacommunity a to nnesota. tw udents. dns says udents, Un st Po st -erdegree o-year udying digfor udying ssible vriyof iversity He ’s r ed top entitled abo per help pr possib is Anything og uc ce uni ut s ra mode creating probl ed the Ke poo at pt ch wh le mme ion ve ion to the : an y is o rsit a re ge s to y mis em ls r uca ta yo fo ro ck h oehg school high more the universities, top in backgrounds poor from people young placing education.” post-secondary ev is economy this says degree,” four-year a necessarily “Not ex could they than debt more on take to not applicants college encourages so and into ting national the with compared says, he $10,000,” than less of debt with graduate will programme our Mc a Ma reasons. financial for university se should st welding.” in certificate a is daughter their nesadwa hyare they what understand to programme his in people $30,000. of graduation priv top to cheaper it making assistance, financial for eligible are they find could backgrounds ee children. leged under-privi- those of horizons models go soon are there plan, ambitious its in numbers the approach ut r ti st dn with udent roet aesm idof kind some have to eryone graduation. after earn to pect n ob aymr role more many be to ing le “T Th for college is So “T Th fCollege If Mc ling okl says. Corkell ny at on hs pcly h isfrom kids the ypically, here institution. e oescesh a in has he success more e at fT okl at h young the wants Corkell st av at dnsfo low-income from udents edntma hta that mean not need .C av tt ’s olg hnto than college e ial to ailable Om efralocal a for le rg etlvlupon level debt erage o faid of lot a go a had and munity com- the from came and them like looks who somebody see kids low-income having is problem education America’s tackling of element possible. is what see will Mc Po Iv /I doutcome.” od y  sbecan ssible go okl.“But Corkell. NG Le go n orequire to ing ev geability ague n to ing ex EN st eryone? at “A adthe pand av udents eda tend UI st key ailable,” at y| Ty ev ge ge go e en t t- to 35 opinion alejandro echeverri

northern part of the valley. This Future shock produced a broken and divided city, obvious in its division; the city on the slopes, called “las comunas”, where 40 per cent Medellín, once known for drugs and murder, of the population lives, most of is being transformed by citizens intent on them of informal origins, and reclaiming and redefining public spaces the city of the centre and south of the valley, where the middle and upper classes live. The drug cartels conquered the young people of the comu- nas during the 1980s and 1990s. Medellín was known as “Pablo’s City,” after drug baron Pablo Escobar.In 1991, we were the most violent city in the world, with 381 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants – 20 deaths every day of the year, most of them young people. A city where the life of a police officer was valued at $2,000, which was what the Medellín cartel paid in 1992 for each dead officer to the young people of the communes, where they recruited their army city is defined me feel that our city is looking at of hitmen. by its meet- itself bravely and is rewriting its The portrayal of these dra- ing points and own narrative: it is a city where matic years has produced some events. I recently we can all share the same spaces. of the most beautiful testimo- Aattended a very The country’s second largest nies of our literature, such as El revealing and exciting event at city is in the centre of Colombia, Olvido que seremos (“Oblivion: Colombia’s Casa de la Cultura in a long, narrow valley with a memoir”), a profound book by de Moravia, where the creative a river running from south to Hector Abad about his father energies of young people in the north, contained by two moun- Hector Abad Gomez, a doctor hip-hop and rap movements tain ranges that run from 1,400 and human rights activist who converge – young people who metres to 2,400 metres above was assassinated on a Medel- live in a neighbourhood that in sea level. It is a city interlocked lín street and found by his wife the 1960s was the dumpster of within mountains and drawn and son. Or the movies of Victor Medellín and which in the 1980s by a number of ravines that Taking it to Gaviria, Rodrigo D and La Vend- and 1990s presented a portrait descend from the slopes towards the streets: edora de Rosas, which relate the of the violent and exclusionary the river. Medellín was life stories of the young people of drama of the city’s history. In 1950, the city, popularly the murder the Medellín comunas. On the patio of this cultural called “the silver cup”, was home capital of the Parallel to this painful centre, opened in 2007, we could to 350,000 citizens; then we world, often journey, many other processes see the picture of what this city grew to approximately 2m in referred to as were taking place. Civil society, wants to be today. The musi- the 1980s, and to 3.5m today in ‘Pablo’s town,’ academia and the private sector cians, who came from the previ- the metropolitan area. It is now after drug were each working to respond ously stigmatised neighbour- Colombia’s industrial capital. baron Pablo and find solutions to the real-life hoods on the slopes of Medellín, This immense migration, Escobar drama. In 2003, Sergio Fajardo, created a get-together for every- much of which responds to mathematician, investigator and one invited for the opening of an displacement as a result of rural professor, was elected mayor of international exhibition called violence, quickly and informally Medellín, with a civic movement “Public Space in Action”. It made occupied the two slopes of the called “Compromiso Ciudadano”.

