poverty no 125 2023
Oh, hi there! I’m topos, the leading international magazine for urban planning from Munich, Germany. For me, everything revolves around the sustainable city of the future. Online, I spend 365 days a year dealing with the question: how will we live sustainably, healthily and technologized in the world’s future metropolises? In addition to my home www.toposmagazine.com, I am published four times a year as a print magazine (that’s what you are holding in your hands right now!). I address everyone who is interested in the smarter, greener city of the future and who works in, on and with the city. My readers include CEOs, mayors, architects, landscape architects, urban planners, engineers, digitalization specialists, researchers – simply everyone that is interested in urban development! My great passion is finding and analyzing solutions for the city of the future. Solutions that city planners, companies, start-ups and of course the cities themselves find to respond to challenges such as digitalization, climate change, mobility, population growth and poverty. In addition to our cover stories in the printed edition, you will find online the most important stories and news from the world’s largest and most influential cities, portraits of the foremost international projects around the globe, new solutions and innovations for the city of tomorrow, as well as interviews with international city makers. Nice to have you here, let’s change the world together!
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Richter Spielgeräte GmbH „When we develop playground equipment, the play value comes first for us. It is our claim that our play offers exert a high challenge character and a continuous play incentive, so that an elementary play need develops. First and foremost, however, children should be able to immerse themselves in the play and have fun and joy with our equipment.“ – Julian Richter sen. Glasgow Science Centre, Scotland Photo: Paul U p ward
topos 125 005 THERESA RAMISCH Editor-in-Chief [email protected] For 30 years, global extreme poverty fell year on year. For 30 years, a total of one billion people managed to escape the absolute poverty line. Then Covid arrived and 70 million people fell into extreme poverty in 2020 – vulnerable groups in particular. This is according to the World Bank report "Poverty and Shared Prosperity" of 2022, which states that this is the largest increase in extreme poverty since data collection began in 1990. At the time of the report, an estimated 719 million people were living in extreme poverty and therefore had less than USD 2.15 a day at their disposal. 2.15 USD or 1.96 euros. This extreme poverty particularly affects people in sub-Saharan Africa (where 60 percent of people affected by extreme poverty live), conflict areas and rural regions. The global community wanted to reduce extreme poverty to a maximum of three percent of the world's population by 2030. In 2015, the world's heads ofstate and government met at the United Nations headquarters and defined 17 Global Goals. Goal 1: No Poverty - End poverty in all its forms everywhere. Extreme poverty was defined here as 1.25 US dollars per day. It's the end of 2023, it's half-time. And only 15 percent of the Global Goals have been achieved worldwide. According to globalgoals.org, the number of people living in extreme poverty is back to 2005 levels. The situation is bad, really bad. At the annual meeting of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in October this year, the member countries responded with transformation. The World Bank is now also responsible for maintaining a livable planet, and new measures allow for higher loan amounts. The USA has already pledged loan guarantees amounting to 25 billion USD , Germany 2.4 billion euros. However, the G20 countries estimate that, despite these measures, the development banks would have to triple their lending to be able to finance the fight against the climate crisis. And this is necessary. The richest one percent of the world's population produces as many greenhouse gases as the poorest two thirds of the world's population combined. At the same time, people living in poverty and low-income countries in the Global South are the hardest hit by the effects of climate change. The climate crisis and social inequality cannot be considered separately. But actually, social inequality can never be considered independently. There are highly complex interrelationships, which means that the global community is where it is and that millions of people, especially many children, will still be suffering from terrible hunger every day at the end of 2023. Without a roof over their heads. Not knowing how they will get through the next day, where they will sleep. 2023 - the year in which the annual salary of soccer star Christiano Ronaldo is 200 million euros. Thus, this topos 125 on the subject of poverty is more than overdue – and with it the search for answers to the question of how poverty affects the metropolitan areas of our world, what diverse facets it has and what paths we need to take to escape from it. Somehow. It's not a feelgood topic to end 2023. But a key one to start 2024. Happy Holidays and Seasonal Greetings. TOPOS E-PAPER: AVAILABLE FOR YOUR DESKTOP For more information visit: www.toposmagazine.com/epaper They are called slums, shanty towns or informal settlements. Clusters of buildings like these in India, seen from an impressive aerial perspective, represent poverty and precarious living conditions in this world like few other images. COVER PHOTO: Aman Upadhyay
topos 125 L. Michow & Sohn GmbH www.michow.com | [email protected] Street furniture always starts with a good idea Bench Duplus Wastebasket 1600 GA Bench Hückelhoven Bench DUO I
CONTENTS topos 125 007 SCENES FROM THE SLUMS Page 40 LET’S TALK ABOUT POVERTY An introduction Page 18 THANK YOU! 125 issues of topos Page 26 ALESIA KARNAUKHOVA Interview with ZikZak's founder Page 28 CHILD POVERTY “It exists in every country in the world” Page 34 SCENES FROM THE SLUMS A photo series by André Cypriano Page 40 DETROIT A tale of two cities Page 50 VICIOUS CIRCLES OF POVERTY Institutional and Individual Page 58 BEIRUT Period poverty Page 60 CAÑADA REAL GALIANA Learning from reality Page 66 OLD-AGE INCOME POVERTY An international overview Page 72 VOICES OF PRECARITY A look into Taipei Page 78 UNEQUAL SCENES A photo series by Johnny Miller Page 86 SHARE “Do everything as usual and change everything” Page 96 UNEQUAL SCENES Page 86 Photos: André Cypriano, Johnny Miller CURATED PRODUCTS Page 104 REFERENCE Page 108 CITY GAME CHANGERS Page 112 EDGE CITY Page 114 IMPRINT Page 113 OPINION Page 9 THE BIG PICTURE Page 10 METROPOLIS EXPLAINED Page 12 URBAN PIONEERS Page 14
