‘Cities for Human Development brings an important and much-needed new approach to understanding and acting on urban poverty. Change the lens through which you view it, change who you see and what they need, change your interaction with them…’
David Satterthwaite, International Institute for Environment and Development, Visiting Professor, University College London

‘This book is a timely and erudite effort that places Frediani amongst the emerging urban scholars of note. Drawing on practical examples from cities across Latin America and Africa, Frediani artfully applies Amartya Sen’s capability approach to city-making. A must read for urban scholars and practitioners alike.’
Dr Jaideep Gupte, Fellow of the Institute of Development Studies, UK

‘What are cities for? Are they for making money and creating wealth? Or are they for freeing people to live well? Which goal is fundamental, and which is a mere means? Using the capability approach, Frediani argues that freedom to live well is fundamental. Using a wealth of case studies, he shows how to assess urban decision making in light of this goal. This is an exemplary pathfinding book for urban theorists, planners, and activists alike.’
Jay Drydyk, Professor of Philosophy, Carleton University; President, Human Development and Capability Association; Past President, International Development Ethics Association

‘Why not focus on ways of letting the urban world flourish in all its multiple and complex modes of being? And through an understanding of the prevailing circumstances and collective activities that are standing their ground, why not envision new horizons and the project of an urban way of life enjoying greater justice and solidarity? This is the road Frediani invites us to take, founding his approach on the principle of human development as a theoretical and practical counterweight to a cruel economy and monolithic, exclusive and monetized urban politics. Moving between nine cities and three continents, following the trajectory of action research over more than a decade, the book reveals its lucid, robust structure as it walks the fine line between theory, interpretation of reality and the reaffirmation of social utopias. Read it with pleasure!’
Ana Fernandes, Professor at the Faculty of Architecture of the Federal University of Bahia (Faculdade de Arquitetura da Universidade Federal da Bahia, FAUFBA)

Alexandre Apsan Frediani

Dr Alexandre Apsan Frediani specialises on issues around human development in cities of the global South. Alexandre’s work explores participatory approaches to planning and design of interventions in informal settlements in cities in Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa.