Urban vulnerable communities, recently more than others, are acting to overcome inequalities and development boundaries, which have been widening because of the recent changes in globalisation patterns. There is still uncertainty on how these vulnerable urban communities can build effective resilience, and build their own sustainable, and inclusive, development paths, especially when vulnerability is inherent.
Many facts show that globalization is going to change its character. The “freedom” of resources’ movement across different types of development boundaries has recently raised conflicting interests between local and incoming resources.
Localities have reacted in different ways. In urban areas, the stronger economic and social communities have been able to adapt to change. Both in urban and in rural areas, the weaker communities have been forced to resist and be resilient.
At the same time globalization has a strong impact on environmental, economic and social conditions also at local level. But frequently localities do not have the power to influence external forces of change.
Are there ways out of these dilemmas?
At global level Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been framed as universal agenda, covering almost all the issues of development. The involvement of governments, private business, civil society, the media, universities, and religious institutions, might predict a wide involvement of actors; but past experiences give evidence of weaker “spontaneous” reactions.
Participants to our working group are invited to submit papers, both conceptual as well as applied, on inequalities and development boundaries, with the aim of highlighting those policy/actions capable of suggesting forms of sustainable, and inclusive, development, to address vulnerabilities and to build resilience.
Conveners
Claudio Cecchi, Stefano Moncada, David Dodman