Publications by: Adam Parsons
The seven myths of ‘slums’ – conclusion
Report / 8th December 2010A new vision for cities clearly begins with a change in mindset by the business and political community and all those involved in the governance and construction of cities. This requires a rethinking of the entrepreneurial and ‘marketing’ approach to urban development in which the city is regarded as a product for exchange with the rest of the world, as if the city is a saleable commodity that...
The seven myths of ‘slums’
Report / 8th December 2010The increasing rate of slum growth in the Global South is the direct result of an international development paradigm that fails to prioritise the basic needs of the poor. A world without urban poverty cannot be realised without a redistribution of power and resources on the national and global level, argues a new report by Share The World’s Resources.
The seven myths of ‘slums’ – introduction
Report / 8th December 2010For anyone who takes an interest in the problem of slums, a few basic facts will soon become clear. Firstly, the locus of global poverty is moving from rural areas to the cities, and more than half the world population now lives in urban areas for the first time in human history. Secondly...
The seven myths of ‘slums’ – a summary
Report / 8th December 2010It is easy to believe that urban slums are a consequence of too many people living in cities, or too many poor people migrating from rural to urban areas for governments to contend with the strain on housing. But the real problem is rooted in...
The seven myths of ‘slums’ – myth 1: there are too many people
Report / 8th December 2010Since Thomas Malthus first warned of an impending population explosion in 1798, the idea that there are too many people in the world for everyone to share in the earth’s bounty is one of the most persistent and widespread myths in popular thinking on development...
‘Health for all’: the second dawn
Article / 22nd July 2010It may seem that the goal of universal primary health care - in which state capacities are strengthened to ensure the rapid expansion of free publicly-provided health services - is further away than ever before. But there are many signs that the ideal of 'health for all' is making a second resurgence, writes Adam Parsons.
Unemployment and the free market in Africa
Article / 7th April 2010Growing unemployment across sub-Saharan Africa is linked to the free market restructuring of national economies over recent decades. Governments must embrace an alternative paradigm of development that prioritises social needs above short-term profit, says Adam Parsons in an interview with Uwana Archibong.
Do we care about urban poverty?
Article / 1st April 2010While the United Nations recently claimed victory for the Millennium Development Goal on slums, the global population of slum-dwellers continues to grow. It is time for governments and civil society to give the problem of urban poverty the attention it deserves.
The global health debate
Article / 18th September 2009While the healthcare debate rages in the US, a broader discussion has been renewed on the international stage that envisions the universal goal of "health for all". The time is ripe for a global civil society movement to turn this vision into an international priority.
Has the world given up on sustainable development?
Article / 29th May 2009Following the latest weak outcome of the Commission on Sustainable Development, it is time to ask if the United Nations is achieving enough in the realm of sustainable agriculture - and to start building a grassroots movement that can forge a new vision for the future.