Settling into a New Place: Livelihood recovery and belongingness of households forced to relocate in Yangon, Myanmar

Gillian Emma Cornish Bachelor of Urban and Regional Planning (Hons 1)

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5792-9983

A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at The University of Queensland in 2020 School of Earth and Environmental Sciences Abstract

Forced relocation is the process of intentionally displacing people and moving them to a new location. People affected by forced relocation experience heightened impoverishment risks and severe and long-lasting economic, psycho-socio-cultural impacts and spatial marginalisation. The risk of impoverishment is intensified in urban settings as the target communities are usually a heterogeneous group of densely populated poor communities, which makes re-establishment of their lives complex and resource intensive.

This thesis examines the recovery process of people who were forced to relocate from central Yangon, Myanmar, to the city’s outskirts in 1991. While the impacts of forced relocation and resettlement for development projects, particularly in rural settings, are well documented, relatively little is known about how urban relocatees navigate the recovery of their essential assets. In a context of inadequate support provided to rebuild necessary assets, this thesis examines how people who are impacted by forced relocation, who are usually in a marginalised position already, survive and settle into their relocation site.

This research contributes to the conceptual and empirical understandings of how relocated urban households and communities become settled into their new location and cope with impoverishment risks by developing livelihood actions. It builds on the conceptual understandings of impoverishment risks associated with forced displacement and combines it with the particularities of urban poverty to create a lens through which to examine livelihood actions the urban poor develop to survive. The analysis focuses on how relocatees rebuilt their livelihoods, using different types of capitals (social, economic and human) and build their new neighbourhood (housing, infrastructure and services). It also examines how affected people managed to foster a ‘sense of belonging’, which is an aspect overlooked in the literature.

The case study for this thesis is Ward 9, Shwepyithar, the northernmost township in Yangon City. This ward was established in 1991 as a result of a large-scale relocation program instigated by the military government during a time of political tension, degraded infrastructure and a large number of squatters in the city. The thesis uses a qualitative research design, with semi-structured interviews as the principal research method. The main research question is,

How have urban households regained access to essential livelihood assets over time after being forcibly relocated from central Yangon to the city’s outskirts in 1991 and established a ‘sense of belonging’ in their new settlement? The research finds that livelihood actions are temporary, ever-changing and responsive to the political, economic and socio-cultural shifts that occur at a wider societal level. Not all livelihood actions are strategic and helpful, but rather can cause disruption to opportunities for future human capital growth and deepen the embeddedness of poverty. Social capital is inherent in most of the livelihood actions and there are distinctions of how people have used bonding, bridging and linking social capital types in different situations. This research examines how the different types of social capital are used for different purposes. This research also finds that although a strong sense of nostalgia persists for lost places and past lives, relocated people have managed to foster a new ‘sense of belonging’ as they have invested time, energy and resources into their places, and through daily routines and everyday interactions with neighbours.

This thesis makes a significant contribution to how people affected by relocation develop actions to address their impoverishment risks and settle into their relocation site. It highlights the centrality of social capital, self-reliance, the nuances of urban poverty and urban livelihoods and considers what it means to have a ‘sense of belonging’ after relocation.

Declaration by author

This thesis is composed of my original work, and contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference has been made in the text. I have clearly stated the contribution by others to jointly-authored works that I have included in my thesis.

I have clearly stated the contribution of others to my thesis as a whole, including statistical assistance, survey design, data analysis, significant technical procedures, professional editorial advice, financial support and any other original research work used or reported in my thesis. The content of my thesis is the result of work I have carried out since the commencement of my higher degree by research candidature and does not include a substantial part of work that has been submitted to qualify for the award of any other degree or diploma in any university or other tertiary institution. I have clearly stated which parts of my thesis, if any, have been submitted to qualify for another award.

I acknowledge that an electronic copy of my thesis must be lodged with the University Library and, subject to the policy and procedures of The University of Queensland, the thesis be made available for research and study in accordance with the Copyright Act 1968 unless a period of embargo has been approved by the Dean of the Graduate School.

I acknowledge that copyright of all material contained in my thesis resides with the copyright holder(s) of that material. Where appropriate I have obtained copyright permission from the copyright holder to reproduce material in this thesis and have sought permission from co-authors for any jointly authored works included in the thesis.

Publications included in this thesis

No publications included.

Submitted manuscripts included in this thesis

No manuscripts submitted for publication.

Other publications during candidature

Conference abstracts and presentations

1. Cornish, G. & Rhoads, E. (2019). Informal strategies of Yangonites living with Myanmar: Everyday uncertainty in access to property. Myanmar Update 2019: Living with Myanmar. Canberra: Australian National University. 2. Cornish, G. (2018). Reimagining ‘citizenship’ and rebuilding livelihoods after relocation. 13th International Burma Studies Conference Distant Past(s). Bangkok: Northern Illinois University. 3. Cornish, G. (2017). Coping strategies among relocated people in cities: A draft analytical framework. IAIA Special Symposium: Resettlement and Livelihoods. Manila: International Association for Impact Assessment.

Journal articles

1. Cornish, G., & Ramsay, R. (2018). Gender and livelihoods in Myanmar after development- induced resettlement. Forced Migration Review, 59(October), 55–57. 2. Cornish, G., & Vivoda, V. (2016). Myanmar’s extractive industries: An institutional and regulatory assessment. Extractive Industries and Society, 3(4).

Summary reports

1. Cornish, G. (2018). Women & EIA Processes: A Case Study on Gender Aspects of EIAs in Four Myanmar Projects. Yangon. 2. Cornish, G. (2017). Women and Resettlement: A case study on gender aspects at the Upper Paunglaung Hydropower Dam. Yangon. Contributions by others to the thesis

Dr Sonia Roitman and Associate Professor Karen McNamara contributed to this thesis in their capacity as advisors. They assisted with the conception and design of the project, gave advice on methods and interpretation of research data, and provided feedback on drafts.

Zipporah Chay contributed to this thesis in her capacity as research assistant, working as a translator in the interviews, coordinating meetings during field visits and transcribing interviews.

Statement of parts of the thesis submitted to qualify for the award of another degree

No works submitted towards another degree have been included in this thesis.

Research involving human or animal subjects

Ethical approval for this research was granted through The University of Queensland Human Research Ethics committee on 19 September 2016 under the approval number 2016001418. A copy of the approval letter is included in Appendix D.

Acknowledgments

This research would not have been possible without the support and guidance from a number of people. To my academic advisors, Sonia Roitman and Karen McNamara, who not only provided critical and constructive feedback but also supported me and believed in me. Their theoretical and conceptual contributions to this research have been invaluable and have enriched the quality of this thesis. Gerhard Hoffstaedter generously offered his time and knowledge about concepts in Chapter 8 of this thesis.

I am also grateful to Donovan Storey, my undergraduate Honours supervisor, who provided feedback during the conceptualisation of the research and at key milestones. Yap Kioe Sheng also helped with initial brainstorming of research ideas and provided helpful insight into urban challenges in Yangon and mentored me from afar throughout. Hopefully we one day get to meet in person! David Allen was also instrumental in the very early days of understanding what it means to ‘research in Myanmar’ and testing interesting topics with long-standing Yangon residents.

This thesis and the knowledge I have gained and am thus contributing, would not have been impossible without the contributions from the participants in this research. The generosity, kindness and hospitality of relocatees who shared their intimate experiences of relocation and difficulties in recovery have been memorable and most appreciated. Special thanks must also go to Zipporah who spent much time and effort on local research assistance tasks.

Many thanks also to my peers who shared in the trials, celebrations, coffees and Tim Tams that made up my PhD journey. Special appreciation to the study and writing groups that have morphed and changed over my five-year stint. Appreciation to Izzy Rhoads, David Ney, Justine Chambers, Jenny Hedstrom, Francis O'Morchoe and Gerard McCarthy whose intimate knowledge of different aspects of Myanmar have been enormously inspirational. Thanks also to Wai Wai and Georgia who gave me safe places to sleep and delicious food to nourish me during fieldwork, and Koko Lwin, Hsi Hsi and Hosana who offered random snippets of knowledge and interesting intellectual debates.

Most particularly of my peers, I would like to thank a few who have shared in motherhood, academic life and navigating all sorts of new terrains alongside me: Amelia, Nicki and Lata. You have bolstered me in times of stress, fatigue, insufficient caffeine consumption, through the newborn blur and toddler tantrums. My sincerest thanks to you.

Finally, the support of my family and dearest confidants gave me the final nudge to get the thesis over the line. Esther, Christina and Genevieve - thank you for being sounding boards and my cheerleaders. Thanks to all my Cornish family. Your light-hearted banter, childcare, and rowdy family meals (with take-home-packs) have been much appreciated. Special mention to my brother- in-law, Isaac, who developed some very impressive maps for this document. Particular thanks also to my siblings, Andrew and Caroline and their families for your support-from-afar, your understanding for long periods of silence and forgotten birthdays and anniversaries!

The Covid pandemic in the final months of my PhD introduced a new living arrangement for my family, dubbed ‘the commune’. To my parents, Glynis and Michael Hood, my sincerest gratitude to you for leading the charge of commune living, and your gifts of financial support during my extended student years, more-than-expected childcaring, sourdough bread and many, many dinners.

Finally, my most humble thanks must go to my husband, Eamonn, whose support from conception to submission has been unwavering. His adoption of all domestic and primary carer duties during especially busy times, tolerance for long absences, encouragement of adventures and reminders that ‘all we have are solvable problems’ have been invaluable. To Riley, might little beacon of light at the end of each day. You are my everything. Thank you for your patience, snuggles and love. And thank you for transforming my dull printed chapter drafts into colourful masterpieces using my highlighters when I wasn’t looking.

Financial support

This research was supported by an Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship. The School of Earth and Environmental Sciences’ Funding Scheme and the UQ Graduate School’s International Travel Award contributed funds for fieldwork and conferences.

Keywords forced relocation, displacement, livelihoods, urban planning, social capital, Myanmar, Global South, belongingness, urban poor, livelihood strategies

Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classifications (ANZSRC)

ANZSRC code: 120501, Community Planning, 40%

ANZSRC code: 160403, Social and Cultural Geography, 30%

ANZSRC code: 160810, Urban Sociology and Community Studies, 30%

Fields of Research (FoR) Classification

FoR code: 1205 Urban and Regional Planning (60%)

FoR code: 1604 Human Geography (40%)

A Note About Terminology

In 1989 the ruling military regime replaced existing Anglicised names for the country, its divisions, cities, streets and ethnic groups with what the military thought was more acceptable Myanmar names. For example, Burma became Myanmar, Rangoon became Yangon, Arakan became Rakhine state, the Karen people were renamed to Kayin, and so on. These name changes were controversial as the legitimacy of the military regime that changed the names was questionable. Over time, foreign entities (namely the British and United States Governments) have begun to use the post- 1989 ‘Burmanised’ names. To avoid confusion, this thesis uses the post-1989 names throughout, even when referring to places and people pre-1989.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Introduction ...... 1 1.1 Introducing Forced Relocation ...... 1 1.2 Research Problem ...... 3 1.3 Research Questions ...... 5 1.4 Research Context ...... 6 1.5 Thesis Structure ...... 8 Chapter 2 Impacts of Forced Displacement, Relocation and Resettlement: Literature Review ...... 10 2.1 Introduction ...... 10 2.2 Understanding Forced Displacement, Relocation, Resettlement and Affected People: Definitions and Impacts ...... 10 2.2.1 Defining displacement, relocation, resettlement, affected people and ‘forced’ movement ...... 11 2.2.2 Impacts of forced displacement, relocation and resettlement ...... 14 2.3 Forced Relocation in the Urban Context: Livelihoods, Prevalence and Impacts ...... 17 2.3.1 Occurrences and the nature of forced urban relocations ...... 19 2.3.2 Impacts and challenges unique to urban contexts ...... 19 2.3.3 Urban livelihoods: cash economies, exchange economies, social capital and spatiality ...... 22 2.4 Recovering from Forced Relocation and Resettlement ...... 25 2.4.1 Self-reliance and community-led initiatives ...... 25 2.4.2 The role of social capital after relocation ...... 27 2.5 Gaps in the Literature ...... 28 2.6 Conclusion ...... 30 Chapter 3 Forced Relocation, Livelihoods, Social Capital and Belongingness: Conceptual Framework ...... 31 3.1 Introduction ...... 31 3.2 Forced Relocation and Impoverishment Risks ...... 31 3.3 Livelihood Actions and Self-reliance through the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework ...... 33 3.3.1 The Sustainable Livelihoods Framework ...... 34 3.3.2 Livelihood actions ...... 36 3.3.3 Self-reliance amongst the urban poor and their livelihood actions ...... 38 3.4 Social Capital ...... 39 3.4.1 Conceptualising and defining social capital ...... 39 3.4.2 Bonding, bridging and linking social capitals ...... 40 3.5 Belongingness ...... 42 3.5.1 Place attachment ...... 43 3.5.2 Social attachment...... 46 3.5.3 Politics of belonging ...... 48 3.6 Conclusion ...... 50 Chapter 4 Methodology ...... 52 4.1 Introduction ...... 52 4.2 A Qualitative Case Study Approach ...... 52 4.3 Data Collection Trips ...... 54 4.4 Research Methods ...... 56 4.4.1 Semi-structured Interviews ...... 56 4.4.2 Observations and Photography ...... 63 4.4.3 Transect Walks ...... 64

4.4.4 Secondary Data Analysis ...... 65 4.5 Analysis of Qualitative Data ...... 66 4.6 Ethical Considerations, Researcher Positionality and Research Limitations ...... 68 4.6.1 Ethical Considerations ...... 68 4.6.2 Researcher Positionality and Reflexivity ...... 69 4.6.3 Research limitations ...... 71 4.7 Justification for Case Study Ward 9, Shwepyithar ...... 73 4.8 Conclusion ...... 76 Chapter 5 Politics of Relocation in Yangon and the Ward 9 Case Study in Shwepyithar ...... 77 5.1 Introduction ...... 77 5.2 Myanmar Political Overview ...... 78 5.3 Administrative and Social Structures ...... 80 5.4 Yangon Development History: Post-1988 and forced relocations under SLORC ...... 82 5.4.1 Creation of the Relocation Sites ...... 83 5.4.2 The reasons behind the post-88 forced relocations ...... 84 5.4.3 Living conditions in the relocation sites ...... 86 5.5 Case study: The experience of Ward 9 relocatees ...... 90 5.5.1 The creation of Ward 9 in 1990 ...... 90 5.5.2 Spatial layout of Ward 9 ...... 96 5.5.3 Plot allocation and land titles ...... 98 5.5.4 Reasons why Ward 9 relocatees had to move ...... 100 5.5.5 Moving conditions ...... 100 5.5.6 Spatial isolation ...... 102 5.6 Conclusion ...... 103 Chapter 6 Regaining Access to Economic Assets...... 104 6.1 Introduction ...... 104 6.2 Using Social Capital to Find Work ...... 105 6.2.1 Finding work through bonding social capital ...... 106 6.2.2 Finding work through bridging and linking social capitals ...... 110 6.3 Reskilling and Adapting Human Capital to Find Work ...... 111 6.4 Managing Household Finances ...... 115 6.4.1 Pooling resources in the household ...... 115 6.4.2 Relying on credit, accumulating debt ...... 119 6.5 Conclusion ...... 124 Chapter 7 Building Household and Communal Physical Assets ...... 126 7.1 Introduction ...... 126 7.2 Addressing Household Infrastructure Needs ...... 127 7.2.1 Creating shelter: Bamboo tents, wooden and brick houses ...... 128 7.2.2 Improving access to water and building sanitation solutions ...... 132 7.2.3 Navigating clean water ...... 137 7.3 Building and Accessing Communal Infrastructure ...... 139 7.3.1 Making roads functional ...... 141 7.3.2 Clearing and Maintaining Drains ...... 148 7.3.3 Supplementing social services ...... 150 7.4 Conclusion ...... 152 Chapter 8 Fostering a ‘Sense of Belonging’ and the Right to Belong ...... 154 8.1 Introduction ...... 154 8.2 Place Attachment ...... 156

8.2.1 ‘Dis-emplacement’ after forced relocation ...... 156 8.2.2 Creating meaningful places ...... 158 8.2.3 Establishing belonging through everyday activities and routines ...... 160 8.2.4 Investing in physical built environments ...... 161 8.2.5 Acquiring material security and perceived security ...... 163 8.3 Social Attachment ...... 165 8.3.1 Community-making through ‘neighbouring’ actions ...... 166 8.3.2 Community-making through religious-based social and emotional support ...... 172 8.4 The Right to Belong in Ward 9 ...... 174 8.5 Conclusion ...... 178 Chapter 9 Conclusion ...... 181 9.1 Introduction ...... 181 9.2 Answering the Research Questions ...... 182 9.3 Research Contributions ...... 189 9.4 Future Research ...... 192 9.5 Final Thoughts ...... 194 Reference List ...... 198 Appendix A Interview Guides – Fieldwork Trip...... 219 Appendix B Interview Guides – Data Validation Trip ...... 222 Appendix C Breakdown of Participants ...... 224 Appendix D Ethics Approval ...... 227 Appendix E Informed Consent Form ...... 228 Appendix F Gatekeeper Approval ...... 229

List of Figures

Figure 3.1: Sustainable rural livelihoods: a framework for analysis...... 35 Figure 3.2: Conceptual framework for this research ...... 50 Figure 4.1: Map of the case study site in Ward 9, Shwepyithar in Yangon, Myanmar ...... 74 Figure 5.1: Map of 1980s relocation townships in Yangon ...... 83 Figure 5.2: Key landmarks in Shwepyithar ...... 91 Figure 5.3: Map of the origins of the wards in Shwepyithar under the sites and services relocation scheme . 92 Figure 5.4: Map of Yangon townships relocatees were moved from ...... 93 Figure 5.5: Map of Ward 9 ...... 97 Figure 5.6: A typical layout of the Parks in Ward 9 ...... 97

List of Tables

Table 4.1: Summary of interview participants by group and sex...... 59

List of Plates

Plate 4.1: Husband and wife sit in their narrow house ...... 61 Plate 4.2: Husband and wife stand with their child and his sister next to the shop in front of their house ...... 61 Plate 4.3: Participant sits on her bed in her house ...... 61 Plate 4.4: A centrally located tea shop and common meeting point in Ward 9 during fieldwork ...... 65 Plate 4.5: HHL explaining the subdivision practices with my research assistant ...... 65 Plate 4.6: Observations of makeshift fences, blocked drains and rubbish on the roadside ...... 65 Plate 4.7: Navigating muddy roads during a transect walk ...... 65 Plate 5.1: New development contrast with old residences in Kamayut Township ...... 86 Plate 5.2: New construction on the left next to rice paddy fields in Hlaingtharyar ...... 88 Plate 5.3: VIP zone house for military personnel versus the ‘people’s area’ in one of the new towns ...... 88 Plate 5.4: Looking east towards Dagon Myothit, showing the remoteness of the new towns ...... 89 Plate 5.5: Mobile food hawker selling sliced mango in front of a tea shop ...... 95 Plate 5.6: Trishaw driver on Ward 9 local side street ...... 96 Plate 7.1: A typical example of well infrastructure outside a house ...... 133 Plate 7.2: Relocatee stands in front of her house at her new tube well purchased with a loan ...... 134

Plate 7.3: Water station outside shop ...... 135 Plate 7.4: Water station outside a HHL’s house ...... 135 Plate 7.5: Pit latrine located at the back of a house in the easement between lots ...... 136 Plate 7.6: Relocatee’s jug where she settles water behind her ...... 138 Plate 7.7: Photo of the “Welcome to Shwepyithar” sign, 1990 ...... 142 Plate 7.8: Street lighting on a main thoroughfare ...... 143 Plate 7.9: Street lighting outside a house ...... 143 Plate 7.10: Road with sandbags in the dry season...... 144 Plate 7.11: Road with sandbags in the wet season ...... 144 Plate 7.12: Blocked drains in the dry seasons ...... 149 Plate 7.13: Park residents build bridges to access houses over blocked drains ...... 149

List of Boxes

Box 5.1: U Tun Kyaing and Daw Kyi Kyi Win ...... 101 Box 6.1: U Khin Zaw ...... 108 Box 6.2: U Tint Shwe, Daw San San Aye and U Tin Min Phyo ...... 118 Box 7.1: Daw Thet Htar ...... 130

List of Abbreviations

ABSDF All Burma Students' Democratic Front

ADB Asian Development Bank

AUD Australian Dollar

BSPP Burmese Socialist Political Party

COHRE Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions

DIDR Development-induced Displacement and Resettlement

DOP Department of Population, Ministry of Immigration and Population

HHL Hundred Household Leader

NGO Non-government organisation

NLD National League for Democracy

SLORC State Law and Order Restoration Council

SPDC State Peace and Development Council

UNCHS United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (later became UN-Habitat)

UNDP United Nations Development Programme

UNESCAP United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific

UN-Habitat United Nations Human Settlements Programme

UNHRP United Nations Human Rights Program

USDP Union Solidarity and Development Party

YCDC Yangon City Development Committee

Chapter 1: Introduction

Chapter 1 Introduction

1.1 Introducing Forced Relocation

The intentional forced movement of people encompasses displacing, relocating or resettling people for economic, development or political reasons. All decisions to acquire land and move people for the purposes of building a new project or to demonstrate state control are highly political and do not occur by accident but are instead deliberate (Bennett & McDowell, 2012). This intentional forced movement of people not only causes a physical dislocation from a locality, but also triggers various other long-lasting ramifications by destroying people’s livelihoods, restricting access to cultural sites, disconnecting social networks and causing psychological impacts, such as feelings of trauma (Alaniz, 2017; Maldonado, 2011). In the process of disconnecting people from their previous place, no matter the motivation, affected groups experience increased risks of impoverishment (Cernea, 2000).

The quality and extent of efforts to assist affected people to adjust to their new situation is highly variable. On one extreme, displacement is the forced removal of people from land they occupied without provision of compensation and without legal protection (UN-Habitat & UNHRP, 2014). Those who experience forced displacement are evicted and lose many valuable livelihood assets that are critical to survival. At the other extreme is resettlement in a location with efforts made to fully restore of socio-economic status and living standards, which is rarely achieved, and requires significant political will and investment of resources by the project proponent (Wilmsen & Wang, 2015). Somewhere in the middle of these extremes is forced relocation, which is understood in this research as the process of moving people away and with provision of land elsewhere or some compensation (Fernández Arrigoitia, 2017; Ferris, 2012). For example, people might be compensated with some land or cash, but this still is insufficient to assist their ability to thrive after being forced to move. These different kinds of forced movement of people and their consequences are discussed in detail in Chapter 2.

Conservative estimates indicate that over 20 million people worldwide are impacted annually by development-induced displacement and resettlement (DIDR) projects, such as dams, mines, urban renewal, transport infrastructure and other major developments (Cernea & Maldonado, 2018). However, there can be significant underreporting of the forced movement of people, particularly in urban areas

1 Chapter 1: Introduction where there are more likely to be less data collection around forced movement of people due to the small-scale nature of the moves, the involvement of private sector and less likelihood of adhering to global social performance standards and therefore less accountable to external stakeholders (Chaudhry, 2018; Koenig, 2014; UN-Habitat & UNHRP, 2014). For example, the forced movement of people in cities might be motivated by small-scale projects that occur under local authorities or private sector actors, or people could be coerced to move when the state mandates it (Bennett & McDowell, 2012; Koenig, 2014). Forced movement of people in cities typically provide fewer (or zero) benefits to affected communities (Greene, 2003; Koenig, 2009). While many people are affected in rural areas where large-scale infrastructure is developed, the proportion of those affected by urban displacement is rising (UNESCAP & UN-Habitat, 2015). In urban areas people are being moved more frequently and at a larger scale than ever before as urbanisation pressures cause greater competition for land (UNESCAP & UN-Habitat, 2015).

In cities, there is an overrepresentation of marginalised groups, including the urban poor, ethnic minorities, informal dwellers and those with an undesirable political affiliation, who are affected by forced displacement, relocation and resettlement (Mejia, 1999; Roquet, Bornholdt, Sirker, & Lukic, 2015). There is limited recognition of informal settlers, renters and business operators affected by forced displacement, relocation and resettlement in urban areas and therefore they are less likely to receive compensation or assistance to restore living standards (Roquet et al., 2015). If there is insufficient support for the urban poor to re-establish their livelihood assets after forced displacement or relocation, they are left to rely on their own diminished resources to restore their basic needs for survival and long-term development. The risk of impoverishment from forced displacement, relocation and resettlement is intensified in urban settings as the target communities are usually a heterogeneous group of densely populated poor communities, which makes re- establishment of their lives complex and resource-intensive (Koenig, 2009, 2014). In addition, the land scarcity in cities and the diversity and multiplicity of livelihoods means that forced movement of urban dwellers is complex (Choi, 2015).

Reconstructing basic life necessities after relocation is understood as essential, yet the ability for affected groups to flourish and improve their existence remains dismal, even for well-resourced and well-intentioned resettlement programs (Fernández Arrigoitia, 2017). Minimising and reversing marginalisation risks that are consequences of relocation is made more difficult when limited external assistance is provided to support people to settle into their new environment (Cernea, 2000; Fernandes, 2000; Ferris, 2012). Where there is inadequate assistance from external stakeholders, such as project implementers, governments and non-government organisations, households and communities are obliged to develop actions to re-establish their livelihood assets. How or through

2 Chapter 1: Introduction what resources households and communities attempt to regain access to their livelihood assets and restore their living standards is unclear. This research is situated within the urban studies discipline and aims to unpack the decision-making processes that people who were forced to relocate to a new site with limited external assistance undertook to restore critical assets for survival.

This chapter introduces this thesis by presenting the research problem and its significance (Section 1.2), defining the research questions (Section 1.3), describing the research context (Section 1.4) and outlining the thesis’ structure (Section 1.5).

1.2 Research Problem

People affected by forced relocation are overwhelmed with competing immediate priorities to survive and do not receive support from the government or any other organisation. In urban areas, sustained access to income is critical for survival for the urban poor due to the commoditised nature of cities (Satterthwaite, 2001). When people are forced to move away from their previous economic opportunities, they find themselves vulnerable and exposed to impoverishment risks (or worsening impoverished conditions) (Alaniz, 2017; Cernea, 2000). Social capital relations with interclass and inter-community networks, and proximate access to economic hubs are also important for livelihoods in cities and these too are disconnected through the displacement process (Brown & Lloyd-Jones, 2002; Koenig, 2009). As a consequence of urban relocations being less accountable to global standards and less likely to support the replacement of living standards and livelihoods, those affected are left to construct basic infrastructure and navigate ways to access services (Ferris, 2012). Under these circumstances, affected people have competing priorities for survival – rebuilding economic and physical assets and navigating new geographic and social landscapes.

Urbanisation trends, especially in Southeast Asia, are driving up demand for new and improved urban infrastructure, which is displacing an increasing number of people as a result (UNESCAP & UN-Habitat, 2015). After decades of research on rurally-located DIDR projects, forced relocation and resettlement in urban areas is relatively understudied, despite growing urbanisation trends and rising cases of forced movement of people (Choi, 2015; Patel, Sliuzas, & Mathur, 2015). Over the last ten years, the literature around the causes and consequences of forced resettlement in urban areas has begun to expand (Patel et al., 2015). The complexities around the urban context (e.g. population densities, scarcity of land, less support given to restoring living standards, diversity and informality of livelihoods) means that there is still much more that needs to be understood. Considering the growing proportion of people affected by forced movement in cities, there needs to

3 Chapter 1: Introduction be improved understandings of how people recover (or attempt to recover) from the impacts of being forced to move.

For six decades, researchers and practitioners have documented the experiences of people and their lives and livelihoods when they are forced to relocate or resettle for development purposes (Maldonado, 2011). The impacts endured are wide-ranging and long-lasting, including loss of housing and access to infrastructure and services, the disconnection from social capital relations, disruptions to daily routines, feelings of disorientation, loss of cultural places, and psychological trauma, among others (Cernea, 2000; Maldonado, 2011; Miller, 2020; Oliver-Smith, 1991; Price, 2009). Despite the persistence of both tangible (e.g. housing, infrastructure, work) and intangible (e.g. disarticulation of social capital relations, disorientation, trauma) outcomes for affected people, there remains a focus on restoration of tangible assets when there is planned restoration of living standards in resettlement areas (Fernández Arrigoitia, 2017). There is less emphasis on the intangible assets, such as lost social capital, sense of identity and place, culture and cultural heritage, and psycho-socio-cultural impacts (Downing & Garcia-Downing, 2009; Koenig, 2009; Miller, 2020). The aspects of what it means to feel a ‘sense of belonging’ are impacted when affected people have their everyday routine that takes place in their familiar and established spatial and temporal contexts disrupted (Fried, 1966).

Reconstructing these intangible assets is extremely challenging, yet critical to the process of settling into the new location. Much of this work to restore the intangible assets is left to the affected people, who are also dealing with trauma from the move, pressure to sustain income for survival and dealing with disconnected social capital networks. Where planned restoration of living standards is not available, those affected are also likely to be reconstructing housing and finding access to other needed infrastructure and services. While there is general acknowledgement of the widespread effects of displacement, relocation and resettlement (Cernea, 2000; Maldonado, 2011; Oliver-Smith, 1991; Price, 2009), there is little understood about how affected people go about re- establishing these intangible assets and ‘settling in’ after they are forced to move.

Furthermore, despite the significant depth of literature on the effects of forced relocation and resettlement, the long-term impacts and recovery processes after relocation and resettlement are still not well understood. Evaluation and monitoring reports after forced relocation and resettlement typically occur two or five years after the event. There are few examples in publicly available private sector reports and academic literature about the long-term impacts of forced moves on livelihood assets (Wilmsen & van Hulten, 2017). There have been few studies that retrospectively study programs that have forced people to move to see how people have recovered their livelihood

4 Chapter 1: Introduction assets. Based on the introductory arguments provided in the previous section, which are discussed in detail in Chapter 2, the thesis addresses three understudied aspects within the field of forced relocations: urban relocations, the impacts to intangible assets and the long-term effects of forced relocation.

1.3 Research Questions

To address the three understudied areas elaborated in the previous section, this research is guided by the following main research question:

• How have urban households regained access to essential livelihood assets over time after being forcibly relocated from central Yangon to the city’s outskirts in 1991 and established a ‘sense of belonging’ in their new settlement?

The main research question is unpacked through the exploration of three sub-research questions:

1. What were the political, economic and socio-cultural conditions under which the relocatees were attempting to restore their livelihood assets? 2. How have livelihood actions fulfilled the economic and physical asset needs of the relocatees, and how have these changed over time? 3. How have relocatees developed a ‘sense of belonging’ in their relocation site?

This research follows a qualitative research design and uses a singular case study approach to provide an in-depth analysis of the recovery processes of people who were forced to relocate in Yangon, Myanmar. The case study is located in Ward 9, one of 23 wards in Shwepyithar Township, the northernmost edge of the city boundary. Shwepyithar and Wards 1-12 within it were created as part of the ‘sites and services’ relocation program that saw over 500,000 people forced to move to relocation sites around Yangon in the late 1980s and early 1990s under difficult circumstances.1 Ward 9 was established in 1991 and is an example of an urban to peri-urban relocation. Ward 9 was chosen as the case study because a large number of relocatees have remained living there and presented an opportunity to study the long-term impacts of forced moves.

Using concepts of forced relocation, livelihoods, social capital and belonging, this research focusses on how people who were forced to relocate settled into their new neighbourhoods. It analyses how relocatees rebuilt their livelihood assets with limited external support over 25 years, from when they were initially moved in 1991 to 2016 when data was collected. The research explores the most

1 Wards 13-23 were established after 1994 (UN-Habitat et al., 2016).

5 Chapter 1: Introduction essential livelihood assets required for survival in post-relocation context: economic assets (work, human capital, credit) and physical assets (household and shared infrastructure) and what role social capital, self-reliance and ‘sense of belonging’ play in the reconstruction of these assets.

1.4 Research Context

Myanmar is situated in the western edge of Southeast Asia, bordering Bangladesh and India to the northwest, China to the northeast, and Laos and Thailand to the east and southeast. There are approximately 51.4 million people living in Myanmar,2 spread over the country’s 14 states and regions (DOP, 2015). Within these states and regions there is vast ethnic, social, linguistic and cultural diversity. The majority of the population in Myanmar identify as Bamar ethnicity, while others are Shan, Kayin, Rakhine, Mon, Kachin, Chin and Kayah (and sub-groups within these broad identities).3 Culturally, approximately 89 percent of the population are Buddhist, 6.3 percent Christian, 2.3 percent Muslim, 0.5 percent Hindu and 0.2 percent animist (DOP, 2015). About 24.8 percent of Myanmar’s population is characterised as poor, living off of 1,590 kyat (AUD $1.53) per day (national poverty line) (UNDP & World Bank Group, 2019). It is estimated that a third of the country’s population is highly vulnerable to falling into poverty in the future (UNDP & World Bank Group, 2019).

While 70 percent of the country’s population live in rural areas, urbanisation has steadily increased since 2000 (DOP, 2015). It is expected that Myanmar’s population will be 55 percent urban by 2050 (Martin, Marschke, & Win, 2019).4 Yangon is the country’s largest city, both in terms of commerce and population with about 5.2 million inhabitants (DOP, 2015). Yangon’s population is set to double by 2040 to reach 11 million people (DOP, 2015). About 81 percent of the population growth is due to migration from rural areas to find employment and access education, health and other services commonly found in large cities (DOP, 2015; Matelski & Sabrié, 2019). The population growth in Yangon is relatively recent since an expansion of services and opportunities have become available since 2011 (Matelski & Sabrié, 2019). The population growth in the former capital city has placed enormous pressure on the housing market, which is expected to lead to a

2 This is a conservative estimate as the 2014 census was controversial for several reasons, including not counting people living in areas not under government control, migrant workers from Myanmar living overseas or refugees in neighbouring countries (South & Lall, 2018). 3 There are sensitivities around ethnic breakdown in Myanmar. For example, several ethnic groups were not listed on the census form, including Gurkhas and Panthay Muslims and Rohingya. The controversy of ethnic group data collection during the census has resulted in data not being released (South & Lall, 2018). 4 Even though Myanmar has had relatively low urbanisation rates compared to other countries in the Mekong region, it is expected that this will change as economic and other opportunities draw people into cities as the policies of economic diversification and liberalisation take hold (Martin et al., 2019; Matelski & Sabrié, 2019).

6 Chapter 1: Introduction housing shortage of 1.3 million units by 2030 (ADB, 2019).5 In addition, Yangon has also been experiencing an increase in international investment interest since 2011, spurring large developments and urban renewal projects (Matelski & Sabrié, 2019).

The urbanisation process currently occurring in Yangon is adding pressure to land availability in the city. Furthermore, the current land use and strategic plan fails to consider consequences of forced relocations and resettlements and the urban poor in general (Kyed, 2019; Matelski & Sabrié, 2019). The city’s urban renewal projects and infrastructure upgrades and a lack of policy to protect the poor are causing the most vulnerable residents to be displaced (for example see Htar Htar Khin, 2015; Lin, 2015; Sithu Aung Myint, 2014; Zaw Zaw Htwe, 2016). The act of moving people out of the city for development and economic reasons, however, is not new.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s in Yangon about 500,000 people who had previously lived in central city areas were forcibly relocated to newly formed townships on the city’s edge, some 30 kilometres from their original residence (Seekins, 2005; Than Than Nwe, 1998; UNCHS, 1991). The purposefully created relocation sites significantly expanded the city’s boundaries into neighbouring rice paddy fields and lacked adequate basic infrastructure, services and opportunities to access work (Seekins, 2005; Than Than Nwe, 1998; UNCHS, 1991). The ‘sites and services’ relocation program was a nationwide initiative that in total displaced over 1.5 million people and occurred after a major political uprising in 1988 against the military regime that had taken control of the country 26 years prior (UNCHS, 1991).

The motivations for the relocation program were threefold: political, economic and development. First, coming out of the political uprising in the late 1980s, the state aimed to seize control of political dissidents and move them out of central parts of the city to avoid future protests (Seekins, 2005). The scale and nature of the relocation program represented a demonstration of authoritarian population control over citizens (Rhoads, 2018). Second, the military regime subsequent to the 1988 uprising sought to re-enter world trade markets after several decades of isolation, which led to clearing out squatters in central parts of Yangon to build new infrastructure, including hotels and apartments (Seekins, 2005). Last, after decades of infrastructural neglect, there was a need to improve transport, upgrade public services and beautify the country’s capital city to attract foreign investors (Seekins, 2005).

Given this context, it is unsurprising that the military government provided limited livelihood re- establishment support to the affected people. Today, knowledge about the relocation sites in general

5 Yangon is the former capital of Myanmar, before the purpose-built Naypyidaw was established in 2006.

7 Chapter 1: Introduction and about the people relocated and their livelihood development approaches in particular is scarce. In the early 1990s, some independent news reports revealed the severe deprivation, poverty and isolation experienced in the relocation sites (ABSDF, 1990; Bosson, 2007a; Smith, 1994; UNCHS, 1991). Other scholars, like Boutry (2015) and Skidmore (2002) have made valuable and novel research contributions in the relocation townships about peri-urban poverty and gender dimensions of poverty, respectively. Than Than Nwe (1998), Seekins (2005, 2011) and Rhoads (2018) offer important overviews of the relocation program, contextualising it in the socio-economic and political situation of the time. These works have been imperative for building on the knowledge base of urban poverty and structural influences and effects of the relocation program. This thesis builds off of this work and contributes to the lived experiences of people who were forced to relocate by closely examining how they have navigated their social and physical landscapes and ‘settled in’ to their relocation site. This is done through offering a novel view of livelihood recovery that not only examines the development of physical and social assets but also emphasises the significance of developing a sense of belonging to the new place.

1.5 Thesis Structure

This thesis consists of nine chapters. Following this Introduction (Chapter 1), Chapter 2 presents a review of the literature, situating the research in the current debates of forced relocations and the impacts commonly experienced as a result. It deepens the general understandings of forced relocation by focussing on forced urban relocations and urban livelihoods and provides a review of the current understandings in the literature around how people might use self-reliance and social capital to recover from forced relocation. The chapter concludes by identifying the gaps in the literature.

Chapter 3 deepens the discussion of the literature by conceptualising the links between impoverishment risks caused by forced relocation, livelihood actions and understandings of livelihood assets, especially social capital, and belongingness. Drawing on Chapters 2 and 3, a conceptual framework is developed, which underpins the key arguments of the thesis.

Chapter 4 outlines the qualitative case study methodological approach used for this research. The methods used for data collection were interviews, observations, transect walks, and secondary data analysis. This chapter provides a detailed explanation of the three fieldwork trips, which were carried out in Yangon between 2016 and 2017. This chapter also addresses ethical considerations for the research and a reflection on positionality in the field.

8 Chapter 1: Introduction

Chapter 5 draws on both secondary and primary data to establish the political, economic and socio- cultural context of the case study. It answers the first sub-research question. Following a general political and economic introduction of the country, a detailed account is provided of the lived experiences of relocatees who were moved to the case study site in 1991. This context chapter sets the scene for discussion about the responses relocatees developed in later chapters.

Chapter 6 takes a closer look at the actions that people have developed to restore access to economic assets (e.g. work, human capital, access to credit) after being forced to relocate. This chapter contributes to the second sub-research question by using empirical examples to identify and define the economic livelihood actions, how social capital and self-reliance were used and how actions have changed over time.

Chapter 7 refocuses the actions on building physical assets in the relocation site after forced relocation. It identifies and defines the actions relocatees developed to build, improve and maintain the most commonly discussed infrastructure types in the interviews, including shelter, water, sanitation and roads. It also includes actions that help relocatees to navigate the under-resourced social infrastructure, such as health facilities and schools. Similar to Chapter 6, this chapter addresses the second sub-research question using data from interviews and observations.

Chapter 8 moves away from the tangible livelihood asset recovery process and examines the actions developed to foster a ‘sense of belonging’ in the relocation site. The chapter also explores what it means to not belong. This chapter answers the third sub-research question.

Chapter 9 draws together the core arguments of this research. It summarises the findings presented in earlier chapters, answers the research questions, specifies the contribution to knowledge, and puts forward suggestions for future research.

9 Chapter 2: Literature review

Chapter 2 Impacts of Forced Displacement, Relocation and Resettlement: Literature Review

2.1 Introduction

This literature review situates the research for this thesis in the current debates of forced relocations, urban livelihood analysis and recovery processes after relocation. By drawing on these concepts, the chapter provides an overview of the nuanced impacts of forced relocations in cities and the unique characteristics of urban livelihoods. This review primarily draws on literature from resettlement, urban planning and urban livelihoods fields to understand how the urban poor affected by forced relocation attempt to recover their damaged economic, social and physical assets.

After this Introduction, Section 2.2 provides an overview of the definitions and impacts associated with forced displacement, relocation and resettlement. Section 2.3 narrows in on forced relocations in cities and how impacts are uniquely felt by the urban poor after relocation. Section 2.4 considers what happens after relocation and the recovery processes of affected people. It focusses on self- reliance and the role of social capital in recovering from and dealing with the impacts associated with urban relocations. Section 2.6 highlights the key gaps in the current literature. Section 2.6 briefly summarises this chapter.

2.2 Understanding Forced Displacement, Relocation, Resettlement and Affected People: Definitions and Impacts

The forced movement of people is often for the state or proponent to obtain unobstructed access to land, which interrupts the living patterns of communities that use the land for residential or livelihood purposes. It is often understood and closely associated with economic advancement through major projects, such as dams, highways and urban upgrades, which is commonly referred to as development-induced displacement and resettlement (DIDR) (Cernea, 2000). Other motivations for removing people from land include state-mandated control where political and economic power is placed over affected people (Bennett & McDowell, 2012) and mega-events, such as major sporting or international meetings, usually particular to urban displacements (Sánchez & Broudehoux, 2013).

10 Chapter 2: Literature review

Tens of millions of people are estimated to be displaced by development projects worldwide each year, although the exact number is not known. Some of the challenges in collecting information about DIDR, state-mandated control or mega-events relocations are due to underreporting by governments and project proponents, privately held data, and the lack of baseline data prior to projects commencing (Walicki, 2017). Cernea and Maldonado (2018) estimates that over 20 million are displaced worldwide for development projects annually. In China alone, an estimated 78 million have been displaced by development projects over the last 60 years (Wilmsen & Rogers, 2019). The proportion of those affected by forced displacement in urban contexts is expected to rise as the demand for new and improved urban infrastructure increases as a result of urbanisation trends, especially in Southeast Asia (UNESCAP & UN-Habitat, 2015).

This literature review focusses on the intentional forced movement of people caused by DIDR, mega-events and state-mandated control, not the moves associated with conflict or environmental factors. The following sub-sections offer definitions of key terms and current understandings of the wide range of impacts caused by forced displacement, relocation and resettlement.

2.2.1 Defining displacement, relocation, resettlement, affected people and ‘forced’ movement

Terminology used in this literature review is often used interchangeably by scholars, governments, non-government organisations (NGOs) and other stakeholders. Below is an overview of how this research interprets and uses displacement, relocation, resettlement, involuntary, forced and affected people.

Displacement refers to the physical dispossession and social and economic exclusion from a location that affected people previously accessed (Cernea, 2000; de Wet, 2001). Forced displacement encompasses forced eviction, which UN-Habitat and United Nations Commission on Human Rights (2014, p.2) define as,

the permanent or temporary removal against their will of individuals, families and/or communities from the homes and/or land which they occupy, without the provision of, and access to, appropriate forms of legal or other protection.

Not only is displacement associated with destruction of physical assets, such as housing, it also causes long-lasting social, psychological, cultural, geographic and economic impacts on affected communities with varying degrees of impoverishment and disempowerment (Cernea, 2000; de Wet, 2001; Downing, 1996; Oliver-Smith, 1991). Fernandez Arrigoitia (2017) argues that displacement is explicitly destructive due to the lack of compensation for land, housing, lost economic assets and

11 Chapter 2: Literature review social-spatial disruptions. When people are forced to move from a location without any effort by instigators to assist in the reconstruction of lost assets, this is synonymous with ‘expulsion’, leaving the communities spatially, socially and economically dispossessed (de Wet, 2001). This thesis uses ‘displacement’ when people have been involuntarily removed from where they have lived or worked without the option to move to a new location and without any form of compensation.

What happens after displacement is neither linear nor straightforward. Many factors, including whether the movement of people is planned and voluntary or instigated by powerful actors and involuntary (definitions on these terms appear on the next page) determine the fate of those affected. In an urban context, people are displaced for urban renewal projects, mega-events and also because authorities force ‘undesirable’ residents to leave. The restoration process (or lack thereof) varies widely and depends on the level of political will and access to resources (Bennett & McDowell, 2012). People who are displaced without any form of compensation are left to find somewhere else to live and work on their own. Two other possible outcomes after displacement are relocation and resettlement.

Although the terms relocation and resettlement are used interchangeably in the literature, this research distinguishes between them and uses a useful definition provided by Ferris (2012, p.11),

relocation generally refers to the physical process of moving people and can be either temporary or permanent and either voluntary or forced. In this sense, relocation is much less ambitious than resettlement in that it does not necessarily imply restoration of living standards and livelihoods.

In a context where relocation is forced or involuntary, relocation violates the affected people’s “right to freedom of movement” (Ferris, 2014, p.8). Fernandez Arrigoitia (2017) argues that relocation is only marginally more just than displacement as some form of shelter or land is provided but there is minimal support for those affected groups to adapt to their new location.

In contrast, resettlement encompasses efforts made to rehabilitate assets that were lost during displacement (Cernea, 1991, 2000; de Wet, 2001). The term ‘resettlement’ is used to refer to situations where there is “planned reconstruction of the socio-economic organization of the affected people” (Cernea, 1991, p.189). Under resettlement, provision is made for compensation, which might include new houses, new land, and livelihood restoration. The quality and extent of efforts to restore lost assets vary between projects, yet effort to re-establish livelihoods, and living and social systems is apparent (Downing, 2002). In some cases, this process of restoring socioeconomic conditions is also referred to as ‘reconstruction’, particularly by humanitarian and development

12 Chapter 2: Literature review actors (Ferris, 2012). Even though the DIDR literature is relatively well-established, impacts and impoverishment risks persist even when efforts to restore pre-displacement living standards are made (Ferris, 2014; Price, 2019; Wilmsen & Webber, 2016) (see Section 2.2.2 for details).

This thesis uses the term forced relocation solely when referring to the moving of people to a new site without adequate re-establishment processes and without any choice about the move. Forced resettlement, on the other hand, is used in reference to projects that have in some way supported the restoration of living standards and livelihoods for affected people by the developer (Fernández Arrigoitia, 2017; Ferris, 2012).

Affected people are those who are at risk of losing valuable assets as a consequence of the displacement and resettlement or relocation process, including the physical space they occupy (their home and land), income earning opportunities, social and cultural sites or networks (ADB, 1998; Downing, 2002). Scudder (1996) acknowledges that project-affected people must also include the host communities or towns that take in those displaced by development projects. Project-affected people are usually from economically and politically marginalised sectors of society (de Wet, 2001). Dwivedi (2002) makes an important note on the term ‘resettlers’, which is also commonly used in the literature and by practitioners. ‘Resettlers’ implies that households have been resettled or are willing to be resettled, disregarding the millions of people who have been moved without appropriate restoration of assets over the decades (Dwivedi, 2002). For this reason, this research uses the terms ‘affected people’ or ‘relocatees’, implying that they are the recipients of change, not the instigators, to describe persons, households and communities impacted by forced relocation.

Forced relocations are rarely entirely voluntary or involuntary as various incentives exist and, equally, significant adverse risks (Wilmsen & Wang, 2015). If conceptualised on a spectrum of power and willingness, then relocating for reasons other than self-motivations (i.e. of one’s personal will) is defined as the ‘involuntary’ end of the scale (Bennett & McDowell, 2012; Price, 2015). Mathur (2006, p.38) argues that involuntary relocation and resettlement occurs “without the informed consent of the displaced persons or power of choice, or where that consent or choice is being exercised in the absence of reasonable alternatives.” There is a sense of powerlessness in these circumstances around whether affected people are moved or not; they do not have a choice (Bennett & McDowell, 2012). Once negotiated settlements are agreed to with the affected communities, it introduces a degree of volunteerism and power between actors, thereby transitioning relocation or resettlement towards the more voluntary end of the spectrum (Penz, Drydyk, & Bose, 2011; Wilmsen & Wang, 2015). Development projects, state-mandated

13 Chapter 2: Literature review motivations, mega-event projects and other external pressures that impose power and force people to move to a new location without reasonable alternatives are categorised as involuntary.

The literature use ‘involuntary’ or ‘forced’ interchangeably to describe situations when affected people had no choice and had to move. There is a tendency for resettlement literature, particularly publications associated with international finance institutions and corporations to use ‘involuntary’, whereas advocacy groups (e.g. the former COHRE, Amnesty International) and human rights associations (e.g. the UN Commission on Human Rights) use ‘forced’. This thesis recognises the nuance between these terms. ‘Forced’ is used in this research as it implies a direct action imposed by government or military authorities on affected people to move. Using ‘forced’ highlights how these state-led relocation programmes are top-down in nature, compared with the use of ‘involuntary’ which denotes some level of passivity or inclusion of some incentives. In this way, ‘forced’ can imply a forceful and sudden break in living and working arrangements.

2.2.2 Impacts of forced displacement, relocation and resettlement

Forced relocation causes a wide range of long-lasting and often irreversible physical and non- physical impacts on affected groups. These impacts are typical across much of the forced resettlement literature (de Wet, 2015). The inherently spatial nature of forced displacement, relocation and resettlement means that affected people are physically removed from the land that they lived, worked and/ or cultivated. This loss of productive land and access to the economic opportunities attached to the original location can lead to severe economic impacts for affected people (Cernea, 2000). In addition, people most commonly affected by forced displacement, relocation and resettlement events are usually from “less powerful and the economically more marginalised sections of society” (de Wet, 2001, p.4639). Coming from more fragile economic situations, reconstruction of affected people’s economic and other assets “requires a conscious commitment of effort and resources” by instigators, which is not always followed through (de Wet, 2001, p.4639). de Wet (2001, p.4640) claims that those affected by forced resettlement projects “never regain the level of economic well-being or autonomy” they had before being moved.

In addition to economic hardship, projects that displace or relocate populations (without attempts to resettle) leads to significant loss in a wide range of physical infrastructure. Common physical assets that are damaged or lost include shelter, and water and sanitation infrastructure (Cernea, 2000; Oliver-Smith, 1991). Although projects vary greatly, affected people are generally left to build their own shelter out of scrap materials or supplies brought from their previous location (Fernández

14 Chapter 2: Literature review

Arrigoitia, 2017). Water and sanitation infrastructures are also often left to those displaced and relocated to organise and build (Fernández Arrigoitia, 2017).

When “conscious commitment”, as de Wet (2001) refers to, is made to livelihood and asset reconstruction, physical assets are routinely prioritised by the project developer over intangible effects of resettlement. In a dam development in Myanmar, for example, housing, water, sanitation, health clinics, schools and Buddhist monasteries were constructed as part of the project (Cornish, 2017). Resettled households found that education, health, roads and religious buildings had improved within two years of resettlement (Cornish, 2017). Yet even in this context where physical infrastructure was provided, the economic opportunities remained “much worse” (Cornish, 2017).

The physical separation away from previous locations not only has economic and physical asset implications, there are also severe social consequences. Spatial marginalisation means that individuals, households and communities are disconnected from their previous social networks. The urban poor especially rely on long-standing social capital networks to deal with day-to-day challenges, such as finding work, childcaring and reciprocal material exchange (Brown & Lloyd- Jones, 2002) (see Section 2.3.2). The disruption to social assets after displacement can have long lasting impacts and can affect how people go through the recovery process and cope with the upheaval (Shami, 1993).

In addition to the economic impacts, loss of physical assets and disconnection of social capital, affected people are also experiencing a rupture to their ‘sense of belonging’. The socio-spatial disarticulation caused by being forced to move can lead to feelings of alienation and disorientation in their new location, causing a loss of ‘sense of belonging’ (Fullilove, 1996). Early psychology research in post-displacement situations by Fried (1966) found that communities who were involuntarily relocated suffered socio-spatial grief for their original place and the sense of connectedness they had prior to displacement. Poorer and working classes have stronger connections to specific places, rely more on the social ties in those places, and are also more at risk of being affected by displacement and relocation (Fried, 1966). Part of the reason for these close connections is the social attachments the urban poor rely on to address daily challenges (discussed further in Section 3.5.2). Affected people are overwhelmed with their new situation: familiarising themselves with their surroundings, at the same time as regaining access to income-generating opportunities, restoring lost physical assets, maintaining social networks and trying to ‘belong’ (Oliver-Smith, 1991).

15 Chapter 2: Literature review de Wet (2001) refers to the sudden break in social, economic and political connections as ‘dis- emplacement’. After the process of being moved, affected people need to ‘re-emplace’ themselves socially, politically and economically in a new environment. People are ‘emplaced’ when they gain “an association and identification that a person or group of people has with a socially constituted place/territory that is recognised by others” (de Wet, 2015, p.86). The process of ‘re-emplacement’ and how people get to be ‘emplaced’ is unclear. Scudder’s (1985) four stage model of 1) recruitment, 2) transition, 3) potential development and 4) handing over and incorporation is the only resettlement framework to mention the adaptation process people experience when they are move voluntarily. Scudder posits that the ‘transition’ stage ends when people feel at home and can meet their basic survival needs, yet the model does not deeply explore what it means to feel the sense of home after experiencing a forced relocation (see Section 2.5 for gaps in the literature).

The implications of displacement and separation from meaningful places for people are significant. Fullilove (1996, p.1517) argues that the rupture to socio-spatial identity that displacement causes and this “loss of place is a source of mental distress.” Fried (1966) questions the adaptive character of place attachment, but more recent literature from refugee studies indicates that new place attachments and a new ‘sense of belonging’ can be formed in new locations. Dudley (2011), for example, has studied how refugees on the Thai-Myanmar border have regained a sense of ‘emplacement’ after restarting cultural practices in refugee camps. Yet, yearning for the lost place is the permanent condition of migrants, displaced people and people who live in diasporas (Ilcan, 2002). There is limited theoretical and empirical study on the loss of place and the disruption to ‘sense of belonging’ that results from the spatial detachment after forced displacement, resettlement and relocation, despite there being detailed discussion about other forms of loss – economic, land, communal assets, and so on (see Section 2.5). One field that place and resettlement have begun to emerge is in climate change, where restoring community bonds and fostering connections to place are seen as critical, alongside securing essential livelihood assets (Miller, 2020).

Despite widespread acknowledgement of the range of losses caused as a result of forced resettlement, there continues to be a greater focus on the reconstruction of tangible, physical assets, such as houses and roads. Downing and Garcia-Downing (2009) and Oliver-Smith (1991) emphasise that the psychological well-being and psycho-socio-cultural impoverishment risks are rarely adequately considered by practitioners and also very understudied when assessing the impacts of forced relocation and resettlement outcomes. Miller (2020) contends that the lack of consideration in resettlement practice to social ties and cultural places contribute to detrimental outcomes of overall well-being for affected people. Scholars also argue for more attention on

16 Chapter 2: Literature review economic and livelihood outcomes and social well-being of affected groups (Alaniz, 2017; Cernea, 1997; Koenig, 2009; Mejia, 1999).

Although efforts have been made to improve policies and international standards, development outcomes for affected communities still fall short (Bennett & McDowell, 2012; de Wet, 2001, 2015). Impoverishment risks remain inextricably linked to relocation and resettlement and the impacts on communities affected by displacement and resettlement are still sorely felt. In 2015, the World Bank, one of the largest multilateral lenders to governments and the private sector for development projects, publicly acknowledged its shortcomings in the outcomes of their resettlement projects (World Bank Group, 2015). Indeed, of the millions who have been displaced over the years, only a fraction have been resettled with livelihoods rehabilitated (de Wet, 2001; Fernandes, 2000; Oliver-Smith, 1991; WCD, 2000b). There remains a large gap between policy, guidelines, theory and resettlement activities in practice.

While global standards exist to guide resettlement programs to achieve outcomes that safeguard affected people, these are generally only followed when leading international finance institutions are funding the project. The World Bank is one of the largest lending agencies for development projects that cause resettlements, yet over 95 percent of relocation and resettlement projects are not financed by the World Bank, and therefore not subject to their standards (Cernea, 1999). Where borrowing countries do not have adequate frameworks to regulate resettlement to ensure minimal impacts are felt by project affected people, the development opportunities for those most severely impacted are bleak (de Wet, 2001). Urban projects go under the radar of international standards due to their size and funding arrangements, making them more likely to perform worse than large-scale projects with funding or accountability to international donors (Koenig, 2014).

Failures of relocation and resettlement projects are generic and typical. The impacts of forced relocation can cause a huge number of long-lasting effects to virtually all aspects of affected people’s lives. Where there is inadequate political will, unavailable resources and insufficient policy standards, the responsibility to re-establish physical and non-physical assets falls to the affected people, who are typically poor or marginalised groups and dealing with an array of impacts.

2.3 Forced Relocation in the Urban Context: Livelihoods, Prevalence and Impacts

Forced relocations in urban contexts have particularities that differ to the large-scale rurally located resettlements. Cernea (1993) and Choi (2015) argue that urban relocation deserves greater attention

17 Chapter 2: Literature review to better understand the forced relocation processes in cities and the distinctions associated with dense population, heightened political tensions, and fewer options for relocation sites. Urban relocation still remains largely understudied compared to large-scale rurally located relocation projects, despite the intensifying trends of forced movement of people in cities (Choi, 2015; Patel et al., 2015). Some exceptions to this include climate-related displacements (for example McNamara, Olson, & Rahman, 2015; Miller, 2020), urban DIDR-related and mega-event resettlements (for example Ghaus et al., 2012; Sánchez & Broudehoux, 2013; Wilmsen & Rogers, 2019), and urbanisation pressures (for example Koenig, 2014; Roquet et al., 2015). Compared with decades of research in rural contexts, the complexities of forced movement of people in cities remain ill- defined. One particular gap that is not clearly understood is the process of recovery in an urban relocation context where there is usually limited compensation and support provided.

It will become more prevalent to understand the effects of urban relocation due to the expected increase of urban resettlement projects in coming decades as cities in the Global South continue to experience urbanisation (UNESCAP & UN-Habitat, 2015). More than half of the world’s population now live in cities (UNFPA, 2007) and under the current pace of global urbanisation, urban space will triple in the next 30 years (Glaeser & Joshi-Ghani, 2013). About 90 percent of this growth is expected to occur in the Global South where there is usually inadequate or uneven provision of social services and bottlenecks of housing, transport and other basic infrastructure (Roquet et al., 2015).

As demand for land intensifies, forced displacements and relocations will become more widespread to cater for growing urban populations, upgrades to infrastructure, and expanded provision of modern amenities and services. Approximately 60 percent of all DIDR projects each year occurs in urban areas due to infrastructure and transport development (World Bank, 1996, in Stanley, 2004). This figure is difficult to confirm due to the high number of urban DIDR projects that are not accounted for in global studies. Additionally, more people will find themselves living in informal or precarious settlements as a result of being priced out of the regularised market due to insufficient supply and rising housing prices and, therefore, at greater risk of being displaced (Koenig, 2014).

The following sub-sections explain the nuances of urban livelihoods, followed by a review of the urban relocation literature. The final sub-section explains the unique qualities of displacements and relocations in cities, including the particular impacts that are experienced in urban areas and challenges to recovering urban livelihoods.

