Env i ronmentampUr banizat ion Vol 13 No 1 Apr i l 2001 7 7

O B S TACLES TO YOUNG PEOPLErsquoS PARTICIPAT ION

Rhetoric real ity and resi l ienceove rcoming obs tac les t oyoung peop le rsquos part ic ipat ion ind ev e lo pm en t

David Driskell Kanchan Bannerjee andLouise Chawla

SUMMARY This paper describes the difficult relationships among those imple-menting an action research project with children in a low-income settlement inBangalore (India) the distant and unresponsive bureaucracy of an internationalfunding agency and the authoritarian management of the NGO through whom itsmoney was channelled This case study highlights the difficulties that internationalagencies face in operationalizing the principles of grassroots participation that theyofficially endorse The action research was one of several projects within theGrowing up in Cities programme It shows the difficult circumstances under whichso many young people live including six and seven-year-olds thrust into adult rolesand lives cut short by disease and violence But it also shows their astonishingresilience and energy self-reliance and optimism External agencies from localgovernments and NGOs to international funders need to work with children tounderstand what does (and what does not) work for them This means recognizingthat they are important actors in their own communities and that their insightsenergy and creativity should be fostered and supported rather than ignored

I INTRODUCTION

IN HIS MILLENNIUM report We the Peoples Kofi Annan describes avillage of 1000 inhabitants who represent the characteristics of ourcontemporary ldquoglobal villagerdquo in exactly the same proportions(1) Of the1000 residents 780 live in low income areas and 390 are less than 20 yearsold Of these young people three-quarters live in the low-income neigh-bourhoods To extend this comparison imagine that half the residents areurban and the proportion living in urban areas is growing steadily Thisarticle describes one such urban community ndash a self-built settlement calledSathyanagar on the periphery of Bangalore South India ndash from the eyesof the children who live there It also recounts a partially realized attemptto create a model project for participatory community development forall ages including the children In their poverty and their place in thedeveloping world these children of Sathyanagar represent an increasingproportion of the young people of our worldrsquos global village

We refer to our work with the children of Sathyanagar as a ldquopartiallyrealized attempt to create a model projectrdquo because the generous humanand financial resources and supportive international network with whichthe project began turned out to be of little avail in the face of all-too-common hurdles to authentic and inclusive community participation The

Kanchan Bannerjee andDavid Driskell co-directedthe Growing Up in Citiesproject in SathyanagarKanchan Bannerjee a sociol-ogist is currently managingtrustee of Jyoshika a Banga-lore-based NGO whichworks with the governmentto promote educationalopportunities for children inlow-income areas DavidDriskell an urban planner isnow a partner in Baird ampDriskell Community Plan-ning in the San Francisco BayArea but returns regularly toIndia Louise Chawla adevelopmental and environ-mental psychologist is theprojectrsquos international coordi-nator and a professor in thehonors programme atKentucky State UniversityParts of this article are takenfrom Bannerjee K and DDriskell (in press) ldquoTalesfrom truth town childrenrsquoslives in a South Indianlsquoslumrsquordquo in Chawla L (editor)Growing Up in an UrbanizingWorld Earthscan Publica-tions London

AddressesDavid Driskell Baird ampDriskell Community Plan-ning 129 Lake Avenue Pied-mont CA 94611 USA E-maildriskellpoboxcom

Kanchan Bannerjee 312Chitrapur Apartments 15Cross Malleswaram Banga-lore 560055 India E-mailmkbannersatyamnetin

Louise Chawla WhitneyYoung College KentuckyState University FrankfortKY 40601 USA E-mailchawla393aolcom

article begins by presenting briefly the principles that underlay theproject the project itself and the view of Sathyanagar that was shared byits children It then relates how this initiative was thwarted by the distantand indifferent bureaucracy of a development agency and the authori-tarian management of a non-governmental organization with an empha-sis on the lessons that can be learned from this experience in order tocreate alternative practices that will more effectively support genuineparticipation by children and other age groups It is imperative to learnthese lessons because the stories of Sathyanagar rsquos young people speak notonly of economic hardships and environmental hazards but also ofenergy self-reliance and optimism cultural traditions and pride inven-tiveness and resilience It is only by understanding and building upon thisrich human and cultural capital that the dynamics of successful develop-ment can be fostered

II CHILDRENrsquoS PARTICIPATION IN COMMUNITYDEVELOPM EN T

ldquoPARTICIPATIONrdquo HAS BEEN widely advocated in the field of interna-tional development since the 1960s By the 1970s however someobservers had already noted that the term meant different things to differ-ent people(2) To some peoplersquos involvement in development processesrepresents a way of making them more receptive to the predeterminedpolicies of authorities To others (including the authors) it represents aform of individual and collective self-realization that engages people insignificant decision-making that ultimately challenges existing structuresof authority and involves genuine transfers of power

What is new to this discussion is the increasing number of people whonow advocate the inclusion of children in development decision-makingespecially since the United Nationsrsquo adoption of the Convention on theRights of the Child in 1989(3) According to the Convention children havea right to a voice in decisions that affect their lives and the guidelines forthe implementation of the Convention specifically note that this rightextends to decisions relating to their living environment(4) Building onthese principles Agenda 21 from the 1992 United Nations Conference onEnvironment and Development (also called the Earth Summit) and theHabitat Agenda from the 1996 Second United Nations Conference onHuman Settlements (also called the Cities Summit) identify children andyouth as major groups who need to be involved in the protection of theenvironment and the creation of sustainable settlements

In the words of the preamble to the Habitat Agenda ldquoSpecial attentionneeds to be paid to participatory processes dealing with the shaping ofcities towns and neighbourhoods this is in order to secure the livingconditions of children and youth and to make use of their insight creativ-ity and thoughts on the environmentrdquo (5) The literature on childrenrsquosparticipation recognizes that children are the best experts on many aspectsof their life quality and that they will most effectively learn how to playan active and responsible role in democratic society if they have oppor-tunities to develop and apply their own ideas in supportive communitysettings(6) In addition it is often observed that cities that are more just andequitable for children are more liveable places for all ages(7)

Based on these principles Growing Up in Cities a programme ofparticipatory action research with children and youth that was originally

7 8 Env i ronmentampUr banizat ion Vol 13 No 1 Apri l 2001

O B STACLES TO YOUNG PEOPLErsquoS PARTICIPAT ION

1 Annan K (2000) We thePeoples The Role of theUnited Nations in the 21stCentury United NationsNew York Section II Dpages 52-54

2 Pearse A and M Stiefel(editors) (1979) Enquiry intoParticipation UnitedNations Research Institutefor Social Development(UNRISD) Geneva

3 See in particular Article12 and related provisions inArticles 13 through 15 inthe Convention on theRights of the Child FirstCall for Children UNICEFNew York pages 41-75

4 Hodgkin R and P Newell(1998) ImplementationHandbook on the Conventionon the Rights of the ChildUNICEF New York

5 UNCHS (United NationsCentre for HumanSettlements) (1997) TheHabitat Agenda UNCHSNairobi paragraph 13

6 Hart R (1997) ChildrenrsquosParticipation EarthscanPublications London

7 Bartlett S R Hart DSatterthwaite X de la Barraand A Missair (1999) Citiesfor Children EarthscanPublications London

initiated in the 1970s was revived in 1995 and introduced in low-incomecommunities around the world including Sathyanagar (8) Supported bythe MOST programme of UNESCO and a variety of international andnational agencies the project seeks to understand childrenrsquos own perspec-tives on the places where they live their concerns relating to the urbanenvironment and their proposals for change It then uses these insights asthe foundation for actual improvements in the environment as well asoccasions for public education and more responsive policy-making relat-ing to urban issues for children

With these goals Growing Up in Cities was introduced in Sathyana-gar in 1997 It was intended to be the first phase of a pilot project thatwould demonstrate how to incorporate all segments of the populationincluding children and youth as well as women and men in a participa-tory process that would culminate in a community action plan for improv-ing the local area The plan would be designed to identify and coordinateactions that residents could implement themselves over the coming yearsas well as actions that could be taken by local authorities or supported bydevelopment aid agencies

As they are currently allocated development funds that are targeted tochildren and youth almost exclusively address goals that adults have prede-termined to be in the best interests of children such as education vaccina-tions and pre-natal care Essential as these goals are they fai l toaccommodate the ldquoparticipation clausesrdquo of the Convention on the Rightsof the Child or the related agreements of Agenda 21 and the HabitatAgenda for they fail to acknowledge that children are also important actorsin their communities with insight energy and creativity to contributeTherefore ldquoGrowing Up in Sathyanagarrdquo sought to demonstrate howyoung people could be integrated into a comprehensive process of commu-nity development

I II GROWING UP IN SAT H YA N A G A R

SATHYANAGAR WAS CHOSEN as a project site because in many waysit is representative of countless urban areas of poverty and official neglectin the South It was believed therefore that the lessons learned therecould be widely applied As this article will relate the experience inSathyanagar proved representative of the barriers that low-incomecommunities face in more ways than were ever anticipated At the sametime Sathyanagar is typical in the paradoxical sense that it is special itdramatizes the point that priorities for local development need to bedefined according to the specific resources and problems of each commu-nity which means that inclusive participation in development planning isessential This section therefore presents the special combination of char-acteristics that formed the identity of Sathyanagar in the eyes of its chil-dren

The Growing Up in Cities project in Sathyanagar worked with 38 chil-dren (18 girls and 20 boys) aged ten through 14 The children representeda cross-section of the communityrsquos linguistic and religious groups as wellas the option of attending a state-subsidized school or a non-formal schooloperated by a local NGO (non-governmental organization) Four childrenin the sample had dropped out of school to work full time As at otherproject locations the research phase with the children involved formaland informal observations one-on-one interviews childrenrsquos drawings

Envi ronmentampU rbanizat ion Vol 13 No 1 Apri l 2001 7 9

O B S TACLES TO YOUNG PEOPLErsquoS PARTICIPAT ION

8 ldquoGrowing Up in Citiesrdquowas first conceived by theurban planner Kevin Lynchin collaboration withUNESCO See Lynch K(editor) (1977) Growing Upin Cities MIT PressCambridge MA For areview of the project revivalin collaboration with theMOST Programme ofUNESCO see Chawla L(editor) (in press) GrowingUp in an Urbanizing WorldEarthscan PublicationsLondon An updatedproject description isavailable atwwwunescoorgmostgrowinghtm

ldquoThis is the fi rstt i m e s o m e o n e h a sa s k e d m e w h a t Il ike and disl ikerdquo ndashSumithra (g i rl ) a g e 1 2

article begins by presenting briefly the principles that underlay theproject the project itself and the view of Sathyanagar that was shared byits children It then relates how this initiative was thwarted by the distantand indifferent bureaucracy of a development agency and the authori-tarian management of a non-governmental organization with an empha-sis on the lessons that can be learned from this experience in order tocreate alternative practices that will more effectively support genuineparticipation by children and other age groups It is imperative to learnthese lessons because the stories of Sathyanagar rsquos young people speak notonly of economic hardships and environmental hazards but also ofenergy self-reliance and optimism cultural traditions and pride inven-tiveness and resilience It is only by understanding and building upon thisrich human and cultural capital that the dynamics of successful develop-ment can be fostered

II CHILDRENrsquoS PARTICIPATION IN COMMUNITYDEVELOPM EN T

ldquoPARTICIPATIONrdquo HAS BEEN widely advocated in the field of interna-tional development since the 1960s By the 1970s however someobservers had already noted that the term meant different things to differ-ent people(2) To some peoplersquos involvement in development processesrepresents a way of making them more receptive to the predeterminedpolicies of authorities To others (including the authors) it represents aform of individual and collective self-realization that engages people insignificant decision-making that ultimately challenges existing structuresof authority and involves genuine transfers of power

What is new to this discussion is the increasing number of people whonow advocate the inclusion of children in development decision-makingespecially since the United Nationsrsquo adoption of the Convention on theRights of the Child in 1989(3) According to the Convention children havea right to a voice in decisions that affect their lives and the guidelines forthe implementation of the Convention specifically note that this rightextends to decisions relating to their living environment(4) Building onthese principles Agenda 21 from the 1992 United Nations Conference onEnvironment and Development (also called the Earth Summit) and theHabitat Agenda from the 1996 Second United Nations Conference onHuman Settlements (also called the Cities Summit) identify children andyouth as major groups who need to be involved in the protection of theenvironment and the creation of sustainable settlements

