Includes bibliographical references and index.

Foreword by Nick Baker. Preface Part 1 1. Introduction: Architecture of Rapid Change and Scarce Resources 2. Big Games and Small Money 3. Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves: The Story of Cities and Slums Part 2 4. Materials and Technology 5. Learning from Tradition: Sustainable Cities 6. Participatory Design for Scarce Sources and Rapid Change Part 3 7. Culture, Ethics and other Traveling Discomforts 8. Observing and Recording the 'Soft' City Tools and (Cautionary) Tales 9. The Development Activist and New Ways of Working. Appendix. Further Contacts and References.

Architects, development practitioners and designers are working in a global environment and issues such as environmental and cultural sustainability matter more than ever. This book looks at what it means for practitioners to practice architecture on a global scale and provides a blueprint for developing architectural practices. Architects, development practitioners and designers are working in a global environment and issues such as environmental and cultural sustainability matter more than ever. Past interactions and interventions between developed and developing countries have often been unequal and inappropriate. We now need to embrace fresh design practices based on respect for diversity and equality, participation and empowerment. This book explores what it means for development activists to practise architecture on a global scale, and provides a blueprint for developing architectural practices based on reciprocal working methods. The content is based on real situations - through extended field research and contacts with architecture schools and architects, as well as participating NGOs. It demonstrates that the ability to produce appropriate and sustainable design is increasingly relevant, whether in the field of disaster relief, longer-term development or wider urban contexts, both in rich countries and poor countries.