18 Chapter 2: Literature review

2.3.1 Occurrences and the nature of forced urban relocations

Causes for forced urban relocations can be broadly categorised into three different events: urban upgrades, mega-events or political motivations. Urban upgrades refer to urban renewal projects, economic development projects, slum improvement projects, pre-emptive relocation projects or non-urban projects that are constructed for the purpose of the city (Cernea, 1989). Mega-events include major sporting or landmark events that require intense development of the city to cater for the occasion and low-income and informal settlements are usually most at risk and there is limited (if any) compensation provided (Fernández Arrigoitia, 2017; Greene, 2003). Resettlement sites are often far from the city centre, away from concentrated employment opportunities and affected people experience increased expenses associated with transport and housing repayments (Greene, 2003; Mejia, 1999; Roquet et al., 2015). Both urban upgrades and mega-events that cause forced relocation sit distinctly within the ‘development-induced displacement’ field where projects are undertaken for economic growth. The economic growth is an outcome for the project proponents, while the affected people are left spatially, socially and economically marginalised and worse off (Greene, 2003).

Political motivations for removing people from land includes state-mandated relocations where authorities impose economic and political power over marginalised residents (Bennett & McDowell, 2012). Herzfeld (2006) proposes that ‘spatial cleansing’ denotes the disruption of security, similar to ethnic cleansing, for entire groups of people that had identified with and occupied space in an urban area. Upon depopulating the space, authorities establish a “concomitant definition of [the] former residents as intruders (usually called ‘squatters’…)” (Herzfeld, 2006, p.142). Political motivations for displacing or relocating urban residents can take various forms but consistently demonstrates a strong power imbalances where authorities purge spaces of marginalised groups who are considered undesirable (Bennett & McDowell, 2012; Herzfeld, 2006).

Urban forced relocation literature highlights the reliance on rural-based theoretical groundings (for example Cernea’s Impoverishment Risks and Rehabilitation (IRR) model and the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework (SLF)), which do not always represent the nuances of urban resettlement needs, particularly relating to land and livelihoods.

2.3.2 Impacts and challenges unique to urban contexts

The magnitude and prevalence of large-scale rurally located projects that induce relocation or resettlement is greater than those in urban settings, yet the frequency and population density of urban relocation projects is much higher (Mejia, 1999; Stanley, 2004). In addition, the complexity

19 Chapter 2: Literature review of urban relocation and resettlement projects is considered much greater than rural settings (Mathur, 2006). There are distinct particularities of urban relocation events and how they differ to rural relocations, in terms of overrepresentation of marginalised groups, higher population densities, challenges of finding suitable sites and diversity of livelihoods.

The World Bank’s 2015 report about urban land acquisition and involuntary resettlement identified that a high proportion of marginalised groups due to ethnicity, socio-economic status or political affiliation in the city are often most affected (Roquet et al., 2015). Mejia (1999) adds that many are without legal titles to the land they occupy and those considered as ‘slum-dwellers’ or ‘squatters’ are equated to non-citizens by authorities and therefore not worthy of consultation or compensation. The World Bank agrees that there is often limited recognition of the informal renters and business operators who are affected by displacement, relocation and resettlement in cities (Roquet et al., 2015). Without recognition or compensation to assist the re-establishment of their damaged assets, affected groups are left without adequate support to improve their living conditions.

The much higher population density of urban areas than rural settings can mean that a significant number of people are impacted by a displacement project, even if the project is relatively small (Mejia, 1999). Another challenge with population density in cities is that the number of affected people is constantly changing due to high mobility of urban households as well as deliberate movement to receive resettlement packages (Choi, 2015; Mejia, 1999; Penz et al., 2011). Accounting for the full number of affected people, including those economically impacted, is a major difficulty in urban relocation and resettlements.

Finding suitable sites in cities is another challenge, owing to rapidly increasing property prices and limited availability of potential centrally located sites (Roquet et al., 2015). A suitable site should be one that considers proximity to economic opportunity and maintains original economic and social networks (Choi, 2015; Koenig, 2009; Mathur, 2006). Re-establishing social ties necessary for livelihoods in cities is extremely difficult. Choi (2015) and Koenig (2014) contend that urban livelihoods are much more affected by the distance to economic opportunities than rural livelihoods. In cities, when sites are remote and isolated, infrastructure is more likely to be insufficient. Poor-quality transport exacerbates the urban poor’s livelihood opportunities by limiting access to jobs, services, economic markets and social connections (Fernández Arrigoitia, 2017). The social implications on remote relocation sites are also significant, causing isolation and segregation (Fernández Arrigoitia, 2017). Section 2.3.3 emphasises the importance of social relations and livelihoods for urban populations.

20 Chapter 2: Literature review

Interrelated with finding suitable sites is addressing the maintenance or creation of new income- generating opportunities. Koenig (2014) explains that the urban poor use a variety of livelihood strategies to make ends meet, such as multiple casual jobs, land-based subsistence farming or husbandry or other home-based businesses. There is often a reliance on informal activities and economic structures, which are closely linked to social networks, are difficult to re-establish in new locations (Mejia, 1999). There is also a mix of formal and informal economic streams for the affected groups, which require different approaches for livelihood management after moving (Koenig, 2014). The density and heterogeneity of urban areas together with varied livelihood strategies of the urban poor paints a complex, multi-layered and non-linear picture of urban life (Koenig, 2009, 2014).

Mentioned throughout the various urban relocation complexities are the unique characteristics of urban livelihoods and the interrelatedness with space and social ties. The urban poor undertake diverse income-generating activities to survive in the cash-based economies in cities. Interclass social ties are critical to finding and sustaining work for the urban poor (Koenig, 2009). Location and access to these social ties and economic opportunities are also essential for survival. Without proximity, transport becomes prohibitively expensive, time-consuming and restricts access to suppliers, markets and important networks (Brown & Lloyd-Jones, 2002; Fernández Arrigoitia, 2017). The social connections within and between poor communities are also important, not necessarily for getting out of poverty but for everyday survival to deal with the challenges of poverty. Social capital and acts of reciprocity within urban poor groups help individuals and households address immediate needs, like food, childminding and money lending (Forrest & Kearns, 2016; Kearns & Parkinson, 2001). One apparent gap in the literature is the limited discussion on loss of place and what it means for affected people to lose their ‘sense of belonging’ after displacement (see Section 2.2.2 for a summary and Section 2.5 for gaps in the literature).

Overall, there is a general bias in international development that neglects to acknowledge the features distinctive to urban relocation and resettlement activities (Choi, 2015; Koenig, 2009, 2014; Mathur, 2006). This is carried through from international resettlement guidelines that are created for the rural context (ADB, 1998; WCD, 2000a; World Bank Group, 2001). The heterogeneity of communities, among reasons mentioned above, requires flexibility and adaptability in relocation and resettlement planning to address the various needs of different people (Cernea, 1989; Koenig, 2009). Acknowledging and remedying the rural bias in international development will become more prevalent as urban displacement, resettlement and relocation activities intensify.

21 Chapter 2: Literature review

One major challenge with researching relocation and resettlement in urban areas is the lack of sufficient data. This challenge can be attributed to various factors but most commonly as a result of the small-scale, private-sector led nature of urban resettlement practice that occurs under municipality law and therefore less accountable to external stakeholders (Koenig, 2014; UN-Habitat & UNHRP, 2014). It is acknowledged that there remains a “lack [of] data to systematically compare pre- and post-project conditions” in urban contexts (Choi & Satiroglu, 2015, p.230). Unless a pre- displacement study has been carried out, there is no baseline to compare before / after resettlement conditions. Forced urban moves tend to be more ‘relocation’, not ‘resettlement’, which generally means that data collection at the beginning is not undertaken at all or not in great detail (UN-Habitat & UNHRP, 2014). Chapter 4 explains how the research for this thesis managed a lack of baseline data.

The challenges associated with urban relocation and resettlement include socio-economic factors (livelihoods, marginalised groups, population density), spatial factors (livelihoods, suitable site locations) and weak urban planning regulatory frameworks and political will. Combined, these factors prohibit success of outcomes for relocatees.

2.3.3 Urban livelihoods: cash economies, exchange economies, social capital and spatiality

The commoditised nature of urban areas means that cash is needed for shelter, food, access to water and other living necessities (Moser, 1998). Unlike rural areas where land is usually the poor’s most valuable productive asset, any kind of income-generating asset is highly valued by the urban poor as it allows for cash production to pay for the necessary costs of city living (Moser, 1998). Income generating activities are often more diverse in cities (Koenig, 2009, 2014). One of the risks associated with inadequate and/or unstable incomes for the urban poor is debt repayments (Satterthwaite, 2001). Once debt is accrued, income goes to reducing the debt and limits available funds for making daily purchases, such as food or water (Satterthwaite, 2001). In addition, the urban poor often pay higher prices for many necessities in the city (Mitlin & Satterthwaite, 2013). This is because the services and infrastructure that are provided by the state or city for other residents are not extended to the urban poor. If displaced and relocated far from opportunities, poor residents then need to pay more for public transport to access services (e.g. schools or health care) and income-generating opportunities.

Even though urban poverty cannot solely be measured based on economic indicators, regular income is one of the key factors of urban poverty. Others include social capital relations, access to basic services (e.g. public transport, schools, health care) and having a stable asset base (e.g.

22 Chapter 2: Literature review education, adequate shelter) (Satterthwaite, 2001). The manifestations of urban poverty are interlinked – income, health, access to infrastructure and services (including education) – and are magnified during periods of shock or stress, such as displacement (Wratten, 1995).

The urban poor operate in a largely informal sector, which can also be illegal and insecure (Moser, 1998). This is one of three unique vulnerabilities of the urban livelihoods sector that Moser (1998) identified. The second is environmental hazards (e.g. access to and quality of water, sanitation infrastructure, disposal of solid waste) and how they impact on human capital, health and wellbeing. The final urban vulnerability is social fragmentation. Moser (1998) finds that social cohesiveness can appear weak in urban areas due to the social and economic heterogeneity in communities.

The last point about social cohesion is worth exploring further. Beall (2002) describes social relations as essential to successful livelihood approaches and can be described as intra-household relations and community-level relations. Intra-household relations consider the life-cycle of the household and the gender, age and other composition factors in determining the strength of the ties and community-level relations as the ability for households to develop meaningful and useful connections with people outside of their own house (Beall, 2002). This is commonly discussed in rural settings, such as Scott’s (1976) ‘moral economy’ where communities insure collectively against social risk through risk pooling, sharing resources or reciprocating favours.

There is a tendency to assume that social networks and mutuality are not as prevalent in urban areas, as Moser (1998) has done, for various reasons including length of residency, degree of commitment to urban life, corruption, clientelism, violence and crime (Beall, 2002). Gonzalez de la Rocha (1994) argues that it is because of poverty that individual behaviour is not possible and people must trust and rely on others to survive, which reflects research by others (see for example Beall, 2002; Bebbington, 1999; Lyons & Snoxell, 2005; Phillips, 2002). Social capital is a critical asset for the urban poor to find and sustain work (Hardoy & Satterthwaite, 1989). Urban cooperative behaviour, which is based on established social capital relations can be similar to that in rural areas, such as gift giving, voluntary collective labour, borrowing and lending items of need. Acts of good will and reciprocity are less about alleviating poverty in development contexts and more about survival strategies to cope with the conditions of poverty (Forrest & Kearns, 2016; Kearns & Parkinson, 2001). Yet, social capital relations that do not reach beyond the immediate vicinity of the house or neighbourhood offer limited opportunities for economic or political gains (Beall, 2002; Bebbington, 1999).

23 Chapter 2: Literature review

The reliance on social networks for urban livelihoods is profound and urban poor can have multiple connections outside of their communities for livelihood purposes, for example with wealthier classes to provide housekeeping, garbage collection or laundry services (Koenig, 2009). Interaction with people outside of one’s own community or social class as very important to the success of urban livelihoods (Brown & Lloyd-Jones, 2002). Lyons and Snoxell’s (2005) empirical study of street traders in Ghana and Senegal finds that social capital can be employed to reduce vulnerability during times of stress or shock, particularly vulnerabilities associated with household income. When disconnection of social capital assets occurs after displacement, relocation or resettlement, making a living and re-establishing a livelihood can be much more difficult. When the “interclass and interresidential” social relations that the poor rely on for income-generating activities are compromised, and so too are their economic assets (Koenig, 2009, p.128). When people are displaced or relocated in cities, their access to social networks are disrupted, which severs most productive assets previously held (Fernández Arrigoitia, 2017; Koenig, 2009, 2014).

Space in cities frequently carries political tension and institutions hold power over public space, limiting or controlling access for the urban poor (Brown & Lloyd-Jones, 2002). Spatial exclusion from an area can have significant impacts on livelihoods, increasing the costs of transport, inaccessibility to markets or other places of work (Brown & Lloyd-Jones, 2002). Brown and Lloyd- Jones (2002) liken access to important spatial locations, financial opportunities and social networks to the natural capital that is necessary for rural livelihoods to be productive. Despite the centrality of space and location for the urban poor’s survival, policies and attitudes are often too narrow and ignore these needs (Brown & Lloyd-Jones, 2002). In a study of home-based businesses in Asian cities, Chen and Sinha (2016) found that workers lost their social network, had increased travel distances and greater costs to be able to access suppliers and contractors after their slums were evicted. Through displacement, relocation and resettlement processes, access to markets, transport and other services and infrastructure are also detached and often no longer reachable (Brown & Lloyd-Jones, 2002; Fernández Arrigoitia, 2017).

The livelihood needs of the urban poor (i.e. sustained income, social capital, location) are in direct contrast with the challenges associated with forced relocation in cities (i.e. target of marginalised groups, finding suitable sites, lack of compensation and livelihood support). Given the overwhelming failure for resettlement outcomes to succeed, particularly in urban areas where relocations are more likely to be informal and not adhering to global standards, it becomes important to understand the livelihood actions that the urban poor undertake to survive in a post- relocation context.

24 Chapter 2: Literature review

2.4 Recovering from Forced Relocation and Resettlement

Previous sections have discussed the impacts forced relocation and resettlement on affected people. What happens after people are forced to move? Many resettlement programs funded by international finance institutions are required to develop and implement livelihood restoration plans to restore living standards to ensure affected people are no worse off. This might include development of infrastructure such as housing, piped water, electricity connections, hospitals, schools or religious buildings, and could also include skills training, opportunities for work, or other economic benefits. As discussed throughout the chapter, in the context of relocation projects, people are forced to move to a new location without the same livelihood restoration attempts as a resettlement project. In addition, social safeguards are typically not applied in urban areas where relocations and resettlements can be small-scale privately or publicly led for development or political motivations (Koenig, 2014). This means that it is up to the affected people to regain access to income-generating activities, rebuild their basic infrastructure, and restore their social assets.

Several factors play into how people recover after forced relocation and resettlement. Heller (1982) found that both cognitive and environmental factors influence how people cope with the sudden changes brought about by being forced to relocate somewhere new. That is, cognitive factors, such as high or low individual expectations and behaviour impacts on people’s ability to cope with the new situation; and the novelty and quality of the environmental change also impacts on coping abilities (Heller, 1982). How we feel about places (environmental factors) can influence how closely people engage with collective decision-making processes (Fresque-Baxter & Armitage, 2012). Shami (1993, p.13) adds that the strategies people develop in their recovery process are affected by the “perception of the temporariness or permanence of their displacement” and this greatly impacts their success of recovery.

The following sub-sections focus on two aspects required for recovering from the impacts that forced relocation and resettlement causes: self-reliance through community-led initiatives, and the role of social capital.

2.4.1 Self-reliance and community-led initiatives

In Global South cities where resources are limited, citizens and in particular the urban poor, take on the responsibility of service provision in their local area and filling in the gap of formal institutions (Minnery, 2007). These same urban poor residents also experience economic inequality, limited legal and political rights and spatial disadvantage in terms of access to or quality of the services, housing and infrastructure. Citizen-led collective organisation becomes an important mechanism to

25 Chapter 2: Literature review gain access to necessary goods and services for the urban poor (Mitlin, 2008). Without self- provisioning, communities would go without needed infrastructure.

Self-reliance through collective organisation is the mechanism of uniting resources amongst people and groups in a grassroots movement to organise solutions for problems or gaps in services they face (Mitlin, 2008). For example, this can represent provisioning of physical infrastructure such as improving road quality or installing street lighting solutions, or social services for the community such as pooling resources (e.g. through savings groups) for funeral expenses or community- organised tutoring for local school children. Joshi and Moore (2004) discuss self-provisioning through the collective use of resources and assets to provide communal services and infrastructure such as education, security, funeral expenses, small-scale savings systems, among many others. Collective organisation represents the coordinated collective effort of communities that feeds the informality of cities for the purpose of achieving a communal or individual benefit, and as such, filling gaps of institutional and formal governance systems (Mitlin, 2008).

Similar to urban poor communities that self-provision their basic infrastructure needs, people affected by poorly resourced relocation programs are left to rebuild the infrastructure they need to survive. To do this, Lyons and Snoxell (2005) find that social capital and social cohesion are needed for the coordination of actors to fill the gaps left by poorly resourced relocation programs. The poor use social capital as a strategy to be resourceful and contribute to their own environment (Mitlin, 2008). In a Cambodian example following the Pol Pot era where people with no common history were then forced to live together, it took time to develop trust, social bonds and ultimately, solidarity (Phonphakdee, Visal, & Sauter, 2009). For these feelings of reciprocity and trust to develop, community organisation and the various activities that encompass a shared goal acted as a “powerful trust-building exercise” (Phonphakdee et al., 2009, p.579).

The poor are not passive citizens in the city, but are instead resourceful and collectively contribute to their own environment (Archer, 2012; Mitlin, 2008). In a case in Indonesia, for example, Roitman (2019b) found that savings groups organised by women funded collective infrastructure including building a retaining wall and renovating shared toilets. Funding from the savings groups also contributed to individual needs such schooling and funeral costs, and house renovations (Roitman, 2019b). Further, when there is a limited supply or general absence of economic capital, social capital becomes increasingly essential for survival to access basic needs (e.g. food, water, other support during times of stress and livelihood shocks) (Farrington, Ramasut, & Walker, 2002). Where there is a gap of formal provision of services and infrastructure, informality bourgeons, and the collective coordination relies on social capital and collective organisation to deliver goods, such

26 Chapter 2: Literature review as the case in Indonesia that has enabled the slum dwellers significantly independent for their community’s improvements.

2.4.2 The role of social capital after relocation

In relocation or resettlement literature, social capital is mostly discussed as social disarticulation that occurs after displacement (Cernea, 2000). Patel et al. (2015), for example, explored resettlement caused by urban renewal projects and the local governance arrangements in Ahmedabad, India. They found that social disarticulation was evident and as a result of communities and households being scattered (i.e. not moved with kin or neighbours), and their ability to collectively organise themselves was reduced, which impacted on their social fabric (spatial, temporal and cultural factors) (Patel et al., 2015). Social disarticulation can have long-term damaging impacts, long after the development project is considered complete by project leaders (Cernea, 2000). Moser (1998) notes that during economic crises, the importance of social capital is pronounced when public funding for services cease and intra- and inter-household communities need to collaborate to create or sustain service delivery.

As discussed in Section 2.3.3, social relations are essential to finding and sustaining work through intra-community and inter-class networks (Beall, 2002; Koenig, 2009). In cities, when physically removed from areas with diversity in social class to a location where the population is made up of homogeneous and low socio-economic status, people struggle to access income-generating activities and secure long-term work arrangements (Moser, 1998). Without access to income, surviving in a cash-based economy in cities is extremely difficult. Hutton and Haque (2004), for example, found that the absence of institutional support in their study of resettlement in Bangladesh meant that people relied on their social networks and kinship ties for assistance. These social networks were used to develop survival strategies through exchange of physical, financial and material supports.

There is limited research about how social capital is generated after displacement. Quetulio-Navarra et al. (2012) explain how in the Philippines and Indonesia, relocatees rebuilt social capital amidst strangers one year after being moved. They found that “public places and communal activities” were instrumental for people to build meaningful connections (Quetulio-Navarra et al., 2012). In another example, Alaniz (2017) explored in his study in Honduras how strangers navigated rebuilding social capital with their new neighbours, examining the long-term social development of several resettlements after Cyclone Mitch 12 years earlier. Here, social capital, collective efficacy and other social aspects do not evolve quickly and it takes years of commitment before social

27 Chapter 2: Literature review cohesion is reformed (or formed anew) (Alaniz, 2017). Southerton (2004) studied social networks in a new town neighbourhood and found that the amount of ‘spare time’ people have to maintain or build new networks is severely inhibited by having been moved to a new place. Yet, maintaining and building new networks is a necessary and critical part of regaining access to work and economic capital (Southerton, 2004). Building off of this literature, there is an opportunity to better understand the connection between social networks in a social capital framework and how people who are forced to move foster their social capital for economic or other gains (see Section 2.5 for a discussion on the gaps in the literature).

Closely related with developing social capital is the need to regain a ‘sense of belonging’ after relocation. Social factors (e.g. neighbourhood social ties) are one of the three predictors identified by Lewicka (2011) for restoring place attachment, which is one component of belongingness (see Chapter 3), after relocation. The other two factors were socio-demographic conditions (e.g. tenure security and length of stay) and physical conditions (e.g. perceived control over the environment, quality of space and amenities). Till (2012) contends that the capacity to fulfil place attachment and a ‘sense of belonging’ in a physical and social sense is very restricted after displacement where affected people experience depleted resources, disruption of social networks and at the same time, trauma of displacement. Affected people have competing needs to restore material assets, such as income and housing, as well as non-material assets, which are just as critical to well-being, including a ‘sense of belonging’ (Fullilove, 1996).

Similarities can be drawn between urban poor local organisation efforts and post-relocation coordination of actors to restore livelihood assets in terms of self-reliance attitudes, community-led organisation and pooling resources to fill infrastructure and institutional gaps (Joshi & Moore, 2004). Self-reliance through community-led organisation requires social capital between actors and in a post-relocation context where neighbours are not familiar, developing trust and exchange practices can take time (Alaniz, 2017; Phonphakdee et al., 2009).

2.5 Gaps in the Literature

This literature review has revealed three apparent gaps in the literature. First, the processes of recovery after forced relocation are not clearly understood in urban contexts. The particularities of urban relocations (Section 2.3.2) and the unique characteristics of urban livelihoods (Section 2.3.3) indicate that the recovery of essential survival assets would be different between urban and rural areas. Urban relocations and resettlements are less likely to follow global standards for social safeguards and contribute to the restoration of lost or damaged assets and affected people are

28 Chapter 2: Literature review expected to cope and adjust their livelihoods around their new situation. The process of how they cope and adjust is currently unclear.

Second, and related to the first gap, is around how households individually and communities collectively organise themselves to reconstruct their social capital, which is essential to building immediate infrastructure needs. Most resettlement studies focus on evaluation of the outcomes of the program (e.g. delivery of compensation, construction of physical infrastructure), rather than an assessment of those that have been affected and the intangible outcomes (e.g. social disarticulation, ability of communities to organise themselves). These studies are process and systems-focussed and are not about the lived experiences of affected people, nor the role they have played in the recovery process. Further, these studies focus on resettlement projects where some efforts have been made to restore physical, economic or other assets of the affected people. Few thus far have considered the urban displacement or urban relocations (i.e. without resettlement or restoration efforts) (Tilt & Gerkey, 2016). Given the strong interrelatedness between social capital, economic development and community resilience, there is a need to better understand the role social capital plays in recovery and reconstruction processes after forced relocation and resettlement (Tilt & Gerkey, 2016).

Last is the limited discussion on loss of place and what it means for affected people to lose their ‘sense of belonging’ after displacement. The literature suggests that displacement threatens place attachments and the disorientation and alienation that ensues can disrupt people’s ‘sense of belonging’ (Fullilove, 1996). Place and social attachments are interrelated and when social ties are broken as a result of displacement, so too are place attachments and the feelings of belonging to a social group or location (Fried, 1966; Fullilove, 1996). Acknowledging how essential social capital is to the urban poor (demonstrated in Sections 2.3.3 and 2.4.1), it appears important to also understand how people cope with a loss of belonging after forced relocation and resettlement. The conceptual framework in Chapter 3 explores these connections in more detail.

What is less clear in the literature is how these new feelings of ‘belonging’, including place and social attachments, are fostered after relocation. Alaniz (2017, p.151), in his research in resettled communities after a major natural disaster argues that there is currently a theoretical gap in how we understand all of the wide ranging factors that contribute to how “strangers come together…and build a new culture and sense of community.” Regaining a ‘sense of belonging’ is “viewed as the ultimate goal of recovery efforts” but is not guaranteed (Fullilove, 1996, p.1522). Understanding how ‘sense of belonging’ is re-established or established anew after forced displacement, resettlement or relocation will be important as urbanisation and other pressures continue to threaten the lives and livelihoods of vulnerable groups.

29 Chapter 2: Literature review

2.6 Conclusion

This chapter has provided a review of the forced displacement, relocation and resettlement literature and explained the most pressing impacts of this phenomenon. Outcomes for affected people are typically destructive with enduring impacts that have minimal resources, political will and supportive policy to address appropriately (Bennett & McDowell, 2012). The literature review has focussed particularly on forced relocations in urban settings and the unique challenges that span political complexities, urban regulatory frameworks, population density, and informality. The distinctive features of urban livelihoods, including the need to sustain income, the role of social capital in finding work and access to economic markets are in direct contrast with the challenges associated with forced relocation in cities. For the urban poor, there is a strong interconnection between social, economic and physical assets to make livelihoods work. Displacement and relocation threaten these most valuable assets of the urban poor directly.

Since the resettlement literature focuses on the reviews of major DIDR projects, there is little known about how affected people attempt to recover these assets in relocation contexts, where little or no support is provided by the developer. Borrowing literature from urban poverty and planning, it is possible to see how self-reliance through collective organisation and social capital potentially play important roles for populations forced to relocate in cities. Social capital is pivotal in organising communal initiatives within communities and acting as a conduit to interclass networks to access income-generating activities. What is less understood is how social capital itself is generated in these post-relocation contexts where affected people are experiencing social disarticulation, spatial marginalisation and reduced economic assets (de Wet, 2001). In addition, one of the major gaps in the literature is the lack of enquiry for the loss of place and sense of belonging after forced relocation.

Forced displacement, relocation and resettlement is a significant and growing issue that raises ethical, social justice and equity issues. As urban populations generally and urban poor populations in particular increase in the Global South, displacement of communities to make way for new infrastructure and development projects will become more common (UNESCAP & UN-Habitat, 2015). There will be an increased need to understand the consequences of these projects, curb impoverishment risks, understand the coping mechanisms of those affected and improve urban resettlement practice. In order to reframe urban relocations and improve practice, there needs to be a more nuanced response to the particularities of the urban context. Given the informal nature of most urban relocations, the research focus should be placed on how self-reliance and social capital enable relocated communities to develop their own initiatives to recover essential assets.

30 Chapter 3: Conceptual framework

Chapter 3 Forced Relocation, Livelihoods, Social Capital and Belongingness: Conceptual Framework

3.1 Introduction

This conceptual framework chapter builds off of the literature review presented in Chapter 2 that covered topics of impacts of forced displacement, relocation and resettlement, the urban context of forced relocation, livelihoods in urban areas and exploration of the role of self-reliance and social capital after relocation. This chapter presents four concepts that underpin this research: relocation, sustainable livelihoods, social capital and belongingness. The definitions, analytical frameworks and key theories that comprise these concepts are explained. These concepts help to interpret the data gathered for the thesis and address some of the limitations of existing literature that were identified in Chapter 2.

This chapter is structured into six sections. Following this Introduction, a conceptual discussion about forced relocation is presented in Section 3.2. Section 3.3 introduces the sustainable livelihoods framework (SLF), including the actions that people develop to restore livelihood assets after a shock or stress and what self-reliance means in these contexts. Section 3.4 focusses on the conceptual and theoretical debates of social capital, focussing on bonding, bridging and linking types. The last concept to be presented is belongingness and what it means to feel a ‘sense of belonging’ in Section 3.5. Section 3.6 brings the four concepts together to create a conceptual framework that guides the remaining chapters of this thesis.

3.2 Forced Relocation and Impoverishment Risks

Chapter 2 explained the interrelated terms that are associated with the forced movement of people, including displacement, relocation and resettlement. This research focuses on the forced relocation concept in particular, where affected people are forced to move from their place of work and residence to another location but not provided any (or only very limited) support to establish necessary infrastructure and economic opportunities. Even though forced relocation is relatively common, the frameworks and models used in the literature to understand the concept are more focussed on forced resettlement processes, where there is an assumed level of support for affected groups to re-establish basic needs such as work, shelter, and access to health, electricity and water. Nevertheless, the resettlement frameworks offer useful insights into understanding relocation.

31 Chapter 3: Conceptual framework

The resettlement frameworks attempt to address the diversity of impacts and processes relevant to forced resettlement including its geographical spread, varied causes and diversity of communities affected. Frameworks have aimed to structure the interpretation of resettlement processes and effects on those impacted. These frameworks can be extrapolated to relocation events, with an acknowledgement that fewer resources have been input for re-establishment of basic needs. The most relevant framework for this research is explained here.

Cernea (2000) developed the Impoverishment Risk and Rehabilitation (IRR) model based on a decade or more of experience on development-induced displacement and resettlement (DIDR) in the World Bank. This model is used to better understand multiple aspects of impoverishment resulting from involuntary resettlement and was designed as a diagnostic, predictive, problem- resolution, and research guidance tool (Cernea, 1997, 2000). The model can be used during project planning stages to lessen the likelihood of impoverishment occurring, or as a structure for monitoring and evaluating resettlement projects during or after construction. Rather than conceptualising resettlement as a stepwise process, as earlier work in the field had done (e.g. see Scudder (1985)), the IRR framework refocuses resettlement conceptualisation using impoverishment risks. By doing so, it dismisses that there is a straightforward process, acknowledges that each resettlement is unique (e.g. different economies, political opportunities and tensions, technological and bureaucratic constraints and patterns of recovery) (Mahapatra, 1999).

The framework identifies eight key impoverishment risks in resettlement: (a) landlessness; (b) joblessness; (c) homelessness; (d) marginalisation: (e) food insecurity; (f) loss of access to common property resources; (g) increased morbidity; and (h) social disarticulation. Scholars have added to this list, including: uncertainty (de Wet, 2006), violation of human rights (Muggah, 2000), psychological marginalisation (Fernandes, 2000), loss of education (Mahapatra, 1999), and loss of community services (Downing, 2002). The various impoverishment risks identified in the IRR model (and complementary publications) reinforce that poverty is multi-dimensional and risks to impoverishment are magnified during periods of shock or stress, such as displacement (Wratten, 1995) (discussed in Chapter 2).

The IRR framework is the most widely used model for DIDR and is applicable to most causes of involuntary resettlement, including urban contexts. Of the eight impoverishment risks, this research focusses on joblessness, homelessness, marginalisation and social disarticulation. These are defined in more detail by Cernea (2000) as:

32 Chapter 3: Conceptual framework

• Joblessness: the risk of losing employment and work opportunities as a result of displacement, relocation and resettlement. Unemployment and underemployment remain significant risks long after physical relocation has occurred. • Homelessness: the loss of shelter, the worsening condition of housing standards in the resettlement site and also the loss of cultural spaces and meaningful places. • Marginalisation: a multi-faceted impoverishment risk that occurs through loss of economic assets (e.g. as a result of disconnection from opportunities), human capital in the new location is obsolete, social networks are ruptured, or psychological trauma through the displacement process. The multiple aspects of marginalisation results in increased vulnerability and feelings of injustice. • Social disarticulation: the pre-displacement social fabric is disrupted, communities become fragmented and patterns of social organisation and interpersonal ties are dismantled. The “social capital lost through social disarticulation is typically unperceived and uncompensated” (Cernea, 2000, p.3666).

This research uses the IRR framework to appreciate the kinds of impacts and risks to impoverishment affected people experience after forced relocation in an urban context. Drawing on the urban poverty literature described in Chapter 2, the impoverishment risks outlined in the IRR framework that are most relevant to the urban poor are: joblessness (because cash economies are essential), homelessness (including the loss of both physical dwellings and meaningful places), marginalisation (because marginalised groups are more at risk of forced urban relocation, and vulnerabilities worsens after relocation), and social disarticulation, also referred to as social capital, (because it is a critical asset of the urban poor for both material and emotional gains).

3.3 Livelihood Actions and Self-reliance through the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework

There is a growing body of literature that recognises the importance of creating opportunities for and understanding the mechanisms that comprise sustainable livelihoods in the Global South and re-establishing livelihoods after relocation and resettlement, as noted in Chapter 2. Within this literature, notions of self-reliance and development of livelihood actions are the most relevant for this research.

This section provides an overview about how sustainable livelihoods are understood among scholars by defining and interpreting the links between the various influencing factors that can support or undermine achieving sustainable livelihoods. Similar to forced resettlement literature,

33 Chapter 3: Conceptual framework sustainable livelihoods literature is rooted in rural contexts (Rakodi & Lloyd-Jones, 2002). This section explores the dominant conceptualisations of livelihoods, followed by a discussion about how people develop livelihood actions through self-reliance.

3.3.1 The Sustainable Livelihoods Framework

In the 1990s, the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework (SLF) initiated a new way to conceptualise how people earn a living, moving the discourse away from ‘employment’ and ‘jobs’ (Scoones, 2009). Chambers and Conway (1991, p.7–8) explain that “a livelihood comprises the capabilities, assets… and activities required for a means of living.” A livelihood is sustainable when it can “cope with and recover from stress and shocks” (Chambers and Conway (1991, p.7–8). Ideas around sustainability introduces the need for livelihoods to be resilient during periods of vulnerability and making them more sustainable by using and storing assets as needed to withstand stress and shocks (Chambers & Conway, 1991). Therefore, ‘livelihoods’ implies that income-earning activities entail complex decision-making processes. Livelihoods and actions to develop livelihoods require individuals to draw on various resources to survive (Chambers & Conway, 1991; Scoones, 1998).

The resources needed to survive encompass both the tangible (e.g. cash, dwellings) and intangible (e.g. access to services, social networks, health, skills) assets people have and use to create their livelihoods (Rakodi, 2002a). By placing people at the centre of the livelihoods discussion, rather than income generation or institutional influences, the SLF highlights the strengths and resources people draw on to build and maintain their livelihoods (DFID, 1999; Scoones, 1998). These resources that people draw on are described as their ‘asset portfolios’ and comprise five groups of capital: human, social, physical, environmental and economic (DFID, 1999; Scoones, 1998). These various forms of capital are assets to the individual or household and yield streams of benefits if they are able to be accumulated and expensed (Uphoff, 2000). The five capital assets are:

• Human capital – skills, knowledge, ability to labour and good health that enable people to contribute to their livelihood activities (Scoones, 1998). • Social capital – understood in this research as the networks, membership and connectedness between social groups or entities that entails trust, reciprocity and exchanges (e.g. informal goods exchange practices between or within communities) that act as stocks and can be traded (Putnam, 1993). It is an institutional, collective perspective where the asset is the value of the relationship between individuals. There are multiple other interpretations and applications of social capital in the literature (see Section 3.4).

34 Chapter 3: Conceptual framework

• Physical capital – infrastructure (e.g. shelter, affordable transport) and producer goods (e.g. tools and equipment) (DFID, 1999). • Natural capital – natural resource stocks (e.g. land, forest, air quality) and the quality of the natural environment (e.g. cleanliness, access to green space) (DFID, 1999). • Economic capital – financial resources people use to meet their livelihood objectives (i.e. stocks and flows of savings or income) (Scoones, 1998).

The SLF provides an analytical tool to understand the inter-relations between the factors that contribute to livelihood development. There are various diagrammatical portrayals of the SLF. Figure 3.1 shows Scoones’ (1998, p.4) interpretation.

Figure 3.1: Sustainable rural livelihoods: a framework for analysis Source: Scoones, 1998

Contained in the SLF are five functions: contextual influences, livelihood resources (i.e. capital assets), institutional processes, livelihood strategies, and sustainable livelihood outcomes. The SLF presents the factors influencing and impacting on sustainable livelihood outcomes. First, the context of the situation, such as policy, politics, history and socio-economic conditions presents a foundation of circumstances. Second, the types of livelihood resources comprising natural, physical,

35 Chapter 3: Conceptual framework social, human and economic capital assets, which are vulnerable to shocks and stress that can disarm the asset portfolio of a household or individual. Third, the formal or informal institutional processes influence access to resources and determines how people develop livelihood strategies. Fourth are the livelihood strategies that people develop, which are influenced by the institutional processes, resources (capital assets) available and the context. The aim of livelihood strategies is to achieve a sustainable livelihood, which is the last component. Sustainable livelihood outcomes are delivered through the strategies created and are able to adequately withstand vulnerable processes like shocks and stress. The resilience of people’s assets vary between groups and also depend on the type and intensity of the shock (Morse, McNamara, & Acholo, 2009).

This research does not attempt to use the SLF comprehensively as an analytical tool, but rather draws on the key elements of the SLF to understand how livelihoods are developed in a post- relocation context. In particular, this research uses the livelihood resources (especially social, economic and physical capital assets) and the notion of structural influences that can constrain or enhance livelihood opportunities. It uses these foundations of asset portfolios and the political- economic and socio-cultural context to consider the livelihood strategies and self-reliance of people who are forced to relocate.

3.3.2 Livelihood actions

The livelihood strategies described in the SLF are the decisions people make about developing their livelihood, drawing on the assets available to them at any given point in time (Scoones, 1998). The political, economic, environmental and social context determine how people can use their assets to respond to shocks and recover from events such as relocation (Meikle, 2002; Rakodi, 2002a). Decisions about livelihoods are influenced by a range of factors, which leads to understanding that livelihood decisions are not all-considering but are made with the limited resources and knowledge available to the decision maker (Rakodi, 2002a). de Haan and Zoomers (2005) define ‘strategies’ as a means to attain a pre-set goal that is developed with conscious and rational assessment of preferences. They contend that livelihood decisions are more iterative where goals, preferences, resources and means are constantly reassessed in light of unstable conditions that are often outside the control of the poor, such as existing economic conditions, political stability, policies and other external forces (de Haan & Zoomers, 2005). The process of livelihood decision making is iterative and takes into consideration historical legacies and the coordination process amongst actors, thus acknowledging the critical role that structural influences and power relations play in how people access assets and opportunities (de Haan &

36 Chapter 3: Conceptual framework

Zoomers, 2005). Importantly, decisions about livelihoods are not made strategically, but instead in a more random manner and terminology to refer to those decisions need to reflect this (de Haan & Zoomers, 2005). Like de Haan and Zoomers (2005), this research sets aside the term ‘strategies’, given that there is relatively little that is strategic about how the poor manage their livelihoods. Instead, it emphasises the capabilities of the poor in the terminology used and refers to the activities around livelihood decision-making as ‘actions’.

Livelihood actions are categorised differently according to different scholars, reflecting the ebbs and flows of opportunities and constraints an individual or household might face and the particular needs of that unit. For example, Beall (2002) classified four kinds of livelihood decisions: using social responses to alleviate economic situations, changes to expenditure, spreading risk and intergenerational strategies. Zoomers (1999) emphasises that any categorisation should be considered flexible and fluid, rather than statically fixed classifications. This thesis acknowledges that there are livelihood actions that can be positive or negative and loosely follows the four classification offered by Beall (2002).

Structures and inherent power relations permit or constrain access to resources that are necessary for people to create a robust livelihood (Bebbington, 1999). Rakodi (1999) and Arce (2003) argue that livelihoods are not developed in isolation of external influencers. They are heavily dependent on and influenced by the conditions around them – policy, politics, economic development, historical legacies, social standards and class – before even considering the personally-held capitals of the individual or household. There is a tendency to downplay the role of structure and institutions in livelihoods studies (de Haan & Zoomers, 2005). One way structures, institutions and policies can influence livelihoods is through social exclusion where particular groups are excluded, sometimes intentionally, from access to resources for another group’s personal or collective gain (de Haan & Zoomers, 2005). Forced relocation and spatial marginalisation is an example of how structures and institutions impact on livelihood decision-making processes and access to resources.

In summary, livelihoods comprise a portfolio of assets that rely on the capabilities of the individual and structures in which they exist to develop livelihood actions that are resilient to shocks and reduce vulnerabilities to poverty (Moser, 1998). Livelihood actions are not strategic decisions, but instead reactive and reliant on the assets available to the poor, which fluctuate according to household lifecycles, policy, historical legacies, the value of social capital relations and various other factors (Beall, 2002; Bebbington, 1999; de Haan & Zoomers, 2005). This thesis uses the concept of livelihood actions to examine the recovery process of urban poor households who were

37 Chapter 3: Conceptual framework forced to relocate in an urban context. Through understanding their livelihood actions, elements of self-reliance are also evident.

3.3.3 Self-reliance amongst the urban poor and their livelihood actions

The self-organising patterns of individuals, households and communities include not only their economic assets, but also important social, cultural and infrastructure assets (Portugali, 2000). These approaches of managing social groups and space at a local level is reflective of the urban governance literature in the Global South where government capacities and resources are low, and citizen-driven collective action can emerge in response and fill the gaps left by the state (Minnery, 2007) (see Chapter 2). If the government withdraws (or fails to initiate) the provision of services and infrastructure, then notions of self-reliance become more prevalent as the poor take control to deliver the infrastructure and services they require. The urban poor are designers and builders of these cities, making valuable contributions to their physical and social environments.

Research of authoritarian regimes indicate the promotion of two complementary notions: mutual assistance (i.e. help your neighbour) and self-reliance (i.e. do not rely on the state) (McCarthy, 2019; Sullivan, 1992). Military rules use these ideas to unify diverse groups and attempt to provide a degree of cultural legitimacy to the state control (Mansuri & Rao, 2004). In ethnographic studies in Indonesia and Myanmar, mutual assistance and self-reliance were used as a means to control populations through forced labour (McCarthy, 2019; Sullivan, 1992). In Myanmar, a self-reliance outlook was seen as necessary to survive the deprived living conditions under military regimes between 1962 and 2011 (McCarthy, 2019). Further locating this concept in the context of the case study for this research in Myanmar, ‘self-reliance’ can be translated in several ways. To ‘stand on one’s own’ is translated as kothu kotha and to ‘rely on one’s own strength’ is translated as ko ah koko (McCarthy, 2019). These translations speak to the value of resilience during difficult times.

Self-reliance refers to various ideas around self-provisioning by marginalised groups and showcases their resourcefulness. Underpinning the concept of self-reliance in low socio-economic groups is the emphasis on what the poor have, rather than what the poor do not have (Moser, 1998). Moser (1998, p.1) explains that “the poor themselves are managers of complex asset portfolios” and have capabilities to use their resources to reduce vulnerabilities and improve sustainability of their livelihood assets. As with livelihood actions, self-reliance is about people making decisions about how they invest, substitute, dispose or sacrifice their assets to reduce their poverty situation (Rakodi, 1999). However, unlike livelihood assets, self-reliance can refer to an individual or collective context, where a neighbourhood or social group might practice self-reliance to improve

38 Chapter 3: Conceptual framework their living conditions and shared infrastructure. This research combines the notion of self-reliance with livelihood actions to understand the recovery process of affected people after a relocation experience. In both livelihood actions and self-reliance, social capital is an important mechanism to leverage opportunities.

3.4 Social Capital

Social capital is a highly contested concept in the literature and open to multiple interpretations. Part of the controversy around social capital derives because it is used as an umbrella term that is all encompassing (Fine, 2001). It is generally closely associated with ‘community’, ‘civil society’ and ‘social fabric’ and essentially describes how people are connected with each other and what benefits those connections can bring (Halpern, 2005). The following sections explore the different conceptualisations of social capital and establish the interpretation of the concept that this research uses.

3.4.1 Conceptualising and defining social capital

There are several understandings of social capital in sociology. Bourdieu (1986) places emphasis on social networks and personal assets, focussing on the benefits accumulated by individuals and argues that actors are engaged in struggles to fulfil their own interests. Here, social capital is understood as an individual asset created through participation in groups (Bourdieu, 1986). For Bourdieu (1986), the quality of social capital is the number of relationships between actors, not necessarily the quality of those relational groups and dense networks are a prerequisite for attaining social capital.

This interpretation of social capital as the accumulation of network ties differs from what Putnam (1993, 1995, 2000) identified in his research on social capital. Putnam believes that the quality of social capital is demonstrated through common qualities between individuals, not the density of the network itself. To describe this, Putnam (2000) distinguishes between bonding social capital (dense ties) and bridging social capital (weaker ties). In his research, Putnam assumes that networks and norms are interrelated and that they have important economic consequences (Serageldin & Grootaert, 2000). The voluntary associations featured in Putnam’s research emphasise trust between members of the group, binding the relations between those members and facilitating the horizontal interactions and acts of reciprocity (Putnam, 1993). Both Bourdieu and Putnam’s interpretations of social capital, agree that for resources held in social relationships to be leveraged, an individual

39 Chapter 3: Conceptual framework must follow informal rules or obligations that are characterised by uncertain timeframes and the possibility of unreturned reciprocity (Portes, 1998).

It is also widely acknowledged that social capital is not uniformly positive or supportive and can cause exclusion (Lyons & Snoxell, 2005; Moser, 1998; Rakodi, 1999). The same social obligations of solidarity, trust and expectations of reciprocity can lead to ‘bad’ behaviour (Coleman, 1988). While these negative consequences are important to acknowledge, when positively geared, social capital can lead to tangible, material benefits for its members, including income-generating activities, physical improvements to space and infrastructure, as well as non-material benefits, such as feeling of belonging (see Section 3.5).

In an urban studies context in the Global South, social capital can play a significant role in both economic activities and service provision where formal institutions are unavailable through sharing information, coordinating activities and making collective decisions (Serageldin & Grootaert, 2000). In this way, social capital can have an impact on development outcomes, including growth, equity and poverty alleviation (Grootaert, 2001). Forrest and Kearns (2016, p.2142) found that “close family ties, mutual aid and voluntarism are often strong features of poor areas”, which are all aspects of social capital. Furthermore, social capital is the fabric that enables individuals or groups to achieve livelihood objectives (Rakodi, 1999) through the trust and collaboration that is based on social ties (Moser, 1998). High levels of mutuality can be found in poor neighbourhoods, not necessarily directed at reducing poverty, but for survival reasons (Kearns & Parkinson, 2001).

This research adopts a definition posited by Portes (1998, p.6) where social capital represents “the ability of actors to secure benefits by virtue of membership in social networks or other social structures.” Social capital is the framework through which individuals are able to gain assets through their social relations. This thesis identifies three core elements: actors, relationships between actors and resources gained through relationships. Similar to other capitals assets described within the SLF (see Section 3.3.1), social capital can be accumulated, stored and expensed if and when appropriate. Social capital is able to be controlled in terms of how they choose to invest and ‘spend’ it.

3.4.2 Bonding, bridging and linking social capitals

Building off of Putnam’s work, Gittell and Vidal (1998) and Szreter and Woolcock (2004) offer three distinctions of social capital: bonding, bridging and linking. Bonding social capital occurs where social connections are with people who have similar characteristics to oneself (e.g. with family and co-ethnic, co-national and co-religious members) and brings together those who already

40 Chapter 3: Conceptual framework have some affinity (Gittell & Vidal, 1998; Putnam, 2000). Bonding social capital is inward looking and reinforces exclusive identities and homogenous groups, for example church-based reading groups or ethnic organisations (Putnam, 2000). Prandini (2014) argues that familial social capital is another example of bonding social capital between kin where there might be a symbolic process of free giving, support and care. These relations within bonding social capital support the creation and distribution of relational goods for the benefit of the unit. Family social capital can also have the benefit of intergenerational relational goods and support (Prandini, 2014). Coleman (1988) and Bourdieu (1986) contend that dense networks are a prerequisite for any kind of social capital gains.

Bridging social capital occurs with people who are dissimilar in some way (e.g. by age, socio- economic status, race/ ethnicity, other kinds of community characteristics) (Woolcock, 2001). Putnam (2000, p.23) refers to this as outward looking networks that span across “diverse social cleavages.” Szreter and Woolcock (2004) explain that ‘bridging’ is a horizontal metaphor that makes a connection between two distinctly different groups that are more or less equal in terms of their status and power. These social capital relations are necessary for searching and obtaining resources from outside of the immediate social circles of an individual or household (Putnam, 2000). Granovetter’s (1973) theory of the ‘strength of weak ties’ (and Burt’s (1992) structural holes) argues that the weak ties in networks are the most valuable and are more worthwhile than strong bonded connections. This is because information shared in bonded networks is redundant, yet weaker ties can provide new information and knowledge (Burt, 1992). These scholars highlight the benefits access to other networks can bring to people with limited or less strong social networks and economic capital (Burt, 1992; Farrington et al., 2002; Granovetter, 1973).

Poorer neighbourhoods typically have stronger bonding social capital than other kinds of capital (Kearns & Parkinson, 2001). Mutually supportive behaviour between neighbours, friends and relatives is used as a means of survival (Kearns & Parkinson, 2001). However, this can be self- limiting as well as sustaining as Putnam (2000, p.23) points out that “bridging social capital can generate broader identities and reciprocity, whereas bonding social capital bolsters our narrower selves.” Bonding social capital helps people to ‘get by’, whereas bridging social capital helps people to ‘get on’ (Woolcock & Narayan, 2000).

Last, linking social capital is a vertical connection across power differentials, considering the political economic factors of social capital by addressing the role of the state in society (Szreter & Woolcock, 2004). A definition of this type of social capital offered by Szreter and Woolcock (2004, p.655) is “norms of respect and networks of trusting relationships between people who are interacting across explicit, formal or institutionalized power or authority gradients in society.”

41 Chapter 3: Conceptual framework

These linking connections of social capital are between individuals and institutions that have some power over them (e.g. with the state or NGOs) (Hawkins & Maurer, 2010; Szreter & Woolcock, 2004). In a neighbourhood context, local leaders need strong relationships both within their neighbourhood at a communal-level (bonding social capital) and also outside of their neighbourhood (bridging and linking social capital) to be able to access information, resources and leverage action for local problems (Kearns & Parkinson, 2001). Linking social capital offers an insight into how power is understood and used in social capital relations as one entity will have power over another.

Post-disaster resettlement and reconstruction research use these three distinctions of bonding, bridging and linking social capital to understand the social cohesion in this context. Bonding social capital in the disaster recovery literature has been proven useful for mobilising solidarity and fostering reciprocity and exchange between people who have shared a traumatic experience (Wood, Boruff, & Smith, 2013). Whereas bridging social capital was most beneficial for circulation of information and attaining some human and material resources (Hillig & Connell, 2018; Wood et al., 2013). However, after disasters, bonding and bridging social capital can be particularly fragile and resources within them become exhausted (Hillig & Connell, 2018). To access external support, such as emergency assistance and essential resources, linking social capital with external organisations that possessed resources, influence or authority were the most critical (Hawkins & Maurer, 2010; Hillig & Connell, 2018; Wood et al., 2013). It is logical that if a community struck by natural disaster uses their bonding, bridging and linking social capital to rebuild access to basic services and rebuild their livelihood assets, then a post-relocation context could do the same.

3.5 Belongingness

A range of disciplines discuss what it means to belong and feel a ‘sense of belonging’, including psychology, sociology, human geography, Indigenous geographies, feminist studies and human ecology. Disparate definitions exist across the literature groups and it is clear that it is possible for people to ‘belong’ in lots of different ways, to many different objects, people, spaces and ideals (Probyn, 1996; Yuval-Davis, 2011). That belonging is a “concept of fundamental importance to people’s lives” is also consistent in the various disciplines (Wright, 2015, p.392). Yuval-Davis (2011, p.199) describes belonging as “a dynamic process, not reified in fixity,” thus implying that any status held when ‘one belongs’ is not etched in, and sometimes not a status at all but a way of being and ‘doing belonging’ (Fenster, 2005). Belonging is understood and mobilised in a variety of ways, but fluidity and attachment appear to be the central notions (Probyn, 1996; Wright, 2015).

42 Chapter 3: Conceptual framework

To ‘belong’ means to have an emotional attachment and a feeling of being ‘at home’ (Yuval-Davis, 2011). Being ‘at home’ is an emotional feeling to an individual or place that represents familiarity and comfort (Antonisch, 2010). There is extensive literature devoted to understanding the spatial aspects of belonging, namely through place attachment, place identity and sense of place (see for example Brown, Altman, & Werner, 2012; Forrest & Yip, 2007; Lewicka, 2011). Closely interrelated with this is the concept of ‘community’ and social attachment at a neighbourhood scale, and the attachment to a group of people who share similar ideals and beliefs (e.g. through shared culture and religion) (Antonisch, 2010). Place, social and cultural/ religious attachment represent ways of understanding the everyday routines and practices that belonging is enacted. These everyday practices are powerful ways to understand how identities and forms of belonging are materialised in spaces, objects and relationships (Wright, 2015).

At the same time, there are also elements of structured and public status granted to those who belong and those who do not. Antonisch (2010) explains, belonging is both the self-determined status of feeling at home, but also the social determination, which relies on the power of others to grant access or membership. Both of these aspects, the affective ‘sense of belonging’ and the ‘politics of belonging’, are conceptualised in this section. First, affective ways to belong are sub- categorised into attachments to place and social, including cultural and religion. This is followed by the politics of belonging and socially determined ways to belong.

3.5.1 Place attachment

Place attachment refers to the personal, intimate and self-determining emotional connection to a location. There is a territorial nature to this type of belonging that is rooted in geographic boundaries and spatiality (Mee & Wright, 2009; Trudeau, 2006). According to Lewicka (2011, p.213), “place… is an entity that has a social dimension, but also a palpable and very real physical basis.” In other words, place is a space that is made meaningful by use of and interaction with people who assign a value to it. Both Lewicka (2011) and Friedmann (2007) emphasise the importance of the social aspects that make places meaningful. Brown et al. (2012) add that individuals can feel an affective tie to multiple places. In addition, a ‘place’ occurs at multiple levels of their socio-spatial environment, for example, an object, house, neighbourhood, city or nation (Antonisch, 2010; Brown et al., 2012).

Place attachments are not static and involve various temporal processes that bond people to places (Brown et al., 2012). Daily, weekly or seasonal performances (e.g. social interactions, making improvements to dwellings) are ways people “invest meaning” into places to foster their attachment

43 Chapter 3: Conceptual framework

(Brown et al., 2012, p.184). This idea of performing acts to attach meaning to places is understood throughout the belonging literature. Friedmann (2007, p.272), for example, explains that places are formed in the small spaces of the city (neighbourhoods) where locations are transformed to places through "observable patterns and rhythms of everyday life" and new subjectivities are created. Place is formed through the daily interactions, performances and through predictability of routines. These actions differ according to context, laws, social relations and a variety of other factors and referred to as ‘everyday belonging’. These performances can be conducted in containers of ‘place’ (i.e. meaningful places with affective ties), but can also be enacted with social groups, where the people are the attachment, not the place (see Section 3.5.2).

The rituals of everyday life are an integral part of fostering ‘sense of belonging’. For many, “the rituals of daily life are a source of comfort to people, offering a sense of security and stability, as neighbors encounter each other, exchange greetings, strike up friendships, pass along gossip or deal with emergencies. They are a source of their attachment to place” (Friedmann, 2007, p.272). Place- based attachment is strongly associated with past and present experiences and memories, as well as future prospects of a place, which grow over time (Fenster, 2005). Place attachment emerges through these familiar interactions and is reinforced over time through repetitive routines of daily life. If access to place is disrupted, then the sense of security and stability is also disturbed.

Geographers who intimately link the concept of place and belonging believe that “belonging is inherently spatial” and the two concepts are inseparable (Trudeau, 2006, p.423). Mee and Wright (2009), for example, contend that place attachment is the physical element of ‘belongingness’, which makes belonging intrinsically geographically-bound. For these geographers, the connection between a ‘sense of belonging’ and place is essential, and ‘home’ is an important site to study that phenomenon.

‘Home’ is often represented through the physical structure of the house and how residents transform that house into a valued home through investing it with meaning (Brown et al., 2012). ‘Home’ can also be a symbolic notion and not restricted to a house or dwelling (Antonisch, 2010). Fried (1966) explains that a ‘sense of belonging’ to a place makes someone ‘feel at home’ which varies between people. This can mean seeing familiar streets, houses and faces, exchanging personal greetings, or where particular sounds instil a special meaning to a place we call ‘home’ and feel like we belong to (Fried, 1966). There is an overlap between social, spatial and affective ties, and what it means to feel an attachment to place and ‘home’ and, therefore, a ‘sense of belonging’.

44 Chapter 3: Conceptual framework

Much of the literature on ‘home’ and ‘sense of belonging’ is from the Global North “where home is normalised” through formal mechanisms and structures (Alam, McGregor, & Houston, 2018, p. 4). Home in the Global South for informal dwellers is fluid and less regulated and are therefore the concept of ‘home’ is imagined and materialised outside of the formal documentation that individuals and households lack, which is a different way of conceptualising ‘home’ in the Global North (Alam et al., 2018). For example, ‘home’ for migrants might not represent their current dwelling or location, but where their memories, lived experiences and social networks are. Refugees, for example, continue to be nostalgic about returning home to places of birth/ origin for many years (Ilcan, 2002).

Antonisch (2010) identifies five factors that construct a sense of feeling ‘at home’ and ‘in place’:

• Autobiographical: personal experiences, memories, relations and personal stories attached meaning to a place. • Relational: long-lasting, robust and positive personal and social ties with friends and family that connect a person to a particular place. These are different from loose ties that occur occasionally with strangers. • Cultural: cultural activities and traditions that are more often associated with religion but can be performed in non-religious settings. • Economic: having safe and stable material security is necessary in the process of generating a ‘sense of belonging’ to make a person feel they have some control over their future. • Legal: status of citizenship and permission to live and work somewhere.

The economic factors to contribute to fostering a ‘sense of belonging’ that Antonisch (2010) proposes are also important for this research. Creating a safe and stable material condition enables people to feel that they are able to manage their family’s future in the place that they live. Economic embeddedness and establishing material security are a necessary factor in fostering a ‘sense of belonging’ in a place (Kaptani & Yuval-Davis, 2008). Along similar lines, Maslow’s hierarchy of needs indicates that physiological needs (i.e. those needed for survival such as access to food, water, shelter) and safety needs (protection, security, order and stability) are required before attaining belongingness (family, affection, relationships) (Wadley, 2020).

Consistent across these contexts is how place attachment is articulated. Just as ‘belonging’ tends to be ‘naturalised’ and only articulated when threatened (Yuval-Davis, 2004), place attachment is also difficult to determine before it is compromised. Brown et al. (2012, p.184) explain that people are so entrenched in their environments and daily routines that they do not necessarily deeply reflect on

45 Chapter 3: Conceptual framework those bonds until “outside threats, new situations, or turning points in life” force them to do so. Through the process of displacement, or threat of displacement, for example, it is possible to investigate place attachment and meaningful places for affected people. Cernea (1996) discusses ‘homelessness’ in the IRR model in the resettlement literature, which is usually interpreted as the material loss of housing and shelter. Homelessness here also encompasses loss of place, which Cernea defines as a “loss of a group’s cultural space and identity” (Cernea, 1996, p.13). Displacement, therefore, causes both the material loss of shelter but also the sense of familiarity, security, personal identity and emotional attachment associated with feelings of being ‘at home’ and ‘in place’.

3.5.2 Social attachment

Where place attachment represents the affective ties to a space or object, social attachment is the affective connection with people. This socially-focussed notion of belonging explains what it means to have a sense of self in a group and live with others (Wright, 2015). The ‘sense of belonging’ to a group represents the desire for attachment to “people, places, or modes of being” (Probyn, 1996, p.19). For Probyn (1996) more inclusive social attachments are based on physical proximity, not sameness amongst groups of people. Fried (2000, p.193) also discusses people-place relations as manifesting in places people live “where they share familial, communal, and ethnic or cultural bonds with their neighbors.” These social bonds can then extend to foster a ‘sense of belonging’ “where the places as well as the people are cherished” (Fried, 2000, p.193). For these authors, the ‘sense of belonging’ through social attachment is inherently linked with spatial components and attachment to place.