In the words of the preamble to the Habitat Agenda ldquoSpecial attentionneeds to be paid to participatory processes dealing with the shaping ofcities towns and neighbourhoods this is in order to secure the livingconditions of children and youth and to make use of their insight creativ-ity and thoughts on the environmentrdquo (5) The literature on childrenrsquosparticipation recognizes that children are the best experts on many aspectsof their life quality and that they will most effectively learn how to playan active and responsible role in democratic society if they have oppor-tunities to develop and apply their own ideas in supportive communitysettings(6) In addition it is often observed that cities that are more just andequitable for children are more liveable places for all ages(7)

Based on these principles Growing Up in Cities a programme ofparticipatory action research with children and youth that was originally

7 8 Env i ronmentampUr banizat ion Vol 13 No 1 Apri l 2001

O B STACLES TO YOUNG PEOPLErsquoS PARTICIPAT ION

1 Annan K (2000) We thePeoples The Role of theUnited Nations in the 21stCentury United NationsNew York Section II Dpages 52-54

2 Pearse A and M Stiefel(editors) (1979) Enquiry intoParticipation UnitedNations Research Institutefor Social Development(UNRISD) Geneva

3 See in particular Article12 and related provisions inArticles 13 through 15 inthe Convention on theRights of the Child FirstCall for Children UNICEFNew York pages 41-75

4 Hodgkin R and P Newell(1998) ImplementationHandbook on the Conventionon the Rights of the ChildUNICEF New York

5 UNCHS (United NationsCentre for HumanSettlements) (1997) TheHabitat Agenda UNCHSNairobi paragraph 13

6 Hart R (1997) ChildrenrsquosParticipation EarthscanPublications London

7 Bartlett S R Hart DSatterthwaite X de la Barraand A Missair (1999) Citiesfor Children EarthscanPublications London

initiated in the 1970s was revived in 1995 and introduced in low-incomecommunities around the world including Sathyanagar (8) Supported bythe MOST programme of UNESCO and a variety of international andnational agencies the project seeks to understand childrenrsquos own perspec-tives on the places where they live their concerns relating to the urbanenvironment and their proposals for change It then uses these insights asthe foundation for actual improvements in the environment as well asoccasions for public education and more responsive policy-making relat-ing to urban issues for children

With these goals Growing Up in Cities was introduced in Sathyana-gar in 1997 It was intended to be the first phase of a pilot project thatwould demonstrate how to incorporate all segments of the populationincluding children and youth as well as women and men in a participa-tory process that would culminate in a community action plan for improv-ing the local area The plan would be designed to identify and coordinateactions that residents could implement themselves over the coming yearsas well as actions that could be taken by local authorities or supported bydevelopment aid agencies

As they are currently allocated development funds that are targeted tochildren and youth almost exclusively address goals that adults have prede-termined to be in the best interests of children such as education vaccina-tions and pre-natal care Essential as these goals are they fai l toaccommodate the ldquoparticipation clausesrdquo of the Convention on the Rightsof the Child or the related agreements of Agenda 21 and the HabitatAgenda for they fail to acknowledge that children are also important actorsin their communities with insight energy and creativity to contributeTherefore ldquoGrowing Up in Sathyanagarrdquo sought to demonstrate howyoung people could be integrated into a comprehensive process of commu-nity development

I II GROWING UP IN SAT H YA N A G A R

SATHYANAGAR WAS CHOSEN as a project site because in many waysit is representative of countless urban areas of poverty and official neglectin the South It was believed therefore that the lessons learned therecould be widely applied As this article will relate the experience inSathyanagar proved representative of the barriers that low-incomecommunities face in more ways than were ever anticipated At the sametime Sathyanagar is typical in the paradoxical sense that it is special itdramatizes the point that priorities for local development need to bedefined according to the specific resources and problems of each commu-nity which means that inclusive participation in development planning isessential This section therefore presents the special combination of char-acteristics that formed the identity of Sathyanagar in the eyes of its chil-dren

The Growing Up in Cities project in Sathyanagar worked with 38 chil-dren (18 girls and 20 boys) aged ten through 14 The children representeda cross-section of the communityrsquos linguistic and religious groups as wellas the option of attending a state-subsidized school or a non-formal schooloperated by a local NGO (non-governmental organization) Four childrenin the sample had dropped out of school to work full time As at otherproject locations the research phase with the children involved formaland informal observations one-on-one interviews childrenrsquos drawings

Envi ronmentampU rbanizat ion Vol 13 No 1 Apri l 2001 7 9

O B S TACLES TO YOUNG PEOPLErsquoS PARTICIPAT ION

8 ldquoGrowing Up in Citiesrdquowas first conceived by theurban planner Kevin Lynchin collaboration withUNESCO See Lynch K(editor) (1977) Growing Upin Cities MIT PressCambridge MA For areview of the project revivalin collaboration with theMOST Programme ofUNESCO see Chawla L(editor) (in press) GrowingUp in an Urbanizing WorldEarthscan PublicationsLondon An updatedproject description isavailable atwwwunescoorgmostgrowinghtm

ldquoThis is the fi rstt i m e s o m e o n e h a sa s k e d m e w h a t Il ike and disl ikerdquo ndashSumithra (g i rl ) a g e 1 2

initiated in the 1970s was revived in 1995 and introduced in low-incomecommunities around the world including Sathyanagar (8) Supported bythe MOST programme of UNESCO and a variety of international andnational agencies the project seeks to understand childrenrsquos own perspec-tives on the places where they live their concerns relating to the urbanenvironment and their proposals for change It then uses these insights asthe foundation for actual improvements in the environment as well asoccasions for public education and more responsive policy-making relat-ing to urban issues for children

With these goals Growing Up in Cities was introduced in Sathyana-gar in 1997 It was intended to be the first phase of a pilot project thatwould demonstrate how to incorporate all segments of the populationincluding children and youth as well as women and men in a participa-tory process that would culminate in a community action plan for improv-ing the local area The plan would be designed to identify and coordinateactions that residents could implement themselves over the coming yearsas well as actions that could be taken by local authorities or supported bydevelopment aid agencies

As they are currently allocated development funds that are targeted tochildren and youth almost exclusively address goals that adults have prede-termined to be in the best interests of children such as education vaccina-tions and pre-natal care Essential as these goals are they fai l toaccommodate the ldquoparticipation clausesrdquo of the Convention on the Rightsof the Child or the related agreements of Agenda 21 and the HabitatAgenda for they fail to acknowledge that children are also important actorsin their communities with insight energy and creativity to contributeTherefore ldquoGrowing Up in Sathyanagarrdquo sought to demonstrate howyoung people could be integrated into a comprehensive process of commu-nity development

I II GROWING UP IN SAT H YA N A G A R

SATHYANAGAR WAS CHOSEN as a project site because in many waysit is representative of countless urban areas of poverty and official neglectin the South It was believed therefore that the lessons learned therecould be widely applied As this article will relate the experience inSathyanagar proved representative of the barriers that low-incomecommunities face in more ways than were ever anticipated At the sametime Sathyanagar is typical in the paradoxical sense that it is special itdramatizes the point that priorities for local development need to bedefined according to the specific resources and problems of each commu-nity which means that inclusive participation in development planning isessential This section therefore presents the special combination of char-acteristics that formed the identity of Sathyanagar in the eyes of its chil-dren

The Growing Up in Cities project in Sathyanagar worked with 38 chil-dren (18 girls and 20 boys) aged ten through 14 The children representeda cross-section of the communityrsquos linguistic and religious groups as wellas the option of attending a state-subsidized school or a non-formal schooloperated by a local NGO (non-governmental organization) Four childrenin the sample had dropped out of school to work full time As at otherproject locations the research phase with the children involved formaland informal observations one-on-one interviews childrenrsquos drawings

Envi ronmentampU rbanizat ion Vol 13 No 1 Apri l 2001 7 9

O B S TACLES TO YOUNG PEOPLErsquoS PARTICIPAT ION

8 ldquoGrowing Up in Citiesrdquowas first conceived by theurban planner Kevin Lynchin collaboration withUNESCO See Lynch K(editor) (1977) Growing Upin Cities MIT PressCambridge MA For areview of the project revivalin collaboration with theMOST Programme ofUNESCO see Chawla L(editor) (in press) GrowingUp in an Urbanizing WorldEarthscan PublicationsLondon An updatedproject description isavailable atwwwunescoorgmostgrowinghtm

ldquoThis is the fi rstt i m e s o m e o n e h a sa s k e d m e w h a t Il ike and disl ikerdquo ndashSumithra (g i rl ) a g e 1 2

of their local area child-led walking tours and photographs taken by chil-dren A community survey and mapping of the site were also carried outas well as interviews with parents and local officials who were responsi-ble for providing basic services to the community(9)

Project work was largely undertaken by a team of young researchersin their twenties trained and managed by the first two authors under theauspices of a non-governmental organization the Centre for EnvironmentEducation (CEE) Students in environmental science at a local college werealso invited to participate in the initial training activities and severalbecame actively involved in the research The project also involved stafffrom two other NGOs DEEDS (Development Education Society) whichoperates informal school and job training activities in Sathyanagar andTIDE (Technology Informatics Design Endeavour) which carried out acommunity survey and preliminary mapping of the site as part of theproject activities The Norwegian aid agency NORAD provided fundingfor the project

Because this article focuses on development policy it will only brieflydescribe the research results (10) In summary the stories shared bySathyanagar rsquos young people spoke of young people living under difficultcircumstances of six and seven-year-olds thrust into adult roles of hoursspent each day in household chores such as fetching potable water ofchildren exposed to open sewer drains in their daily play of peoplersquos livescut short by disease and violence of social and political injustice Yet theyalso spoke of young people with an astonishing degree of resilience Inmany cases the children of Sathyanagar could be described as confidentconnected and happy ndash words seldom used to describe young people inmany other Growing Up in Cities sites that enjoyed much higher relativelevels of well-being

This paradox of children leading culturally and emotionally rich liveswithin the context of a poor and environmentally degraded place is not anaiumlve story about poor people content with their low station in life Such

8 0 Env i ro nmentampU r baniza t ion Vol 13 No 1 Apri l 2001

O B STACLES TO YOUNG PEOPLErsquoS PARTICIPAT ION

9 The project methods aredetailed in Driskell D (inpress) Creating Better Citieswith Children and YouthEarthscan PublicationsLondon

10 For an extensive reportof the results of ldquoGrowingUp in Citiesrdquo inSathyanagar see BannerjeeK and D Driskell (in press)ldquoTales from truth townchildrenrsquos lives in a SouthIndian lsquoslumrsquordquo in Chawlasee reference 8

A 12-year old girl from Sathyanagar talks about what she likes and does not like aboutthe area where she lives in an interview that was conducted as part of the Growing Upin Cities project Photo D Driskell

ldquoT h e g u t t e r s a r edir t y an d t he re isn o f l o w o f s e w a g eand so i t st inksrdquo ndashMu ra l i K u m a r(boy ) ag e 1 1

Env ironmentampU rbanizat ion Vol 13 No 1 Apri l 2001 8 1

O B S TACLES TO YOUNG PEOPLErsquoS PARTICIPAT ION

an interpretation would serve only the interests of those who wish toretain the inequities of the status quo The larger context of these obser-vations was official neglect broken promises wasted resources andsquandered opportunities which cast an unflattering light not only oninefficient ineffective and sometimes inept or corrupt bureaucracies andpoliticians but also on misguided development agencies and misman-aged non-governmental groups The story of Sathyanagar is about youngpeople making their way in the world as best they could in spite of thefailure of the official adult world to meet their basic needs In doing sothey were fortunate to live in a community that possessed a number ofadvantages some apparent and some perhaps invisible to the eyes of itsadults

Sathyanagar first took shape more than 30 years ago when ruralmigrants from Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu staked a claim to thisland on the north-east periphery of Bangalore organized themselves as aregistered cooperative and convinced a sympathetic politician to grantthem tenure They also organized a clear street pattern and divided theland into 60 by 40 foot and 30 by 40 foot parcels Sathyanagar thus beganwith two key advantages that are often not available to self-built settle-ments namely secure land tenure and an organized pattern of develop-ment(11)

The children of Sathyanagar also had the advantage of being part of agenerally cohesive culture steeped in tradition myth and ritual that gavethem a strong sense of identity They knew who they were and had astrong sense of belonging due in part to their extended family networksstrong ties of kinship and a vibrant social and cultural context in whichinteraction with community members of all ages was an integral part ofdaily life Religion with its symbols and rituals also played an importantrole in community life as did diversity based upon language and place oforigin At the time of the project fieldwork in 1997 90 per cent of the 3200inhabitants of Sathyanagar were Hindu with the remainder dividedamong Christians (7 per cent) and Muslims (3 per cent) Eighty-five percent spoke Tamil 10 per cent spoke Telegu and the remainder Urdu orKannada Although the children were aware of their different religiousaffiliations languages and places of origin they made little or no distinc-tion in their play activities and their friendships

