May 8, 2012

Port Sudan Research paper



How's life in Port Sudan? Are you trying to understand that city? How do poor people live there? In 2010, researchers explored urban expansion in four cities in Sudan. Their findings were published in January 2011. One of their reports focused on Port Sudan.


The rapid expansion of Sudan’s towns and cities confronts humanitarian and development agencies with new and complex challenges.

Over the past four decades the cities and towns of Sudan have experienced dramatic population growth. Urbanisation has occurred in a context of poor governance, decreasing job opportunities, deepening social and economic insecurity and conflict-induced displacement. Growing numbers of poor and vulnerable urban dwellers live in abject poverty, are vulnerable to a range of daily protection threats and face acute challenges in relation to access to livelihoods, basic services and land.

This latest study by the Humanitarian Policy Group at the Overseas Development Institute explores the phenomenon of urbanisation and its drivers in four cities in Sudan. “City Limits: Urbanisation and Vulnerability in Sudan” contains case study reports on Khartoum, Juba, Nyala and Port Sudan, as well as a Synthesis Report. They analyse the social, environmental and economic consequences of urbanisation, paying particular attention to urban livelihoods, as well as infrastructure and the provision of basic services.

The findings suggest that current international humanitarian and development approaches are not yet geared to respond to urbanisation’s challenges, with the focus predominantly being on assisting rural communities. As a result, the urban poor in Sudan have been effectively left to fend for themselves – largely forgotten by the government and the international community alike.
Neighbourhoods
In Port Sudan, some neighbourhoods have a mixed population, while others are populated by a majority just from one tribe. Many Beja live in Dar Al Salaam along with North Sudanese, and members of the Fallata and Hausa tribes. In Al Qadisya, many Beni Amer live, pursuing wage labour job such as water selling or making handicrafts. Educated Beja and government or corporate employees may live in Diem Madina.

Chapters
The 40 page report includes ten chapters.
Chapter 1   Introduction
Chapter 2   History and drivers of urbanisation in Port Sudan
Chapter 3   The policy context
Chapter 4   Governance and leadership in Red Sea State and Port Sudan
Chapter 5   The urban economy and livelihoods
Chapter 6   Land and urban settlement patterns
Chapter 7   Infrastructure, services and the environment
Chapter 8   The social consequences of urbanisation and urban vulnerability
Chapter 9   External assistance in Red Sea State and Port Sudan
Chapter 10  Conclusions and recommendations

One page [p.37] is devoted to a timeline of major events in Port Sudan.

Hosting site.

Main Synthesis report - summarizes the study for all four towns across Sudan.

Port Sudan portion only.   pdf download available here for free.

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