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TERRITORIAL

SETTLEMENTS

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SETTLEMENTS

IN T E R R I T O R I E S :

Reflections of a Participant an the Geographic Implications of the United Nations 'Conference on Human Settlements' (HABITAT) Held in Vancouver,Canada,May 27 to June 12, 1976 Paperpresented to the Commission on Applied Geography, International Geographical Union, Thilisi, Georgian S.S.R., July 1976

P. H, J. NASH, Sr., Waterloo, Ontario *

Preface In 1972, at the Fifth International Meeting of our Commission on Applied Geography of the I.G.U., held at Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, I presented a report, entitled Unitariness and Vulnerability, on the United Nations "Conference on the Human Environment" held in Stockholm, Sweden, in June of that year. 1) They were "reflections of a nonparticipant". It is appropriate to follow this up a few years later, in a parallel report, especially since this time I was an active participant at the U.N. "Habitat" Conference in Vancouver, which was to focus specifically on "Human Settlements". (Human Settlements: the totality of the human community - whether capital city, rural village, or nomad encampment- with all the social, material, organizational, spiritual, and cultural elements that sustain it.) Similarly to the Stockholm Conference, one can say with considerable conviction that "Habitat" would have been a success even if it had never been convened. Governments and bureaucracies, who had never thought about the broader implications of human shelter, were impelled for the first time to examine their interests from a new perspective, to perceive those concerns in relation to resources on a broad scale and realize that most nations face the same types of problems at various scales and intensities. It was a lesson in "Applied Geography". Human and physical resources and their mutual interrelationships, focusing on human settlements, were scrutinized not only within national and sub-national boundaries, but comparisons were made, both willingly and unwillingly, with areas outside self-centered concerns. lCf. Nash, Peter H. "Unitariness and Vulnerability: Reflections of a Non-Participant on the Implications of the United Nations 'Conference on the Human Environment' held in Stockholm, June 5-16, 1972". Applied Geography and the Human Environment. (Proceedings of the Fifth International Meeting, Commission on Applied Geography, International Geographical Union, August 1972). Richard E. Preston, Editor. (Geography Publication Series No. 2). University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. 1973. pp. 347--355. * Prof. Dr. Peter H. J. NASH, St. Faculty of Environmental Studies University of Waterloo Waterloo, Ontario, CanadaN2L 3G1

This increase in geographic understanding, especially of an applied nature, has been called "Terracy" by geologist Wynne-Edwards. 2) It is an understanding and acknowledgement of the Earth as it is. Terracy is common sanity, the opposite of lunacy. It is a word like Literacy, the understanding of words, and Numeracy, the understanding of numbers. So perhaps "Habitat" has made us all somewhat more "terrate", involving our five basic senses of a "finite earth", of "time", of "growth", or "inter-dependence", and of individual "responsibility". However, the basic "four questions" which "Terracy" poses were only obliquely or inadequately answered, namely "Are all the knowledge and resources available?"; "Are all the external effects known and understood?"; "Is there a satisfactory, internal balancing and regulative mechanism (feedback). ;and 'What will it cost, and can we afford it?" I can report to you that we are still a long way from the necessary understanding for a survival do-it-yourself-kit. But by being more "terrate" we are far better equipped to focus on questions of "territorial settlements" and "settlements in territories". A good part of solving a problem is stating it clearly. Therefore, in as much as nations were forced to focus on problems in preparation for "H ab itat", considerable benefits were ach ieved. And, from a positive vantage point, any consensus developed can be valued as a profit.

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Introduction

When "environmental" problems were first tackled on a global basis at the UN Meeting in Stockholm in 1972, it was the "natural" (physical) portion of the earth's landscape that pre-empted attention. The "man-made" (human) portion, as reflected in the large web of "community" problems, urban and rural, was left for separate treatment. Since 1972, we have had other UN conferences: the Bucharest population meeting in 1973, the stormy 1974 Rome food conference, and the 1975 status of woman gathering in Mexico City. "Habitat", of course, included 2Cf. Wynne-Edwards, H.R. "Concluding Remarks". SCITEC Bulletin. Vol. 6. No. 2. June 1976. p. 45. (Published by the Association of the Scientific, Engineering and Technological Community of Canada,Ottawa, KIP 5H3.)