Belonging at a neighbourhood level is performed through acts of ‘neighbouring’, as Mihaylov and Perkins (2014) refer to in their model of community place attachment and social capital in response to environmental threats. Neighbouring is “the help we informally provide, and receive from, neighbors” and signifies the behavioural component of social capital (i.e. the way of ‘doing’ or ‘building’ social capital) (Mihaylov & Perkins, 2014, p.69). Mihaylov and Perkins draw on Unger and Wandersman’s (1985) work to identify three components of the act of neighbouring: social support (via bonding social capital), cognitive mapping of the physical landscape, affective attachment to neighbours and to place. Both social and place-based attachments are important for neighbouring. Neighbouring is an example of what Skrbis et al. (2007) refer to as ‘doing belonging’, where individuals and groups enact ‘belonging’ differently, according to their needs. Understanding belonging through how it is enacted emphasises the “texture” of the term, moving it away from a ‘status held’ and towards appreciating “how it is felt, used, practised and lived”

46 Chapter 3: Conceptual framework

(Wright, 2015, p.391). Thus, neighbouring is an informal means of building social capital with proximate neighbours (Blokland & Savage, 2016).

Forrest and Kearn (2016) note that neighbouring in poor neighbourhoods is more important than more affluent areas. For disadvantaged areas the quality of neighbouring directly correlates to “peoples’ ability to cope” with their poorer physical environment (Forrest & Kearns, 2016, p.2130), and arguably with environmental threats like eviction, as Mihaylov and Perkins (2014) contend. Another reason posited for stronger local social ties being more important for the poor is that more affluent groups are able to develop “new and more spatially diffuse networks” of support and the ‘context effects’ of being poor (e.g. lack of employment opportunities) mean that social ties at a local level are all the more relevant (Forrest & Kearns, 2016, p.2130–2131). Neighbours can be important sources of help during emergencies, for example, help to watch children, care for someone when they are sick or help when someone is locked out of their house. What is unclear is when those social networks are destroyed as a result of displacement or relocation, how neighbouring is re-established or established again (depending if people are moved as a whole group or relocated disparately).

Rather than spatial closeness, Bennett (2009) posits that a sense of social attachment is formed through commonalities between people. In the case of an ex-mining town, Bennett (2009) studies belonging through shared nostalgia, where nostalgic reflection helps residents to cope with ongoing changes to the landscape and helps them to create a sense of identity through shared history. May (2017, p.403) explains that remembering is “a cultural practice that helps to embed us in the social relations…of our society, thus binding us to our social group.” Importantly, whether social attachment is formed through spatial proximity or through shared experience, the emotional response shared between those people is what enables belonging to be felt. Wright (2015, p.398) explains this as “belonging as an emotion is crucial in creating bonds, bringing people together.” There is a ‘stickiness’ to that emotion of belonging to a group of people (Wright, 2015).

Feelings of being connected to ‘social attachment’ relies on trust between people to gain neighbourhood-level action and cooperation (Mihaylov & Perkins, 2014). In the social capital literature, trust takes time to build and is easily broken (Pretty, 2003). This is especially true after a relocation or resettlement event, as Alaniz (2017) explains in his research in post-disaster resettlements in Honduras. It is a long process to settle into a new location with the initial years being “chaotic as economic, political and social relationships are negotiated” (Alaniz, 2017, p.146) (this reflects the review of literature on social capital and resettlement in Chapter 2). It takes years of joint commitment between neighbours to develop a sense of social attachment.

47 Chapter 3: Conceptual framework

3.5.2.1 Cultural social attachments

Scholars in the field of belonging mention elements of religion and culture as ways to feel social connection. Antonisch (2010) for example identified cultural factors as one of the five elements of forming a feeling of being ‘at home’ and ‘in place’ (listed in Section 3.5.1). Cultural factors include various forms of “cultural expressions, traditions and habits” associated with religion (Antonisch, 2010, p.648). Other cultural practices, such as food production and consumption have also been identified in the literature as ways of ‘doing belonging’ (Fenster, 2005; Wright, 2015). These activities “evoke a sense of community, the ‘warm sensation’” when experienced with people who are alike and understand your values (Antonisch, 2010, p.648).

Although physical proximity plays an important role in ‘sense of belonging’, community making and place attachment, sentiments of belonging can also occur in other social and spatial realms of our lives that are not necessarily geographically close (Kearns & Parkinson, 2001). Kearns and Parkinson (2001, p.2104) explain that “people function in different social networks, at different scales, across different times and spaces.” This means that attachments can form not only in the ‘home area’ but also other places where we spend our time, for example, religious sites or buildings, or where cultural activities take place (Kearns & Parkinson, 2001). As Yuval-Davis (2006, p.203) explains, “Specific repetitive practices, relating to specific social and cultural spaces… are crucial for the construction and reproduction of identity narratives and constructions of attachment.” These kinds of attachments formulated through cultural or religious practices form our group identity that contribute to our ‘sense of belonging’ , where others share a common ideology (Fried, 2000), origin or normative behaviour (Yuval-Davis, 2006).

3.5.3 Politics of belonging

The ‘politics of belonging’ (Antonisch, 2010; Yuval-Davis, 2006) constitutes the social determination of the ‘feeling at home in a place.’ There is a power dynamic in this interpretation of belonging, where there are those that make claims for belonging and those that have the power to grant a person or group to belong (e.g. citizenship, land use rights). Belonging, therefore is not just an isolated and self-determined status but a status that must be recognised by others, be it an authority or social majority with hegemonic powers (Antonisch, 2010). Wherever there is a formal expression of belonging, there is also exclusion (Painter & Philo, 1995).

Exclusion of others is essentially a more powerful majority deciding what belongs and what does not and usually minorities (ethnic, religious, other) lose out. Where there is social cohesion through normative behaviours in cultural and religious practices or associations, there is also discrimination

48 Chapter 3: Conceptual framework and exclusion where a majority imposes “its will or value system on a minority” (Forrest & Kearns, 2016, p.2134). Yuval-Davis (2004) discusses the ‘cultural other’ in the context of immigrants or as a member of another community who does not share the same belief system or place of origin. A ‘cultural other’ is described as “an alien and consequently as a potential ‘enemy’ who threatens ‘our’ national and cultural integrity and uniqueness” (Yuval-Davis, 2004, p.220). Arguably, national discourses about ‘cultural others’ (e.g. immigrants or people who are ideologically different) play out at local levels, where neighbourhood interactions most commonly occur.

Wright (2015, p.393) explains that the different ways of understanding belonging (e.g. place attachment, community-making, cultural practices) are not disparate but rather come together in “relational ways that define and configure what it means to belong (and not to belong).” To belong means to feel listened to, valued and to have the ability to express one’s own identity (Wright, 2015). When these needs are not fulfilled, there is a sense of not-belonging, alienation and exclusion (Wright, 2015). This is similar to what Antonisch (2010) describes as the legal factors of belonging that grant individuals the right to belong (e.g. citizenship, resident permits or similar official legal documents) (listed in Section 3.5.1). Where legal factors of belonging, including freedom of movement and speech and the right to work are compromised, so too are the feelings of ‘sense of belonging’ when their feelings of being valued and listened to are restricted.

At a city-scale, Friedmann (2007) discusses the legal factors of belonging in terms of how the state controls where and how people belong through citizenship in the city. Fenster (2005) agrees that citizenship is a spatial phenomenon and a legitimate way to exclude strangers and undesirables from the city. Power to exclude also plays out through urban planning and controlling space through zoning laws (Trudeau, 2006). The state creates laws and rules to which citizens need to abide by to retain their freedom to work, live or use a space in the city. More overt ways to exclude populations through displacements and relocations in the city. Friedmann (2007) explains that “the state can initiate or authorise the erasure of an existing place (e.g. a shanty settlement, a neighbourhood slated for clearance”) and thus determine that these people no longer belong in that place. In these forced movement scenarios, affected people are stripped of their ‘right to stay’, which is one of the rights encompassed by the ‘right to the city’ in urban planning literature and refers to the right to secure tenure (Purcell, 2003; Roitman, 2019a).

In summary, the concept of belongingness includes place attachment where individuals or communities attach meaning to places, social attachment where trusting relations are developed through various means and social capital acts as a conduit to feel belonging, and the politics of belonging where the right to belong is granted by a superior group. There are different ways to

49 Chapter 3: Conceptual framework foster (in the case of place and social attachments) and attain (in the case of politics of belonging) belongingness but most of these means are through the use of social capital (bonding, bridging or linking). This thesis uses the concept of belongingness to examine an understudied aspect of recovery after relocation, which is to see how people feel settled and how they managed to develop a feeling of belonging in their relocation site.

3.6 Conclusion

This chapter has explained the conceptual ideas that this research engages with: impoverishment risks induced by forced relocation, livelihood actions and self-reliance stemming from the SLF, social capital and belongingness. Figure 3.2 below illustrates how these concepts relate to one another diagrammatically.

Political, economic and Social Capital: socio-cultural context Self Reliance Bonding, Bridging and Linking

Livelihood Impoverishment Risks of Forced Recovery Relocation Actions

Asset Recovery (e.g. physical and Belongingness economic assets)

Figure 3.2: Conceptual framework for this research Source: Author’s own

Forced relocation causes various long-lasting impacts, including disruption to livelihood assets (i.e. social, economic and physical capitals especially), increase of impoverishment risks (Cernea, 2000) and ‘dis-emplacement’ and alienation from meaningful places (de Wet, 2001). There are particularities of these impoverishment risks and impacts in urban contexts, which reflect the nuances of urban livelihoods explained in Chapter 2. Some of these include the prevalence of marginalised groups, informality of livelihoods in urban settings, the significance of disrupted social capital and spatial marginalisation. At present, it is unclear how people recover, or attempt to recover, from their emotional and material impacts after forced relocation.

50 Chapter 3: Conceptual framework

The SLF offers several points of entry to understand the recovery process of affected people. When people are displaced or relocated, their livelihood assets are damaged or destroyed and they become less resilient to shocks and are more vulnerable to impoverishment risks. One point of entry is through the interrelatedness of the capital assets. The role of social capital in urban poor livelihoods, for example, is especially important in how people use their social relations to get access to basic resources to survive, including income-generating activities (economic capital) (see Chapter 6) and developing and improving their built environment (physical capital) (see Chapter 7).

Another entry point is through livelihood actions, which are the decisions people make daily about managing their livelihood these interrelated asset portfolios (e.g. to invest, store/accumulate, expend). These decisions are not strategic but are instead reactive. Livelihood actions are significantly influenced not only by the contextual factors (e.g. political-economic conditions, or the drivers of forced relocation), but also by the degree of self-reliance of affected people and their social capital. For example, in contexts where there is limited support from project developers, governments or other institutional bodies, the livelihood actions become even more essential to survival. The degree of self-reliance of the affected people determines the actions for recovery. Here, social capital and self-reliance have a strong two-way interconnection. What is understood from urban poverty and disaster recovery literature is the importance of social capital in general and how the different types of social capital (bonding, bridging and linking) offer different opportunities for development.

Creating a ‘sense of belonging’ is inherent for all people and is therefore an important part of the recovery process for people forced to relocate. When displaced and relocated, they lose the affective, personal connections they had to their previous places, their social networks, and cultural sites. The loss of place and disconnection from social groups is disorientating, alienating and lonely. These impacts are significant and difficult to overcome. How people go about re-establishing their ‘sense of belonging’ is understudied (see Chapter 2). The politics of belonging (the social determination to belong) is much more contextual and depends greatly on the relocation circumstances. Social capital is proposed in this research as a means to understand the ‘belongingness recovery’ process, in conjunction with the livelihood asset recovery process. Social capital is an important asset of the urban poor and after relocation, people need to rebuild that mutuality in their social networks to survive. They do this through acts of ‘belonging’ and ‘community-making’ through neighbouring and cultural activities. This conceptual framework is applied to this research which focusses on a case study of relocated households in Yangon, Myanmar. The following chapter describes the research methodology developed and employed to gather and analyse the data for this thesis.

51 Chapter 4: Methodology

Chapter 4 Methodology

4.1 Introduction

The literature review and conceptual framing outlined in Chapters 2 and 3 indicated that people affected by relocation experience multiple and varied impacts and the recovery process is neither straightforward nor easy. Social capital and notions of self-reliance are central to developing livelihood actions for recovery to address impoverishment risks and loss of belongingness. These actions respond to the political, economic and socio-cultural conditions surrounding the relocation. This research investigates the relocatees who were forced to move from central parts of Yangon to the peri-urban edge of the city in 1991 in Ward 9, Shwepyithar Township, Yangon, Myanmar, as part of a larger relocation program. This research examines the decision-making processes of Ward 9 relocatees by identifying and defining the livelihood actions that relocatees develop to settle into their relocation site through physical and economic asset recovery and fostering belongingness. This chapter explains the methodology developed to guide this research.

The chapter begins with an explanation research approach in Section 4.2, including the ontological and epistemological assumptions that have been used to justify the case study approach for the research. Section 4.3 explains the purpose of the three trips made for this research. Section 4.4 outlines the methods used to collect the data, followed by the analysis process described in Section 4.5. Section 4.6 provides a reflective account of the methodology, including consideration of ethics, researcher reflexivity and the limitations of the research. This chapter ends with a justification for choosing the case study area in Section 4.7. Section 4.8 summarises this chapter.

4.2 A Qualitative Case Study Approach

The main and sub-research questions outlined in Chapter 1 ask ‘how’ and ‘what’ questions to understand the decisions people made to restore livelihood assets and foster a ‘sense of belonging’. These subjective understandings of a shared lived reality point to a need for a qualitative methodology (Creswell, 1998). Qualitative methods allow for greater insights into the perceptions, experiences and ideas of a particular social phenomenon, which in this case is focussed on individuals who lived through forced relocation (Creswell, 1998; Yin, 2014). A qualitative case study approach allowed a deep exploration of how relocatees in Ward 9 managed to regain access to economic assets (including work and loans), physical assets (including shelter and shared

52 Chapter 4: Methodology infrastructure), and ‘sense of belonging’ (including place and social attachments). Qualitative methods are best suited to answering the research questions presented in Chapter 1 as they invite exploratory approach to the research design (Saldana, Leavy, & Beretvas, 2011). These methods are useful when studying and attempting to understand complex and contextualised phenomena, which this research attempts to do (Saldana et al., 2011).

The nature of the research and the time-lag between the relocation in 1991 and the data collection in 2016-17 meant that a retrospective study design was necessary, relying on the narratives and experiences of the people who were relocated. Retrospective research is used to investigate a phenomenon that happened in the past and participants look back from when the research is conducted (Flick, 2009). Baseline information is constructed using information from secondary data or participants’ recalling memories. Kumar (2005) warns that this approach is problematic as the baseline is created after the event being studied, which can invite skewed perspectives and warped memories. Nevertheless, retrospective studies are necessary when baseline information of the target research group does not exist, as is often the case in urban eviction and relocation events.

The ‘romanticisation of the past’ that often accompanies retrospective approaches can be overcome in several ways, including triangulation of data at an individual level by discussing the same topics with several participants and comparing experiences between the narratives (Bisht, 2009). The past has a residual character for people who are displaced, which makes it necessary to understand the lived experiences as a form of reality from the perspectives of those who have been displaced and how this plays out in the process of resettlement. The romanticisation of the past is also expressed through nostalgia as a frame of reference to assess their everyday experiences (Davis, 1979). Drawing out the stories through nostalgia assists to create a baseline of past events and also expresses meaning of those resettlement events for the relocatees.

In this research, information about pre-displacement and early relocation conditions were collected from relocatees during fieldwork. Their personal experiences, nostalgia and romanticisation of the past were evident in the data. I acknowledge this and use it, as Bisht (2009) has done in his study of dam resettlement in India, to appreciate the innately personal nature of forced movement and inability for individuals to separate the facts from emotion. Data was triangulated by asking the same questions about pre-displacement conditions and relocation context to multiple relocatees. Secondary sources were also used to validate the accounts of the relocatees’ lived experiences and these were generally consistent with historical reports. This research does not attempt to compare the before and after relocation circumstances, but rather focus on the process that relocatees developed to reach the current state of individual and collective livelihood assets.

53 Chapter 4: Methodology

A case study approach enables an in-depth understanding of a particular case through consideration of multiple perspectives to understand the complexity of the research question. Yin (2014, p.4) suggests using a case study approach to “understand complex social phenomena” because it “allows investigators to focus on a ‘case’ and retain a holistic and real-world perspective.” Case study research design is also a useful approach to be able to capture and interpret the perspectives of multiple participants to understand the meaning of the topic or phenomena being studied (Yin, 2014). Using a case example allows for investigation about the uniqueness of a situation and the ability to focus on an issue (or issues) that the case can be used to illustrate (Creswell, 1998). In the displacement, relocation and resettlement literature, case studies are commonly used to provide empirical evidence about particular impoverishment impacts experienced by affected communities (de Wet, 2015).

Two motivations guided a single case study approach. First, the exploratory nature of the research questions meant that to deeply understand the actions that relocatees developed after forced relocation to rebuild their livelihood assets and ‘sense of belonging’, a concentrated commitment to one location was required. Chapters 2 and 3 identified a need for a clearer appreciation of the capabilities of urban poor to draw on social capital and self-reliance for recovery in a post- relocation context. A single case study provides the opportunity to closely examine the actions that urban poor develop and apply in post-relocation situations and how these change over time by employing multiple data collection methods (e.g. interviews, transect walks, observations) (Stake, 2005; Yin, 2014), as elaborated in Section 4.4. The second reason for a single case study related to time and resource constraints. Because the context of the relocation program has not been well- studied, it took time to understand the experiences of the relocation program from first-hand accounts. It does not aim to compare these experiences across different contexts, but instead to understand this group of people’s experiences with relocation and recovery deeply. To my knowledge, this research presents the first in-depth study on a relocated community in Yangon. Ward 9 in Shwepyithar offers an opportunity to study what Yin (2014) refers to as a ‘revelatory case’, where researchers observe and analyse a phenomenon previously inaccessible.

4.3 Data Collection Trips

I made three separate trips to Yangon for this research, which totalled 4.5 months across 1.5 years. The first trip was a scoping trip in February 2016 to determine whether or not the research about urban relocations in the city was feasible. Initially, I thought it would be necessary to establish connections with a non-government organisation (NGO), think tank or research group that had links

54 Chapter 4: Methodology in the relocations sites that I could leverage. There were only two recognised grassroots groups that provided assistance to urban poor communities and neither were suitable partners as their resources were limited and neither conduct research. At this stage, I had limited knowledge of the outer townships and the relocation sites, access to them was restricted and most of the people I had met in Yangon (Myanmar nationals and expatriates) advised me to seek partnership with the government or an NGO for my own safety. People generally view the outer townships and relocation areas as dangerous and associated with crime and antisocial behaviour. When I could not find a suitable NGO, I engaged the Urban Planning Division in the Yangon City Development Committee (YCDC) (the city’s local authority) to determine suitability of a case study and they advised me to meet with the Township Office in Shwepyithar. Shwepyithar Township office has a collaborative relationship with the centrally located Urban Planning Division, unlike other townships that the central office advised as “unsafe” and “not cooperative.” YCDC initially worked as a gatekeeper, providing entry to the community and a staff member accompanied me when I did the first three interviews, but after that they were not involved in the research and were not updated on the research process.

Positioning myself as an independent researcher was important to me because of the benefits it offered, including separation from local organisations’ missions that did not align with my research objectives and also from government agencies that could be in conflict with my research intent to understand the lived experiences of relocatees. Ordinary households have little exposure to and interaction with YCDC staff, so it was important to gain independence from the government after initial access to ensure interviewees were not intimidated or influenced by their presence.

During the scoping trip, I met with ten stakeholders, including government officers, Yangon urban specialists, and researchers. Meetings held during the scoping trip allowed me build rapport with key stakeholders associated with urban, land and social development challenges facing Yangon. The advice and information received from stakeholders during the scoping trip helped to narrow the research objectives focus from broadly investigating relocation impacts, urban poverty and planning challenges in relocation sites to focus on the mechanisms employed by relocatees to drive the outcomes and standards of living they have today. The trip assured me that research in Yangon was feasible and it assisted me to set the direction for the research proposal and contribute knowledge that would be useful and interesting for the stakeholders that did not duplicate any existing work.

The second trip was fieldwork data collection and occurred over a 10-week period between September and December 2016, during the beginning of the dry season. The first priority was to select the case study, which took several weeks to identify due to administrative delays including

55 Chapter 4: Methodology waiting for meetings with the right people in YCDC. Once Ward 9 was selected (see Section 4.7), the data collection could begin. Research methods used during fieldwork are explained in Section 4.4. During this trip a total of 48 interviews were conducted with relocated households, newcomers to Ward 9, community and religious leaders and experts.

The third and final trip involved data validation, which occurred over three weeks in June 2017. The purpose of this trip was to validate findings and fill any gaps that remained from the fieldwork trip seven months earlier. Data was validated through meeting with some of the same families I met in 2016. When I explained that I wanted to interview them again, almost all did not think that their story was particularly interesting or different from anyone else’s. I also met with policy makers, including a retired senior YCDC employee who was involved in the relocation program. Additional secondary data was attained, including maps and reports of the case study area and relocation sites created as part of the relocation program. In total, 15 interviews were conducted with relocated households, community and religious leaders and past and present government workers.

4.4 Research Methods

Case studies use extensive and multiple sources of data to provide the detailed insight of the case being discussed (Creswell, 1998). A combination of methods was used to collect data for this research. Semi-structured interviews were the main method used for the data collection, and most of these were with people forced to relocate. Other primary methods included observations and photographs, transect walks and informal conversations. Secondary sources helped to establish background information and historical baselines that the primary data can be contextualised within (Walliman, 2011). Multiple methods assist with triangulating data, which is particularly important for research such as this, where there is limited publicly available data available. The following sub- sections provide details about the different methods used for this research.

4.4.1 Semi-structured Interviews

Semi-structured interviews, rather than structured interview approaches, allows the interview to be more conversational and gain a better insight into the thoughts, ideas and perceptions of the participant (Yin, 2014). Interviewees were not given a strict question list but followed thematically relevant topics that emerged from the first five or so interviews with relocated households. The four themes that structured the interviews were: relocation experience, income-generating activities, infrastructure and services, and social structures (see Appendix A). This approach enabled participants to freely describe their experiences and express themselves in their own time while

56 Chapter 4: Methodology being guided by cross-over themes. Since the research questions outlined in Chapter 1 aim to better understand the experiences relocatees have endured during their relocation process, semi-structured interview methods were selected as the most appropriate approach for gathering data.

A strong rapport with the interview participants was necessary and the interview format permitted a suitable amount of flexibility in the discussion that was adaptable to the responses provided by the interviewee. This type of interviewing technique that was conversational and tailored, making it an optimal approach considering the political and cultural settings of this research. Kumar (2005) recommends using in-depth face-to-face interviews for complex situations where detailed information is sought. Arksey and Knight (1999) and Liamputtong (2013) also explain that face-to- face interviews provide an opportunity for the interviewee to feel empowered by telling their story in their own words and in their own time. Creating a setting that evened out some of the power was important to me as a foreign researcher entering a part of Yangon that had few external visitors and none-to-date researchers. Though everyone was welcoming, I was acutely aware of the power balance I held in conversations with the relocatees (see Section 4.6.2). The following sub-sections explain the sampling methods, interview processes and recording and transcription practices.

4.4.1.1 Sampling participants

Participants were selected using non-random, purposive and snowballing sampling techniques. Yin (2014) explains that purposive sampling is useful when criteria are known so that participants can be chosen based on their ability to provide the most valuable and relevant information. Criteria for selecting participants were based on their historical knowledge and their ability to contribute to the research questions. Gender and religious diversity were also important, particularly among household interviewees to understand the similarities and differences the groups experienced after the relocation. After the first interviews were completed, a snowballing technique was used to find more participants who also met the criteria. Snowballing is making use of the networks in the sample to find additional suitable participants (Kumar, 2005). This technique was used until sufficient data is collected, referred to as theoretical saturation (Glaser & Strauss, 2017).

Five main categories of stakeholders were identified for the semi-structured interviews, including households forced to relocate to Ward 9 in 1991, community leaders (known as Hundred Household Leaders (HHL)), religious leaders, policy makers and experts in the field. Each interviewee group offered a different perspective on their experiences:

• HHL usually have detailed knowledge about the history of their area and are on close terms with local residents. HHL provided valuable introductions to the households in their

57 Chapter 4: Methodology

neighbourhood, were able to explain the dynamics between neighbours, and because they were mostly long-standing community leaders, they could provide insight into the development history of their local area.

• Households were chosen based on recommendations from HHL who facilitated introductions and eased any concerns potential interviewees had about participating in the research. Most households interviewed were original relocatees who were forced to move in 1991, but some had moved more recently or moved voluntarily in the 1990s. These have been differentiated as ‘relocatees’ for those forced to move and ‘newcomers’ for those who moved voluntary. Data gathered from newcomers were useful to establish context and timelines of change in the community, while data gathered from relocatees related to their personal experiences with the relocation program, their work history and how they made decisions about finding work, their contributions to community activities and the living conditions of their home and neighbourhood.

• Religious leaders (including Muslim, Hindu and Christian) provided an explanation of their personal role in the community and the role of their religion in Ward 9. At the time of fieldwork, Buddhist Monks were busy with commitments with Buddhist Lent or were otherwise unable to be interviewed.

• Policy makers and government staff were asked about the government’s responsibilities in providing services and infrastructure to Ward 9 historically and today, and how and why this has changed over time.

• Experts shared their knowledge about urban poverty, planning and development history of Yangon in recent years.

Follow up interviews during the data validation trip also used purposive sampling techniques. Households were selected based on past interviews in 2016 to select a diverse group of relocatees (religion, house location, variety of ages, and gender diversity) to clarify the findings. Snowball sampling was used to make connections with a retired government architect and planner who oversaw the relocation program and the government official in charge of Shwepyithar relocation planning. These interviews greatly informed the context of the relocation program and political setting in 1990s.

58 Chapter 4: Methodology

In total, 39 interviewees were forced to move (33 household interviewees, four Hundred Household Leaders and two religious leaders). A further 12 were interviewed who were not forced to move (7 household interviewees, four Hundred Household Leaders and one religious leader).

Table 4.1 describes the number and types of interviews conducted during all of the fieldwork trips. In total, 39 interviewees were forced to move (33 household interviewees, four Hundred Household Leaders and two religious leaders). A further 12 were interviewed who were not forced to move (7 household interviewees, four Hundred Household Leaders and one religious leader).

Table 4.1: Summary of interview participants by group and sex Participants M F Total Households Forced to move 13 20 33 Not forced to move 2 5 7 Community Hundred Household Leaders (4 were also forced to move) 8 0 8 Leaders Religious leaders 3 0 3 Government workers (includes one former employee) 3 2 5 Other/ experts 9 1 10 Total 38 28 666

Appendix C breaks down the sex, age, religious and occupation diversity of interviewees and the pseudonyms that have been used in this research. Real names have been removed from the data and replaced with pseudonyms to protect the identity of the research participants. The pseudonyms are common names among the Burman majority population, unless another ethnicity was explicitly stated in the interview (e.g. expatriate experts have been given common English names, one ethnic Chin family have been given Chin names). Using Burman names is not a political statement, but rather reflects the majority of people living in Shwepyithar, Yangon and Myanmar.

Names in Myanmar are typically two or three names that make up the complete name (e.g. U Ko Lwin) and do not consist of a first and last name structure. Names start with an honorific prefix, which varies according to age and social status. For ease, I have adopted the honorific prefix ‘U’ for men and ‘Daw’ for women, literally translated as ‘uncle’ and ‘aunt’.

6 Note that where an interviewee was interviewed twice (e.g. first in the data collection trip and second in the data validation trip), this interviewee has been counted once in the table. Some of the interviewees were interviewed together, for example two neighbours or husband and wife. Each interviewee has been counted, even if the conversation was with another interviewee present.

59 Chapter 4: Methodology

4.4.1.2 Interview process

HHL provided the initial introductions to households and established the setting for the interview. Therefore, it was particularly important to make sure the HHL understood the research purpose and that there would not be rewards for participating.

Prior to commencing the interview, informal conversation was made with the participant to ease any uncertainties or concerns about the interview process. This usually included an invitation to ask me questions about who I am, an introduction to my research assistant and talk about the weather or world events (e.g. the 2016 US election was making headlines during the fieldwork trip). The informal conversations invited a more natural flow of conversation, structured around the research themes. The informal start to the interview was also important for building trust.

As part of the initial conversation and along with introductions, my research assistant and I also explained more about the research. This included the purpose of the research, why the participant was selected, that participation was voluntary and could cease at any point, there was no reward or compensation, that information would be kept confidential and their identity would be protected, and no details about the participant and the interview would be shared with the government or any other organisation. Although no monetary or other rewards were offered to participants, their time and contributions were acknowledged by gifting the consented photos I took (see Section 4.4.2) and I also donated exercise books to the local primary schools. The decision to not offer a reward or any compensation for participation was determined following advice from international researchers, national researchers and Yangon residents. After the introduction and explanation of the interview purpose, a verbal consent was recorded on tape.

An interview guide was prepared for each stakeholder type in English and translated into Burmese during the interview (see Appendix A). This guide was adapted for the data validation trip (see Appendix B). The semi-structured nature of the interviews meant that the guides were adapted for each interview, changing based on the data already collected or to focus on an area of interest or knowledge about part of the research themes. For example, once the conditions of the relocation program were understood, the interview would focus more on actions to regain access to income- generating activities, or if someone did not have much to contribute about their physical environment, the conversation moved towards their social connections. The interviews were flexible, and I followed a ‘theoretical saturation’ approach, where questions were asked until no new themes or data emerged (Glaser & Strauss, 2017). The concluding part of the interview was a casual chat and I again offered the participant to ask me any questions.

60 Chapter 4: Methodology

Interview locations varied between stakeholder groups. Household interviews were held on the floor of the home of participant because there were rarely enough chairs for everyone, which usually included my research assistant/ translator, two primary participants, any family members observing and me (see Plate 4.1-4.37). The other important reason for holding the interviews on the floor was because this was more comfortable for participants and provided a more natural setting for them. It also attempted to somewhat neutralise the power differentials, explained further in Section 4.6.2. Community leader interviews were held in either their home, a tea shop (a common meeting place in Myanmar), or in someone else’s home if this was more convenient for them. Government employee interviews were held in their offices. Experts were usually interviewed at a centrally-located tea shop.

Plate 4.1: Husband and wife sit in their narrow house

7 Unless otherwise stated, all photos were taken by the author and remain the copyright of the author.

61 Chapter 4: Methodology

Plate 4.2: Husband and wife stand with their child and Plate 4.3: Participant sits on her bed in her house his sister next to the shop in front of their house

All household interviews, religious leaders and HHL interviews were conducted in Burmese via my research assistant who translated between me asking questions in English and participants responding in Burmese. The policy maker interviews were conducted in a mix of English and Burmese. All expert interviews were in English. Most interviews were one hour and some 1.5-2 hours. Interviews that were less informative, such as households that moved voluntarily lasted about 30 minutes. At the end of each day, my research assistant and I met to discuss the key findings from the interviews that day, anything from the interview guides (Appendices A and B) that needed to be reworded or made clearer for the interviews the next day, and clarify any cultural peculiarities (e.g. customs around Buddhist lent, religious tensions, political affiliations).

4.4.1.3 Recording and Transcription

Almost all participants consented for the interview to be digitally recorded. When participants declined to be recorded, my research assistant and I made detailed notes and after the interview, we exchanged notes and discussed the interview to ensure accuracy of information and record as much detail as possible. All interviews conducted in Myanmar language were transcribed verbatim by my research assistant to English and then finalised through one or two rounds of feedback and questions. Final transcripts uploaded into NVivo for analysis (see Section 4.5).

4.4.1.4 Use of Interpreter

Even though I had acquired some very basic Myanmar language skills that helped to navigate basic conversations, the use of an interpreter was necessary to conduct the interviews for this research. My independent research assistant acted as the interpreter, a cultural advisor and fieldwork logistics

62 Chapter 4: Methodology assistant. Initially, the YCDC wanted me to use one of their staff for interpreting but I negotiated to use an independent assistant instead, which helped to neutralise some of the power and cultural relations between the research assistant and the research participants. My independent research assistant was a Shan Christian 21-year-old who had recently graduated from university. While there were some power differentials as a result of her university qualification, she was largely seen as a non-threatening presence in the interviews due to her age, short stature, ethnicity and ‘otherness’ by not being from Yangon. Many of the interviewees were Buddhist from the Bamar majority ethnic group and they were jovial with the research assistant about her young age and Shan appearance, which she took with good humour. It was important for me to use my independent research assistant as factors such as age, gender, ethnicity, religion, regional and class backgrounds, as well as attitudes towards women, the poor and other minorities can play a significant role in shaping the interactions between researcher, interpreter and research subjects, and therefore the data obtained (Scott, Miller, & Lloyd, 2006)

4.4.2 Observations and Photography

Data collected through observations in the case study area is a way of learning about the activities of participants and interactions between people in the research in their natural setting (Kawulich, 2005). Walliman (2011, p.195) describes observational research as “a method of recording conditions, events and activities through non-inquisitorial involvement.” Used as a method to collect data about individuals and groups of people performing daily routines, observational data allows the research to observe the interactions between people, patterns of these interactions and time spent on different activities (Kawulich, 2005).

During fieldwork, I was interested in observing how people used their physical space, how they interacted with other people, and how these physical and social interactions changed during the day or under different situations. For example, I observed that because houses were quite small and water access is via external tube water wells at the front of the plot, many people socialised and performed tasks outside of their house, such as cooking and cleaning. By doing this, they could chat to their neighbours who were doing similar tasks or passers-by. I observed how people use private and public spaces to work, socialise and go about their daily activities. These observations enabled me to understand how the residents and newcomers of Ward 9 navigate the diminished or absent infrastructure in their local areas.

I also observed how the social interactions between people changed, often according to normative social hierarchies. For example, although there was a certain level of acceptance and tolerance of

63 Chapter 4: Methodology the Islamic population in the ward, some Buddhist families were wary of their Muslim neighbours and lowered their voices when they talked about them. Muslim families who were interviewed with the HHL present were also hesitant and softy spoken, which was different to how Buddhist households shared their stories with me. I overcame this bias by returning to the Muslim families wherever possible to reconnect and ask more questions or avoided the situation in later interviews by requesting that the HHL does not stay for the interview. These observations provided a richer understanding of the interviews and the social networks that are enabling and constraining at a local level for relocatees to improve their livelihood assets.

After each household interview and community leader interview, permission to take a photo was requested. When approval was given, the photo was taken of the participant in the location of the interview. Many took the opportunity for a photo to create a family portrait of their household members. These photos were then printed and gifted back to the participants. As well as being a nice gesture of gratitude, the photos also assisted to recall information about the interview as a visual prompt for my analysis. Ethical clearance was approved by the UQ Human Research Ethics committee (see Section 4.6.1).

4.4.3 Transect Walks

Transect walks portray the different aspects of an area and can serve as a starting point for discussions about historical changes, alternative uses and opportunities for change (Geilfus, 2008). It involves walking through the case study area with local residents familiar with the space and taking notes about different uses, structures, infrastructure and landscapes. This act of walking through an area with the opportunity to ask questions about what is observed helps the researcher to develop local literacy and “an embodied understanding of the scales and rhythms of an urban context” (Pierce & Lawhon, 2015, p.656). Undertaking transect walks allows the researcher to place themselves in the daily rituals of the study subject/s and thereby more acutely deepen their understanding of those people and their places (Pink, 2008). Observations gained from transect walks complement data gathered from other methods, such as interviews and walking can be used to generate questions in the semi-structured interviews. This triangulation of different data sources is important in qualitative research.

I undertook two transect walks in Ward 9 with local residents for the purposes of developing my spatial literacy of the local area. The local residents who accompanied me on the walks explained what was being observed and were available to answer questions. The insights led to the further refinement of this research and enhanced my spatial literacy of Ward 9, deepened my understanding

64 Chapter 4: Methodology of the development history in Ward 9, the social dynamics of the neighbourhoods and the daily routines of local residents. The first tour was on the first day of data collection in Ward 9 was with a group of HHLs and helped to get my bearings of the area. The second walk was on the third day of interviews and was guided by one of the older HHL. This one-on-one interview walk meant that I could ask more detailed questions about the physical and social elements in his neighbourhood that we were observing, including road conditions, street lighting, quality and size of houses and the social dynamics between neighbourhoods. Plates 4.4-4.7 illustrate some features observed during the transect walks.

Plate 4.4: A centrally located tea shop and common Plate 4.5: HHL explaining the subdivision practices with meeting point in Ward 9 during fieldwork my research assistant

Plate 4.6: Observations of makeshift fences, blocked Plate 4.7: Navigating muddy roads during a transect drains and rubbish on the roadside walk

Separate to the transect walks, my research assistant and I walked between interviews during the fieldwork period and we would stop and make informal conversation with curious observers and ask further questions about topics of interest. As recommended by Pierce and Lawhon (2015), we

65 Chapter 4: Methodology commenced the walks from a familiar site, which was a local tea shop (see Plate 4.1) and we repeatedly walked the same streets on different days and at different times of the day. Repeating the same walks “enables the researcher to understand patterns and assess the typicality of the observations” (Pierce & Lawhon, 2015, p.660).

4.4.4 Secondary Data Analysis

Secondary data developed my understanding of the city, its growth history and attitudes towards urban poverty challenges. Documentation analysis is a useful method for case study approaches (Yin, 2014). There was no secondary data available about the Ward 9 case study so more general information was gathered about Shwepyithar, the relocation program and city’s history. Secondary data was collected from publicly available databases and libraries at the University of Queensland (UQ), Oxford University libraries, University of London School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) and the British Library. I attempted to attain access to government documents at the Myanmar National Archives in Yangon but many of the articles had restricted access and were not accessible to me or my research assistant. Secondary data was also gathered from private sources. The Department of Urban and Housing Development8 in Yangon, for example, provided maps of the urban development plans that led to the creation of relocation sites in the late 1980s and early 1990s. During interviews, where relevant and available, documents including reports, PowerPoints and maps were also collected. These resources are not available online or in libraries.

The document review process included:

• Contextual reports and news and media publications relevant to the case study; • Census data and localised township demographic information, gathered from the 2014 Census reports and Shwepyithar Township data; • PowerPoints delivered by urban experts, YCDC and researchers about urban planning, housing, poverty and land in Yangon; and • Maps of the case study and similar relocation sites in the city.

Secondary data provides background information, a baseline for events and historical information that primary data can be contextualised under (Walliman, 2011). While insufficient as the only data collection method to answer the research questions, secondary data provided important information to triangulate findings, which can act as an opportunity for data validation (Walliman, 2011).

8 The Department of Urban and Housing Development is under the Union-level Ministry of Construction and one of their offices is located in Yangon, which I accessed.

66 Chapter 4: Methodology

4.5 Analysis of Qualitative Data

A qualitative methodology means that the data analysis process is flexible. There is not a standard approach to qualitative data analysis and the process is “custom built” and revised according to the research objectives and the researcher’s needs (Creswell, 1998, p.142). A dynamic and iterative analysis process requires constant reference to the research questions and conceptual framework and makes room for refinement as a deeper understanding of the study is gained. This means that data analysis occurred alongside data gathering, returning ideas back to the participants for verification and then further analysis for refinement. In this approach, I was able to use the particulars of the data gathered and combine them with the topics from the theoretical groundings to apply themes or codes to them to describe patterns.

My analysis process followed a similar method described by Creswell (1998) where a general review of all information is completed, then emergent themes are returned to informants for verification before final coding is developed based on the themes. First, I conducted a general review of the data gathered during the fieldwork trip. This involved a close reading of the data, highlighting the messages that were recurring or emphasised as important during the interviews and marking gaps in the dataset as they appeared. To do this general review of the data, I used NVivo software to catalogue interview transcripts that were developed with the help from my research assistant and fieldnotes (including observation notes). All interviews were transcribed and notes from two interviews where permission to record was declined, along with day-by-day fieldnotes.

After an initial scan of the data, I conducted a more detailed analysis of the themes that were emerging. Thematic analysis means “searching across a data set… to find repeated patterns of meaning” (Braun & Clarke, 2006, p.86). To identify themes, I used Bazeley and Jackson’s (2013) three-tier process for generating labels: identifying relevant information, assigning a word or phrase that represents the information, and documenting why that information or code is important (i.e. taking a memo of why this is important). Themes that were identified from the relevant information were based on the conceptual understandings (see Chapter 3) underpinning the research questions (see Chapter 1). Themes included context about how and why people were relocated, actions that relocatees identified to cope in their new circumstances, economic activities, and communal infrastructure building activities. These were then further coded into sub-themes, such as finding new work, gaining new skills, organisational and social structures as they related to work and infrastructure development. Throughout this coding process, I noted my thought process for choosing the coding logic. This kind of coding of the transcript and fieldnote data is what Emerson, Fretz and Shaw (2011, p.172) refer to as “close, intensive reflection and analysis.”

67 Chapter 4: Methodology

Second, these preliminary findings and themes that emerged from the first round of analysis were taken back to the informants in Ward 9 in the data validation trip for verification (Creswell, 1998). The follow-up interviews I conducted in 2017 with relocatees, HHLs and policymakers verified the moving and living conditions that relocatees experienced and the primary concerns of the relocatees after relocation. They focused on understanding the activities and actions that relocatees developed to restore access to economic assets, develop their physical infrastructure priorities (and how these were prioritised) and what role social networks and social capital played in this process. These follow-up interviews also investigated the economic and infrastructure concerns and priorities for Ward 9 residents in present day. Through these questions, concepts of ‘sense of belonging’ and place attachment emerged as new, unexpected themes for analysis.

Last, as a way to refine the initial coding and verification processes steps, I created storyboards for the relocatees. Each storyboard focused on a household unit and described in my own words and using quotes from the interview the experience of relocation, what their lives looked like immediately after relocation (i.e. income generation, shelter) and how this had evolved since 1991. The storyboard format enabled me to see more clearly the impacts that relocatees experienced after being forced to move. Following Miles and Huberman’s (1994) approach, I counted the different impacts that were mentioned in the interview and then categorised them. This process revealed the economic impacts, the lack of physical infrastructure and the unfamiliarity with the location were the biggest challenges. Therefore, regaining access to money, building necessary physical infrastructure and creating a sense of belonging were the recurring themes from the dataset. These storyboards were also used to identify consistent livelihood actions that relocatees developed to fulfil these post-relocation needs. I then returned to NVivo to validate the themes that had emerged through the storyboard analysis and the codes developed in the first stage of analysis were refined.

4.6 Ethical Considerations, Researcher Positionality and Research Limitations

The following sub-sections explain the particular ethical considerations made for researching in the Global South with participants who have had limited or no direct interaction with foreigners or researchers, offers a reflective piece on researcher positionality and describes the main limitations of this research.

4.6.1 Ethical Considerations

Ethics approval was attained through the UQ Human Research Ethics committee (see Appendix D) and research was carried out in line with UQ protocol. As part of this process, special consideration

68 Chapter 4: Methodology was needed for ‘vulnerable groups’, which includes peoples researched in countries other than Australia. Five main ethical responsibilities that guided the design of the research were issues of vulnerability due to poverty and relocation shock, language power imbalance, gender norms, and cultural sensitivities and trust. I dealt with these ethical responsibilities in several ways:

• De-identification of participants by using pseudonyms and reference codes, explained in Section 4.4.1. • Conducting interviews in Myanmar language through use of a research assistant/translator. • Restating that participation was voluntary and that participants could withdraw at any stage, how the information is be used and that it would remain confidential. • Ensuring women in particular felt at ease discussing their experiences. • Hiring a research assistant to advise me on cultural practices and expectations. • Building trust despite clear power imbalances (see Section 4.6.2).

In any research, informed consent is an essential first step in data gathering (see Appendix E). Information about the research and request for consent was offered in Myanmar language verbally through my research assistant. We spent some time at the beginning of the interview explaining the purpose of the research and that the information would not be shared with YCDC or any other organisation (see Section 4.4.1). Because most of the household interviews were illiterate, verbal consent was sought. Interviews with government workers and experts were also offered verbal consent as they were hesitant to sign forms but were relaxed about having verbal consent and interviews recorded. Where interviewees refused to be recorded, I readily obliged. Consent was also sought from the interviewees to take their photo inside or outside of their house, which is where most of the interviews took place. Even though ethical clearance for these photos was approved by UQ Human Research Ethics committee, the photos of participants have been detached from their narratives in this document as an added layer of identity protection.

The UQ Human Research Ethics committee were concerned about the potential vulnerability of the research participants and required a gatekeeper approval form for me to fulfil ethical clearance. Gatekeeper approval was granted from the Urban Planning Division in YCDC (see Appendix F).

4.6.2 Researcher Positionality and Reflexivity

Positionality of the researcher in qualitative research is important because all data is subjective and relative. Therefore, it is important to understand where the researcher is positioned within the research and what their perspectives are. I am a white, female Australian researching in Yangon, Myanmar, making this research cross-cultural and cross-linguistic.

69 Chapter 4: Methodology

The qualitative research methodologies discuss how the researcher can be an “insider, outsider, both and neither” (Sultana, 2007, p.377). I am an outsider in many ways to the Ward 9 population, being white, foreign, university educated, and not affiliated with a religion. Being Caucasian drew a lot of curiosity from local residents in my travels on the bus (not many foreigners endure the uniqueness of Myanmar public transport apart from a singular novelty ride) and within Ward 9 (I did not see any other foreigners there during my fieldwork and participants said I was the only white person they had seen there). Children frequently followed me, and people would peer out of their windows or over their fences as I walked by. As many of the interviews took place in the front courtyard or in the front room of the interviewee’s home, passers-by would stop and enquire about who I was and what I was doing. These were not threatening investigations. As a foreign researcher asking questions about a relocation that occurred 25 years prior, my presence attracted some suspicion but mostly curious interest from many people.

I was treated with respect and generous hospitality from everyone I encountered. I was always offered chairs to sit in, tea, snacks and bottled water (a luxury). This made me even more conscious of my ‘outsider’ position and the power and privilege the locals bestowed to me. This made me uncomfortable but refusing hospitality would have been offensive. I had to negotiate my positionality continuously around what I ate, how I sat, and what I wore. Some examples of how I did this included accepting food offerings, removing shoes at the front door, dressing conservatively and simply, and ensuring I did not point my feet towards the Buddhist shrines in the houses. Some of these adjustments I knew while others were advised by my research assistant. These small actions, however mundane, are not insignificant (Sultana, 2007).

Through these ‘small actions’ I was also attempting to manage the power balances between me (and my university-educated research assistant) and the interviewees. I tried to dress appropriately, conform to cultural norms and learn at least enough Myanmar language to have a short conversation to show respect to the participants. Demonstrating respect and empathy are central to building rapport and trust with participants (Elliott, Watson, & Harries, 2002). Though offered chairs, I habitually sat on the floor alongside the participants and my research assistant in an attempt to reduce the power dynamic between us. I made a conscious effort to show that we had brought our own water and snacks so as not to put any economic strain on the HHLs or the other participants. I did not want them to be economically advantaged or disadvantaged by participating in my research. Rather, I wanted them to feel empowered to tell me of their lived experiences of forced relocation. I did this to not only remove any expectations on them but most of all because I truly valued their perspectives and lived experiences. My foreignness of being an ‘outsider’ and my independent researcher position gave me legitimacy and provided participants an opportunity to share opinions

70 Chapter 4: Methodology about their past government regimes that they might have been hesitant to share if I was associated with another organisation or accompanied by YCDC staff.

Prior to visiting Shwepyithar Township, I had been given warnings by almost all Yangon residents (expatriate and Myanmar nationals) about their safety concerns for me travelling to the relocation site. Alaniz (2017) received similar kinds of warnings about danger and safety in the resettlement communities he studied in Honduras. I related to Alaniz’s (2017, p.62) comment about what people had “described was not as bad as I had been led to believe.” Whether it was due to my ignorance and their wisdom, or my fortunate experience and their belief in the rhetoric that “bad people” live in the relocation sites was difficult to tell. In the end, I had a positive experience in Shwepyithar and Ward 9 and found the people who lived there to be warm and welcoming.

I also acknowledge that the timing of my data collection was fortuitous. In 2015, Myanmar held their first national elections since 1991 where the National Democracy League was democratically appointed as the new government, halting over 50 years of military-appointed regimes. By the time I started conducting interviews in 2016, the government had been in office for seven months. Some participants expressed that they would have been too scared to share their opinions openly with me if I had been there a year prior, for fear of speaking badly about the military or YCDC. My understanding of the political climate in Myanmar since the Rohingya crisis that started in August 2017 (after the data collection and validation trips), is that freedom of speech is once again considerably constrained. I believe that I was able to attain valuable information from participants over a relatively short period of time in a unique window where citizens felt free to speak.

4.6.3 Research limitations

Research limitations relate to the scope, methodological constraints and practical realities of qualitative research in a cross-cultural and cross-linguistic context where limited empirical evidence existed prior. The first limitation is about using a single case study approach, which is temporally, physically or socially limited in size, studies a complex phenomenon and is unique and therefore not comparable (Creswell, 1998; Yin, 2014). The single case study approach used in this research has proven that using an in-depth exploratory analysis of a social phenomenon can convey analytical generalisations and advance theoretical knowledge (Flyvbjerg, 2006). In the context of this case study, understandings the particularities of the experiences of the urban poor relocatees has led to a deeper understanding of the kinds of actions that people develop during times of stress and shock. The findings of this research remain grounded in the context of Ward 9 relocatees. In this way, generalisations within this research are analytical in nature, rather than claiming to apply to

71 Chapter 4: Methodology broad groups of urban relocated poor populations located elsewhere. Despite this, findings around the kinds of impacts experienced and actions developed in response could offer important insights for relocation projects impacting the urban poor in other Global South cities.

Second, my knowledge of the case study was restricted by amount of time I had to conduct interviews after the case study was selected. As described in Section 4.7, the process of selecting the case study was prolonged through the need to go through YCDC and gain appropriate access through the Shwepyithar Township office. The four weeks remaining on my visa meant that I was time-constrained to collect the data. Further, even though I quickly found that the rhetoric that ‘bad people lived there’ was not true, I decided not to stay overnight in Ward 9 to avoid the additional risks of mosquito-borne diseases and concerns I had around water quality. My data collection was limited to the hours I was there between 9.30am and 4pm, meaning that I was unable to observe households in the early morning and evening. I tried to participate in other community activities, for example, Kathein (the celebration at the end of Vassa, Buddhist Lent), and was very proactive in moving around different neighbourhoods to make the most of the time I had in Ward 9.

Third, the restricted hours also meant that many of the participants were retired, sick or full-time caregivers. I was told that people who worked downtown or in another part of the city or township left early in the morning and returned late, after dark. There were limited opportunities to interview those workers, whether I had stayed overnight in Shwepyithar or not. In the few cases where this younger generation of people were interviewed, I have referred to them as ‘second generation’ relocatees, as they were either born in Ward 9 or moved there as children. At times, I tried to start informal conversations on my bus commute to or from Ward 9 but the nature of the buses in Yangon meant that most people are concentrating on not falling over or falling out of the buses, not on the conversation with me via my research assistant who was translating.

Fourth, I had not accounted for the participants not being willing to share their relocation and recovery process experiences. The unfamiliarity the participants had with foreigners and researchers meant that they were hesitant to answer the open-ended semi-structured interviews I had prepared. It took time for me to adjust the interview process (e.g. by extending the informal conversations before the interview, by choosing words carefully and debriefing with my research assistant to make sure the research purpose was understood) so that the interviewees were comfortable and open to sharing their stories with me. It took some time in each interview to encourage participants to speak freely and openly beyond single-sentence answers.

72 Chapter 4: Methodology

Fifth, the cross-cultural and cross-linguistic nature of this research also posed challenges and limitations. While being an ‘outsider’ granted some ways of starting conversations with people as I was considered a ‘novelty’ in their daily routines, it also meant that I was not fully appreciative of some of the cultural protocols and practices. I tried to overcome this via a daily debrief with my research assistant who provided a review of my ‘cultural awareness’ on that day and we spoke at length about broader subjects to help lessen the gap of my cultural ‘otherness’ (e.g. religious and ethnic tensions within the country and how they might be represented in Ward 9). Despite these attempts, it is likely that I misread situations and perhaps misunderstood some interpretations in the interviews. My research assistant also acted as a translator during the interviews. Cross-linguistic research is challenging not only because the translator cannot possibly interpret every sentence during the interview but the time it takes to translate also means that less time is spent gathering information and more time is spent explaining the questions and answers. Again, this process was refined through our daily debriefs as we became more efficient the more interviews we did, yet it remains a limitation for this research.

Finally, there remains a gap in knowledge about those who left Shwepyithar. In the scope of this research, it was impossible to find out where they went or why the left. Findings from interviews with other relocatees indicate that those who left had relatives downtown with whom they could live, selling their tenure rights in Shwepyithar to live more centrally, or renting long-term to others and accessing a rental income. Some people exited early to live and work on construction sites only to return years later to find squatters on their land. In other cases, people have entered into high amounts of debt with moneylenders and have run away to avoid penalties. It is unclear whether the group of interviewees for this research represent the people who have successfully survived in the location, or are deprived compared to the families who could relocate more centrally due to family connections or invested wealth elsewhere. Interviewees indicated that if they could have moved back to the downtown area then their lives would have been much improved.

4.7 Justification for Case Study Ward 9, Shwepyithar

Ward 9 in Shwepyithar Township in Yangon, Myanmar was chosen as the case study site. Ward 9 is located about 30 kilometres north of the downtown urban core, in the northernmost township of Shwepyithar (see Figure 4.1). About 17,000 people live in Ward 9, including a large proportion of people who were originally forced to move there in 1991 when the ward was established by the military government as part of a larger ‘sites and services’ relocation program. Many Ward 9 residents are dayworkers, earning a living as street vendors, produce sellers, construction workers,

73 Chapter 4: Methodology housekeepers and general labourers. More recently, Shwepyithar Township has been an attractive place for middle-class Yangon residents to move to, escaping the pollution and crowdedness of central areas. The motivations for the relocation program and a description of the case study area are explained in Chapter 5.

Figure 4.1: Map of the case study site in Ward 9, Shwepyithar in Yangon, Myanmar Source: Created by Isaac Cornish

There has been relatively limited documentation of the long-term consequences caused by the relocation process that led to the creation of Ward 9. The literature that exists does not focus on the lived experiences of those who were forced to move, and none attempt to understand the livelihood recovery process they have suffered. The conditions of the relocation program were particularly difficult for affected people (explained further in Chapter 5). Understanding the effects of this relocation and how people have developed actions to rebuild livelihoods and foster a ‘sense of belonging’ after relocation is currently not well understood. Contributing to the knowledge in areas of livelihood actions of relocatees and Yangon urban development history will be valuable for

74 Chapter 4: Methodology future scholars and practitioners to understand the makeshift and extremely difficult manner that the urban poor survive after forced relocation.

In 2016, UN-Habitat Myanmar completed a mapping project of the 1980s and 1990s relocation sites in Yangon.9 Whilst the townships that were created during the relocation program are widely known, the project identified the wards established during that time and who populated those wards, including government workers, squatter relocatees, ‘villagisation’ of farmers whose land had been taken for the relocation sites, and wards containing a mix of different population groups. These maps were instrumental in shortlisting possible wards to use as case studies for this research. This was the first time a compilation of ward-level information for the relocation program was consolidated. Staff at the YCDC central office, for example, did not know where the relocation wards were, let alone which category of relocatees (squatters, government workers, farmers) were forced to move there at the time of creation. These maps were crucial for narrowing down the options for the case study area.

Following the analysis of the maps, three purposive criteria determined the suitability of Ward 9 in Shwepyithar Township as the case study, which form a basis for potential comparative studies and analytical generalisations (Yin, 2014). First, the case represents an example of an area that was established as a relocation site more than 10 years prior to the research. There are few examples in publicly available private sector reports and academic literature about the long-term impacts of forced moves on livelihood assets (Wilmsen & van Hulten, 2017). To understand the actions that relocatees developed over time and to explore how these actions shifted from immediate shock reactions to long-term settling, finding a case example that was established at least 10 years prior to the research was necessary. Ward 9 was established in 1991 as a relocation site for the ‘sites and services’ relocation scheme. The time difference between the relocation event and the fieldwork therefore presented an opportunity to examine the research questions.

Second, the case is an example of a relocation site in an urban area in a context with limited external support for livelihood recovery. The relocation scheme under which Ward 9 was created was carried out under the direction of Myanmar’s military regime and implemented by the newly established city government authority, YCDC. The country was emerging from several decades of strict isolationist Socialist policies, which meant that there was absolutely no external support from government authorities or others in the way of humanitarian aid. Furthermore, the political and economic contexts of the relocation scheme that created Ward 9 and therefore the actions developed

9 One output from this project is Figure 5.3.

75 Chapter 4: Methodology by those relocatees provides a unique example of an urban relocation case under which to explore the livelihood actions.

Third, the case presents an example of a resident population who were forced to relocate. Mobility and migration have been identified as adaptation strategies for populations who have been pushed from their land for development projects or climate change (Alam & Miller, 2019; Connell & Connell, 2014; Cornish & Ramsay, 2018). People move away from the relocation or resettlement site to find work or move to areas that are more familiar. Ward 9 in Shwepyithar was selected over other locations because a substantial proportion of people still live there after being moved in 1991 and they had not subsequently migrated elsewhere. During initial conversations with long-term Yangon residents and YCDC staff, many people thought that relocatees would not have stayed in the relocation sites due to the deprived conditions. On the first visit to Ward 9, I briefly met over 30 families and individuals who had lived there continuously since being forced to move in 1991. This seemed sufficient to understand how and why they remained in the relocation site and their recovery process to settle in.

In addition to these purposive criteria, Ward 9 was chosen because it was accessible to me as a foreign researcher via YCDC gatekeeper approval (this was discussed in Section 4.6.2).

4.8 Conclusion

The methodology presented in this chapter uses established qualitative methods. This research required three trips to Yangon with the first as a scoping trip to ensure research in the general subject area was possible and to better understand the opportunities for research in the city. The priority for the second trip was to identify the case study, which was selected as Ward 9 in Shwepyithar, and collect most of the data. The focus of the third trip was to validate findings and fill any significant data gaps. Personal, political and cultural factors influenced the design of the methodology. Ethical considerations, validation, data reliability and authenticity were also influencing factors of the methodology.

Data was collected using qualitative and participative methods that focussed on semi-structured interviews. Observations, photographs and informal conversations through transect walks, and the use of secondary data through reports and maps, assisted to deepen my knowledge of sensitive information, socio-spatial relations and historical information. This multi-method approach provided opportunities for triangulation of the data, which was particularly important given the limited secondary data available about the case study and relocation program. A thematic analysis

76 Chapter 4: Methodology was adopted that combined the particulars of the data with theoretical concepts identified in Chapter 3. NVivo was used as a thematic coding and data organisation tool.

The following four chapters (Chapters 5-8) provide empirical evidence to the research questions outlined in Chapter 1, adopting the methodology explained in this chapter. Chapter 5 begins the empirical discussion by providing details about the case study and the political, economic and socio-cultural setting of the research.

77 Chapter 5: Politics of relocation and Ward 9 case study

Chapter 5 Politics of Relocation in Yangon and the Ward 9 Case Study in Shwepyithar

I think the government wanted to make Yangon a developed, modernized city and that’s why they sent the poor people outside of the city. I was poor. I didn’t agree with the revolution, but I was poor and the number of squatters were increasing so the government wanted us outside of the central areas. They also moved some rich people and political activists. I can understand why the government moved people to Shwepyithar, especially the poor and the squatters…[But] I am mad about it. I want to live in the city. Everyone wants to live in their original place.

