Urban Informality | Penn IUR

Article May 22, 2025 Image of Newark Skating Community Named Winner of the Penn IUR Photo Contest "Gather" Luke Walter's image of skaters in Newark, New Jersey is this winner of the 2025 Penn IUR Photo Contest celebrating place-based connection. Urban Development

Affiliated PhD Student Adwaita Banerjee

Climate Change & Resilience Urban Development + 1

Affiliated PhD Student Tiffany Minh Tran

Climate Change & Resilience Urban Development + 2

Mar 13 2024 Past Event Powering the Slum: Exploring Alternatives Forms of Energy for Informal Settlements Climate Change & Resilience Rapid Urbanization

Article September 27, 2023 Powering the Slum II: Alternative Sources of Energy in Accra’s Informal Settlements Climate Change & Resilience Rapid Urbanization

Sep 22 2023 Past Event Uneven Access to Digital Tools and Tech in Low-Income Informal Communities Rapid Urbanization Urban Development

Apr 19 2023 Past Event Providing Sustainable Heat Solutions to Urban Informal Settlements Climate Change & Resilience Rapid Urbanization

Mar 23 2023 Past Event Providing Sustainable Electricity to Urban Informal Settlements of the Global South Rapid Urbanization

Article February 13, 2023 The Forum on Urban Informality Continues to Build a Community of Practice Urban Development

Oct 28 2022 Past Event Book Talk with Chandan Deuskar: Urban Planning in a World of Informal Politics Rapid Urbanization Urban Development

Article February 22, 2022 Forthcoming Books in the City in the 21st Century Series The City in the 21st Century series is looking forward to adding its 50th book. We are proud of this achievement and looking forward to what’s next. Read on for a preview of what’s to come in this cross-disciplinary series edited by Penn IUR Co-Directors Eugénie Birch and Susan Wachter and published by the University of Pennsylvania Press. Urban Development

Article September 23, 2021 Urban Informality Research Insights A seminar series highlighting research on urban informality offers academics and practitioners an opportunity to exchange knowledge and together delve into topics such as informality in settlements, services, livelihoods, water supply and waste, and transportation. Urban Development

Sep 03 2021 Past Event Rethinking the Theoretical Divide: Urban Informality in the Global North Rapid Urbanization

Jul 23 2021 Past Event Bridging Gaps in Energy Access: Intersections Between Basic Service Provision, Public Health, and Climate Action Climate Change & Resilience

Initiatives January 25, 2021 Forum on Urban Informality The Penn IUR Forum on Urban Informality is a space for graduate and post-graduate researchers and practitioners to exchange ideas on the topic of urban informality. Samuel Geldin Kimberly Noronha Urban Development Rapid Urbanization

Fellow María Alicia Becdach

MSC. Architecture & Urban Design Columbia University

Climate Change & Resilience Urban Development + 2

Publication May 18, 2020 Planning and the Politics of Informal Urbanization Over a billion people worldwide live in informal settlements (or “slums”), according to the United Nations. Informal urbanization persists partly because of informal politics. My dissertation examines the relationships between informal politics, urban planning, and informal urban growth. Chandan Deuskar Rapid Urbanization

Publication April 17, 2020 Informal Settlements and Pre-Emptive Actions to Win the War against COVID-19 Informal settlements are at high risk of becoming hotspots of the novel COVID-19 virus. Recent estimates show that one billion people live in informal settlements across the globe. If current trends persist, the number of people living in informal settlements is expected to increase to two billion by 2030 and three billion by 2050. James Kwame Mensah Urban Development

Cover of Iconic Planned Communities and the Challenge of Change

Book August 23, 2019 Iconic Planned Communities and the Challenge of Change Urban Development

Scholar James Kwame Mensah

Senior Lecturer, Department of Public Administration, University of Ghana Business School

Climate Change & Resilience Urban Development + 2

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