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many elements of the earlier conferences, because human settlements cannot be isolated for treatment without examining the spectrum of factors involved in their development, growth, and decline. During the next thirty years more than 4 billion people (in addition to the present global population of similar magnitude) will need places t o live, which amounts to 4,000 urban areas of a million residents each. There are fewer than 300 cities of that size at the present time. This means that more than 600 million housing units will be needed in the next three decades, which is more than those existing in the entire world today. Even now, the World Health Organization believes more than one billion people do not have "basics", such as safe water to drink. Urban units, at all ekistic levels, especially those in developing countries, already are in crisis, lacking jobs, choked by pollution, crowded, inundated by slums, devoid of adequate transportation, and riddled by crime. In the quest for human dignity, shelter ranks with nutrition and health care as an absolute necessity. Yet, as Prime Minister Trudeau of Canada stated at the opening of the converence, "no country in the world can claim that it provides adequate shelter to all its people; not those with the richest of technologies, not those with the most temperate of climates."

What was "Habitat" supposed to produce? According to Enrique Penalosa, a Colombian economist and SecretaryGeneral of "Habitat", (who told me that he taught geography in his younger years!) it was a "happening" designed to have nations make a public moral "commitment" to certain political and social principles and policies which, while not legally binding, subsequently can be held up as yardsticks of effort and accomplishment. In addition, there is the accumulation and exchange of information, including plans for organized regional and international collaboration to replace benign neglect. As an international scientific organization, and as members of the Commission on Applied Geography, who strive for the "application of geographical knowledge, methods, techniques, and ways of thinking to the solution of practical problems", what transpired at Vancouver at "Habitat" a few days ago is certainly of considerable relevance! It is hoped that this condensed report is of informational value.

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Structure of"Habitat"

In addition to the delegates of the participating 135 nations making up the formal structure of "Habitat", meeting regularly at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, a parallel nongovernmental conference, called "Habitat Forum", held concurrent meetings at Jericho Beach, about 7 km. from the city center. This conference was attended by the "N.G.O.s" (Non-Governmental Organizations), which included the advisors and consultants to government delega-

tions, architects, engineers, environmentalists, economists, geographers, planners, sociologists, and representatives of hundreds of citizens' organizations. The Jericho site was formerly a seaplane base, including five large wooden hangars. Site renovations relied on recycled materials. For example, logs washed up on the beaches, that were rejected by the logging companies, were cut by a portable sawmill and used for construction. The site's natural beauty was enhanced by banners, aerial sculpture, collages, and murals. The formal plenary sessions, especially at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, were dull. (Even at a formal Commission session at one of the hotels I heard a half hour discussion whether the words "popular participation" should be substituted for "public participation".) They were too dry and statistical. Also, it was as if there were a "formula" writer preparing each speech. If there were, these would be his "ingredients": First, despite repeated requests by conference president Barney Danson to forego the wellwishing, take about a minute to thank the Canadian hosts and the people of Vancouver. Then, describe the problem. Talk about the problems of human settlements affecting us all. Cite growing population. Mention the squalor in which most of the world's people live. If you are from the "Third World", add that a new world economic order is essential. Next, talk in glowing terms about what your country is doing about it, in miniscule detail. Give long bureaucratic names for all the programs on which the national and regional governments are embarked. Perhaps here you will want to show a film. Make sure that the voice-over narration has little to do with what the audience is actually seeing. Finally, express the 'wish, in the most pious terms possible, that this conference will find a way to solve all the problems. If this all sounds sarcastic, it is meant to be[ Facing this kind of diplomatic reality, it is not surprising that the public, the media, (and a very large number of delegates) did not attend after the first couple of days. How I missed the late Constantinos Doxiadis when listening to some of these reports! I could hear him say: "We have the facts. Let us talk about the issues in a logical pattern by categories in relation to settlement size so that we will not be confused further!" No wonder it was at Jericho Beach where the "action" was, but unfortunately there was minimal feedback downtown. Geographers were conspicuous by their absence. Jean Gottmann of Oxford University and Akin Mabogunje of Nigeria were deeply involved, and so were a handful of Canadian geographers, but otherwise our profession was not inevidence. (This is an observation and not a criticism.) The World Society of Ekistics held several meetings and mounted an excellent and popular exhibit. Some well knowm "ekisticians" who attended were Barbara Ward, Margaret Mead, Buckminster Fuller, Charles Correa, Laila El Hamamsy, Tom Fookes, Charles Haar, Eiichi Isomura, John Platt, Panayis Psomopoulos, and Jaqueline Tyrwhitt. To