36 |ft.com/ingenuity PHOTOS: EYEVINE, AFP/GETTY rhtc ae in based architect an is Echeverri Alejandro wasted. been have will to date loss the all not that optimistic feel me makes future, its remake st has city our which with ency transpar- and decisiveness the our from peared wealthiest. the as opportunities same the to access citizens est poor- the giving by messages powerful sending space, of dignity the is quality education inclusion. of idea the in confidence gain to people cit the reunited have neighbourhoods, northern the in localised transport, public and spaces buildings, grammes, violence. to lost been had that of reclamation mental and cal physi- the as well as places, meeting new in reflected tion, manifesta- powerful most the been have education st some created have that successes of background the into receded and violence of tog ing be labor civic of process this to continuity providing thus 2011, to 2008 from mayor La Na understanding of cit the of zones violent integr of method core the as education defining and sector public the in trust recovering of objective shared the with but backgrounds and ideologies different of re orwieits rewrite to arted utrl n iil,changes. visible, and ructural, tw st tw ilnehsntytdisp- yet not has Violence Th Ne Ch Th author Salazar, Alonso io aaSemilla para cimos Pa He et nneighbourhoods in reets e 04ad20,bring- 2007, and 2004 een ok seta to essential books o at first e iyhsbcm living a become has city e ne in anges ne w áoade rábola at et rae oiia space political a created or n h ors n most and poorest the ing e edr and leaders her y, tw hr h drama the where st rso pro- of orks ptowards ep cu Me go ex Pa st tr and lture lso has clusion vernance. Me blo eln– dellín et,but reets, y, st dellín was – y. allowing or and ex y, No and perts  ft .c om/x xxxxxx| xxxxxxxxxxxx ci in co bec Ed ty’ te re uca om gr poor s me at ti the e n the ing on thod has of xx infrastructure overview

to be tinkering with arcane Living cities refinements to highly refined systems. It would have been good to see more innovative Infrastructure is the lifeblood of urban solutions for informal settle- ments, where small changes living, where simple ideas can solve complex can make radical differences. It problems, writes Edwin Heathcote was interesting to note that the entries based in informal cities, notably the iKhayalami pro- jectin South Africa, attempted a nimble approach that embraced a multitude of incremental improvements, addressing vari- ous issues of quality of life. This also raises issues of regu- larisation and security of tenure that so often muddy the conver- sation about informal settle- ments. By improving slums are we acknowledging them and for- malising an unacceptable mode of living? Should we instead be focusing on ending the problem or should we in the global north be looking to the innovations emerging from informality and be inspired by the resilience of nfrastructure is the veins, ture. What was once a basically Wired: smart the poorest urbanites? the viscera and the guts Roman system of physical con- cities feature That brings us to another of a city, the unimagina- nections, virtually unchanged for buildings of approach that is more about bly complex network of two millennia, is now something the future, like the social nature of infrastruc- Iutilities, roads, rail and leading us towards the much- the Tri-Bowl ture. The Development Innova- communications that can seem vaunted smart city. exhibition tions Group, which fosters inno- almost invisible, yet without Infrastructure is also the ulti- centre in vation in financial services for which cities cannot work. mate collective urban undertak- South Korea’s the poor, wraps up the myriad The city was famously likened ing. Innovative infrastructure is Songdo possibilities that can allow those to a body by Peter Ackroyd in usually expensive to install, often living in the informal margins to his magisterial biography of politically difficult to undertake lift themselves into sustainable London. But, even further, infra- and it makes demands on both livelihoods and decent surround- structure increasingly represents the private and civic spheres, ings through everything from the synaptic network of the requiring national and local microfinance to product design. urban brain, the system of cru- government to drive investment Back in the global north it cial connections that allows the and ideas. seems from our shortlist that contemporary city to function Yet, as the entries for the transport has become the key as a knowledge economy. What inaugural FT/Citi Ingenuity to the sustainable city. Two was once guts represented by the Awards showed, the breadth of entries broach both ends of the hidden tubes, pipes and wires is what the category encompasses spectrum, from high to low tech, now the mind – the wired buzz allows it to span the lowest to digital to pedal. that allows a city to be part of the most high-tech projects. Shortlisted Bitcarrier from the explosion of communica- In the informal settlements Barcelona is a step towards tions, making even the smallest of the global south, piping water creating smart cities in histori- city a global presence. into homes would represent cal centres. We have heard much This has entailed a leap in an almost immeasurable good. recently about Songdo in South the understanding of infrastruc- While western cities might seem Korea where a new town has