U Kyaw Soe, a Hundred Household Leader in Ward 9

5.1 Introduction

This chapter situates the research in the socio-economic and political context of Yangon, Myanmar. Forced relocations in cities are motivated by political-economic conditions. These dynamics dictate how, where and the conditions under which people are forced to move, as discussed in Chapter 2. Recovery from these forced relocations is also influenced by the local political and economic context, the support available to those affected and whether or not communities have moved together or were dispersed. These varying conditions impact on how people are able to withstand the impacts and impoverishment risks of relocation and develop actions for livelihood recovery, as outlined in Chapter 3.

This research focuses on Ward 9 in Shwepyithar, Yangon that was created as a ‘sites and services’ relocation site in 1991. This chapter addresses the first sub-research question in the thesis, which asks “What were the political, economic and socio-cultural conditions under which the relocatees were attempting to restore their livelihood assets?” This chapter contextualises the relocation of centrally located Yangon residents to Ward 9 in Shwepyithar, a relocation site in an outer township. It situates the relocation experiences of those forced to move into the broader political and economic context of Yangon and Myanmar. This chapter uses a combination of secondary and primary data sources. While documents exist about the sites and services relocation program that this research focusses on (see for example Rhoads, 2018; Seekins, 2005, 2011; Skidmore, 2002;

78 Chapter 5: Politics of relocation and Ward 9 case study

Than Than Nwe, 1998), gaps remain. Therefore, primary data collected through interviews and observations in Ward 9 supplement the secondary data.

Following this Introduction, Section 5.2 provides an overview of the country context of Myanmar, including a brief political overview to explain the political and economic tensions leading up to events that caused the relocation program. Section 5.3 provides a description of the administrative and social structures that are common in urban areas and therefore relevant to the case study. Section 5.4 outlines the development history in Yangon immediately after 1988 and provides an overview of the relocation program that is directly relevant to this research. Section 5.5 then presents the case study area, Ward 9, located in Shwepyithar, one of the relocation sites created in the 1980s. The conclusion in Section 5.6 summarises the chapter’s main points.

5.2 Myanmar Political Overview

Between 1962 and 1988, Burma was led by Burmese Socialist Political Party (BSPP), headed by the self-appointed General Ne Win who introduced ‘The Burmese Way to Socialism’ (Charney, 2009).10 Governance under Ne Win adopted a “foreign and cultural policy of isolationism” (Seekins, 2011, p.94). Censorship of news and other isolationist policies, including foreign trade, were the central focus of the BSPP (Charney, 2009).

Mismanagement of the economy under the BSPP translated to three separate demonetisation episodes in 1964, 1985 and 1987 where commonly used banknotes were removed from circulation. In a country where most people avoided (or were excluded from) the banking system and kept cash savings in their house, the demonetisations had an enormous effect on household savings and monetary assets. Where wealthier urban residents could buy gold or gemstones to invest their savings in, as a more reliable currency of exchange than cash, the urban poor did not have such options (Seekins, 2011). Many families lost all of their savings overnight after the demonetisations were announced.

Throughout the BSPP era, squatters continued to take residence on vacant land in Yangon, spurred by the ongoing conflicts in other parts of the country. By 1970, it is estimated that 30 percent of the city’s population were squatters (Than Than Nwe, 1998). Fires in the squatter settlements were frequent and spread quickly as housing was mostly made of bamboo and thatch. In the 1980s, BSPP adopted a policy that prevented fire victims to rebuild their houses on land where fires had

10 For the four years proceeding, Ne Win had also led the Caretaker Government that took control of the country after the post-Colonial Independence Government found itself unable to control growing regional insurgencies and a strong influx of internally displaced peoples in its cities, particularly Yangon.

79 Chapter 5: Politics of relocation and Ward 9 case study occurred, which also opened up land for state projects (Seekins, 2011). As further discouragement to not return to the land where the fire had been, the state authorities did not issue identity cards to children who lived in unauthorised areas, including squatter settlements on the fire-affected land (Seekins, 2011). Squatters, essentially, then became informal citizens of not only the city without land rights but also of the country where they were born and lived for generations (Lubeigt, 1989). Relocations of squatters and fire victims were continuous during the BSPP era and by the early 1980s, Yangon was facing a housing shortage and a lack of services for the city’s inhabitants (Rhoads, 2018).

The dire economic conditions of the country, including food, fuel and other consumer shortages, combined with ongoing corruption within BSPP and “extreme political repression”, sparked multiple nationwide protests throughout 1988 (Thawnghmung, 2019, p.20). By early September 1988 there was “intense public anger” towards the socialist regime and a third of the capital’s population (1 million out of 2.5-3 million inhabitants) demanded resignation of the BSPP (Seekins, 2011, p.137). The military responded to the protests and popular uprising with extreme violence (Seekins, 2011). It is conservatively estimated that 10,000 people were killed nationwide (most were in Yangon, the capital at the time) during crackdowns on protestors (Seekins, 2011).11

Ultimately, the popular movement to overthrow the military regime was unsuccessful, despite the support of so many. On 18 September 1988 an internal coup d’état introduced the new military-run administration, the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) (Turnell, 2009). SLORC abolished the socialist system, introduced a ‘market-oriented economy’ and agreed to a general election. Severe violence and human rights abuses continued from the state in the succeeding years and forced labour was a common form of construction of national and local infrastructure (McCarthy, 2019). During the early 1990s, curfews were imposed, crackdowns on political leaders and parties that emerged during the uprising, and censorship on media and freedom of speech continued. Not adhering to these strict controls led to imprisonment (Khan, 1991).

Emerging from the bloody uprising was the National League for Democracy (NLD) Party, helmed by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.12 The NLD’s popularity rose quickly in the months and years following the uprising. By the time the general elections took place in May 1990, many people were too terrified to enter the voting crowds, fearful of more state-led mob violence seen in 1988 (Seekins, 2011). Even still, the NLD won in a landslide. Yet, instead of assuming power, many senior NLD

11 No records were kept of the deceased and few records remain of those imprisoned. Witnesses at the time were also afraid to speak out (Khan, 1991). 12 Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is the daughter of General Aung San, the martyred independence leader who was assassinated in 1947. NLD was co-founded by General Aung San’s independence colleagues, Tin Oo and Win Tin.

80 Chapter 5: Politics of relocation and Ward 9 case study members were imprisoned by SLORC. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi had already been under house arrest since 1989, where she would stay intermittently for 16 of the next 21 years.

The military regime (SLORC and then renamed State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) in 1997) remained in power until 2011 when a quasi-civilian government, the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) took control and began to undertake significant economic reforms. A democratic election was held in 2015 where the NLD again won in a landslide victory, this time taking on the role of government. The 2008 Constitution, however, requires that the military retains majority of the parliamentary votes as well as direct control of defence, border and home affairs, and significantly influences state and regional governance.

5.3 Administrative and Social Structures

Administratively, the military has a strong influence over all levels of government. The Ministry of Home Affairs governs the General Administration Department (GAD), which actively administers the 14 states and regions (Batcheler, 2018). Sitting within the states and regions are townships, which are further divided into urban wards and village tracts. The Ministry of Home Affairs also controls the military and police force.

Beyond the state and regional level of government, there is no provision in the 2008 Constitution for government administration at a local level, rather there is a “complex system of local governance” (Batcheler, 2018, p.10). This leaves open the intimate involvement of the union-level government in local matters and the GAD in all subnational governance matters. Township administrators, for example, are GAD officers. The township office provides guidance to the urban ward and village tract administrators (who are elected by local citizens),13 essentially creating an integral link between the military and local governance throughout the country, including infrastructure and service provision (Batcheler, 2018). The ward officers act on instruction from the township administrators to oversee law and order, monitor development projects, collect land revenue, register births and deaths, among other duties assigned by the township authority.

The Yangon City Development Committee (YCDC) consolidates the management of urban affairs for 33 of the 45 townships in the Yangon Region.14 It is responsible for planning and implementing land use policies, maintenance of parks, management of marketplaces, waste management, water supply and sanitation, and other duties expected of a local government (YCDC, 2014). YCDC was

13 Before 2012, ward and village tract administrators were directly appointed by the GAD. 14 A similar arrangement can be found in Mandalay and Nay Pyi Taw. Other urban areas in the country manage urban development and services on a township-by-township basis (Batcheler, 2018).

81 Chapter 5: Politics of relocation and Ward 9 case study established in 1990 (during the relocation program) to reorganise management of the city. Powers of the new YCDC included urban planning, adjusting the territorial boundaries of the city, and importantly, establishing foreign economic relations, including using foreign funds for development projects (Kraas, Yin May, & Zin Nwe Myint, 2010; Seekins, 2005). This meant that after several decades of isolation under the BSPP socialist regime, this new urban authority for the capital city became financially enabled through partnerships with international investors to clear squatters with military force for development purposes.

Today, YCDC continues to carry out the same functions around urban management and development (UNDP, 2015). There is one YCDC office in each township, mainly addressing local service issues (e.g. water supply, waste management, tax collection), though each of these responsibilities report back up to either the Union Government or the Yangon Regional Government for budget and approvals (UNDP, 2015). The more ‘strategic’ responsibilities (e.g. urban planning, engineering, health) are managed at City Hall in downtown Yangon (UNDP, 2015).

Even though the township authorities (with funds from the GAD via the military) are set up to be the local service providers, in practice, city residents generally source their own solutions wherever possible, especially for health and water (UNDP, 2015). To advocate for local services (e.g. concrete roads, additional teachers for schools, connecting houses to electricity), all applications need to go through the Ward Officer for him to take it to the township authority (YCDC representative but with direct lines to the GAD) (UNDP, 2015). In most cases, an additional layer of unofficial bureaucracy is also adhered to, using the head of ten (she ein hmu) or hundred households (ye ein hmu) to advocate to the Ward Officer.

Administrative structures are strictly hierarchical, and messages and reports are handed up, step-by- step to the relevant government authority. The Hundred Household Leaders (HHL) are informal gatekeepers between the local residents and formal governance structures (e.g. YCDC and Ward Officers). HHL are often supported by lower level community leaders of ten household leader. The role of these community leaders is not clearly defined in law but they act to support the Ward Officer (Batcheler, 2018). They also advocate on behalf of their neighbourhood for improvements in infrastructure or other needs for their communities (e.g. concrete roads), which they appeal to the Ward Officer for. These positions are voluntary and not institutionalised formally, but their role in the community for advice, problem solving, job referrals, advocacy and other tasks are well established in Myanmar cities.15 The HHL have maintained their informal position in society,

15 Similar structures exist in rural areas

82 Chapter 5: Politics of relocation and Ward 9 case study despite political changes in the country. HHL live in the community and are elected to their unpaid position. If they are well politically connected, this might imply better service provision in their area, as discussed in Chapter 7.

HHL are responsible for many activities in their community. U Kyaw Soe explains his responsibilities in his Park16 in Ward 9,

We are the administrator most connected with the Park members. We do general things like oversee funeral services, donations and special ceremonies. We have to collect family lists at election time, so people are registered to vote; we cooperate with health groups and in the rainy season we spray mosquito medicine outside of every house; we watch over strangers in the Park; we give recommendation letters for the Park members when they apply for jobs; and we address issues if neighbours are arguing.

5.4 Yangon Development History: Post-1988 and forced relocations under SLORC

There was very little construction in Yangon during the socialist era (1962-1988), a stark contrast to what was being built in other cities in the Mekong Region at the time (Seekins, 2011). By the mid- 1980s, the city’s infrastructure was in poor condition and in 1986 it was reported that “building conditions are rapidly deteriorating due to the absolute lack of maintenance…[including] water/ sewage pipe leaks” (UNCHS, 1986, p.31). Lack of access to materials for repairs was one of the main problems as international trade was still closed. The downtown core remained the commercial centre for the city where about one million everyday users travelled to for work (UNCHS, 1986).

With the city infrastructure having experienced a prolonged period of neglect and a strong presence of squatters in the city, one of the early actions of SLORC, the new regime in 1988, was a “major reshaping” of the urban areas (Skidmore, 2002, p.83). The motivation to redefine and restructure urban centres was not only about new economic and development opportunities, but also related to ensuring that there would not be future opportunities for anti-government protests like the country had recently seen. A response to the political unrest, need for infrastructure upgrades and economic expansion projects, saw the nationwide forced relocation of 1.5 million people to specifically designated relocation areas (UNCHS, 1991). The military referred to this relocation program as a ‘sites-and-services’ scheme, based on examples seen in Latin America during the 1970s (interview U Thaung Tint). Although, as will be discussed throughout this sub-section, the ‘sites and services’ scheme implemented in this case did not align with many of the recommended practices that were

16 The administrative neighbourhood structure explained in Section 5.5.2.

83 Chapter 5: Politics of relocation and Ward 9 case study occurring elsewhere due to the remoteness of the sites and destitution that the affected people faced. This section briefly explores the historical cases of relocations in Yangon, the reasons for the 1980s relocations and the living conditions in the relocation sites.

5.4.1 Creation of the Relocation Sites

Forced relocation in Myanmar is not new – Burmese kings, the colonial state and military powers preceding the BSPP had all forcibly moved people. Large-scale forced relocation in Yangon especially was used by the military to demonstrate control over populations and create law and order in the capital (Rhoads, 2019; interviews). In 1959, the military Caretaker Government (also led by General Ne Win) that preceded the BSPP socialist regime forcibly moved 195,138 people (15 percent of Yangon’s population and about half of the city’s squatter population) to three new townships that were incorporated into the city boundary, North Okkalapa, South Okkalapa and Thaketa (Than Than Nwe, 1998).

In the 1980s, YCDC (under the direct control of SLORC) mimicked the relocation scheme undertaken by the Caretaker Government to create three new townships in Yangon to relocate people to.17 These were Shwepyithar, Dagon Myothit and Hlaingtharyar (see Figure 5.1). Moving over 500,000 people to the city’s outskirts was a clear demonstration of the military’s ability to create order in the city, particularly after the events in 1988 (Seekins, 2011; UNCHS, 1991).18

Figure 5.1: Map of 1980s relocation townships in Yangon Source: Created by Isaac Cornish

17 The relocation program being studied was nationwide but YCDC managed the relocations for the capital city. 18 500,000 is a conservative approximation for the number of people who were forced to move in Yangon. It was impossible to tell exactly how many people were affected (Khan, 1991).

84 Chapter 5: Politics of relocation and Ward 9 case study

The addition of the three new townships was the most significant physical expansion of the city for 30 years, almost doubling from 346 kilometres (133 miles) squared in 1983 to 612 kilometres (236 miles) squared in 1994 (Than Than Nwe, 1998). This relocation scheme was bigger, more severe and more visible than any that had come before (Rhoads, 2018; Seekins, 2011; UNCHS, 1991). Included in the 500,000 Yangon residents who were forced to move were 200,000 squatters, according to the military’s records (Rhoads, 2018). The city’s informal settlements had swelled in preceding decades due to civil conflict elsewhere in the country and a lack of housing options (Seekins, 2011).

This sites and services scheme targeted a much broader populous than just the squatter settlements and included middle class residents with substantial housing, people who had title deeds, or adverse possession and had been living on the land for decades19 (Khan, 1991; Lintner, 1990 in Seekins, 2005). It also included housing schemes for civil servants in ‘VIP wards’ within the relocation townships, though reportedly largely uninhabited as the government workers found the distance too far (Than Than Nwe, 1998).20 Moreover, the sites and services relocation program was not limited to the capital city, as the Caretaker Government scheme had been in 1959, it was nationwide. The scale of the relocations post-88 was unprecedented for the country.

5.4.2 The reasons behind the post-88 forced relocations

The motivations for the large-scale relocations can be categorised under political, development and economic reasons. First, politically, the NLD supporters were seen as a significant threat to the military regime, particularly in the lead up to the 1990 elections as the substantial and unexpected amount of support Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and her party were able to mobilise in a relatively short campaigning period. Politically, the government wanted to demonstrate its strength and dissipate any pro-democracy strongholds out of the city centre (Bosson, 2007b; Rhoads, 2018). Areas that were particularly politically active during 1988 were razed and residents were moved (Khan, 1991). In Bahan, near Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s house where she was under house arrest, more than 500 houses (both squatters’ bamboo huts and titled concrete houses) were demolished and the occupants relocated (Khan, 1991). SLORC also targeted families squatting on religious, particularly Buddhist pagoda and monastery grounds including the squatter settlements near the landmark Shwedagon

19 Adverse possession is when ownership of a property is given to long-term occupants and when there is no record of other claims to the property. The title of the property is acquired by the long and uninterrupted possession of the occupant. After WW2, adverse possession was very common in Yangon as many properties had been abandoned, particularly by Indian and other international merchants who fled to their home countries and never returned. 20 Government workers of different ranks were incentivised to move to the relocation sites with larger land plots for their families and those in higher positions were given superior and not flood-prone land to redevelop their homes (Bosson, 2007b). Government workers were located to the same townships as those forced to relocate but lived in different wards.

85 Chapter 5: Politics of relocation and Ward 9 case study

Pagoda where Daw Aung San Suu Kyi gave a speech in 1988 spurring the anti-government and pro-democracy movement (Lubeigt, 2008). SLORC’s aim in forcibly relocating people was to isolate individuals and households who were thought to be involved in the pro-democracy movement to reduce the risk of future uprisings (Skidmore, 2002).

There was also a clear political motivation for the newly self-appointed SLORC to demonstrate state control of the population after the year of anti-government turmoil. A UNCHS report in 1991 states that, among other reasons, SLORC’s motive was to “improve the ability of authorities to introduce better standards of law and order” (UNCHS, 1991, p.61). Forcibly relocating large urban populations and retaking control of centrally located land in the capital and other urban centres in the country was a clear demonstration of power in a context that was a politically tense period for the country, especially in Yangon where the uprising was concentrated. In various ways, SLORC was borrowing from past colonial and socialist regimes to use forced relocations as population and land control measures (Rhoads, 2018).

Second, economically, the country was beginning to open up after almost 30 years in isolation. Infrastructure and building development and upgrades were planned for the land occupied by those forcibly relocated to the city fringe (Bosson, 2007b). Projects included new government and apartment buildings, hotels, markets and road widening projects. To SLORC, cities needed to be modernised and upgraded to become attractive to foreign investors, which meant clearing out densely populated squatter areas, including religious sites (Seekins, 2005). This echoes U Kyaw Soe’s quote that opened this chapter. For SLORC, gaining control of land to improve the appearance of the capital was an important step in taking control of the country and demonstrating that the pro-democracy movement activities of 1988 would not be tolerated under their reign.

Third, and closely related to the economic and political motivations, SLORC wanted to ‘clean up’ the city, similar to the motives of the Caretaker Government in 1959. It was thought that city beautification and renewal would entice foreign interests to invest in the newly economically liberalised nation. Removing the bamboo and thatch huts of the squatters made space for the development of new buildings, highways, markets and renewal of religious sites. Plate 5.1 shows the contrast between new development on the corner and old huts and houses behind.

86 Chapter 5: Politics of relocation and Ward 9 case study

Plate 5.1: New development contrast with old residences in Kamayut Township Source: YCDC, 1991

A military-published document on urban renewal in the capital, including creation of the new townships, reported that “the endeavours for modernisation of the City of Yangon occupy a primary role in the construction works carried out all over the country and are historic” (YCDC, 1990, p.1). Renewing the infrastructure in the country for public appearances was an important motivation for cleaning up the city and relocating political and poor ‘undesirables’ to the city fringe. In the early 1990s, SLORC produced short books advertising the new infrastructure that was built in the locations where squatters and others had been moved from. One book expounded, “SLORC rapidly embarked on reconstruction projects in the whole country and working day and night, made such speedy progress that even foreigners found it amazing and unbelievable” (YCDC, 1995, p.70). The political, development and economic reasons for the sites and services relocation program are later discussed in relation to Ward 9 relocatees in Section 5.5.4.

5.4.3 Living conditions in the relocation sites

People who were forced to move to the relocation townships faced numerous hardships. They were evicted from their homes and taken to the ‘new fields’ on army trucks (UNCHS, 1991) and those who showed reluctance to move were moved with force and anyone who protested was arrested (Khan, 1991). Records mentioned the notice to move as 7-10 days (Khan, 1991), though it is understood from other sources and my own data that this notice period varied between seven days and one month (Khan, 1991; interviews). The military proclaimed that they transported building

87 Chapter 5: Politics of relocation and Ward 9 case study materials for the relocatees and compensation was paid to help with building costs, though all accounts at the time and my own findings found that many (but not all relocatees) were offered transportation and there was no evidence of compensation paid (Khan, 1991). The independent expert sent by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights to investigate the forced relocations reported that people had been “ordered to leave their squatter homes and transported to the new towns without adequate preparation either physically or psychologically” (Professor Sadako Ogata in Bosson, 2007, p.90).

The newly populated relocation sites had a severe shortage of services, including education, health and employment opportunities, and basic infrastructure, including water, transport and electricity (Than Than Nwe, 1998). The reports published by the military claimed otherwise, stating that they provided hospitals, schools and markets to “satisfy the people’s social needs” (YCDC, 1990), but independent reports stated that these provisions were rarely given outside of the VIP zones and where they were, they were primitive (Khan, 1991; Seekins, 2005). Typically, there was one tube water well21 fitted per 100 households (Rhoads, 2018; interviews). There were no houses, sanitation options or electricity for the households (Khan, 1991, interviews). Secondary sources do not describe the education and health infrastructure in the relocation sites. My data indicates that these social infrastructures were not provided at the time of relocation but were established from the late 1990s and into the 2010s.

The three new townships where relocatees were moved to were previously rice paddy fields and therefore naturally prone to flooding (see Plate 5.2-5.3). The sites and services scheme provided some dirt roads in the relocation sites where housing plots were demarcated. Given the low-lying nature of the land housing plots sat below the flood levels (Rhoads, 2018; interviews). During heavy rains, including the long monsoon season that lasts for three months of the year, dwellings were floodable, as were the commonly fitted pit latrines that overflowed and contaminated the drinking water (Rhoads, 2018; interviews). These flooding issues and the public health concerns stemming from water contamination that were prevalent at the time of occupation in the late 1980s and early 1990s are still observed today (Forbes, 2015; interviews; observations). There has also been ongoing public health issues associated with mosquito-borne diseases, such as dengue fever and malaria (Khan, 1991; Myint Kay Thi, 2018).

21 Similar to borewells (that are usually drilled into hard rock), tube water wells are drilled into softer sedimentary grounds into an underground aquifer.

88 Chapter 5: Politics of relocation and Ward 9 case study

Plate 5.2: New construction on the left next to rice paddy fields in Hlaingtharyar Source: YCDC, 1991

Plate 5.3: VIP zone house for military personnel versus the ‘people’s area’ in one of the new towns Source: ABSDF, 1990

People who were forced to move to the relocation sites were provided land tenure rights, which they had to purchase. The high cost people paid for land title was remoteness from “all sources of life and livelihood” in a place “devoid of all facilities ranging from education and health to water and sanitation, and in the middle of abandoned rice paddy fields in waist-deep water” (Khan, 1991, p.20). As part of the ‘sites and services’ scheme, relocatees had to build their own houses. The estimated cost to do this was between 1,000 kyats (AUD $209) (Khan, 1991) and 30,000 kyats (AUD $6,263) (UNCHS, 1991), presumably varied according to whether the family had existing materials that they had brought with them, the quality of materials purchased if required (timber, bamboo, thatch, corrugated iron for roof sheets), size of the dwelling, the quality of the foundation laid (whether it sat above the flood line) and the cost of labour. With 500,000 people in Yangon forced to move to the relocation sites and rebuild their shelter plus the public development projects

89 Chapter 5: Politics of relocation and Ward 9 case study that replaced squatter settlements, high demand for building materials and labour led to high inflation with costs more than tripling in the first half of 1990 (UNCHS, 1991).

The remoteness of the relocation sites was particularly disadvantageous for the new residents (Plate 5.4). Many were employed in the dense, urban areas of Yangon. Though some middle-class urban residents were moved, most were poor who relied on informal casual service jobs in the city (Khan, 1991). The distance and cost of transport fares were an insurmountable burden associated with their new situation (Khan, 1991). Public transport was unreliable and costs continued to increase into the 1990s due to sustained price hikes on petrol (Seekins, 2005).

Plate 5.4: Looking east towards Dagon Myothit, showing the remoteness of the new towns Source: YCDC, 1990

Not only had relocatees been forced to leave their previous places at short notice to paddy fields outside of the urban edge of the city where there were no services or amenities, but they were also separated from their family, neighbourhoods and inter-class social networks. Strangers were now neighbours, wary of each other (Seekins, 2005). For the most part, relocation sites were homogeneously poor, as the civil servants and military personnel who were awarded plots in the VIP zones, did not venture into the commoner areas (Seekins, 2005). Rhoads (2018, p.296) summarised this as, “there was neither the socio-economic mix nor the intergenerational trust and knowledge that comes from established communities.”

The conditions in the relocation townships today are still poor. Shwepyithar, Hlaingthayar and Dagon Myothit (now Dagon North, South and East) are still considered remote, transportation costs

90 Chapter 5: Politics of relocation and Ward 9 case study remain high and traffic has worsened since tariffs on vehicle imports were lifted in 2004, making the commute to the downtown area, where many still work, even longer (Rhoads, 2018). In recent years, various newspaper features and reports have exposed the poor living conditions in these townships still today (Boutry, 2015; Forbes, 2015; Goddard & Kyaw Thu, 2015; YCDC & Save the Children, 2016). While not all are primarily focussed on those who were forced to relocate, the additional burden of being forced to move layers an additional complexity to the poverty narrative. Resettling people to new locations is difficult, even in favourable conditions. Resettlement and relocation in a post-socialist state after a year of tumultuous anti-government protests and a new military rule that was motivated to re-enter global markets, creating positive (or even neutral) outcomes after relocation is even more difficult.

5.5 Case study: The experience of Ward 9 relocatees

The context described previously help to understand the situation in Ward 9. Using data from interviews, the following sub-sections introduce the case study area and the spatial layout of the ward, followed by how plots were allocated during the relocation program, why people were moved there, their moving conditions and the spatial isolation of the area.

5.5.1 The creation of Ward 9 in 1990

The case study area, Ward 9, is located in Shwepyithar (literally translated as ‘Golden Town’), one of the new townships included in the sites and services relocation scheme. Situated in the northernmost part of the city, Shwepyithar extends about 10 kilometres north to south and five kilometres west to east. The township acts as an urban to peri-urban transition area with the southern sections of the township being urban and the northern wards representing a less-dense peri-urban form. Ward 9 sits more or less in the middle of this transition. Although industrial land was demarcated when the township was established, some of it is still unimproved and remains vacant. According to the 2014 Census, about 343,526 people live in Shwepyithar, the mean household size is 4.5 (4.3 in Yangon City) and about 81 percent of the township is classified as ‘urban’ (DOP, 2015).

Figure 5.2 shows key landmarks in the township. Ward 9 is located about three kilometres north of the Shwepyithar Hospital, built in the mid-1990s. Importantly, the original bus stop (Htann Chauk Pin Junction) is about five kilometres south and the ‘Welcome to Shwepyithar’ sign where many relocatees originally arrived is about five kilometres southeast of Ward 9. The Circle Line, a railway line built during the colonial era that loops the city connects to the downtown core, does not reach the township. A less frequent train stops at the Shwepyithar train station instead.

91 Chapter 5: Politics of relocation and Ward 9 case study

Figure 5.2: Key landmarks in Shwepyithar Source: Created by Isaac Cornish

Initially under the relocation scheme, three wards within Shwepyithar were established to accommodate forced relocatees: Ward 5 was occupied in 1988, Ward 6 in 1989 and Ward 9 in 1991. Other wards were established during this period to accommodate government workers, relocated farmers (whose land had become urbanised for the relocatees from the city) and a mix of squatter, government and urban relocatees (see Figure 5.3). Since 1994, other wards, for example Ward 17, a sparsely populated area with few substantial buildings, have been populated by relocated fire victims (interviews; observations).

92 Chapter 5: Politics of relocation and Ward 9 case study

Figure 5.3: Map of the origins of the wards in Shwepyithar under the sites and services relocation scheme Source: UN-Habitat, YCDC, & Alliance, 2016

93 Chapter 5: Politics of relocation and Ward 9 case study

Ward 9 relocatees were moved from central townships such as Ahlone, Bahan, Hledan, Insein, Mingalar Taung Nyut, Sanchaung, Tamwe and Yankin (see Figure 5.4). For many, the distance between their pre-displacement township and Ward 9 was anywhere between 10 and 30 kilometres (see Section 5.5.6 about spatial isolation). There are a number of Muslim households in Ward 9, as many people were moved from Bahan and Mingalar Taung Nyunt townships, which are known for their Islamic populations.

Figure 5.4: Map of Yangon townships relocatees were moved from Source: Created by Isaac Cornish

According to interviews, these central townships had access to markets, transport, schools and other urban services and people there had adequate access to basic necessities such as water, sanitation, safe shelter and electricity (interviews). One relocatee, U Tun Kyaing22 (Box 5.1) explained his living situation in Bahan before he was moved, “the electricity was connected to our house and five or 10 households shared the same well. Some richer households had their own well.” Many people described their previous dwellings as having wooden floors, bamboo thatch walls and a tin roof.

22 All names have been changed in this thesis to protect the identity of participants (see Chapter 4).

94 Chapter 5: Politics of relocation and Ward 9 case study

Some dwellings were two storeys. They commented on the “easy access” to the services and places they needed to go and knowing their neighbours “very well.”

Relocatees described their tenure in their previous places as having ‘a kind of contract’ with the landowner. They would pay a monthly tax or levy fee to the landowner in exchange for somewhere to live with electricity connection, a communal (or private if it could be afforded) well and easy access to economic hubs of the city. None described their pre-relocation living situation as ‘wealthy’ but they commented on how they had access to everything they needed. They thought that their tenure was secure. They did not consider themselves squatters because they were paying a fee and they had been living there for many generations with established water, sanitation and electricity services.

There were few opportunities for work, limited access to water, no shelter, poor communal infrastructure, no schools and the site was isolated. Ward 9 was not a desirable place to live at the time. As such, if people could move, they did. While they could not move back to the land they lived on before, they could stay with relatives in another part of the city. U Aung Khaing differentiated between the people who moved back and the people who stayed saying,

The people who stayed here are content with their life. For the people who moved back, they are the people who wanted to develop. They wanted to be educated people and rich people. How could they live in this place and be those things? For the people who stayed and live here now, we are normal people like construction workers, trishaw drivers and taxi drivers. We are not educated. We are not rich.

U Aung Khaing’s reflection indicates that the people who have remained in Ward 9, who largely make up the dataset for this research, had few other options.

Others moved back to the central parts of town temporarily and kept the land in Shwepyithar as a future option. The Ward Officer in 2016, U Min Tin, for example, was forced to move to Ward 9 with his parents when he was younger. He was a construction worker at that time but lived on the construction sites while his parents lived on the land that was allocated to them in Ward 9. He now lives in the ward on the land his family were allocated.

Based on observations and data collected during the fieldwork, Ward 9 today can be described as an urban hub with varied access to infrastructure and services. Many of the 17,000 or so residents rely

95 Chapter 5: Politics of relocation and Ward 9 case study on services offered outside of the ward but within Shwepyithar, such as places of worship,23 health services and wholesale markets. Many parks have a Dhammayoun built within the greenspace of the public park land (see Figure 5.6).24 Larger Buddhist monasteries and pagodas were located outside of Ward 9 within Shwepyithar.

Along the main street in Ward 9, there are various services available. Tea shops serve simple salads, samosas and other meals and most of them have a TV installed. There are also liquor shops, small general store kiosks, health clinics, bike repair shops and mechanics along this road. It is busy with mobile food hawkers (Plate 5.5), and cooked snacks travel along to access the different parks.

Plate 5.5: Mobile food hawker selling sliced mango in front of a tea shop

There are numerous bus stops located on the main roads within the ward that connect with neighbouring townships and places of interest. Trishaws (saiq-ka – an adaptation of ‘sidecar’), a bicycle with a two-person carriage attached to the side, are another common way for people to get around for short distances (see Plate 5.6). Although taxis are too expensive for many who live in the ward, many taxi drivers live in Shwepyithar and Ward 9. The main roads within the ward have been concreted and the main electricity lines run along these roads. Some smaller roads that run from the main road have also been concreted but these become less common the further one travels from the main road. Water and sanitation are privately developed by the household and vary in quality. During fieldwork, I observed that drains were often filled with rubbish and contained water, even eight weeks after the rainy season had stopped. Houses are a mix of 20x60 and 10x60 feet (12x18 and 6x18 metres) and made of mostly wood and bamboo with corrugated iron roofs. Some houses

23 Non-Buddhist religious sites are not permitted in Ward 9. Christian, Islamic and Hindu communities need to go outside of Ward 9 to access churches, mosques and temples (though some informal use of houses is tolerated for churches in Ward 9) (see Chapter 8 for further explanations of non-permitted worship places). 24 Dhammayouns are multipurpose Buddhist community halls used for meditating, resting, festivals, sharing food, sharing Buddhist texts and other activities.

96 Chapter 5: Politics of relocation and Ward 9 case study were brick or a mix of brick and wood (see Chapter 7 for more details about physical infrastructure).

Plate 5.6: Trishaw driver on Ward 9 local side street

People living in Ward 9 are mostly dayworkers and are a mix of people who were forced to relocate in 1991 and newcomers who have moved there voluntarily over the years. Some people kept their lands partly built to dissuade squatters occupying the land and lived downtown with relatives until they reached old age when they started occupying the land again. Others sold the land at some point over the past 25 years due to overburdened debts or moved elsewhere to seek other opportunities. Newcomers who have voluntarily moved to Ward 9 are a mixed demographic group with some being poor renters who were pushed out of the Irrawaddy by Cyclone Nargis in 2008 and others who are more affluent moving into the area to establish money lending businesses, restaurants, tea shops and liquor stores. In recent years, wealthier Yangon residents have moved to Ward 9 and Shwepyithar for more open space and bigger houses, which has generated investment by the government into the infrastructure. This thesis focusses on the lived experiences of those forced to move in 1991.

5.5.2 Spatial layout of Ward 9

Ward 9 is planned in a grid system that has several roads running west to east, with one being the main commuter and commercial road, and several more roads that are smaller running north to south (see Figure 5.5). One Ward Officer oversees the ward area (see Section 5.3 for details on the

97 Chapter 5: Politics of relocation and Ward 9 case study responsibilities of a Ward Officer). There are two primary schools and one combined middle / high school in the ward. A market hall replaced an informal market area in 2016.

Figure 5.5: Map of Ward 9 Source: Created by Isaac Cornish

‘Park’ areas, referring to the public parks that are located in the centre of one of the residential grid blocks, divide the ward into 29 neighbourhoods (see Figure 5.6 for a typical layout of the Parks).

Figure 5.6: A typical layout of the Parks in Ward 9 Source: Created by Isaac Cornish

98 Chapter 5: Politics of relocation and Ward 9 case study

Each Park has about 100 households and there is a HHL, who, as explained in Section 5.3, provides support and community leadership for the residents. The public parks are green spaces but are flooded with rainwater for 10-11 months of the year, creating some significant health problems. There is an easement that runs along the back of the house lots. In most cases, it is overgrown with water-plants, flooded and was where pit latrines were located in a separate outhouse.

5.5.3 Plot allocation and land titles

There are several types of land categories in Myanmar. One of the most common in urban areas is ‘Grant land’, which is most relevant to the relocation scheme for this research. Grant land is owned by the government but can be leased to a person or entity for a stipulated period, ranging from 10 to 90 years (UNHCR & UN-Habitat, 2008). The grant lease period can be extended, and the deeds can be transferred to another person. In accordance with the Land Acquisition Act, the government can take back the land if they do not wish to extend the lease, or during a lease period if the land is of state interest (UNHCR & UN-Habitat, 2008). Under the latter circumstance, the owner of the lease is entitled to compensation (UNHCR & UN-Habitat, 2008). Land use, titling and ownership in Yangon is managed by YCDC (UNHCR & UN-Habitat, 2008).

Ward 9 relocatees purchased the lease of the land for a 60-year period. Because the land had been converted from agricultural land to grant land during the relocation program, the leases are referred to as ‘grants.’ Relocatees explained that the grants could not be swapped for other land or traded for other assets (e.g. a shop front or goods). Grants can, however, be sold at a cash value and the property rights transferred to a new owner. Today, almost all relocatees who were interviewed had used their grants as collateral for loans, placing their tenure security at risk if they are unable to pay back the loan and the interest, as discussed in Chapter 6.

Some households who were squatters in the original location were also given grants in the relocation program while others could not afford the cost or were not included in the program because they did not have a local ‘family list’. In Myanmar, family lists record family members and their date of birth. If someone moves between townships, cities or states/ regions, they are required to update their family list to their new location. In urban areas, the HHL formally registers the change of address and updates the details. If people who were forced to move did not have a family list registered in their current location because they were informally (or illegally) living on that land, then they did not have the opportunity to purchase a grant from the government. Explaining about his friend, U Kyaw Soe said,

99 Chapter 5: Politics of relocation and Ward 9 case study

He still rents land here. He was renting land when he lived on monastery land in 1990 and was forced to move. But he wasn’t given land here because he didn’t have a family list then. His neighbours there were given land because they had family lists.

In these situations, people would have rented land (a form of sub-lease) from the grant holder. Some people also voluntarily relocated in 1991 when the ward was first established and these households were usually young males who were not on a family list so did not receive a land parcel as part of the relocation program, buying land from on-sellers.

Plot allocation in Ward 9 during the relocation program was randomised via a lottery system, causing previously intact communities to dissipate throughout township, ward and Parks. Even if two neighbours from the previous place both chose Shwepyithar as their relocation site, there was no guarantee that they would be moved together. However, some relocatees in Ward 9 managed to move as a group from the same neighbourhood when they coordinated to pay 4,800 kyats as a collective for each of their plot titles. Hindu families who were living on temple land in Ahlone, for example, were evicted by the military but paid the land payments together so that they could move to the same ward.25

In the case of relocatees who were forced to move to Ward 9, many had no savings, having lost their savings in the recent demonetisation episodes (see Section 5.2). In many cases, families needed to borrow money at very high interest rates to pay for the relocation land (Seekins, 2005). The per capita annual income in the country in 1990 was 1,748 kyat (AUD $365), meaning that if a single-income family was relocated then they would have needed several years of savings available within a week or few weeks of being given notice to move (UNCHS, 1991). If people could not afford the lease then they were forced to borrow money from friends, family or money lenders with high interest rates. The alternative was to informally subdivide the land into 10x60 feet (3x18m) and on sell the other half to squatters without family lists who were not included in the relocation program or to land speculators. U Thaung Htun, a HHL, explained “we got a money loan from the rich people who lived near us. Sometimes, two households would combine their savings and loans to just take 10x60 feet (6x18m) of land each.” In some cases, these options severely impacted the households’ ability to recover from the relocation shock, spiralling them into an ongoing borrowing routine.

25 This Park in Ward 9 is predominantly Hindu families who were forced to move together from the temple in Ahlone. Similarly, another Park is predominantly Muslim families who were forced to move from Mingalar Taun Nyunt and Bahan.

100 Chapter 5: Politics of relocation and Ward 9 case study

5.5.4 Reasons why Ward 9 relocatees had to move

There were economic, development and political reasons for Ward 9 relocatees to be moved, reflecting the motivations explained in Section 5.4.2. Some were informed by the government that they intended to build a hotel, port, passport office, police station or market on the land where they had been living. Or, if the relocatees returned to their previous place then they could see these official developments under construction. Many were not directly told the reason why they had to move; they simply followed the orders from the military personnel who informed them.

Political motivations were also speculated on by relocatees. U Kyaw Soe (also quoted at the beginning of this chapter) who was about 18 at the time remarked,

I think the government didn’t want people and students to be able to gather easily like in the past. That’s why [the military] spread people away to different places that are far from the city. Not only people, but they also moved government universities out of the city.

Others had similar opinions about why they were forced to leave their central locations for the relocation sites on the outskirts and this is consistent with the state-owned news (notably from the Working People’s Daily) that was circulating. U Thaung Htun, another HHL, explained that he lived in Bahan, close to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s house and that’s why he was forced to move. Ward 9 relocatees knew that there were also political reasons for the relocation scheme and that fire incidences were often used as an excuse to move many people.

5.5.5 Moving conditions

U Tun Kyaing (Box 5.1) is a Muslim man who was moved to Shwepyithar with his parents and four siblings in 1991 when he was 18 years old. He recalled, “The military destroyed the land we lived on in Yankin township. There was a fire and the government took the land from us and forced us to move here. The fire was not that big though, only one house was burnt down but still, all of my neighbours and us, we all had to move.” About a month before destroying their land, the military gave a warning to the local ward office. U Tun Kyaing explained, “they didn’t give us a reason why we were forced to move but we know that they were going to destroy our houses.” During this month, his family saved their income and packed their belongings, including their housing materials (wood, iron sheets, other household items). U Tun Kyaing remembered that they “had to be ready to be picked up by the truck on the date that they told us. There was no other help.” In almost all interviews, relocatees recalled having a week to one month to move.

101 Chapter 5: Politics of relocation and Ward 9 case study

From the time of the notification of the eviction, U Tun Kyaing’s family saved for the 4800 kyat (AUD $1002) for the grant in Ward 9. He explained, “we didn't sell clothes or jewellery or borrow money from neighbours like others. We were able to save enough.” In Yankin, his mother was the main breadwinner, selling akyaw (a Myanmar snack) and betel on the side of the road. His father was in poor health and could not work. His brother was a painter and also contributed to the household income and sometimes they got money loans but not very often.

Even though U Tun Kyaing’s neighbours from the original place moved to Ward 9, they were moved to different Parks. He said, “I didn’t know the new neighbours and my old neighbours were spread to different places because of the different ticket numbers.” Lack of familiarity with social networks meant that relocatees did not know who to trust or who to ask for assistance because they were strangers. There was also deep unfamiliarity with the physical landscape. Relocatees described the land as still being rice fields with dirt roads that carved their way through the agricultural land, slightly raised above the flooded paddy. They felt discouraged to leave their plots because everywhere looked the same. The relocation and recovery experiences of U Tun Kyaing and other relocatees are explored in later chapters, including how people have developed income generating activities over the years, managed finances, and contributed to the built environment.

Box 5.1: U Tun Kyaing and Daw Kyi Kyi Win

Today, U Tun Kyaing, his wife, Daw Kyi Kyi Win, and three children live with his brother and his family, and their surviving sister. In total, 14 people live in the two- room house on a 10x60 foot (3x18 metre) block of land, having sold the other 10x60 foot block in 2000 to repay debts. Their wooden house with a tin roof is accessed by a small bridge from the road that crosses the drain. There is no furniture in the house, only a few hammocks in the corner, used for sleeping, a small fan and one hanging lightbulb that was dull and did not illuminate the room. They live on the main road across from the new market hall built by the government in 2016. They run a small shop in front of their house that sells salads.

U Tun Kyaing still does some painting work but mostly helps support his family through the stall they have at the market hall. Daw Kyi Kyi Win and their eldest daughter take turns to run the stall. He said finding enough money for his family continues to be is his biggest worry.

102 Chapter 5: Politics of relocation and Ward 9 case study

5.5.6 Spatial isolation

The transport infrastructure in the early 1990s meant that people in Ward 9 needed to travel by foot or trishaw five kilometres or more to the nearest bus station (Htann Chauk Pin Junction, see Figure 5.2).26 The buses were infrequent and congested. The time it took to travel from Ward 9 to downtown areas was about 2-3 hours, depending on how long people had to wait for the bus and whether they could afford to pay for the trishaw or not. Daw San San Aye (Box 6.2), who has continued doing laundry in Bahan since being relocated said, “After we get home [from work], we have to cook for the family. We would start cooking dinner at 9pm.” The physical distance between the new location where they worked and the time it took to commute was extremely difficult.

Households also had to take into account the additional expense of transport. Before relocation, relocatees remembered being centrally located with easy walking access or short bus access to places they needed to, yet after relocation, there was a strong reliance on buses and trishaws. U Kyaw Soe also agreed, “In the previous place, we could access everything easily. After we moved here, there was nothing.” Increased transport costs chew into the daily wages of informal and casual workers’ incomes, as well as the time lost travelling between work and dwelling (Brown & Lloyd- Jones 2002). U Tint Shwe (Box 6.2) explained, “It was very easy to find work in Bahan. After we moved here, it was very difficult to find work because the work places were very far away and we had transportation problems.” He explained how his income did not change but he had to now pay for buses, which meant less money for the family.

Today, the remoteness of the township is still felt by its residents. U Ko Lwin explained, “There is high unemployment in this area. We cannot get jobs easily and when people try to find work, the employer doesn’t want to hire them because we live far away from the job. This is a difficulty people are facing.” When asked if this was still the case in the 2010s, he replied, “Yes, because it’s a long way to go to the downtown area so the owner of the company doesn’t want to hire people from Shwepyithar.” The travel time between Ward 9 and downtown Yangon in 2016 and 2017 during fieldwork was still 2-3 hours by bus. Although bus services have increased frequency, the traffic, poor road infrastructure and tendency for bus drivers to wait at a bus stop for more passengers27 all contributed to long delays in overcrowded buses.

26 The train station was further and not a convenient transportation for many Ward 9 residents. 27 In 2016 and 2017 during fieldwork, bus lines were privately owned and managed. Bus drivers were contractors and paid according to the number of passengers they collected and tended to wait at busy stations to attract more passengers, which ultimately caused delays for commuters who had already alighted. In 2017, the Yangon bus service was overhauled, organising over 300 bus lines into 70 routes, capping fares to 300 kyats (AUD $0.30), and introducing an airconditioned line, the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT).

103 Chapter 5: Politics of relocation and Ward 9 case study

5.6 Conclusion

This chapter has situated the research and the Ward 9 case study in the social, political, administrative and economic context of Myanmar and Yangon, particularly focusing on the socialist era between 1962 and 1988 and the beginning of the market-oriented military regime post-88. This overview of the historical political developments of Myanmar is important to understand the rationale for the relocation program and how the pervasiveness of the military regime in daily life continued until very recently. The chapter has highlighted how the political, social and economic conditions of the country at the time of the sites and services relocation program led to the harsh conditions that the relocatees endured after being moved to Ward 9. Comparing the moving and living conditions to the post-88 relocation scheme, it is possible to see how it differs to the large- scale rurally located ‘resettlement’ literature described in Chapter 2 where livelihood and physical assets are provided (albeit to differing standards). The political, economic and development priorities for the military regime after the 1988 uprising was to open up the economy to foreign investors, control dissident populations and clear the informal and squatter settlements in mid- and downtown areas for new development.

Relocatees were moved to a remote site in Yangon without adequate provision of water, sanitation, electricity, housing and communal infrastructure (roads, streetlights, public space). Access to markets and work opportunities were also made difficult as a result of the isolation, limited public transport and broken social networks caused by moving from central, heterogeneous areas. Relocatees found themselves highly exposed to impoverishment risks described by Cernea (2000) after relocation – being spatially isolated, socially disconnected, homeless, jobless and marginalised. As the case study area was largely homogeneously poor, they also lacked economic resources to help each other. As the following chapters demonstrate, the impacts of the relocation have been severe and long lasting. The relocatees have developed actions to rebuild the livelihood assets that were damaged or lost during relocation. The actions that people developed to rebuild their livelihood assets as a result of being relocated was influenced by the political, economic, religious, socio-cultural factors explained in this chapter. The lack of support has led to low expectations from the state to develop access to necessary infrastructure and services. The following chapter explores how relocatees developed actions to recover access to income- generating activities.

104 Chapter 6: Regaining access to economic assets

Chapter 6 Regaining Access to Economic Assets

After we were moved, there were only a few customers in Shwepyithar [who I could sell journals to]. I had to travel back to the downtown area to make money in the 1990s. I still do that today. I have to get up at 4am to get to work. If I lived in the downtown, though, I wouldn’t need to wake up early in the morning and wouldn’t need to pay the transportation fees.

U Aung Kyaw has had various jobs over the years trying to find a profitable occupation to support his two children and wife.

6.1 Introduction

The spatial isolation and lack of services in Ward 9 at the time of relocation, combined with the disconnection of social networks rendered the relocatees jobless and marginalised. The previous ways of finding and sustaining work, including relying on proximity to economic hubs, produce markets and intra-community and interclass social networks had been destroyed. Skidmore (2002, p.84) describes the relocation sites in Yangon in the mid-1990s as having “chronic unemployment and underemployment.” As described in Chapter 5, at the time of the relocation, the site was isolated; void of basic services and severely limited opportunities for income-earning activities.

This chapter explores how relocatees in Ward 9 have developed livelihood actions to gain access to work and economic capital through social capital and drawing on other resources, including human capital and access to loans. Their actions were driven by economic necessity, given that access to cash is an essential part of urban livelihoods, as described in Chapter 2. The circumstances of the relocation site in Ward 9, however, presented challenges to developing economic livelihood actions, including the social disarticulation, spatial isolation and marginalisation impoverishment risks. The relocatees needed to work around these challenges to access income to survive. The economic actions they developed have been flexible and fluid, occurring simultaneously or separately.

This chapter contributes to the economic asset component of the second sub-research question, How have livelihood actions fulfilled the economic and physical asset needs of the relocatees, and how have these changed over time? It addresses this question by exploring the actions that relocatees have developed and implemented to fulfil their basic economic needs. As Ward 9 relocatees were

105 Chapter 6: Regaining access to economic assets moved over 25 years ago, their economic livelihood actions have changed over time, adapting to the broader political, economic and social circumstances in the city and country. Therefore, this chapter addresses what livelihood actions relocatees have developed to regain access to their economic assets and how these have changed over time.

This chapter is structured around the livelihood actions developed in Ward 9 to address the loss of economic assets. In total, five livelihood actions were identified, grouped under three subheadings relating to social capital, human capital and managing household finances. Following this Introduction, Section 6.2 presents how relocatees found work through social capital networks. Two actions were classified under this heading, the first is finding work through bonding social capital networks and the second is finding work through bridging and linking social capital networks. Section 6.3 explains the third livelihood action, which was how relocatees adapted to the limited work opportunities in the relocation site by developing new skills and enhancing their human capital. As part of the marginalisation impoverishment risks explained in Chapter 3, relocated households often find themselves in isolated locations where their skills are obsolete (Cernea, 2000). Section 6.4 examines the economic actions around managing household-level finances. In this section, the final two actions were identified, comprising pooling resources within the household unit and relying on credit to afford daily expenses. The household unit is a valid in studies in poverty and forced movement of people as it is the unit that plays the greatest role in adapting to new circumstances (Shami, 1993). Section 6.5 summarises the chapter.

6.2 Using Social Capital to Find Work

Social capital provides people the opportunity to secure benefits through the social networks that they are a part of. For Ward 9 relocatees, fostering and investing in social capital and being included in social networks has led to material benefits. These networks were the key to being able to find work opportunities and diversify or gain new skills after relocation. Where social capital was more limited, pre-relocation connections had been broken and there was restricted access to developing new networks, opportunities to restore economic assets were reduced. Because the displacement process had physically disconnected relocatees from their networks and thereby weakening the social fabric from their previous communities, social capital for all relocatees was diminished after relocation. Relocatees were re-establishing and building new social capital from a lower base. Even still, each new network or access to existing networks was an integral part of rebuilding access to economic assets.

106 Chapter 6: Regaining access to economic assets

How people use networks via bonding, bridging or linking capital, to access work or other economic opportunities varies but commonly people rely on ‘group members’ who have connections with the outside, making the most of the different kinds of contacts they have (Crow, 2004; Portes, 1998). Poor neighbourhoods in cities depend on relations with kin, neighbours and friends who are similarly placed to them to find work (Portes, 1998). If their network is limited, so too are their opportunities to find work, access credit, build savings and secure assets (Woolcock & Narayan, 2000). Based on recollections from relocatees, they had a more limited network immediately after relocation which also limited their economic opportunities. It took many years to regain access to economic assets, and many households still struggle to earn enough income to afford their daily expenses including food, schoolbooks, clean water and transport. For these households, relying on credit and becoming indebted has been the main economic action they employ (see Section 6.4.2).

The time dimension is important to understand the development of social capital in Ward 9. Despite the challenges, relocatees attempted to maintain their bonding, bridging and linking social capital networks from their previous locations. Those who could maintain those connections were able to sustain access to work (though with significantly longer commutes and transport costs) after relocation. Bonding social capital was particularly prevalent immediately after relocation where people would ask for referrals from peer networks in their previous locations. A short while after relocation, it became clear that new social capital relations were also available, through intentional relations formed by meeting neighbours and building trust between new relations. Prior to arriving in Ward 9, these new bonding social capital connections were non-existent and were formed based on proximity and common experiences. Bridging social capital has been useful for some relocatees in limited ways. Linking social capital also had a role to play in establishing work and economic assets after relocation. The three different kinds of social capital relations formed the basis for relocatees to develop economic actions.

The next two sub-sections explain the livelihood actions developed by relocatees to find work through bonding social capital (Section 6.2.1) and through bridging and linking social capital (Section 6.2.2).

6.2.1 Finding work through bonding social capital

Despite the spatial isolation and social disarticulation in Ward 9, relocatees relied on bonding social capital from their previous locations to find work in the immediate years after they were forced to move. For some, this was their only option as they did not know any of their new neighbours or

107 Chapter 6: Regaining access to economic assets other connections in the new location to whom they could ask for referrals. For example, relocatees like U Tun Kyaing (Box 5.1) found work through their peers in their previous locations. He used his friendship network in Yankin to find work and learn the required skills to be a painter after he was moved. He said, “When I was in Yankin, all the neighbours and friends were painters. After I moved here, I still have contacts there and so I started painting.”

The relocatees’ old friends and neighbours and their extended family, created opportunities to regain access to work and income generating opportunities. For interviewees who did not know anyone and had difficulties meeting new neighbours and making connections, these old network connections have been essential. The process of displacement and relocation disconnects social networks and “tears apart the existing social fabric” (Cernea, 2000, p.3666). Cernea refers to this as ‘social disarticulation’, explaining that the “net loss of social capital…compounds the loss of natural, physical, and human capital… and has long-term consequences” (Cernea, 2000, p.3666). Even though social capital was diminished after relocation, relocatees were desperate to maintain some sense of connection with previous places for the purposes of employment or borrowing money (see Section 6.4.2). Maintaining and building new networks are necessary and critical parts of regaining access to work and economic capital (Southerton, 2004).

Even in present day, bonding social networks are important for finding work. During fieldwork, interviewees frequently said that they found their work through friends. U Aung Kyaw (quoted at the beginning of this chapter), a journal (short newspaper) vendor from Hledan has worked in various jobs over the years since being moved to Ward 9: furniture making, owning a shoe shop, selling lottery tickets and operating a betel shop. He said about his current job, “I found the job through my friend who I worked with while I was selling lottery tickets in Hledan. When I was unemployed, he found a job for me…Most people rely on their friends to find a job.”

Family has been another important source of referrals for work and income generation. U Tin Min Phyo (Box 6.2), who was forced to move when he was a child explained, “I do some work at the Russian Embassy to trim the trees…My brother-in-law is an interpreter at the embassy, and they contact me through him.” Others reported about referring their brothers or sisters to find work too. U Aung Win worked in Malaysia for many years and found jobs for his brothers there. In another example, U Khin Zaw (Box 6.1) is a professional gold leaf maker for pagodas explains that his grandfather taught him the trade and he has been doing this job for many decades. His experience working at the large Shwedagon Pagoda has been a good reference for finding new projects but mostly his brother, who works at a gold business, finds jobs for him. U Khin Zaw has relied on his bonding social capital to initially learn the necessary gold leaf tradesman skills through his

108 Chapter 6: Regaining access to economic assets grandfather and later to find work through his brother, even though he has experience working on the oldest, largest and most famous pagoda in the country. Even with this bonding social capital foundation, U Khin Zaw still finds it very difficult to maintain regular income and feel financially secure. The increased transport costs and time it takes to reach work opportunities has been a major barrier for U Khin Zaw.

Box 6.1: U Khin Zaw

U Khin Zaw, a 52-year-old Buddhist man, is a Hundred Household Leader (HHL) who was moved from Mingalar Taung Nyut in 1991 with his parents and sister. His sister now lives on the land that they bought from the government. He and his wife bought 30x60 foot (9x18 metre) land nearby in 1993. He said, “at that time, no one wanted to buy the land.” They have sold land over the years due to difficulties in maintaining a regular income and increasing living expenses. U Khin Zaw’s health was very poor. He suffered from asthma and had to take several puffs of his inhaler to keep talking during the interview. His poor health impacts his ability to work. They have tried to manage the finances through selling land, money gifts from his children and informal money loans. They mentioned that they often do not have enough money for food or medical expenses. They take on more work in the summer when the weather is good and save money for the other seasons.

Their house today had bamboo walls, a wooden floor and a tin roof, was particularly small and poor quality, compared to other relocatees. There were plastic sheets pulled under the roof where the tin had been damaged, but there were sizeable holes in the walls, allowing rain to penetrate. Spare clothes hung from the walls, alongside his volunteer fire fighters’ uniform and a picture of him hung proudly on the back wall that separated the front room and the kitchen. The pedestal fan was held upright by a rope tied to the wall, made of bamboo sticks. There was a distinct slant to the floorboards. He and his wife live in the hut with his apprentice. Their children are now adults and live elsewhere in Shwepyithar.

New relations developed between strangers who were forced to move to Ward 9 from different parts of the city. As explained in Chapter 5, relocatees were moved to allocated plots within ‘Parks’28 and households within the same Park became familiar with each other due to the proximity of their houses, borrowing food, water or other needed resources. Park members shared

28 The administrative neighbourhood structure explained in Chapter 5 Section 5.5.2.

109 Chapter 6: Regaining access to economic assets similar socio-economic status and experiences of being forced to move. It became essential for people to develop networks beyond their families and old networks in their previous location to extend their household resources and find work opportunities. This was a new form of bonding social capital in Ward 9 between neighbours who shared similar social identities (Szreter & Woolcock, 2004).

Daw Soe Soe, a local shopkeeper, explained how she was friendly to her neighbours in Ward 9 so they would buy salads, drinks and snacks from her shop that is in front of her house. The connections she has made with her neighbours has been important to her, not just for good business, but also for building trust and developing a network of support she could draw on in times of need, including lending or borrowing small amounts of money (see Section 6.4.2.1 and Chapter 8). Relocatees like Daw Soe Soe have developed intentional relations with their neighbours to establish and grow their business. Over time, these new neighbours have become sources of work opportunities, either through direct employment, such as digging pit latrine holes, electrical work or selling vegetables, or for contacts to find work outside of Shwepyithar.

In some instances, these intentional bonding social capital relations transformed into friendships. U Tun Tun, a HHL who works as a bricklayer relies on his local network to find work, explained “I work within Shwepyithar. People come and find me to hire me if they need work done and most of them are my friends.” He explained his friends also tell their friends about his work, which helps to expand his network outside of Ward 9 and throughout the township. Originally though, these friends were strangers and unknown people to him. For Daw Soe Soe and U Tun Tun, the commonalities within their respective bonding social capital networks are shared trauma through relocation, similar socio-economic status, all Bamar Buddhist29 and living in proximity.

In more recent years, religious networks have also been an avenue to secure income generation via small business loans. Within religious communities, some religious leaders collect money from individual households and distribute the funds as interest-free loans or money gifts for families, particularly single parent families. Money is strictly used to set up a shop or acquire resources to make materials to sell elsewhere (e.g. grass brooms). U Mung Hpan, the Christian pastor in Ward 9 explained how they do not give money directly to households, but they use money collected from the congregation to set up a small shop for a business for families in need. This is done as a gift to the family but if the family makes a profit and choose to pay the money back to the church, then the

29 Bamar are the majority ethnic group in Myanmar, representing about 68 percent of the total population (Thawnghmung, 2019). The rest of the population includes smaller ethnic groups, such as Shan, Kayin, Rakhine, Mon, Kachin, Chin and Kayah. Buddhist is the majority religion in the county, representing about 87 percent of the population (Thawnghmung, 2019). These majority representations are also reflected in Ward 9.