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these individuals "Habitat" was the culmination of more than a decade of thinking, speaking, and writing about the future of human settlements. "Habitat Forum" focused on a different topic each day. They included "Social Justice and the Question of Differing Values and Cultures"; "Human Settlements and the New International Economic Order"; "National Settlement Policies"; Participation in Planning and Implementation"; "Land Use and Ownership"; "Community Involvement in Improving the Quality of Life"; "Human Settlements in Rural Areas"; "User Oriented Human Settlement Technologies"; and several others. There were also workshops ranging from "Post-Disaster Housing" to "Cooperative Housing" and from "Building with Nature" to "Design of Metropolitan Areas". In spite of problems of bus service, shortage of conference rooms and exhibit space, and cold temperatures, these plenary sessions, workshops, and discussion groups were well attended, although I suspect that a very large number of people (especially the young) were residents of the Greater Vancouver area. (The vacancy rate of hotels and university dormitories was very high.)

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provides a framework to avoid serious confusions and resulting misunderstandings. A knowledge of the fundamentals of ekistics would have given a large number of discussions a coherent structure, but without such a reference framework they were doomed to failure from the very start. However, no amount of ekistical background would have helped the political aspects, where "settlement" was used to bring into discussion a large number of controversial problems, which gave "Habitat" considerable notoriety. The statement, for example, by Iraq, that the "Zionist racist entity demolished Palestinian settlements" was not conducive to objective scrutiny. Neither was the Israeli statement that the fighting between Moslem and Christians in Lebanon and the resulting destruction of settlements "has brought more victims than all wars since the proclamation of the State of Israel". I suppose it was unavoidable that politics would creep into the conference, and that "walk outs" by different groups would occur. It is hoped that a "settlement" in the Middle East will be brought about some day, and the problem of "human settlements" must certainly consider the issue of population groups who have been evicted from their own home territories.

F r o m C o n f l i c t to D e c l a r a t i o n

Certainly stresses and strains of conflict were felt throughout "Habitat". They were not only evident between the delegates at official meetings, but also between the "have" formal downtown participants and the "have not" N.G.O.s. The cold, damp weather and the mud added to the dissatisfaction at Jericho Beach. But M. Harcourt, director of "Habitat Forum's" organizing body, said "It's a conference on human se_ttlement problems. I wouldn't want it to be the kind of conference that happens at places like Harrison Hot Springs, where people sit around in the hot pool, sipping scotch and soda and talking about poverty." Another source of irritation was that the 3,500 delegates to "Habitat Forum" were given only 15 copies of the UN main draft declarations in the first days, although more were made available later. As indicated, much confusion originated owing to different interpretations of the meaning of "settlement". "Terril~orial settlements" (especially between nations) was confused with "settlements in territories" from a geographic vantage point. This confusion was often intentional, but also frequently unintentional. In a way, this conflict symbolized to me the problems of "Habitat". This was compounded by the lack of rigour when "settlements" were discussed from a geographic standpoint. Often confusion reigned because no differentiations were made between sizes of settlements (neighbourhoods I villages, towns, cities, metropolises, etc.) or even what elements were referred to (nature, society, networks, etc.) It is one of the contributions of the discipline of ekistics that it