Situated on the periphery of the booming city of Bangalore Sathyana-gar had the appearance and feel of a village At the time of the fieldworkthe primary approach was a dusty pot-holed lane that turned off from theheavily traffic-laden shop-lined Banaswadi main road As one progressedalong the lane the chaotic atmosphere of the main road receded and aquieter less intense atmosphere emerged The street became the domainof pedestrians bicycles and pushcarts with only the occasional auto-rick-shaw car or small truck interrupting the flow of activities

Whereas the settlement was originally made up of mud-built homeswith thatched roofs over time many of these structures had been replacedby cinder block construction with corrugated asbestos roofs Somedwellings had added second storeys showing ongoing cumulativeprocesses of home improvement A number of small shops and smallindustries operated from the ground floor of homes or adjacent structuresThe settlementrsquos location next to a dry lake bed a military establishmenta railway line an industrial storage area and an abandoned and over-grown tank (water reservoir) also meant that there was a range of nearbyopen spaces and natural areas

11 Another ldquoGrowing Upin Citiesrdquo site demonstratedthe contrasting effects ofinsecure tenure onchildrenrsquos lives See SwartKruger J (in press)ldquoChildren in a SouthAfrican squatter camp gainand lose a voicerdquo inChawla see reference 8

ldquo At h o m e t h e ys cold me i f I p layT h e y s a y I a m to og r o w n -u p f o r th a t So I run of f t o m ya u n t rsquos p l a c e hellipt h e r e s h e d o e snot mindrdquo ndashGhousiya (g i r l ) a g e 1 4

Although the environment was degraded by water pollution and inad-equate sanitation and drainage it contained a variety of spaces where thechildren could gather to play or to participate in community activitiesThere was a clear sense of community boundaries and a strong feeling ofsafety within the settlement itself so that children felt free to move aboutwithin it A glade of trees and a small meadow in a ravine beside the aban-doned railroad tracks as well as the water and plants along the tankrsquosedge provided pockets of natural areas that were special places to manychildren especially boys Such a mosaic of accessible public and semi-public places has been identified as being critical to healthy child devel-opment(12)

Although Sathyanagar may have been poor in financial capital in theeyes of the project children it was rich in social and cultural capital Despitemany chores and school responsibilities the children took advantage ofevery spare moment to play and they were rarely at a loss for friends orideas Despite their material lack of play equipment they were foundengaged in all manner of activities playing tag rolling an old tire with astick drawing in the dirt exploring an adjacent area playing gilli dandu (apopular game played with two sticks) or even building a makeshiftldquotemplerdquo complete with an idol and a ceremonial pooja (worship service)Two large flat open spaces on the periphery of the settlement were the sitefor Sunday afternoon cricket tournaments pitting teams from Sathyanagaragainst teams from adjacent settlements During the several-month processof conducting the research activities not a single child in Sathyanagar wasever heard to utter the phrase ldquoIrsquom boredrdquo

The children were keenly aware of the environmental problems anddrawbacks of their local area yet with few exceptions their attitudesabout the future were largely positive Most children saw the communityas having improved throughout their childhood years and on a path tofurther improvement When they were asked where they would like tolive when they grew up nearly all of the children who were intervieweddid not hesitate in answering ldquoSathyanagarrdquo

8 2 Env i ro nmentampU r baniza t ion Vol 13 No 1 Apri l 2001

O B STACLES TO YOUNG PEOPLErsquoS PARTICIPAT ION

12 For a discussion of theimportance of similarspaces in the Buenos Aireslocation of ldquoGrowing Up inCitiesrdquo see Cosco N and RMoore (in press) ldquoOurneighborhood is like thatCultural richness andchildhood identity in Boca-Barracas Buenos Airesrdquo inChawla see reference 8 Seealso ldquoNeighbourhoods forchildrenrdquo in Bartlett S et al(1999) see reference 7

The self-built settlement of Sathyanagar has the appearance and feel of a villagealthough that is quickly changing as the Bangalore area continues its rapid expansionand ongoing urbanizationPhoto D Driskell

ldquoTh e re a r e h id in gp l a c e s h e re t opl a y h id e - a n d -se ekrdquo ndash Raj u (bo y)a g e 1 0

ldquoI love playingcr i ck et hellip OnS u n d a y s w e h a v eal l the t ime topl a y hellip we ha v em a t c h e s w i t hoth e r t ea m s rdquo ndashEluma la i (boy) a g e 1 3

IV MISSED OPPORTUNITIES

GROWING UP IN Cities follows the premise that it is critical to under-stand community strengths from a childrsquos point of view as well as prob-lems Otherwise well-intended development projects may destroy fragilebut precious resources while addressing problems which may not bepriorities for change from residentsrsquo own perspectives As the precedingsummary of project fieldwork reveals Sathyanagar emerged as a placewith severe problems but with many resources to build upon as well

This premise and the corresponding need to incorporate children intodevelopment planning was officially endorsed by NORAD the Norwe-gian aid agency and CEE the NGO that managed the Growing Up inCities process in Sathyanagar In retrospect there were warning signsfrom the beginning that these organizations did not have the operatingpractices necessary to provide the support for grassroots participation thatthey had promised

With the encouragement of NORAD-India and the programme coor-dinator at CEE (a woman who was based in Delhi at that time) the activ-ities originally envisioned for Growing Up in Cities-Sathyanagar and theaccompanying budget were considerably expanded This was due to alack of interest in supporting research activities rather than tangible meas-urable outcomes as well as the desire to fund a small number of largeprojects rather than a large number of small projects The final proposalsubmitted to NORAD-India outlined a year-long schedule of activitiesthat would include participatory evaluation of the local area a commu-nity-wide social survey development of a geographic information systempreparation of a community action plan and a variety of public informa-tion and education materials

Previously NORAD had supported the construction of a toilet complexin Sathyanagar and a number of other CEE initiatives under the manage-ment of the same CEE programme coordinator who was assigned tooversee Growing Up in Cities On the very first day of interviews withchildren at the site several of the children pointed out that the toiletcomplex had been built on what had previously been their favourite playspace This information came as a surprise to several members of the

Env ironmentampU rbanizat ion Vol 13 No 1 Apri l 2001 8 3

O B S TACLES TO YOUNG PEOPLErsquoS PARTICIPAT ION

Sathyanagar is bounded by a dry lake bed a military establishment a railway line anindustrial storage area and an abandoned and overgrown tank or water reservoirproviding a range of nearby open spaces and natural areas Map N Kudva

ldquo In the futu reS a th y a na g a r w i l lh a v e a t a p b e s i d ee a c h h o u s e a n dt a r re d r oa d s hellip I tw i l l be s o go o dth ey w i l l wr i tea b ou t us in t hen e w s p a p e r s rdquo ndashGousiya (g i rl ) a g e 1 4

project team since the CEE programme coordinator had previously statedthat the toilet project had been undertaken with extensive communityparticipation including the participation of children This and severalother incidents made it clear that the claims and reality of previous partic-ipation efforts were two different things

Other warning signs were apparent in the way in which the localproject staff was being managed by the Delhi-based programme coordi-nator especially the way in which unilateral decisions were made basedon incomplete and often inaccurate information Staff in the Bangaloreoffice never seemed to be completely aware of who was supposed to beworking on which project or even the basic status of the officersquos variousprojects In fact statements by the programme coordinator indicated thatthe initial proposal for Growing Up in Cities had been significantly modi-fied at the insistence of NORAD Yet repeated requests by the localGrowing Up in Cities directors to see a copy of the revised proposal andits staff plan schedule and activities were left unanswered

The unpredictable nature of programme management was exacerbatedby the way in which many of the local staff were treated Staff were repeat-edly told that their efforts were inadequate or unacceptable In severalsituations staff members were threatened with having their jobs termi-nated or even had letters sent home to their parents complaining abouttheir performance For the young largely lower-income staff membersand their families these incidents were extremely upsetting Rarely ifever were staff contributions and successes noted or rewarded

As the months of project work progressed the situation between theprogramme coordinator in Delhi and the local management team becameincreasingly strained Misunderstandings grew despite lengthy letters toDelhi explaining what was happening locally in Bangalore and in relationto the international Growing Up in Cities efforts These misunderstand-ings came to a head when the programme coordinator complained thatshe and CEE were not being properly acknowledged by the internationalproject (despite repeated explanations that the ldquointernational projectrdquo wasa grassroots network of individuals and organizations like CEE who werecommitted to childrenrsquos participation not a large central organizationwith resources at its disposal) She abruptly decided to halt all work on theproject and to withdraw CEE support All project files ndash including theresults of the door-to-door community survey and mapping work ndash wereto be locked in the CEE offices

Although this decision was upsetting and frustrating the responsesfrom local staff members were rewarding in their own way Althoughseveral of them relied on their income from CEE and did not want to jeop-ardize their employment they had also developed a strong commitmentto the project and to the young people of Sathyanagar On their own initia-tive they decided to continue working on the project in their own timein the evenings and at weekends and this allowed the completion of theactivities which represented the research portion of the Growing Up inCities programme In addition because the project had worked closelywith a second NGO DEEDS it was possible to implement at least oneresponse to the issues raised by Sathyanagar rsquos young people namely theneed for a quiet place to study as well as a place for job-training In 1998a study centre was constructed by DEEDS with the participation ofSathyanagar rsquos young people and with funding provided by Norwegianchildren through the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporationrsquos ldquoChildrenrsquosHourrdquo programme

8 4 Env i ro nmentampU r baniza t ion Vol 13 No 1 Apri l 2001

O B STACLES TO YOUNG PEOPLErsquoS PARTICIPAT ION

Unfortunately the same quality of response was not forthcoming fromeither CEErsquos national offices or NORADrsquos offices in Delhi or Oslo Despitefaxes phone calls and letters both organizations only said that theywould look into the matter No subsequent correspondence was everreceived

Both NORAD and CEE have earned reputations as well-intentionedorganizations with many good achievements to their credit The point ofthis story is not to single them out for blame The fact that even such well-reputed organizations failed to support this local participatory initiativeillustrates the extent of the barriers to translating the rhetoric of partici-pation into actual practice When the practice of international develop-ment so glaringly failed to support this initiative despite the quality ofthe organizations involved and the international connections of the pilotproject it raises significant questions about the possibility of success forgenuine community-based planning The fact that a single programmecoordinator was able to undermine the efforts of an entire project team ndashwith no recourse for addressing the issue at the local national or interna-tional level ndash illustrates the obstacles faced by young people and disen-franchised communities when it comes to the realization of their rightsincluding their right to define their own development priorities It alsoraises fundamental issues of NGO ethics and accountability Who isresponsible for ensuring that an NGO is actually working in a commu-nityrsquos best interests Without an effective institutional framework topromote ethics and accountability there is a very real risk that NGOs canundermine legitimate community interests leaving local residentswithout any established mechanism ndash such as an election ndash through whichthey can change the situation

V LESSONS FOR PLANNERS ANDDEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONS

THE STORIES SHARED by Sathyanagar rsquos young people speak to the real-ities of their lives and the place where they live whereas the experienceof working with them and with the various organizations and actors thataffect their lives has shed light on some of the realities of the developmentprocess and the challenges of participation Although the results of theGrowing Up in Cities project in Sathyanagar are based on interactionswith a small group of young people in a single place and time they never-theless provide insights and lessons that are worthy of consideration andapplication in other contexts

Sathyanagar fits the pattern of ldquoparadoxical povertyrdquo that has beenfound in other low income areas that are poor in material terms but richin other critical resources in the eyes of their children(13) The optimisticway in which the children of Sathyanagar presented their community leftus searching for clues as to how they could be so apparently confidentself-aware and resilient in an environment that was so demanding andat times threatening Table 1 presents a summary of what emerged assome of the key factors that supported young peoplersquos well-being inSathyanagar

Given Sathyanagar rsquos social cultural and environmental resources it istempting to think about what might have been achieved through thecomprehensive process of community-based planning that had beenproposed originally which would have built upon existing strengths and

