In November 1942, the British Government published the ‘Social Insurance and Allied Services’ report. The report became known as the ‘Beveridge Report’ after its author, the economist William Beveridge (director of the LSE from 1919 to 1937). Seventy-five years later, LSE Festival Beveridge 2.0 (19th to 24th February) offered a week of public engagement activities exploring the five ‘great evils’ of society identified in the report: filth, ignorance, want, laziness and disease. To mark the housing and urbanization part of the event (Lessons from Grenfell Tower and Staying ahead of the curve: addressing the housing needs of a rapidly developing nation), Aidan Mosselson (LSE Cities) has compiled a list of seven key books on housing and urban development.
Affordable housing in urban areas of the Global South: In search of sustainable solutions. Jan Bredenord, Paul van Rindert, and Pia Smets (eds.). Routledge, 2014.
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The global increase in slums calls for policies that improve the conditions of the urban poor in a sustainable manner. This volume provides a broad overview of current and recent housing policies in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Each chapter provides ideas and tools for pro-poor interventions in the provision of land for housing, building materials, labor, participation, and finance. The book also considers the role of the various stakeholders involved in such interventions, including national and local governments, private organizations, NGOs, and community-based organizations.
The future of cities: Confronting the crisis of urban development. Edgar Peters. Zed Books. 2008.
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The past two decades have seen a global urban revolution, primarily in the Global South. Each “metropolis” in the developing world is home to more than 10 million people, and even smaller cities are experiencing unprecedented population growth, leading to well-documented problems such as slums, poverty, unemployment, and lack of governance. This book is a powerful indictment of the current consensus on how to address these challenges. Edgar Peters argues that current “shelter for all” and “good urban governance” policies only address the symptoms of the problem, not its causes, and reveals an urgent need to reinvigorate civil society in these cities to foster radical democracy, economic resilience, social resistance, and environmental sustainability.
Circular migration in Zimbabwe and modern sub-Saharan Africa. Deborah Potts. James Curry. 2013.
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Circular migration (where rural migrants do not remain permanently in a town) is of particular importance in the academic literature on African development and urbanization, and is often given negative connotations in Southern Africanist studies due to its association with illegal migrant labor systems. Literature on other African regions often frames circular migration in a more positive light. This book reviews current evidence on circular migration and urbanization in sub-Saharan Africa through a detailed examination of the case of Harare, Zimbabwe. Deborah Potts challenges the dominant view that rural-urban migration continues unabated, showing that circular migration continues and adapts, with out-migration accelerating in the face of declining economic opportunities in cities.
In defense of housing: The politics of crisis. Peter Marcus and David Madden. Back side. 2016.
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Everyone needs and deserves housing. But today, our homes are being transformed into commodities, and urban inequality is becoming more and more acute. Profits have become more important than social needs. Poor people have to pay more for inferior housing. And communities face the violence of displacement and gentrification. This book is a statement about this crisis. Urban planner Peter Marcuse and LSE sociologist David Madden explore the causes and consequences of the housing crisis, detailing the need for progressive alternatives and radical responses.
The tenement city: From 19th century Berlin to 21st century Nairobi. Marie Hützelmeyer. Africa World Press. 2011.
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There are currently more than 10,000 high-rise tenements in Nairobi, many of which offer single rooms on eight floors. Privately owned and making the most of urban space, these houses are similar to those of the rapidly industrializing tenement cities of the 19th century, particularly in New York, Glasgow, and Berlin. This book explores the emergence and legitimation of the tenement market across time and space, focusing on nineteenth-century Berlin and contemporary Nairobi. In doing so, Marie Fuchzermeyer raises important questions about the right to the city today.
A city mired in urban poverty. Charlotte Lemanski and Colin Marks (eds.). Palgrave Macmillan. 2015.
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This edited collection argues that urban spaces do not simply house urban poverty, but also actively produce and reproduce it. Throughout the book, contributors explore the role of urban space in constructing inequality and exclusion, touching on topics such as gender, refugees, informal settlements, and community-led financial systems.
Location of trade: Access to land in African cities. Stephen Berrisford, Caroline Wanjiku Kihato, Rob McGuffin, Mark Napier, Lauren Royston. African Mind Publishers. 2013.
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This book explores how local practices, land governance, and urban land markets in different African cities interact to shape how people on the margins of society access land and make a living. Rather than identifying the problem as markets themselves, the authors argue that the problem lies in how access to markets is structured inequitably, and that greater equality is needed for both ethical and economic reasons.
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This blog post was originally published on LSE Review of Books. This post gives the views of the author and does not represent the position of LSE Business Review or the London School of Economics. Featured image credit: Mumbai, India, 2010 (Sunghwan Yoon CC BY SA 2.0) By leaving a comment, you agree to our comment policy.
Aidan Mosselson is currently a Visiting Researcher at LSE Cities. His visit is supported by an international fellowship administered by the Urban Research Foundation. He is currently writing a book entitled “Vernacular Regeneration: Low Income Housing, Private Security, and Urban Transition in Johannesburg’s Inner City”, which focuses on the regeneration of Johannesburg’s inner city, South Africa. Prior to joining LSE, he was a postdoctoral researcher jointly based at the University of Johannesburg and the Gauteng City Regional Observatory at the University of the Witwatersrand.
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