38 |ft.com/ingenuity been conceived and constructed it is a simple, sustain- The winner is as a smart city, fully wired and able idea that allows a brilliant mix connected from the moment it short trips to be made is complete. But it has proved across the city, reducing of old and new; harder to adapt the existing cen- congestion and public pedal power tres (where people want to live) transport overcrowding, to smart standards. even keeping us fit. Never meets digital Bitcarrier allows real-time as simple as they seem in technology information on traffic flows and retrospect, the mix of ease accumulated data from GPS of payment and docking with systems to be fed into a network the branding and the design of with the capacity to use any sys- the bicycles has been integrated tem at the city’s disposal to make into a brilliant demonstration of traffic run more efficiently.It is urban ingenuity. intelligent and innovative. Cities need to change to The winner, though, com- develop, they need to move, bines digital technology with respond and adapt. Perhaps Victorian mechanical genius, the ideas here will inspire other high-tech with pedal power.The cities to change the way they do Vélib’ bicycle hire system, things or themselves to innovate launched five years ago in Paris, and invent new ways to make is neither new nor original but living in cities that bit better.  INFRASTRUCTURE VElIb’

Pedal power

The Paris Vélib’ scheme set the standard for urban bike-hire schemes in cities worldwide, says Yann Morell y Alcover

aris sera toujours Paris,” sang Mau- rice Chevalier in the 1930s. But while Paris Pwill always be Paris, it has also been changing. The French capital has been leading the way in personal mobility, as