Env ironmentampU rbanizat ion Vol 13 No 1 Apri l 2001 8 5

O B S TACLES TO YOUNG PEOPLErsquoS PARTICIPAT ION

13 For discussions ofldquoparadoxical povertyrdquo inplaces that are poor inmaterial resources yet richin social cultural or envi-ronmental resources seereference 12 Cosco andMoore (in press) alsoMcKendrick J (1998)ldquoFamilies and family envi-ronments in ManchesterrdquoTransactions of the Manches-ter Statistical Society 1995-1997 pages 1-27

addressed important needs Reflections on what went wrong point to anumber of lessons that may have value for others who are involved inplanning and development processes These lessons are applicablewhether one is working at the local regional national or internationallevels and whether within a governmental non-governmental or multi-lateral setting

Promote participation that is inclusive and meaningful Local resi-dents ndash especially women and children ndash need to be engaged in commu-nity development activities They are the only real ldquoexpertsrdquo on their dailylives and local conditions They should be treated as partners in the devel-opment process rather than as victims in need of help Real solutions

require that residents of all ages have a voice in the planning and deci-sion-making process and a real stake in the long-term development andsustainability of their community Enabling this to happen requires morethan a set of participatory methods It requires an understanding andcommitment to participatory principles from every level of the organiza-tions involved from funding agencies to project staff and residents them-selves

Operate using participatory principles Organizations working topromote participatory forms of development must internalize participa-tory principles and methods in their own operations Espousing partici-patory principles outside the organization and then operating in anauthoritarian manner within the organization will undermine credibilityand will eventually undermine the ability to undertake participatoryprogrammes

8 6 Env i ro nmentampU r baniza t ion Vol 13 No 1 Apri l 2001

O B STACLES TO YOUNG PEOPLErsquoS PARTICIPAT ION

Cul tural Identi ty The local culture ndash steeped in tradition myth and ritual ndash provided children with a strong senseof identity They knew who they were and they had a strong sense of belonging as well as pride

S o c i a l N e t w o rk s Extended families and the close-knit (though sometimes fractious) community gave youngpeople a sense of safety and the ability to move freely throughout the local area It was also evident that parents weredeeply concerned about their childrenrsquos well being and that by and large children felt that they were valued andimportant members of the community

R es po ns i bi l i t i e s Young peoplersquos sense of being valued was strongly reinforced by the expectations andresponsibilities placed upon them both at home and in the community at large

Na tu ra l D i v ers i ty One of the surprises revealed by Sathyanagarrsquos young people was the rich diversity ofnatural areas available in their local area These trees ponds and grassy areas provided a much needed refuge andsupported highly valued play experiences

L o c a t io n a n d L a y o u t Sathyanagarrsquos location on the fringe of the metropolitan area provided access tonatural settings as well as urban amenities and excitement ndash features that young people valued

Ba si c S erv ice s an d Fa c i l i t i es Although Sathyanagarrsquos residents face many hardships there are severalNGOs that are providing basic services and facilities to fill the void in government services especially in educationand job training

L a n d Te n u r e The fact that residents had title to their land undoubtedly had a strong impact on the commu-nityrsquos feelings of ownership security and pride ndash feelings that had been passed on to young residents too

A C u lt u re o f De m o c ra c y India is proud of its status as the worldrsquos largest democracy and imperfect thoughthe system may be people in Sathyanagar assumed that their relationship with government agencies and officialswas not one of ldquoDo we have a right to expect thisrdquobut rather ldquoHow can we best access that which is rightfully oursrdquo

Table 1 Factors that cont ributed to children rsquos wel l-be ing in Sathyanagar

Restructure the criteria and procedures used by funding agenciesAlthough many funding agencies espouse participatory ideals in theirprogramme brochures and publicize participatory practices in theirproject descriptions the reality is that few if any funding agencies operatein a manner that actually supports local participation efforts Mostfunding agencies limit the range of issues or types of projects for whichtheir funds can be used they want to know ahead of time what the projectoutcomes will be they prefer to fund a few big projects rather than numer-ous small ones they prioritize quantitative project-oriented measures ofsuccess over qualitative and process-oriented measures and they estab-lish strict time-lines for the start and finish of each project Funding agen-cies need to commit themselves to long-term investments and solutionsneed to provide greater flexibility for local determination of funding prior-ities need to support small projects need to encourage project phasingand need to value process outcomes as well as product outcomes(14) Themessage that ldquothe ends justify the meansrdquo ndash a message unintentionally yetstrongly advocated by many funding agencies ndash needs to be removedfrom the funding equation

Provide local management and monitoring Participatory projectscannot be managed from a distance When the process is valued as highlyas other project outcomes project management and communication mustbe daily and face-to-face

Cultivate talented reliable staff International and national agenciesneed to cultivate talented reliable staff at the local level since it is herethat the success or failure of participatory programmes will be deter-mined Local level managers and staff need to be considered and valuedas the most important and influential people in the organization with theremainder of the organizational resources available to support them intheir ongoing work efforts Ineffective staff and inappropriate manage-ment should not be tolerated as an unavoidable part of the system

Integrate research and action Throughout the initial fundraisingphase of the project potential funding agencies consistently indicated thatthey had no interest in funding ldquoresearch projectsrdquo While safeguards needto be in place to ensure that research is linked to action and that researchresults are put to good use the almost complete lack of support forresearch-related activities was troubling and perhaps indicative of whyso many development projects fail to achieve their objectives or too oftenresult in more harm than good Research and action are interdependentNeither is viable without the other

Incorporate qualitative as well as quantitative measures of youngpeoplersquos well-being A statistical analysis of quantitative measures of thewell-being of Sathyanagar rsquos young people by itself would certainly nothave yielded the same understanding of their lives as did the participa-tory exploration of their life quality Factoring in qualitative measuresleads to a much richer understanding of young peoplersquos lives and theissues they face and reveals existing resources to be conserved as well asproblems to be addressed Importantly it also leads to far different conclu-sions about what should be done to enhance community quality for chil-dren and youth

Encourage reflection and evaluation and value success in all itsforms Project monitoring and evaluation cannot be achieved through asingle visit by an outside evaluator or even several visits over the courseof a project While an outside perspective can certainly be useful mostevaluation visits tend to be staged events put on by local staff for the

Envi ronmentampU rbanizat ion Vol 13 No 1 Apri l 2001 8 7

O B S TACLES TO YOUNG PEOPLErsquoS PARTICIPAT ION

14 Chawla L (in press)ldquoSpots of time differentways of being in nature inchildhoodrdquo in Kahn P Hand S Kellert (editors)Children and Nature MITPress Cambridge MA

benefit of the visitor Instead reflection and evaluation must be a regularpart of any participatory project and should be conducted in a mannerthat actively involves project staff as well as local residents It requires thatparticipants consider both the strengths and weaknesses of the processand its outcomes recognizing and valuing success while always search-ing for better ways to do things the next time around

Integrate natural settings into the urban environment The story ofSathyanagar reinforces what research on childrenrsquos environments hasrepeatedly shown namely that access to natural settings has an irre-placeable value in childrenrsquos lives(15) Planners and decision makers needto understand the value that these settings have and work to preservethem as part of the urban fabric

Develop partnerships and a broad-based support network A success-ful programme of participatory community development requires theactive involvement of a range of groups and individuals from localgovernment agencies and elected officials to service organizationscommunity groups technical professionals and individual residents TheSathyanagar project was able to move forward (although in a limited way)after its funds were cut off due to the support of local staff and DEEDSThe projectrsquos ability to move forward more fully would have been consid-erably enhanced if the network of support had been broadened at anearlier date to include government departments other NGOs and a coali-tion of funding sources

Although funding was pulled from the Sathyanagar project and thecommunity action plan was never developed and implemented therewere nevertheless a number of positive outcomes from the Growing Up

in Cities initiative Theseinclude the new study centrestaff training and experiencein participatory methods anoticeable shift in staff atti-tudes towards greater respectfor ldquoslumrdquo areas and youngpeoplersquos pleasure and enthu-siasm in thinking about theplace where they live andarticulating their ideas aboutit The research in Sathyana-gar also gave insight into anarea where much too little isknown the experience ofpoverty from childrenrsquosperspectives

Research on resilience inchildren at risk has demon-strated that resilient childrendo not possess unique quali-ties that set them apart fromother children Rather in themidst of adversity they havebeen able to secure importantresources that foster healthyand competent human devel-opment (16) These resources

8 8 Env i ro nmentampU r baniza t ion Vol 13 No 1 Apri l 2001

O B STACLES TO YOUNG PEOPLErsquoS PARTICIPAT ION

15 For further analyses ofconflicts between fundingagency practices andprocesses which actuallysupport beneficiariesrsquo self-determination seeNieuwenhuys O (1997)ldquoSpaces for the children ofthe urban poorrdquoEnvironment andUrbanization Vol 9 No 1pages 233-249 alsoSatterthwaite D et al(1996) The Environment forChildren EarthscanPublications Londonchapter 6

16 Masten A S and J DCoatsworth (1998) ldquoThedevelopment ofcompetence in favourableand unfavourableenvironmentsrdquo AmericanPsychologist Vol 53 No 2pages 205-220

A glade of trees and small meadow in a nearbyhidden ravine provided uncommon access tonature for a settlement such as Sathyanagar andwas highly valued by childrenPhoto S RPrakash

Env ironmentampU rbanizat ion Vol 13 No 1 Apri l 2001 8 1

O B S TACLES TO YOUNG PEOPLErsquoS PARTICIPAT ION

an interpretation would serve only the interests of those who wish toretain the inequities of the status quo The larger context of these obser-vations was official neglect broken promises wasted resources andsquandered opportunities which cast an unflattering light not only oninefficient ineffective and sometimes inept or corrupt bureaucracies andpoliticians but also on misguided development agencies and misman-aged non-governmental groups The story of Sathyanagar is about youngpeople making their way in the world as best they could in spite of thefailure of the official adult world to meet their basic needs In doing sothey were fortunate to live in a community that possessed a number ofadvantages some apparent and some perhaps invisible to the eyes of itsadults

Sathyanagar first took shape more than 30 years ago when ruralmigrants from Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu staked a claim to thisland on the north-east periphery of Bangalore organized themselves as aregistered cooperative and convinced a sympathetic politician to grantthem tenure They also organized a clear street pattern and divided theland into 60 by 40 foot and 30 by 40 foot parcels Sathyanagar thus beganwith two key advantages that are often not available to self-built settle-ments namely secure land tenure and an organized pattern of develop-ment(11)

The children of Sathyanagar also had the advantage of being part of agenerally cohesive culture steeped in tradition myth and ritual that gavethem a strong sense of identity They knew who they were and had astrong sense of belonging due in part to their extended family networksstrong ties of kinship and a vibrant social and cultural context in whichinteraction with community members of all ages was an integral part ofdaily life Religion with its symbols and rituals also played an importantrole in community life as did diversity based upon language and place oforigin At the time of the project fieldwork in 1997 90 per cent of the 3200inhabitants of Sathyanagar were Hindu with the remainder dividedamong Christians (7 per cent) and Muslims (3 per cent) Eighty-five percent spoke Tamil 10 per cent spoke Telegu and the remainder Urdu orKannada Although the children were aware of their different religiousaffiliations languages and places of origin they made little or no distinc-tion in their play activities and their friendships

Situated on the periphery of the booming city of Bangalore Sathyana-gar had the appearance and feel of a village At the time of the fieldworkthe primary approach was a dusty pot-holed lane that turned off from theheavily traffic-laden shop-lined Banaswadi main road As one progressedalong the lane the chaotic atmosphere of the main road receded and aquieter less intense atmosphere emerged The street became the domainof pedestrians bicycles and pushcarts with only the occasional auto-rick-shaw car or small truck interrupting the flow of activities

Whereas the settlement was originally made up of mud-built homeswith thatched roofs over time many of these structures had been replacedby cinder block construction with corrugated asbestos roofs Somedwellings had added second storeys showing ongoing cumulativeprocesses of home improvement A number of small shops and smallindustries operated from the ground floor of homes or adjacent structuresThe settlementrsquos location next to a dry lake bed a military establishmenta railway line an industrial storage area and an abandoned and over-grown tank (water reservoir) also meant that there was a range of nearbyopen spaces and natural areas

11 Another ldquoGrowing Upin Citiesrdquo site demonstratedthe contrasting effects ofinsecure tenure onchildrenrsquos lives See SwartKruger J (in press)ldquoChildren in a SouthAfrican squatter camp gainand lose a voicerdquo inChawla see reference 8

ldquo At h o m e t h e ys cold me i f I p layT h e y s a y I a m to og r o w n -u p f o r th a t So I run of f t o m ya u n t rsquos p l a c e hellipt h e r e s h e d o e snot mindrdquo ndashGhousiya (g i r l ) a g e 1 4