THE BIG PICTURE Lima's Wall of Shame Page 10 URBAN PIONEERS Serap Altinisik Page 14
OPINION topos 125 009 Despite the best intentions, NGOs often fail due to their own structures and, above all, inexperienced staff. Nevertheless, the billion-dollar NGO businessis flourishing more than ever before. Butwith all the donations,Iwonderswhere the aid is going. Non-governmental organisations, or NGOs for short, have been forcing their way into the crisis regions of our world for years. No wonder. The business of suffering and donations is a lucrative billion-dollar enterprise. Donations for humanitarian aid are increasing year on year. Around 30 billion euros are now collected worldwide, every year. This means that the amount has increased almost tenfold in the last three decades. This can be read in the annual "Global Humanitarian Assistance Report". It also states that 215 million people were already in need of humanitarian aid in 2019. Manywant to help.In addition to the UN organisations UNICEF and UNHCR (which account for around two thirds of the total budget), money is also flowing to the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. According to their own figures, the latter alone employ over 100 million staff and volunteersworldwide.In addition countless NGOsin a wide variety of organisational forms seem to be only too happy to set up in all the trouble spots of our world. You would think that with so much global aid, hardly any crisis can live up to its name.If you look at Haiti or the Greek island of Lesbos or any of the endless number of crisislocationsin theworld, you have to ask yourself: where is all this aid? Critics of international aid efforts understandably never tired of asking about the results. Is all this money actually reaching those in need? Doesn't the billion-dollar business only create dependencies that ensure the continued existence of an NGO? Doesn't the way in which we help only conceal the own political responsibility? Is international solidarity even possible? Money trickling away Haiti is certainly a good example.We allremember the incredibly severe earthquake that left the Caribbean state in devastation and misery. Well over 100,000 buildings were levelled to the ground within a few hours. 300,000 dead- and around two million homeless people are a burden on the completely collapsed state system. In short, the country's entire infrastructure was destroyed and an already poorstatewastransformed into a failed state in a matter of moments. In the days following the earthquake, an unprecedented global relief effort was launched. According to estimates, a total of 14 billion dollars was raised for the reconstruction of Haiti. In addition to the usual suspects such as the UN and the Red Cross, thousands of international NGOs got involved in Haiti within some days. If we look at Haiti today, we are shocked to realise that the promised reconstruction never seems to have taken place. Since the earthquake in 2010, all the aid money has obviously never reached those in need. Many of the promised settlements and schools were never built and a considerable amount of the money literally seeped away into channels that are no longer traceable. Leading politicians in the Caribbean state also categorise their own country as a failed state. The case of Haiti is particularly bad because, according to UN estimates, three quarters of the population still live below the poverty line. But things are even worse. Around half of the people there do not even have a dollar a day at their disposal. A familiar picture is thus becoming more pronounced in Haiti: political power and economic resources are concentrated in the circles of the elite. It is estimated that around 40,000 international aid organisations were active in Haiti for years, each with their own agenda. This reveals a major problem with the aid system. NGOs in particular often do what they want and are not accountable to anyone. Without a unified focus, an infinite amount of money seeps away in the personnel and administration costs. In addition, selfhelp aid does not take place because the NGOs would thereby lose their livelihood. Let's jump from Haiti to Lesbos for a small example.Afterthe major fire in the Moria refugee camp, THE NGO DEBACLE journalists from the German newspaper "taz" asked 18 NGOs active on Lesbos how many donations they had received after the fire. Only nine of the 18 NGOs responded and totalled around 5.8 million euros. Four million of this is said to have gone towards emergency aid. More precise information could not be provided. Even in Europe, it is not possible to trace what NGOs do or where the money comesfrom. Even more so, itis not possible to trace what donations are actually used for. Best intentions but little experience The reason for the problems often seems to be a lack of professionalism. Whether money issimply misappropriated somewhere and seeps away or is simply spent in the wrong places is usually unclear. Despite the best intentions, many local NGOs seem to fail due to their own structures or staff. The normal appearance of an NGO staff seems to be that some people in their mid-20s want to do something really important for the world in search of themselves. But these people, without professional experience, often take up positions in unstructured organisations. But simply not helping anymore cannot be a solution. We should take a close look at thework of the various NGOs and, if in doubt, perhaps entrust a donation to a UN agency. At this point, however, it must be emphasised that there are also numerous NGOs that certainly have a positive influence on the crisisregion inwhich they are active.In the end one thing is clear, aid is needed and in many places poverty cannot disappear on its own. TOBIAS HAGER is a journalist and Chief Content Officer and member of the management board at GEORG Media. Responsible for all GEORG brands such as topos magazine, BAUMEISTER and Garten + Landschaft, his focus is on the areas of content, digital, marketing and entrepreneurship.