40 |FT.Com/INgENUITy PHOTOS: CHARLIE BIBBY, AFP, GETTY, BLOOMBERG ra ulctransport. public urban st demon- has 2007, in launched bic the emt etecs n more. As any case the be to seem Vélib’ the by inspired greatly were 2000s late the in launched systems the caught Mo Dublin, as such cities as be doubled than more worldwide of schemes number the that said year report last UN A soared. up set being systems rental bike of number concept. the for showcase global the but ex already schemes Similar DC. ton in based consultancy runs who Demaio says map,” the on sharing uiesmdl r changing. are models business va pre- largely have that schemes fthe of co-director Shaheen, Susan says the in diversification model segment. dynamic most the longer no are concessions, of price the on discounts for return in specialists advertising outdoor rat se nsmaller in isted ldars uoe oper Europe, across iled “V Ho In Th “T ela mrvdtechnolog improved as well ntreal, disaiiyt transform to ability its ed eei o fbusiness of lot a is here élib h er htfloe,the followed, that years the advertisement-backed e In ee,wiems fthe of most while wever, yc Pa st esaigVlb scheme, Vélib’ le-sharing ’. .ral u bike- put really .. ex tt of itute i ceebcm a became scheme ris Va cy tw ml,ti osnot does this ample, ecaand lencia ln bug. cling e 07ad2010 and 2007 een Tr Fr Me ansporta- nhcities, ench Wa rBk,a troBike, To Mo shing- Pa at yama US naco, dby ed ul ,” y, ex Albert replies system,” at Center Research Sustainability Studies’ tion P rcigadeeti bikes. electric and tracking GPS energ ing ex the in launched been have will schemes new 20 than fewer Berkele te ulctasotne transport public other third the considered already were siblings its and Vélib’ – systems sharing Cycling European the says ioned,” old-fash- little a now are systems pioneer and progress of lot a sponsor. major a of designation the funds: of source new a features hard- ware, Bixi the using and 2010 in models. funding different consider not but usually promoters, enabled have themselves. bikemakers by oper and sold systems bike-sharing new by possible alone. year fourth a Cycle og technol- in benchmark a became quickly 2009, in launched ctv vice-president ecutive ml,cudfauedock- feature could ample, the y, “V Mo oeaayt o akabout talk now analysts Some st while lb is élib’ at y, Hi Un ntreal ospwrdwt solar with powered ions y, ex rae integr greater epoet e up set project, re ge vriyo California, of iversity ge h ekn htno that reckons who lsvl iycucl,to councils, city clusively Lo ner Th ner Ma st ’s Tr ndon l ut recent quite a ill shsbe made been has is iischeme, Bixi at ansportation at rt “T o fbike- of ion o hc,for which, – ion ti eehsbeen has here ’s Tu Barclays at at ehioof lenheimo Fe As o with ion ddirectly ed at der tw séraf, US Th adver- orks, at ey this ion. citi ke are electric and sw Sh pglobal ep or eet: es helping ev and t te ben a became qui sc Bixi Mont mo bi en chnolo ca ke ving ck rs ch s to re ly heme akin mark al gy cosgreater across vehicles electric 1,800 to access dwellers JDcu only (JCDecaux running. Mo and up is scheme a once investment new heavy dis- courages which time, limited a for last authorities local with contracts that is model tisement-backed adver- the of constraint One push. political a require would the be bridges Building rides. mobilit urban to approach same the share they at Fr looked being also are 2011, October in Pa o ohv it have to not for difficult very be will that “it city the of emblem an such become has Vélib’ But different, cit the and landscape political the then By end. an to comes JCDecaux and be agreement 20 in come oper different Th closest the locate to world the around oper 25 schemes the of any of users enables that application smartphone a Allbikesnow, is them of One made. been already been have improvements some that says oper which JCDecaux, company tising ’s ,i h aeo uoi) but Autolib), of case the in e, nhidsra conglomer- industrial ench i a etlscheme rental car ris e Ev Po evr sfe adb users by paid fees as reover, tw tw at sbete ihAtlb the Autolib, with ties ssible ligteVlb system Vélib’ the olving FT ytm stu appealing. thus is systems o stescheme. the es cee r u yvery by run are schemes o av at av .C ial ieo space. or bike ailable ytect council. city the by ial n700 in ailable y’ 17 om roiiscudbe could priorities s st mile- the thinks tancy consul- of founder figures. rental boost to incentive little is there advertising, ge revenues the of portion tiny a only hnte10-year the when , ”. at at tw y. Pa n o éi’will Vélib’ for one  /I ner db JCDecaux by ed r Bloé the (Bolloré, ors uoi ie city- gives Autolib eotBeroud, Benoît e the een ge i o eyshort very for ris Ng sasae are share) a ts at Mo EN dthrough ed As biped, st UI éa also séraf Pa st arted tw y| Ty at ris Pa een ions ris 41 opinion ARiSTiDE AnTonAS

Rising from the ruins

Athens’ derelict, abandoned buildings could be reimagined as collaborative public spaces uniting communities

he city centre of of Mediterranean street life, that were built after the 1950s: Athens is an idiosyn- are closing as merchants find the polykatoikia blocks of flats cratic void. Many it impossible to survive. Many are still in good condition, older inhabitants once-vivid streets now look like and are ripe for reinterpreta- Tabandoned it years abandoned remains. tion. Using “urban protocols” ago. Some of the newcomers My architectural practice, that are in tune with the new were dislocated during recent Antonas Office, has investigated economic and social realities police operations. this peculiarly empty city environ- of Greece, we have looked at The city is changing con- ment with the assumption that giving a different content to stantly: there are many homeless the existing structures, with mini- this field of urban remains. people on the streets. Landlords mal alteration, can host or create Urban protocols can be seen do not rent out their apartments, spaces that will work in different as benevolent versions of internet preferring instead to leave them ways for the city’s inhabitants. viruses, spreading and filling empty. In a similar way the small, Athens owes much of its parts of this emptiness in new ground-floor shops, so typical character to the constructions and – unlike the viruses that

