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CALL
FOR PAPERS for the
REDUCING
URBAN POVERTY
2015
Graduate Student Paper Competition,
Policy
Workshop, and Publication
$1000
Grand Prize
Abstracts due: May 15, 2015
To encourage a new
generation of urban policy makers and promote early career research, USAID,
International Housing Coalition (IHC), World Bank, the Wilson Center, and
Cities Alliance are co-sponsoring the sixth annual paper
competition for graduate students, seeking abstracts on urban poverty
in the developing world. Winning papers will be published and selected
authors will be invited to present their work in a policy workshop to be held
at the Wilson Center in Washington, D.C. in January, 2016. The grand prize
winner will also receive $1000. Papers must be linked to one of the following
sub-topics:
Metropolitan
Approaches for the Urban Poor
Cities around the
developing world are attracting migrants at unprecedented rates. Many of
these cities are jurisdictionally fragmented, which results in complex
spatial and institutional structures and poor service provision. In the
context of the spatial and institutional fragmentation, the urban
poor--particularly recent migrants--are often neglected, suffering
disproportionally from dysfunctional inter-jurisdictional governance. Papers
on this topic might consider for example: integrated regional and urban
transport systems; coordination in land use planning, including the
distribution of housing and employment across jurisdictions; metropolitan
approaches to climate change; and, metropolitan-wide considerations in
determining the location of and access to key infrastructure and services
such as hospitals, clinics, schools and libraries. If the promise of
urbanization as an engine for development is to be realized, how can cities
work across jurisdictions to ensure opportunity and access for the poor?
Making
Smart Cities Inclusive
Cities
around the world are seeking technologies, institutional structures, and
policies to optimize efficiency. The challenge in developing countries is to
go beyond the efficiencies offered by “smart city” approaches to focus on
systems that foster inclusion. How can technology and new institutional
frameworks empower the poor to define and communicate their priorities, and
hold governments accountable for the provision of services? How are
progressive public policies that address the backlog of investments and
service provision benefitting the poor? How can technology be used to advance
innovative land use policies that help integrate slums into the urban fabric?
How can technology be used to improve education and health outcomes of the
urban poor? How can technology break barriers to integrate cities divided by
income levels, race, ethnicity, and nationality? Papers will examine the
relevance and applications of the smart city movement for the urban poor.
Innovation
in Urban Water and Sanitation
Rapid urbanization
has brought unprecedented challenges for ensuring reliable access to safe
drinking water and adequate sanitation. Substantial inequities in urban
water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services produce negative health,
infrastructure, and economic outcomes for the urban poor and women in
particular. At the same time, urbanization brings important opportunities for
more efficient water management and greater provision of services. Papers on
this topic might address new approaches to improve access, availability,
affordability, and sustainability of water and sanitation in cities, drawing
links to urban governance and planning. Papers that address innovative,
entrepreneurial and locally-driven approaches that can be readily replicated
and scaled up are particularly encouraged.
Cities
Through a Gender Lens
Women and men
experience cities differently due to their different roles, divisions of
labor, resources, needs, constraints, and the opportunities they encounter in
an urban environment. Male and female priorities are often different for
basic services such as urban housing, water and sanitation, solid waste
management, public transport, childcare, and education. Although urbanization
is associated with greater access to employment opportunities, lower
fertility levels and increased independence, women and girls are still
subject to enduring gender roles that predominate in rural areas. Papers
might cover topics such as: the opportunities and challenges the urban labor
market presents for women; urbanization and gender-based violence;
gender-sensitive considerations in urban design and infrastructure; gendered
approaches to urban planning, services, and policymaking, or the impact of
urbanization on men’s and women’s health.
Process
and Timeline
♦ Eligibility
This call for papers
is directed at PhD students and advanced Masters students. To be eligible,
applicants should be currently enrolled in a degree program as of May 15,
2015. Papers can be co-authored, as long as each author is a graduate
student. In this case, only one author will present at the policy workshop.
♦ Abstract
Submissions
o Abstracts (max 500
words) and a brief CV should be submitted to the selection committee by
May 15, 2015. Submissions should be sent to UrbanPaperComp@WilsonCenter.org
o Abstracts should
contain a title, paper description, author name and affiliation, and specify
which of the sub-topics listed above the paper will most directly address.
♦ Criteria for
Selection
o Abstracts should
present a clear, compelling research question.
o Preference will be
given to the presentation of original, field-based research that builds upon
existing scholarship as opposed to desk or literature reviews.
o Paper proposals
should be policy-based and solutions-oriented and should critically examine
existing projects and/or propose new strategies for tackling issues related
to urban poverty in the developing world.
o Abstracts should be
clearly linked to one or more of the sub-topics outlined above.
♦ Request for
Full Papers
o A panel composed of
members of the sponsoring organizations will review submitted abstracts and
request full papers from finalists.
o Applicants will be
notified in mid-June whether they will be asked to write a full paper, which
will be due by August 17, 2015.
o Completed papers
should be a maximum of 20 pages in length including appendixes
(double-spaced, Times New Roman 12pt font) and utilize the guidelines used by
the Chicago Manual of Style.
♦ Publication
o Roughly eight of the
full papers will be compiled in a book and published by the Woodrow Wilson
Center.
o Publication of each
selected paper is subject to review and will be contingent upon completion of
suggested revisions by the authors, should they be requested by the selection
committee.
♦ Policy
Workshop:
o Three or four authors
whose papers are selected for publication will be invited to Washington, DC
in January 2016 to take part in a unique “policy workshop” that will bring
together academics, policymakers and students for an interactive discussion
of international urban development topics. The session will focus on bridging
gaps between policy and academia, theory and practice. Workshop invitees will
be provided with a travel stipend to help cover transportation and
accommodation costs.
o At the workshop,
students will be paired with an experienced urban development expert who will
serve as a discussant for their paper.
Papers from a variety
of perspectives are appropriate, including (but not limited to) urban
planning, economics, political science, geography, public policy, law,
sociology, environment, anthropology, housing policy, governance, emergency
services, and public health.
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Allison
Garland
Program Associate
Urban Sustainability Laboratory
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