110 Chapter 6: Regaining access to economic assets church accepts it. Similarly, the Islamic community leader, U Myint Swe, explained that they have a dedicated fundraising group that supports orphans, the elderly and widows. He explained that one of the projects that used this money was to help a “widowed mother to start a business and open a shop in front of her house.”

Finding work through bonding social capital has occurred in various forms in Ward 9 over the years, through family, friends, new intentional relations and religious networks. Bonding social capital was an essential action for relocatees immediately after being moved and continues to be an important function for accessing opportunities today.

6.2.2 Finding work through bridging and linking social capitals

Most of the bridging social capital networks in Ward 9 were established based on location between social groups and then used to find work. U Tin Min Phyo (Box 6.2) established a wide network of bridging social capital with people who he knows and trusts but who are not friends and are part of different social groups (e.g. ethnicity, religion, socio-economic class) to find work through. He explained the threat of leaving this established network. He used to work as a construction worker on building sites downtown with his father and brothers but since diversifying his skills to include tree trimming and digging pit latrines, he now relies heavily on the local area to find work. He helps people with house maintenance (building or reinforcing walls or roofs), building pit latrines, trimming trees and general handy-man work. He said, “In this community, most people are dayworkers or work in the factories. All of the people from this Park and local area know me and they are friendly. If I moved new place now, I would be jobless again. Nobody would know me to hire me for their job.” Combined with acquiring new skills, U Tin Min Phyo’s work and access to labouring jobs are closely linked with the bridging social capital he has built in the local area over the last 25 years.

In Ward 9, there were relatively few examples of relocatees like U Tin Min Phyo who used their placed-based connections to make bridging networks to find work. Granovetter (1973) discusses the ‘strength of weak ties’, where a scattered network of weaker social connections or via separate social groupings can be more valuable to those seeking work than a small, inward-looking social network. Similar to Putnam’s (2000) bridging social capital, weak ties facilitate communication between different groups and reveals how, for some, sparse weak ties are more valuable than dense networks (Portes, 1998). In the case of U Tin Min Phyo, having a diverse network of weak ties has become a successful way to work and earn an income.

111 Chapter 6: Regaining access to economic assets

Linking social capital, which is a vertical connection across power differentials, has been more valuable in re-establishing other necessary assets, including communal physical infrastructure (e.g. roads) (see Chapter 7). One linking social capital network that has been available to relocatees, are employment agencies that assisted people to find work, particularly for children in housework or adults seeking work overseas, especially in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. Relocatees and newcomers avoid using agents where possible because it cost at least one month’s salary, an overhead that many families cannot afford. Agents were used after the relocation and have remained present as an avenue for some households to find work outside of their bonding and bridging social capital networks.

Another example of linking social capital has been maintained interclass social networks. Daw San San Aye (Box 6.2), for example, who was moved from Bahan Township did laundry and cleaning for richer families before she was moved with her children and husband. She explained that since being moved to Shwepyithar, she makes the three-hour journey back to her previous neighbourhood in the mornings to find laundry and housekeeping work. She explained that she has to get there early to be available for the work, which was found through her contacts with wealthier families in the area and sometimes her friends. If she is late or if work is not available, then she has to pay the transportation costs without any income for that day. This example shows how connections with inter-class networks from previous locations have been pivotal for finding new or continuing work immediately after relocation. Some of these connections have been maintained and are still used today, as is the case with Daw San San Aye who continues to do laundry in Bahan.

Accessing bridging and linking social capitals to find work has been important in expanding opportunities beyond the existing networks and resources held within a household and community. Based on the data collected, bridging social capital has been difficult to develop in Ward 9 as a result of the relocation program consisting of mostly homogeneously poor urban dwellers and the isolation of the site from inter-community networks. Linking capital, just as uncommon, has also been pivotal for accessing opportunities for work overseas and from interclass networks. Many people are now wholly employed within Shwepyithar township, having been able to find enough work locally through bonding, bridging and linking social capital networks they have built over time who are based in Ward 9 or surrounding areas.

6.3 Reskilling and Adapting Human Capital to Find Work

As explained in Chapter 3, human capital refers to the quantity and quality of labour resources available to households, that is the level of education and skills individuals obtain (Rakodi, 2002b).

112 Chapter 6: Regaining access to economic assets

The ability to secure a livelihood in urban labour markets is more directly affected by the presence or absence of human capital in the form of education and skills than in rural areas (Rakodi, 2002b). In Ward 9, there is a direct relationship between human and social capitals. People demonstrated self-reliance and reskilled through their bonding or bridging social capital networks contacts offered them a job and trained them while working.

Some relocatees interviewed explained that before relocation, when they were living in central downtown parts of Yangon they sold produce or snacks at stalls near their house or nearby in busy thoroughfares. Like others, Daw Thet Htar (Box 7.1), a mother and widow, sold akyaw (Burmese snack food) while her children were at school before being displaced. She discovered that this was no longer possible in Ward 9 because her neighbours did not have spare money for snack food. She said, “Here, it was very difficult to make money. In Ahlone, I had many customers around the factories. People had money. But, not here in Shwepyithar. Nobody had money to buy akyaw here.” The city itself was poor, emerging from one of the worst attacks on civilians in 1988 (see Chapter 5), yet interviewees explained that they could sell goods and produce more easily then. After they were moved to Ward 9, there were fewer people, almost all of whom were poor and there was no casual walk-by traffic for the stall holders. For many months after being relocated, people were busy rebuilding their lives, trying to gain access to basic necessities like work and shelter. There was no time to linger or purchase goods. People were forced to adapt to the limitations in their new location.

Cernea (2000) mentions that those relocated and resettled often find their pre-existing skills obsolete in their new location, reinforcing marginalisation impoverishment risks for those affected. This was true in Ward 9, where relocatees found that the skills they had used for work in the previous place were not always enough to maintain the same income levels and quality of life before relocation. In Ward 9, some skills were no longer useful or have become unprofitable over time. In other cases, circumstances within the family or neighbourhood prevented people from continuing with their work, requiring them to reskill and find new work.

Daw Yamin Aye explained some of the income difficulties her family faced after being moved to Ward 9 and how she needed to adapt her approach to income-generating activities due to changing family dynamics. She started making mote lone kyaw and mote phat htoke and other Burmese food for her husband to sell at tea shops. After he passed away, though, she did not have any contacts in the tea shops to sell the food to. Her circumstances reflect a mismatch between human and social capitals, where she had the skills and resources to produce food for tea shops (human capital) but no avenue to operationalise her outputs (lack of social capital). She tried selling vegetables, touring

113 Chapter 6: Regaining access to economic assets around the neighbourhoods in the relocation areas but could not make a profit doing this, so she got a job as a bricklayer and was trained by her colleagues, gaining new skills (human capital). At this stage, her social capital was critical to finding work, gaining new skills and supporting her family financially. Shortly after though (in about 2006), she became sick and her children had to stop going to school and start working. Now, she sells salads and snacks from a small shop in front of her house so she can manage her own hours if she feels unwell. She has relied on multiple livelihood actions, reskilling where needed, to make a living for her family.

In another case, U Sa Lai described how he reskilled over the years, responding to external factors that affected his income. He started working as a trishaw driver (similar to Plate 5.6 in Chapter 5) when the bus station was far away from the residential neighbourhoods. He explained, “I started driving the trishaw to support my family’s income.” He had quit school to work and “didn’t have any special skills.” Other trishaw drivers taught him how to drive the three-wheeled bike over one or two months and explained how much to charge when going to different places. In this case, U Sa Lai relied on his new networks, made through bridging social capital to increase his human capital. He rented his trishaw for 70 kyat (about AUD $14-17)30 per day. He eventually stopped riding the trishaw in about 2000 because the bus stop was moved closer to the residential areas, making the work unprofitable. Newcomers could now easily walk to the bus station and did not need a trishaw to travel the short distance. He then started another occupation, found through a friend (bonding social capital), unloading boxes at the factories and continued this job for 15 years. One year before the interview he had trained as an electrician. His friend (bonding social capital) is an electrician and taught him the necessary skills and employs him on jobs in Shwepyithar. He has adapted and gained new skills when conditions outside of his control made his livelihood unprofitable, drawing on his bonding social capital to find work.

In Ward 9, those who were unable to adapt to their new situation and lacked social capital to facilitate access to work or reskilling have been more susceptible to the damaging effects of the relocation process. These households are more vulnerable to ongoing shocks and stresses and have been more likely to rely on credit and accumulate debt (See Section 6.4.2). In a study of livelihood outcomes after resettlement caused by the Three Gorges Dam in China, but reflective of broader resettlement and relocation trends, “resources are reduced and labour markets change” after displacement and those affected “are faced with a limited range of choices for the re-establishment

30 The official exchange rate (US $1 = 6.20 kyat) listed in UNCHS (1991) report was used for this conversion and were then converted to AUD using the Australian Reserve Bank historical exchange rate for 1991 and 2000 when U Sa Lai stopped driving the trishaw. The rates were comparable. The official and unofficial value of the Myanmar Kyat has fluctuated greatly over the years.

114 Chapter 6: Regaining access to economic assets of their livelihoods” (Wilmsen, Webber, & Yuefang, 2011, p.33–34). The livelihood actions that people employ in response to the changed environment is reflective of an individual’s or household’s adaptive capacity (Wilmsen et al., 2011). Those who are unable to adjust their livelihoods to adapt to the long-term changes in their circumstances are unlikely to achieve sustainable livelihood outcomes (Scoones, 1998).

Even when individuals or household adapted to the limitations of their new location (similarly low- income poor neighbours, spatial marginalisation alongside transport barriers and limited access to new markets) and reskilled accordingly, they still faced challenges to make ends meet. Daw Hla Thaung’s husband was a truck driver before they were moved but he “faced difficulties getting to his workplace.” He reskilled to become a bus driver and needed to “get a special bus driving license, do extra training and get a medical check-up.” The family had to pay for each of these qualifications and they needed a loan to be able to afford it. Daw Hla Thaung could not recall exactly how much the medical certificate was but it was several times more than his daily wage of 8,000 kyats (AUD $8).31 Her husband’s income is the only wage in the household, as she cannot work due to poor health (kidney stones). Daw Hla Thaung explained that food for the five household members is about 5000 kyat (AUD $5) per day. She cannot afford the medication for her kidney stones, costing 30,000 kyat (AUD $30) per month.

Even though it was easy for Daw Hla Thaung’s husband to find a job after being qualified and he has been continuously employed for 20 years as a bus driver, the family are still in debt and manage multiple loans to be able to afford daily expenses, including food and medical expenses. Their loans are with wealthier neighbours with 20 percent interest (the arrangements of these loans are explained in Section 6.4.2). Their 13-year-old daughter was going to quit school to start working and contribute to the family income. Even though this family developed new human capital and reskilled, the change has not been profitable, and the family continues to struggle.

Whether due to external factors, such as the remoteness of Ward 9, the restricted transportation options or the homogenous urban poor newcomers, or family-based factors like death, marriage or children, relocatees and newcomers have had to reskill to adapt to the changing circumstances. Reskilling and expanding human capital assets, such as bus licenses, learning to ride a trishaw or lay bricks, can bring potential benefits to the income for the household. However, increased or more sustained income is not guaranteed, as in the case of Daw Hla Thaung’s family. Bonding and bridging social capitals are instrumental in fulfilling the new skills gained through human capital

31 A bus driver’s wage in Yangon is based on the number of passengers who ride on his route. If fewer passengers use Daw Hla Thaung’s husband’s service on any day then he brings home less than 8000 kyat.

115 Chapter 6: Regaining access to economic assets expansion. Relocatees have been required to demonstrate self-reliance, developing both their social and human capitals, reinventing their networks and skills to try and get ahead to reduce the risk of accumulating too much debt. Livelihood actions have had to be fluid and flexible, responding to changing situations (Zoomers, 1999).

6.4 Managing Household Finances

Cities are organised around cash-based economies, making cash and income-generating activities essential for survival in urban areas. As discussed in Chapter 3, the spatial, social and economic marginalisation associated with relocation can have irreversible and long-lasting effects on those forced to move and increase their risk of impoverishment (Cernea, 2000). In Ward 9, household expenses increased with needing to find and secure shelter (land and physical infrastructure for the dwelling) and people were worse off financially as a result of the move (e.g. moving costs, lost immoveable assets in previous place). In addition, as explained in Chapter 5, relocatees needed to pay 4,800 kyat (AUD $1002) in 1991 for their land grant in Ward 9, which significantly set back any savings that households had prior to relocation.

Immediately after relocation to Ward 9, relocatees needed to maintain access to work and income generating activities to pay for the cost of being relocated. Constructing shelter and paying for transport expenses to access work, markets, family and school were major costs for the relocatees that were not necessary in their previous locations. People were starting from a less secure financial base than they had before being relocated. Securing (or re-securing) economic assets is a priority after forced relocation and displacement and there was extraordinary pressure to maintain household income. Households needed to be self-reliant and could not depend on external help to develop their economic needs. To manage their finances at a household level, relocatees used two main livelihood actions: first, pooling resources within the household (sub-section 6.4.1) and second, borrowing money and relying on credit for survival (sub-section 6.4.2).

6.4.1 Pooling resources in the household

In Ward 9 this action was developed as a result of the relocation and was commonly used to access to economic assets and everyday survival. Relocatees do not recall needing to make these sacrifices, such as quitting school and overcrowding, in their previous places. Developing this action after relocation, as a result of the circumstances they were forced into (spatially isolated, socially disconnected, becoming more self-reliant), indicates that their livelihoods were relatively secure in their previous locations. Pooling household resources in Ward 9 meant making sacrifices in the household to contribute to the collective short-term gains for the group.

116 Chapter 6: Regaining access to economic assets

Pooling resources is a commonly used action among urban poor and is not distinctive to those who have been forced to relocate (Beall, 2002). It is a way for members to combine opportunities for a shared benefit, uniting resources between or within families, or building (or reinforcing) a valuable social network (Beall, 2002). This sub-section explains three main ways that households in Ward 9 pooled their resources for economic survival: removing children from school to increase the number of income earners, overcrowding family members into houses, and taking on more work.

First, immediately after relocation one of the ways households pooled resources was by children in the house quitting school to find work and contribute to the household income. The children’s occupation depended on their age. U Tun Kyaing (Box 5.1) who was 18 when he was moved with his family quit school and started working as a painter and on construction sites after his family were moved. Others aged 5-10 years worked in tea shops, sold fruit or iced lollies. For example, U Tin Min Phyo (Box 6.2) was moved with his family when he was 7 or 8 years old, quit school and started working to contribute to the family income. He said, “First, I sold ice-lolly and ice cream. In the morning, I sold Bain Moke (Myanmar traditional food) at 4:30am or 5am. When I became an adult, I started working as a bricklayer and digging holes as a kind of dayworker.”

Families continue pull children out of school for additional income whenever there is a shock or change of circumstances in the household. Daw Yamin Aye, for example, said that her children started working when her health deteriorated about 10 years ago, and she could not afford to send them to school. This action can be seen today, in the second generation of relocatees who were forced to move as children or who were born in Shwepyithar. Daw Aye Mya, who was widowed in about 2008 had to support her children. Her youngest daughter had quit school in 2015 because she could not afford the school expenses.32 Her daughter now sells vegetables touring around the neighbourhoods Parks, as her mother used to do. Daw Hla Thaung explained during the interview that she was also about to pull her daughter out of school to start working, due to overburdened debts and ongoing health expenses.

Education is a significant factor in reducing the chances of the next generation to escape poverty (Wratten, 1995). Poverty results from discriminatory structures that mean when urban poor households are less able to access (or continue with) education, it has a flow-on affect to the next generation. Explained in Chapter 2, the indicators of urban poverty, including income, health, access to infrastructure and services (including education) are interlinked and are amplified during periods of shock or stress, such as displacement, loss of employment or deteriorating health

32 School fees have been free in Myanmar since 2015 but expenses such as pencils, books, donations to monks and teachers are still prohibitively expensive for many.

117 Chapter 6: Regaining access to economic assets

(Wratten, 1995). Sometimes this sacrificial-type livelihood action of removing children from school is also an investment as Beall (2002) explains that when it is not possible for all of the children in a household to continue with schooling, older children leave school early to find paid work so that younger sibling/s can continue their education. Children working is an example of Beall’s (2002) ‘using social responses to alleviate economic situations’ categorisation of livelihood decisions explained in Chapter 3.

Second, households improve their income by increasing the number of families living in the same house. Beall (2002) refers to ‘risk spreading’, that is, diversifying and increasing the number of income sources and sharing land with others. U Tun Kyaing and his family, for example, share a single storey, two room (kitchen, living room) house on a 10x60 foot (3x18 metre) plot with his brother’s family and their sister. There are 14 people in total in the house. One family member slept outside on a bamboo platform under an awning (getting wet when it rained) as there was no space inside the house. The families managed their incomes separately but were able to share the expenses of house repairs, tube well construction and maintenance, and coal for cooking.

Last, over the years, households have increased the number of jobs or number of working hours to raise their incomes. People would take on more work, for example selling snacks or vegetables in the morning and doing laundry in the afternoon (e.g. Daw Thet Htar, Box 7.1). U Tint Shwe (Box 6.2), now aged 59, was a construction worker and a tree trimmer when he was younger. Since accidentally falling from a coconut tree five years ago and injuring his face and shoulder, he is limited with how much work he can do. He explained his daily routine after relocation, “I would wake up at 4 am and go to work at 5am. I worked at a part time job between 7am and 8am and then my main work at a construction site 8am to 5pm. After my main work finished, I would go back to the part time job and get home at 9pm.” Similarly, his wife, Daw San San Aye, aged 55, continues to travel to Bahan to do laundry and housekeeping. Her routine has not changed much since 1991 when they arrived in Ward 9. She leaves home at 5am to get to work by about 7am, works for six or eight hours and then returns home to cook dinner for the family, sleep and return the next day.

118 Chapter 6: Regaining access to economic assets

Box 6.2: U Tint Shwe, Daw San San Aye and U Tin Min Phyo

U Tint Shwe and Daw San San Aye were moved to Ward 9 from Bahan with their seven sons. Their daughter was born in Shwepyithar in the mid 1990s. They still have the original 20x60 foot (6x18 metre) block of land but one of their sons (U Tin Min Phyo) lives on half of that land in a separate house. The households share a tube water well, kitchen and toilet.

U Tint Shwe and Daw San San Aye’s house has wooden floors, bamboo and tin walls, and a tin roof. At the time of the interview, they were in the process of upgrading their kitchen with a brick and sand (not mortar) floor. Inside, they had a small TV, a fan, a storage cupboard, two terracotta water pots used to distil the pumped water and a clock. A large stuffed bear that belongs to their daughter hangs in a bag in the back of the living room on a red plastic sign, which forms a partition between the main room and the sleeping room. The kitchen and toilet are at the back of the lot.

Both U Tint Shwe and Daw San San Aye explained how the long distance and extra cost to travel, combined with the necessity to take on more work due to additional expenses and fewer opportunities, left very little time in the day for other activities. Together, their income was enough for their family before they were moved. After relocation, even though the money they earned increased over time, the increased cost of living and additional costs like transport have made it difficult. Daw San San Aye was getting paid 5000 kyat (AUD $5.20) per day in 2016 to wash five baskets of clothes. When she works, she asks for some extra money for transport fees and sometimes employers give her food for lunch, which she brings home to her family to share for dinner. Even though a fifth of her daily wage (1000-1200 kyats (AUD $1-1.20) was spent on transport expenses, and she could only work fewer hours due to the travel distance. Her and her husband have not been able to find work in Shwepyithar.

Taking on more work, or working longer hours, has been a necessary action for different households at different times over the years since relocation. This is reflected in the demographic of the interviewees whose average age was 50. It was difficult to find participants who were available to talk who were not retired or too unwell to work (see Chapter 4 for information about the sample).

Pooling resources within the household to increase the income for its members has been an important action for almost all relocatees, at one time or another, since being relocated. Households have consolidated their resources by pooling their possessions and opportunities to afford daily

119 Chapter 6: Regaining access to economic assets expenses through children working to share their income, reducing household expenses by overcrowding and people working longer hours and more jobs.

6.4.2 Relying on credit, accumulating debt

There are several common reasons why relocatees and newcomers have accessed credit to afford daily expenses. First, there were significant barriers to maintaining access to work in Shwepyithar immediately after relocation (see Chapter 5). Relocatees needed to expand their efforts to bring cash into their households and after the actions explained in the previous sections were exhausted or insufficient to meet daily expenses, they turned to credit. Second, most households are dayworkers, relying on a daily wage from their trade. If a trishaw driver does not have enough clients in a day, a small produce seller or shop keeper does not sell enough to pay their shop expenses, or, like Daw San San Aye (Box 6.2) who might travel to Bahan for laundry jobs but there is no work available, their daily wage is reduced and cannot afford the daily expenses for their family. Relocatees and newcomers alike in Ward 9 seek out credit and become indebted simply because they could not earn enough on a single day to cover their expenses. Lastly, unexpected costs, particularly health related expenses, are another reason newcomers and relocatees seek out credit. Almost all interviewees had some kind of current money loan (or multiple loans) and all had had a loan in the past. In many cases, they have accumulated debt that is difficult to service.

In most cases, money loans in Myanmar are organised informally. It is estimated that less than 20 percent of the country’s population have access to formal financial services and, as a result, informal provision of credit (i.e. outside of the formal banking sector) is widespread in both rural and urban areas (LIFT, 2012). In Ward 9, there were three kinds of credit that relocatees and, more recently newcomers, have sought: private informal loans, pawn loans and microfinance group loans (explained in the sub-sections below). These are common across Myanmar (Boutry, 2015; Duflos, Luchtenburg, Ren, & Chen, 2013; Foerch, Ki, San Thein, & Waldschmidt, 2016; LIFT, 2012). After explaining the various kinds of credit, the final sub-section below explores some of the impoverishment risks associated with overaccumulation of debt.

6.4.2.1 Private informal loans via bonding and linking social capitals

Private informal loans from money lenders carry “additional risks and expense”, charging 20-30 percent interest per month (Duflos et al., 2013, p.iv). In Ward 9 informal loans were commonly reported to be 20 percent. These loans are uncollateralised, making them available to those who do not have valuable goods to use as a guarantee. Loans are usually provided by wealthier households

120 Chapter 6: Regaining access to economic assets who might own a shop in the neighbourhood or ward and they “live principally from lending money to the poor” (Boutry, 2015, p.16).

In Ward 9, interviewees explained that to borrow money from an informal money lender, they must be on good terms with them. A local money lender, Daw Aye Soe, explained, “I only lend to people who can be trusted and who are familiar with me” because she is then more confident that she will be repaid. It is therefore important for people to have a broad social network that includes access to richer neighbours who can lend them money if they need it. This is an example of linking social capital.

In other cases of private informal loans, relocatees also found valuable financial support from their bonding social capital networks. Extended family, for example, who lived in other parts of the city and were not forced to relocate were sources of money gifts, interest-free or low-interest loans, finding work or accessing new economic markets. For some families who could not afford the initial outlay for the grant, they borrowed money from extended family or friends. U Myo Min, for example, got an interest-free loan from his friend to pay for the grant in Ward 9. Previously a metal trader, he found it difficult to travel downtown to continue his business and could not find work in Shwepyithar so he sought support from his family who lived in another township, Kamayut. They provided food for his family in the early months after being relocated. He still gets money loans from his family for medical expenses for his wife, who has diabetes and needs regular treatment.

Family and friends are an important source of informal credit for the poor (LIFT, 2012). This practice of small loans between neighbours who are familiar with each other and between family members continues today. In Section 6.2.1, Daw Soe Soe explained the intentional relations she formed with her new neighbours. Using these bonding social capital networks, she described the fluid money exchange and reciprocity in her neighbourhood. People borrow money from someone and return the favour another time. She explained that it is a loan, not a gift, “The interest is based on the amount of money that we take. If it’s under 10,000 kyats (AUD $10) we don’t need to pay interest. If it’s over 10,000 kyats, the interest is 20 or 30 percent.” These agreed interest rates vary between circumstances and networks. Similarly, financial loans and gifts from family to pay for essential physical infrastructure is also common (see Chapter 7). These acts of sharing and reciprocity echo the work of Scott’s (1976) moral economy.

Accessing private informal loans depends heavily on the bonding and linking social capitals of the borrower. Loans to money lenders in the neighbourhood requires a broader network of linking social capital where trust and a relationship has been developed between the two parties where one

121 Chapter 6: Regaining access to economic assets retains a position of power the other. Whereas loans to family and close friends including neighbours who share a similar social identity depend on bonding social capital.

6.4.2.2 Credit from pawn loans

Pawn loans are a collateralised loan that are very common in rural and peri-urban parts of Myanmar (Zaw Zaw Htwe, 2016b). Pawn shops generally accept gold and jewellery and sometimes other household items like longyi (skirts/ clothes), TVs and pots in poorer areas and pawn brokers charge anywhere between five and 30 percent interest per month, depending on the collateral and the amount borrowed (Boutry, 2015). Pawn shops offer cash quickly and Daw San San Aye (Box 6.2) recalled the most desperate time she needed cash in a hurry, “When I was giving birth to my daughter, I had no money and had to sell my longyi for the transportation fees [to the hospital].” People deal with pawn shops on a regular basis, using them as some might use a local bank. Pawn shops form part of the residents’ linking social capital network.

At the time of relocation and shortly after, the only valuable asset relocatees had was their land grant and so families put their documents up as collateral. During interviews, it became clear that all participants had, at some stage since relocation, used their land title as collateral to get access to cash. Some had reclaimed the documents, while others have not because they defaulted on their loan, unable to afford the repayments. Daw Soe Soe explained, “I have a grant but it is at the pawn shop. I have to get it back but I don’t have enough money to take it back right now. If we cannot take the grant back, we will lose it and will have to move from this place. I am afraid that I cannot take it back.” U Tun Kyaing (Box 5.1) said that he had taken money loans in the past, using his grant as collateral, and he had been afraid that he could not pay back the money and the interest. He sold half of his land (10x60 feet, 3x18 metres) to repay his debts saying, “if I didn’t take it [the grant] back, I would have lost this land too. This is very common, to put the grant in the pawn shop.” When people cannot service their loan due to a shock or setback (e.g. poor weather prohibiting them from performing their job, lower clientele, a tube well breaking, a health problem), the debt becomes unmanageable. Selling or renting out land has been a common action amongst the relocatees to manage debts.

6.4.2.3 Institutionalised microfinance loans

Institutionalised microfinance loans are another example of uncollateralised money lending (see for example work by Grameen Bank and BRAC). It is based on group lending, or ‘group loans’, where individuals borrow collectively and social pressure from the group encourages members to repay. Such group loans have become common in Ward 9 and are organised within Parks to ensure

122 Chapter 6: Regaining access to economic assets accountability between members. Interest for a group loan varies but is around 2-3 percent per person with about 10 people in a group, which essentially spreads the default risk across the members. If a group member cannot pay back their part of the loan, U Tun Tun, a HHL, said that the borrower “runs away and the other members have to pay for it.” According to U Tun Tun, this happens every 6-12 months in each Park. Microfinance institutions have been in Shwepyithar since at least 2002 with Save the Children’s microfinance scheme, ‘DAWN’ (Turnell, 2005).

Group loans are another example of linking social capital and in most cases, they can only be used for business ventures. Daw Thin Thin Nyo said she “sold rice last month. But I couldn’t make much profit. This month, I bought clothes and gave my daughter to sell in her office.” In addition to the reciprocal lending exchange between neighbours in her Park, Daw Soe Soe also gets group loans, explaining, “I need to buy the supplies for my shop so I get a money loan for that every 6 months. I pay it back every two weeks. Since the interest is so small, we could also say that there is no interest at all. I like the group loans better than the private loans. It's more social too.” For the urban poor, accessing credit can improve the standard of living and opportunities for work enormously (Patel & Mitlin, 2001). Credit can improve circumstances for the urban poor, creating “the means for greater employment and income-generation” and allowing “the poor to smooth consumption and meet social, religious and other obligations” (Turnell, 2005, p.1).

6.4.2.4 Risks associated with debt accumulation

Accumulating debt through informal private loans or pawn shop loans, particularly those that carry large interest repayments, however, can be severely detrimental to the borrower. Many poor households in Yangon (relocated and otherwise) are in a continuous cycle of debt, using credit to buy basic daily necessities like food, which in turn reproduces their poverty (YCDC & Save the Children, 2016). This is also true in Ward 9 where many interviewees (including Daw Yamin Aye) takes a loan every year. Others, such as Daw Hla Thaung, have multiple loans to different lenders. When there is a reliance on credit to survive and afford daily necessities, debts accumulate, and families sink even further into poverty.

Debt accumulation coupled with low social capital leads to even further poverty. In poor neighbourhoods, social capital is used as a ‘buffering mechanism’ against threats, risks and shocks, where people rely on each other in their social networks for emotional, financial or other kinds of assistance (Lyons & Snoxell, 2005; Moser, 1998; Rakodi, 1999). In particular, if a household or community has lower bridging and linking social capitals, which is often the case after relocation (Hillig & Connell, 2018), they are more vulnerable. People, and especially the urban poor use

123 Chapter 6: Regaining access to economic assets bonding social capital to reinforce and build solidarity, which is essential for survival but does not necessarily alleviate poverty (Woolcock & Narayan, 2000). In Ward 9, those who could not rebuild their bridging and linking social capitals networks after relocation have not regained the ‘buffering mechanism’ used for financial and other support (Rakodi, 1999). These households have accumulated debt and are in particularly vulnerable financial situations.

In one example, Daw Than Tin had weak social capital explained how since being forced to move to Ward 9 in 1991 with her husband and five sons, she has struggled to attain any sense of security. She was a dayworker prior to being evicted and could not afford the fee to the government for the land grant. While her neighbours could ask for interest-free loans or money gifts from extended family, she did not have the same support from her bonding and bridging social capital networks and needed to get a loan from a money lender (linking social capital) to pay the government for the grant. She used the grant as collateral for another loan from a different money lender to pay someone to build a house for her family and for daily living expenses, entering a new level of debt she had not experienced before relocation and losing her only valuable asset – the grant. The poor create informal networks to survive and address their economic insecurity by using reciprocity as a functional part of their survival strategies to cope with daily challenges, including finding work (Lomnitz, 1977). Through this social support via social capital, people are able “to cope with poverty, unemployment and wider processes of social exclusion” (Forrest & Kearns, 2016, p.2142). Yet, if bonding and bridging social capital networks are lacking, the capacity to cope with shock and stress is reduced. Women, particularly widows in the case study were especially vulnerable due to their lack of bonding, bridging and linking social capital networks. They were more likely to make intentional relationships with their neighbours to generate reciprocal support from their community.

Daw Than Tin explained that she did not have a choice except to pay people to help her with building the house. Her bonding and bridging social capital networks were more limited than others and, consequently, had to pay more for the basic necessities like shelter. Without a trusted network of family and friends to ask for help from, Daw Than Tin’s only option was to seek high-interest money loans. This initial phase after relocation set her finances back. She has moved several times over the years, with each move her dwelling has gotten smaller and her debt and insecurity more. She has experienced ongoing and perpetual debt since being relocated to Ward 9. Even at the time of the interview she was finding it hard to make ends meet, “It’s very difficult to pay for food nowadays. Sometimes, I have to give my longyi (skirt) as a retainer for food.” She was in the process of moving into her son’s house, also in Shwepyithar, because she could no longer afford the rent at her previous house.

124 Chapter 6: Regaining access to economic assets

Accumulation of debt in Ward 9 has become the norm for some households, representing a negative example of extending beyond the household resources. Reliance on credit for daily expenses and the ongoing amassing of debt means that people are unable to strategise other work or economic actions. Their focus becomes solely on repaying their debts and are less available to other opportunities that could benefit their human, social or other capital assets, and limits available funds for making daily purchases, such as food or water, explained by Satterthwaite (2001) in Chapter 2. While access to credit for the urban poor, particularly in the form of microfinance loans, can break cycles of poverty, relying on borrowed money for daily food, school, medical and other expenses is a sign of extreme poverty (YCDC & Save the Children, 2016). In Ward 9, access to the microfinance group loans is only possible if using the money for business purposes only. This leaves high interest loans and loans from friends and family available for all other uses of credit. If someone does not have the appropriate bonding or bridging social capitals for loans from family or friends, they are then forced into 20 percent (or higher) interest loans from private informal lenders in their neighbourhood. For most people in Ward 9, loans have inhibited freedom to respond to economic opportunities, reduced their real income and has put tenure security at risk.

6.5 Conclusion

This chapter has explained the actions developed by the Ward 9 relocatees. Relocatees had no expectations of the government to support them in rebuilding economic assets. As a result, a strong self-reliance approach was developed by the relocatees, creating and implementing livelihood actions to respond to the lack of economic opportunities available to them. These actions were in direct response to the impoverishment risks that they were experiencing, particularly joblessness, which is the risk of losing employment and access to work opportunities as a result of being forced to move (see Chapter 3) (Cernea, 2000). The experiences of Ward 9 relocatees reflect the findings in the literature review in Chapter 2 that when people are physically removed from social networks and economic hubs, they are significantly disadvantaged. Not only did spatial exclusion in Ward 9 mean a rupture to social capital, it also resulted in increased travel costs, increased time on transport to access opportunities and inaccessibility to markets and other workplaces.

Economic actions were developed to address the disadvantages brought about by relocation, including spatial, social and economic marginalisation. Access to bonding and linking social capitals have been central to reconnecting access to economic opportunities after relocation. Bonding social capital proved useful in finding and sustaining work, either with pre-existing networks or developing intentional relations with neighbours over time. Borrowing money from family was also an important use of bonding social capital. Linking social capital with interclass

125 Chapter 6: Regaining access to economic assets networks was a significant way to get work, though not commonly discussed. Linking social capital was mostly discussed in accessing informal money loans from money lenders. When relocatees have a lower social capital base, those individuals and household had fewer opportunities. Because money loans are granted based on familiarity with the borrower, if a household or individual did not have connections with a money lender, then they relied on pawning their collateral at pawn shops to access cash advances. Further, where there was a mismatch between human and social capital, for example, reskilling could not result in improved income without the network to supply goods and services to. Bridging social capital has had relatively limited influence on how Ward 9 relocatees have regained access to economic assets after being forced to move.

Livelihood actions have been flexible and fluid. Today, actions continue to respond to the spatial isolation of the relocation site, but in different ways to 25 years ago. As the population density has increased in Ward 9 and in Shwepyithar, there are now more opportunities to work locally. Fewer people mentioned reskilling in recent years, perhaps reflecting the diversity of opportunities, or increased accessibility, to find work to use the skills they had already acquired. In other ways, actions are still very much the same, in terms of finding work through social capital networks (new or existing), pooling household resources and relying on credit to afford daily expenses.

Several of the households interviewed have failed to overcome the challenges of regaining access to sufficient economic assets, or families have developed actions that are what Beall (2002) refer to as ‘using social responses to alleviate economic situations’. Removing children from school decreases their ability to earn improved incomes in the future, reducing their potential growth of human capital through lack of education (Beall, 2002). Pawning tenure rights for a cash injection has been a way of ‘spreading risk’, risking secure tenure to manage economic assets (Beall, 2002). These examples, together with entering into an unserviceable amount of debt can reproduce the poverty cycle, as explained in Chapter 2. These are examples of different consumption decisions that urban poor relocated households in Ward 9 have had to make in their constricted decision-making environment about economic actions. While none of the relocatees interviewed have had success in strategising their way out of poverty, most have ‘circumstantially’ survived, and they consider themselves lucky to be managing their assets satisfactorily.

The following Chapter 7 explores the actions that relocatees developed to rebuild their household and communal physical assets in Ward 9, highlighting the competing priorities relocatees had. At the same time as dealing with the shock of relocation (see Chapter 5) and attempting to secure economic assets (explained in this chapter), they were also needing to build shelter and meet other basic infrastructure needs.

126 Chapter 7: Building physical assets

Chapter 7 Building Household and Communal Physical Assets

I moved here with my children and mother-in-law who was old. There was no electricity and we used candles as lights... At first, we lived in the tent we put together. We faced many difficulties especially with water and electricity. The transportation was also difficult, it took most people three hours each way by bus to get to work in the downtown area…In the daytime, it was very hot and at night it was very cold. There was no market or shop here then. Because of that, we just cooked the things that we brought from the previous place.

Daw Khin Win, mother of three, moved from Mingalar Taun Nyunt one evening in 1991.

7.1 Introduction

In 1991 when the relocatees were moved to Ward 9, the land was bare. Not only was their new place isolated from work opportunities, it was also lacking all services and infrastructure, including shelter. The relocatees recalled seeing bleak paddy fields, delineated by dirt roads and land that needed to be cleared to build their houses. The physical infrastructure provided through the relocation program in Ward 9 was limited to shared tube water wells (one per 100 families), dirt roads, plots marked with small wooden sticks and limited public transport (see Chapter 5). Everything else needed to be built by the relocatees. Relocatees especially, and later newcomers, have had to develop actions to overcome the infrastructure gaps left by an ill-resourced relocation program.

This chapter identifies and defines the actions relocatees developed to build, improve and maintain the physical infrastructure in the relocation sites. It focuses on the infrastructure that was most commonly discussed during the interviews with relocatees and Hundred Household Leaders (HHL). The infrastructure discussed included both individual-based infrastructure, such as housing, water and sanitation, and shared infrastructure namely roads, drains, and common areas. This chapter also explores the actions that enable newcomers and relocatees to navigate barriers to social services, especially around education and health. Over the years, the Yangon City Development Committee (YCDC) has made some improvements to the ward, including building health facilities and schools, yet these remain understaffed and under-resourced.

127 Chapter 7: Building physical assets

This chapter contributes to the second sub-research question, which asks, How have livelihood actions fulfilled the economic and physical asset needs of the relocatees, and how have these changed over time? This chapter answers the physical assets component of this question by identifying and defining the actions that relocatees developed and implemented to meet their infrastructural and built environment needs. In Ward 9, relocatees had no choice but to develop their local area with the infrastructure they required. This chapter explores the actions that they developed individually and collectively to meet their built environment needs. Livelihood actions are not permanent fixtures but are fluid and change as the needs of the household and community change, or as external circumstances (e.g. economic, political, social factors) change (see Chapter 3). This chapter tracks how livelihood actions to build physical assets have changed over time.

While Chapter 6 was structured around actions (e.g. finding work via different kinds of social capital, pooling household resources, and so on), this chapter is structured around the physical assets (e.g. shelter, water, roads) and the actions to attain and maintain these assets are then explored within the infrastructure categories. This way of structuring the chapter showcases the multiple priorities to meet immediate infrastructure needs and that actions were performed simultaneously for rebuilding physical assets, both personally held and communal infrastructure assets. This chapter identifies the actions relocatees developed to address household and communal infrastructure needs from the time of relocation in 1991 through to 2017 to explain how they have developed and been improved over the years. Data collected from newcomers (those who moved to Ward 9 voluntarily) was used to understand the changes to the physical infrastructure and environment at different points in time. For example, households that moved in 2000 recall there being limited access to electricity and those who moved in the 2010s remember improved public transport in the area.

Following this Introduction, Section 7.2 identifies and describes the actions relocatees developed to respond to the household infrastructure needs (shelter, water and sanitation). Section 7.3 explores how relocatees and newcomers who have moved into Ward 9 have developed actions to build the communal infrastructure, including roads and drains, and how they have managed with poorly resourced social services, such as education and health. This chapter concludes with a summary of the findings and discussion in Section 7.4.

7.2 Addressing Household Infrastructure Needs

To address their basic needs, the immediate infrastructural priorities for relocatees included building a form of shelter, building sanitation, and gaining access to a more reliable and cleaner

128 Chapter 7: Building physical assets water supply.33 These priorities have remained important as relocatees have gradually upgraded their physical assets over time. The dire situation in which the relocatees found themselves in Ward 9 in 1991 meant that the actions they took were reactive, to satisfy immediate needs with limited resources, which exemplifies the conceptual discussion of livelihood actions in Chapter 3.

Drawing on notions of self-reliance and different forms of social capital described in Chapter 3, relocatees developed five livelihood actions to meet household infrastructure needs. These actions included relying on bonding social capital, utilising bridging social capital, exploiting economic actions (e.g. relying on credit and pooling household resources introduced in Chapter 6), using materials brought from previous locations, and purifying water and purchasing bottled water. Of particular importance across these actions was the prevalence of self-reliance within the household unit and bonding social capital.

7.2.1 Creating shelter: Bamboo tents, wooden and brick houses

Relocatees were allocated plots of unimproved land in Ward 9 only after paying for the grant (see Chapter 5). Daw Kyi Kyi Win (Box 5.1) recalls, “it all looked like a big field with dirt roads. It was a muddy place.” Their first priority was to build shelter. Many relocatees explained that they did not have the resources or skills, nor did they know of others who had the skills, to build a house immediately. Instead, they built bamboo tents to live in. They stayed in these tents for anywhere between two months and two years before they started building their houses.

Households began to build wooden houses as soon as they were able to, again using the materials they had brought from their previous places. Daw Soe Soe explained that while they were building their house, they lived “on the ground between the house and the road”, indicating to where the interview was taking place. She said, “We brought all of the house materials from the previous place and built with that.” This action of creating shelter after relocation and improving it over time was consistent across the experiences of the relocatees interviewed. It is an example of relocatees making an investment with the resources they have available and what Beall (2002) refers to as an ‘intergenerational strategy’ that is long-term focussed.

It is important to remember that access to support from outside of Ward 9 was extremely limited in the 1990s and into the 2000s. Unanimously, interviewees described how non-government organisations (NGOs) or any other support organisations were not available to ask for help.

33 Due to high cost and limited availability, electricity was a lower priority for relocatees in the 1990s. It is now considered an essential and highly valued part of their household infrastructure. However, data gathered around accessing electricity, including the cost, timing and actions developed to navigate access was incomplete and therefore ‘electricity’ has not been included in this section.

129 Chapter 7: Building physical assets

Through this isolation, a household-level self-reliance approach was formed, meaning that households were concentrated on their own families’ needs. When asked if they helped each other after they were relocated, like others, Daw Hlang Thaung said,

No, because we all were in the same situation. Sometimes, we offered help to our friend’s house if we have time and money, but we were all busy building our own houses. There was no organisation to help us. No one helped us.

Even though the focus of each household might have been on building their own infrastructure, neighbours still helped each other whenever and however possible. Ultimately, due to the restricted asset portfolios of the relocatees, relying on one’s own household resources was not sufficient and was only ever used in conjunction with other actions. While ‘creating shelter after relocation and improving shelter over time’ was consistently mentioned by the relocatees, their own experiences with how they achieved this outcome has been different, depending on their family circumstances including the number of dependents, availability of work and access to cash, and access to bonding, bridging and linking social capitals. For many relocatees, they simply did not have the resources or skills to be fully self-reliant at a household level.

As mentioned in Chapter 6, more vulnerable relocatees needed to quickly develop or maintain intentional relations for their survival. Widowed with five children, Daw Thet Htar (Box 7.1) initially combined bridging and bonding social capital with various economic actions to build her house. As explained in Chapter 3, bridging social capital relations are connections with people who are dissimilar in some way (e.g. age, socio-economic status) (Woolcock, 2001) and bonding social capital brings together people who share similar characteristics or who have a shared affinity through a past experience or relationship (Gittell & Vidal, 1998). Daw Thet Htar’s bridging social capital relation was from the wood business her late husband worked at and her bonding social capital was also intentionalally developed with her neighbours who had also been relocated.

Because Daw Thet Htar had moved from the barracks in Ahlone, unlike other relocatees, she was not able to bring housing materials with her. Instead, she sought help from the wood business to donate some wood to her and her neighbours helped her carry the wood to her land and built her house for her in the months after being moved to Ward 9. She said, “As I didn’t have money to pay them, I offered them lunch and drinks. They helped me on their days off.” Using a combination of bridging social capital (the wood business) and bonding social capital (her new neighbours), Daw Thet Htar managed to secure housing.

130 Chapter 7: Building physical assets

Over time, Daw Thet Htar has gradually improved her living conditions using a combination of economic actions (defined in Chapter 6), including pooling household resources (saving money from her and her children’s income) and relying on credit through private informal money loans to pay for house improvements. She said, “I had to overcome many problems. I saved money by selling akyaw (Burmese snack food) and prioritised making a good shelter for my children. I bought iron plates one-by-one and it took time to get enough for an iron roof.” After a year of living in Ward 9, she found a money lender (linking social capital) and over the years has gradually improved her dwelling. How she demonstrated reciprocity with her contacts to repay the favours is discussed in Chapter 8 about ‘neighbouring’. Section 7.2.2 explains how Daw Thet Htar continues to use income from her children to address other aspects of her households’ physical infrastructure.

Box 7.1: Daw Thet Htar

Daw Thet Htar’s husband worked as security at a military-owned wood company, which allowed him and his family to stay at the military barracks in Ahlone. He died in 1989 and Daw Thet Htar was forced to leave the barracks and move to Ward 9 with her five children in 1991. She had to pay for the grant like others who were forced to move, but she could pay it off over several months. It was a shock for her and her family to go from two income earners in the house and having subsidised housing to single income, moving to a new place and having to pay for land, house construction and increased transport costs.

She did various jobs, such as selling Burmese snack foods and doing laundry, but she found it difficult to earn enough for her family. Her children quit school when they were relocated and worked in tea shops or selling fruit to help with the family income, which is an example of pooling household resources in the household (see Chapter 6). She feels she is still in a difficult situation with money with no savings and relying on bonding social capital to get by, including her neighbours for favours and her children for monetary support. She said, “I’m still getting money loans to fix the house. When I get money from the children, I pay back money loan and get another money loan again.” Her latest house repair was extending the roof on the front of the house before the rainy season to prevent the rain coming in during heavy storms.

The bonding social capital was formed between neighbours, as Daw Thet Htar had done, was essentially establishing a new relationship with strangers. These new relationships with neighbours

131 Chapter 7: Building physical assets were critical to survival. Neighbours shared an affinity with each other through shared experience of relocation, had similar socio-economic status and many shared a Bamar Buddhist ethno-religious identity. Bonding social capital has been fostered through providing skilled services between neighbours and reciprocal borrowing / lending of money or items of need. For example, amongst the dayworkers who were forced to move to Ward 9, there were various trades that were useful for establishing a new residential area, including bricklayers and carpenters. Sometimes, these relocatees would help build their neighbours’ tents and houses for a small fee or food gifts. For example, U Tint Shwe (Box 6.2) said, “I helped my neighbours to build their houses. Some people pay me, some people give food. And sometimes I helped my neighbours without getting paid.” Acts of reciprocity and ‘neighbouring’ is explained in more detail in Chapter 8.

Familial bonding social capital has been used more recently as a mechanism to improve shelter conditions. Over time, younger generations who moved to Ward 9 as children are now in the workforce and supporting their parents who are entering retirement years. They are reinforcing the social bonds within their family (that might no longer be their household due to marriage or work location) by establishing “continuity bonds” with family members, freely giving financial support and distributing relational goods to support the improved living conditions of individuals in the family (Prandini, 2014, p.244). In many cases, this cross-generational approach to maintaining and improving household physical assets has seen the second generation of relocatees (the children) become the main financial source for their parents. These family units with cross-generational support networks are an example of bonded social capital in Ward 9.

Over the years, many of the houses have been improved and are now made of wood and some are brick houses, or a combination of materials. Daw Thet Htar said of her Park, which was tidy and well-kept compared to others, “Most houses are made of wood. The brick houses are very new – maybe two or three years old.” While many of the brick houses are owned by newcomers, some are a product of multiple actions adopted by relocatees.34

At the time of the interview, Daw Yamin Aye was in the process of replacing her wooden house with brick.35 Even though she still owns the 20x60 foot block that was originally allocated to her in 1991, she has only ever lived on 10x60 because she “couldn’t afford to build a big house.” Still, 25 years on, she cannot afford to build a big house. Like others, Daw Yamin Aye takes a loan every

34 Many of the brick houses now belong to newcomers in Ward 9 who have purchased land rights from previous owners, some of whom were relocatees. The real estate market in Yangon has grown significantly since political changes in 2011 and as the central townships have become more and more crowded. Families are moving to places like the 1980s relocations sites, including Shwepyithar, for more space, bigger plots and more vegetated living areas. 35 Daw Yamin Aye hired people to help lay the new concrete foundation for the house but she lays the bricks herself as she has had various jobs over the years, including training as a bricklayer.

132 Chapter 7: Building physical assets year from a local money lender, pays it back and gets a new loan on a continuous cycle. She has been doing this since the late 1990s when her husband passed away. By paying for bricks individually, the progress to building her house is slow but she is able to manage her debt this way, without getting a large, unserviceable loan. In the end, the total cost of the materials will be more. The urban poor often pay more for goods and services than non-poor urban newcomers because they have no other option but to pay incrementally (Mitlin & Satterthwaite, 2013). By accessing money loans, Daw Yamin Aye has been able to slowly improve her living standards over the years. At times actions such as reliance on money loans can be severely detrimental to the borrower, however, as explained in Section 6.3.5.

In the context of isolation and feelings of abandonment, relocatees have developed and applied different actions using their social capital and self-reliance to meet their housing needs. Utilising bonding social capital with neighbours, using materials brought from previous places and tapping into economic actions (e.g. pooling resources and relying on credit) were common actions developed by the relocatees to initially build shelter and later improve housing structures. In some cases, for example Daw Thet Htar, bridging social capital was critical for securing shelter for her and her children, but this was not a common way to fulfil shelter needs. Relocatees have used a range of financial options, including private money loans, savings and financing from adult children to pay for materials to build or improve their dwellings, reinforcing their continuity familial bonds. Relocatees have required a combination of various actions simultaneously to build and then maintain and improve their shelter over the years.

7.2.2 Improving access to water and building sanitation solutions

When relocatees arrived in Ward 9 in 1991, there was one tube water well in each Park, which accommodated about 100 households (see Chapter 5). Relocatees explained that there were too many people for the number of wells provided. U Myint Swe said, “When people started moving here, they faced water problems. Because at that time there was only one well in the Park and all of the park members had to use the same well, we had to queue up for a long time to get water.” The tube water wells built by the government were also poor quality and the well was too shallow. Relocatees complained that the water they drew out was sandy. Daw Yi Yi Aye said, “We had only one well in a park and there was so much sand in the water.”

The quality of the water today is still poor. When asked what their community needs, Daw Khin Win responded, “We need fresh water because the water quality is very bad right now. YCDC is planning to build piped water here but they haven’t start yet.” The government has promised to

133 Chapter 7: Building physical assets build piped water in Ward 9, but timing and allocation of funding is unclear. Piped water infrastructure was built in the neighbouring Ward 8 under the quasi-civilian government (USDP) that was in power between 2011 and 2016. In a study on the governance of water services in developing cities, Allen et al. (2006) found that the peri-urban (and urban) poor develop their own solutions to water and sanitation supply or rely on informal private sector, responding to the needs of their community (Allen et al., 2006). Adopting a self-reliant approach to access water has been the foundational strategy for all relocatees in Ward 9; individual tube wells at houses were built rather than combining resources to build new shared wells or improve the government wells. Plate 7.1 below shows a typical example of a well outside a house in 2016.

Plate 7.1: A typical example of well infrastructure outside a house

Within their first year of living in Ward 9, some households arranged building their own water wells, like Daw Yi Yi Aye’s family who prioritised building their own well to avoid using the government tube well after they built their wooden house. She said, “If we get a bucket of water from the Park well, half of it was sand. It wasn’t good.” She said their own well was “better quality and there was no sand because it was dug deeper than the Park wells.” Using the savings from her husband’s truck business to pay for the well, the family used their own resources to advance their physical infrastructure. Explained in Chapter 3 and similar to improving housing quality, this is another example of Beall’s (2002) ‘intergenerational strategies’ that she describes as having a long- term focus and investing in the future benefit of the household.

Many of the wells in Ward 9 today have been built within the last 15 years. One relocatee, for example, explained during the interview in 2016, “I still don’t have my own well and I need to ask for water from my neighbours. I also don’t have electricity. I pay 3,000 kyat (AUD $3) each for the electricity and water per month (total AUD $6 per month). It will cost 120,000 kyats (AUD $120)

134 Chapter 7: Building physical assets to make own well. Since it’s too expensive, I cannot make it.” At the time, she had explained how she was heavily indebted, could not afford medicine for her kidney stones and was going to remove her eldest child from school to get a job and help with the family income. However, in 2017 during the data validation trip, she had built a new well for her family (Plate 7.2) by taking out a new loan.

Plate 7.2: Relocatee stands in front of her house at her new tube well purchased with a loan

Similar to pooling household resources explained in Chapter 6, families have also pooled resources to afford the cost of building a water well. This either occurs because two families are living in the same house (like U Tun Kyaing (Box 5.1)) or the two families are neighbours. Daw San San Aye and husband U Tint Shwe (Box 6.2), for example, live on a 20x60 foot block that was allocated to them at the time of the relocation. They have allowed their son, U Tin Min Phyo, and his family to live on the same block and they live in two separate houses (about 7.5m x 2.5m each). Through their familial bonding social capital, they combined their resources and shared the expense of building a well in 2012.

Familial bonding social capital has also been evident in more recent years as children have begun supporting their elderly parents. Daw Thet Htar (Box 7.1) said of the support she gets from her children, “One of my sons paid for the well for me and it cost 130,000 kyat (AUD $130) and another son paid for the electricity to the house. My children not only pay for my power bills and taxes, but also medical bills that are about 50,000 to 100,000 kyat (AUD $50-100) per month.” This

135 Chapter 7: Building physical assets kind of ongoing intergenerational support from children is essential for survival for many Ward 9 relocatees who are now too old or too sick to work.

Today, not all houses in Ward 9 have their own wells. Park members ask for water from their neighbours if they do not have their own well, which requires using bonding social capital to befriend strangers who live in physical proximity. Neighbours are typically happy to share their well with others. Through the act of sharing water, trusting relations between these households formed. Social capital is increased through improved trusting relationships between neighbours and becomes a “resource that individuals can draw on in certain circumstances” (Szreter & Woolcock, 2004, p.655). In Ward 9, bonding social capital has enabled access to various other necessary resources for the relocatees, including access to work and new skills (see Chapter 6), housing (see Section 7.2.1) and water.

Another layer of sharing water with neighbours and strangers is the good merit gained, according to Buddhist beliefs. When service or donations are freely given, Theravada Buddhists view their contributions as drawing good karmic merit that assists their chances of achieving Nibbana (nirvana, the goal) (McCarthy 2019). Because merit is only accrued when actions are given willingly, it was important for relocatees and newcomers who were interviewed to mention that they happily and freely shared their well with their neighbours. Often a shopkeeper or a wealthier member of the community, places a bottle or pot of water on the side of the street with a cup for passers-by (see Plates 7.3-7.4). Daw Thet Htar explained that sharing water “is a kind of merit building. Along with making donations, we Buddhist people believe that water donation is a great thing for merit.”

Plate 7.3: Water station outside shop Plate 7.4: Water station outside a HHL’s house

136 Chapter 7: Building physical assets

Non-Buddhists were also shown practicing merit building in Ward 9. Daw Yi Yi Aye, a Muslim relocatee, also believed in building good merit through sharing water with her neighbours, “Now I share my water with my neighbours for free. For good merit.” McCarthy (2019) also found in his work in central Myanmar on public services projects, such as community-led road construction, that ‘merit’ or ‘work for others’ notions have been embraced by both non-Buddhist and Buddhist communities alike. Accruing good merit by sharing water with strangers, therefore, has been an integral part of building bonding capital with neighbours and an important action for sharing and accessing sustained water supply after relocation. One side effect of the small, routine gestures of generosity and reciprocity through everyday activities and creating social attachments with neighbours also helped to foster belongingness, explained in Chapter 8.

Relocatees were also required to build their own sanitation solutions after relocation and they used the same actions described for accessing a secure water supply. Most commonly, relocatees relied on wealthier neighbours who built their sanitation first and then developed intentional bonding social capital with them to gain access. Later, poorer relocatees used various economic actions (e.g. informal private loans from family or money lenders, using money gifts from family) to build their own sanitation. Sanitation in Ward 9 is typically a pit latrine dug behind the house (see Plate 7.5). Sanitation solutions have slowly been improved over the years. Daw Soe Soe explained, “Every Park has a well that was supplied by the government, but we had to build our own sanitation.” Her family upgraded their pit latrine over the years and it now has a porcelain squat bowl. Her next phase of improvement is to build a brick outhouse to replace the rotten wood.

Plate 7.5: Pit latrine located at the back of a house in the easement between lots

137 Chapter 7: Building physical assets

There is poor-quality sanitation infrastructure throughout Yangon city. Sewerage systems in central parts of Yangon were built during the colonial period and pit latrines are common in the informal settlements and outer townships like Shwepyithar. According to Forbes (2019), the pit latrines are rarely maintained and are commonly filled up until the rainy season, when the flood waters clear them out, running sewage through drains and over streets. In Ward 9, local newcomers dig new pit latrines and maintain existing latrines as an income source (see Chapter 6) but only households who can afford their services are able to maintain the infrastructure.

The relationships that neighbours developed through bonding social capital were extremely important to the relocatees for their day-to-day survival. Without being able to access water or sanitation from neighbours, people who were moved to Ward 9 would have suffered even more greatly in emotional and physical health and economically. It is impossible to know how a lack of bonding social capital and other resources necessary to survive impacted families who were unable to stay in Ward 9 due to a lack of social and other supports. This research can only identify those who were forced to move and remained in Ward 9.

Relocatees have used a wide range of economic actions to pay for their water wells and sanitation solutions, including using savings, private informal loans from money lenders or family. In some cases, families who live together or as neighbours have pooled their resources to pay jointly for the well. For older relocatees who have the support from children who are working, drawing on their familial bonding social capital to acquire necessary water infrastructure has been another way to get access to personal water wells. If acquiring their own well or pit latrine has not been possible, and for those who have taken time to accumulate the resources or gain access to money loans, bonding social capital was developed and used to access neighbours’ infrastructure, which was usually given freely and happily for good merit. Bridging social capital was not identified as an action amongst relocatees to build or access water or sanitation. Similar to shelter, there was no support from outside Ward 9 to help relocatees develop their water supply.

7.2.3 Navigating clean water

Many of the relocatees complained about the continued poor quality of water in the park area. One relocatee said, “The water is not clean. I have to keep it overnight to make it fresh water. The smell is not good.” Households explained that they let the sand settle in the water jugs overnight before using it the next day for drinking, cleaning and cooking (see Plate 7.6 with a small jug on the stand where the water is left to settle). U Khin Zaw (Box 6.1) said, “we need to keep that [well] water two nights to drink. The water is too rich in iron.” During fieldwork, I observed that the water had a

138 Chapter 7: Building physical assets strong iron/ metallic smell. Purification methods in Ward 9 included letting water settle overnight, boiling water and some families used alum (potassium aluminium sulfate).

Plate 7.6: Relocatee’s jug where she settles water behind her

Low-income countries in the Global South have particularly high prevalence of deficient water systems, poor sanitation and hygiene. Poor households within these countries, such as those in Ward 9, rarely treat water for drinking (Su Latt Tun Myint, Thuzar Myint, Wah Wah Aung, & Khin Thet Wai, 2015). Drinking contaminated water, along with poor sanitation and hand hygiene, are the mains causes for ill-health caused by diarrhoea due to “transmission of bacterial, viral or protozoal pathogens” (Su Latt Tun Myint et al., 2015, p.63). In their study in Dagon North in Yangon (one of the relocation sites created at the same time as Shwepyithar), Su Latt Tun Myint et al. (2015) found that drinking water samples from the local reservoir, tube wells and bottled water were “highly contaminated and unfit to drink” and households used no “point-of-use purification technologies.” The significance of poor-quality drinking water in places like Dagon North and Shwepyithar affects health of all family members, potentially limiting their ability to work or attend school.