One of the more significant results of "Habitat" was the "Declaration of Vancouver", a twelve page document developed by the "Vancouver Symposium". It was headed by Barbara Ward and consisted of 23 international experts, including Buckminster Fuller, who was one of our maior participants at C.A.G.~2 in Rhode Island. 3) They vowed to "make the biggest fuss we can" lobbying for a list of thirteen "priority demands from governments". This list included a commitment to provide clean water to all human settlements; a moratorium on the adoption of nuclear power generation, and emphasis on such safe and cheap energy sources as solar power; and the "securing for the community of unearned increments from land sales." The declaration concluded by quoting a World Bank calculation that the basic needs of Third World settlements - water, housing, transport, and sanitation - could be provided over the next decade if the developed nations contributed 30 billion a year in capital assistance. This, the declaration said, represents only a tenth of what is spent annually on arms. However, as Nigerian geographer Akin Mabogunje

3Cf. Fuller, R. Buckminster. "World Design Science Research." Proceedings of the Second International Meeting, Commission on Applied Geography, International Geographical Union.

August, 1966. A.A. Michel, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, Rhode Island,Editor. pp. 187--199. Also, cf. Synergetics: Explorations in the Geometry of Thinking. MacMillan. 1975. 876 pp. This new volume, I believe, is one of the most important works that have been written in this century and will have a pronounced effect on what Omer Tulippe called the "contours" of the applications of geographical knowledge.

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admitted, the fact that the UN Conference on Aid and Development in Nairobi has been at an impasse over the subject of a ~ 3 billion fund for the price support of Third World staple products is discouraging, to put it mildly. In view of the stature of the symposium participants the "Declaration of Vancouver" had a considerable impact on the formal UN deliberations and the ripple effects will be felt in the years to come. Barbara Ward called on citizen groups to "bite, bully, and harass politicans.., on behalf of the wretched of the world." With the support of fellow participants, such as Gorynski of Poland, Hardoy of Argentina, Mead of USA, Ui of Japan, Gottmann of Great Britain and France, Correa of India, Kwapong of Ghana, Rios of Brazil, and Terrazas of Mexico, the content of the declaration will not be forgotten.

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Land Speculation, Nuclear Energy, and Water

Pollution Of salient interest to geographers were the many films exhibited at "Habitat". They could be requested for showing either by country or by subject matter, and they were, of course, of considerable educational value in terms of increasing the geographic understanding of the viewer. In addition to the major issue of housing and building, three loci emerged from the hundreds of presentations and discussions: land, energy, and water. With reference to land, unanimous agreement was reached to combat land speculation and to protect agricultural land. The document, entitled "Recommendations for National Action", says "excessive profits resulting from the increase in land value due to development and change in use are one of the principal causes of the concentration of wealth in private hands" and recommends that this unearned profit must be subject to "appropriate recapture by public bodies". The original conference working document said profits "should be recaptured", but that phrase was opposed by Canada which argued the profits could not be seized by countries that relied on the private sector to provide housing. The insertion of the word "appropriate" was considered acceptable to Canada because it would leave it to each level of government to decide what measures were appropriate. It would also allow governments to argue that some of the profits are already recaptured by taxes and other charges. It appears that the change in wording is an appropriate solution in view of the fact that there are so many "mixed" economies. They depend on the private sector, and confiscation of land would not be a tolerable solution. The recommendations would still be in line with the "Vancouver Symposium" declaration that "the unearned increment from land sales be secured for the community".