010 topos 125 THE BIG PICTURE 4.5 kilometers long, up to three meters high and secured with barbed wire – in Lima, Peru, the so-called “Wall of Shame” has divided the rich and the poor for more than 40 years. The wall was built in the 1980s during years of violence from the Shining Path, a Maoist rebel group which intended to overthrow the government. The residents of the affluent La Molina district wanted to use it to protect themselves from the increasing violence. The rebel group was crushed in the 1990s, the wall remained and grew even longer. Now, after a four-year legal battle, the country's constitutional court has decided to tear down the wall that separates La Molina and the poorer district of Villa Maria del Triunfo. The wall is coming down, but the division remains. Even though the demolition work on the Wall of Shame has begun, there will be no new connections, according to the municipal administrator of Molina, Francisco Dumler. “It must also be made clear that there is no possibility of building paths or any kind of vehicle access to allow crossings directly into La Molina from Villa Maria del Triunfo,” Reuters quotes Francisco Dumler. The will to change looks different. United in Division TEXT: THERESA RAMISCH Photo: Johnny Miller This picture is one of the stunning art works by Johnny Miller’s “Unequal scenes”– Learn more about Johnny Miller’s work beginning on page 86. →
topos 125 011 The Big Picture
METROPOLIS EXPLAINED Chisinau 012 topos 125 While Moldova, emerging from the ruins of the Soviet Union in 1991, was financially devastated for long time and not only its capital slowly but steadily left to decay, oligarchs and corrupt representatives of the people stuffed their pockets as much as they could while they still could. Eventually, this meant that there was little to no money left to maintain any monuments or landmarks. Nor to repair pavements or make abandoned buildings habitable again. Those in charge in Moldova, it seems, have a free pass for a few years to feed off the country's bosom as the proverbial serpent and betray the ordinary citizens. The population, it seems, can only choose between varying levels of corruption. The biggest coup so far was in 2014, when a billion dollars suddenly disappeared from three Moldovan banks and reappeared in offshore accounts. This amount caused the banking system of Europe's poorest country to stumble. In the end, the state had to step in and compensate the banks for the missing billion. Four years later, the Moldovan parliament passed a bill that amounted to an amnesty for fraudulent behaviour in Moldova. Anyone who cannot explain how they acquired the assets they own can keep them legally, provided that they declare them and pay a tax of a mere three percent. The EU saw this law as an attempt to bring the billions stolen from offshore accounts back into the country and subsequently froze aid funds for the desperately poor country. In the last century, fate has not exactly been kind to Chișinău. Almost the entire city area was destroyed by bombs and mortar shells during the Second World War. On top of that, the city was shaken by an earthquake measuring 7.3 on the Richter scale at the end of 1940. The result of this destruction: By the end of the Second World War, the city had lost an estimated two-thirds of its living space. ARIAN SCHLICHENMAYER studied Biotechnology in Munich and has been writing for G+L and topos since 2021. He has joined the editorial team in 2022 and is responsible for the topos print issue. Today, dilapidated buildings with grey, dirty facades, broken windows and crumbling plaster dominate the picture in many parts of the city. The average wage in the country is just over 200 euros a month – around a tenth of the European average. Yet despite the low income level, food prices in Moldova are on a par with those in Europe. The war that Russia has now instigated against Ukraine does not make things any easier for the residents of Chișinău. The town's already desperate situation is now being compounded by massive inflation, which is making the necessities of everyday life many times more expensive than before. And of course there are fears that the war in Ukraine could spill over into Moldova. Many Moldovans have therefore left their home country in recent years. Around a third of them have left the country and are sending money to relatives who stayed at home from countries with higher economic power – now a significant economic sector in the devastated country. Chișinău and the inhabitants of Moldova do not deserve all this. If the resources were available to spruce Chișinău up a little and keep it in a respectable condition, the potential to turn it into a city really worth visiting would certainly be there, as it offers a number of highlights that may only be noticed at second glance. With a population of around 550,000, the city has a considerable number of parks, including the popular Valea Morilor Park that surrounds the large body of water to the southwest of the city centre. Being just a few minutes from downtown it invites visitors to swim and kayak in a lake surrounded by greenery. Unsurprisingly, fans of Soviet Realism architecture are likely to come across many a gem from this architectural epoch in Chișinău. Not to mention the many monuments and mosaics that bear witness to Moldova's time as part of the Soviet Union. Chisinau, formerly known as Kishinyov, Kishinev or Kišin'ov, is the capital of Moldova. The country once belonged to Romania, then became part of the Soviet Union. When the Soviet Union was dissolved at the end of 1991, Moldova began a downward spiral of corruption. Today, Moldova has one of the highest corruption rates in Europe. This is also noticeable in the country's capital.
Metropolis explained topos 125 013 Map: boundlessmaps.com
URBAN PIONEERS Serap Altinisik 014 topos 125 “Pioneers lead the way and bring about progress. That's definitely what I associate with Oxfam, and if I can be a part of that, I'm happy to accept it,” explains Serap Altinisik. She has been the Executive Chairperson of Oxfam Deutschland e.V. since February 2023. She then adds that many of the partner organisations and activists with whom Oxfam cooperates all over the world are active in rural regions. “For me, they are also pioneers, rural pioneers, so to speak.” The statement shows that for Serap Altinisik it is not the individual, but only the community that can change the world. In her words, “If we work together and learn from each other, we can make our shared vision a reality.” The vision of Serap Altinisik and Oxfam e.V. is to create a fairer world without poverty. The organisation has been working on this for more than 75 years. Founded in 1942 as a reaction to the suffering of the civilian population in German-occupied Greece, Oxfam today provides humanitarian aid worldwide. But the organisation is not only committed to providing acute emergency aid. In order to “end poverty worldwide”, experienced local partner organisations in the respective location act together with Oxfam to create sustainable livelihoods and stand up for people's rights. “The greatest injustice is social inequality,”says Serap Altinisik. She knows what she is talking about. As a child of Turkish guest workers in Hanover, Germany, she was already aware of the contrast between individual social worlds when she was at school. “In my Latin class at grammar school, I was the only one from a working-class background, and when my mother went shopping at Aldi, it always made me uncomfortable. That shaped me a lot.” She translated her early experiences into an important message in her work today. Her goal is to show those affected that poverty is nothing to be ashamed of. And that there are ways out: JULIA TREICHEL studied landscape architecture at the Technical University of Munich. She has worked for SSR,raumzeug and Valentien+Valentien, among others. She deals, also on a freelance basis, in theory and practice with social and design issues of the environment. “These people need to know that there are possibilities for them. It is important for them to be heard, to participate and, ideally, to be able to lead and guide themselves at some point.” Serap Altinisik actually lives the reality she describes. She began her career at the Leadership Academy in Hanover, worked for Terre des Femmes, among others, and most recently headed the EU office of Plan International. In her new position at Oxfam Deutschland e.V., she wants to hold the Federal Republic of Germany more concretely accountable. For in order to eliminate extreme inequality and to fight poverty sustainably, governments must first and foremost set the course. Altinisik calls for a move away from patriarchal economic structures that place profits above the common good. A central step, for example, could be the taxation of the richest segments of the population: “Especially the richest one percent, which owns almost half of the world's wealth.” Furthermore, both in Germany and worldwide, more investment would have to be made in expanding education, health and social security systems and in strengthening women's rights. Gender justice is a core issue for which Altinisik has campaigned in her previous work and now at Oxfam e.V.: “We will not achieve social justice and a just economic system if one half of humanity is left out.” Oxfam e.V. therefore operates as an organisation according to feminist principles. Serap Altinisik also promotes a feminist leadership culture internally. According to her, it is important to question oneself again and again instead of just giving in to the impulse to want to confirm oneself. Altinisk is convinced that a more socially and ecologically just world can become reality. For this, however, it is indispensable to finally share decision-making power broadly – with all those who have been discriminated against and marginalised until now.