Although the environment was degraded by water pollution and inad-equate sanitation and drainage it contained a variety of spaces where thechildren could gather to play or to participate in community activitiesThere was a clear sense of community boundaries and a strong feeling ofsafety within the settlement itself so that children felt free to move aboutwithin it A glade of trees and a small meadow in a ravine beside the aban-doned railroad tracks as well as the water and plants along the tankrsquosedge provided pockets of natural areas that were special places to manychildren especially boys Such a mosaic of accessible public and semi-public places has been identified as being critical to healthy child devel-opment(12)

Although Sathyanagar may have been poor in financial capital in theeyes of the project children it was rich in social and cultural capital Despitemany chores and school responsibilities the children took advantage ofevery spare moment to play and they were rarely at a loss for friends orideas Despite their material lack of play equipment they were foundengaged in all manner of activities playing tag rolling an old tire with astick drawing in the dirt exploring an adjacent area playing gilli dandu (apopular game played with two sticks) or even building a makeshiftldquotemplerdquo complete with an idol and a ceremonial pooja (worship service)Two large flat open spaces on the periphery of the settlement were the sitefor Sunday afternoon cricket tournaments pitting teams from Sathyanagaragainst teams from adjacent settlements During the several-month processof conducting the research activities not a single child in Sathyanagar wasever heard to utter the phrase ldquoIrsquom boredrdquo

The children were keenly aware of the environmental problems anddrawbacks of their local area yet with few exceptions their attitudesabout the future were largely positive Most children saw the communityas having improved throughout their childhood years and on a path tofurther improvement When they were asked where they would like tolive when they grew up nearly all of the children who were intervieweddid not hesitate in answering ldquoSathyanagarrdquo

8 2 Env i ro nmentampU r baniza t ion Vol 13 No 1 Apri l 2001

O B STACLES TO YOUNG PEOPLErsquoS PARTICIPAT ION

12 For a discussion of theimportance of similarspaces in the Buenos Aireslocation of ldquoGrowing Up inCitiesrdquo see Cosco N and RMoore (in press) ldquoOurneighborhood is like thatCultural richness andchildhood identity in Boca-Barracas Buenos Airesrdquo inChawla see reference 8 Seealso ldquoNeighbourhoods forchildrenrdquo in Bartlett S et al(1999) see reference 7

The self-built settlement of Sathyanagar has the appearance and feel of a villagealthough that is quickly changing as the Bangalore area continues its rapid expansionand ongoing urbanizationPhoto D Driskell

ldquoTh e re a r e h id in gp l a c e s h e re t opl a y h id e - a n d -se ekrdquo ndash Raj u (bo y)a g e 1 0

ldquoI love playingcr i ck et hellip OnS u n d a y s w e h a v eal l the t ime topl a y hellip we ha v em a t c h e s w i t hoth e r t ea m s rdquo ndashEluma la i (boy) a g e 1 3

IV MISSED OPPORTUNITIES

GROWING UP IN Cities follows the premise that it is critical to under-stand community strengths from a childrsquos point of view as well as prob-lems Otherwise well-intended development projects may destroy fragilebut precious resources while addressing problems which may not bepriorities for change from residentsrsquo own perspectives As the precedingsummary of project fieldwork reveals Sathyanagar emerged as a placewith severe problems but with many resources to build upon as well

This premise and the corresponding need to incorporate children intodevelopment planning was officially endorsed by NORAD the Norwe-gian aid agency and CEE the NGO that managed the Growing Up inCities process in Sathyanagar In retrospect there were warning signsfrom the beginning that these organizations did not have the operatingpractices necessary to provide the support for grassroots participation thatthey had promised

With the encouragement of NORAD-India and the programme coor-dinator at CEE (a woman who was based in Delhi at that time) the activ-ities originally envisioned for Growing Up in Cities-Sathyanagar and theaccompanying budget were considerably expanded This was due to alack of interest in supporting research activities rather than tangible meas-urable outcomes as well as the desire to fund a small number of largeprojects rather than a large number of small projects The final proposalsubmitted to NORAD-India outlined a year-long schedule of activitiesthat would include participatory evaluation of the local area a commu-nity-wide social survey development of a geographic information systempreparation of a community action plan and a variety of public informa-tion and education materials

Previously NORAD had supported the construction of a toilet complexin Sathyanagar and a number of other CEE initiatives under the manage-ment of the same CEE programme coordinator who was assigned tooversee Growing Up in Cities On the very first day of interviews withchildren at the site several of the children pointed out that the toiletcomplex had been built on what had previously been their favourite playspace This information came as a surprise to several members of the

Env ironmentampU rbanizat ion Vol 13 No 1 Apri l 2001 8 3

O B S TACLES TO YOUNG PEOPLErsquoS PARTICIPAT ION

Sathyanagar is bounded by a dry lake bed a military establishment a railway line anindustrial storage area and an abandoned and overgrown tank or water reservoirproviding a range of nearby open spaces and natural areas Map N Kudva

ldquo In the futu reS a th y a na g a r w i l lh a v e a t a p b e s i d ee a c h h o u s e a n dt a r re d r oa d s hellip I tw i l l be s o go o dth ey w i l l wr i tea b ou t us in t hen e w s p a p e r s rdquo ndashGousiya (g i rl ) a g e 1 4

project team since the CEE programme coordinator had previously statedthat the toilet project had been undertaken with extensive communityparticipation including the participation of children This and severalother incidents made it clear that the claims and reality of previous partic-ipation efforts were two different things

Other warning signs were apparent in the way in which the localproject staff was being managed by the Delhi-based programme coordi-nator especially the way in which unilateral decisions were made basedon incomplete and often inaccurate information Staff in the Bangaloreoffice never seemed to be completely aware of who was supposed to beworking on which project or even the basic status of the officersquos variousprojects In fact statements by the programme coordinator indicated thatthe initial proposal for Growing Up in Cities had been significantly modi-fied at the insistence of NORAD Yet repeated requests by the localGrowing Up in Cities directors to see a copy of the revised proposal andits staff plan schedule and activities were left unanswered

The unpredictable nature of programme management was exacerbatedby the way in which many of the local staff were treated Staff were repeat-edly told that their efforts were inadequate or unacceptable In severalsituations staff members were threatened with having their jobs termi-nated or even had letters sent home to their parents complaining abouttheir performance For the young largely lower-income staff membersand their families these incidents were extremely upsetting Rarely ifever were staff contributions and successes noted or rewarded

As the months of project work progressed the situation between theprogramme coordinator in Delhi and the local management team becameincreasingly strained Misunderstandings grew despite lengthy letters toDelhi explaining what was happening locally in Bangalore and in relationto the international Growing Up in Cities efforts These misunderstand-ings came to a head when the programme coordinator complained thatshe and CEE were not being properly acknowledged by the internationalproject (despite repeated explanations that the ldquointernational projectrdquo wasa grassroots network of individuals and organizations like CEE who werecommitted to childrenrsquos participation not a large central organizationwith resources at its disposal) She abruptly decided to halt all work on theproject and to withdraw CEE support All project files ndash including theresults of the door-to-door community survey and mapping work ndash wereto be locked in the CEE offices

Although this decision was upsetting and frustrating the responsesfrom local staff members were rewarding in their own way Althoughseveral of them relied on their income from CEE and did not want to jeop-ardize their employment they had also developed a strong commitmentto the project and to the young people of Sathyanagar On their own initia-tive they decided to continue working on the project in their own timein the evenings and at weekends and this allowed the completion of theactivities which represented the research portion of the Growing Up inCities programme In addition because the project had worked closelywith a second NGO DEEDS it was possible to implement at least oneresponse to the issues raised by Sathyanagar rsquos young people namely theneed for a quiet place to study as well as a place for job-training In 1998a study centre was constructed by DEEDS with the participation ofSathyanagar rsquos young people and with funding provided by Norwegianchildren through the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporationrsquos ldquoChildrenrsquosHourrdquo programme

8 4 Env i ro nmentampU r baniza t ion Vol 13 No 1 Apri l 2001

O B STACLES TO YOUNG PEOPLErsquoS PARTICIPAT ION

Unfortunately the same quality of response was not forthcoming fromeither CEErsquos national offices or NORADrsquos offices in Delhi or Oslo Despitefaxes phone calls and letters both organizations only said that theywould look into the matter No subsequent correspondence was everreceived

Both NORAD and CEE have earned reputations as well-intentionedorganizations with many good achievements to their credit The point ofthis story is not to single them out for blame The fact that even such well-reputed organizations failed to support this local participatory initiativeillustrates the extent of the barriers to translating the rhetoric of partici-pation into actual practice When the practice of international develop-ment so glaringly failed to support this initiative despite the quality ofthe organizations involved and the international connections of the pilotproject it raises significant questions about the possibility of success forgenuine community-based planning The fact that a single programmecoordinator was able to undermine the efforts of an entire project team ndashwith no recourse for addressing the issue at the local national or interna-tional level ndash illustrates the obstacles faced by young people and disen-franchised communities when it comes to the realization of their rightsincluding their right to define their own development priorities It alsoraises fundamental issues of NGO ethics and accountability Who isresponsible for ensuring that an NGO is actually working in a commu-nityrsquos best interests Without an effective institutional framework topromote ethics and accountability there is a very real risk that NGOs canundermine legitimate community interests leaving local residentswithout any established mechanism ndash such as an election ndash through whichthey can change the situation

V LESSONS FOR PLANNERS ANDDEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONS

THE STORIES SHARED by Sathyanagar rsquos young people speak to the real-ities of their lives and the place where they live whereas the experienceof working with them and with the various organizations and actors thataffect their lives has shed light on some of the realities of the developmentprocess and the challenges of participation Although the results of theGrowing Up in Cities project in Sathyanagar are based on interactionswith a small group of young people in a single place and time they never-theless provide insights and lessons that are worthy of consideration andapplication in other contexts

Sathyanagar fits the pattern of ldquoparadoxical povertyrdquo that has beenfound in other low income areas that are poor in material terms but richin other critical resources in the eyes of their children(13) The optimisticway in which the children of Sathyanagar presented their community leftus searching for clues as to how they could be so apparently confidentself-aware and resilient in an environment that was so demanding andat times threatening Table 1 presents a summary of what emerged assome of the key factors that supported young peoplersquos well-being inSathyanagar

Given Sathyanagar rsquos social cultural and environmental resources it istempting to think about what might have been achieved through thecomprehensive process of community-based planning that had beenproposed originally which would have built upon existing strengths and

Env ironmentampU rbanizat ion Vol 13 No 1 Apri l 2001 8 5

O B S TACLES TO YOUNG PEOPLErsquoS PARTICIPAT ION

13 For discussions ofldquoparadoxical povertyrdquo inplaces that are poor inmaterial resources yet richin social cultural or envi-ronmental resources seereference 12 Cosco andMoore (in press) alsoMcKendrick J (1998)ldquoFamilies and family envi-ronments in ManchesterrdquoTransactions of the Manches-ter Statistical Society 1995-1997 pages 1-27

addressed important needs Reflections on what went wrong point to anumber of lessons that may have value for others who are involved inplanning and development processes These lessons are applicablewhether one is working at the local regional national or internationallevels and whether within a governmental non-governmental or multi-lateral setting

Promote participation that is inclusive and meaningful Local resi-dents ndash especially women and children ndash need to be engaged in commu-nity development activities They are the only real ldquoexpertsrdquo on their dailylives and local conditions They should be treated as partners in the devel-opment process rather than as victims in need of help Real solutions

require that residents of all ages have a voice in the planning and deci-sion-making process and a real stake in the long-term development andsustainability of their community Enabling this to happen requires morethan a set of participatory methods It requires an understanding andcommitment to participatory principles from every level of the organiza-tions involved from funding agencies to project staff and residents them-selves

Operate using participatory principles Organizations working topromote participatory forms of development must internalize participa-tory principles and methods in their own operations Espousing partici-patory principles outside the organization and then operating in anauthoritarian manner within the organization will undermine credibilityand will eventually undermine the ability to undertake participatoryprogrammes

8 6 Env i ro nmentampU r baniza t ion Vol 13 No 1 Apri l 2001

O B STACLES TO YOUNG PEOPLErsquoS PARTICIPAT ION

Cul tural Identi ty The local culture ndash steeped in tradition myth and ritual ndash provided children with a strong senseof identity They knew who they were and they had a strong sense of belonging as well as pride

S o c i a l N e t w o rk s Extended families and the close-knit (though sometimes fractious) community gave youngpeople a sense of safety and the ability to move freely throughout the local area It was also evident that parents weredeeply concerned about their childrenrsquos well being and that by and large children felt that they were valued andimportant members of the community