42 |fT.com/ingEnuiTy credIT tog function. unprecedented of scenarios produce they because but profit or commerce of because not ways. benevolent – online spread space. semi-public deserted, unused, an constitute block city Athens each spaces mented cit the of terraces the ones. bad courage go foster could assets communal or applications social for area research A them. allowed form plat- legislative a if arise would mechanisms Social results. tive posi- guarantee necessarily sof cit abandoned the within acts individual from formed be would sof the with labor cu interne the of terms neighbourhoods”. abstract ping “overlap- termed be could what in need communities the that functions the concrete making nfidaes oncigthem connecting areas, unified entit co-oper a by ownership to over given be could tr,weeidvdascol- individuals where lture, dies n oto rdis- or control and ideas, od tw Th Th open-source with as Again, Th et y. e ml omnte by communities small her at r,teepooosd not do protocols these are, s a etogto in of thought be can ese s rtcl would protocols ese rtpooo concerns protocol first e ev aoiscudcvrthe cover could canopies obidfe sof free build to e r lc’ ofterrace roof block’s ery Th tw ey at r,teefunctions these are, v rsmlrlegal similar or ive ol bring would at h oflvlof level roof the t’ open-source s y. Th tw ex r:as are: frag- e pand y. slgtn h ulctables, public the lighting as ol onbcm global. become soon could that problem a treating on lead a take could Athens way suitable. all are voids unused spaces, empty – tification beau- support not do projects space. city concrete ne digital of idea abstract the one. communal a of instead screens individual viewing people with but cinema, a to corresponding as of thought emerge. would new a which in spaces, communal such for prerequisites the be would all. for spaces office outdoor create to be furnished could city the of parts ered spaces. working public and the apartments. in live who people the for to cells pho- tovoltaic for used be also could grid covering the while plants, and veg grow to spaces roof spaces. public simple as tion func- to areas the allowing and and bridges metal with tw Mi Th Th Fr Th these use could Gardeners rigwudbcm a become would orking eitre cesadwater and access internet ee eodpooo sopen-air is protocol second e aebnsurban bare-bones e be can space communal is ia nevnin such intervention, nimal ty st eo elne real of pe et,city-centre reets, In ge ner hswa this tw In at orking et st power e this ables airs, y, Un cov- spac me to in minimal re fo Func te rm: quire crea aningful rventi sp crea furnished ci parts Unc es ti it on te ty wo ac ove on uld ov co te es of r l be uld ered offic fo the iinr rhtc cedric architect visionary Pa the of version bankrupt-city the be would which hall, urban art host to spaces the derelict uses that project a reMap, by commissioned then was project Ikea. chain furniture the by sponsored year, last created image. their maintaining while meaning with them charge could places empty insignificant such in ae architect based Antonas Aristide neighbourhood. the by follow a or people, its and city of the needs the to adapted be could space the mean would buildings, the by counterpointed siveness, office. open an or space concert a theatre, a hospital, air as functions individual. chosen a by or online either public, the drugs. illegal of using and buying public for used until openly recently, was, that square city a to purpose new give to intended users. different of needs temporary the serve to space adapta- ble an as area empty an use would hall urban the tainment, enter- own their creating visitors imagined he which in building, all r st to aepooe nte16sby 1960s the in proposed lace e In Th Th osatyflxberespon- flexible constantly A Th Th rat st st blt ftesurrounding the of ability fT rtoe-i fc was office open-air first e hr rtcli the is protocol third e uligcudperform could building e is Athens in hall urban e g frfr controlled reform of egy Th a of ead .c sr ftehall the of users e om va ol edcddby decided be would square the of ture architec- new the of details changing the visitors. different of gatherings ous for cell a as serve would which programme, its on depend would Pr /i ida nopen- an as ried Th ice ng sa Athens- an is ssand uses e ’s En flexible  ui va The cu ev y| Ty Pr ri- rat ents. Fun ice. ev ed en 43 opinion AlAin mAbAnckou

