Built Environment
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Somewhere to Live
Despite millions of people being lifted out of poverty during recent decades, finding somewhere decent and affordable to live is proving increasingly difficult in urban areas around the world. This is not by accident, but by design, since the forms of economic management that have held sway for f...
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Cities for Human Development
For the last 30 years, the idea of ‘cities as engines of growth’ has played a key role in capturing the imagination of decision-makers and encouraging public and private investments into cities. However, at the same time, the world has experienced the urbanisation of poverty and inequality. Urban de...
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Building with Lime Stabilized Soil
How best can we stimulate lasting recovery from floods, earthquakes, and other climate disasters, with limited resources and funds? How can we deliver housing and adequate shelter that will protect as many people as possible across the world from anticipated future floods or extreme weather? Widely...
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How to Build Safer Houses with Confined Masonry
Tom Schacher, Nadia Carlevaro, Guillaume Roux-Fouillet
Low-rise buildings in earthquake-prone areas in many parts of the world are often constructed by self-taught masons and contractors. How to build safer houses with confined masonry: a guide for masons is an essential ‘how to’ handbook bringing together a collected knowledge of earthquake-resistant c...
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Constructing Low-rise Confined Masonry Buildings
The Construction Guide for Low-Rise Confined Masonry Buildings addresses the needs of small-scale contractors, technicians, government staff, architects as well as non-governmental organizations involved in post-disaster reconstruction. The guide has been written with users with various professional...
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From Infrastructure to Services
From Infrastructure to Services reveals important breakthroughs in country-led and country-wide monitoring of rural and small towns water supplies; ICT for monitoring sustainable service delivery; monitoring the finance needed for service delivery; monitoring for sanitation and hygiene; and building...
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Gender, Roads, and Mobility in Asia
Poor roads and transport infrastructure are key factors in the marginalization of women and other disempowered groups, but there is little understanding of the many ways in which a lack of mobility affects people’s lives. In South-east Asia, huge strides are being made in highway development and reg...
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Sustainable Cities
As urbanization, environmental degradation, and poverty become increasingly urgent problems, understanding the links between sustainability and poverty reduction is imperative. A sustainable urban future for all requires raising the quality of life of the most vulnerable. Existing at the margins of...
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Rammed Earth Structures
Ramming earth has been a method of construction for centuries in many parts of the world and the technique can produce buildings that are strong, durable, safe and desirable. Because earth is an abundant and cheap resource, rammed earth buildings are often very economical. To achieve the best result...
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Uncharted Territory
Disputes over land often start conflicts; and land is often a key issue when refugees and internally displaced people attempt to return home when the conflict is over. Access to land affects people’s choice to return and their prospects of recovery. Yet humanitarian agencies largely neglect these wi...