R es po ns i bi l i t i e s Young peoplersquos sense of being valued was strongly reinforced by the expectations andresponsibilities placed upon them both at home and in the community at large

Na tu ra l D i v ers i ty One of the surprises revealed by Sathyanagarrsquos young people was the rich diversity ofnatural areas available in their local area These trees ponds and grassy areas provided a much needed refuge andsupported highly valued play experiences

L o c a t io n a n d L a y o u t Sathyanagarrsquos location on the fringe of the metropolitan area provided access tonatural settings as well as urban amenities and excitement ndash features that young people valued

Ba si c S erv ice s an d Fa c i l i t i es Although Sathyanagarrsquos residents face many hardships there are severalNGOs that are providing basic services and facilities to fill the void in government services especially in educationand job training

L a n d Te n u r e The fact that residents had title to their land undoubtedly had a strong impact on the commu-nityrsquos feelings of ownership security and pride ndash feelings that had been passed on to young residents too

A C u lt u re o f De m o c ra c y India is proud of its status as the worldrsquos largest democracy and imperfect thoughthe system may be people in Sathyanagar assumed that their relationship with government agencies and officialswas not one of ldquoDo we have a right to expect thisrdquobut rather ldquoHow can we best access that which is rightfully oursrdquo

Table 1 Factors that cont ributed to children rsquos wel l-be ing in Sathyanagar

Restructure the criteria and procedures used by funding agenciesAlthough many funding agencies espouse participatory ideals in theirprogramme brochures and publicize participatory practices in theirproject descriptions the reality is that few if any funding agencies operatein a manner that actually supports local participation efforts Mostfunding agencies limit the range of issues or types of projects for whichtheir funds can be used they want to know ahead of time what the projectoutcomes will be they prefer to fund a few big projects rather than numer-ous small ones they prioritize quantitative project-oriented measures ofsuccess over qualitative and process-oriented measures and they estab-lish strict time-lines for the start and finish of each project Funding agen-cies need to commit themselves to long-term investments and solutionsneed to provide greater flexibility for local determination of funding prior-ities need to support small projects need to encourage project phasingand need to value process outcomes as well as product outcomes(14) Themessage that ldquothe ends justify the meansrdquo ndash a message unintentionally yetstrongly advocated by many funding agencies ndash needs to be removedfrom the funding equation

Provide local management and monitoring Participatory projectscannot be managed from a distance When the process is valued as highlyas other project outcomes project management and communication mustbe daily and face-to-face

Cultivate talented reliable staff International and national agenciesneed to cultivate talented reliable staff at the local level since it is herethat the success or failure of participatory programmes will be deter-mined Local level managers and staff need to be considered and valuedas the most important and influential people in the organization with theremainder of the organizational resources available to support them intheir ongoing work efforts Ineffective staff and inappropriate manage-ment should not be tolerated as an unavoidable part of the system

Integrate research and action Throughout the initial fundraisingphase of the project potential funding agencies consistently indicated thatthey had no interest in funding ldquoresearch projectsrdquo While safeguards needto be in place to ensure that research is linked to action and that researchresults are put to good use the almost complete lack of support forresearch-related activities was troubling and perhaps indicative of whyso many development projects fail to achieve their objectives or too oftenresult in more harm than good Research and action are interdependentNeither is viable without the other

Incorporate qualitative as well as quantitative measures of youngpeoplersquos well-being A statistical analysis of quantitative measures of thewell-being of Sathyanagar rsquos young people by itself would certainly nothave yielded the same understanding of their lives as did the participa-tory exploration of their life quality Factoring in qualitative measuresleads to a much richer understanding of young peoplersquos lives and theissues they face and reveals existing resources to be conserved as well asproblems to be addressed Importantly it also leads to far different conclu-sions about what should be done to enhance community quality for chil-dren and youth

Encourage reflection and evaluation and value success in all itsforms Project monitoring and evaluation cannot be achieved through asingle visit by an outside evaluator or even several visits over the courseof a project While an outside perspective can certainly be useful mostevaluation visits tend to be staged events put on by local staff for the

Envi ronmentampU rbanizat ion Vol 13 No 1 Apri l 2001 8 7

O B S TACLES TO YOUNG PEOPLErsquoS PARTICIPAT ION

14 Chawla L (in press)ldquoSpots of time differentways of being in nature inchildhoodrdquo in Kahn P Hand S Kellert (editors)Children and Nature MITPress Cambridge MA

benefit of the visitor Instead reflection and evaluation must be a regularpart of any participatory project and should be conducted in a mannerthat actively involves project staff as well as local residents It requires thatparticipants consider both the strengths and weaknesses of the processand its outcomes recognizing and valuing success while always search-ing for better ways to do things the next time around

Integrate natural settings into the urban environment The story ofSathyanagar reinforces what research on childrenrsquos environments hasrepeatedly shown namely that access to natural settings has an irre-placeable value in childrenrsquos lives(15) Planners and decision makers needto understand the value that these settings have and work to preservethem as part of the urban fabric

Develop partnerships and a broad-based support network A success-ful programme of participatory community development requires theactive involvement of a range of groups and individuals from localgovernment agencies and elected officials to service organizationscommunity groups technical professionals and individual residents TheSathyanagar project was able to move forward (although in a limited way)after its funds were cut off due to the support of local staff and DEEDSThe projectrsquos ability to move forward more fully would have been consid-erably enhanced if the network of support had been broadened at anearlier date to include government departments other NGOs and a coali-tion of funding sources

Although funding was pulled from the Sathyanagar project and thecommunity action plan was never developed and implemented therewere nevertheless a number of positive outcomes from the Growing Up

in Cities initiative Theseinclude the new study centrestaff training and experiencein participatory methods anoticeable shift in staff atti-tudes towards greater respectfor ldquoslumrdquo areas and youngpeoplersquos pleasure and enthu-siasm in thinking about theplace where they live andarticulating their ideas aboutit The research in Sathyana-gar also gave insight into anarea where much too little isknown the experience ofpoverty from childrenrsquosperspectives

Research on resilience inchildren at risk has demon-strated that resilient childrendo not possess unique quali-ties that set them apart fromother children Rather in themidst of adversity they havebeen able to secure importantresources that foster healthyand competent human devel-opment (16) These resources

8 8 Env i ro nmentampU r baniza t ion Vol 13 No 1 Apri l 2001

O B STACLES TO YOUNG PEOPLErsquoS PARTICIPAT ION

15 For further analyses ofconflicts between fundingagency practices andprocesses which actuallysupport beneficiariesrsquo self-determination seeNieuwenhuys O (1997)ldquoSpaces for the children ofthe urban poorrdquoEnvironment andUrbanization Vol 9 No 1pages 233-249 alsoSatterthwaite D et al(1996) The Environment forChildren EarthscanPublications Londonchapter 6

16 Masten A S and J DCoatsworth (1998) ldquoThedevelopment ofcompetence in favourableand unfavourableenvironmentsrdquo AmericanPsychologist Vol 53 No 2pages 205-220

A glade of trees and small meadow in a nearbyhidden ravine provided uncommon access tonature for a settlement such as Sathyanagar andwas highly valued by childrenPhoto S RPrakash

Although the environment was degraded by water pollution and inad-equate sanitation and drainage it contained a variety of spaces where thechildren could gather to play or to participate in community activitiesThere was a clear sense of community boundaries and a strong feeling ofsafety within the settlement itself so that children felt free to move aboutwithin it A glade of trees and a small meadow in a ravine beside the aban-doned railroad tracks as well as the water and plants along the tankrsquosedge provided pockets of natural areas that were special places to manychildren especially boys Such a mosaic of accessible public and semi-public places has been identified as being critical to healthy child devel-opment(12)

Although Sathyanagar may have been poor in financial capital in theeyes of the project children it was rich in social and cultural capital Despitemany chores and school responsibilities the children took advantage ofevery spare moment to play and they were rarely at a loss for friends orideas Despite their material lack of play equipment they were foundengaged in all manner of activities playing tag rolling an old tire with astick drawing in the dirt exploring an adjacent area playing gilli dandu (apopular game played with two sticks) or even building a makeshiftldquotemplerdquo complete with an idol and a ceremonial pooja (worship service)Two large flat open spaces on the periphery of the settlement were the sitefor Sunday afternoon cricket tournaments pitting teams from Sathyanagaragainst teams from adjacent settlements During the several-month processof conducting the research activities not a single child in Sathyanagar wasever heard to utter the phrase ldquoIrsquom boredrdquo

The children were keenly aware of the environmental problems anddrawbacks of their local area yet with few exceptions their attitudesabout the future were largely positive Most children saw the communityas having improved throughout their childhood years and on a path tofurther improvement When they were asked where they would like tolive when they grew up nearly all of the children who were intervieweddid not hesitate in answering ldquoSathyanagarrdquo

8 2 Env i ro nmentampU r baniza t ion Vol 13 No 1 Apri l 2001

O B STACLES TO YOUNG PEOPLErsquoS PARTICIPAT ION

12 For a discussion of theimportance of similarspaces in the Buenos Aireslocation of ldquoGrowing Up inCitiesrdquo see Cosco N and RMoore (in press) ldquoOurneighborhood is like thatCultural richness andchildhood identity in Boca-Barracas Buenos Airesrdquo inChawla see reference 8 Seealso ldquoNeighbourhoods forchildrenrdquo in Bartlett S et al(1999) see reference 7

The self-built settlement of Sathyanagar has the appearance and feel of a villagealthough that is quickly changing as the Bangalore area continues its rapid expansionand ongoing urbanizationPhoto D Driskell

ldquoTh e re a r e h id in gp l a c e s h e re t opl a y h id e - a n d -se ekrdquo ndash Raj u (bo y)a g e 1 0

ldquoI love playingcr i ck et hellip OnS u n d a y s w e h a v eal l the t ime topl a y hellip we ha v em a t c h e s w i t hoth e r t ea m s rdquo ndashEluma la i (boy) a g e 1 3

IV MISSED OPPORTUNITIES

GROWING UP IN Cities follows the premise that it is critical to under-stand community strengths from a childrsquos point of view as well as prob-lems Otherwise well-intended development projects may destroy fragilebut precious resources while addressing problems which may not bepriorities for change from residentsrsquo own perspectives As the precedingsummary of project fieldwork reveals Sathyanagar emerged as a placewith severe problems but with many resources to build upon as well

This premise and the corresponding need to incorporate children intodevelopment planning was officially endorsed by NORAD the Norwe-gian aid agency and CEE the NGO that managed the Growing Up inCities process in Sathyanagar In retrospect there were warning signsfrom the beginning that these organizations did not have the operatingpractices necessary to provide the support for grassroots participation thatthey had promised

With the encouragement of NORAD-India and the programme coor-dinator at CEE (a woman who was based in Delhi at that time) the activ-ities originally envisioned for Growing Up in Cities-Sathyanagar and theaccompanying budget were considerably expanded This was due to alack of interest in supporting research activities rather than tangible meas-urable outcomes as well as the desire to fund a small number of largeprojects rather than a large number of small projects The final proposalsubmitted to NORAD-India outlined a year-long schedule of activitiesthat would include participatory evaluation of the local area a commu-nity-wide social survey development of a geographic information systempreparation of a community action plan and a variety of public informa-tion and education materials

Previously NORAD had supported the construction of a toilet complexin Sathyanagar and a number of other CEE initiatives under the manage-ment of the same CEE programme coordinator who was assigned tooversee Growing Up in Cities On the very first day of interviews withchildren at the site several of the children pointed out that the toiletcomplex had been built on what had previously been their favourite playspace This information came as a surprise to several members of the

Env ironmentampU rbanizat ion Vol 13 No 1 Apri l 2001 8 3

O B S TACLES TO YOUNG PEOPLErsquoS PARTICIPAT ION

Sathyanagar is bounded by a dry lake bed a military establishment a railway line anindustrial storage area and an abandoned and overgrown tank or water reservoirproviding a range of nearby open spaces and natural areas Map N Kudva

ldquo In the futu reS a th y a na g a r w i l lh a v e a t a p b e s i d ee a c h h o u s e a n dt a r re d r oa d s hellip I tw i l l be s o go o dth ey w i l l wr i tea b ou t us in t hen e w s p a p e r s rdquo ndashGousiya (g i rl ) a g e 1 4

project team since the CEE programme coordinator had previously statedthat the toilet project had been undertaken with extensive communityparticipation including the participation of children This and severalother incidents made it clear that the claims and reality of previous partic-ipation efforts were two different things

