Working with the Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance (ALNAP), PPRI’s Executive Director Ezra Haber Glenn conducted a peer-review of a comprehensive report on “Stepping Back: Understanding Cities and Their Systems.”
The report, funded by USAID, provided a framework for philanthropic, relief, international development, and humanitarian aid organizations to use to more effectively engage with the neighborhoods and communities in an increasingly urbanized world.
The working paper explores the nature of urban contexts, and the potential of systems thinking as a way to improve our understanding of urban spaces. It argues the importance of stepping back as a first step towards changing policy and practice, in a world that is growing increasingly urbanized:
Having developed to respond to crises in rural settings and refugee camps, the humanitarian sector today is unequipped to deal with the realities of urban contexts. Despite organizations adapting their approaches, and developing tools and pilots, fundamental gaps remain. This paper looks at the different systems and stakeholders in which exist in urban areas, and outlines what is important for humanitarians to know when responding in complex urban environment.