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This paper offers a unique perspective on the urbanisation process in developing cities, with a particular focus on the region of the Gulf States. Beyond economic considerations, the analysis sheds light on the complex interplay of socio-cultural factors, gender dynamics and urban development. Based on the calls for human-centred approaches to rethinking urban design and management of cities require the integration of these cities’ inhabitants’ lived experiences, that impact residents’ daily lives. The focus is on the importance of women’s perspectives in the development process.

The paper uses a systematic literature review that builds on existing knowledge relating to urbanisation, modernisation, sustainable cities, gender and the Arabian Gulf. It uses Lefebvre’s 'right to the city' theory to understand the evolution of the Gulf Cities which is a novel approach. This adaptation offers a unique perspective on the transformations and challenges that these urban spaces face. Furthermore, it offers a firm foundation for developing advanced knowledge on the interdisciplinary nature of the topic discussed and assists in integrating empirical findings and perspectives from different resources.

The extreme levels of transformation in urbanisation in the Gulf States built cities that are no longer solely places for settlement, production and services but operate as significant influencers on the social, economic and political relations that produced design and cultural challenges. These cities became epicentres of power and politics that shaped the national visions and influenced policy. The process of inclusive and considerate urban development that the Arabian Gulf region is aiming to embark on is not a new exclusive strategy. But a process that has been implemented and tested in other urbanised areas globally.

Very little historical urban research on the Arabian Gulf countries exists, hence, the difficulty in researching the Gulf urbanisation process or providing historical encounters of the change.

This paper delves into the gendered aspects of urban planning, an aspect that is frequently overlooked. It contributes to the discourse on gender inclusivity in urban spaces by focussing on Khaleeji women’s experiences, offering insights that go beyond economic considerations. The use of Lefebvre’s “right to the city” theory to understand the evolution of the Gulf Cities is a unique approach. It investigates the interaction of various factors such as economic, cultural and political influences on Gulf urban development. This adaptation offers a distinctive perspective on the transformations and challenges that these urban spaces face.

Achieving tenure security is a global challenge impacting cities of the global south. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the role of technology-enabled solutions as an enabler for the tenure rights of slum dwellers.

In this paper, we adopted a case study approach to analyze the use cases for technologies aiding India’s securitization of land tenure. The flagship state mission of Odisha, named the Jaga Mission, and that of Punjab, named BASERA – the Chief Minister’s Slum Development Program – were used as cases for this paper.

It was found that technologies like drone imagery and digital surveys fast-tracked the data collection and helped in mapping the slums with accuracy, mitigating human errors arising during measurement – a necessary condition for ensuring de jure tenure security. The adoption of a technology-based solution, along with a suitable policy and legal framework, has helped in the distribution of secure land titles to the slum dwellers in these states.

Odisha’s and Punjab’s journey in using technology to enable tenure security for its urban poor residents can serve as a model for the cities of the global south, dealing with the challenges of providing secure tenure and property rights.

Children comprise a significant component of developing countries’ populations, but are rarely present in a substantive way in urban decision-making. The first step toward changing the exclusion of children in urban planning is through analyzing the roots of the problem. Applying a critical approach, this research aimed to explore and challenge the structural patterns of society that exclude children and marginalize them in the case of Iran. The present study interviewed Iranian urban planning professionals in a range of roles, to explore the roots of the persistent failure to incorporate children’s voices. The findings revealed various obstacles to including children: on the one hand, these impediments consisted of broad macro-level barriers derived from the cultural context; on the other, obstacles included micro-level barriers associated with planning processes and the urban management system. Together these embedded sociocultural roots provide insights into mechanisms maintaining a top-down approach and preventing it from shifting to a more inclusive and child-friendly approach in planning modern Iranian cities.

Migrants face some unique health-care challenges, which often remain unaddressed by the health system. The purpose of this study is to determine health-care access among migrants in Chhattisgarh, from a lens of health equity.

This study was conducted in a government-built tenement under the Integrated Housing and Slum Development program in Bilaspur district of Chhattisgarh state of India. It is a mixed-methods study which used a survey method, focus group discussion, in depth-interviews, semi-structured interviews and non-participant observations of health facilities in the area. Respondents included residents (migrants) and other local stakeholders like the Chief Medical Officer of the district, elected representatives of the local government and frontline health workers. This paper focuses on the findings from the qualitative component of the study.

The move to resettle the people living in the slums to the periphery of the city had a negative impact on their health-care access. They find it difficult to access public health services, given the services are concentrated in the city. Women, elderly people and disabled people grapple with additional challenges in being able to access basic reproductive health services and care for chronic illnesses. Equity in health-care access is linked to various social determinants of health including access to housing and social security. However, the authors found that the migrant community is being deprived of appropriate housing facilities and social security.

This paper explores the health-care access of internal migrants in Chhattisgarh state of India in the larger context of urban development with a focus on health equity.

Project Ireland 2040, announced as ‘one vision for one country’, is the spatial plan for Ireland's development for the coming decades. The plan assigns a particular role to Ireland's cities outside Dublin, including Waterford. This chapter considers the place of Waterford in that national strategy and examines that role as an expression of a neoliberal ‘turn’ in Irish planning. Waterford is, in many senses, as will be shown, unexceptional in modern, Western cities; the chapter therefore in considering Waterford also will illuminate some aspects of the planning of other European cities.