Bhanuben Solanki lives with her husband and daughter in Bhagwatinagar, an informal settlement in Ahmedabad, India. She had a very challenging childhood, and was forced to marry at 13, but excelled in school. She earns a living as an ASHA (health) worker, teaching English, and doing sewing work. She is also an influential Vikasini (Community Leader) who has worked for numerous years supporting women in the community with government paperwork, and petitioning for services and neighborhood improvements from local government (with support from Mahila Housing Trust). She led a an awareness campaign to educate people about importance of voting, what to look for in the candidate when voting to empower community members to participate in the elections.
Hasit Ganatra is a social entrepreneur who invented a lightweight, low-cost, modular roof that protects residents from the effects of extreme heat and rain and can be moved if necessary.
Teena B. Dhabale is a community architect in Ahmedabad, who works with Mahila Housing Trust (MHT) to assist women from the community to design and build homes that can function as muti-functional spaces that to support both work and domestic life.
Teena B. Dhabale is a community architect in Ahmedabad, who works with Mahila Housing Trust (MHT) to assist women from the community to design and build homes that can function as muti-functional spaces that to support both work and domestic life.
Somsook Boonyabancha, is Chairperson, Asian Coalition for Housing Rights (ACHR), a regional network of grassroots community organizations, NGO’s and professionals actively involved with urban poor development processes in Asian cities; former Director of the Community Organization Development Institute (CODI); Chairperson, of the Baan Mankong Program Committee.
Boonyabancha has been working and facilitating sustainable, equitable collective housing development and slum upgrading in Thailand and other Asian countries for 30 years – specializing in community-led initiatives. As director of CODI, she fostered a “city-wide” approach to community upgrading that has been replicated in cities across Thailand. She is based in Bangkok, Thailand.
Do you agree that it is important for people to be able to walk to all the services they need within 15 minutes, why or why not?
Think of a neighborhood that does not have a robust street life, and another that does. Compare them. Why is one lively and the other not? What are the benefits or downsides of each? What is the difference between those neighborhoods?
Ryan Smolar, Co-Founder, Long Beach Fresh Food Council; Initiator, US Placemaking
Ryan Smolar works with local communities and government in California to break down barriers to affordable healthy food and foster opportunities for community connection and new business development at the same time. He describes the power of food councils, and explores various initiatives and approaches that have yielded vibrant public spaces and projects that connect people through food.