Because the tube well water is poor quality and the piped water, where available in other parts of Yangon, is not potable, five or 10 litre bottle of water are available for purchase. In Ward 9, a five- litre bottle of water costs about 350 kyat (AUD $0.35). Daw Wai Mar, a newcomer who has lived in Shwepyithar since the mid-1990s explained, “For the water, we have a well but the quality of water is bad. It has yellow colour. We have to buy purified water to drink.” In central parts of Yangon, a

139 Chapter 7: Building physical assets

10-litre bottle of purified water costs 1000 kyats (AUD $1) and access to piped water is covered by the landlord or costs about 3000-5000 kyats (AUD $3-5) per month. Compared with the cost of building a well (about AUD $120) and buying purified water to meet one’s water needs, it is evident that the poor populations in Ward 9, and likely other poorer wards in the city, pay more for access to water that is worse quality than more central and wealthier parts of the city.

Similar to paying more for housing materials and construction, Segerfeldt (2005) explains the ‘poverty penalty’, where the poor are forced to pay more for water than non-poor, as evidenced in Ward 9. Mendoza (2011) presents the different forms of the relatively higher cost shouldered by the poor: poorer quality, higher price, non-access, non-usage and catastrophic spending burden. Water in Ward 9 is poor quality from the wells (due to sand and sediment), a higher price (whether they had to pay for the well themselves and/ or pay for bottled water), non-access (as some families cannot afford bottled water, or forego other basic necessities to afford the water), non-usage (a poor quality well produces poor quality water), and catastrophic spending burden (as families frequently sacrifice education and meals to afford water, or leave the well water untreated). Both quality- and price-related forms of poverty penalties represent some of the subtle ways that Ward 9 and other poor newcomers are disadvantaged. Non-access, non-usage and catastrophic spending burdens describe more overt and severe forms of exclusion (Mendoza, 2011). Inadequate quality of water can lead to poorer health and, as with other urban poor groups, Ward 9 newcomers and relocatees rely on daily wages to meet their basic needs. If they are sick or unable to work, their income suffers, are more likely to rely on indebtedness practices.

Not only have the relocatees had to develop livelihood actions to address the shortfalls in water access (see Section 7.2.2), but they have also needed to develop separate actions to navigate the poor quality of water. Poor quality water can inhibit opportunities to work, which directly impacts the urban poor’s vulnerability and ability to survive as sustained income is a critical part of urban livelihoods (Satterthwaite, 2001). Purifying water by settling it overnight and purchasing expensive bottled water were two of the most common solutions to poor quality water in Ward 9. While actions to address gaps in household infrastructure have been mostly routed in bonding social capital and a strong emphasis on self-reliance, how these actions have played out have changed over time, reflecting what Chapter 3 suggests on the fluidity and flexibility of livelihood actions.

7.3 Building and Accessing Communal Infrastructure

The limited attention on urban poverty in Myanmar until recently led to a deprivation of services and infrastructure for spatially marginalised areas, such as Ward 9 (YCDC & Save the Children,

140 Chapter 7: Building physical assets

2016). Between 1962 and 2011, the military’s approach to ruling the country was through a socialist logic where ordinary people are obliged to carry out considerable responsibilities belonging to the collective and insisted on practices of self-reliance (McCarthy, 2019). Chapter 2 explained that poor communities in the Global South commonly adopt a self-reliant approach to address the infrastructure and services gaps left by the state (Minnery, 2007). Yet, in Myanmar, self-reliance takes on an additional onus formed and enforced by the state. Stemming from neglect of addressing the needs of the urban poor, and coupled with the government’s direct imposition for communities to work together to solve local problems (McCarthy, 2016), acts of self-reliance at the ward level and lower have formed to develop actions to deliver solutions to communal infrastructure. This approach of community-led solutions has become the norm in Ward 9.

As explained in Chapter 5, only basic communal infrastructure was established by the state in Ward 9 at the time of relocation. Dirt roads, for example, created a perimeter around the communal public parks and were access corridors to the main roads or neighbouring Parks. Schools and health facilities came later and when they were provided, it was at a very basic level and were described as difficult to access and “not enough” (Daw San San Aye (Box 6.2)). In every way, the community infrastructure provided by the government was insufficient and inadequate. Relocatees, and later newcomers, have developed various actions to bring the standard of their shared infrastructure to a useable and functional standard. In all cases, this has required personal investment from the relocatees and newcomers as there was no access to external support for those who were forced to move. Initiatives are organised by HHLs in each Park. 36 Today, there remains limited external support, which is only accessible through recently established connections with NGOs or support from existing religious groups.

The limited assistance provided to Ward 9 by both the state and NGOs over the years, combined with the onus of community-led development by military rule, has meant that relocatees (and later, newcomers) have adopted attitudes of self-reliance to self-organise to ensure they have access to the infrastructure and services that they need. Even where infrastructure is provided by the state (e.g. new concrete roads), the Park members have supplemented the state-led provision through personal or coordinated contributions (e.g. labour or donations). This chapter proves that inadequate access to ‘public’ infrastructure (e.g. roads, piped water, sanitation, drainage) increases the health burden and often a work burden for those communities (Satterthwaite, 2001). Inadequacy of basic

36 There are also ten-household leaders who act in the interests of the ten houses they represent and in accordance with the larger initiatives of the HHL. In Ward 9, however, HHLs were much more prevalent and active in community development.

141 Chapter 7: Building physical assets infrastructure (e.g. roads, piped water) and services (e.g. schools, healthcare) are two aspects of urban poverty (Satterthwaite, 2001).

The following sub-sections outline how Ward 9 residents have developed actions to build, improve and maintain a selection of communal infrastructure. Actions are described according to the recollections of interviewees. Four actions to address communal infrastructures were identified as relying on bonding social capital (including creating norms and supplementing government infrastructure), varied expectations of the government, accessing resources through linking social capital, and developing bridging social capital. Of particular importance across these actions was the prevalence of self-reliance and bonding social capital.

7.3.1 Making roads functional

At the time of relocation, all of the roads in Ward 9 were dirt, demarcating central public spaces and housing plots in the Parks. Roads and drains were built using forced labour by the farmers who had occupied the land before the relocation program (Khan, 1991). One interviewee, U Aung Kyaw is an urban expert who was forced to relocate as a child from central Yangon, Ahlone Township, to one of the relocation sites, Hlaingtharyar, in 1988 explained that the military used the relocated households as forced labour to improve the basic roads that had initially been built. He said, “every Saturday we were forced to clean our neighbourhood, dig drains and pile the earth on the new roads.” In Ward 9, some roads that were along main thoroughfares were built with foundations that raised them higher than the smaller roads but even these were dirt and still floodable during heavy rains. The concrete road ended at the “Welcome to Shwepyithar” sign (see Figure 5.2 in Chapter 5 and Plate 7.7 below). The main road running through Ward 9 where most of the commercial activity is currently located was also dirt (see Figure 5.5 in Chapter 5). U Aung Win remembered Ward 9 in the early 1990s being “very difficult to walk around because the roads had holes in them and lots of bumps.” U Tun Kyaing (Box 5.1) reflected on the condition of the roads in his park, “We have to make the road ourselves. The government made some roads for us which are not good. So, we have to make them again.”

142 Chapter 7: Building physical assets

Plate 7.7: Photo of the “Welcome to Shwepyithar” sign, 1990 Source: YCDC, 1990

It is important to note here that contributions to the collective infrastructure, such as roads and drains, only came later after people felt more established in their personal circumstances (e.g. access to income-generating activities, secure shelter). The poverty they experienced after relocation de-emphasised community development efforts. The exception, of course, is the forced labour activities the relocatees were involved in. This section focuses on the voluntary actions relocatees and newcomers have developed over the years and particularly how these operate today.

Relocatees have addressed the poor-quality roads in their parks by developing various actions, many of which are grounded in collective self-reliance in the Park neighbourhoods as a direct result of the lack of external support. As access to foreign aid was virtually non-existent for many years (Banki, 2009), and the government has been unwilling to assist due to the political nature of the relocation program (Rhoads, 2018), creating a strong self-reliance approach was critical. Three actions to make roads functional included relying on bonding social capital, varied expectations of the government and accessing resources through linking social capital.

7.3.1.1 Relying on bonding social capital to improve road infrastructure

Bonding social capital has been a central action for improving roads in Ward 9. In particular, the social norms, such as individual contributions, have driven the development and later improvement of communal spaces. For example, each household in Ward 9 is responsible for the road, street lighting and vegetation in front of their house. U Khin Zaw (Box 6.1), a HHL, explained that when there is a pothole in the road, “we all take responsibility for the road in front of our houses”, fixing

143 Chapter 7: Building physical assets potholes and planting trees. Similarly, it became the responsibility of the household to provide a streetlight outside of their house once they got an electricity connection.37 Today, there are streetlights in front of most houses (see Plates 7.8-7.9). Using bonding social capital and the creation of social norms within that bonded group is an example of an action that leverages individual contributions for a collective benefit. There are limitations to individual action, however, as an individual’s resources – access to economic, physical ability and willingness – are limited, particularly in an urban poor community, such as Ward 9, compared to what a collective group of people can achieve.

Plate 7.8: Street lighting on a main thoroughfare Plate 7.9: Street lighting outside a house

In 2017, only nine out of 28 Parks in Ward 9 had some concrete road, all of which had been constructed since 2011. All other roads were dirt and no immediate plans for concrete improvements. In these dirt road neighbourhoods, Park members collectively contribute money to a communal fund organised by the HHL to pay for sandbags. Sandbags have become a common and relatively cheap way to improve the dirt roads that become muddy after rain in Ward 9 to make them more usable. As the pictures below illustrate, even in the dry season, the ground remains wet, making the roads slippery and difficult to traverse (see Plate 7.10-7.11). The sandbags help pedestrians move along the roads and between parks more easily.

37 Electricity was only available along the main roads after the relocation and was not commonplace in the residential park areas until at least the late 1990s.

144 Chapter 7: Building physical assets

Plate 7.10: Road with sandbags in the dry season Plate 7.11: Road with sandbags in the wet season

There are also monetary contributions from individual households to improve roads. Parks rely on the norms of trust and cooperation inherent in bonding social capital to collect funds, fill the bags with sand and lay them each year before the rainy season starts in May or June. The bonding social capital between neighbours in the Parks was built up over years of repeated and mundane interactions (Crow, 2004; Szreter & Woolcock, 2004). Trusting relations facilitates cooperation between individuals and the norms of reciprocity in bonding social capital help to build and strengthen trust (Pretty, 2003; Putnam, 2000). Agreed norms in social capital is fostered through trust, where individuals have shared goals and purposes, a shared sense of justice and mutual respect (Pretty, 2003). In return, people have the confidence to invest in shared goals, knowing that others will do the same (Pretty, 2003). Improving the condition of the road to make it more useable is a shared goal for the Park members.

To pay for the sandbags, each household contributes what they can but is expected to contribute more if they live on a corner block or are wealthier. U Aung Khaing, a HHL said,

We have to make sandbags every year. The HHL hold an assembly here [in the Dhamayoun] and decide how much money they need from the households to buy the sand. This year we suggested to the households to give 5,000 kyats (AUD $5). The rich people pay more, about 10,000 or 15,000 kyats (AUD $10-15) and the poor people give less, about 2,000 or 3,000 kyats (AUD $2-3). The households came and made their own sand pack to put in front of their house.

Other scholars have noted similar findings in Myanmar. Thawnghmung (2019) in her work on coping strategies for everyday survival and McCarthy (2019) in his work about service provision through self-reliance note that it is commonly expected that more affluent community members contribute more than their poorer neighbours. Yet, the poorer households ultimately contribute

145 Chapter 7: Building physical assets more. McCarthy (2019) found that poorer households are more likely to contribute labour for road initiatives than richer households and relative to household expenditure, poorer households donate almost as much as their richer neighbours to social and religious causes. Poorer households therefore “carry a larger burden” for local infrastructure provision relative to their wealth (McCarthy, 2019, p.338). This approach to developing solutions for local problems as a result of infrastructure gaps, therefore, also creates an economic burden for those already poor. This is consistent with Mitlin and Satterthwaite’s (2013) findings that poor households pay more for access to goods and services.

In the few Parks where concrete roads are paid for and built by YCDC or a political party, Park members also assisted in the construction. In these situations, the social norms in bonding social capital has created an obligation to supplement government infrastructure with labour and community donations. U Tin Min Phyo (Box 6.2) explained how he helped to make the foundation for the concrete road in his park. He said, “When I heard the government was going to make a concrete road here, I felt happy and helped them for the whole park. I didn’t get paid – it was just my good will. Most of the neighbours didn’t help to make the foundations.” He felt that it was part of his moral obligation to contribute to the local infrastructure for his Park. Park members supplement the government infrastructure by making individual contributions to improve or augment the outcome for themselves and their neighbours.

The social norms, solidarity and obligations within the Park-related bonding social capital described above and depend on donations to fund improvements can also work against the positive improvement to livelihood outcomes. Community projects, such as making sandbags and strong foundations for roads, are costly. The social norms and moral obligations for households to contribute to these projects38 can put additional strain on household resources who struggle to find enough money for food and medical expenses. Making donations can be an ongoing and expensive undertaking. Houses with larger frontages, including corner blocks, are obliged to donate more to communal maintenance of the street as well. Daw Thet Htar (Box 7.1) lives on a corner and had to pay twice as much as her neighbours when the HHL organised to upgrade the road foundation. She needed to borrow additional money from her children to pay for it. She said, “Since I am poor, I cannot share anything with my neighbours. Sometimes, when they collect donations, I cannot afford to give money. I need to borrow it from somewhere, or I try to just help with my time.”

38 This also applies to obligations to contribute to religious buildings and other shared infrastructure, as explained in Chapter 8.

146 Chapter 7: Building physical assets

7.3.1.2 Varied expectations of the government

In addition to actions around bonding social capital, the Ward 9 residents also adopted low expectations of their government authorities. They do not expect the government to assist with infrastructure maintenance and small-scale improvement projects, like sandbagging. These low expectations are linked with the attitudes self-reliance that the military regimes have insisted on in the country’s recent history (McCarthy, 2019). Lack of willingness and capacity were cited as the main reasons for low expectations from the government. Daw Yi Yi Aye said, “Even if I expected something from them [the government], they will not do anything for me.” This sentiment of not expecting anything from the government was repeated in various interviews with people who were forced to move. Given the context of the relocation (see Chapter 5), relocatees made statements like, “I don’t expect anything from the government. In the past, they did not support me” (Daw Yamin Aye). One HHL, U Aung Khaing said, “The government’s management skills are very weak” and discussed the limited skills and capabilities of the government. The relocatees have had very little, if any, positive experience with government regimes over the years and they were generally viewed as a distant authority, under capacitated and under resourced to help the situation in their local neighbourhoods.

Paradoxically, then, Ward 9 newcomers and relocatees have refused to build their own concrete roads and are waiting for the government to build them, even though they are capable of organising themselves and the high desirability of concrete roads. Daw Than Tin remarked, “We can say we’re developed if we have a concrete road. Because if we don’t, we have to walk in a muddy when it rains.” The Ward 9 newcomers and relocatees claim that the cost of concrete is too much and they cannot afford it. The self-reliance approach where individuals make contributions has its limitations when it comes to large-scale expenditure. Unlike other neighbourhoods in the country and city (McCarthy, 2016, interview), Ward 9 newcomers and relocatees refuse to construct the concrete roads, an act of community resistance against the government. The consequences of this recently developed expectation on the government are delayed access and being subject to clientelism and corruption.

7.3.1.3 Using linking social capital to prioritise roads

To obtain concrete roads in a Park, a HHL or a prominent Park member must use his linking social capital, or ties with formal agencies. Linking social capital has emerged as an action in Ward 9 as the prohibitive cost of concrete has left little choice for newcomers and relocatees. Linking social capital, where individuals or communities develop vertical connections with civil society, public

147 Chapter 7: Building physical assets representatives (e.g. politicians) and the private sector, can create opportunities for increased access to key resources from formal institutions outside of the community (Babaei, Ahmad, & Gill, 2012). Weak linking social capital isolates people from powerful decision-makers and opportunities for improvement (Hillig & Connell, 2018). The lack of ties to formal institutions for poor communities in particular has a major bearing on their welfare and long-term development (Babaei et al., 2012; Szreter & Woolcock, 2004).

As explained in Chapter 5 Section 5.3, local infrastructure and services in Myanmar are provided by the township level government, which is controlled by the military via the General Administrative Department (GAD). Ward Officers lobby the Township Office for funding and improved services for their local area. A HHL could potentially influence the Ward Officer and thereby the township authority to get better services and infrastructure (e.g. concrete roads, rubbish collection and drain clearing) for his Park. U Kyaw Soe, a HHL, said, “if the HHL or the Park members have a connection with YCDC, then they get the concrete road first. It’s because of their friendship between Park members and YCDC, usually rich Park members.” Another way that Parks access resources to concrete their roads is by aligning with a political party during election campaign periods. Some Parks received concrete roads during the 2015 national and the 2016 local election campaigns. Clientele tactics during elections are common in poor communities across the world, which rarely translate to effective service delivery and other economic gains for the poor (Banerjee, Kumar, Pande, & Su, 2011). Thawnghmung (2019) explains that in Myanmar, corruption and paid favours are a normalised way of getting things done. Having resources (e.g. linking social capital or money) to participate in corrupt activities, therefore, is essential.

If neither the Park members nor the HHL has influence, then the Park is deprioritised for infrastructure provision. Communities with less influential connections are more disadvantaged and are more likely to remain disadvantaged over time (Hillig & Connell, 2018). The Ward Officer in Ward 9 maintains that he promotes parks who have the most needs for infrastructure, for example the Park with the deepest or most disruptive potholes is prioritised over other parks with a good sand-pack road. McCarthy (2019), however, found that in urban parts of central Myanmar that communities that organised themselves to coordinate delivery of infrastructure then received more benefits from authorities. Strong social capital at the HHL level with vertical connections via linking social capital imbued stronger financial and material benefits. Through whatever means the projects are prioritised in Ward 9, officially or unofficially, it seems that those with greater linking social capital were able to benefit more quickly than parks with less influential connections and weaker or no linking social capital.

148 Chapter 7: Building physical assets

Where linking social capital is lacking, people can only depend on their self-reliance actions to improve their communal physical infrastructure. When a HHL is less influential than his counterparts or in an unfavourable position with authorities for lobbying for infrastructure, then his requests get deprioritised. His Park could be sidelined for improvements for many years until a new HHL took over. Chapter 3 explained that community leaders, such as the HHL in Ward 9, need to have strong relationships outside of their neighbourhood (i.e. bridging or linking social capital) to be able to access information, resources and leverage action for local problems (Kearns & Parkinson, 2001). Without these external linkages, access to information, resources and opportunities are lost.

Even though opportunities to strengthen linking social capital have increased in Ward 9 over the years, the overall assistance available, particularly from the government, is minimal. U Tun Tun said, “Opportunities to ask for help from the government is limited for us. They already gave the [public] park land. We cannot ask for anything more. The parks are smaller because we have built the library and the Dhamayouns inside the parks, but this is not the Government’s problem.”

Actions to make roads more functional are grounded in an attitude of self-reliance and include creating and relying on norms from bonding social capital within Parks, and not expecting the government or other external agents to Ward 9 to make improvements to the communal infrastructure. More recently, however, there has been a degree of community resistance and Ward 9 newcomers and relocatees expect the government to provide concrete roads. Another action has been the use of linking social capital, where ties with formal organisations and donors exist, to assist with building, improving and maintaining infrastructure in the community, including roads, has become a new action, seen through the provision of concrete roads. Bonding social capital and self-reliance to improve their roads to a certain point but if they have not been able to develop linking social capital then they are significantly disadvantaged. Bridging social capital was not evident in the process of building or improving roads.

7.3.2 Clearing and Maintaining Drains

Drains were not mentioned during the fieldwork interviews as an important infrastructure in the 1990s but have become an essential flood deterrent mechanism. The transect walks and fieldwork observations showed that throughout Ward 9 drains were blocked with rubbish (see Plate 7.12- 7.13). This causes major flooding risks to the houses, as Daw Aye Aye Myint explained, “Because the drain is blocked, there is so much water. All of the households have to make good foundations for their house to make sure it is above the flood level. Our house is flooded at the back and in the

149 Chapter 7: Building physical assets rainy season, it floods in the front of the house as well.” If drains remain blocked, this can lead to flooding and the spread of disease, which can subsequently cause major health issues. Living in a poor environment can lead to poor health, which is a setback that dayworkers who rely on sustained income cannot afford (Satterthwaite, 2001). As explained in Chapter 5, Ward 9 and much of Shwepyithar were built on rice paddy fields and without proper foundations, the land continues to be prone to flooding. Drains were built and managed immediately after relocation by relocatees.

Plate 7.12: Blocked drains in the dry seasons Plate 7.13: Park residents build bridges to access houses over blocked drains

The organisation of cleaning the drains out today varies between Parks but generally coordinated by HHLs. Some HHL collect money from the park members to pay YCDC to use a machine to clear the drain (e.g. U Than Aye’s Park). The collection amount varies and depends on how blocked the drain is in front of the house. Bonding social capital is used to achieve their common goal of clean drains. These Park members see drain cleaning as a YCDC responsibility saying “The drain is blocked because YCDC doesn’t do the work. When they come and clean the drain, each household has to pay 5,000 kyats (AUD $5). If they are paid, they come and clean the drain. If they are not paid, they don’t come” (Daw Aye Aye Myint) (see previous discussion about government attitudes in 7.3.1). They self-organise the collective payment to pay for YCDC to use a machine and provide lunch for the workers, but the task itself is completed by the government.

In other Parks, the HHL organises men who live in the park to contribute their time and labour for free to manually clean the drain (e.g. U Kyaw Soe’s Park). This is another example of drawing on bonding social capital from park members to contribute to the communal cause. U Kyaw Soe explained how the HHL take on responsibilities that should belong to the government. He said,

150 Chapter 7: Building physical assets

We do work that is YCDC’s responsibility. For example, this evening members of my Park and me are going to clean the drains in the park… we have to be involved in these YCDC responsibilities. We are not recognised as government workers though. There is nothing official about our work.

In his U Kyaw Soe’s Park, he cannot rely on the YCDC to clean the drains but it was unclear why. The Park members were poorer than others and there were more renters than other parks. The roads were still dirt with sandbags. Perhaps their linking social capital was weaker or they did not rely on the YCDC to clean the drains because the residents could not afford the additional contributions YCDC requires to do this task. Regardless, it is common that Park residents find solutions to needed services and infrastructure that would otherwise be provided by government in a Global North context. Because there are gaps in the service provision of Global South governments, other sectors and supports from within the community step forward to meet this need.

While in other Parks, relocatees explained how they are all responsible for the drain in front of their house. Daw Soe Soe says, “We clean the drains ourselves, each of us in front of our own house. Sometimes the HHL tells us to clean them.” This is an example of making individual contributions to the communal infrastructure and again relies on the social norms and obligations of bonding social capital. If a resident does not have the strength or ability to clean the drain, then the HHL or another neighbour assists them for a small fee, for free or in exchange for some food.

The different neighbourhood Parks developed different approaches to manage the cleaning and maintenance of drains in Ward 9, although they are all rooted in bonding social capital and the social norms and obligations embedded in that group. Even though some relied on YCDC to assist, there remains a consistent self-reliance and self-organisation undertone to the approaches for managing infrastructure. Park members contribute their time, money and labour to address local problems. These actions reflect the notion that the urban pay more for services, even though their resources are limited (Mitlin & Satterthwaite, 2013).

7.3.3 Supplementing social services

At the time of relocation, health and education services were limited or non-existent (see Chapter 5). Today, although service provision has improved, there remain various barriers to sufficient access and quality of service. The cost of school materials are prohibitively expensive and classrooms are overcrowded. In healthcare, the cost of ill-health is a major economic burden for both the individual and their household (see 7.2.3). Relocatees and newcomers have developed various actions to address these service shortcomings.

151 Chapter 7: Building physical assets

Bonding social capital via religious groups assist some households with cost barriers to access education. U Myint Swe explained how one of the ‘social groups’ in the Islamic community gives school uniforms and schoolbooks to Muslim students. It costs 5000 kyat (AUD $5) for one student to receive the necessary items for schooling. In 2015, this social group, funded by wealthier Muslims in downtown Yangon, gave supplies to 3000 students (i.e. spending AUD $15,000 on materials). The Hindu religious leader, U Khin Maung Win, explained how their congregation could also ask for financial help to pay for schoolbooks from wealthier Hindus downtown but assistance was not readily available and rarely accessed. This kind of bonding social capital is not accessible to everyone and while significantly beneficial to those who are members of that group, it is an example of how bonding social capital can be exclusionary (Putnam, 2000). For those who miss out, there is a lost opportunity to develop their human capital and fulfil basic needs.

Linking social networks with a Korean NGO, one HHL, U San Lwin has set up a tutoring program in the Dhammayoun39 in his Park. Through a friend, he was introduced to a Korean NGO that agreed to pay a teacher’s wage and for books, pencils, uniforms and schoolbags for the children. Through this vertical connection, U San Lwin was able to achieve improved education for his local neighbourhood.

If bonding or linking social capital was not an option for poorer Park members, several relocatees described how they use economic actions (identified in Chapter 6) to pay for school expenses. For Daw Hla Thaung, who was already in significant amount of debt, she could not continue to send her 12-year-old daughter to school and said, “when I could not pay donations to the school, my children feel small. For the books and pencils, it costs a lot of money for three children.” Her daughter was about to quit school to find work in a local factory to help with the family income.

For healthcare, bonding social capital is especially important for gaining access and navigating challenges associated with ill health. For poor households who do not have a support network to draw on to assist during times of ill health, it can be difficult to get to the hospital, supply their own needs and ensure children or other dependents are taken care of. Ill health is a shock for the poor that can disrupt how they manage their asset portfolios (Satterthwaite, 2001).

There was no ambulance for the hospital until 2015 when the interfaith group in Shwepyithar, which brings together religious leaders and representatives from Hindu, Islam, Christian and Buddhist faiths, contributed to the purchase of an ambulance for the hospital. This is an example of developing bridging social capital. U Myint Swe, the Islamic religious leader in Ward 9 explained,

39 Multipurpose Buddhist community halls used for meditating, resting, festivals, sharing food and other activities.

152 Chapter 7: Building physical assets

“The government gave 100 lakhs (AUD $10,000) to the township office and the township officer asked help from the interfaith group to raise money for the rest of the ambulance. All of the different religions donated money.” In this case, in partnership with the township authorities, the community and the religious congregations acted cooperatively to fill a need in the community.

Bonding, bridging and linking social capital have been pivotal in actions to supplement the social services in Ward 9. Bonding social capital has facilitated the support of school expenses for poor families yet excludes those who are not a member of that group. Bonding social capital has also been useful during times of sickness, enabling material and emotional support from friends and family. Bridging social capital has brought together different faiths to pay for the ward’s first ambulance. Last, linking social capital has helped one park supplement education services for its students. This diverse use of social capital demonstrates how a poor neighbourhood can improve their services offered to their communities. It also implies that where social capital is weak or diminished, these services remain poor quality. Also, it reinforces the literature (see Putnam, 2000; Woolcock & Narayan, 2000) that if a bonding social network lacks resources (e.g. non-Islam members unable to get supplementary funding for schoolbooks), then bridging and linking social capital becomes more valuable.

7.4 Conclusion

This chapter identified and defined the actions that relocatees and later newcomers developed to build their household and communal infrastructure in Ward 9. These actions have been developed and utilised based on self-reliance, in the context of no external support from government and non- government agencies. In Ward 9, relocatees prioritised immediate housing needs, starting with a bamboo tent, then wooden houses, followed closely by access to improved water supplies and sanitation. Households continue to make incremental and gradual improvements to their dwelling and their personal built environment over time using bonding social capital and accessing economic actions where needed (e.g. informal private money loans). These gradual improvements ties closely with ‘intergenerational’ actions, where household invest in their family’s futures (Beall, 2002). Despite the gradual improvements to accessing water, including more households having their own well, the cost of access remains expensive and the quality remains poor. Relocatees and newcomers have developed different ways to deal with the poor quality of water that is available to them, including paying for bottled water and letting well water settle for several days.

Immediately after relocation, even though families were similarly time and resource poor, developing a bonding social capital between neighbours was critical for their survival. This led to

153 Chapter 7: Building physical assets reciprocity and an exchange culture to complement the cash-based economy commonly found in urban areas. The formation of bonding social capital emerged through daily interactions of borrowing and lending water, money and household items. The trust built between strangers who lived in proximity later allowed them to become allied units to improve their communal infrastructure together, including sandbagging roads to make them more passable, cleaning out drains and supporting each other to overcome shortfalls in health and education services. The poorest families, in particular, carry a heavy burden for their individual contributions to collective causes, by contributing more funds, labour and time relative to their wealthier neighbours.

Further, today, particular groups and individuals have strong linking social capital with institutions and formal organisations, which favours their ability to lobby for access to services that they need for their park or broader community. The role of HHL in the community, for example, can also be a powerful enabling tool for rebuilding livelihoods due to their linking social capital with formal governance structures. Through linking social capital, they have the voice to lobby for improvements to their park (e.g. concrete roads, drain cleaning). Yet the poor environment in which Ward 9 residents live means that their health is put at risk. Poor water quality and sanitation solutions, blocked drains and inadequate access to health services ultimately impact on the health of families. Poor health limits people’s ability to fully participate in income-generating and human capital improvement (e.g. school) activities.

Drawing on support from various sources of social capital for economic and material support has stemmed from and reinforced strong self-reliance attitudes that have been critical for building and, over the years, improving, household and communal infrastructure. Where these social capital networks have deteriorated, however, there are adverse outcomes. For example, access to money lenders or wealthier family members might be needed to patch a hole in the wall before the rainy season, or a lack of opportunities through existing bonding social capital means that there is now extra-household support for a child cannot continue with school due to prohibitive costs for the family. At a community level, neighbourhoods can be sidelined for concrete road upgrades, or the ward as a whole does not have the connections or funding to improve the water quality.

The different kinds of reciprocity between neighbours explored in this chapter are further unpacked in the following chapter, focussing more on how trusting relationship, gestures of kindness and everyday interactions with neighbours can lead to a ‘sense of belonging’.

154 Chapter 8: Fostering a ‘sense of belonging’ and right to belong

Chapter 8 Fostering a ‘Sense of Belonging’ and the Right to Belong

Before we moved, I was familiar with my neighbours. If we needed help, we asked for help from neighbours who were Buddhist and Burmese. We shared in wedding celebrations and special ceremonies, sharing food and laughter. We trusted them like family, living like sisters and brothers. When we were moved [to Ward 9], I was very disappointed to be living here at first. We had no water, no electricity, no market and it took many years to settle down. I could no longer ask for help from my neighbours, instead I asked for help from my family in Kamayut Township. They gave us rice and food for the family. Now, I know my neighbours. I can go and ask for help from them.

U Myo Min, a Hindu man, was forced to move to Ward 9 with his wife and children after the government accused him of squatting in Mingalar Taun Nyunt.

8.1 Introduction

The previous two chapters have focussed on the more material aspects of rebuilding after relocation. These chapters identified and defined the various self-reliance and social capital actions relocatees developed to regain access to economic assets and building a liveable environment that meets the basic needs of an urban population. This chapter examines another aspect of recovery after forced relocation, focussing on fostering a ‘sense of belonging’ in the relocation site and what it means to have the right to belong. Relocatees experienced a sense of loss for their previous places they were moved from in 1991 when they arrived in Ward 9, feeling disorientated and isolated in their new surroundings. As mentioned in Chapter 5, Ward 9 is located 10-30 kilometres from where people were moved from. At the time of relocation, public transport was sparse, communication restricted and opportunities to move around the city freely were limited. Not only were the relocatees physically distanced from their previous places, they were also socially disconnected from their support networks and networks used for work or other opportunities. Combined, the disorientation, social disarticulation and isolation of the new site led to a loss of ‘sense of belonging’ after relocation.

This chapter explores how relocatees in Ward 9 have fostered a ‘sense of belonging’ over time, through bonding social capital and other means, whilst navigating various immediate needs, like

155 Chapter 8: Fostering a ‘sense of belonging’ and right to belong access to water, shelter and improving communal infrastructure. The process of fostering a ‘sense of belonging’ is important to understand, as doing so is an inherent “deep emotional need of people” (Yuval-Davis, 2004, p.215). Particularly after a relocation event, when affected groups experience a sudden and unexpected disruption to their daily routines, familiar sights, smells and everyday patterns of life, formulating a way to feel belonging is an important part of the recovery process. For Ward 9 relocatees, creating and nurturing a ‘sense of belonging’ has been an ongoing and gradual process of ‘settling in’ to their place since 1991. Actions developed to address their affective ties to place and social groups have not always been intentional. This chapter demonstrates how actions around ‘sense of belonging’ have been intertwined with bonding social capital used to build or access physical infrastructure, or the acts of reciprocity and exchange that neighbours have developed over time.

This chapter addresses the third sub-research question, How have relocatees developed a ‘sense of belonging’ in their relocation site? It answers this question by exploring the actions that relocatees have developed and implemented to foster a sense of place-based belonging and social attachment in Ward 9. Chapter 3 explained that to ‘belong’ means to have an affective attachment and a feeling of being ‘at home’, which can either manifest spatially, through place attachment, or socially by drawing on social capital and have a sense of self in a group (Mee & Wright, 2009; Wright, 2015). In addition, this chapter explores what it means for different social groups to have the right to belong in Ward 9. As described in Chapter 3, the ‘politics of belonging’ is the social determination of who has the right to belong in a place or use a space or belong to a group (Antonisch, 2010). It is important to acknowledge that belongingness is more than the affective, personal attachments made to place and social groups and requires some aspect of acceptance by a hegemonic group that has power over a minority group. Chapter 2 demonstrated that resettlement studies do not tend to examine the lost ‘sense of belonging’ experienced after displacement, choosing to focus more on the rehabilitation of material aspects, such as livelihoods and physical infrastructure. There is a current gap in how we understand the wide range of factors that contribute to how relocatees attempt to recover from the displacement impacts, both in a material sense and also in a community-making a place-making sense (Alaniz, 2017).

The actions defined and explored in this chapter have been identified using the interview and observation data collected during fieldwork. As with the other actions defined in this research, there is a partiality that only includes individuals and households who were forced to move by the Yangon City Development Committee (YCDC) and the military and who subsequently stayed in Ward 9. The actions that relocatees have developed to foster a ‘sense of belonging’ have been identified according to the place attachment, including creating meaningful places, establishing

156 Chapter 8: Fostering a ‘sense of belonging’ and right to belong everyday belonging, investing in physical built environments and acquiring material security. Social attachment actions comprised community making through ‘neighbouring’ for survival and for emotional support and community-making through religious-based social and emotional support.

Following this Introduction, Section 8.2 explores the spatial attributions of belongingness through place attachment. It describes how people initially felt grief for their lost place and how relocatees have regained a sense of place through a broad spectrum of actions. The place-based actions in this section relate directly to the reciprocity and exchange practices described in Chapter 7. Section 8.3 removes the geographical dimension of belonging and explores how relocatees have done ‘community-making’ through acts of ‘neighbouring’ and through association with religious groups. The purpose of these social attachment actions has been twofold: for everyday survival and emotional support. What it means not to belong how different groups access the right to belong is explored in Section 8.4. Section 8.5 summarises the chapter.

8.2 Place Attachment

Place attachment is the spatial element of ‘belongingness’ and therefore geographically-bound (Mee & Wright, 2009). Individuals strive for a ‘sense of belonging’ to place, which manifests from three psychological processes: familiarity, attachment and identity (Fullilove, 1996). Therefore, place attachment is one way to belong, but not the only way. Displacement threatens place attachment directly by removing people from their daily routines, familiarities and affective ties to spaces. This results in disorientation, nostalgia and feelings of alienation, thus disrupting people’s ‘sense of belonging’ to a location (Fullilove, 1996).

The following sub-section explains how Ward 9 relocatees experienced a sense of ‘dis- emplacement’ after forced relocation, causing disorientation, alienation and loneliness (de Wet, 2001). The sub-sections that follow explain how relocatees went about establishing place attachments anew in their relocation site. These included creating meaningful places, establishing belonging through everyday activities and new routines, investing in physical built environments and acquiring a sense of security.

8.2.1 ‘Dis-emplacement’ after forced relocation

Immediately after relocation, Ward 9 relocatees felt what de Wet (2001) described as ‘dis- emplacement’, isolation and loneliness from their previous locations and a strong sense of alienation from their past daily routines. When U Tun Kyaing (Box 5.1) was moved to Ward 9 from Yankin with his siblings and parents, he said “My life was fine in the previous place. As I lived near

157 Chapter 8: Fostering a ‘sense of belonging’ and right to belong the downtown, I could go easily, could make money easily and could live freely as I like. We were close with our neighbours and we lived like a family in the previous place, not like now.” U Tun Kyaing and others expressed sadness, nostalgia and a real sense of loss of his past life, even 25 years after being forced to move. Fried (1966) explains this as ‘grieving for a lost place’. Just as one can feel an emotional attachment to a place or collective, one can also feel detached and isolated if removed or rejected (Hummon, 1992).

When his family were relocated, U Tun Kyaing “felt empty inside and strange.” He was unfamiliar with the sights, sounds, smells and other daily imageries people look for in their day-to-day routines. After being moved to Ward 9, he explained he did not feel “part of Shwepyithar or of Yangon anymore. The feeling of living in Yankin and Shwepyithar is different. When I lived in Yankin, I felt connected to the city. It was the happiest place for me.” As expected, there is a strong romanticisation of the past in U Tun Kyaing’s reminiscing, formed through his forced relocation experience and looking back on a time when he was an adolescent. This nostalgic way of recollecting the past was frequently brought up by almost all relocatees, expressing strong loss for their old place, neighbours and ways of life and feeling alienated and disconnected from central parts of Yangon and their previous life. Even though Ward 9 is included in the city boundaries, residents do not consider Shwepyithar as an integrated part of the city. Shwepyithar is the northernmost township of the city and not as economically integrated as the other relocation sites.40 This process of feeling nostalgic for the lost place, yearning for the past and feeling alienated in the new location is common among displaced groups (Downing & Garcia-Downing, 2009; Fullilove, 1996; Greene, Tehranifar, Hernandez-Cordero, & Fullilove, 2011). This kind of nostalgic reflection reinforces the highly emotive transition that affected groups experience during forced relocation (Fullilove, 1996).

The feeling of disconnection from Yangon after relocation was felt by almost all relocatees. The exceptions were those who continued to travel to downtown Yangon for work or maintain contact with friends and family (despite the communication and transport barriers) were able to sustain some feeling of connectedness to downtown Yangon. Like U Tun Kyaing, if they did not have family, friends or work opportunities that drew them back to Yangon, they no longer felt a ‘sense of belonging’ there. Daw Hla Thaung, for example, said that she did “not feel connected” explaining, “We don’t go there anymore. We don’t have friends there anymore.” Even U Tun Kyaing who travelled downtown for work in the 1990s, he still felt a sense of disconnection from Yangon.

40 Hlaingtharyar Township, another relocation site, for example, became an industry and factory hub of the city with various economic opportunities for the relocatees. Though still very poor, the industry development in this township has been very different to Shwepyithar.

158 Chapter 8: Fostering a ‘sense of belonging’ and right to belong

Instead of continuing to mourn for their previous places and connections, the relocatees developed actions to address their longingness to belong and feel settled in Ward 9. This was in addition to developing actions to meet their basic material needs of access to income and constructing their built environment.

8.2.2 Creating meaningful places

Relocatees gradually adjusted to their new location by creating an attachment in their Ward 9 relocation site. As discussed in Chapters 5, 6 and 7, the land they arrived to in 1991 was bare, void of services, infrastructure and economic opportunity. During fieldwork, it became clear that the Ward 9 residents and relocatees had developed actions to ‘remake places’, just as refugees have done in other parts of the world (Dudley, 2011; Malkki, 1995). Individuals feel affective ties to multiple places and at multiple scales (e.g. object, house, neighbourhood, city or nation) (Antonisch, 2010; Brown et al., 2012). It is unsurprising then that relocatees in Ward 9 attached a meaning to different places in Ward 9.

Relocatees expressed the strong attachments that have formed over the years to their house, Park41 and ward. U Tun Kyaing, who had felt so unfamiliar with Ward 9 when he arrived (see Section 8.2.1 above), talked about what it would mean if he had to leave his house and Park today. He explained, “I would feel sad to leave this place. I love this house and would be sad to leave. This house is like treasure given to me by my parents and I must value it.” In regaining a ‘sense of belonging’ and place attachment in Ward 9, relocatees created a new bond with their relocation site by creating meaningful places. Positive social interactions in a location help people to feel a meaningful attachment to that place. The social dimensions of place and meaningful locations is integral to understanding why people identify one place over another as ‘meaningful’ (Lewicka, 2011). The attachment one has to a place is based on personal experiences and social interactions and is therefore subjective (Fullilove, 1996). For U Tun Kyaing, his parents gifted him and his brother their house in Ward 9, which now carries sentimental meaning to him and his family, describing it as “treasure.”

Others also identified their own houses as their most meaningful or favourite places. Daw Thet Htar (Box 7.1) commented, “When we talk about community, all I see is my small house. It’s not as nice as other houses here but that’s where I see the centre [of my community].” Later in the interview when talking about her children encouraging her to sell her house and grant lease, she said, “I love this place and don’t want to leave this place. This is the place where I struggled with my five

41 The administrative neighbourhood structure explained in Chapter 5, Section 5.2.2.

159 Chapter 8: Fostering a ‘sense of belonging’ and right to belong children.” For Daw Thet Htar, memories created over the 25 years as a single mother with her children in her house have made that dwelling a meaningful location, a place she now has an attachment with.

The public space in the Park was also commonly cited as a meaningful place for people, particularly from the Hundred Household Leaders (HHL). One of the HHL, U Aung Khaing explained, “The park connects all of people because every house faces towards the park. It is a place for everyone to be relaxed.” Despite it being flooded and impassable for most of the year, Park members felt an affiliation and ‘ownership’ of the public land. In one of the neighbourhoods, a Park member routinely pumped the floodwater for him and his neighbours to use it for chinlone42 and children’s games. When asked about the future aspirations for their communities, relocatees expressed desires to improve their park area to make it more user-friendly. The public parks are considered highly valued areas in the neighbourhoods. Fenster (2005) claims that the more control people have over the order and functions of their street, neighbourhood (or even city), the deeper their ‘sense of belonging’ is to that place. Even though the relocatees were burdened with the development of almost all of the physical infrastructure in Ward 9, the micro-level efforts of improving their environments reinforces the significance of places in their neighbourhoods.

If “space is place made meaningful” (Fenster, 2005, p.243) and place is a subjective self-identified construction with a valued social dimension, then relocatees have been able to readjust their place attachment in Ward 9 by either accessing public green space, or forming attachment to place in the home. Developing attachment to these meaningful places has not been easy or straightforward for the relocatees. Fullilove (2013) notes that the ability to create new place attachments is undermined by depletion of other resources during the displacement process. Ward 9 relocatees had competing obligations to meet their basic infrastructure needs (water, shelter) and pressure to regain access to income-generating activities like work and/or finding credit. Fostering a ‘sense of belonging’ was not necessarily a deliberate objective to address an immediate need but has eventuated over time, through creating meaningful places, and as demonstrated below, the everyday activities and physical infrastructure investments that the relocatees have pursued. This aligns with Maslow’s hierarchy of needs where people establish their physiological needs (e.g. food, water, shelter) and safety needs (e.g. protection, security, stability) before seeking belongingness (Wadley, 2020).

42 Also known as ‘sepak takraw’ in Thailand and Malaysia, a popular ball game in Southeast Asia.

160 Chapter 8: Fostering a ‘sense of belonging’ and right to belong

8.2.3 Establishing belonging through everyday activities and routines

Relocatees fostered feelings of belongingness through their everyday activities and routines. In the early days and months after relocation, relocatees navigated the new landscape without maps, finding markets and creating their own way-finders by leaving a personal item at their new allocated plot (e.g. a bowl or piece of cloth) (see Chapter 5). Fenster (2005, p.244) explains that everyday routines, such as walking are “part of the process of appropriation and territorialisation” of a place and gives meaning to spaces. Through acts of mundane interactions and routinely walking through a location, people gain an “accumulated attachment” to those places by gaining knowledge, memories and everyday experiences (Fenster, 2005, p.244). The act of walking or getting a trishaw (a three-wheeled bike called a saiq-ka) to the bus stop or finding one’s way to the market are examples of the mundane interactions that helped relocatees establish an everyday ‘sense of belonging’ and ‘feeling at home’.

As mentioned, Ward 9 relocatees experienced a strong sense of loss and disorientation after relocation. Fullilove (1996) explains that developing familiarity with the new physical landscape by creating intimate spatial knowledge aids people to regain their sense of self and identity after displacement. Daw Aye Mya earned money by touring around the ward selling vegetables that she had purchased from the market. When asked about her ‘sense of belonging’ in Ward 9, she explained, “I feel connected to this place and my neighbours because I’ve been living here for 26 years. I am close with the Parks and the people who live there because I spent many years touring around selling vegetables to them” (see Section 8.3.1 for social attachment with neighbours). By travelling around the different Parks daily for ten years until her health started to deteriorate, she gained an intimate knowledge of the relocation site, which has become part of her identity and feeling ‘at home’.

These kinds of daily, weekly or even seasonal rituals and routines are some of the ways that relocatees in Ward 9 invested meaning into places, leading to attachment and feelings of belonging to a place. Initially after relocation, the markets for produce were located outside of the ward, in the southern part of Shwepyithar. If choosing not to purchase produce from the touring sellers, relocatees had to ride a trishaw or walk to the bus stop, pay for the bus transport, travel to the market, buy produce and reverse the trip back to the relocation site in Ward 9. This routine was repeated multiple times a week before one of the Parks in Ward 9 started their own street market in the late 1990s.43 The rituals of everyday life that emerged in Ward 9, through daily interactions with

43 In 2016, YCDC formalised this market in a market hall in the same Park, charging sellers high rates to open their shops in the formalised market (see Figure 5.5).

161 Chapter 8: Fostering a ‘sense of belonging’ and right to belong neighbours, exchange of greetings with market stall holders, the process of journeying to the market (both outside and within Ward 9) became a source of comfort to people, embedding their attachment to place in the relocation site. Place attachment emerges through these familiar interactions and is reinforced over time through repetitive routines of daily life (Fenster, 2005; Fried, 1966; Friedmann, 2007).

8.2.4 Investing in physical built environments

How Ward 9 relocatees developed actions to build their physical environment (shelter, water, roads and shared public spaces) was previously explained in Chapter 7. The investments that they have made in their physical infrastructure has led to a long-term connection and emotional attachment to the places they find meaningful in Ward 9. These affective acts of ‘doing belonging’ have, in turn, mobilised a ‘sense of belonging’ and feelings of being “in place” (Mee & Wright, 2009, p.772). In Ward 9, acts of building meaningful places, familiarising oneself with their new location through everyday activities and investing in the physical built environment has resulted in a strong link to feeling ‘at home’ and ‘in place’ over the last 25 years. This is what Fenster (2005) refers to when discussing belonging as a series of practices, and therefore belonging as a process (of becoming) and not a status to be attained (being), as discussed in Chapter 3. Feelings of belonging and place attachment are not static, but occur through everyday actions, including investing time, resources and energy into physical built environments.

It is important to note, however, that the investment in physical environments and hopefulness for future betterment has not always been the same. Skidmore (2002, p.91) writes of her fieldwork in the 1990s in another relocation site created at the same time and through the same relocation program as Ward 9 with unemployed women, “They have little hope that their lives will improve. Their hopes are that their children may escape the relocated townships… For many people this hope is tinged with the sadness of losing their sense of place.” Entering a different relocation site, I was able to observe 25 years after relocation that relocatees had different positions of hopefulness to what Skidmore found in her research. Relocates in Ward 9 had a sense of security and hope for future betterment in Ward 9.

Even though the physical conditions that the Ward 9 residents live in today are habitable and vastly improved since 1991, the health and wellbeing of their environment is poor (see Chapter 7 for water quality and sanitation conditions as an example). The relocatees, and more recently newcomers, have invested time, money and resources into creating a liveable place to be. Lewicka (2011) refers to the quality of the physical environment and the perceived control people have over their

162 Chapter 8: Fostering a ‘sense of belonging’ and right to belong environment as a predictor of place attachment. Writing from the Global North, it is easy to assume the positive nature of personal investment into the physical environment. In the Global South, however, the urban poor are often burdened with the task of their physical improvements, causing indebtedness by paying more for services and requiring additional governance arrangements to ensure services run as they should (see Chapter 7) (Mitlin & Satterthwaite, 2013).

Despite this, relocatees and newcomers have been able to co-construct their physical environment to reflect the ‘hopeful belongings’ they aspire for in their communities. Many relocatees and newcomers talked about the physical improvements they would like to see in their neighbourhood parks, such as play equipment for children and improved roads. Concrete roads were particularly highly valued and seen as sign of being ‘developed’. Daw Than Tin explained, “We can say we are developed if we have a concrete road. Now we have to walk in the mud when it rains.” HHL also mentioned that they wanted their parks to be more peaceful and with fewer domestic disputes. U Lwin Oo explained, “I want to see more peace and everyone in the community have an income. I want to see fewer families fighting over financial troubles.” While, U Tun Tun wanted to see everyone in his Park have a brick house and to install a swing and see-saw for the children. Discussions about what they would like to see in the future mostly focussed on the shared infrastructure improvements, rather than personal house upgrades. These aspirations for a shared future relate back to Wright’s (2015) ‘hopeful belongings’ where the aspiration itself is co- constructing a ‘sense of belonging’ in that place.

Families, however, who were poorer or in significant debt focussed on the immediate needs of their family when questioned about how they visualised their future. For some, this meant improving their household needs first and then making more time and money available later for their community. Daw Aye Mya, for example, said “I want more income in the future so that we can make improvements in our family. Then we can also improve to the community.” House improvements included building another story, replacing wooden walls with brick, building a brick toilet room, and to have a big enough house to sleep everyone. Daw Than Thwe, whose husband drove a trishaw and has a particularly small bamboo and wooden house explains, “I want a better house made of brick. My mother-in-law sleeps on the bamboo platform outside and when it rains, she has to use an umbrella to stop the water coming in from the side. I need better shelter for the house.” For these poorer families, their immediate focus was attaining an adequate living arrangement for their household before investing further into their community, which is consistent with Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (Wadley, 2020).

163 Chapter 8: Fostering a ‘sense of belonging’ and right to belong

By practicing belonging through investing in their physical environment, relocatees are demonstrating their sense of security and hope for future betterment in their neighbourhoods. This is what Wright (2015) discusses as “emergent becomings and hopeful belongings”, where understanding people, places, emotions and aspirations co-construct each other and the formation of what ‘belonging’ means. Belonging does not just refer to an affective connection with single place or series of places or groups but can exist in a myriad of ways (Antonisch, 2010; Wright, 2015). To practice belonging through investment in physical environments and for people to define themselves as active agents in the co-construction of belonging, is “an expression of hope in the present” (Wright, 2015, p.404). Through investing in their local environment by continuing to improve shelter, water, roads and shared public spaces, the relocatees (and newcomers) are co- creating their own ‘sense of belonging’ in Ward 9.

8.2.5 Acquiring material security and perceived security

In terms of economic factors, determinants for feeling at home in a place is strongly associated with feeling “safe and stable in material condition” (Antonisch, 2010, p.648). It was only when relocatees had established a sense of stability, security or new ‘normality’ in their life after relocation that they started to feel ‘settled’ and at ‘home’. This varied tremendously between relocatees and was noted as being linked with building their own tube water wells, or they became accustomed to the public transport routes, or accessing public services like schools and healthcare, or feeling financially stable or positive about business prospects.

Timeframes for ‘feeling at home’ ranged between one to 20 years, depending on the individual circumstances of the relocatee and their interpretation of ‘feeling at home.’ For example, Daw Soe Soe explained, “After two or three years, this place started to feel like home. That’s when I got my own well and got used to taking the transportation. But I hadn’t gotten electricity yet.” For U Myo Min, he started to feel at home between five and six years after being relocated. By this stage he had been able to restart his metal recycling business downtown after a failed attempt in Ward 9 and felt that his business was doing well. U Tun Kyaing (Box 5.1), said “After about 15 years I started to feel settled. First, I needed to build a house and then tried to access many things like hospitals, schools, buses. After 15 years, I got all these things and then I felt settled here.” For U Than Aye, he commented, “At first, we faced difficulties accessing transportation, connecting to electricity and getting water. It took until two years ago [2014] to get a tube water well. It’s been three years since we have got all of the services we need. It is all fine now.” Even though the water is not clean (see Chapter 7), U Than Aye was satisfied that a tube water well in his yard was sufficient to feel a sense of material security. These long periods of settling in are contrasted with some newcomers who

164 Chapter 8: Fostering a ‘sense of belonging’ and right to belong have voluntarily moved into the area over the last 25 years. A couple who are local moneylenders moved into Ward 9 in 2000 and they said, “within a month it felt like home to us” (Daw Aye Soe).

Attaining a sense of security through material possessions is also reflected in literature about belonging and place attachment for refugees. Kaptani and Yuval-Davis (2008) claim that refugees studied in London felt a greater ‘sense of belonging’ if they were financially secure and had embedded themselves into the local economy with jobs that connected them with people outside their immediate refugee community. Greene et al. (2011) found that financial stability was an important part of settling into a place after refugees move to the USA. This was attained by finding employment, starting a business, purchasing a house or securing their children’s educational future (Greene et al., 2011). The relocation to Ward 9 was a different context to refugee resettlement, yet similarly found that relocatees were able to feel a ‘sense of belonging’ and place attachment in their relocation site after they had some sense of material security.

Belongingness is not just a matter of material security for place attachment, but the resources available to the individual or group to manage the risks and uncertainties of working, living, occupying a space without permissions (Antonisch, 2010). In Ward 9, there was also security and safety found through perceived resources available to manage risks. As Chapters 6 and 7 have demonstrated, economic and physical assets remain unstable and unpredictable. Even though most relocatees are indebted and rely on credit for their daily living expenses (see Chapter 6), they have still managed to establish a sense of security in their situation, either because of their perceived land tenure status, creating meaningful places, everyday belonging practices, investing in physical infrastructure, or through religious support (see Section 8.4). Daw Yamin Aye (Box 7.2), for example, felt safe in her house and commented, “I haven’t had anything stolen from my house. I don’t even have a front door. The doorframe [with a high step] is to prevents dogs from outside coming inside. Nowadays thieves steal only motorbikes and mobile phones.” Because she had not been stolen from, she believes that it will not happen. She said that she feels safe because she knows her neighbours and she does not own a motorbike and her mobile phone is old.

For others, their sense of security in Ward 9 is closely linked with their social connections in their Park. When asked about her sense of security, Daw Thet Htar (Box 7.1) said, “I feel secure. I have great neighbours, and there are no robbers or thieves in this area.” Daw Thet Htar and Daw Yamin Aye (whose house lacks a front door) live in the same Park. Their sense of security was very high.

165 Chapter 8: Fostering a ‘sense of belonging’ and right to belong

Some families still do not feel completely settled living in Ward 9 and Shwepyithar because there is no mosque close to their house, or they feel like there might be another, better place to live. Daw Mya Than explained,

Our neighbours moved here with us and we have been here for many years, but I do not like living here. Even though I don’t enjoy it, I have to keep trying…We are Muslim, and we are not allowed to worship like others. The Christian people can gather in a house and worship, but Muslims can’t. The government doesn’t allow it. I have to thinking about moving closer to a mosque for my children because religious teaching is very important to me and also for my family.

When asked about the logistics of moving to a house closer to the mosque, Daw Mya Than explained that her family would not be able to afford to buy and would need to rent. Further explanation about exclusion and politics of belonging is described in Section 8.4. Religious and cultural practices that are performed ritualistically or routinely provide a ‘warm sensation’ and evoke a sense of community and social connection (Antonisch, 2010). For many, being able to perform religious practices in a dedicated place of worship regularly is an important part of everyday life and therefore belonging. Without this access, feelings of belonging and feeling settled are more difficult.

Attachment to place and feelings of ‘belonging’ are not static (Brown et al., 2012), nor a status to be gained, but rather a process (Fenster, 2005). Place attachment, which represents the spatiality of ‘sense of belonging’, grows as people use and invest meaning into a place (e.g. social and physical contributions to a place). Through creation of meaningful places, establishing everyday routines, investing in the physical environment and acquiring a sense of security, Ward 9 relocatees (and newcomers) have been able to establish place attachment in their relocation site. What this looks like varies between households as some view their own home as their most important place and others see communal areas, such as the shared parks as most important. As Ward 9 relocatees and newcomers continue to improve their physical environment, the ‘sense of belonging’ and attachment to place will evolve and change over time.

8.3 Social Attachment

Just as it is possible to feel a sense of attachment to a place without people, it is also possible to have a ‘sense of belonging’ to a social group without a connection to the physicality of place or space. This is what Wright (2015) refers to as the personal determination of sense of self in a group

166 Chapter 8: Fostering a ‘sense of belonging’ and right to belong and what it means to live with others, which goes beyond the spatiality of belonging. ‘Feeling at home’ is not just represented by the affected attachment to a building, dwelling or space but also considers relational, cultural, autobiographical, economic and legal factors (Antonisch, 2010). Both social and place attachment make up what it means to have a ‘sense of belonging’. Having a ‘sense of belonging’ and feeling ‘at home’ is equally about the place attachment (see Section 8.2) and connection to social realms (i.e. sense of community) (Antonisch, 2010; Lewicka, 2011; Mihaylov & Perkins, 2014).

Feelings of social attachment is directly linked with social capital. Social attachment is how people feel connected with their social groups, networks and relations, and social capital encompasses the productive gains formed through those social relations. Displacement ruptures these social attachments and social capital in what Cernea (2000) refers to as ‘social disarticulation’. Chapters 6 and 7 explained how relocatees used their different social networks to regain access to economic capital and rebuild their physical environment. This section explores how social relations, through social attachment, have been gained for other purposes, including everyday survival to meet daily needs (outside of economic and physical capital assets) and emotional support. There is a degree of ‘community-making’ that occurs to help people feel ‘at home’, particularly after a relocation or resettlement event (Alaniz, 2017). The emotional and social supports go beyond community- making and ‘neighbouring’ and also include important ties to religious and cultural social groups.

8.3.1 Community-making through ‘neighbouring’ actions

Social attachment in Ward 9 has been formed through everyday acts of what Mihaylov and Perkins (2014) refer to as ‘neighbouring,’ which is informal assistance given and received as a way to foster new social relations. Individuals undertake mutually supportive behavioural actions, such as ‘neighbouring’ to gain a sense of community (Mihaylov & Perkins, 2014). ‘Neighbouring’ has been critical to many of the Ward 9 relocatees’ ability to build social attachment, gain a sense of community and feel settled and ‘at home’ (Antonisch, 2010; Mihaylov & Perkins, 2014). Ward 9 relocatees have leveraged their bonding social capital with neighbours for two primary motivations: ‘neighbouring’ for survival and ‘neighbouring’ for emotional support. The following sections explain examples of how Ward 9 relocatees used ‘neighbouring’ to build community attachment by surviving and emotional support to feel settled and ‘at home.’

