Book “Wars in cities and cities in wars”

01/10/2004

This book is the result of a multidisciplinary study carried out by a young research team. It analyses what happens in urban areas during an emergency and the survival mechanisms of local populations. It also reviews what has been done so far in terms of humanitarian action and reconstruction in conflict and post-crisis situations.

Author(s)

Under the direction of François Grünewald, Editions Karthala, Paris

At a time when demographic forecasts predict that almost two thirds of the world’s population will live in urban areas by 2030, humanitarian actors remain disproportionately focused on rural areas and appear reticent about turning to urban areas. At the same time, post Cold war forms of conflict have meant that urban areas, which symbolise the concentration of wealth and power, have increasingly become battle grounds for political, religious or ethnic factions.

The review is backed up by six case studies from Colombia, Angola, the Gulf of Guinea and Central Asia. These show that it is necessary to look at humanitarian operations in urban areas from a new perspective. This book is aimed principally at humanitarian actors (directors of NGOs, field workers, governmental organisations involved in international development, public and private donors who want to understand humanitarian action).