ointe-Noire, the economic capital A childhood in of the Republic of Congo, has a Preputation built on nicknames bestowed by its black and white residents: “Beautiful Boardwalk” or “Boardwalk by the Sea”. Its beauty derives from its lush As the colour and clamour vegetation and the architecture of its city centre, a blend of of modernity threaten modern and traditional, such as to engulf the monochrome the famous terminus building memories of his of the Congo-Ocean Railway. When I was growing up there, youth, the novelist, the city was known, above all, poet, journalist and for its calm and tranquillity. It had always managed to escape scholar recalls growing the country’s multiple civil wars. up in Pointe-Noire The Atlantic Ocean gives the city a prominent role within central Africa: Pointe-Noire, “a Translated by world city” and one of the most important ports on the conti- Marian Visona nent – an axis of communication benefiting several neighbouring landlocked countries. I grew up in the neighbour- hood of Tié-Tié, where my Uncle Vicky owned the famous bar Joli Soir (Beautiful Evening), not far from Independence Avenue. This lively place was crowded every evening, with as many peo- ple outside as inside. My uncle installed lanterns and speakers outside, so it was no surprise to see couples dancing in front of the entrance, or for passers-by to stop for a moment and join in the merriment. The music of Franco Luambo Makiadi, Youlou Mabiala, the Bantous de la Capitale or Pamelo Mounk’a played all night and the revellers would not leave until the first light of dawn. My uncle also owned a photo studio, Studio Vicky, just off Independence Avenue. I would see adults come in dressed to the nines in their bell-bottom trousers and brightly coloured shirts and pose in ridiculous positions in front of scenery

44 |ft.com/ingenuity PHOTOS: CAROLINE BLACHE yebaigcommunism. embracing by autonomy its find to hoped that the ing symbolis- cities the at themselves. among about argued then shopkeepers small the which fish, their bring to waves the br who Benin from fishermen for port seaside the lands. far-off Th at of residents la its administered that River Congo the was it zaville Braz- in while Ocean, Atlantic the of humours the by was driven city our in Life Lingala. in Brazzaville of residents the while kutuba, egbuhos(Tié-Tié, neighbourhoods be st or the pedlars the or shops small the cit the across journeys winding the from buses, the of sound the of commotion the can I 1980s. and 1970s of images photographer. Angola-born by devised been have could that rsi h okn-ls areas. working-class the in ores tw httm,oeof one time, that h rsraso h world. the of crossroads the ey Th Po We Th Je We e h working-class the een nDpr,tefamous the Depara, an neNiewas, inte-Noire a hp riigfrom arriving ships saw iywas city e s r h lc n white and black the are ese pk mostly spoke st aw fiaswho Africans my knn fa Africa an of akening ex Po y. Th av rse themselves pressed hlho,o the of childhood, neNiewere inte-Noire antforg cannot I st ed ey l divided ill waited ex Mu hausted st ra w. st co wa Afri an aw sy ci The nu- et,the reets, l hear ill the n Fo Th at mbol mmunism akening emb s uks, et e ty ca of wa ieydisfiguring sively spr urban and mark big (the “I’m go said: we centre, city the into cit “the in at was fight a along, wa further the little of out it push to kids tion, intersec- the of middle the in down broken had car whose Grand the to back, heading her on baby a her and on head rice of bag a with woman the along Yo ra that rcigan tracting the n notown.” into ing couldn u Un nicely. up dressed we And cing of a s ge otoldurbanisation controlled tt n epfo some from help ing y” av ’t ne eewsa was here enue: n ewne to wanted we and istecrowds the miss Vo Tr quartier Roy, Rex, Po of residents wealthy the and Europeans by inhabited mostly was which town, of centre the and ex et aw ). ois-Cents, ial crowd. citable nte-Noire. ungou, hnw were we When r progres- are l Th Po r,adriver a ere, inte-Noire Ma Ma rché tende) .A y. go fa no so so and gr has Po boar the On ve esubu me w in ra las ch te-N dw pi re ow dly an se alk: oire n mb ge rbs d le epbihdin published be de Lumieres book, new His academic. and Alain than more now name its deserves Boardwalk ful Beauti- the this, of because And, always Po at it to refer jokingly now where some point the to city this of face the disfiguring Coast), Wild (the Sauvage Côte the of sand the encrusted has time over that companies oil from waste the and rivers, run-of ter et pedestrians. the about do they as potholes the about as much just worry must drivers that condition poor such in are ago, major Some st housing the new neighbourhoods, many in where, point the to utrsrsml favelas. resemble ructures ra rbesof problems ernal the neNiei iyta has that city a is inte-Noire ept l hsIko that know I this all Despite To ft d oti su r the are issue this to add Ma “T cu ra .c aco sawriter a is banckou ltiv f, hBnBoardwalk”. Bin sh om rubbish-choked st Po at et,pvdlong paved reets, /i denthusiasm. ed will inte-Noire, Ja ev ng nuary. er. en ra  inwa- ui y| ty 45 opinion kristinr. Lindsey