The discussions on nuclear energy had a very low light/heat ratio: little new of substance, but many old doomsday arguments. Sir Dove-Myer Rosinson, outspoken environmentalist and mayor of Auckland, New Zealand, said that " . . . never before in recorded history has the human race been so close to absolute catastrophe.., the old order is in imminent collapse: never before has widespread discontent been so articulate . .. any of the causes of dessatisfaction could explode overnight and accelerate our headlong rush to disaster." Interestingly, it was an Indian delegate who said that there is no historical evidence that poor countries take up arms against rich countries. With considerable applause he commented that if you create panic you do not achieve solutions. Nevertheless, the "fall-out" from the nuclear power debate might prove to be more significant than the struggle to get a few words on nuclear energy on a U.N. document. I believe that the strong anti-nuclear group succeeded in planting doubts in the minds of many (including Canadian p o l i t i c a l leaders), and this will probably lead to much closer study of the need for increased use of nuclear power and its health risks. Prime Minister Trudeau of Canada stated that his counry will continue to supply nuclear technology to a world starved for energy as long as buyers agree to tough safeguards for the disposal of nuclear wasters. Even Italy and Cuba indicated that they are planning nuclear power stations and blocked resolutions calling for limitations on nuclear power. The Canadian position, as a major exporter of nuclear technology, was strengthened when Cuba stated that it will proceed with purchase of nuclear systems for peaceful purposes from the Soviet Union. Nevertheless, the nuclear energy critics, among them some of the most highly respected individuals at "Habitat", scored significant points, and much more attention will be given to this topic in the future than ever before. No topic at "Habitat" got such obvious attention as water. On Sunday, June 6, in a festive atmosphere, delegates observers, and hangers-on marched 1,500 strong behind Margaret Trudeau (wife of the Prime Minister of Canada) hauling water buckets to "Habitat Forum" in a "World Water Day" parade. At the forum site, the crowd supported a resolution demanding clean water in all world communities by 1990 and spending by governments of [[ 3 billion a year for ten years on water projects. (This is one of the major recommendations of Barbara Ward in her new book discussed below.) The symbolic march was useful to make the ordinary citizen comprehend the importance of water. "Do you want sixty per cent of the children under five years to die of gastritis?" was asked. It was a topic of appeal, because it was comffrehensible to the laymen and relatively uncomplicated. However, water is just one of many aging and inadequate urban services. As

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Barbara Ward indicated: "Calcutta's baisc water and sewerage systems were installed nearly a century ago for a city of 600,000 inhabitants, and now there are over eight million. The Hooghly River receives the filth and provides the drinking water . . . One third of the human race suffer from intestinal disease . . . And if you want to know the greatest enemy of dignity in mankind, it is to be running at both ends . . . " Water certainly emerged as the most conspicuous item on the agenda for "planetary housekeeping".

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Human Issues

Although the physical elements of land, energy and water received much focus, the basic human issues were not ignored. In fact, they received much attention from the very start. Prime Minister Trudeau, in his opening speech at "Habitat", spoke of the need for "passionate love" for one another, and that a change more drastic than a major mutation of our species will re requiered if the human race is to survive. His call " t o socialize ourselves more and more" was echoed over and over during the following two weeks. It seems that is was realized that toleration is not enough, but mutual love requiring of us an unprecedented desire to change ourselves. It was the philosophy of Teilhard de Chardin, spoken in course, Trudeau was ridiculed by some newspape r articles ("Love won't conquer all, Pierre!"), but the fact that statements of love of fellow human beings sounded to so many slightly ridiculous is a measure of the extent of the change we must make if we are to save ourselves. I do not believe Trudeau's common passion and conspiracy of love is too farfetched. The role of women was not ignored. In fact they were in the majority at "Habitat Forum". One of the loci was the property rights of women. Women make "homes" out of "houses", "communities" out of "settlements". Yet land titles to males, it was said, keep women in subservient positions, because they have no legal identities. Urban problems are man-made, it was stated. Many did not realize that the impact of the "working" women was so ignored. With the great increase of females in the labour force, the double use of physical facilities, part-time jobs, flexible work schedules, night-time shopping, banking, postal services, and school schedules linked to work schedules are all devices to be considered to support a new type of community life. These demands will surely get more attention in years to come as we become more sensitized. Housing, ranging from "self-help" to mass produced types, was obviously a salient focus, and the majority of technical papers were concerned with this topic. A panorama of schemes was exhibited. One architect, who has helped build thousands of single-family houses in poor nations for less