Other warning signs were apparent in the way in which the localproject staff was being managed by the Delhi-based programme coordi-nator especially the way in which unilateral decisions were made basedon incomplete and often inaccurate information Staff in the Bangaloreoffice never seemed to be completely aware of who was supposed to beworking on which project or even the basic status of the officersquos variousprojects In fact statements by the programme coordinator indicated thatthe initial proposal for Growing Up in Cities had been significantly modi-fied at the insistence of NORAD Yet repeated requests by the localGrowing Up in Cities directors to see a copy of the revised proposal andits staff plan schedule and activities were left unanswered

The unpredictable nature of programme management was exacerbatedby the way in which many of the local staff were treated Staff were repeat-edly told that their efforts were inadequate or unacceptable In severalsituations staff members were threatened with having their jobs termi-nated or even had letters sent home to their parents complaining abouttheir performance For the young largely lower-income staff membersand their families these incidents were extremely upsetting Rarely ifever were staff contributions and successes noted or rewarded

As the months of project work progressed the situation between theprogramme coordinator in Delhi and the local management team becameincreasingly strained Misunderstandings grew despite lengthy letters toDelhi explaining what was happening locally in Bangalore and in relationto the international Growing Up in Cities efforts These misunderstand-ings came to a head when the programme coordinator complained thatshe and CEE were not being properly acknowledged by the internationalproject (despite repeated explanations that the ldquointernational projectrdquo wasa grassroots network of individuals and organizations like CEE who werecommitted to childrenrsquos participation not a large central organizationwith resources at its disposal) She abruptly decided to halt all work on theproject and to withdraw CEE support All project files ndash including theresults of the door-to-door community survey and mapping work ndash wereto be locked in the CEE offices

Although this decision was upsetting and frustrating the responsesfrom local staff members were rewarding in their own way Althoughseveral of them relied on their income from CEE and did not want to jeop-ardize their employment they had also developed a strong commitmentto the project and to the young people of Sathyanagar On their own initia-tive they decided to continue working on the project in their own timein the evenings and at weekends and this allowed the completion of theactivities which represented the research portion of the Growing Up inCities programme In addition because the project had worked closelywith a second NGO DEEDS it was possible to implement at least oneresponse to the issues raised by Sathyanagar rsquos young people namely theneed for a quiet place to study as well as a place for job-training In 1998a study centre was constructed by DEEDS with the participation ofSathyanagar rsquos young people and with funding provided by Norwegianchildren through the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporationrsquos ldquoChildrenrsquosHourrdquo programme

8 4 Env i ro nmentampU r baniza t ion Vol 13 No 1 Apri l 2001

O B STACLES TO YOUNG PEOPLErsquoS PARTICIPAT ION

Unfortunately the same quality of response was not forthcoming fromeither CEErsquos national offices or NORADrsquos offices in Delhi or Oslo Despitefaxes phone calls and letters both organizations only said that theywould look into the matter No subsequent correspondence was everreceived

Both NORAD and CEE have earned reputations as well-intentionedorganizations with many good achievements to their credit The point ofthis story is not to single them out for blame The fact that even such well-reputed organizations failed to support this local participatory initiativeillustrates the extent of the barriers to translating the rhetoric of partici-pation into actual practice When the practice of international develop-ment so glaringly failed to support this initiative despite the quality ofthe organizations involved and the international connections of the pilotproject it raises significant questions about the possibility of success forgenuine community-based planning The fact that a single programmecoordinator was able to undermine the efforts of an entire project team ndashwith no recourse for addressing the issue at the local national or interna-tional level ndash illustrates the obstacles faced by young people and disen-franchised communities when it comes to the realization of their rightsincluding their right to define their own development priorities It alsoraises fundamental issues of NGO ethics and accountability Who isresponsible for ensuring that an NGO is actually working in a commu-nityrsquos best interests Without an effective institutional framework topromote ethics and accountability there is a very real risk that NGOs canundermine legitimate community interests leaving local residentswithout any established mechanism ndash such as an election ndash through whichthey can change the situation

V LESSONS FOR PLANNERS ANDDEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONS

THE STORIES SHARED by Sathyanagar rsquos young people speak to the real-ities of their lives and the place where they live whereas the experienceof working with them and with the various organizations and actors thataffect their lives has shed light on some of the realities of the developmentprocess and the challenges of participation Although the results of theGrowing Up in Cities project in Sathyanagar are based on interactionswith a small group of young people in a single place and time they never-theless provide insights and lessons that are worthy of consideration andapplication in other contexts

Sathyanagar fits the pattern of ldquoparadoxical povertyrdquo that has beenfound in other low income areas that are poor in material terms but richin other critical resources in the eyes of their children(13) The optimisticway in which the children of Sathyanagar presented their community leftus searching for clues as to how they could be so apparently confidentself-aware and resilient in an environment that was so demanding andat times threatening Table 1 presents a summary of what emerged assome of the key factors that supported young peoplersquos well-being inSathyanagar

Given Sathyanagar rsquos social cultural and environmental resources it istempting to think about what might have been achieved through thecomprehensive process of community-based planning that had beenproposed originally which would have built upon existing strengths and

Env ironmentampU rbanizat ion Vol 13 No 1 Apri l 2001 8 5

O B S TACLES TO YOUNG PEOPLErsquoS PARTICIPAT ION

13 For discussions ofldquoparadoxical povertyrdquo inplaces that are poor inmaterial resources yet richin social cultural or envi-ronmental resources seereference 12 Cosco andMoore (in press) alsoMcKendrick J (1998)ldquoFamilies and family envi-ronments in ManchesterrdquoTransactions of the Manches-ter Statistical Society 1995-1997 pages 1-27

addressed important needs Reflections on what went wrong point to anumber of lessons that may have value for others who are involved inplanning and development processes These lessons are applicablewhether one is working at the local regional national or internationallevels and whether within a governmental non-governmental or multi-lateral setting

Promote participation that is inclusive and meaningful Local resi-dents ndash especially women and children ndash need to be engaged in commu-nity development activities They are the only real ldquoexpertsrdquo on their dailylives and local conditions They should be treated as partners in the devel-opment process rather than as victims in need of help Real solutions

require that residents of all ages have a voice in the planning and deci-sion-making process and a real stake in the long-term development andsustainability of their community Enabling this to happen requires morethan a set of participatory methods It requires an understanding andcommitment to participatory principles from every level of the organiza-tions involved from funding agencies to project staff and residents them-selves

Operate using participatory principles Organizations working topromote participatory forms of development must internalize participa-tory principles and methods in their own operations Espousing partici-patory principles outside the organization and then operating in anauthoritarian manner within the organization will undermine credibilityand will eventually undermine the ability to undertake participatoryprogrammes

8 6 Env i ro nmentampU r baniza t ion Vol 13 No 1 Apri l 2001

O B STACLES TO YOUNG PEOPLErsquoS PARTICIPAT ION

Cul tural Identi ty The local culture ndash steeped in tradition myth and ritual ndash provided children with a strong senseof identity They knew who they were and they had a strong sense of belonging as well as pride

S o c i a l N e t w o rk s Extended families and the close-knit (though sometimes fractious) community gave youngpeople a sense of safety and the ability to move freely throughout the local area It was also evident that parents weredeeply concerned about their childrenrsquos well being and that by and large children felt that they were valued andimportant members of the community

R es po ns i bi l i t i e s Young peoplersquos sense of being valued was strongly reinforced by the expectations andresponsibilities placed upon them both at home and in the community at large

Na tu ra l D i v ers i ty One of the surprises revealed by Sathyanagarrsquos young people was the rich diversity ofnatural areas available in their local area These trees ponds and grassy areas provided a much needed refuge andsupported highly valued play experiences

L o c a t io n a n d L a y o u t Sathyanagarrsquos location on the fringe of the metropolitan area provided access tonatural settings as well as urban amenities and excitement ndash features that young people valued

Ba si c S erv ice s an d Fa c i l i t i es Although Sathyanagarrsquos residents face many hardships there are severalNGOs that are providing basic services and facilities to fill the void in government services especially in educationand job training

L a n d Te n u r e The fact that residents had title to their land undoubtedly had a strong impact on the commu-nityrsquos feelings of ownership security and pride ndash feelings that had been passed on to young residents too

A C u lt u re o f De m o c ra c y India is proud of its status as the worldrsquos largest democracy and imperfect thoughthe system may be people in Sathyanagar assumed that their relationship with government agencies and officialswas not one of ldquoDo we have a right to expect thisrdquobut rather ldquoHow can we best access that which is rightfully oursrdquo

Table 1 Factors that cont ributed to children rsquos wel l-be ing in Sathyanagar

Restructure the criteria and procedures used by funding agenciesAlthough many funding agencies espouse participatory ideals in theirprogramme brochures and publicize participatory practices in theirproject descriptions the reality is that few if any funding agencies operatein a manner that actually supports local participation efforts Mostfunding agencies limit the range of issues or types of projects for whichtheir funds can be used they want to know ahead of time what the projectoutcomes will be they prefer to fund a few big projects rather than numer-ous small ones they prioritize quantitative project-oriented measures ofsuccess over qualitative and process-oriented measures and they estab-lish strict time-lines for the start and finish of each project Funding agen-cies need to commit themselves to long-term investments and solutionsneed to provide greater flexibility for local determination of funding prior-ities need to support small projects need to encourage project phasingand need to value process outcomes as well as product outcomes(14) Themessage that ldquothe ends justify the meansrdquo ndash a message unintentionally yetstrongly advocated by many funding agencies ndash needs to be removedfrom the funding equation

Provide local management and monitoring Participatory projectscannot be managed from a distance When the process is valued as highlyas other project outcomes project management and communication mustbe daily and face-to-face

Cultivate talented reliable staff International and national agenciesneed to cultivate talented reliable staff at the local level since it is herethat the success or failure of participatory programmes will be deter-mined Local level managers and staff need to be considered and valuedas the most important and influential people in the organization with theremainder of the organizational resources available to support them intheir ongoing work efforts Ineffective staff and inappropriate manage-ment should not be tolerated as an unavoidable part of the system

Integrate research and action Throughout the initial fundraisingphase of the project potential funding agencies consistently indicated thatthey had no interest in funding ldquoresearch projectsrdquo While safeguards needto be in place to ensure that research is linked to action and that researchresults are put to good use the almost complete lack of support forresearch-related activities was troubling and perhaps indicative of whyso many development projects fail to achieve their objectives or too oftenresult in more harm than good Research and action are interdependentNeither is viable without the other

Incorporate qualitative as well as quantitative measures of youngpeoplersquos well-being A statistical analysis of quantitative measures of thewell-being of Sathyanagar rsquos young people by itself would certainly nothave yielded the same understanding of their lives as did the participa-tory exploration of their life quality Factoring in qualitative measuresleads to a much richer understanding of young peoplersquos lives and theissues they face and reveals existing resources to be conserved as well asproblems to be addressed Importantly it also leads to far different conclu-sions about what should be done to enhance community quality for chil-dren and youth

Encourage reflection and evaluation and value success in all itsforms Project monitoring and evaluation cannot be achieved through asingle visit by an outside evaluator or even several visits over the courseof a project While an outside perspective can certainly be useful mostevaluation visits tend to be staged events put on by local staff for the

Envi ronmentampU rbanizat ion Vol 13 No 1 Apri l 2001 8 7

O B S TACLES TO YOUNG PEOPLErsquoS PARTICIPAT ION

14 Chawla L (in press)ldquoSpots of time differentways of being in nature inchildhoodrdquo in Kahn P Hand S Kellert (editors)Children and Nature MITPress Cambridge MA

benefit of the visitor Instead reflection and evaluation must be a regularpart of any participatory project and should be conducted in a mannerthat actively involves project staff as well as local residents It requires thatparticipants consider both the strengths and weaknesses of the processand its outcomes recognizing and valuing success while always search-ing for better ways to do things the next time around

Integrate natural settings into the urban environment The story ofSathyanagar reinforces what research on childrenrsquos environments hasrepeatedly shown namely that access to natural settings has an irre-placeable value in childrenrsquos lives(15) Planners and decision makers needto understand the value that these settings have and work to preservethem as part of the urban fabric

Develop partnerships and a broad-based support network A success-ful programme of participatory community development requires theactive involvement of a range of groups and individuals from localgovernment agencies and elected officials to service organizationscommunity groups technical professionals and individual residents TheSathyanagar project was able to move forward (although in a limited way)after its funds were cut off due to the support of local staff and DEEDSThe projectrsquos ability to move forward more fully would have been consid-erably enhanced if the network of support had been broadened at anearlier date to include government departments other NGOs and a coali-tion of funding sources