Urban Pioneers topos 125 015 “Feminist principles are in Oxfam's DNA, because we will not achieve social justice Ph and a just economic system if one half of humanity is left out.” oto: Mike Auerbach / Oxfam
OLD-AGE INCOME POVERTY An international overview Page 72 UNEQUAL SCENES A photo series by Johnny Miller Page 86 CHILD POVERTY “It exists in every country in the world” Page 34 SCENES FROM THE SLUMS A photo series by André Cypriano Page 40 poverty
poverty 018 topos 125
topos 125 019 SHANTI HETZ When we talk about poverty, we also have to talk about money. After all, the lack of money is one of the main factors behind poverty. In many parts of the world, however, the topic of “money” is a taboo subject.
poverty 020 topos 125 It is still one of the great social taboos that we prefer to avoid. Perhaps it is because I am a psychologist but friends and clients alike tend to tell me more about their sex lives, their core fears and how they feel about ageing and dying than they do about their finances. Where does this profound discomfort with talking about money come from? Is it a remnant of past societal rules, a fear of arousing envy or pity or is there an inherent internal connection between market value and self-worth? In my experience, unlike other vulnerable topics, talking about money is uncomfortable because it is not as much of a shared reality. Most people have experienced heartbreak and loss but experiences concerning money and all that goes along with it– even in a developed country with a social safety net – are still quite different. Talking about these differences we all face from the very start of our lives, acknowledging our own privileges and shortcomings, means confronting the inequality that divides our society on a tangible, individual level. This can be unsettling because we are uncomfortably close to the global issue of poverty, and talking about poverty raises a lot of ethical questions to which we may not have or like the answers. “Poverty” almost seems like a bad word, an insult that most people want to avoid. We prefer to talk about low-income countries, underprivileged people, children of lower socioeconomic status. Some of these terms seem to acknowledge the complexity of poverty, but they also euphemise its reality. When we look at “lowest-income” countries such as Niger, South Sudan or Burkina Faso, we know that poverty involves much more than just low income. It becomes clear that although it may seem simple to grasp, defining and measuring the different dimensions of poverty is a major global challenge. The many faces of poverty Imagine a population four times the size of the United States, all living in extreme poverty. According to the 2022 Global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) which was led by the Oxford Poverty Human Development Initiative (OPHI) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), this is what we are currently looking at. There are 1.2 billion people in the world facing multidimensional poverty. A staggering 593 million of these are children under the age of 18. Furthermore, 648 million people around the world struggle to survive on less than $2.15 a day, a harsh reality underscored by the World Bank's 2022 International Poverty Line (IPL). Poverty has many faces. So, you may find these figures either surprisingly high or surprisingly low, reflecting the challenge of defining poverty. This is partly because we have very different internal representations of what poverty means. When you think of poverty, you might think of someone like Fanja, a 59-year-old woman from Madagascar who earns her money mainly by crushing rocks into gravel and who shares her home with her children and grandchild. She lives in precarious conditions, without sanitation or electricity, a situation worsened by natural disasters. Fanja and her family are multidimensionally poor with a deprivation rate of 83.3 percent. This human story is cited in the
“Moneyis a big part of being poor, but there are other factors and dimensions that it does not fullycapture.” topos 125 021 MPI report as an example of extreme poverty. But maybe you think of poverty as something that might affect people in your city, homeless people or even people who live just around the corner. In my case, living in Vienna, these people would probably not be affected by a lack of clean water or cooking fuel, but they still have worse prospects. Volkshilfe in Austria defines the at-risk-of-poverty threshold as 60 percent of the median per capita household income. They postulate that people living below this threshold are confronted with worse and more unhealthy living conditions, are more likely to be ill and have fewer prospects for the future. They work and still do not have enough money at the end of the month. Currently, 20 percent of Austrian children live at risk of poverty and exclusion, according to the Policy Paper “Safeguarding children’s health – Health consequences of child poverty in Austria” by Volkshilfe Austria (2021). In this article, I focus mainly on data on global poverty, which primarily affects developing countries. At the end of the article, however, we look at the other side of poverty, which occurs in developed countries. Basic Data on global poverty Indeed, the many faces of poverty can be seen even when the most extreme forms are considered. This is reflected in the vastly different figures mentioned above. While 1.2 billion people in developing countries are affected by multidimensional poverty (i.e. MPI), the $2.15 international poverty line only covers about half that number. But is measuring monetary means enough to capture the complex nature of poverty? First, deriving a global monetary poverty line is a difficult methodological endeavour. So why $2.15? This amount is intended to represent the bare minimum required to meet a person’s basic needs (food, clothing, shelter etc.). Just like the MPI, the IPL is mainly used to measure poverty in poor countries, as richer countries have higher poverty lines. Having a simple threshold such as $2.15 has its advantages, as it is easier to measure and compare, but of course any simplification has its limits. Money is a big part of being poor, but there are other factors and dimensions that it does not fully capture. Poverty usually affects several areas of life at the same time, but deprivation profiles can vary across regions. This is why the OPHI and the UNDP developed the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) in 2010. The MPI takes three different areas of poverty into account: Health (defined by nutrition and child mortality), education (with two indicators: years of schooling and school attendance) and living standard (indicated by cooking fuel, sanitation, drinking water, electricity, housing and assets). Ten indicators are used to calculate an individual deprivation score. A person’s deprivation score therefore represents the sum of weighted deprivations that he or she currently experiences. If the score is 1/3 or higher the person is considered to be multidimensionally poor. The statistics in the 2022 MPI report are based on the most recent comparable data of more than