has 18 kerbside classrooms for Small beginnings child wastepickers, provid- ing them with education plus nutrition, medical check-ups, Projects around the world are providing children vitamins and first aid. Second, they are locally led in the world’s biggest and most chaotic cities with by the right people. Knowing the opportunities that can transform their lives the local context, building com- munity support and enabling here you sit recognised that a pathway had community leadership are key determines to be carved out if these children to grassroots success. Schemes what you see. were to have a different future. such as Kliptown Youth Pro- As chief execu- Inderjit sat down on the plat- gram in the South African town- Wtive of the form at the station, chalked out ship of Soweto are often started Global Fund for Children, it is the circle that would become her by young people after their own best for me to sit on the ground. classroom, and began to teach. childhood experience, growing GFC transforms the lives and Since we first funded this pro- up without what they knew they futures of some of the world’s gramme in the 1990s, thousands deserved: resources, education most vulnerable children. And of children’s lives have been and acceptance for their talents, while doing this transformed. rather than being shunned for work, it is good If you can’t From that first their poverty. to remember that bring the child investment, GFC Third, necessity drives inven- the world looks has partnered with tion and innovation. When different when you to school, bring 500 groups. Such there is no reliable electricity are small. From a the school to organisations take for school or homework, we child’s height, chaos a small amount see local solutions built around and complexity can the child of capital, techni- solar energy. We have worked tower over you and cal assistance and with global brands, such as threaten to make you invisible. access, and make huge changes. Rescue from sportswear manufacturer Nike This is true everywhere but it In our experience, four things the rubbish and software producer Adobe, is magnified in cities. People are set their work apart. heap: GFC to arm vulnerable children, pouring into urban areas, drawn First, they go to where the supports especially girls, with video by the promise of opportunity work is needed. The leaders at kerbside equipment and storytelling tools and resources. Instead of pro- Ruchika put it this way: “If you classrooms to give voice to their stories. gress, many find extreme mar- can’t bring the child to school, for children Fourth, they are replicable ginalisation, living in slums, with bring the school to the child.” In on Phnom and sustainable. Our work has whole families doing whatever Phnom Penh, the Cambodian Penh’s huge reached 8m children. By lifting they can to generate something capital, Community dump up these ideas and innovations, to sell, or something to eat, and Sanitation and connecting them to others, we without access to adequate edu- Recycling Organi- help their power to grow. cation, health, water – or dignity. sation Within 12 years, the world’s Among them are 1bn chil- population will hit 8bn. Many dren. Their view of the world of those children will be born in can be grim, seen from atop a cities. We owe them choices that waste dump or from the streets include school rather than work, where they hustle to take care of safety rather than fear. Cities are themselves. at the epicentre of huge change, Yet if you look closely, there in the economic and political are reasons for optimism. Con- landscape, in globalisation and sider the train platform school. in civil society. We will all rise or In Bhubaneswar, India, at fall together.  a train station where children Kristin R. Lindsey is chief lived, worked and slept, Inder- executive of the Global Fund for jit Khurana founded Ruchika Children, the FT’s chosen charity Social Service Organisation. She for its 2012 appeal PHOTOS: REDUx/EYEVINE

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