New blog from the Displacement Research & Action Network

Displacement is
a forum for informed discussion and lively debate about people who have lost
their land and housing due to development projects and plans, as well as
conflict and climate disaster. It is about how law, policy and practice as well
as popular culture shape and respond to displacement.

Founded by Balakrishnan Rajagopal, a law and development
professor at the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at MIT, and Miloon
Kothari, former UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing, the
blog will feature authors holding a wide range of views, but share the
perspective that the process of dispossession of the poor from their land and
housing is indefensible, and needs to change fundamentally. They come from a
variety of backgrounds including from the government, international organizations,
academia, and the NGO and social movement community.

Displacement is a new form
of commons for the world’s best ideas about how we should use our land and the
resources it supports, as well as how we treat those who are different from and
weaker than us. We encourage you to join the conversation by reading,
discussing, and sharing our first post from Professor Rajagopal, “Displacement:
The Dark Underbelly of Development
.” 
You can also follow
the blog and other updates from DRAN on our websiteFacebook, and twitter, and get in
touch with us at displacement@mit.edu if
you have suggestions for topics or would like to contribute to the blog.

Civil Society Messages to the 9th Africities Summit

Civil Society Messages to the 9th Africities Summit

A self-organized civil-society initiative hosted 45 civil organization representatives this week at Kisumu, Kenya on 15–16 May to deliberate and consolidate messages to the Africities9 Summit. The Civil Society Forum [...]