than ~500, told a "Habitat Forum" audience that "minimum shelter" homes can be a solution to the world's housing problems. He stated that government subsidization of traditional housing forms is not the answer, but came out in favour of a lot of plumbing on which could be built a shack with readily available resources. It was generally agreed that housing programs have failed appallingly to meet the needs of the poorest. The systematically poor (up to seventy per cent in some cities in the Third World) are excluded from adequate housing. This realization and public admission may indicate that "public housing" does not work, just as the automobile cannot solve the problem of urban transportation. These problems are similar all over the world. Of course the issue of "life styles" was mentioned almost in every speech, document, or film, generally stressing the need " t o end old colonial injustices and distortions". As a geographer it always disturbs me when the contrasts between the affluent and the poor is simplistically blamed on human greed and politics, rather than acknowledging that climate, vegetation, soils, mineral resources and other physical phenomena have been unevenly distributed on this planet since the beginning of time. Minor "life styles" in settlements were scrutinized also. For example, in a television interview Margaret Trudeau questioned Buckminster Fuller on whether he thought the average would be willing to move from a square bungalow to his more environmentally-sound domes. Fuller replied that man was born in a womb, hardly a squared-off surrounding. Apparently Doxiadis's thorough reasoning of the difference between Ekistic Units 1 and 2 did not impress Fuller. 4) But so far the realistic evidence upholds the analysis of Doxiadis. Margaret Mead was partially justified in her attack on efforts of developing nations to supply housing for the Third World. She said that these ventures consisted of nothing more than supplying badly-designed buildings to underdeveloped countries at a again of nice profit-making industry for the developed nations. The urban planning of most efforts is mediocre, and the needs of vital agricultural communities are neglected, adding to the rush of people into cities. As some geographers have pointed out, this slum-building tide could be stopped if help were provided to keep farmers producing as much food as possible. However, Mead's suggestion of an imposition of a special tax on all construction within a developed nation to be spent on construction in underdeveloped areas was c o m p l e t e l y ignored. The developed nations are not willing to shoulder so-called "responsibility" at this stage, whether it is based on contributions based on amounts spent on destructive weapons, per capita energy consumption, or any other criteria. 4Cf. Doxiadis, ConstantinosA. Anthr0Popolis: City for Human Development. Athens Publishing Center. 1974. pp. 120--149.

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IV

Some C r i t i c i s m s and Some Results

Many stated that " H a b i t a t " was an experience in frustration, but it certainly would have been naive to expect specific or immediate results. It is correct that too clear a line was drawn between the U.N. delegates, generally housed in luxury hotels, and N.G.O.s and observers at "Habitat Forum", lodged primarily in university dormitories. The physical distance between the two centers of activity emphasized the cleavage between the rich ("Habitat" delegates) and the poor ("Forum" participants). This dichotomy was reflected in the styles of the meetings. The "Forum" participants had breakfast at six AM and faced lengthy walks to the drafty airplane hangers. The official delegates enjoyed different environments. It is regrettable that there was so little communication between them, in spite of the efforts of the' 'Vancouver Symposium" group. In addition, there were so many pressure groups at the "Forum" trying to claim center stage for their problem, that the main theme, human settlements, was often neglected. One felt that there was too much emphasis on how much the "have nots" expected to extract from the "haves". In addition to confusion over the concept of "settlement", there was frequent misinterpretation of the N.G.O.s, who were often not taken seriously because the word "non-governmental" implied that they were "anti"governmental. This erroneous idea persisted, in spite of the fact that 160 N.G.O.s were invited to make presentations at "Habitat Forum" by the U.N. "Habitat" was to develop recommendations to member governments for more effective action at national and international levels on human settlement policies, strategies, and programs. The main emphasis in these recommendations was to be on the needs of the world's poorest people. Perhaps, since the most pressing settlement problems are occurring in the underdeveloped nations, the conference should not have been held in Canada. There was too much focus on pre-packaged high-technology information. There was too much reliance on the professional, established groups and user-oriented organizations were largely ignored. The answer, it appears, is that the solutions are political and economic, and thus were minimized by the U.N. organizers. In view of past conferences, this is not surprising. The Palestinian issue symbolized the unbridgeable gap between the rich and the poor nations of the world. The underdeveloped countries claimed, with some justification, that there was no better place to raise the question of the Palestinian homeland than "Habitat". But Israel and her supporters were also right in charging that this single issue had been allowed to dominate a meeting on world, not regional, problems of shelter. The United States, frustrated by a Third World control and "politicization" of "Habitat",

