Informal neighbourhoods are not part of any urban development plans. They have no legal status, they are often overpopulated by the poorest citizens and they represent the huge challenge that rampant urbanisation is creating in the modern world. Integrating informal neighbourhoods into the traditional urban fabric is one of the priorities of UN Habitat. The transformation of these informal cities into places that are healthy and liveable demands the cooperation and the support of their inhabitants for urban renovation and for connection to the drinking water, sanitation, electric power, waste collection and transport networks. As an urban operator, SUEZ has been developing its social engineering expertise for more than 15 years, in an effort to support these changes and transform cities, hand in hand with the people who live in them.
Discover this little-known activity with Sachin and Abdelatif, social engineers working in Mumbai and Casablanca.
Working with and for the population
The populations of informal neighbourhoods are usually in difficulty. They often have to collect their water from communal fountains that are far away. The quality of the water is poor, and the need to collect water also creates social problems, because women and children have to collect water instead of going to work or to school. Abdelatif, who works in a zone that is an extension of the city of Casablanca, has figured out the heart of the problem: the urban zones that have the greatest need for access to water and sanitation, are also the least accessible, the worst informed and the poorest zones. Therefore, social engineering is essential. You cannot simply turn up in a neighbourhood and connect it. We are working with and for the local populations , adds Sachin. SUEZ has developed a flexible methodology that is quite the opposite of imposed planning that is bound to fail. This methodology has already succeeded in Johannesburg, La Paz, Cartagena, Manila and Buenos Aires. The simple idea behind this action plan consists of proposing a framework to support the populations that takes the specifics of every neighbourhood into consideration.
Bâtis par ses habitants en dehors de toute programmation urbaine, dépourvus de cadre juridique, refuges souvent surpeuplés des citoyens les plus pauvres, les quartiers informels témoignent de l immense défi que représente l urbanisation galopante du monde contemporain. Dans le cadre d ONU Habitat, les Nations unies ont fait de leur intégration au tissu urbain traditionnel une priorité. De la rénovation urbaine à la connexion aux réseaux d eau potable, d assainissement, d électricité, de collecte des déchets et de transport, la transformation de la ville informelle vers la salubrité et l habitabilité requiert le concours et l appui de ses habitants. En tant qu opérateur urbain, SUEZ développe depuis plus de quinze ans une expertise d ingénierie sociale visant à accompagner ces changements, pour transformer la ville avec ceux qui y vivent.
Plongée dans un métier encore méconnu en compagnie de Sachin et Abdelatif, ingénieurs sociaux à Mumbai et Casablanca.
« Travailler avec et pour les populations »
« Les populations des quartiers informels sont généralement en difficulté. Elles s approvisionnent souvent dans des fontaines communes, parfois assez éloignées. Au-delà de la qualité de l eau cela pose des problèmes sociaux : les femmes et les enfants doivent aller chercher de l eau au détriment de la scolarité ou d une activité professionnelle. » Abdelatif, qui travaille dans la
On ne peut pas simplement arriver dans un quartier et le connecter.
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