Growing Organically

Exceptional features that characterize the Special Procedures are illustrated in their progressive and unplanned development as a “system” of human rights mechanisms. This evolution is explained by a combination of political and expert-led decisions adopted by the Human Rights Council, mandate holders, and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. The successive approval of cross-cutting mandates aimed at all Special Procedures has contributed to coherence in the competences assigned to them, yet has also opened the door to indirect and an unaccounted multiplication of tasks. Over the years, Special Procedures mandate holders have developed practices that have abetted their progressive configuration as belonging to a “system” of human rights mechanisms. This process has evolved through individual and collective initiatives. While mandate holders have made significant efforts to harmonize methods of work, they have simultaneously insisted on maintaining their autonomy. The political consideration of Special Procedures as a single category has been reflected in the support received by the UN Secretariat, through the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, a key determinant in their perception as a coherent group of mechanisms.

Time-Series Satellite Imagery Demonstrates the Progressive Failure of a City Master Plan to Control Urbanization in Abuja, Nigeria

Urbanization is a global phenomenon, but its negative effects are most pronounced in developing countries. While much urbanization in the global South is unplanned, there have been occasional attempts at strategic, large-scale urban planning. One example is Abuja, Nigeria, a new city with origins in a 1970s Master Plan. Here, we use multi-temporal remote sensing to investigate four decades of urbanization in Abuja, showing the extent to which urban development has matched original intentions. Seven Landsat images from 1975 to 2014 were selected to correspond with Master Plan milestones and turning points in Nigeria’s socio-political development. Land cover classification and change detection results show built-up land increasing rapidly, from 1,167 ha in 1975 to 18,623 ha in 2014, mostly converted from grassland, often via a pioneer bare soil class. Comparing image analysis against the Master Plan shows that, in the early years, Abuja’s development matched broad planning intentions fairly closely. Later, though, unplanned development proliferated, and the city’s resemblance to the Master Plan diminished progressively. Level of adherence to the Master Plan varied widely according to the system of government. Notably, after long-term military rule was replaced by a democratic government around the turn of the millennium, unplanned development increased sharply.

Coping with Change

Kwan Mun Hau, an original village and research focus, was re-sited in 1964, as the villagers could no longer tolerate the flooding in the old village resulting from unplanned development of surrounding areas, and government hopes to rationalize the development of the central area where the village had been located. This sealed the villagers’ move to a cash economy, a mixed benefit, with many employed in industry and some receiving rents from tenants of diverse origins, many of whom ran small factories. The lineage trusts were also converted to rent-yielding urban property. Families were still large, with many children, but their structures were limited by the configuration of the new houses. Interest in birth control was high. All children now went to school, studying in Cantonese, the lingua franca, which was also promoted by the increasing presence of television. Western medicine was readily available, but the very old were still cared for at home.