said it probably would refrain from attending future conferences. It did not consider the issue a "substantial global problem". But, at least, underdeveloped countries now have access to planning and technology of the West contained in the tons of paper presented at the conference. It should be noted that much of the philosophy of planning, which was considered "radical" only a few years ago now appears to be in the "mainstream". The official sanction of such concepts as citizen participation in official plan preparation, "miniplans" to replace master planning, modification of boundaries of metropolitan areas to correspond to functional and natural limits, and others of this type shows that many former abstract ideas have been shelved so that developing nations can assert their own identities. There was a strong shift from the sweeping total approaches of earlier decades to one based on realistic assessment of the resources actually available for development. It was a success for those professional planners who argue that planning is best carried out on a small, socially oriented scale. The British film, which stated "sweeping planning brings blight", and which bitterly mocked Le Corbusier, mirrored this strong trend in attitudes. "The biggest is not necessarily the best", it said, and this was even supported by U.S.S.R. delegates. Perhaps "Habitat" pointed out most effectively that we have lived too long with the idea that bigness, by virtue of inherent efficiency, must be better. When viewed by geographers, such apparent economies are seen to ignore the external "downstream" costs which frequently accrue to others than those who directly benefit from the undertaking involved. "J uster" distributions is a ubiquitous battle cry. It is the beginning of a "conserver soc!ety" 5) and is bringing about one of the major cultural and political transformations in all history. And we are trying to develop a modus operandi to terminate one era and center the next without massive global disruptions. VII

A n o t h e r B o o k b y Barbara

In my U.N. Report at C.A.G. no. 5 in 1972 I reported with enthusiasm on Barbara Ward's (Lady Jackson) book Only One Earth. 6) For "Habitat" another volume was produced by her, entitled The Home of Man. 7) Again, global in approach, the book is not written for professionals, but in language that any earthling can understand. Again, the

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China, the major country firmly developing a "conserver society", was not represented at "Habitat".

6Cf. Nash, Peter H. op. cit., p. 351--352. 7

Ward, Barbara. The Home of Man. McClelland and Stewart Ltd., Toronto. 1976. 297pp.

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book will have a brisk world-wide sale, and thousands of copies have already been bought in many countries. Again, the royalties will be used for popular education this time about the needs of human settlements. The influences of Toynbee and Doxiadis are easily identified in The Home of Man, not only their philosophies and approach, but also their captivating simplicity. Ward analyzes three types of cities: the "Intended City", the "Just C i t y " of our noble aspirations, and the "Healthy and Beautiful City". Shades of Dystopia, Entopia, and Ecumenopolis[ 8) Ward explains in her colourful prose and via panoramic global sweeps and local snapshots how we have come to the point in 1976 where the whole human family was started to discuss the humble necessary foundations of its daily life. Never before has the world's housekeeping been thus talked about. Ward makes some specific recommendations. The creation of a permanent "Settlements Secretariat" to provide the focus of vision and innovation at the world level. It would be placed directly under the Economic and Social Council or under the Governing Council of the U.N. Environment Program. At regional levels, perhaps linked to the U.N. Regional Commissions, task forces drawing on local expertise could help the governments themselves make the connections, learn from each other, and contribute experiences. ~'Everything comes together in settlements", says Ward, and that is why they are prime examples and signals for a world in which nothing any longer can be held apart. I cannot muster the same enthusiasm for this volume as I did for On/y One Earth, especially since relatively little "new" knowledge can be gained from it by an applied geographer or a professional planner. But the intimate glimpses in space and in time and the erudite synthetic approach is well worth the long evening it would take to read this entertaining paperback. Perhaps some of us have heard too much about the violent misuse of our planetary life-support system. But the book gives us ammunitition and old ideas in a new context. Once it was said: " I f you wish for peace, prepare for war." Now, post-"Habitat", the aphorism is reversed: "If you wish to avoid war, you must work for

peace." VIII Conclusions What is it then that a participant reflects upon as he returns to the less heady realm of his own professional and scholarly activities? First of all, there is conflict. Once the