poverty 022 topos 125 100 developing countries. It is important to note, however, that the timeliness of the available data varies greatly from region to region. In particular, for the poorest countries (Niger, South Sudan and Burkina Faso) the most recent data is from 2010/2012. So, there is not only an inequality in resources and deprivation but also in data. “The three poorest countries [...] home to 50 million people living in acute poverty, last collected data in 2010 or 2012. Yet data on billionaires is updated every hour – a jarring data inequality,” it is stated in the MPI report. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly The Good Recognized by the UN as one of the world’s greatest challenges, poverty is part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which was unanimously adopted by all UN member states in 2015. It serves as a shared roadmap for peace and prosperity. At its core are 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). They are formulated as an urgent call to action for all countries. The first of these SDGs is to end poverty in all its forms everywhere in the world. Other SDGs focus on improving health and education, reducing inequalities, promoting economic growth while combating climate change and protecting oceans and forests. Although we are still a long way from the lofty goal of ending poverty in all its forms, some positive changes are already evident. One of the biggest – according to the MPI report – can be seen in India, where 414 million people were able to step out of poverty between 2005/06 and 2019/21. Trend data, i.e. a sufficient amount of data to be able to make a reliable statement on a development, was available for 81 countries, covering about 5 billion people. Of these 81 countries, 72 experienced a statistically significant reduction in poverty (MPI) for at least one of the periods analysed. Looking at these figures, are we on the right track in the fight against global poverty? It depends on how you look at it. According to Roser (2023), more than 75 percent of the population lived in extreme monetary poverty at the beginning of the 19th century compared to only about 10 percent in 2018. Changes in recent decades may be even more relevant to the prospect of ending poverty. Looking at the data since 1980, the share of population living in extreme poverty has still fallen significantly from over 30 percent to around 10 percent. The Bad Sub-Saharan Africa ranks as the poorest region according to both the MPI and the IPL. While not all African countries are mired in poverty, and many experienced dramatic growth since the end of colonial oppression, several countries like Zimbabwe, Zambia, South Sudan, Malawi, and Madagascar continue to struggle. Not only do they remain impoverished, but incomes have actually declined in recent years (1980 to 2019). Rosner illustrates the evolution of poverty in countries like Madagascar by comparing it to that of a rich country, the United Kingdom. While most of the people in Madagascar still live in poverty, similar to the global situation two hundred years ago, the share of population in extreme poverty in the UK has declined from 80 percent to
“Poor countries are much more vulnerable to the effects ofglobal crises, regardless of their responsibilityfor them.” topos 125 023 under 0.5 percent. In 2019, the average income in Madagascar is now $1.60 a day while the average income in the UK is $50.40 a day. This also shows that there is no way for countries like Madagascar to fight poverty with national equality. Poverty is an international issue and can only be tackled at a global level. The Ugly “Unless we act now, the 2030 Agenda will become an epitaph for a world that might have been,” António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations powerfully states in the Sustainable Development Goals 2023 report. The report warns of a lack of progress on most of the SDGs and stresses that the poorest and most vulnerable people are the most affected by these shortcomings. It calls for urgent action, stating that “it is time to sound the alarm" as the SDGs are in “deep trouble” halfway to 2030 (UN, 2023, p.4). Of the 140 targets for which trend data is available, around half are moderately or severely off track. In fact, more than 30 percent have shown no improvement or regressed below the 2015 baseline. Unfortunately, ending poverty is one of the SDGs with a rather disappointing prospect. It is estimated that, on current trends, 575 million people will still be living in extreme poverty in 2030. Based on a broader definition, other SDGs are also poverty related. Looking at hunger levels, the 2023 SDG report worryingly notes that we are back at hunger levels we have not seen since 2005. However, the report focuses not only on the progress that has not been made, but also on the changes that can be made. “We can do better, and in moments of severe challenge, humanity has always come through.” It calls for increased efforts to achieve the goals by 2030. Some of the influencing factors that have hindered progress are the climate crisis, the Russian invasion of the Ukraine and Covid-19. Using Covid-19 as an example of the difference in vulnerability, the pandemic has had a major impact on the wealth of developed countries, but an incomparable impact on the world’s poorest. Even before Covid-19, researchers expected that half a billion people would still be living in extreme poverty by 2030. Preliminary estimates in the World Bank’s “Poverty and Shared Prosperity 2022: Correcting Course” report indicate that the pandemic caused the biggest setback to global poverty in decades, pushing more than 70 million people into extreme poverty by the end of 2020. In particular, the poorest countries suffered disproportionately in areas such as health, including measures such as premature mortality. The recovery from the pandemic has also been uneven with richer countries recovering much faster than low- and middle-income countries. Similar observations can be made regarding climate change. According to a study by Althor, Watson and Fuller (2016) there is a fundamental inequality between greenhouse gas emitters and those affected by its impacts. While many of the highest emitting countries are among the least vulnerable to their negative impact, most of the lower emitting countries are much more vulnerable. Moreover, this inequality is likely to increase significantly by 2030. In summary, poor countries are much more vulnerable to the effects of global crises, regardless of their responsibility for them. In the face of its sobering assessment, the UN’s