8.3.1.1 ‘Neighbouring’ actions to survive

The lottery system to allocate land plots to families (see Chapter 5) meant that neighbours from previous places were not moved together or located in physical proximity. There were many

167 Chapter 8: Fostering a ‘sense of belonging’ and right to belong strangers in the Parks after the relocation. People did not know who they could trust or who they should be wary of. There were also looters who took advantage of the poor conditions of the relocatees. Initially after relocation, some relocatees reported thieves stealing household materials from plots where people had been relocated to. Because there was no shelter at the time, household items (e.g. cooking utensils) and housing materials (e.g. wood and iron) were laid out on the street. One relocatee, Daw Khin Win explained how she befriended her neighbours and they took turns to stay up at night to keep their possessions secure and from being stolen. Daw Khin Win said, “We talked with our new neighbours all night in the field to stay awake and watch over our belongings. We took turns to make sure the community was safe.” These acts of sharing and mutuality, conceptualised as part of urban livelihoods in Chapter 2, helped to build the bonding social capital between neighbours (Scott, 1976).

Establishing everyday belonging through routine activities was discussed in the context of place attachment but it is also relevant to social attachments. ‘Doing belonging’ through everyday interactions and activities (Skrbiš et al., 2007) is closely linked with acts of reciprocity, exchange economics and urban ways of sharing (Beall, 2002). These social interactions with proximate neighbours hold both a strong social and spatial qualities. Neighbouring, has been based on establishing relationships with neighbours to access their water well, borrow a bowl or find other objects, food or money to exchange. These socio-spatial relations were not only required for survival (see Chapters 6 and 7), but also established valuable social gains. Such social interactions and relations were another way that relocatees familiarised themselves with the new location by intentionally engaging with people in their Park and helping them to settle in. Daw Aye Mya, for example, made friends with the neighbours near her house who were low-level government workers. Even though they were also poor, they could afford to build their own well. Daw Aye Mya and her family engage in mutually supportive behaviours with these neighbours to be able to gain and maintain access to their well for over 20 years before Daw Aye Mya could afford to build her own. These acts of ‘neighbouring’ fed into establishing new routines and contributing to both social and place attachment.

Daw Soe Soe, who built intentional relations with her neighbours after relocation recalled how she fostered bonding social capital through trust with her new neighbours, “Some of my neighbours [from Pazuntaung Township] were moved to Hlaing Thar Yar [Township] or other Parks or wards in Shwepyithar, so it was difficult to make new friends here. I made new friends eventually, but it took time… I made friends by talking to people. We were all in the same situation, so we try to help each other when we need it - like borrowing/ lending money for business or household materials.” She explained now she trusts her neighbours like she trusted her old neighbours before relocation.

168 Chapter 8: Fostering a ‘sense of belonging’ and right to belong

These daily interactions with her new neighbours eventually led to trusting and sometimes intentional relations that formed part of her bonding social capital (Putnam, 2000). Here, it is possible to see how bonding social capital was formed through acts of ‘neighbouring’, where physical proximity to each other created inclusivity and belongingness (Probyn, 1996).

People who were more vulnerable in Ward 9, for example widows or elderly, or people with poor health, and those with fewer social networks after relocation, talked about how they had no choice but to get along with their neighbours to survive. These intentional relations go beyond the ‘feel- good’ community-making exercises seen in more stable communities and reaches into the necessary social ties that make a difference between surviving and not (Kearns & Parkinson, 2001; Lomnitz, 1977). Daw Thet Htar (Box 7.1) was moved to Ward 9 as a widow and mother of five children. She depended on her social ties to the wood business where her late husband had worked and her new neighbours, who were strangers to her, to help build a basic level of shelter. Daw Thet Htar’s neighbours have been an immense support network for her over the years. Their relationship has grown from a weak bonding network to something stronger, more robust and long-lasting. During the interviews, she referred to them as her friends and her family and an integral part of her life.

Similarly, when a vulnerable group or household experience continuous stress or a major shock to their livelihood assets, bonding social capital and the intentional relations that form within a group who have similar characteristics, are again utilised for survival. The sustainable livelihoods framework refers to stress as “small, regular, predictable disturbance with a cumulative effect” and shocks as “large, infrequent, unpredictable disturbance with immediate impact” (Scoones, 1998, p.6–7). Both stresses and shocks affect an individual’s or household’s ability to manage their assets.

Daw Thi Thi Aye, a widow who was relocated in 1991, has a precarious living situation that has caused continuous stress to her livelihood assets. Technically, she is squatting on YCDC land at the back of her parents’ block, over the drain. YCDC has threatened to remove them many times but each time, her neighbours rally to protest against the authorities and keep her and her children living there. When asked if she feels safe living here, she cried and explained, “I cry everyday about this. I don’t want to live like this [squatting]. I live here because I don’t have a place of my own to live.” With the support of her neighbours and community, she has been able to keep her small bamboo hut, the only housing available to her. Very emotionally, she expressed of her community, “All of my neighbours are good to me. I get along with all of the people here. Considering that my husband is gone and my children are working, I feel safe and my neighbours are good to me.”

169 Chapter 8: Fostering a ‘sense of belonging’ and right to belong

In addition, Daw Thi Thi Aye has also experienced major shocks to her livelihood assets and uncertain living arrangement. One shock was Cyclone Nargis that destroyed her hut in 2009. Again, her community rallied to support her. She said, “the community collected money and helped me to build this house again. I got this iron plate for the roof for free.” Daw Thi Thi Aye lives in a vulnerable situation, without a ‘family list’44 or land of her own yet has developed a strong connection with her neighbours who have supported her to maintain her bamboo hut despite YCDC’s threats, and through natural disasters that have damaged her shelter. Daw Thi Thi Aye’s place-based bonding social capital have been central for her to maintain access to shelter, feel supported and attached to her community and her overall survival (Fresque-Baxter & Armitage, 2012; Mihaylov & Perkins, 2014).

These examples are stories of how some of the most vulnerable people in Ward 9 have been able to rely on their newly formed social networks after relocation to survive and feel supported through their ‘settling in’ process. It was impossible for the research to identify, locate and access examples of where vulnerable households, or households that experienced unexpected and disarming shocks to their livelihood assets to understand how their ‘community-making’ through ‘neighbouring’ actions played out. Undoubtedly, there are examples of households who could not establish the place-based bonding social capital to survive in Ward 9 after relocation and moved to rural areas or back to downtown Yangon where they had family. Mobility and migration are critical ways people adapt to change, including forced relocation and livelihood pressures (Connell & Connell, 2014). I acknowledge that these stories exist, and the bias towards people who stayed in Ward 9 that this research represents.

The examples of neighbouring actions to survive is reflective of the bonding social capital that Woolcock and Narayan (2000) discusses as assisting people to ‘get by’. That is, mutually supportive behaviour within bonding social capital relations and one’s own social circles helps with day-to-day survival but does not help people to ‘get on’ or advance out of a poverty situation (Kearns & Parkinson, 2001; Woolcock & Narayan, 2000). Poor neighbourhoods tend to have strong bonding social capital (Kearns & Parkinson, 2001; Lomnitz, 1977).

8.3.1.2 ‘Neighbouring’ actions for emotional support

Meeting a basic level of emotional security is the second aspect that constitutes community-making through neighbouring. In the context of Ward 9, relocatees finding emotional security and safety

44 A ‘family list’ is a registration of names held by the HHL (in urban areas) or Village Head (in rural areas). See Chapter 5 for a detailed explanation.

170 Chapter 8: Fostering a ‘sense of belonging’ and right to belong through relating to others in their proximity has been an important part of gaining a ‘sense of belonging’ and social attachment. Relocatees found comfort in knowing just one or two families who were moved to Ward 9 from the same place as them. U Myo Min, a Hindu man who was moved when he was in his early 20s remembered feeling happy to see some familiar faces in Ward 9, even if those families had not been moved to his Park. The occasional interactions with his previous neighbours, who were Burmese Buddhist, were a small comfort to him and his family. As with U Myo Min, Daw Soe Soe also knew a handful of families who were moved to her Park in 1991 from her previous location. She said that the initial months were made easier knowing that she could trust them. She explained, “We lived like a sister and brother and they helped me.”

Another way for Ward 9 relocatees to establish a sense of emotional security has been the shared history and memories that connect those households to their shared place, their relocation site. Antonisch (2010) refers to this as the ‘autobiographical’ factors that link people and place together through shared experiences. During fieldwork, it became evident that there was a camaraderie amongst Ward 9 relocatees that excluded newcomers. The relocatees find common identity through their ‘shared trauma’ regardless of religion, age, ethnicity, previous place of residence. U Myint Swe, the Islamic religious leader in the ward explained the origins of this emotional connection to each other,

At first, when we started moving here, we missed our old places very much. At that time, one or two household moved ahead, and they cooked curry and made tea for the newcomers. They didn’t let those people to feel sad alone. They all sit together and talk, but at night they all cried together. We shared happiness and sadness together.

The Ward 9 relocatees used social networks for emotional support and found commonality in their shared experiences. Feelings of belonging through shared nostalgia/ shared trauma (Bennett, 2009) means that there is a 'stickiness' to the emotion that binds people who have shared an experience (Wright, 2015). Daw Khin Win was moved to Ward 9 with some of her neighbours from Mingalar Taun Nyunt. She said,

I was very sad to have to leave the previous place and very disappointed when I arrived in this area… At first, I was very sad but when I looked around, I saw some of my neighbours here and I was happy again…... We did not have any special assistance to help each other. We were all just united.

Similarly, U Tun Kyaing (Box 5.1) who recalled his early adulthood in Ward 9 commented, “We had trust between us [the relocatees] because we all moved here at the same time.” Daw Yamin Aye

171 Chapter 8: Fostering a ‘sense of belonging’ and right to belong explained how this trust that formed through their shared trauma translated into reciprocity between neighbours,

The Park was full at that time with people from different places such as Mingalar Taun Nyut, Azikchan, Oak Kyinn… When I needed money, they lend it to me and when I don’t have enough food, they share theirs with me. Although they are poor, they are very generous to share and very friendly. They love to share curry. My community is very good to me. They are helpful and cooperate with each other.

Daw Yamin Aye went to explain how her neighbours have continued to be an important support network for her, both emotionally and materially, during difficult times. She commented, “I usually ask them to go with me to the hospital and clinic when I am unwell. Sometimes, I ask them to lend me 5,000 or 2,000 kyats (AUD $5 or $2) to buy things for my shop.” These relations that she fostered after relocation have endured and remain essential to Daw Yamin Aye’s feeling of being part of her community. She explained how the support is reciprocated, saying “when someone is sick, we go and help. I would be sad to leave this place and lose all of these friends.” As Forrest and Kearns (2016) note, these informal exchanges of assistance between bonding social capital relations are more important in poor neighbourhoods as it helps the poor to cope with reduced access to other resources, including economic capital and poorer physical environments.

Building their bonding social capital with their new neighbours and nurturing relations from neighbours who were familiar and were moved from the same neighbourhoods, has been part of the process of ‘settling in’ and feeling ‘at home’ for Ward 9 relocatees. These social relations, both fostered through sentiments of nostalgia and intentional opportunities are now integral parts of the relocatees’ identities. Building identities through social relations is part of ‘feeling acceptance’ within a group and forms part of an individual’s ‘sense of belonging’ (Fullilove, 1996). These connections and the trust gained between neighbours has taken time to develop over the last 25 years. Notwithstanding this emotional connection to others who were forced to move, there are still tensions between religious groups, particularly Buddhist and Islamic communities in Ward 9 (see Section 8.4).

Combined, these actions for community-making through ‘neighbouring’ actions have led to a social attachment and community-based place attachment in Ward 9. Community place attachment is the affective relational component of ‘sense of belonging’ that Antonisch (2010, p.647) refers to as “feeling ‘at home’, attached to, and rooted in a place”, which goes beyond a spatial attachment and focuses more generally on community attachment (Mihaylov & Perkins, 2014). The practices of

172 Chapter 8: Fostering a ‘sense of belonging’ and right to belong belonging for the community-making process have included neighbouring actions (e.g. informal lending and borrowing of goods and services), developing trust and bonding social capital with new neighbours, fostering intentional relations with neighbours (particularly for vulnerable groups), seeking emotional comfort with people from previous places and people who have shared experiences. These bonding social capital-based actions have been largely fostered around place- based relations with physical proximity with people who have commonalities (Bennett, 2009; Probyn, 1996).

8.3.2 Community-making through religious-based social and emotional support

Social connections and cultural activities through religious groups have played important roles in how people have settled into their relocation site in Ward 9. Religious and cultural practices are significant for people to feel ‘at home’ and ‘in place’ (Antonisch, 2010). Religious and cultural expressions through traditions, which can include anything from worshiping practices to food preparations, are examples of ‘doing belonging’ and contribute to feeling a sense of community (Antonisch, 2010; Fenster, 2005; Wright, 2015). In Ward 9, relocatees have fostered different cultural activities and traditions, making important spaces in the ward to host these community- making practices. This section explains how relocatees have established places of worship to conduct religious practices and the different support mechanisms religious groups provide to their constituents as ways of fostering a ‘sense of belonging’ in Ward 9.

Ward 9 residents (relocatees and newcomers) all contribute to various communal causes and community services. As discussed in Chapter 7, communal infrastructure was largely developed and maintained by Park members through moral and social obligations because of a lack of support from outside of the ward. Community services, such as funerals and social welfare, however, have been organised through religious networks and is another example of ‘community-making’ that forms a collective understanding of ‘sense of belonging’ (Wright, 2015). Whereas Probyn (1996) interprets physical proximity between people, not sameness, as building affective and inclusive communities, in a post-relocation context where strong religious divides exist, I argue that the Ward 9 relocatees and residents rely on both the physical proximity of their neighbours for ‘sense of belonging’ through community-building acts (see Section 8.3.1), but also their own religions for emotional and social support.

Funeral services, for example, are organised strictly within the four main religions represented in Ward 9: Buddhism, Islam, Hindu and Christian. Each religion fundraises and coordinates religious affairs separately. For example, a Buddhist family would not provide contributions for their Muslim

173 Chapter 8: Fostering a ‘sense of belonging’ and right to belong neighbour’s funeral and vice-versa. The Islamic community is well connected with other Islamic families and mosques downtown and even across the country. They have established social groups with formal structures (similar to a board of directors for a company) that collect money from all of the Muslim families in the ward (wealthier families donate more) and redistribute the funds to people in need (funeral expenses, widows, very poor, orphans, elderly). Other religions in the ward did not have these kinds of structures but coordinated their own funeral services and sometimes social welfare services.

Relocatees found comfort in having people of the same religion nearby after relocation, particularly the minority religions (Islam, Hindu and Christian). U Tun Kyaing, a Muslim man who was relocated in his late teens and mourned the loss of his old place in Yankin (see Section 8.2.1) commented, “they [the Muslim community] are not helpful financially, but emotionally they support us.” This is what Antonisch (2010) refers to as the cultural factors of place-belongingness, along with language and other non-linguistic cultural connections. Thawnghmung (2019) finds similar results of emotional support from religion in her detailed examination of everyday economic survival strategies in Myanmar. Whether through moral support during prayer or meditation, or acting as material safety nets for those in need (e.g. shelter at monasteries escape alcoholism, receiving religious aid from social groups), religion plays an important part in coping with difficult times, particularly economic hardship, in Myanmar (Thawnghmung, 2019).

Viewing sense of community and belonging through bonding social capital slightly detaches from the spatiality of ‘place-belongingness’ and moves the notion of ‘feeling at home’ to a non- geographical boundary where people share the same religious beliefs, norms and understandings. Bonding social capital, where social ties are built based on sameness, shared interests, and family bonds, has been discussed in Chapters 6 and 7 in terms of the benefits it endows economic opportunities and strengthens resources for collaborative contributions to the built environment. Bonding social capital has also been beneficial to relocatees to gain a ‘sense of belonging’ and ‘feeling at home’ in Ward 9.

One example of bridging social capital to assist with community making has been the co-funded ambulance by the different religions in the ward. Here, the multiple faiths contributed to a collective cause for the ward and the shared hospital to fund and deliver an ambulance, rather than relying on the individual resources within the bonding social capital network for each religion. As mentioned, if a bonding network lacks resources, then bridging and linking social capital becomes more valuable. Ultimately, this cross-cultural resource has added a tangible and valuable asset to the Ward 9 community as a whole, bringing together people of different faiths to coordinate.

174 Chapter 8: Fostering a ‘sense of belonging’ and right to belong

Social attachments formed through different ‘community-making’ actions helped to shape Ward 9 relocatees’ ‘sense of belonging’ over the last 25 years. These social attachments have developed from both proximate neighbours offering mutual support and acts of reciprocity, to fostering supportive behaviour both emotionally and for survival within religious groups. Combined, these community making actions have resulted in feelings of belongingness and social attachments for the relocatees.

8.4 The Right to Belong in Ward 9

Just as belonging is understood as the affective dimensions to attachment to places and people, there is also a socially determination to have the right to belong. In Ward 9, there are three ways that determine the formal structures of belonging: formal rights to live in Ward 9 through tenure, access to places of worship, and religious tensions between Buddhist and Muslim households.

The first is through the right to live in Ward 9. Chapter 5 explained that the relocation of families was based on ‘family lists’ that are the basis of monitoring citizen movements in Myanmar and allocating resources. Each time someone moves, they need to update their ‘family list’ with their HHL (or village head in rural areas). While the relocatees’ family lists were updated to reflect their relocation to Ward 9 in 1991, leading to a formal acceptance to live and stay there, it simultaneously excluded the relocatees from creating permanent bases in downtown Yangon. Their rights to live in their previous location had been removed. Daw Yamin Aye explained, “When we were told to move, we had to live here. To prove we lived here [Ward 9, Shwepyithar], the government changed our family list from Bahan to Shwepyithar. If we move back to Bahan, we have to make a guest list to live there.” A ‘guest list’ is a permission slip to visit and stay in another township. For people affected by displacement and relocation, their ‘sense of belonging’ and their right to belong are both undermined, as the state controls who and what belongs in the city and what activities can be performed (Friedmann, 2007). In this sense, their ‘right to stay’ in their previous location is undermined through legal factors of belonging and how the state controls space in the city (Fenster, 2005; Roitman, 2019a).

While Ward 9 relocatees became excluded from their previous townships, like Daw Yamin Aye explained, they were permitted to live in the relocation site and given a grant lease document to prove their tenure security after relocation. Through this sense of security, they felt comfortable to invest in their location through development and improvements to physical infrastructure and economic opportunities. For some, their ‘right to stay’ had shifted from central parts of Yangon to Ward 9, in the city’s outskirts, though as explained in Chapters 5, 6 and 7, their new location was

175 Chapter 8: Fostering a ‘sense of belonging’ and right to belong bare and insufficiently serviced. Regardless of the extremely poor condition of their relocation site, the ‘right to stay’ is an important factor in how people manage to settle in or not. Shami (1993) explains that for people affected by relocation and resettlement, the perceived temporariness or permanence of their new relocation site affects how livelihood actions are developed and significantly influences how they manage to settle in or not.

At the same time as relocatees were provided land tenure through grant leases, some families were evicted during the relocation program and not granted tenure because they did not have family lists, such as Daw Thi Thi Aye. These households have remained on the outside of the formal recognition to belong in Ward 9. Other families were also evicted from central Yangon and did not stay in Ward 9, mostly moving to rural areas. Daw Thi Thi Aye and U Kyaw Soe were the only two informal relocatees interviewed who did not have their own family lists at the time of relocation. Daw Thi Thi Aye squatted on land at the back of her parent’s house (she was not on their family list) and U Kyaw Soe had moved rurally for a number of years before moving to Ward 9, where some of his previous neighbours in Sanchaung had been relocated to. U Kyaw Soe bought a house, formalising his right to live in the ward and has subsequently become a popular HHL in his Park. Antonisch (2010) describes the legal factors of belonging that grant individuals the right to belong through citizenship and official legal documents and also the right to work and live in a place (see Chapter 3). When legal factors are compromised, so too are the feelings of belonging. Under such circumstances, people do not feel valued or listened to and their freedom of movement and the right to work or live in a place is restricted (Wright, 2015).

Second, access to places of worship varies between the four dominant religious groups. YCDC prohibits religious buildings to be constructed in the residential Parks in Ward 9. Despite this, the Buddhists have built Dhamayouns45 (religious-based community halls) in the public park area that the houses face towards, creating a dedicated physical space to worship and socialise. Explained in Chapter 7, in some Parks, these act as tuition halls for students, mediation rooms for adults and small libraries with Buddhist texts available for reading. Dhamayouns are not officially allowed, but there is a tolerance granted to permit them to remain. One of the HHL and the Hindu religious leader, U Khin Maung Win explains,

Here in this ward, we have no church for Christians, no mosque for Muslims and no temple for Hindu people. We only have Dhamayouns for Buddhist people. These are ‘squatter’

45 These started being built shortly after relocation in the early 1990s. Some Parks had only recently built Dhamayouns a year or so before the fieldwork in 2016.

176 Chapter 8: Fostering a ‘sense of belonging’ and right to belong

Dhamayouns because they are not really allowed to be built. There is only one monastery…which is officially permitted by the government.

Further, all Park members, no matter their religious affiliation, were expected to make financial contributions to the Buddhist Dhamayouns in their Park when they were being constructed. In most cases, the HHL are Buddhist and coerced or pressured non-Buddhist households to contribute to the construction of the Dhamayouns.

It has been difficult for other religions to create similar religious-based spaces in the Parks. The government does not permit religious buildings because the land is for residential purposes, not religious purposes. For the religions to build their temple, mosque or church, they would need to find appropriate land, but this does not exist in Ward 9. There is a mosque (another ‘squatter’ religious building that did not gain official approval from YCDC before being built) that is only allowed to be used during Ramadan with permission from Shwepyithar Township office (allowances for its usage change annually) and there is no Hindu temple for worshipers to gather. Cultural activities associated with religion are closely embedded with feelings of belonging (Trudeau, 2006).

If a majority group with hegemonic powers (in this case the Buddhist majority and YCDC, who has close ties with the military via the General Administration Department, explained in Chapter 5) disagrees with the use of space, through planning laws, for example, then cultural activities of the minorities are dismissed as irrelevant, thus undermining their place and social attachments (Friedmann, 2007; Trudeau, 2006). Ways of ‘doing belonging’ in a cultural sense is inhibited when there is no dedicated space to construct and reproduce activities that are linked with identity narratives, thus impacting people’s ability to feel a sense of social and place attachment (Yuval- Davis, 2006). If bridging or linking social capital with individuals in positions of power was strong, and the tolerance of other religions was more lenient, then minorities could have better chances of being granted the ‘right to belong’.

Hindu, Christian and Muslim relocatees and newcomers who travelled to worship expressed great regret that they could not practice their religion freely and conveniently in their own Park or ward and had to commute up to an hour to access their affiliated temple, church or Mosque. They are still longing for a localised bond for their place of worship and some do not feel fully settled as a result. Thawnghmung (2019), in her research on everyday economic survival strategies in Myanmar and Hoffstaedter (2014), in his research on Chin ethnic Myanmar refugees in Malaysia both comment on the important role that religion plays in acting as the “spiritual glue” of communities,

177 Chapter 8: Fostering a ‘sense of belonging’ and right to belong particularly during difficult times (Hoffstaedter, 2014, p.877). Those relocatees who identified with their respective religious buildings as their point of reference, said they found peace and harmony in those buildings. As Forrest and Kearns (2016) find, where there is social cohesion through normative behaviour in religious groups, there is also discrimination against minority groups. For Yuval-Davis (2004), these ‘cultural others’ are treated as ‘potential enemies’ who threaten the cultural integrity of the majority group with hegemonic powers (in this case, the Buddhist majority). While Yuval-Davis (2004) discuss these concepts at a national scale, the national discourse is reflected locally in neighbourhood interactions.

Third, several of the Parks in Ward 9 have majority Muslim families and there are social tensions with their Buddhist neighbours. The Buddhists who live in these communities, such as Daw Hlang Thaung are “very disappointed” to be living there. There is a strong wariness of Muslims by Buddhists. At the time of the fieldwork (prior to the Rohingya crisis46), there was an accepted level of harmony between ethnic and religious groups but an underlying degree of tension also persists. Daw San San Aye (Box 6.2), a Buddhist, commented, “We are afraid to live with so many Muslim households here. And we think that the Muslim people are terrorists. If they do something bad to me, I will fight back.” When asked if there had been any conflict in the Park between religions Daw San San Aye said, “Not here, but sometimes when there is religious conflict in other parts of the country, the Muslims become very sensitive and want to fight back to the Burmese.”

There are strong ‘us’ and ‘them’ attitudes along religious-lines in Ward 9 generally, but particularly in the Muslim-majority Parks. This is despite there being a degree of comradery among those who were forced to relocate originally (see Section 8.3.1). The discrimination plays out in school settings as well. U Myint Swe, the Ward 9 Islamic religious leader explained,

For us we feel like there are too many discriminations against us. The Buddhist students are officially allowed to say prayers 15 minutes before classes start. Meanwhile, the other students have to wait for them. Our [Muslim] students feel bad during that time while they are waiting for the teacher to start the class. The Buddhists people get more rights than the other religions.

Similarly, when asked about social welfare for families in need, Buddhist households were disappointed and jealous that Muslim families received special assistance from their religious

46 In August 2017, conflict between Rohingya Muslims and Buddhists in Rakhine State caused over 700,000 Rohingya Muslims to flee to Bangladesh (UNHCR, 2020). This major event has caused localised racist attacks on Muslims (Rohingya and non-Rohingya) throughout the country. It is unknown how Muslims in Ward 9 have been affected or not by this event.

178 Chapter 8: Fostering a ‘sense of belonging’ and right to belong network (e.g. donations of food, money and clothes). Thus, the social determination of feeling ‘at home’ and ‘in place’ goes beyond self-determined status and private sentiment and instead relies on the power of others to grant access or membership (Antonisch, 2010). For Muslim families in Ward 9, they cannot worship locally and are marginalised in subtle ways by their Buddhist neighbours. The wariness of Muslims and lack of integration between Buddhists and Muslims in Ward 9 reflects the national discourse tension between these groups and sentiments of Buddhist nationalism (Walton, 2017). Although both cohabiting the same space, both religious groups are inward-looking and reinforces exclusive identities and there is a lack of bridging social capital between them.

Together, through these examples, the boundaries of belonging in Ward 9 are clear demarcations of those who belong and those who do not. Taken as a whole, Ward 9 relocatees now economically excluded from the downtown core of the city, denying them the same rights to live, work and socialise in the dense urban hub of downtown Yangon as they had previously. At the same time, almost everyone (all who were on a ‘family list’) were granted official rights to belong in Ward 9 through the tenure rights purchased during the forced relocation program. In a religious sense, all non-Buddhists are excluded from the same worship rights as the Buddhist majority. There have been no particular actions around this formalised way to belong, as access is determined by others who hold power (e.g. YCDC). Instead, there have been actions developed by relocatees to access other forms of belonging, for example worshipping in private. Finally, the particular tensions between Muslims and Buddhists is evident in Ward 9. The Buddhist majority retain the power to exclude others in how they are able to perform cultural activities and ways of ‘doing belonging’. A lack of bridging and linking social capitals that connect people who are unalike or exist across different power differentials has prohibited the transfer of ‘right to belong’ for the minorities in Ward 9.

8.5 Conclusion

Understanding belongingness is a multilayered and complex phenomenon. It is both an affective attachment to objects, spaces and people, and in addition to this personal, intimate and emotional attachment, there are also formal recognitions of belonging, where others grant access to belong and practice sentiments of belonging. Antonisch (2010) argues that these two dynamics of belonging need to be considered simultaneously, both as a self-determined notion and the politics around belonging, that denotes there are powers that determine access. This chapter has presented what it means to ‘belong’ and feel ‘at home’ in Ward 9 in a spatial sense through place attachment, in a non-territorial way through community making and acquiring (real or perceived) reasonable

179 Chapter 8: Fostering a ‘sense of belonging’ and right to belong material security, and what it means not to belong through restrictions on access to space (central economic opportunities, places of worship) and marginalisation of religious minorities.

Place attachment and finding ‘place-belongingness’ for Ward 9 relocatees was initially about mourning for their lost places (Fried, 1966) and stemming from that, the ability to create new place attachments is undermined by the depletion of economic, physical and other resources (Fullilove, 1996). For the Ward 9 relocatees, their priorities were squarely set in regaining urgent human survival assets, such as income/ cash, shelter and water. Place attachment grows as people use and invest meaning into a place and, therefore, creating meaningful connections through social capital, physical structures and restoring material needs has been a long and dynamic process. Establishing everyday belonging through new daily routines and mundane interactions with neighbours established a familiarity with the site that enabled them to feel more settled and ‘at home’.

Further, the investments they made into their physical environment and their bonding social capital in the new location has not only been necessary for survival but has also enabled valuable relations with neighbours whom they can draw on for times of need (e.g. reciprocity exchange systems). These social attachments have been fostered through different neighbouring actions that vulnerable groups in particular have been able to draw on for shelter, access to water and other essential services. Neighbouring has also been an important part of emotional security and feeling comfortable, listened to and the ‘warm sensations’ people gain when people who are alike and understand each other’s values (Antonisch, 2010). Community-making through religious groups has also proved beneficial for survival and emotional support within each of the four dominant religious groups in Ward 9. Social capital has been a pivotal resource for relocatees to rebuild all aspects of their post-relocation lives, including economic, physical, human and natural assets. Yet, bonding social capital in particular is critical for fostering a ‘sense of belonging’ with neighbours for survival and emotional support, and for community making via religious groups. Fostering a ‘sense of belonging’ in Ward 9, however, was established after other basic survival needs were addressed first, such as access to food, water, shelter and developing a sense of security.

Social determinations and the right to belong is equally important to fostering a ‘sense of belonging’. In Ward 9, three ways of exclusion to groups were observed, including access to tenure after relocation, access to places to worship for religious minorities, and the enduring tensions between Buddhist and Muslim households. Here, we can see how the state is a powerful decision- maker in cities about who belongs and has rights to access spaces in the city to work, live, socialise and worship. The state forced relocatees to move to Ward 9 in 1991, limiting their access to the economic hubs of the city, as well as restricting non-Buddhist religious buildings in the relocation

180 Chapter 8: Fostering a ‘sense of belonging’ and right to belong sites. The Buddhist majority is also apparent in their treatment and coldness towards their Muslim neighbours, reflecting the national discourse around Buddhist nationalism (Walton, 2017). The dearth of bridging and linking social capitals across religious lines or between relocatees and the state influences the more vulnerable groups’ ability to practice ‘doing belonging’ and inhibits their ‘right to belong’.

Where much of the forced resettlement literature focuses on the physical and economic outcomes for affected people, this chapter has attempted to examine the affective ways people feel a ‘sense of belonging’ and ways in which they have the right to belong, or not belong for some minorities. How relocatees have managed to regain access to essential livelihood assets after they were forced to move to Ward 9 is summarised in the following chapter.

181 Chapter 9: Conclusion

Chapter 9 Conclusion

9.1 Introduction

While the impacts from forced displacement, relocation and resettlement are well documented, particularly in rural contexts, relatively little is known about how urban poor relocatees address their recovery process after they are forced to move. This raises important questions about how vulnerable groups survive, regain access to essential tangible assets (e.g. housing, work) and intangible assets (e.g. feeling of belongingness), improve their living conditions over time, and how the nuances of urban livelihoods impact on the recovery of forced urban relocations.

In light of this situation, this research set out to understand how people in Yangon survived after they were forced to relocate from central parts of the city to a new site in a remote and isolated area without adequate provision of basic infrastructure and services. Through an in-depth case study of Ward 9 in Shwepyithar township in Yangon, this research provided empirical evidence about people’s recovery process attempting to regain access to economic assets, build their built environment and foster a ‘sense of belonging’. While not all of these survival mechanisms are unique to a post-relocation context and are routinely used amongst the urban poor, this research provided insight into how the relocated households have managed their asset portfolios and how one livelihood action can serve multiple purposes (e.g. accessing water from a neighbour and creating social and place attachment).

Even though the case study used in this research took place under a different political climate, there are still significant displacement and relocation risks for the urban poor and most vulnerable in Yangon (Kyed, 2019). Despite liberalisation of the government since 2011 and democratically elected NLD in 2016, YCDC retains a ‘no tolerance’ approach towards squatter and informal settlement dwellers. Small-scale displacements occur frequently and in 2017, over 4000 squatters were displaced and their houses destroyed to make way for development projects (Kyed, 2019). Apart from YCDC continuing to rid the city of undesirable informal and slum dwellers, other factors impacting people’s ‘right to stay’ include ongoing and contentious land speculation practices,47 tenuous property security and risk of confiscation,48 and an insufficient land use plan

47 The long history of inadequate banking and credit systems in the country has led to land and property being a store of wealth. In turn, this has resulted in an active and highly speculative property market, which drives up land prices even in the city’s outskirts, where services are limited and quality of land is low (Forbes, 2015). 48 Rights to land and property are uncertain in Yangon where legacies remain of contradictory laws and incapacity to enforce the law (Rhoads, 2019).

182 Chapter 9: Conclusion that fails to consider the consequences of forced relocation for the city’s most vulnerable (Kyed, 2019; Matelski & Sabrié, 2019). With a growing population in Yangon and as housing becomes more unaffordable through inflation and speculation practices, this could see more people forced out of the formal market and into informal rental situation, increasing their risk of displacement.

This chapter concludes this thesis. Section 9.2 summarises how the thesis has answered the main and three sub-research questions, followed by an explanation of the theoretical and contextual contributions this research offers in Section 9.3. Section 9.4 provides insights into how future research could expand knowledge in key areas. Section 9.5 provides final thoughts on the global issues of forced urban relocations.

9.2 Answering the Research Questions

This thesis presents an in-depth analysis of how households and communities have developed livelihood actions in an attempt to recover their lost livelihood assets caused by relocation. The research set out to improve understandings of the decision-making processes of urban relocated communities to regain access to essential livelihood assets after forced relocation and how they ‘settled into place’ in their relocation site. The main research question that guided this study was,

How have urban households regained access to essential livelihood assets over time after being forcibly relocated from central Yangon to the city’s outskirts in 1991 and established a ‘sense of belonging’ in their new settlement?

This thesis employed a qualitative case study approach with fieldwork conducted in Ward 9, Shwepyithar township in Yangon city over three fieldwork trips across 1.5 years totalling 4.5 months (2016-2017). Data from 66 participants, who included people forced to move, community leaders, religious leaders, newcomers to Ward 9 and urban policy experts, and observations revealed that various livelihood actions have been developed by relocatees to survive in the under- resourced relocation site. Livelihood actions are interconnected with bonding, bridging and linking social capitals that relocatees have developed over the years. Under the context of the case study, relocatees were also required to practice self-reliance, either at an individual or community scale to access essential services, infrastructure and income. Over time, these livelihood actions have adapted and changed according to the needs of the household unit and in response to broader political, economic and socio-cultural constraints and opportunities. Restoration of essential livelihood assets and fostering a ‘sense of belonging’ are equally important for people to feel ‘settled’ after relocation.

183 Chapter 9: Conclusion

Three sub-research questions directed the execution of the main research question. These questions are answered below.

1. What were the political, economic and socio-cultural conditions under which the relocatees were attempting to restore their livelihood assets?

The first sub-research question aimed to understand the context under which the relocation program took place and in the following years when relocatees were trying to restore their livelihood assets and their ‘sense of belonging’. This question was answered in Chapter 5 using data from secondary sources and interviews.

There were three primary motivations for the large-scale relocation program that this research has focussed on. First, politically, in 1988 the country had experienced an unprecedented civilian uprising against the authoritarian socialist military regime that had controlled the nation for over 25 years. There was widespread civil unrest, which acted as a motivating factor for the succeeding military regime to demonstrate control over populations and move political dissidents out of central parts of Yangon (Rhoads, 2018). Second, the change of military powers following the civilian uprising led to the country opening up and inviting in foreign investors after over 25 years in isolation. To facilitate this economic shift, the capital city at the time, Yangon, required infrastructure upgrades after decades of neglect. Projects were marked for government land occupied by the people later forced to move. Interlinked with this last point is the third reason driving the relocation, which was ‘city beautification’ and clearing out undesirable residents. Removing the bamboo and thatch huts of the squatters made space for the development of new buildings, highways, markets and renewal of religious sites.

The motivations for the relocation program provide insight into the political and economic conditions that people were moved under. In addition, the social norms and expectations of citizens during this period and moving forward into the 1990s pivoted around self-reliance. Throughout the military rule of the country between 1962 and 2011, albeit under different regimes, the state insisted on practices of self-reliance to address the neglected infrastructure and services in communities (McCarthy, 2019). This imposition by authorities for communities to work together to solve local problems led to low expectations of government to provide necessary infrastructure and services and an obligation to foster social capital so that communities could self-organise. Although political circumstances have changed in more recent years when the quasi-civilian government took control in 2011 and some attitudes towards the governments have shifted as a result, there is still a strong sense of solidarity and a feeling of needing to demonstrate kothu kotha ‘stand on one’s own’.

184 Chapter 9: Conclusion

When relocatees arrived in Ward 9, the land was bare and void of most essential services. Several tube water wells had been constructed to be shared between the Park49 members (about 100 families in each) and dirt roads demarcated the plots of land where relocatees were moved to. Buses were made available to transport the relocatees to other parts of the city to find work and other essential services, yet these were reported to be overcrowded, infrequent and expensive. The remoteness of the site made finding work, accessing markets and maintaining social ties very difficult. It was under these impoverished circumstances and administratively absent conditions that relocatees in Ward 9 were developing actions to address their lack of income-generating opportunities, gaps in infrastructure and services, and dealing with the trauma of forced relocation.

2. How have livelihood actions fulfilled the economic and physical asset needs of the relocatees, and how have these changed over time?

Under the context examined in the first sub-research question, the second sub-research question aimed to identify the specific livelihood actions relocatees developed to address the economic and physical infrastructure losses they experienced after relocation. These actions were identified and defined in Chapters 6 (economic assets) and 7 (physical assets) using interview data and observations.

When relocatees arrived in Ward 9, they had competing priorities to generate income, secure shelter, improve access to water, build sanitation, whilst navigating new physical and social landscapes and possessing fewer economic resources. Many of the actions – finding work, reskilling, pooling household resources, relying on credit, building shelter, improving access to water, building sanitation, contributing to communal projects – developed by the relocatees were not only grounded in a self-reliance approach influenced by the political and economic conditions, but also relied on various forms of social capital, including bonding, bridging and linking relations. The analysis revealed that developing up and relying on bonding social capital, understood as social connections between people with similar characteristics (e.g. socio-economic status, co-ethnic, co- religious, family), was a dominant action for the Ward 9 relocatees.

Bonding social capital was initially formed between neighbours who were unfamiliar but had shared experiences through forced relocation and were facing similar problems. Some relocatees discussed how they deliberately made intentional relations with their neighbours for material gains, either so they would purchase items from their shop, access their tube well or assist with building shelter. Others developed their bonding social capital with neighbours more gradually through

49 The administrative neighbourhood structure explained in Chapter 5, Section 5.5.2.

185 Chapter 9: Conclusion mundane, everyday interactions and building trust through acts of sharing and mutuality (Scott, 1976). Some bonding social capital was also retained after relocation when people accessed their downtown networks to find work or reskill.

Relying on bonding social capital remains an important livelihood action for the relocatees. Over time, social norms, solidarity and obligations have formed to guide collective behaviour. Individuals, for example, have become responsible for the street space outside of their house by maintaining the road, installing streetlights, cleaning drains and removing rubbish. There are also social obligations within these bonded ties to contribute to the communal areas in the Park areas, including sandbagging roads and making financial contributions to Buddhist Dhammayouns.50 Bonding social capital also remains critical for some households to access credit and cash to pay for these infrastructural upgrades. Older residents borrowed or were gifted money from their children, or families relied on the financial support from extended family. Bonding social capital was used for a wide range of actions, from finding work from friends to cleaning drains with neighbours.

Bridging social capital was weaker in Ward 9. Some relocatees were able to develop a broad network of bridging social capital relations that they used for work opportunities in the local area and others used bridging social capital to reskill. The respect and mutuality shared within a bridging social capital relation is similar to bonding social capital, but the members are not alike in some way (e.g. age, class, ethnicity, religion) and do not share the same social identity (Szreter & Woolcock, 2004). In a community where religions are strongly demarcated and there remain restrictions against freedom of worship for minority groups, developing bridging social capital across religious lines has been and continues to be difficult.

Linking social capital that crosses over explicit power gradients has been useful for relocatees. These relations have created opportunities to access loans, either through private money lenders, accessing credit from pawn shops or via microfinance group loans. Although access to credit is an important part of alleviating poverty, the high-interest loans from money lenders frequently causes a reliance on credit and unsustainable accumulation of debt. A few relocatees also discussed retaining their linking social capital with wealthier families from their previous locations, which is how they maintained access to work immediately after relocation and in subsequent years. In developing the built environment, linking social capital has been important for Parks to get local roads concreted.

50 Multipurpose Buddhist community halls used for meditating, resting, festivals, sharing food and other activities.

186 Chapter 9: Conclusion

Other actions that did not necessarily depend on the use of social capital were also used to develop lost economic and physical assets after relocation. Similar to the social capital actions described above, these actions are grounded in a self-reliance approach coupled with low expectations on the government, particularly initially after relocation. In one action, relocatees demonstrated resourcefulness by bringing housing materials (e.g. wood, iron sheets, thatching) from their previous places. Another action that has continued as a result of ongoing insufficient water supply is to purify dirty water overnight and boiling it before using it for cooking. More recently, relocatees (and newcomers) have addressed the inadequate government infrastructure by using labour or community donations to improve the outcomes for the neighbourhood. This might mean individuals donate their time to help government workers to build a foundation or a concrete road, or Park members donate money to build a good foundation before concrete is laid.

In general, many of the actions have remained relevant over the years, though adapting to the changing economic, political and socio-cultural circumstances. People still find work through their bonding social capital, reskill and adjust their human capital according to opportunities that become available and access loans through private informal money lenders or their family. As broader political and economic conditions change, the livelihood actions of the relocatees also adjust. For example, money loans are now available through microfinance non-government organisations (NGOs) and bonding social capital within neighbourhoods has entrenched social norms and obligations for its members to regulate behaviour and contribute to the common areas. As health and education have become available, actions to navigate the quality of these services have also evolved. For example, the opportunity to provide tutoring to children from an international NGO (linking social capital) has only been possible since 2011 when the country began to open up. In 2015, the four main religions in the ward collectively funded a significant contribution for the area’s first ambulance, demonstrating bridging social capital. Various actions have been developed by the relocatees over time to respond to their economic and built environment needs.

Adopting a self-reliance approach was critical for the relocatees to survive so they could access shelter, water and sanitation, and generate income. Self-reliance has also enabled communities to improve their shared infrastructure over time, including roads, public open space and navigating access to health and education services. Without self-reliance and self-organisation amongst community members, these services and infrastructure would have remained inaccessible. To self- organise and coordinate activities between households, and indeed for households to improve their own personal circumstances, social capital assets have been pivotal. Bonding, bridging and linking social capitals have not only brought material gains to the Ward 9 relocatees but also emotional support.

187 Chapter 9: Conclusion

The actions identified and defined in this research are direct responses to the multiple hardships associated with forced resettlement and relocation. Some are contradictory, while others are stepwise and complementary. By their nature of being responsive to externally imposed difficulties, the livelihood actions are “survival strategies” and therefore “imprecise and fluid”, as referred to by (Thawnghmung, 2019, p.12). These actions thematically represent the varied, conflicting and sometimes harmful strategies that the urban poor use to survive. They are neither intentional nor static and each action is dispensed differently depending on the needs, resources and opportunities of each individual. The findings presented here reinforce that forced relocation causes multiple negative social, economic, psychological, cultural, spatial impacts on affected people, leading to multiple challenges and risks to impoverishment, and diverse and multiple actions to restore critical economic and physical assets.

3. How have relocatees developed a ‘sense of belonging’ in their relocation site?

The third sub-research question aimed to understand how relocatees settle into their location beyond meeting their essential survival needs. This question moves the focus away from the typical livelihood assets typographies and looks more broadly at what it meant to ‘settle in’ the relocated site, using belongingness as a framework. The results and discussion presented in Chapter 8 found that relocatees developed a ‘sense of belonging’ in their relocation site through six actions grounded in social capital and self-reliance. Social capital has been used in this research to understand the ‘belongingness’ recovery process.

Four actions to foster place attachment were identified. First, over time, place attachments were formed by developing attachment to meaningful places in Ward 9, which varied from one’s home to the share public spaces in each Park. Second, relocatees also established belonging through everyday activities, mundane interactions and routinely walking through spaces that slowly gather attachment by creating memories, terrestrial knowledge and everyday experiences. Third, by investing in the physical built environment (explained in Chapter 7), Ward 9 relocatees found ways of ‘doing belonging’ and thereby created long-term connection and emotional attachment to the places they find meaningful. Fourth, acquiring a real (or perceived) sense of material security through tenure, shelter, access to water, as well as sustained income and work was critical before realising a ‘sense of belonging’ and a feeling of being ‘at home’ in the relocation site. This finding echoes Maslow’s hierarchy of needs where physiological and safety needs have to be met before attaining feelings of connection and belongingness (Wadley, 2020). Actions to acquire material security were explained in Chapters 6 and 7.

188 Chapter 9: Conclusion

Two community-making actions were identified for gaining social attachments in Ward 9. First, community-making through ‘neighbouring’, which refers to the informal assistance given and received between proximate neighbours. ‘Neighbouring’ in Ward 9 was used for survival where relocatees developed trust and bonding social capital with new neighbours to access goods and services and formed intentional relations with neighbours, particularly important for the most vulnerable households. ‘Neighbouring’ was also used for emotional support with people who had shared experiences of relocation were fostered through sentiments of nostalgia and helped to rebuild identities for relocatees. Second, community-making also occurred within religious networks for social and emotional support. Rather than being community-based social attachments, religious networks were place-less and function more on commonalities between people, not their proximate location. Formed through bonding social capital, religious networks support funeral services and people find comfort in being part of a group where people share the same values and beliefs.

In addition to feeling a ‘sense of belonging’ be it through place or social attachments, there is also an element of the right to belong, which refers to the socially determined aspects of belonging when a majority or more powerful group impose the ability for people to be granted belongingness or not. This occurred in three ways in Ward 9. First, for most relocatees who were interviewed, they were offered land grants (in exchange for 4800 kyat (AUD $1200)) and thus, tenure rights. A few who did not have their family list registered prior to relocation were forced to move but without the option of purchasing land titles and have either remained renters, squatters or purchased land in the relocation sites. For squatters and renters, their right to belong has been diminished by a lack of tenure. At the same time, the forced relocation in itself violated their ‘right to stay’ when the state exercised control of space in the city, decided who belonged and who did not, and thus undermined people’s right to belong. Second, others who are not part of the Buddhist majority continue to feel marginalised in Ward 9, as they are not able to practice their religion freely in a dedicated place of worship. Not only are they not granted a place to worship, but they are coerced into financially contributing to the Buddhist Dhammayoun in their Park. Last, the Buddhist majority exercise hegemonic powers to exclude others, particularly Muslim households, who are marginalised in subtle ways by their Buddhist neighbours. These ways of being excluded and alienated impact people’s ability to settle in and foster a ‘sense of belonging’. Feeling ‘at home’ goes beyond self- determined affective ties to place and people and is influenced by the social determination of others to grant access or membership.

The use of self-reliance and social capital, however, has not been foolproof. Bonding social capital, which was the most represented social capital type in Ward 9, is inward-looking and focusses on the reinforcement of relationships with people who are similar (Putnam, 2000). Bonding social capital

189 Chapter 9: Conclusion can also be exclusionary, keeping out others and retaining resources and opportunities for group members only (Adler & Kwon, 2002). Although central for developing a ‘sense of belonging’, bonding social capital is ultimately a way for people, especially those who are poor or marginalised, to ‘get by’ (Woolcock & Narayan, 2000). A lack of bridging social capital in Ward 9 has meant that relocatees have been closed off to including ‘others’ in their social capital networks, meaning that they lose out on new information, access to resources across social groups and opportunities beyond their inward-looking communities (Adler & Kwon, 2002). A lack of bridging social capital in Ward 9 has meant relocatees have not been able to ‘get ahead’ (Woolcock & Narayan, 2000).

9.3 Research Contributions

This research has contributed to new theoretical and empirical knowledge in forced relocation in an urban context. There are six theoretical contributions to new knowledge. First, the most significant contribution has been providing a deeper understanding about the role of social capital in the livelihood recovery actions that the urban poor develop to survive after relocation. Current understandings of the particularities around urban livelihoods explained in Chapter 2 demonstrated the significant role that social capital plays in the way marginalised urban groups survive daily life. This research extends this knowledge by breaking down social capital into three types: bonding, bridging and linking and adds a new contextual environment through which to study the importance of social capital in marginalised groups, those that are experiencing impoverishment risks as a result of relocation. One of the main contributions of this research is to understand how specific bonding, bridging and linking social capitals are developed and employed in a relocation context. Each bonding, bridging and linking social capital provides benefits that can be drawn on in different situations and depending on the needs of the user (individual, household or community).

The actions that relocatees developed were rooted in these three types of social capital. For example, as reflected in the social capital literature, bonding social capital enables household members or communities to band together, supporting each other emotionally or through material needs. Importantly, bonding social capital allows for the connectivity and attachment and “feeling- in-common” that is achieved when people feel a ‘sense of belonging’ (Wright, 2015, p.398). Whereas bridging social capital opens up new opportunities by connecting with people who are unalike in some way, expanding one’s social network and improving access to information. This research found that bridging social capital was particularly weak after relocation and this did not change over time. Linking social capital opened opportunities for informal money loans from wealthier neighbours within the community and also work opportunities with interclass networks.

190 Chapter 9: Conclusion

The findings reflect the current literature, but the research has applied this knowledge to a post- relocation context, confirming that not only is social capital an important asset for the urban poor and marginalised, but different kinds of social capital are used for different benefits.

Second, this research has identified and defined the various livelihood actions that people develop to respond to their recovery of lost assets after being forced to move. Livelihood actions are the decisions people make about developing their livelihood, drawing on the assets available to them at any given point in time (Scoones, 1998). For the case study used in this research, the immediate priorities were building shelter, accessing water and maintaining (or regaining) income streams. After this, other communal activities occurred, including improving roads and, much later, co- funding an ambulance for the shared hospital. Livelihood actions are influenced by a range of factors, which indicates that decisions are not all-considering but are made with the limited resources and knowledge available to the decision maker (Rakodi, 2002a). Livelihood actions are also influenced by the resources available to the decision maker and in the case of Ward 9, livelihood actions mostly relied on bonding social capital with people who shared social identities. Linking social capital was used wherever possible and bridging social capital was scarcer.

A third theoretical contribution has been the analysis of the loss of place and belongingness that people affected by forced relocation experience. As explained in Chapter 2, the resettlement literature has largely overlooked this connection of belonging and forced movement. Although Cernea’s (2000) Impoverishment Risks and Rehabilitation (IRR) framework mentions the loss of cultural spaces and meaningful places under ‘homelessness’ the impoverishment risk, this element is often left out of the assessment of resettlement and relocation impacts in practice and research. This finding reinforces current understandings that relocation and resettlement research and practice continues to focus on tangible impacts and outcomes, leaving out the intangible effects of forced movement of people (Fernández Arrigoitia, 2017). Borrowing from the refugee and immigrant literature, it is clear that the relevance of belongingness after a major disruption to space and place is an important part of recovery and ‘settling in’. Acknowledging the significance of the grief experienced for lost places and the disruption to feelings of belonging caused by relocation and resettlement deserves more attention (Fullilove, 1996). The current literature acknowledges that lack of understanding practitioners and researchers have about how people affected by forced movement come together to re-establish their lives, foster community and work towards a ‘sense of belonging’ in their new locations (Alaniz, 2017; Fernández Arrigoitia, 2017; Fullilove, 1996).

This thesis closely examines what loss of place and belonging meant for the case study group, including how people interpreted their ‘dis-emplacement’ from their previous locations, how they

191 Chapter 9: Conclusion perceived their ‘sense of belonging’ through place and social attachments and how they developed actions to foster their ‘sense of belonging’ after relocation. This research also acknowledges that there are socially determined aspects of belongingness where people are granted (or not granted) the right to belong. The right to belong is determined by the state through ‘right to stay’ or forced to move, or a social majority with more power can socially exclude others from feeling a ‘sense of belonging’ by denying access to worship, or through acts of social exclusion. In a novel way, the concept of social capital was applied to the belongingness theory to understand how a ‘sense of belonging’ and ways to be granted belonging were influenced by bonding, bridging and linking social capitals.

Fourth, this research combines several concepts that are directly interlinked but rarely used in conjunction. The IRR model and Sustainable Livelihoods Framework (SLF) are commonly used in resettlement literature to understand the impacts caused by the forced population movement. To be able to fully understand the ‘settling in’ process of the relocatees, these two frameworks were inadequate. The IRR model identifies the commonly known impoverishment impacts people experience but does not explain how people attempt to overcome their hardships. In turn, while the SLF provides a ‘way in’ to understanding these recovery processes, it does not allow for detailed investigation about why or how livelihood actions are developed and how they are implemented. Borrowing literature from urban studies where social capital plays an important role for marginalised groups to survive in the Global South, articulating the different bonding, bridging and linking social capital types combined with the livelihood actions from the SLF enabled deeper insight into the ways that people sought to recover after being forced to move. The addition of belongingness provided a new perspective of what it means to ‘settle in’ and create new place and social attachments in a new location. The research found that the process of recovering lost assets and settling into a new location requires a broad set of resources and assets, especially social capital in various forms. This research drew out the social connectivity found in social and place attachments the belongingness literature and combined it with the literature on social capital and forced movement of people to apply a new lens of analysis in understanding what it means to be moved and settle in.

A fifth contribution was the addition of a temporal perspective to livelihood reconstruction after forced relocation by studying a group of households who were forced to move over 25 years prior. The long-term nature of what it means to ‘settle in’, find a ‘sense of belonging’ and restore priority assets after forced urban relocation was a novel contribution to knowledge. In practice and research, most relocation and resettlement studies focus on impacts and changes in communities between two and five years after being moved (Wilmsen & van Hulten, 2017). The benefit of studying the

192 Chapter 9: Conclusion livelihood actions of people forced to move over two decades earlier has complemented research by others about how people develop and adapt livelihood actions over time and how their survival approach changes using retrospective methods. Through this contribution, it reinforces the current understandings that decisions about managing livelihood assets are not only fluid and flexible, but also reactive and responsive to broader economic, political and socio-cultural trends. While some of the actions have maintained over the years (e.g. using bonding social capital for emotional support), how this is undertaken adapts.

A final contribution has been a case study that has not been analysed previously. Contextually, this research has contributed new knowledge by using an in-depth analysis of lived experience of the ‘sites and services’ relocation program that saw over 500,000 people relocated in Yangon in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It has extended knowledge about the context of the relocation program, including how and why people moved and where within the city they were moved from. This research has provided insight into how relocatees have survived in extremely difficult conditions by identifying and defining a range of actions that individuals and households have developed and utilised over the years. These actions have led to a real or perceived level of material security through provision of housing and accessing work (though some essential assets result in overburdened debts) and a ‘sense of belonging’. The findings suggest that while the urban poor relocated households are able to demonstrate impressive resilience, it is through their social capital and particularly bridging and linking social capital relations that they are able to advance their position. Individuals, households and neighbourhoods with limited or restricted social capital relations were more constrained with their opportunities to work, build necessary infrastructure, improve access to social infrastructure and feel settled in their place.

9.4 Future Research

There are three opportunities for future research based on the findings and limitations of this research that directly relate to Ward 9. The first is around gender and other socio-demographic perspectives on making decisions about livelihood actions. Even though the research sought to include a variety of socio-demographic backgrounds, including a mix of sex, socio-economic status, and a range of religious and ethnic backgrounds, the analysis did not reveal much significance between genders. Thus, gender and other specific socio-demographic perspectives were not the focus of this research. There is, however, an opportunity to deepen our understanding of the livelihood actions of different socio-economic and socio-demographic groups, particularly gender and ethnic minorities in Myanmar. The informal economy, in which many relocatees had

193 Chapter 9: Conclusion established their livelihoods, is a highly gendered sector (Brown & Mcgranahan, 2016) and there is a history of gender marginalisation in the relocation sites in Yangon (Skidmore, 2002).

The second opportunity for future research relates to ‘sacrificing’ survival approaches that people make during periods of hardship (Rakodi, 1999). During the interviews, particularly around economic actions and how people survived in the initial years after being moved to Ward 9, there was no mention of drugs, prostitution, or young marriages that Skidmore (2002) found in the 1990s in her research in another relocation site in Yangon created at the same time as this case study. In some cases where particularly strong rapport had developed with the relocatees, they all pointed to these social issues in other townships. It would be surprising if Shwepyithar generally and Ward 9 especially is void of these activities. More in-depth research to determine whether these activities were a part of the survival strategies in Ward 9 after relocation or whether these kinds of activities are noticeable in other forced relocation contexts. Related, there is also an opportunity to compare the livelihood actions of settling in between those who were forced to move to a place and those who subsequently moved there later. This research was not intended to compare the experiences of newcomers and relocatees, however there is an opportunity for future research to do this.

Third, there is an opportunity to deepen understandings of both perceived and legal security of tenure in Ward 9. Some of the relocatees interviewed had a strong perceived sense of tenure security as they have either retained their legal grant lease since 1991 or purchased it back from the pawn shop after using it for a cash advance. Conversely, others who had pawned their grant lease and had not been able to purchase it back, or those whose papers had been lost through storms (especially Cyclone Nargis in 2008) worried about their tenure security. Separate to the perception of tenure security, the legal status of the grant lease remains ambiguous. The relocation program that saw the creation of wards like Ward 9 have particular unique attributes about the legality of the security. So far, it is unclear from the existing data whether leaseholders will be able to remain once the 60-year lease expires in about 2051, or what the cost of renewing the lease will be and whether or not the relocatees will be able to afford it. Tenure security is a fundamental part of urban poor decision-making process about livelihoods and can play a significant role in income-generating activities (e.g. home-based businesses) and how people perceive long-term security in a place. If they are forced to move again, it is unclear where they would go and how the social capital they have developed for material and emotional support would be impacted.

Speaking to these points on future research opportunities, Thawnghmung (2019) encourages future research in Myanmar more generally, particularly the life experiences of ordinary citizens. By taking a close look at what is going on in the communities, households and even by ordinary people

194 Chapter 9: Conclusion in Myanmar, it is possible to get a much deeper understanding of life in this nation since its political and economic opening (Thawnghmung, 2019).

Broadening out the scope for future research, there remains a need for more in-depth understandings about forced relocations in other cities and with different urban contexts to the circumstances this research presents. Policy gaps remain highly prevalent around how forced movement of people in cities are less likely adhere to global standards (Koenig, 2014). Due to frequent small-scale displacements, or under the provision of local laws, or illegal evictions, the consequences of being moved in cities are severe. There are also nuanced complexities that forced relocation in cities presents, such as challenges around finding suitable relocation sites, informality and diversity of urban livelihoods, population density and overrepresentation of marginalised groups (Choi, 2015; Mejia, 1999). Those most affected by forced displacement and relocation in cities also miss out on compensation necessary to rebuild their lives because they are considered ineligible or unworthy as informal or illegal residents or renters (Roquet et al., 2015). The nature of these urban forced movements means that the scale is unknown due to massive underreporting (Koenig, 2014). These policy gaps and the complexities around urban forced relocation means that more research is needed on this topic generally.

9.5 Final Thoughts

Land pressures in Southeast Asia will intensify as urbanisation continues to rise and the demand for improved infrastructure in cities responds to growing population needs (UNESCAP, 2019). In addition to the growing total number of urban dwellers, there is a disproportionate growth of informality and urban poor populations, thus increasing the number of people vulnerable to forced displacement, relocation and resettlement (UNESCAP & UN-Habitat, 2015). The forced movement of people for the purpose of development projects, such as urban renewal and infrastructure upgrades, or state-mandated displacements causes multiple long-lasting economic and social impacts by disconnecting people with places they used to work, access services and ‘belong’.

