EcoHouse Research

Dr Felipe Hernandez

Department of Architecture, University of Cambridge.

 

Prof Christine Whitehead

London School of Economics and Political Science.

 

 

Led by Dr Hernandez and Prof Whitehead this discussion session analyses the factors  which limit the process of scaling up innovations. The terminology of “slum research” may in itself suggest a failure of the system that ought to be changed from the  outside. Taking examples from the past, we see how similar situations have been resolved differently meaning that it was difficult to transfer lessonsd from one situation to another. We also noted how f who resides in slums was crucial for the success and prosperity that followed.

 

During a past conference in Porto Alegre, Brazil, the panel on which Dr Hernandez was on received heavy criticism by a slum dweller. She challenged the panel to move beyond the academic sphere and actively interact with the people of her slum. The panel followed her invitation and found themselves stunned by the level of sophistication of the people working on development projects. Dr Hernandez notes that as academics we tend to isolate ourselves from the community and thus miss the opportunities for bringing about sustainable change. 

 

Such Chinese Walls around information is common practise in organisations including governmental and not-for-profit and often a result of a lack in communication between different stakeholders. Knowledge acquisition and communication are key topics that have been pushed  under the carpet too often at the onset of a research project. Since this experience, Dr Hernandez has pushed himself to enter slum communities and facilitate the knowledge transfer process beyond the academic network. 

 

In the discussion three main issues were raised with the process of scaling up: The view that slums are a failure of the system; the tendency to stereotype slum dwellers as socially inappropriate; and the lack of communication between researchers and practitioners. Shifting our perspective and realising that a slum is another expression of the system, may enable us to overcome this stigma and break the social barrier.

 

Prof Whitehead draws our attention to the need of formalisation when attempting to scale up solutions. Effective replication cannot happen without sme consistency. Local and national government participation is necessary for the future success of many such social development projects. Also an element of formal financing and therefore defined property rights is required to enable a pathway to large scale replication. 

 

In Victorian times during the expansion of the railway infrastructure, many families were evicted from their land to facilitate the construction of railway stations. However, in the long run the infrastructure enabled new employment and economic growth in those regions. Quantitatively, on some evidence informal settlements may be  on average 20% less efficient in using the land and in the majority of cases they are disconnected from transportation and utility networks, increasing the cost of provision. The lesson drawn is that concessions need to be made, yet a collaborative effort is an important in the process. 

 

Over the last three decades we have seen a noticeable improvement in living conditions of people living outside conflict zones. In part we have to thank the creativity of initiators, developers and practitioners following many different approaches to scale up ideas. There is not just one way for scaling up, but to succeed learning from previous examples is key.