Resources search

Inclusive urban mobility and road safety in developing countries

HUMANITY & INCLUSION (HI)
June 2018

Expand view

Between 20 to 50 million people worldwide suffer non-fatal injuries in road crashes every year; around 1.25 million are killed. Unsafe roads also represent a major factor of social exclusion, especially for ‘vulnerable road users’. These include notably pedestrians, persons with disabilities, cyclists and children. They represent 46% of road casualties. Persons with disabilities are at higher risk of sustaining injuries from road crashes.

In this thematic brief, the importance of inclusive urban planning is emphasised. Urban mobility and road safety challenges discussed include: safe crossing points over roads; signage and information; collective transport (particularly buses); road design and layout, poor road markings or signposts and the lack of street lighting.

 

Case histories provided are: Engaging government and DPOs to improve safe and inclusive mobility in Burkina Faso; and  Data, road safety and urban mobility in Vientiane, Laos

 

Recommendations for improvements in policies and actions are given under the headings: 

1. Strengthening the policy and financial framework for safe and inclusive mobility action, based on evidence and through participative processes

2. Removing the barriers to safe and accessible mobility, focusing on: the built environment; transport and vehicles; people

Inclusive urban mobility and getting to school safely in developing countries

HUMANITY & INCLUSION (HI)
June 2018

Expand view

For teenagers in developing countries, there is no greater threat to life than road traffic crashes: road crashes are the leading cause of preventable death of youth aged 15 to 29 years, and the second cause for those aged 5 to 14 years.(6) The risks are even higher for children with disabilities, who are also more exposed to non-fatal injuries from road crashes.

In this thematic brief, the importance of inclusive urban planning is emphasised. Urban mobility and road safety challenges discussed include: safe crossing points over roads and collective transport (particularly buses). 

 

Two case studies are provided: Safer access to school for disabled students in Kenya; and School access and pedestrian safety improvements in Democratic Republic of Congo

 

Recommendations for improvements in policies and actions are given under the headings:

  • 1. Strengthening the policy and financial framework for safe and inclusive mobility, based on evidence and through participative processes
  • 2. Removing the barriers to safe and accessible mobility, focusing on: the built environment; transport and vehicles; people

Cross-sectional Survey to Assess Prevalence of Disability and Access to Services in Albay Province, The Philippines

HODGE, Marcus
BOLINAS, Amable
JAUCIAN, Erlynn
BONEO, Rebecca
SCHAPIRA, Allan
VILLANUEVA, Mary Mediatrix V
2017

Expand view

Aim:  A cluster randomized cross-sectional survey to assess the prevalence of disability and access to support services was conducted in Albay Province, the Philippines in April 2016.

 

Method:  The population-based survey methodologies developed by the Washington Group of the United Nations Statistical Commission and UNICEF were utilized.  A sample of 70 barangays (the 3rd level administrative division in the Philippines) was selected as clusters, with probability proportional to size, and 30 households were selected randomly in each barangay to be surveyed.

 

Results:  The estimated prevalence of disability using the standard criteria of the Washington Group and UNICEF among children (2-17 years old) was 2.0% and for adults (≥18 years old) it was 6.5%.  The estimated prevalence of disability was higher in rural than in urban areas.  Deficiencies in the performance of existing services were identified; access by children with disabilities to support services was lowest in rural highland and rural plain barangays.

 

Conclusions: There was a large unmet demand for support services addressing the needs of persons with disabilities in Albay Province, especially in rural highland areas.  Persons with disabilities were disadvantaged in access to education and employment; many had not been educated in their basic rights.

 

Implications:  To identify, educate and fully support persons with disabilities, community-based rehabilitation (CBR), health and other rehabilitation services must communicate effectively with each other, their current work should be mapped and analysed, their comparative strengths identified, and their future work coordinated.  It is a priority to educate persons with disabilities and their families about their rights, and facilitate their access to support services; this requires increased investment in communication targeting persons with disabilities and the communities, especially rural.  Providers caring for persons with disabilities need to work in partnership to identify unreached persons with disabilities.  Prevalence surveys, with stronger focus on the profiles and performance of CBR and related services, would add to the evidence-base to improve the quality and coverage of services for persons with disabilities.