poverty 024 topos 125 SDG report calls for bold action. It highlights the wealth of knowledge, climate-friendly technologies and resources available to end poverty. It notes that it would still be possible to meet the global, national and local commitment to provide funding, restore confidence and achieve the goals by 2030. They summarise that there are three key breakthroughs for an SDG rescue plan: equipping governance and institutions for transformation, prioritising policies and investments that have a multiplier effect and securing a surge in SDG financing and an enabling environment. Outlook As mentioned above, we tend to avoid the subject of poverty whenever possible. When we have to confront poverty, such as when writing or reading an article about it, there are two powerful ways of not feeling the weight of it: focusing on distance rather than connection with the people affected or placing the blame on them. While most of us will not find a way to blame someone like Fanja, the Madagascan woman mentioned earlier, for her situation, she is far enough away that we do not feel as connected to her as we would if she lived in our hometown. However, when we see poverty in our own neighbourhood, looking for individual shortcomings can ease the burden of our empathy. Homeless people would not be homeless if they did not drink, poorer people could be rich if they were more driven or ambitious (as we have seen in many movies like “The Pursuit of Happiness”). These mechanisms serve a regulatory purpose and we do not need to aim to dismantle them completely. However, the reflection on resistance to activism is something that is of particular interest to me as a psychologist. I think that these coping mechanisms – not talking or thinking about it, distancing ourselves from it and reversing responsibility – can do more harm than good, even to ourselves. In doing so, we may be undermining our own self-efficacy and disconnecting ourselves from others, rather than simply distancing ourselves from them. It is a problem faced by countries, not individuals. Nevertheless, I believe that challenging our own beliefs can pave the way for greater social awareness and collective action, even if only by a small margin. And when it comes to trying to get a better night's sleep, I prefer the “one step is better than no step” narrative to the “anyone can make it” one we see on TV. Perhaps that step is to start a conversation on poverty and risk being the killjoy if you do so. I know I will.
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026 topos 125 1992 2013 THANK YOU!
poverty topos 125 027 2017 2023 The 125th issue of our magazine, which you are holding in your hands right now, marks a very special milestone for us. For more than three decades, we have been covering the metropolis of the world and the diverse aspects of urban existence. In 125 issues, topos magazine has evolved from a once rather classic, bilingual landscape architecture magazine into an international cross-media urban planning brand that raises the question of what the sustainable, intelligent, digital and social metropolis of tomorrow should look like. For this mission, you, dear readers as well as our partners and supporters are instrumental in making our magazine what it is today and we are celebrating 125 issues of concentrated ink and paper fragrance with you. Without you, 125 issues of topos would never have been possible! Let's take a moment to look back at everything we have experienced together with you over the past 30 years. Below you can see our magazine through the ages. Now we are looking forward with excitement to the next 30 years and the next 125 issues of topos with you. Sincerely, your topos editorial team
poverty 028 topos 125 INTERVIEW: ARIAN SCHLICHENMAYER INTERVIEWEE: ALESIA KARNAUKHOVA “WAR DOES NOT IMPACT THE FUNDAMENTAL ASPECTS OF DESIGN”
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poverty 030 topos 125 ZikZak Architects has its headquarters in Kiev, Ukraine, and Limassol, Cyprus, from where it accompanies and shapes design projects of all kinds. We spoke to the office ' s founder, Alesia Karnaukhova, about how different design requirements can be, depending on the country and situation, and what Ukraine needs most right now.
topos 125 031 From your offices in Ukraine and Cyprus, you design high-end office spaces and commercial interiors around the world, including in such wealthy countries as Saudi Arabia. How does the contrast feel with regard to wealth in these projects, after all Ukraine, where your headquarters are located, is considered one of the poorest countries in Europe in terms of GNI per capita? To be honest, comparing projects in different countries based on GNI per capita is not indicative. Yes, there is currently a war in Ukraine, but despite that, companies are working, and the economy is not standing still. Ukraine is an advanced digital state with a modern service sector, a powerful agro-industrial sector, and a large number of successful IT companies. Ukraine has strong brands known worldwide. For example, we recently completed the implementation of an office for the IT company Genesis. It's a stylish, concise, and technological workspace. When comparing projects in Saudi Arabia and Ukraine, differences can be found in the client's approach to communication and local taste preferences. For instance, clients in Saudi Arabia prefer more premium, sophisticated materials with a glossy finish, while a Ukrainian client may lean towards fashionable, more restrained, yet technologically progressive interiors. The first Ronald McDonald House in Ukraine is expected to be completed in 2025, providing a temporary home for children receiving treatment at the Okhmatdyt Hospital in Kyiv and their families. It was designed by ZIKZAK Architects – how did the special circumstances in war-torn Ukraine influence you in designing the building? In reality, the design process was familiar to us, as we've been working in the conditions of full-scale war for almost two years now. The war has affected the functionality of structures, but not the aesthetics of modern architecture. Yes, a mandatory requirement for Ronald McDonald House project was the provision of a bomb shelter for future residents. However, the volumetric and spatial solution and the facade's stylistic elements are based on a completely peaceful concept of forming a strong community of families and theirshared leisure time. War does not impact the fundamental aspects of design because, after its conclusion, normal life will resume. When Russia attacked Ukraine, you decided not to leave the country, but to continue your business from Kyiv – in what way did the war change the situation in Kyiv? What was poverty like before the war, what is it like today? With the onset of the war, we temporarily suspended our design activities. Kyiv became dangerous and frightening, life seemed to freeze here, as it did across Ukraine where the war had erupted. But we understood that to support the country's economy, it's necessary to work and pay taxes. This entire period has passed quickly, it seems like the war started only a month ago. During this time, we managed to implement projects in the UAE, Czech Republic, Poland, Cyprus, and design spaces for businesses in several other countries, including the USA. The world was active and supportive throughout this time. People from all over the world began reaching out to collaborate with Ukrainian companies to show support. Of course, before the full-scale invasion, the country's economy and the standard of living were more stable, but despite the war, we don't sit idle and instead work persistently for the future. How can architecture and urban planning in general help to mitigate the negative effects of poverty on the people affected? When it comes to poverty resulting from the destruction and devastation of people's homes by Russian attacks, architects are actively involved in the reconstruction efforts. Many projects of modular towns have al-