Outcomes for affected people are worse when good practice guidelines are not followed, which is more likely to be the case in urban areas (Koenig, 2014). The nature of forced movement of people in cities where frequent small-scale movements of dense populations occur and there is little or no adherence to global social performance standards, means that these events are less accountable to external stakeholders (Koenig, 2014). If planning restoration of living standards and livelihoods for affected people from a top-down perspective, significant political will and a long-term commitment of resources are required. These resources are typically not made available in urban forced

195 Chapter 9: Conclusion displacements and relocations unless the project is funded by an international finance institute. Yet, if approaching restoration from a bottom-up perspective and if there is political willingness to ensure affected people are no worse off, then the conditions of relocation and resettlement can improve by leveraging off of the existing capabilities that the affected people possess, including communication streams, heterogeneity and density (Koenig, 2009). A participatory approach empowers communities to make decisions about how their resettlement is done and they can make their own priorities whilst supported with resources from the project.

By understanding the ways that urban forced relocatees have survived in the past might improve opportunities for better outcomes of affected people in the future. Past experiences can also be a learning opportunity for local governments in the Global South to improve their performance of managing forced movement of people, perhaps through adopting participatory approaches in planning and implementation phases. Including affected people in the process can improve the outcomes by improving the government’s understanding of their needs and thereby reducing their impoverishment risks (Patel et al., 2015). How relocatees attempt to recover lost assets after being forced to move and how they ‘settle in’ to their relocation site is a current blind spot in the literature. This is perhaps owing to the dominant top-down rehabilitation approach where program leaders hold all of the decision making power (Fernández Arrigoitia, 2017; Patel et al., 2015).

In forced relocation contexts, expecting the affected people to be entirely self-reliant is not only unethical and unjust, but creates a bigger, more vulnerable class of people who become more impoverished and less resilient to shocks and stressors. The literature review presented in Chapter 2 and the conceptual framework explained in Chapter 3 demonstrated a need for in-depth analysis into how relocatees develop actions to restore livelihood assets and how actions are prioritised or change according to broader economic, political and socio-economic factors. There is a growing need for research in urban areas that considers the political, economic and socio-cultural considerations that influence how people are able to (or not able to) rebuild their livelihood assets and create a ‘sense of belonging’ in their new location. This study has made important steps towards improving understandings of the steps affected people take to rebuilding critical assets and settling into their relocations site, uncovering that social capital is an integral part of that process.

Recognition of the capacity of self-reliance in post-relocation contexts does not preclude the role of government or other stakeholders to ensure that impoverishment risks after relocation events are minimised and negated wherever possible. Rather, acknowledging the capabilities of affected people, recognising that the urban poor are managers of complex asset portfolios and appreciating their ability to be resourceful during periods of stress and shock should be foregrounded in any

196 Chapter 9: Conclusion resettlement and relocation project and leveraged for the benefit of not only the affected people but the success of the project. This thesis explored how relocatees responded to their forced relocation by developing actions that sought to rebuild their lost livelihood assets and settle into their relocation site.

Relocatees in the Ward 9 case study were encumbered with loss of social and economic assets, spatial isolation, increased vulnerability and grief for their lost places. This thesis posits that recovery from forced relocation requires more than access to economic assets and construction of physical infrastructure. The social capital embedded in the livelihood actions of the relocatees demonstrates that benefits gained through different kinds of social capital are critical for survival and also emotional support. Bonding social capital has enabled neighbourhoods to foster a ‘sense of belonging’, work collectively to improve shared infrastructure and find work through those networks. This inward-looking social capital has kept the relocatees investing in their own social identities. The lack of bridging social capital has restricted the relocatees’ ability to ‘get ahead’ and broaden their social networks to include wider sources of information and opportunities with people who share different characteristics and networks. Linking social capital has proven useful to access loans of different kinds (and different interest rates), improve access to influential authorities to upgrade infrastructure and improve access to NGOs who can provide education to the communities.

This research sought to understand how people survive after they were forced to move to a new location under circumstances that restricted the availability of support from external stakeholders. It found that relocatees have experienced long-term hardships after relocation and were exposed to multiple impoverishment risks. Relocatees have demonstrated immense resilience and varying degrees of ‘success’ through their adaptability of economic opportunities over time, the physical development of their neighbourhoods, the community spirit to improve their environments and the ‘sense of belonging’ they have fostered. ‘Settling in’ to their relocation site has taken much more than attaining tangible, material security and has required a deep connection with place and social attachments that have formed through deliberate or unintended interactions with neighbours. There is a risk to romanticise the ‘self-help’ approaches of the urban poor and this research has sought to acknowledge the relocatees resilience and self-reliance attitudes while also acknowledging the challenges they have faced. Relocatees have had to make difficult decisions, such as removing children from school due to prohibitive costs or a lack of income for the household, overcrowding families into a single dwelling, choosing whether or not to improve housing infrastructure whilst still investing in bonding social capital that makes up the neighbourhoods and religious networks, among many other decisions. The livelihood actions that relocatees have developed over the years

197 Chapter 9: Conclusion have been reactive to the circumstances they found themselves in and have needed to be fluid and flexible as situations changed.

198 Reference list

Reference List

ABSDF. (1990). News from inside: Interviews in satellite villages. Dawn News Bulletin, 2(13).

ADB. (1998). ADB Handbook on Resettlement: A guide to good practice. Social Development. Manila.

ADB. (2019). Financing affordable housing in Yangon. Metro Manila: Asian Development Bank.

Adler, P. S., & Kwon, S. (2002). Social Capital: Prospects for a New Concept. The Academy of Management Review, 27(1), 17–40. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540121.2013.774311.older

Alam, A., McGregor, A., & Houston, D. (2018). Neither sensibly homed nor homeless: re- imagining migrant homes through more-than-human relations. Social and Cultural Geography. https://doi.org/10.1080/14649365.2018.1541245

Alam, A., & Miller, F. (2019). Slow, small and shared voluntary relocations: Learning from the experience of migrants living on the urban fringes of Khulna, Bangladesh. Asia Pacific Viewpoint, 60(3), 325–338. https://doi.org/10.1111/apv.12244

Alaniz, R. (2017). From Strangers to Neighbors: Post-disaster resettlement and community building in Honduras. Austin: University of Texas Press.

Allen, A., Dávila, J. D., & Hofmann, P. (2006). The peri-urban water poor: Citizens or consumers? Environment and Urbanization, 18(2), 333–351. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956247806069608

Antonisch, M. (2010). Searching for belonging: An analytical framework. Geography Compass, 4(6), 644–659.

Arce, A. (2003). Value contestations in development interventions: community development and sustainable livelihoods approaches. Community Development Journal, 38(3), 199–212.

Archer, D. (2012). Finance as the key to unlocking community potential: Savings, funds and the ACCA programme. Environment and Urbanization, 24(2), 423–440. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956247812449235

Arksey, H., & Knight, P. (1999). Interviewing for social scientists: An introductory resource with examples. London: Sage.

Babaei, H., Ahmad, N., & Gill, S. S. (2012). Bonding,bridging and linking social capital and psychological empowerment among Squatter Settlements in Tehran, Iran. J.Basic.Appl.Sicience, 2(3), 2639–2645.

199 Reference list

Banerjee, A. V, Kumar, S., Pande, R., & Su, F. (2011). Do Informed Voters Make Better Choices? Experimental Evidence from Urban India.

Banki, S. (2009). Contested Regimes, Aid Flows, and Refugee Flows: The Case of Burma. Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs, 28(2), 47–73. https://doi.org/10.1177/186810340902800204

Batcheler, R. (2018). State and Region Governments in Myanmar. Yangon.

Bazeley, P., & Jackson, K. (2013). Qualitative Data Analysis with NVIVO (2nd ed.). London: SAGE Publications Ltd.

Beall, J. (2002). Living in the Present, Investing in the Future - Household Security Among the Urban Poor. In C. Rakodi & T. Lloyd-Jones (Eds.), Urban Livelihoods: A people-centred approach to reducing poverty (pp. 71–88). London: Earthscan.

Bebbington, A. (1999). Capitals and capabilities: A framework for analyzing peasant viability, rural livelihoods and poverty. World Development, 27(12), 2021–2044. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0305-750X(99)00104-7

Bennett, K. (2009). Telling tales: Nostalgia, collective identity and an ex-mining village. In M Smith, J. Davidson, L. Cameron, & L. Bondi (Eds.), Emotion, Place and Culture (pp. 187– 205). Farnham: Ashgate.

Bennett, O., & McDowell, C. (2012). Displaced: The Human Cost of Development and Resettlement. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Bisht, T. (2009). Development-Induced Displacement and Women: The Case of the Tehri Dam, India. The Asia Pacific Journal of Anthropology, 10(4), 301–317.

Blokland, T., & Savage, M. (2016). Social Capital and Networked Urbanism. In T. Blokland & M. Savage (Eds.), Networked Urbanism: Social Capital in the City. Oxon: Routledge.

Bosson, A. (2007a). Displacement and causes of displacement within urban and peri-urban areas of Burma. Forced migration/displacement in Burma: With an emphasis on government- controlled areas.

Bosson, A. (2007b). Forced migration/displacement in Burma: With an emphasis on government- controlled areas. International Displacement Monitoring Centre.

Bourdieu, P. (1986). The Forms of Capital. In J. Richardson (Ed.), Handbook of Theory and Research for the Sociology of Education (pp. 241–58). New York: Greenwood.

Boutry, M. (2015). Urban Poverty in Yangon Greater City: A qualitative study of urban poverty, its

200 Reference list

causes and consequences. Yangon.

Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using Thematic Analysis in Psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101.

Brown, A., & Lloyd-Jones, T. (2002). Spatial Planning, Access and Infrastructure. In C. Rakodi & T. Lloyd-Jones (Eds.), Urban Livelihoods: A people-centred approach to reducing poverty (pp. 188–204). London: Earthscan.

Brown, B. B., Altman, I., & Werner, C. M. (2012). Place attachment. International Encyclopedia of Housing and Home, 183–188. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-047163-1.00543-9

Brown, D., & Mcgranahan, G. (2016). The urban informal economy, local inclusion and achieving a global green transformation. Habitat International, 53(April), 97–105. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2015.11.002

Burt, R. . (1992). Structural Holes: The Social Structure of Competition. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Cernea, M. M. (1989). Metropolitan Development and Compulsory Population Relocation: Policy issues and project experiences. Regional Development Dialogue, 10(4), 88–106.

Cernea, M. M. (1991). Involuntary Resettlement: Social Research, Policy and Planning. In M. M. Cernea (Ed.), Putting People First: Sociological variables in rural development (2nd ed.). New York: World Bank.

Cernea, M. M. (1993). The Urban Environment and Population Relocation. World Bank Discussion Papers: 152. Washington D.C.: The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, The World Bank.

Cernea, M. M. (1996). Eight Main Risks: Impoverishment and social justice in resettlement. The World Bank Environment Department.

Cernea, M. M. (1997). The risks and reconstruction model for resettling displaced populations. World Development, 25(10), 1569–1587.

Cernea, M. M. (1999). Why Economic Analysis Is Essential to Resettlement. In The Economics of Involuntary Resettlement: Questions and Challenges (Vol. 34, pp. 2149–2158). Economic and Political Weekly.

Cernea, M. M. (2000). Risks, Safeguards and Reconstruction: A model for population displacement and resettlement. Economic And Political Weekly, 35(41), 3659–3678.

Cernea, M. M., & Maldonado, J. K. (2018). Challenging the Prevailing Paradigm of Displacement

201 Reference list

and Resettlement: Risks, Impoverishment, Legacies, Solutions. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.

Chambers, R., & Conway, G. R. (1991). Sustainable Rural Livelihoods: Practical concepts for the 21st century. IDS Discussion Paper, 296. https://doi.org/ISBN 0 903715 58 9

Charney, M. (2009). A History of Modern Burma. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Chaudhry, S. (2018). Forced Evictions in India in 2017: An Alarming National Crisis. New Delhi.

Chen, M. A., & Sinha, S. (2016). Home-based workers and cities. Environment and Urbanization, 28(2), 343–358. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956247816649865

Choi, N. (2015). Impacts of displacement on urban livelihoods: a railway project in Metro Manila. Development in Practice, 25(5), 643–654. https://doi.org/10.1080/09614524.2015.1051948

Choi, N., & Satiroglu, I. (2015). Conclusion: A step forward in theory, methodology and practice in development-induced displacement and resettlement. In I. Satiroglu & N. Choi (Eds.), Development-Induced Displacement and Resettlement: New perspectives on persisting problems (pp. 226–230). New York: Routledge.

Coleman, J. S. (1988). Social capital in the creation of human capital. American Journal of Sociology, 94(Supplement), S95–S120.

Connell, J., & Connell, J. (2014). Development-induced displacement, adaptation and mobility in Cambodia. Migration and Development, (December 2014), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/21632324.2014.984900

Cornish, G. (2017). Women and Resettlement: A case study on gender aspects at the Upper Paunglaung Hydropower Dam. Yangon.

Cornish, G., & Ramsay, R. (2018). Gender and livelihoods in Myanmar after development-induced resettlement. Forced Migration Review, 59(October), 55–57.

Creswell, J. W. (1998). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five traditions. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications.

Crow, G. (2004). Social Networks and Social Exclusion: An Overview of the Debate. In C. Phillipson, G. Allan, & D. Morgan (Eds.), Social Networks and Social Exclusion (pp. 7–20). Burlington: Ashgate Publishing Company.

Davis, F. (1979). Yearning for Yesterday: A Sociology of Nostalgia. New York: Free Press. de Haan, L., & Zoomers, A. (2005). Exploring the Frontier of Livelihoods Research. Development and Change, 36(1), 27–47.

202 Reference list de Wet, C. (2001). Economic Development and Population Displacement: Can Everybody Win? Economic And Political Weekly, 36(50), 4637–4646. de Wet, C. (2006). Risk, Complexity and Local Initiative in Forced Resettlement Outcomes. In C. de Wet (Ed.), Development-induced displacement: Problems, policies and people. New York: Berghahn Books. de Wet, C. (2015). Spatial-and complexity-based perspectives on the ethics of development-induced displacement and resettlement. In I Satiroglu & N. Choi (Eds.), Development-Induced Displacement and Resettlement: New perspectives on persisting problems (pp. 85–96). New York: Routledge.

DFID. (1999). Sustainable livelihoods guidance sheets. London: DFID. Retrieved from http://www.ennonline.net/dfidsustainableliving

DOP. (2015). The 2014 Myanmar Population and Housing Census.

Downing, T. E. (1996). Mitigating Social Impoverishment when People are Involuntarily Displaced. In C. McDowell (Ed.), Understanding Impoverishment: The Consequences of Development-Induced Displacement (pp. 33–48). Providence, Oxford: Berghahn Books.

Downing, T. E. (2002). Avoiding New Poverty: Mining-Induced Displacement and Resettlement. Mining, Minerals and Sustainable Development, (58), 1–29.

Downing, T. E., & Garcia-Downing, C. (2009). Routine and Dissonant Culture: A theory about the psycho-socio-cultural disruptions of involuntary displacement and ways to mitigate them without inflicting even more damage. In A. Oliver-Smith (Ed.), Development and Dispossession: The Anthropology of Displacement and Resettlement (pp. 225–253). Santa Fe: School for Advanced Research Press.

Dudley, S. (2011). Feeling at Home: Producing and consuming things in Karenni refugee camps on the Thai-Burma Border. Population, Space and Place, 17(6), 742–755. https://doi.org/10.1002/psp

Duflos, B. E., Luchtenburg, P., Ren, L., & Chen, L. Y. (2013). Microfinance in Myanmar: Sector Assessment. Yangon.

Dwivedi, R. (2002). Models and Methods in Development-Induced Displacement (Review Article). Development and Change, 33(4), 709–732.

Elliott, E., Watson, A. J., & Harries, U. (2002). Harnessing expertise: Involving peer interviewers in qualitative research with hard-to-reach populations. Health Expectations, 5(2), 172–178. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1369-6513.2002.00158.x

203 Reference list

Emerson, R. M., Fretz, R. I., & Shaw, L. L. (2011). Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes (2nd ed.). Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.

Farrington, J., Ramasut, T., & Walker, J. (2002). Sustainable Livelihoods Approaches in Urban Areas: General Lessons, with Illustrations from Indian Cases (No. 162). Overseas Development Institute. London.

Fenster, T. (2005). Gender and the city: The different formations of belonging. In L. Nelson & J. Seager (Eds.), A Companion to Feminist Geography (pp. 242–256). Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Ltd. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470996898.ch17

Fernandes, W. (2000). From Marginalisation to Sharing the Project Benefits. In M. M. Cernea & C. McDowell (Eds.), Risks and Reconstruction: Experiences of Resettlers and Refugees. Washington D.C.: World Bank.

Fernández Arrigoitia, M. (2017). Unsettling Resettlements: Community, Belonging and Livelihood in Rio de Janeiro’s Minha Casa Minha Vida. In K. Brickell, M. Fernández Arrigoitia, & A. Vasudevan (Eds.), Geographies of Forced Eviction: Dispossession, Violence, Resistance (pp. 71–96). London: Palgrave Macmillan UK. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-51127-0_4

Ferris, E. (2012). Protection and Planned Relocations in the Context of Climate Change. Legal and Protection Policy Research Series , UNHCR, 1–33. Retrieved from www.unhcr.org/protect

Ferris, E. (2014). Planned Relocations, Disasters and Climate Change: Consolidating good practices and preparing for the future. In Sanremo Consultation (pp. 12–14). Sanremo: Brookings Institute; UNHCR, Georgetown University.

Fine, B. (2001). Social Capital Theory Versus Social Theory: Political Economy and Social Science at the Turn of the Millennium. London: Routledge.

Flick, O. (2009). An introduction to qualitative research (4th ed.). London: Sage Publications.

Flyvbjerg, B. (2006). Five Misunderstandings About Case-Study Research. Qualitative Inquiry, 12(2), 219–245. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077800405284363

Foerch, T., Ki, O., San Thein, & Waldschmidt, S. (2016). Myanmar’s Financial Sector: A Challenging Environment for Banks. Yangon. Retrieved from https://www.giz.de/en/worldwide/17772.html.

Forbes, E. (2015). Urbanization and Informal Settlements in Yangon, Myanmar. In Land Core Group Meeting. Yangon. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781107415324.004

Forrest, R., & Kearns, A. (2016). Social Cohesion, Social Capital and the Neighbourhood. Urban

204 Reference list

Studies, 38(12), 2125–2143. https://doi.org/10.1080/00420980120087081

Forrest, R., & Yip, N. M. (2007). Neighbourhood and neighbouring in contemporary Guangzhou. Journal of Contemporary China, 16(50), 47–64. https://doi.org/10.1080/10670560601026736

Fresque-Baxter, J. A., & Armitage, D. (2012). Place identity and climate change adaptation: A synthesis and framework for understanding. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, 3(3), 251–266. https://doi.org/10.1002/wcc.164

Fried, M. (1966). Grieving for a Lost Home: Psychological Costs of Relocation. In J. Q. Wilson (Ed.), Urban Renewal: The record and the controversy (pp. 359–379). Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.

Fried, M. (2000). Continuities and Discontinuities of Place. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 20, 193–205. https://doi.org/10.1006/jevp.1999.0154

Friedmann, J. (2007). Reflections on place and place-making in the cities of China. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 31(2), 257–279. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468- 2427.2007.00726.x

Fullilove, M. T. (1996). Psychiatric Implication of Displacment: Contributions From the Psychology of Place. American Journal of Psychiatry, 153(12), 1516–1523.

Fullilove, M. T. (2013). “The frayed knot”: What happens to place attachment in the context of serial forced displacement? In L. C. Manzo & P. Devine-Wright (Eds.), Place Attachment: Advances in Theory, Methods and Applications (pp. 141–153). London and New York: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203757765

Geilfus, F. (2008). 80 Tools for Participatory Development: Appraisal, planning, follow-up and evaluation. Assessment. San Jose: Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA).

Ghaus, K., Ahmed, N., Sidat, R., Areeb, T., Kazmi, N., & Khan, Z.-H. (2012). Gender Dimensions of Development Induced Displacement and Resettlement: A Case of Lyari Expressway in Karachi. The effects of brief mindfulness intervention on acute pain experience: An examination of individual difference (Vol. 1). Karachi: Social Policy and Development Centre.

Gittell, R., & Vidal, A. (1998). Community Organizing: Building Social Capital as a Development Strategy. Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE Publications.

Glaeser, E., & Joshi-Ghani, A. (2013). Rethinking Cities : Toward Shared Prosperity. Poverty Reduction and Economic Management (PREM) Network, (126), 1–14.

205 Reference list

Glaser, B. G., & Strauss, A. L. (2017). The Discovery of Grounded Theory: Strategies for qualitative research (3rd ed.). Oxon: Routledge.

Goddard, G., & Kyaw Thu, M. (2015). Life at the margins. Frontier Myanmar, (13), 30–35. https://doi.org/10.1038/373659a0

Gonzalez de la Rocha, M. (1994). The Resources of Poverty, Women and Survival in a Mexican City. Oxford: Blackwells.

Granovetter, M. (1973). The Strength of Weak Ties. American Journal of Sociology, 78(6), 1360– 1380.

Greene, D., Tehranifar, P., Hernandez-Cordero, L. J., & Fullilove, M. T. (2011). I used to cry every day: A model of the family process of managing displacement. Journal of Urban Health, 88(3), 403–416. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-011-9583-4

Greene, S. (2003). Staged Cities: Mega-events, slum clearance and global capital. Yale Human Rights and Development Law Journal, 6, 161–187.

Grootaert, C. (2001). Does Social Capital Help the Poor? A synthesis of findings from the Local Level Institutions studies in Bolivia, Burkino Faso and Indonesia (Social Capital Working Papers Series No. 10). Local Levels Institutions Working Paper Series. Washington D.C.

Halpern, D. (2005). Social Capital. Cambridge: Polity Press.

Hardoy, J. E., & Satterthwaite, D. (1989). Squatter citizen: life in the urban Third World. Squatter Citizen: Life in the Urban Third World. Earthscan, London. Retrieved from http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-0024843142&partnerID=tZOtx3y1

Hawkins, R. L., & Maurer, K. (2010). Bonding, bridging and linking: How social capital operated in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. British Journal of Social Work, 40(6), 1777– 1793. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcp087

Heller, T. (1982). The effects of involuntary residential relocation: A review. American Journal of Community Psychology, 10(4), 471–492. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00893984

Herzfeld, M. (2006). Spatial Cleansing. Journal of Material Culture, 11(1–2), 127–149. https://doi.org/10.1177/1359183506063016

Hillig, Z., & Connell, J. (2018). Social capital in a crisis: NGO responses to the 2015 Nepalese earthquakes. Asia Pacific Viewpoint, 59(3), 309–322. https://doi.org/10.1111/apv.12201

Hoffstaedter, G. (2014). Place-making: Chin refugees, citizenship and the state in Malaysia. Citizenship Studies, 18(8), 871–884. https://doi.org/10.1080/13621025.2014.964549

206 Reference list

Htar Htar Khin. (2015, July 29). New flats spark rising expectations. Myanmar Times. Retrieved from http://www.mmtimes.com/index.php/business/property-news/7597-new-flats-spark- rising-expectations.html

Hummon, D. M. (1992). Community Attachment: Local Sentiment and Sense of Place. In I. Altman & S. M. Low (Eds.), Place Attachment (pp. 253–278). Boston: Springer.

Hutton, D., & Haque, C. E. (2004). Human vulnerability, dislocation and resettlement: adaptation processes of river-bank erosion-induced displacees in Bangladesh. Disasters, 28(1), 41–62. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0361-3666.2004.00242.x

Ilcan, S. (2002). Longing in Belonging: The cultural politics of settlement. Westport, CT: Paeger Publishers.

Joshi, A., & Moore, M. (2004). Institutionalised Co-production: Unorthodox Public Service Delivery in Challenging Environments. Journal of Development Studies, 40(4), 31–49. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220380410001673184

Kaptani, E., & Yuval-Davis, N. (2008). Participatory theatre as a research methodology: Identity, performance and social action among refugees. Sociological Research Online, 13(5), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.5153/sro.1789

Kawulich, B. B. (2005). Participant observation as a data collection method. Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 6(2). https://doi.org/10.17169/fqs-6.2.466

Kearns, A., & Parkinson, M. (2001). The Significance of Neighbourhood. Urban Studies, 38(12), 2103–2110. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2990.2005.00645.x

Khan, M. A. (1991). The Burmese Way: To Where? Report of a Mission to Myanmar (Burma). Geneva: International Commission of Jurists.

Koenig, D. (2009). Urban relocation and resettlement: Distinctive problems, distinctive opportunities. In A. Oliver-Smith (Ed.), Development and Dispossession: The Crisis of Forced Displacement and Resettlement (pp. 119–139). Santa Fe: School for Advanced Research Press.

Koenig, D. (2014). Reconstructing and Improving Livelihoods among the Urban Displaced: Lessons from Mumbai, India. In J. Perera (Ed.), Lose to Gain: Is involuntary resettlement a development opportunity? (pp. 126–150). Manila: Asian Development Bank.

Kraas, F., Yin May, & Zin Nwe Myint. (2010). Yangon/Myanmar: Transformation Processes and Mega-Urban Developments. Geographische Rundschau: International Edition, 6(2), 26–37.

Kumar, R. (2005). Research methodology: A step-by-step guide for beginners (4th ed.). London:

207 Reference list

Sage Publications.

Kyed, H. M. (2019). Informal Settlements and Migrant Challenges in Yangon // L’habitat informel à Yangon et les défis des migrants. Moussons, (33), 65–94. https://doi.org/10.4000/moussons.4909

Lewicka, M. (2011). Place attachment: How far have we come in the last 40 years? Journal of Environmental Psychology, 31(3), 207–230. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2010.10.001

Liamputtong, P. (2013). Qualitative research methods (4th ed.). Melbourne: Oxford University Press.

LIFT. (2012). Baseline Survey Results. Yangon: Livelihoods and Food Security Trust Fund.

Lin, Z. Y. (2015, August 13). Squatters delay Hlaing Tharyar housing. Myanmar Times. Retrieved from http://www.mmtimes.com/index.php/business/property-news/15963-squatters-delay- hlaing-tharyar-housing.html

Lomnitz, L. A. (1977). Networks and Marginality: Life in a Mexican Shantytown. In E. . Hammel (Ed.), Studies in Anthropology. New York: Academic Press.

Lubeigt, G. (1989). Aspects du développement de la zone péri-urbaine de Rangoun (Birmanie) (Notes on the Development of the peripheral urban zone of Rangoon). In La Péri-urbanisation dans les pays tropicaux. Bordeaux: CNRS-CEGET.

Lubeigt, G. (2008). Industrial zones in Burma and Burmese labour in Thailand. In M. Skidmore & T. Wilson (Eds.), Myanmar: The state, community and the environment (pp. 159–188). Canberra: ANU Press.

Lyons, M., & Snoxell, S. (2005). Sustainable urban livelihoods and marketplace social capital: Crisis and strategy in petty trade. Urban Studies, 42(8), 1301–1320. https://doi.org/10.1080/00420980500150631

Mahapatra, L. . (1999). Testing the Risks and Reconstruction Model on India’s Resettlement Experiences. In M. M. Cernea (Ed.), The economics of involuntary resettlement. Washington D.C.: The World Bank.

Maldonado, J. K. (2011). A New Path Forward: Researching and Reflecting on Forced Displacement and Resettlement. Journal of Refugee Studies, 25(2).

Malkki, L. H. (1995). Refugees and Exile: From “Refugee Studies” to the National Order of Things. Annual Review of Anthropology, 24(1), 493–523. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.anthro.24.1.493

208 Reference list

Mansuri, G., & Rao, V. (2004). Community-Based and -Driven Development: A Critical Review. The World Bank Research Observer, 19(1), 1–39. https://doi.org/10.1093/wbro/lkhO12

Martin, T., Marschke, M., & Win, S. (2019). Bridging Systems and People-Centred Approaches in Urban Vulnerability Research: Insights for Resilience from Dawei, Myanmar. In A. G. Daniere & Matthias Garschagen (Eds.), Urban Climate Resilience in Southeast Asia (pp. 19– 40). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-98968-6

Matelski, M., & Sabrié, M. (2019). Challenges and Resilience in Myanmar’s Urbanization: A Special Issue on Yangon. Moussons, 33(1), 11–31. https://doi.org/10.4000/moussons.4844

Mathur, H. (2006). Urban Development and Involuntary Resettlement. In H. M. Mathur (Ed.), Managing Resettlement in India: Approaches, Issues, Experiences (pp. 195–211). New York: Oxford University Press.

May, V. (2017). Belonging from afar: Nostalgia, time and memory. Sociological Review, 65(2), 401–415. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-954X.12402

McCarthy, G. (2016). Building on what’s there: Insights on social protection and public goods provision from central-east Myanmar (No. S-53308-MYA-1).

McCarthy, G. (2019). Democratic deservingness and self-reliance in contemporary Myanmar. Sojourn: Journal of Social Issues in Southeast Asia, 34(2), 327–365. https://doi.org/10.1355/sj34-2d

McNamara, K. E., Olson, L. L., & Rahman, M. A. (2015). Insecure hope: the challenges faced by urban slum dwellers in Bhola Slum, Bangladesh. Migration and Development, 2324(October), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/21632324.2015.1082231

Mee, K., & Wright, S. (2009). Geographies of belonging. Why belonging? Why geography? Environment and Planning A, 41(4), 772–779. https://doi.org/10.1068/a41364

Meikle, S. (2002). The Urban Context and Poor People. In C. Rakodi & T. Lloyd-Jones (Eds.), Urban Livelihoods: A people-centred approach to reducing poverty (pp. 37–51). London: Earthscan.

Mejia, M. C. (1999). Economic Dimensions of Urban Resettlement: Experiences from Latin America. In M. M. Cernea (Ed.), The economics of involuntary resettlement: questions and challenges (pp. 147–188). Washington D.C.: World Bank.

Mendoza, R. U. (2011). Why do the poor pay more? Exploring the poverty penalty concept. Journal of International Development, 23, 1–28. https://doi.org/10.1002/jid

209 Reference list

Mihaylov, M., & Perkins, D. D. (2014). Community Place Attachment and its Role in Social Capital Development. Place Attachment: Advances in Theory, Methods and Applications, (1992), 61–74.

Miles, M., & Huberman, M. (1994). Qualitative Data Analysis: An Expanded Sourcebook. Newbury Park, CA: SAGE Publications.

Miller, F. (2020). Exploring the consequences of climate-related displacement for just resilience in Vietnam. Urban Studies, 57(7), 1570–1587. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042098019830239

Minnery, J. (2007). Stars and their Supporting Cast: State, Market and Community as Actors in Urban Governance. Urban Policy and Research, 25(3), 325–345. https://doi.org/10.1080/08111140701540745

Mitlin, D. (2008). With and beyond the state - co-production as a route to political influence, power and transformation for grassroots organizations. Environment and Urbanization, 20(2), 339– 360. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956247808096117

Mitlin, D., & Satterthwaite, D. (2013). Urban Poverty in the Global South: Scale and Nature. Oxon: Routledge.

Morse, S., McNamara, N., & Acholo, M. (2009). Sustainable Livelihood Approach: A critical analysis of theory and practice. Geographical Paper, (189), 68. https://doi.org/10.1007/978- 94-007-6268-8

Moser, C. O. N. (1998). The Asset Vulnerability Framework: Reassessing urban poverty reduction strategies. World Development, 26(1), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0305-750X(97)10015-8

Muggah, R. (2000). Through the developmentalist’s looking glass: Conflict-induced displacement and involuntary resettlement in Colombia. Journal of Refugee Studies, 13(2), 133–164.

Myint Kay Thi. (2018, June 7). Yangon Region records most cases of dengue in first 5 months of year. Myanmar Times. Retrieved from https://www.mmtimes.com/news/yangon-region- records-most-cases-dengue-first-5-months-year.html

Oliver-Smith, A. (1991). Involuntary resettlement, resistance and political empowerment. Journal of Refugee Studies, 4(2), 132–149.

Painter, J., & Philo, C. (1995). Spaces of citizenship: An introduction. Political Geography, 14(2), 107–120. https://doi.org/10.1016/0962-6298(95)91659-R

Patel, S., & Mitlin, D. (2001). The Work of SPARC, the National Slum Dwellers Federation and Mahila Milan. Working Paper Series on Poverty Reduction in Urban Areas, (December), 44.

210 Reference list

Patel, S., Sliuzas, R., & Mathur, N. (2015). The risk of impoverishment in urban development- induced displacement and resettlement in Ahmedabad. Environment and Urbanization, 27(1), 231–256.

Penz, P., Drydyk, J., & Bose, P. S. (2011). Displacement by Development: Ethics, Rights and Responsibilities. Cambridge University Press.

Phillips, S. (2002). Social Capital, Local Networks and Community Development. In C. Rakodi & T. Lloyd-Jones (Eds.), Urban Livelihoods: A people-centred approach to reducing poverty (pp. 133–149). London: Earthscan.

Phonphakdee, S., Visal, S., & Sauter, G. (2009). The urban poor development fund in Cambodia: Supporting local and citywide development. Environment and Urbanization, 21(2), 569–586. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956247809339661

Pierce, J., & Lawhon, M. (2015). Walking as Method: Toward Methodological Forthrightness and Comparability in Urban Geographical Research. Professional Geographer, 67(4), 655–662. https://doi.org/10.1080/00330124.2015.1059401

Pink, S. (2008). An urban tour: The sensory sociality of ethnographic place-making. Ethnography, 9(2), 175–196. https://doi.org/10.1177/1466138108089467

Portes, A. (1998). Social Capital: Its Origins and Applications in Modern Sociology. Annual Review of Sociology, 24, 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.soc.24.1.1

Portugali, J. (2000). Self-Organization and the City. Berlin: Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

Prandini, R. (2014). Family Relations as Social Capital. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 45(2 SPECIAL ISSUE), 221–234.

Pretty, J. (2003). Social Capital and the Collective Management of Resources. Science, 302(5652), 1912–1914. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1090847

Price, S. (2009). Prologue: Victims or Partners? The Social Perspective in Development-Induced Displacement and Resettlement. The Asia Pacific Journal of Anthropology, 10(4), 266–282. https://doi.org/10.1080/14442210903305821

Price, S. (2015). Introduction. In S. Price & J. Singer (Eds.), Global Implications of Development, Disasters and Climate Change: Responses to displacement from Asia Pacific. Oxen: Routledge.

Price, S. (2019). Looking back on development and disaster-related displacement and resettlement, anticipating climate-related displacement in the Asia Pacific region. Asia Pacific Viewpoint,

211 Reference list

60(2), 191–204. https://doi.org/10.1111/apv.12224

Probyn, E. (1996). Outside Belongings. London: Routledge.

Purcell, M. (2003). Citizenship and the right to the global city: Reimagining the capitalist world order. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 27(3), 564–590. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-2427.00467

Putnam, R. (1993). Making democracy work: Civic traditions in modern Italy (Vol. 40). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0030-4387(96)90074-5

Putnam, R. (1995). Bowling Alone: America’s Declining Social Capital. Journal of Democracy, 6(1), 65–78.

Putnam, R. (2000). Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. New York: Simon & Schuster.

Quetulio-Navarra, M., Niehof, A., van der Vaart, W., & Se, S. (2012). The disruption and rebuilding of social capital in involuntary resettlement in the Philippines and Indonesia. International Journal of Social Sciences and Humanity Studies, 4(2), 307–323.

Rakodi, C. (1999). A Capital Assets Framework for Analysing Household Livelihood Strategies: Implications for Policy. Development Policy Review, 17, 315–342.

Rakodi, C. (2002a). A Livelihoods Approach: Conceptual Issues and Definitions. In C. Rakodi & T. Lloyd-Jones (Eds.), Urban Livelihoods: A people-centred approach to reducing poverty (pp. 3–22). London: Earthscan.

Rakodi, C. (2002b). Economic Development, Urbanization and Poverty. In C. Rakodi & T. Lloyd- Jones (Eds.), Urban Livelihoods: A people-centred approach to reducing poverty (pp. 23–35). London: Earthscan.

Rakodi, C., & Lloyd-Jones, T. (Eds.). (2002). Urban Livelihoods: A people-centred approach to reducing poverty. London: Earthscan.

Rhoads, E. (2018). Forced Evictions as Urban Planning? Traces of Colonial Land Control Practices in Yangon, Myanmar. State Crime Journal, 7(2), 278–305.

Rhoads, E. (2019). Property in Transition: Uncertainty, Agency and Belonging in Yangon, Myanmar. King’s College London.

Roitman, S. (2019a). Urban Activism in Yogyakarta, Indonesia: Deprived and Discontented Citizens Demanding a More Just City. In N. Yip, M. Martinez, & X. Sun (Eds.), Contested Cities and Urban Activism – East and West, North and South (pp. 147–174). Singapore:

212 Reference list

Springer Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-1730-9

Roitman, S. (2019b). Yogyakarta: Slum Dwellers’ Strategies and Tactics in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. In R. Rocco & V. van Ballegooijen (Eds.), The Routledge Handbook on Informal Urbanization (1st ed.). New York: Routledge.

Roquet, V., Bornholdt, L., Sirker, K., & Lukic, J. (2015). Urban Land Acquisition and Involuntary Resettlement Case Study Report: Linking Innovation and Local Benefits. Washington D.C.

Saldana, J., Leavy, P., & Beretvas, N. (2011). Understanding Statistics: Fundamentals of Qualitative Research. Oxford: Oxford University Press, USA.

Sánchez, F., & Broudehoux, A.-M. (2013). Mega-events and urban regeneration in Rio de Janeiro: planning in a state of emergency. International Journal of Urban Sustainable Development, 5(2), 132–153. https://doi.org/10.1080/19463138.2013.839450

Satterthwaite, D. (2001). Reducing urban poverty: constraints on the effectiveness of aid agencies and development banks and some suggestions for change. Environment and Urbanization, 13(1), 137–157. https://doi.org/10.1177/095624780101300111

Scoones, I. (1998). Sustainable Rural Livelihoods: A Framework for Analysis. IDS Working Paper 72. https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.development.1110037

Scoones, I. (2009). Livelihoods perspectives and rural development. Journal of Peasant Studies, 36(1), 171–196. https://doi.org/10.1080/03066150902820503

Scott, J. (1976). The Moral Economy of the Peasant: Rebellion and Subsistence in Southeast Asia. New Haven: Yale University Press.

Scott, S., Miller, F., & Lloyd, K. (2006). Doing fieldwork in development geography: Research culture and research spaces in Vietnam. Geographical Research, 44(1), 28–40. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-5871.2006.00358.x

Scudder, T. (1985). A Sociological Framework for the Analysis of New Land Settlements. In M. M. Cernea (Ed.), Putting People First: Sociological variables in rural development (2nd ed., pp. 148–187). New York: Oxford University Press.

Scudder, T. (1996). Development-induced impoverishment, resistance and river-basin development. In C. Mcdowell (Ed.), Understanding Impoverishment: The consequences of development- induced displacement (pp. 49–74). Oxford: Berghahn Books.

Seekins, D. M. (2005). The state and the city: 1988 and the transformation of Rangoon. Pacific Affairs, 78(2), 257–275.

213 Reference list

Seekins, D. M. (2011). State and Society in Modern Rangoon. New York: Routledge.

Segerfeldt, F. (2005). Water for Sale: How Business and The Market Can Resolve the World’s Water Crisis. Washington D.C.: Cato Institute.

Serageldin, I., & Grootaert, C. (2000). Defining social capital: An integrating view. In P. Dasgupta & I. Serageldin (Eds.), Social capital: A multifaceted perspective (pp. 40–58). Washington D.C.: The World Bank. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781351290449-13

Shami, S. (1993). The social implications of population displacement and resettlement: an overview with a focus on the Arab Middle East. International Migration Review, 27(1), 4–33. https://doi.org/10.2307/2546699

Sithu Aung Myint. (2014, March 17). Our policy failure on illegal homes. Myanmar Times. Retrieved from http://www.mmtimes.com/index.php/national-news/9853-our-policy-failure- on-illegal-homes.html

Skidmore, M. (2002). Menstrual Madness: Women’s Health and Well-Being in Urban Burma. Women and Health, 35(4), 81–99. https://doi.org/10.1300/J013v35n04

Skrbiš, Z., Baldassar, L., & Poynting, S. (2007). Introduction - Negotiating belonging: Migration and generations. Journal of Intercultural Studies, 28(3), 261–269. https://doi.org/10.1080/07256860701429691

Smith, Martin. (1994). Ethnic Groups in Burma: Development, Democracy and Human Rights. Human Rights Series. London.

South, A., & Lall, M. (2018). Introduction. In A. South & M. Lall (Eds.), Citizenship in Myanmar: Ways of Being in and from Burma. Singapore: ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute.

Southerton, D. (2004). Cultural Capital, Social Networks and Social Contexts: Cultural Orientations Toward Spare Time Practices in a New Town. In C. Phillipson, G. Allan, & D. Morgan (Eds.), Social Networks and Social Exclusion (pp. 97–116). Burlington: Ashgate Publishing Company.

Stake, R. E. (2005). Qualitative case studies. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), The Sage handbook of qualitative research (3rd ed., pp. 443–466). London: Sage.

Stanley, J. (2004). Development-induced displacement and resettlement. Retrieved from http://www.forcedmigration.org/research-resources/expert-guides/development-induced- displacement-and-resettlement/fmo022.pdf

Su Latt Tun Myint, Thuzar Myint, Wah Wah Aung, & Khin Thet Wai. (2015). Prevalence of

214 Reference list

household drinking-water contamination and of acute diarrhoeal illness in a periurban community in Myanmar. WHO South-East Asia Journal of Public Health, 4(1), 62. https://doi.org/10.4103/2224-3151.206623

Sullivan, J. (1992). Local Government and Community in Java: An Urban Case-Study. Singapore: Oxford University Press.

Sultana, F. (2007). Reflexivity, positionality and participatory ethics: Negotiating fieldwork dilemmas in international research. ACME, 6(3), 374–385.

Szreter, S., & Woolcock, M. (2004). Health by association? Social capital, social theory, and the political economy of public health. International Journal of Epidemiology, 33(4), 650–667. https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyh013

Than Than Nwe. (1998). Yangon: The Emergence of a New Spatial Order in Myanmar’s Capital City. Journal of Social Issues in Southeast Asia, 13(1), 86–113.

Thawnghmung, A. M. (2019). Everyday Economic Survival in Myanmar. Madison: The University of Wisconsin Press.

Till, K. E. (2012). Wounded cities: Memory-work and a place-based ethics of care. Political Geography, 31(1), 3–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polgeo.2011.10.008

Tilt, B., & Gerkey, D. (2016). Dams and population displacement on China’s Upper Mekong River: Implications for social capital and social–ecological resilience. Global Environmental Change, 36, 153–162. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2015.11.008

Trudeau, D. (2006). Politics of belonging in the construction of landscapes: Place-making, boundary-drawing and exclusion. Cultural Geographies, 13(3), 421–443. https://doi.org/10.1191/1474474006eu366oa

Turnell, S. (2005). A Survey of Microfinance Institutions in Burma. Burma Economic Watch, 2(1), 26–50.

Turnell, S. (2009). Fiery Dragons: Banks, Moneylenders and Microfinance in Burma. Copenhagen: NIAS Press.

UN-Habitat, & UNHRP. (2014). Assessing the impact of eviction: Handbook. (T. Osanjo, Ed.) (Vol. 10). Nairobi.

UN-Habitat, YCDC, & Alliance, C. (2016). Resettleemnt Programmes in Yangon: Shwepyithar Township. Yangon: UN-Habitat.

UNCHS. (1986). Urban Renewal of Rangoon’s Central Business District (report no. CA-2

215 Reference list

(November) No. Rangoon City and Regional Development Project, Bur/80/05, BUR/85/016). Rangoon.

UNCHS. (1991). Human Settlements Sector Review: Union of Myanmar. Nairobi: United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat).

UNDP. (2015). The State of Local Governance: Trends in Yangon. (U. Myanmar, Ed.). Yangon: UNDP Myanmar.

UNDP, & World Bank Group. (2019). Myanmar Living Conditions Survey 2017: Poverty Report. Nay Pyi Taw: UNDP; World Bank Group.

UNESCAP. (2019). The Future of Asian and Pacific Cities: Transformative pathways towards sustainable urban development. Bangkok: United Nations.

UNESCAP, & UN-Habitat. (2015). The State of Asian and Pacific Cities 2015: Urban transformations, shifting from quantity to quality. UNESCAP UN-HABITAT.

UNFPA. (2007). The state of the world population 2007: Unleashing the potential of urban growth. New York. https://doi.org/ISBN 978-0-89714-807-8

Unger, D. G., & Wandersman, A. (1985). The importance of neighbors: The social, cognitive, and affective components of neighboring. American Journal of Community Psychology, 13(2), 139–169. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00905726

UNHCR. (2020). Rohingya Emergency. Retrieved June 7, 2020, from https://www.unhcr.org/en- au/rohingya-emergency.html

UNHCR, & UN-Habitat. (2008). Guidance Note on Land Issues: Myanmar. Yangon: Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Uphoff, N. (2000). Understanding social capital: learning from the analysis and experience of participation. In P. Dasgupta & I. Serageldin (Eds.), Social capital: A multifaceted perspective (pp. 215–249). Washington D.C.: The World Bank.

Wadley, D. (2020). The City of Grace: An urban manifesto. The City of Grace. Singapore: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-1112-7

Walicki, N. (2017). A Global Picture of Development Displacement. In IAIA Special Symposium: Resettlement and Livelihoods (pp. 103–104). Manila: IAIA.

Walliman, N. (2011). Your research project: Designing and planning your work. Sage Publications.

Walton, M. J. (2017). Buddhism, Politics and Political Thought in Myanmar. Cambridge: Canbridge University Press.

216 Reference list

WCD. (2000a). Dams and Development: A new framework for decision-making. Current opinion in obstetrics & gynecology (Vol. 23). London: Earthscan. https://doi.org/10.1097/GCO.0b013e3283432017

WCD. (2000b). WCD Thematic Review: Social Issues I.3 Displacement, Resettlement, Rehabilitation, Reparation, and Development. Cape Town: World Commission on Dams.

Wilmsen, B., & Rogers, S. (2019). Planned resettlement to avoid climatic hazards: What prospects for just outcomes in China? Asia Pacific Viewpoint, 60(2), 118–131. https://doi.org/10.1111/apv.12232

Wilmsen, B., & van Hulten, A. (2017). Following resettled people over time: The value of longitudinal data collection for understanding the livelihood impacts of the Three Gorges Dam, China. Impact Assessment and Project Appraisal, 35(1), 94–105. https://doi.org/10.1080/14615517.2016.1271542

Wilmsen, B., & Wang, M. (2015). Voluntary and involuntary resettlement in China: a false dichotomy? Development in Practice, 25(5), 612–627. https://doi.org/10.1080/09614524.2015.1051947

Wilmsen, B., & Webber, M. (2016). Displacement and resettlement as a mode of capitalist transformation. In S. Price & J. Singer (Eds.), Global Implications of Development, Disasters and Climate Change: Responses to displacement from Asia Pacific. Oxon: Routledge.

Wilmsen, B., Webber, M., & Yuefang, D. (2011). Development for Whom? Rural to Urban Resettlement at the Three Gorges Dam, China. Asian Studies Review, 35(1), 21–42. https://doi.org/10.1080/10357823.2011.552707

Wood, L. J., Boruff, B. J., & Smith, H. M. (2013). When disaster strikes ... how communities cope and adapt: A social capital perspective. In C. D. Johnson (Ed.), Social Capital: Theory, Measurement and Outcomes (pp. 141–169). Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

Woolcock, M. (2001). The place of social capital in understanding social and economic outcomes. Canadian Journal of Policy Research, 2(1), 11–17.

Woolcock, M., & Narayan, D. (2000). Social Capital : Implications for Development Theory, Research, and Policy. The World Bank Research Observer, 15(2), 225–249.

World Bank Group. (2001). Involuntary Resettlement. Retrieved May 31, 2016, from http://go.worldbank.org/MRNITY6XN0

World Bank Group. (2015). World Bank Acknowledges Shortcomings in Resettlement Projects, Announces Action Plan to Fix Problems. Retrieved January 10, 2016, from

217 Reference list

http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2015/03/04/world-bank-shortcomings- resettlement-projects-plan-fix-problems

Wratten, E. (1995). Conceptualizing urban poverty. Environment and Urbanization, 7(1), 11–38. https://doi.org/10.1177/095624789500700118

Wright, S. (2015). More-than-human, emergent belongings: A weak theory approach. Progress in Human Geography, 39(4), 391–411. https://doi.org/10.1177/0309132514537132

YCDC. (1990). City of Yangon: Modernization Record (1st ed.). Yangon: Yangon City Development Committee.

YCDC. (1991). City of Yangon: Modernisation Record (2nd ed.). Yangon: Yangon City Development Committee.

YCDC. (1995). Yangon: The Garden City. Yangon: Yangon City Development Committee.

YCDC. (2014). Facts About Yangon City Development Committee. Yangon City Development Committee.

YCDC, & Save the Children. (2016). Lives on Loan: Extreme Poverty in Yangon. Yangon: Save the Children.

Yin, R. K. (2014). Case study research: Design and methods (Fifth). Los Angeles: Sage.

Yuval-Davis, N. (2004). Borders, boundaries, and the politics of belonging. In S. May, T. Modood, & J. Squires (Eds.), Ethnicity, Nationalism, and Minority Rights (pp. 214–230). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Yuval-Davis, N. (2006). Belonging and the politics of belonging. Patterns of Prejudice, 40(3), 197– 214. https://doi.org/10.1080/00313220600769331

Yuval-Davis, N. (2011). Power, Intersectionality and the Politics of Belonging (FREIA Working Paper Series No. 75). Aalborg East. https://doi.org/10.5278/freia.58024502

Zaw Zaw Htwe. (2016a, February 16). Unofficial Hlaing Tharyar renters fear looming eviction. Myanmar Times. Retrieved from http://www.mmtimes.com/index.php/national- news/yangon/19000-unofficial-hlaing-tharyar-renters-fear-looming-eviction.html

Zaw Zaw Htwe. (2016b, October 11). Still the people’s bankers. Myanmar Times. Retrieved from https://www.mmtimes.com/special-features/228-banking-finance-2016/23034-still-the-people- s-bankers.html

Zoomers, A. (1999). Linking Livelihood Strategies to Development: Experiences from the Bolivian Andes. Amsterdam: Royal Tropical Institute/Center for Latin American Research and

218 Reference list

Documentation.

219 Reference list

Appendix A Interview Guides – Fieldwork Trip

Interview Guide for Households:

1. Screening questions a. Length of stay in Ward 9 b. Reason for living there (forced, voluntary) c. Where in the city/ country moved from? 2. Relocation experience a. Early memories b. Quality of infrastructure/ services c. Access to external support d. First few months, first few years, first decade 3. Work a. Occupations before relocation, immediately after b. How/ Why/ When has this changed? c. Where do new work opportunities come from? d. Location of the occupations – local, regional, city 4. Infrastructure and services a. Water, sanitation, housing, waste, energy (for power, cooking, lighting), schools, roads, health, transport b. Initially today c. Management of shared infrastructure – how is it coordinated? Role of government? d. Gaps 5. Community a. Describe community b. Describe neighbours c. Cahnges over time d. Special places in community 6. General information a. Household occupants b. Household income c. Current household occupations d. Students in the household e. Ethnic identity

220 Reference list

Interview Guide for Community Leaders:

1. General questions a. Role in the community b. Interactions with other community leaders c. Length of stay in Ward 9 d. Reason for living there (forced, voluntary) e. Where in the city/ country moved from? 2. Work a. Occupations of community members b. Location of the occupations – local, regional, city c. Changes over time 3. Infrastructure and services a. Water, sanitation, housing, waste, energy (for power, cooking, lighting), schools, roads, health, transport b. Initially today c. Management of shared infrastructure – how is it coordinated? Role of government? d. Gaps in the community 4. Community a. Describe community b. Describe neighbours c. Changes over time d. Special places in community

Interview Guide for Experts:

1. General questions a. Role/ position b. Urban planning history in Yangon c. Tenure arrangements in Yangon generally and in relocations sites 2. Relocation sites a. Knowledge of the relocation sites and program b. Impressions of the relocation sites today – livelihoods, infrastructure c. Lessons learnt?

221 Reference list

Interview Guide for Government Workers:

1. General questions a. Current role, length of position 2. Relocation program a. Recollection of events / What have others explained about the relocations b. Role of government c. Where were people moved from? 3. Impressions of the relocation sites today a. Occupations of residents, changes over time b. Infrastructure and services adequate? Role of government 4. Future thinking a. Survival strategies of the poor b. Future relocations c. Lessons learnt?

222 Appendices

Appendix B Interview Guides – Data Validation Trip

Interview Guide for Relocatees:

1. Before relocation a. House, community, social networks and religious groups b. Livelihoods, savings, money loans c. Access to transport, water, electricity, schools, markets d. Reason for being relocated (e.g. political, participation in 1990 election) 2. After relocation a. Tenure / expectations to stay or to be moved again b. Feelings towards the government then vs now c. Biggest challenges – what were they? d. Ongoing / new challenges (e.g. changing work, death in family, transport) e. How were challenges overcome? Role of neighbours, friends, religious groups etc f. When feeling ‘settled in’ happened? 3. Social networks a. How / why / when did you help with communal efforts (e.g. roads) b. Changes to neighbourhood / neighbouring over time c. Neighbours familiar or strangers? 1991 vs today d. Relationship with HHL 4. External support a. NGO, religious group, donations from elsewhere b. Impressions of YCDC and NLD c. How projects get prioritised by YCDC

Interview Guide for HHL:

1. Roles and responsibilities a. Responsibilities initially vs today b. Do responsibilities change according to the government? c. Income-generating opportunities for HHLs d. Interactions with other HHL, Ward Officer, YCDC

223 Appendices

Interview Guide for Religious Leaders:

1. Roles and responsibilities a. Assistance to relocatees in 1991 b. Assistance to constituents today c. Access to funds from wealthier religious members d. Relationship with religious leaders from other religions e. Community interactions across religions – peaceful, helpful, reserved?

Interview Guide for Government Workers:

1. Roles and responsibilities a. Explain position and role of department today b. How are projects prioritised? Changes to this over time c. Expectations of communities (e.g. to build houses) 2. Interactions with others a. Relationship with HHLs b. Role of HHL

224 Appendices

Appendix C Breakdown of Participants

Relocatee interview details

Pseudonym Sex Age Religion Occupation Relationship (in 2016) U Ko Lwin Male 40 Buddhist Taxi driver Daw Thi Thi Aye Female 45 Hindu Widow, snack seller U Tun Kyaing Male 40 Muslim Painter, vegetable stall holder Married Daw Kyi Kyi Win Female 35 Muslim Vegetable stall holder Daw Soe Soe Female 50 Buddhist Shop keeper outside house Daw Thet Htar Female 64 Buddhist Widow, supported by children (previously launderer, snack seller) U Kyaw Hla Male 42 Buddhist Carpenter, builder Married Daw Nu Nu Myint Female 40 Buddhist Homekeeper Daw Yamin Aye Female 55 Buddhist Widow, shop keeper outside house Daw Than Tin Female 63 Buddhist Widow, supported by children (previously factory worker) U Zin Win Male 40 Buddhist Taxi driver Daw Yi Yi Aye Female 70 Muslim Widow, supported by children U Aung Win Male 40 Christian Electrician Daw Than Thwe Female 43 Buddhist Homekeeper, husband is trishaw driver Daw Aye Mya Female 46 Buddhist Widow, supported by children (office workers) Daw Hlang Thaung Female 63 Christian Widow, supported by children (Chin) Aunt/ U Sa Lai Male 30 Christian Electrician (previously trishaw Nephew (Chin) driver) Daw Khin Win Female 50 Buddhist Homekeeper (previously vegetable stall holder at downtown market) U Tint Shwe Male 59 Buddhist Bricklayer, tree trimmer Married Daw San San Aye Female 55 Buddhist Launderer, cleaner, housekeeper U Tin Min Phyo Male 32 Buddhist Carpenter, bricklayer, handyman, pit Son latrine digger Daw Hla Thaung Female 47 Buddhist Homekeeper (husband is bus driver) Daw Mya Than Female 47 Muslim Milk seller Daw Kyi Kyi Female 55 Buddhist Homekeeper Married U Aung Kyaw Male 58 Buddhist Journal (magazine) seller U Myo Min Male 53 Hindu Metal recycler Daw Than Than Hla Female 43 Buddhist Tailor, garment factory worker U Maung Maung Win Male 46 Muslim Bus line owner Married Daw Khaing Female 40 Muslim Homekeeper Daw Aye Aye Myint Female 50 Buddhist Widow, supported by children

225 Appendices

Pseudonym Sex Age Religion Occupation Relationship (in 2016) Daw Thin Thin Nyo Female 50 Buddhist Homekeeper Married U Tun Kyaw Male 55 Buddhist Driver for government staff U Ko Myint Male 80 Buddhist Widower, supported by children

Newcomer interview details

Pseudonym Sex Age Religion Occupation Relationship (in 2016) Daw Aye Soe Female 55 Buddhist Money lender Married U Kyaw Lwin Male 58 Buddhist Money lender U Tun Tun Win Male 42 Buddhist Security guard (previously farm in Irrawaddy) Married Daw Thein Thi Female 35 Buddhist Homekeeper Daw Wai Mar Female 50 Buddhist Widow, supported by children Daw Kyi Aye Female 55 Christian Widow, supported by children Daw Thein Thein Win Female 48 Buddhist Shopkeeper

Hundred Household Leader (HHL) and religious leader interview details

Pseudonym Sex Age (in Religion Participant Type / Occupation 2016) U Thaung Htun Male No data Buddhist HHL / shop owner U Tun Tun Male No data Buddhist HHL / bricklayer, handyman U Kyaw Soe Male 50 Buddhist HHL (wife is teacher as main income source) U San Lwin Male 70 Buddhist HHL / supported by children U Lwin Oo Male 60 Buddhist HHL / bricklayer U Khin Zaw Male 52 Buddhist HHL / gold leaf maker for pagodas U Aung Khaing Male No data Buddhist HHL / (no income data) U Than Aye Male 44 Buddhist HHL / sound system supplier and shop owner U Myint Swe Male 45 Muslim Religious Leader U Mung Hpan Male 50 Christian Religious Leader U Khin Maung Win Male 50 Hindu Religious Leader

226 Appendices

Government workers and expert interview details

Pseudonym Sex Participant Type U Thaung Tint Male Former Government worker, oversaw the creation of Shwepyithar Daw Myint Myint Thein Female Yangon Region Government worker Daw Moh Moh Female YCDC employee (Urban Planning Division) U Khin Aye Male YCDC Township Officer U Min Tin Male Ward Officer John Franks Male Expert, UN-Habitat consultant Matthew Smith Male Expert, former UN-Habitat consultant Andrew Felton Male Expert, former UN-Habitat consultant and urban researcher U Aung Kyaw Male Expert, local urban scholar, forced to relocate in 1988 Martin Brown Male Expert, land management in Yangon region, including peri-urban zones Emily Taylor Female Expert, property law in Yangon Daniel Newman Male Expert, realtor U Moe Kyaw Male Expert, director of a land management advisory think tank Fredrick Tate Male Expert, architect Richard Martin Male Expert, architect and urban historian

227 Appendices

Appendix D Ethics Approval

228 Appendices

Appendix E Informed Consent Form

229 Appendices

Appendix F Gatekeeper Approval

230