IHC Weekly Update
March 25, 2016
In this Update 
 

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Call for Papers: Urban Poverty Research Competition

To encourage a new generation of urban policy makers and promote early career research, IHC is thrilled to announce the topics of the 7th annual Reducing Urban Poverty Paper Competition for graduate stduents. In partnership with USAID, the  World Bank, the Wilson Center, and Cities Alliance, the competition aims to support emerging scholars and research on critical topics relating to urban poverty in the developing world.

The grand prize winner will attend the United Nations Habitat III Conference in Quito, Ecuador, in October 2016. Winning papers will be published, and selected authors will be invited to present their work in a policy workshop at the Wilson Center in Washington, D.C.

Papers must be linked to one of the following sub-topics: 
  • Climate Change
  • Arrival Cities: Responding to Migrants and Refugees
  • Innovation in Urban Planning 
  • Financing Sustainable Urban Development
Abstracts are due May 15, 2016. You must be an enrolled masters or PhD student to apply. Find more information on the topics and how to apply here. 
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Midwest Regional Convening on Habitat III - Chicago

In the lead up to Habitat III in October of this year, the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development will be co-hosting five regional discussions around the United States to help  inform the U.S. Delegation's perspective leading up to the conference.

Please join HUD in person or online for a daylong forum on the past and the future of America's Midwestern cities.  Leading policy experts, urban practitioners, scholars, representatives of the philanthropic sector, and civil society will examine the ways in which Midwestern cities have tackled the challenges of urbanization over the last 20 years.  

WHEN: March 31st, 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM
WHERE: Ida Noyes Hall, Cloister Club
1212 East 59th St
 Chicago,Illinois

Find more information and RSVP here. The event will be webcast live here
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Global Monitoring Report: Measuring Depth, Breadth, and Shared Prosperity  
 
Please join the  Institute for International Economic Policy  of George Washington University and the Development Prospects Group of the World Bank as they present an International Economic Policy Forum focused on the World Bank's flagship publication, Global Monitoring Report 2015/2016

The event will discuss the the report's evaluation of the depth and breadth of extreme poverty as well as as progress toward greater economic opportunities for the very poor. Economists from George Washington University and the World Bank will discuss new techniques used in the research and their potential implications for global monitoring and policy as the world begins to implement the Global Goals for Sustainable Development. 

WHEN: Monday, March 28th, 8:30 AM - 1:00 PM
WHERE: Elliot School of International Affairs 
City View Room, 7th Floor
1957 E Street NW, Washington, D.C.
 

Find more information and RSVP here
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WaterAid: Why the Poorest Pay the Highest Price for Water

In observance of World Water Day 2016, IHC member WaterAid released a report this week highlighting the disproportionate cost that the poor often must pay in order to access safe and consistent water. 

While it is often assumed that the world's extreme poor lack formal water sources because they can't afford the luxury, through a series of case studies, the report shows that in fact the poorest often pay far more than their wealthier neighbors who are connected to formal or municipal or other formal water sources. 

Many of the case studies are from cities, including:  Maputo, Mozambique; Lusaka, Zambia; and Phenom Penh, Cambodia. The report calls on governments and donors to adopt an integrated approach that supports access to water and sanitation for the poor who need it most by embedding it within other necessary interventions. 

HC supports this approach, while at the same time advocating for water and sanitation to be incorporated into an integrated, city-wide development approach that crosses sectors and communities and finds synergies among them.  Adequate water and sanitation, together with security of tenure, durable structure and appropriate density are the five dimensions that the UN uses to define adequate housing.

Read the full report here
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In the News and Around the Web
  • Add your voice to the Habitat III Informal Settlements Dialogue and learn more about the thematic meeting here
  • Read a blog post from Habitat for Humanity's Solid Ground Campaign highlighting the connections between clean water and access to land here
  • Read an article observing World Water Day that highlights gaps in urban water and sanitation provision here
  • Read an article highlighting the challenges the poor face in an urbanizing China here.

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