poverty 032 topos 125 ready been implemented, providing new housing for those who lost their homes. Architects are developing solutions such as installing bomb shelters at public transport stops, projects for the restoration of ruined cultural sites, and protective structures for architectural monuments. Architectural firms are joining forces for the reconstruction of Ukraine, engaging in volunteering, creating temporary shelters for refugees, exchanging experiences, and contributing to the strategic planning of Ukraine's reconstruction after the war. Your design portfolio also includes a demountable, scalable school that you envisioned in response to the devastated infrastructure in Ukraine. What could be the benefits of this building concept for populations affected by poverty? REVIVAL modular school project is more about swift reconstruction rather than addressing poverty directly. It enables the quick erection of schools in cities and villages across Ukraine where educational institutions have been destroyed. When children are in school, they receive quality education, allowing their parents to work and thereby contribute to the country's economy. The implementation of REVIVAL is much more efficient than the construction of a traditional stationary school. It doesn't require extensive long-term building and a lot of equipment. If necessary, the entire school can be relocated to another place, thanks to the design's flexibility. A school initially built as an elementary school can transform into a larger middle school by adding new blocks. Moreover, the school's structure can be adapted and repurposed according to the community's needs. What does Ukraine currently need from your point of view – politically, socially, but also architecturally? What Ukraine needs the most is victories and the liberation of occupied territories. Until that happens, we must continue to fight. Ukraine receives strong support from around the world, and this support is crucial moving forward. We need investments in reconstruction, in infrastructure, including transportation, energy, and urban development, for rebuilding, economic growth, and improving the standard of living. Preserving and supporting Ukraine's historical and architectural heritage is essential. A new approach to reconstruction should contribute to the development of sustainable and environmentally friendly architectural practices, including green building technologies and urban planning. Creating welcoming public spaces that foster community interaction and cultural exchange is equally important. VITA ALESIA KARNAUKHOVA the CEO of ZIKZAK Architects, leads a successful company that operates globally, even in the challenging conditions of war. Alesia serves as the general director of the commercial interior design team. REVIVAL modular school project by ZIKZAK Architects has garnered significant attention worldwide and has been featured in leading publications. Alesia is passionate about her work, believing that high-quality interior design can have a profound impact on the quality of life for the people experiencing it. “A new approach to reconstruction should contribute to the development of sustainable and environmentallyfriendly architectural practices.”
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poverty 034 topos 125 LAURA PUTTKAMMER 333 MILLION CHILDREN IN EXTREME POVERTY
topos 125 035 Photo: Plan International / Daniel Etter 1 There are few things that negatively affect young people's future outlook as much as poverty. It is estimated that over 330 million children worldwide suffer from extreme poverty.
036 topos 125 2 SDG 1 of the United Nations includes halving the number of children living in poverty internationally by 2030.
poverty topos 125 037 A recent study by the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, and the World Bank, shows that an estimated 333 million children worldwide live in extreme poverty, meaning one in six children is affected, struggling to survive on less than $2.15 per day. According to Save the Children, 5.9 million children die each year, most of them in the world’s poorest communities and from preventable diseases. Over the last decade, child poverty worldwide has decreased: 50 million fewer children are now experiencing extreme poverty. Between 2013 and 2022, the extreme child poverty rate dropped from 20.7 percent to 15.9 percent. This decrease was a great success. However, according to UNICEF and the World Bank, the number should have decreased by many millions more had it not been for three years of Covid-19 related disruptions. The combined effects of the pandemic as well as conflicts, climate change, and economic shocks, have stalled progress on ending child poverty. This makes it all the more important to redouble efforts now. “Child poverty existsin every country in the world. Even in the US, almost 13 percent of children live in poverty, and in the EU, one in four children are at risk of living in poverty or social exclusion. This is unacceptable for high-income countries,” says Solrun Engilbertsdottir, Social Policy Specialist at UNICEF. She explains that child poverty is multidimensional. Globally, around one billion children experience at least one dimension of poverty, which means the deprivation of basic rights such as access to clean water, sanitation, healthcare, and shelter. This occurs everywhere. Looking at different regions, extreme child poverty is particularly prevalent in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, where 78 percent of the world’s extremely poor people live. Should current trends as calculated by Save the Children persist, it looks like 305 million children in Africa will be living in extreme poverty by 2030, accounting for over half of global poverty. Rapid population growth and limited social protection measures have contributed to the steep increase. Meanwhile, many other regions in the world have seen a steady decline in extreme child poverty rates. But countries prone to conflict drastically increase the chance of child poverty. “We are seeing this with the war in Gaza right now, for example, where children’s access to basic rights is basically being denied. In countries plagued by conflict and fragility, approximately one in three children live in extreme poverty, versus one in ten children in non-fragile countries,” Solrun illustrates. According to UNICEF, children who grow up impoverished often lack the food, sanitation, shelter, health care, and education that they need to survive and thrive. The organisation puts the number of children across the world who are experiencing poverty in multiple dimensions at about 1 billion – meaning they lack necessities as basic as nutritious food or clean water. Solrun explains “It is no big mystery how child poverty comes about. It is caused by structural factors and policies, and often a lack of jobs and fair wages or lack of access to social protection.” She emphasises that ending poverty is a policy choice. “We need to be clear that poverty is not only about the lack of money and resources. It goes beyond that: It is a violation of child rights and of human rights.” Kathrin Hartkopf, National Director and Spokesperson at Plan International Deutschland adds, “Poverty makes it difficult for children to access education. It is often the girls who have to stay at home and drop out of school if, for example, their parents need help around the house and do not have enough money to send all their children to school.” The Convention on the Rights of the Child clearly lists children’s rights. It is also the most widely ratified international human rights treaty in histoGlobally, one in five children lives in extreme poverty. A new report from UNICEF and the World Bank shows that over 330 million children worldwide are affected by the many dimensions of poverty. However, child poverty was decreasing prior to Covid-19. Experts from UNICEF and Plan International share their insights with us and make some recommendations for urban planners. Photo: Plan International / Vivek Singh