threat of nuclear war rested chiefly in bipolar competition between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. We are now in a multipolar world; infinitely more unpredictable and dangerous, where a lunatic individual could cause as much terror as a whole nation. Institutional arrangements are essential permitting the ebb and flow of conflict. Political geography shows that modern nations are a composite of earlier tribalisms and regional loyalties. Perhaps the same process of increasing consciousness can be expanded to shared responsibility from megalopolitan to global scales. Directly related to this is the issue of population. Anthropos is increasing at the rate of 200,000 more births than deaths a day. Many answers are given by experts, but the main item of consensus appears to be that population will decrease when the lowest-income groups are lifted out of absolute proverty, the darkness of malnutrition, ignorance, and disease. On the physical side, the life-support system is increasingly fragile, and so the issue of ecology is still of maximum significance. Dangers to the upper atmosphere and climate are a continuing source of deep concern. The waste of energy and nonrenewable resources in the developed nations will have to be diminished via an ethic of conservation. On the human side the role of the individual in society is becoming more problematic because a totally programmed society is a possibility. The elimination of freedom and individuality would stifle society's salient source of creativity and capacity for renewal. Thus we face two basic questions. The first is whether we have a system of governance built on principles of accountability, because only if the governed can call power to account will they survive as a creative force. The second is how individuality can survive in a world moving toward ever larger and more complex organizational patterns. Equally disturbing is the pervasive issue of equal access to the benefits of society, and I believe that the debate over "equality", especially between the capitalist and socialist points of view, will not be reconciled in our lifetime. But we have come to believe that we can, via hard work, make people equal before the law, give them equal opportunity, and provide equal access to social benefits. Of two billion people in the roughly one hundred developing nations, about forty per cent (or 800 million) are barely surviving. It is at this level of"absolute proverty" where a start has to be made. The results will filter "up". And finally there is the problem of values and faith, because anthropos develops icons, spinning vast webs of symbols, myths, dreams, visions, and world views to which they react just as 9Cf. Tuan, Yi-Fu. Topophilia: A Study of Environmental Perception, Attitudes, and Values. Prentice-Hall, Inc. Englewood

It is gratifiying that Barbara Ward dedicated her volume to the memory of Constantinos Doxiadis, a beloved friend and teacher, who first stimulated her interest in human settlements.

Cliffs, New Jersey. 1974. 260pp. (Also, cf. review of this volume by Nash, Peter H. Canadian GeographicalJournal. Vol. 89. No. 6. December 1974. p. 46.)

14

strongly as they do to the physical environment. 9) The importance of this has been insufficiently stressed, and geographers have particularly suffered from iconophobia. But we must ask ourselves: what values, what faith? We need not invent new ones, nor must we return to the old. New values and faith flow out of old ones. The transformations may be spectacular, but they are rooted in the past. We cannot break with the past, nor can we return to it. 10) Out of its heritage of old values and faiths, a vital society is always evolving something new, and geographers can lead with their creative imagination and ability to synthesize. Although subconscious comparisons could be made with the Olympic Games, "Habitat" was another attempt to evolve cooperation instead of competition. Although the competitive aspects received more public attention than the constructive accomplishments, I believe that the emphasis on goals means attention to values and thence to feelings. Human beings, in order to be fully "human", are inevitably interdependent. 11 ) "Habitat" was a "learning" experience[

O~oJouma/ 1.4. 7-14/1977 © AkademischeVerlagsgesellschaft-Wiesbaden

Recognition of ignorance about the consequences of technological impacts on the lives of people and settlements in territories would emphasize the strong need for a learning approach rather than an engineering approach to planning change and providing organizational responsiveness. I hope this will increase attention of action-oriented geographers to the future as a major criterion for ethical and informed action in the present, and that the Commission on Applied Geography will be particularly responsive to these aims of "Habitat"! 10Of. Doxiadis, Constantinos A. op. tit., pp. 4-24, esp. diagrams 2 and 3. 11 Human settlement "systems" differ fundamentally from other entities (physical or mechanical systems,etc.) and their methodology for development must vary substantially from those applicable in conventional disciplines, including traditional geography. The methodology must transcend disciplinary boundaries and must be based on a process of "public participation" linked to an instrument for explicating and integrating diverse perceptions of reality.