The right to adequate housing for persons with disabilities living in cities

UNITED NATIONS HABITAT
2015

Expand view

“This study reviews the literature on the meaning and impact of the right to adequate housing for persons with disabilities in cities. It uses the foundational framework of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), and demonstrates how the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) provides a new understanding of this complex right”

 

Adequate Housing Series

Social movements and chronic poverty across the urban-rural divide : concepts and experiences

MITLIN, Diana
BEBBINGTON, Anthony
September 2006

Expand view

"This paper develops a series of arguments regarding the contribution of social movements to the reduction of chronic poverty in both urban and rural social contexts...The summary is divided into three sections addressing: the relevance of social movements to the chronically poor; social movements and the representation of the chronically poor; and the interaction between the state and movements of the poor, with a special focus on the influence of social movements on policy and politics...[the] discussion suggests that the power of social movements lies less in their ability to influence the specifics of policies and programmes, and rather more in their capacity to change the terms in which societies debate poverty and social change, and to influence the types of development and policy alternatives that are considered legitimate in a given social and political context"

Child labour, gender inequality and rural/urban disparities : how can Ethiopia’s national development strategies be revised to address negative spill-over impacts on child education and wellbeing?

WOLDEHANNA, Tassew
et al
2005

Expand view

This paper is based on a study which sought to understand the impact on child labour and child schooling of public policy interventions formulated within the Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSP), and how changes are mediated through gender and rural/urban differences

The child friendly cities initiative in Italy

CORSI, Marco
2002

Expand view

This paper reviews the strengths and limitations of different child friendly cities initiatives in Italy and the many measures by national, regional and local governments to support them. City initiatives have sought to respond to the constraints that industrialisation and urbanisation have placed on children’s safe mobility, use of city space and participation. Many of the initiatives described have promoted children’s participation in city governance, often through children’s councils that developed proposals for city governments. Also described are special provisions by municipal authorities to ensure more attention to children’s issues, many of them involving environmental improvements that benefit children (for example, making children’s routes between home and school safer, expanding parks, creating bicycle tracks). The paper also describes children’s assessment of impacts, also their critical views of administrators who failed to keep their promises and teachers who were too controlling in participatory projects

Childwatch International Research Network

CHILDWATCH INTERNATIONAL

Expand view

This network seeks to strengthen child-centred research to contribute towards real improvement in children's well-being. It was founded in 1993 as a response from the research community to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Convention serves as a common agenda for research aimed at improving children's living conditions, well-being and participation. The aim of the website's Resources page is to compile lists of relevant links to child-centred research institutions, on-line research reports and journals, and bibliographies. The page is by no means complete, and the intention is to add links continuously. Also on the resources page are a selected number of child rights related links which are not primarily research based, but which could be helpful in research on children’s issues. A news section with relevant information is also available. There is also a list of well-working child rights related mailing lists

Development gateway

DEVELOPMENT GATEWAY FOUNDATION

Expand view

The Development Gateway portal provides a space for communities to share experiences on development efforts. The portal supports the Development Gateway Foundation's knowledge-sharing efforts through services such as an online directory for information on development projects (AiDA), an electronic procurement market (dgMarket), information on major development topics (Topic Pages), and links to a growing network of country-level initiatives (Country Gateways). By offering users virtual interactive communities centered on development issues, the portal's Topic Pages encourage knowledge-sharing and help improve collaboration among development practitioners. Expert guides and global topic advisors work with their communities to highlight the most relevant and useful resources available on the Internet. The topic pages enable you to share knowledge and locate resources on a variety of development topics; build a community of experience around development topics through individual member contributions; receive free email alerts and newsletters; and make connections with thousands of registered users

Child friendly cities initiative

UNITED NATIONS CHILDREN'S FUND (UNICEF)

Expand view

This website is a knowledge base for the global Child Friendly Cities (CFC) Initiative. It contains the CFC Database, which collects information on the role played by local governance systems in the areas of child rights, child participation and services for children; a CFC toolkit, which offers a definition of a CFC, examples of good practice and successful methods from around the world, a framework for action and key references

E-bulletin