poverty 038 topos 125 ry. However, child poverty is still very much a challenge, and its consequences are grave: Poor children are twice as likely to die in childhood than wealthier children. They are at risk of disease, malnutrition, and stunting. Poor children are also more likely to miss school or get a poor education, according to the NGO Save the Children. The organisation also describes that the poorest children worldwide have a greater risk of suffering early marriage, child labour, or violence. “But the implications stretch even further than that,” says Solrun.“A failure to invest in children is probably the costliest mistake that a society can make.” In cities, child poverty is particularly prevalent in informal settlements or slums. “Access to the things that really matter, like education and goodquality housing, is limited,” says Solrun. Water supply, sanitation, access to basic health care or affordable food are lacking, as is the social protection rate – which is actually often higher in rural areas than in urban areas. Kathrin adds, “In cities, especially in the poorer neighbourhoods of the world's metropolises, children and their families face very different challenges than in rural areas. Vulnerability is also a facet of poverty. For example, life in big cities is particularly dangerous for girls in slums: There is a risk that they will become victims of abuse.” Alleviating child poverty has been on the international agenda for a long time. The Sustainable Development Goals call for the halving of multidimensional child poverty, which goes beyond income, by 2030. Considering that a few years of efforts were lost due to Covid, it is now even more important to redouble efforts. At the same time, the pandemic showed how with decisive and quick government action, child poverty can be alleviated. In the US for example, the expansion of the child tax credit in line with “America’s Rescue Plan” resulted in a temporary child poverty rate of 5.2 percent, more than halving the numbers. But as soon as the social policy was discontinued, child poverty rose again. The Global Coalition to End Child Poverty, which is co-chaired by UNICEF and Save the Children, have drafted a policy agenda with four key solutions to child poverty, although the implementation varies from country to country: The first is to acknowledge child poverty and to measure and understand it on order to develop a child poverty reduction strategy with clear targets. Secondly, expanding child-sensitive social protection measures such as cash transfers, universal child benefits, paternity and maternity leave, and unemploymentsupport are key – currently, only one in four children globally has access to any kind of social protection, according to Solrun. The third recommendation is to improve access to quality public services such as health, nutrition, education, water, sanitation, and housing, which is where cities come in. And, last but not least, promoting decent work and inclusive growth is key for families to escape poverty. Kathrin emphasises the point on children’s participation. “We actively involve children as well as their parents in our programmes to shape their future. The fight against poverty also includes ensuring that children and young people can move safely and freely in their environment, for example on their way to school. A good example of a concrete approach in large cities is our "Safer Cities" programme, which Plan International has implemented together with young people in several metropolises, such as Lima, Delhi, Kampala, Hanoi and Cairo. Strengthened by training in youth groups, the girls and boys themselves actively influenced the development of their neighbourhoods and exchanged ideas with authorities and urban planners in order to make concrete proposals for more safety in their districts.” Many countries showcase what a child poverty reduction strategy can look like. And it is not always the usual suspects. For example, Slovenia and Poland have put in a lot of effort and are seeing large reductions. Similarly countries like Ghana and Rwanda have been very successful at reducing multidimensional child poverty and making massive strides in reducing under-five mortality and maternal mortality while increasing access to education, for example. When asked for recommendations for planners and architects, Solrun says,“Planning with people who live in poverty can really benefit children in poverty.” She suggests that creating safe spaces and easier access to educational, health, water and sanitation facilities are important in the urban context, as well as access to social protection. Kathrin recommends actively involving children and young people, for example in the creation of children’s and youth clubs as well as schools. “Think of ways to plan that spark hope and make children and their families feel like they are living a life in dignity,” Solrun concludes.
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PICTURE SERIES: SCENES FROM THE SLUMS 040 topos 125 The sky above Rocinha is full of entangled power lines. A sight that you won't see in the luxury districts of Rio de Janeiro just a few hundred meters away.
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042 topos 125 Crime and violence are omnipresent in slums and have sometimes even become synonymous. Various studies indicate that youth unemployment and a lack of education in particular are strong factors that promote the emergence of violence.
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topos 125 045 poverty Life in a slum is tough in many ways. The neglect of such areas by administrations and lack of maintenance means that people with mobility impairments suffer particularly badly.
poverty 046 topos 125 While it is estimated that over one billion people currently live in slum-like conditions in cities, the UN estimates that this number will grow by two billion over the next 30 years.
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Photo: Aga Cypriano The photographer behind these impressive images is André Cypriano. Born in São Paolo in 1964, he completed a university education with a Bachelor of Business Administration before beginning to study photography in San Francisco in 1990. His diverse photographic work includes documenting traditional and little-known societies and their ways of life in remote parts of the world. His work includes publications such as “Nias – Jumping Stones” about an island tribe in northwest Sumatra and “Spritual Quest” about the dogs of Bali. His work has been documented in four books to date and has won numerous awards. André currently works from his home bases in New York and Rio de Janeiro and continues to dedicate himself to cultural and social projects. andrecypriano.com poverty 048 topos 125
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poverty 050 topos 125 HOUSING IS KEY TO POVERTY AND PROSPERITY LARISSA LARSEN AND JONATHAN MASSEY