Although funding was pulled from the Sathyanagar project and thecommunity action plan was never developed and implemented therewere nevertheless a number of positive outcomes from the Growing Up

in Cities initiative Theseinclude the new study centrestaff training and experiencein participatory methods anoticeable shift in staff atti-tudes towards greater respectfor ldquoslumrdquo areas and youngpeoplersquos pleasure and enthu-siasm in thinking about theplace where they live andarticulating their ideas aboutit The research in Sathyana-gar also gave insight into anarea where much too little isknown the experience ofpoverty from childrenrsquosperspectives

Research on resilience inchildren at risk has demon-strated that resilient childrendo not possess unique quali-ties that set them apart fromother children Rather in themidst of adversity they havebeen able to secure importantresources that foster healthyand competent human devel-opment (16) These resources

8 8 Env i ro nmentampU r baniza t ion Vol 13 No 1 Apri l 2001

O B STACLES TO YOUNG PEOPLErsquoS PARTICIPAT ION

15 For further analyses ofconflicts between fundingagency practices andprocesses which actuallysupport beneficiariesrsquo self-determination seeNieuwenhuys O (1997)ldquoSpaces for the children ofthe urban poorrdquoEnvironment andUrbanization Vol 9 No 1pages 233-249 alsoSatterthwaite D et al(1996) The Environment forChildren EarthscanPublications Londonchapter 6

16 Masten A S and J DCoatsworth (1998) ldquoThedevelopment ofcompetence in favourableand unfavourableenvironmentsrdquo AmericanPsychologist Vol 53 No 2pages 205-220

A glade of trees and small meadow in a nearbyhidden ravine provided uncommon access tonature for a settlement such as Sathyanagar andwas highly valued by childrenPhoto S RPrakash

IV MISSED OPPORTUNITIES

GROWING UP IN Cities follows the premise that it is critical to under-stand community strengths from a childrsquos point of view as well as prob-lems Otherwise well-intended development projects may destroy fragilebut precious resources while addressing problems which may not bepriorities for change from residentsrsquo own perspectives As the precedingsummary of project fieldwork reveals Sathyanagar emerged as a placewith severe problems but with many resources to build upon as well

This premise and the corresponding need to incorporate children intodevelopment planning was officially endorsed by NORAD the Norwe-gian aid agency and CEE the NGO that managed the Growing Up inCities process in Sathyanagar In retrospect there were warning signsfrom the beginning that these organizations did not have the operatingpractices necessary to provide the support for grassroots participation thatthey had promised

With the encouragement of NORAD-India and the programme coor-dinator at CEE (a woman who was based in Delhi at that time) the activ-ities originally envisioned for Growing Up in Cities-Sathyanagar and theaccompanying budget were considerably expanded This was due to alack of interest in supporting research activities rather than tangible meas-urable outcomes as well as the desire to fund a small number of largeprojects rather than a large number of small projects The final proposalsubmitted to NORAD-India outlined a year-long schedule of activitiesthat would include participatory evaluation of the local area a commu-nity-wide social survey development of a geographic information systempreparation of a community action plan and a variety of public informa-tion and education materials

Previously NORAD had supported the construction of a toilet complexin Sathyanagar and a number of other CEE initiatives under the manage-ment of the same CEE programme coordinator who was assigned tooversee Growing Up in Cities On the very first day of interviews withchildren at the site several of the children pointed out that the toiletcomplex had been built on what had previously been their favourite playspace This information came as a surprise to several members of the

Env ironmentampU rbanizat ion Vol 13 No 1 Apri l 2001 8 3

O B S TACLES TO YOUNG PEOPLErsquoS PARTICIPAT ION

Sathyanagar is bounded by a dry lake bed a military establishment a railway line anindustrial storage area and an abandoned and overgrown tank or water reservoirproviding a range of nearby open spaces and natural areas Map N Kudva

ldquo In the futu reS a th y a na g a r w i l lh a v e a t a p b e s i d ee a c h h o u s e a n dt a r re d r oa d s hellip I tw i l l be s o go o dth ey w i l l wr i tea b ou t us in t hen e w s p a p e r s rdquo ndashGousiya (g i rl ) a g e 1 4

project team since the CEE programme coordinator had previously statedthat the toilet project had been undertaken with extensive communityparticipation including the participation of children This and severalother incidents made it clear that the claims and reality of previous partic-ipation efforts were two different things

Other warning signs were apparent in the way in which the localproject staff was being managed by the Delhi-based programme coordi-nator especially the way in which unilateral decisions were made basedon incomplete and often inaccurate information Staff in the Bangaloreoffice never seemed to be completely aware of who was supposed to beworking on which project or even the basic status of the officersquos variousprojects In fact statements by the programme coordinator indicated thatthe initial proposal for Growing Up in Cities had been significantly modi-fied at the insistence of NORAD Yet repeated requests by the localGrowing Up in Cities directors to see a copy of the revised proposal andits staff plan schedule and activities were left unanswered

The unpredictable nature of programme management was exacerbatedby the way in which many of the local staff were treated Staff were repeat-edly told that their efforts were inadequate or unacceptable In severalsituations staff members were threatened with having their jobs termi-nated or even had letters sent home to their parents complaining abouttheir performance For the young largely lower-income staff membersand their families these incidents were extremely upsetting Rarely ifever were staff contributions and successes noted or rewarded

As the months of project work progressed the situation between theprogramme coordinator in Delhi and the local management team becameincreasingly strained Misunderstandings grew despite lengthy letters toDelhi explaining what was happening locally in Bangalore and in relationto the international Growing Up in Cities efforts These misunderstand-ings came to a head when the programme coordinator complained thatshe and CEE were not being properly acknowledged by the internationalproject (despite repeated explanations that the ldquointernational projectrdquo wasa grassroots network of individuals and organizations like CEE who werecommitted to childrenrsquos participation not a large central organizationwith resources at its disposal) She abruptly decided to halt all work on theproject and to withdraw CEE support All project files ndash including theresults of the door-to-door community survey and mapping work ndash wereto be locked in the CEE offices

Although this decision was upsetting and frustrating the responsesfrom local staff members were rewarding in their own way Althoughseveral of them relied on their income from CEE and did not want to jeop-ardize their employment they had also developed a strong commitmentto the project and to the young people of Sathyanagar On their own initia-tive they decided to continue working on the project in their own timein the evenings and at weekends and this allowed the completion of theactivities which represented the research portion of the Growing Up inCities programme In addition because the project had worked closelywith a second NGO DEEDS it was possible to implement at least oneresponse to the issues raised by Sathyanagar rsquos young people namely theneed for a quiet place to study as well as a place for job-training In 1998a study centre was constructed by DEEDS with the participation ofSathyanagar rsquos young people and with funding provided by Norwegianchildren through the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporationrsquos ldquoChildrenrsquosHourrdquo programme

8 4 Env i ro nmentampU r baniza t ion Vol 13 No 1 Apri l 2001

O B STACLES TO YOUNG PEOPLErsquoS PARTICIPAT ION

Unfortunately the same quality of response was not forthcoming fromeither CEErsquos national offices or NORADrsquos offices in Delhi or Oslo Despitefaxes phone calls and letters both organizations only said that theywould look into the matter No subsequent correspondence was everreceived

Both NORAD and CEE have earned reputations as well-intentionedorganizations with many good achievements to their credit The point ofthis story is not to single them out for blame The fact that even such well-reputed organizations failed to support this local participatory initiativeillustrates the extent of the barriers to translating the rhetoric of partici-pation into actual practice When the practice of international develop-ment so glaringly failed to support this initiative despite the quality ofthe organizations involved and the international connections of the pilotproject it raises significant questions about the possibility of success forgenuine community-based planning The fact that a single programmecoordinator was able to undermine the efforts of an entire project team ndashwith no recourse for addressing the issue at the local national or interna-tional level ndash illustrates the obstacles faced by young people and disen-franchised communities when it comes to the realization of their rightsincluding their right to define their own development priorities It alsoraises fundamental issues of NGO ethics and accountability Who isresponsible for ensuring that an NGO is actually working in a commu-nityrsquos best interests Without an effective institutional framework topromote ethics and accountability there is a very real risk that NGOs canundermine legitimate community interests leaving local residentswithout any established mechanism ndash such as an election ndash through whichthey can change the situation

V LESSONS FOR PLANNERS ANDDEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONS

THE STORIES SHARED by Sathyanagar rsquos young people speak to the real-ities of their lives and the place where they live whereas the experienceof working with them and with the various organizations and actors thataffect their lives has shed light on some of the realities of the developmentprocess and the challenges of participation Although the results of theGrowing Up in Cities project in Sathyanagar are based on interactionswith a small group of young people in a single place and time they never-theless provide insights and lessons that are worthy of consideration andapplication in other contexts

Sathyanagar fits the pattern of ldquoparadoxical povertyrdquo that has beenfound in other low income areas that are poor in material terms but richin other critical resources in the eyes of their children(13) The optimisticway in which the children of Sathyanagar presented their community leftus searching for clues as to how they could be so apparently confidentself-aware and resilient in an environment that was so demanding andat times threatening Table 1 presents a summary of what emerged assome of the key factors that supported young peoplersquos well-being inSathyanagar

Given Sathyanagar rsquos social cultural and environmental resources it istempting to think about what might have been achieved through thecomprehensive process of community-based planning that had beenproposed originally which would have built upon existing strengths and

Env ironmentampU rbanizat ion Vol 13 No 1 Apri l 2001 8 5

O B S TACLES TO YOUNG PEOPLErsquoS PARTICIPAT ION

13 For discussions ofldquoparadoxical povertyrdquo inplaces that are poor inmaterial resources yet richin social cultural or envi-ronmental resources seereference 12 Cosco andMoore (in press) alsoMcKendrick J (1998)ldquoFamilies and family envi-ronments in ManchesterrdquoTransactions of the Manches-ter Statistical Society 1995-1997 pages 1-27

addressed important needs Reflections on what went wrong point to anumber of lessons that may have value for others who are involved inplanning and development processes These lessons are applicablewhether one is working at the local regional national or internationallevels and whether within a governmental non-governmental or multi-lateral setting

Promote participation that is inclusive and meaningful Local resi-dents ndash especially women and children ndash need to be engaged in commu-nity development activities They are the only real ldquoexpertsrdquo on their dailylives and local conditions They should be treated as partners in the devel-opment process rather than as victims in need of help Real solutions

require that residents of all ages have a voice in the planning and deci-sion-making process and a real stake in the long-term development andsustainability of their community Enabling this to happen requires morethan a set of participatory methods It requires an understanding andcommitment to participatory principles from every level of the organiza-tions involved from funding agencies to project staff and residents them-selves

Operate using participatory principles Organizations working topromote participatory forms of development must internalize participa-tory principles and methods in their own operations Espousing partici-patory principles outside the organization and then operating in anauthoritarian manner within the organization will undermine credibilityand will eventually undermine the ability to undertake participatoryprogrammes

8 6 Env i ro nmentampU r baniza t ion Vol 13 No 1 Apri l 2001

O B STACLES TO YOUNG PEOPLErsquoS PARTICIPAT ION

Cul tural Identi ty The local culture ndash steeped in tradition myth and ritual ndash provided children with a strong senseof identity They knew who they were and they had a strong sense of belonging as well as pride

S o c i a l N e t w o rk s Extended families and the close-knit (though sometimes fractious) community gave youngpeople a sense of safety and the ability to move freely throughout the local area It was also evident that parents weredeeply concerned about their childrenrsquos well being and that by and large children felt that they were valued andimportant members of the community

R es po ns i bi l i t i e s Young peoplersquos sense of being valued was strongly reinforced by the expectations andresponsibilities placed upon them both at home and in the community at large

Na tu ra l D i v ers i ty One of the surprises revealed by Sathyanagarrsquos young people was the rich diversity ofnatural areas available in their local area These trees ponds and grassy areas provided a much needed refuge andsupported highly valued play experiences

L o c a t io n a n d L a y o u t Sathyanagarrsquos location on the fringe of the metropolitan area provided access tonatural settings as well as urban amenities and excitement ndash features that young people valued

Ba si c S erv ice s an d Fa c i l i t i es Although Sathyanagarrsquos residents face many hardships there are severalNGOs that are providing basic services and facilities to fill the void in government services especially in educationand job training

L a n d Te n u r e The fact that residents had title to their land undoubtedly had a strong impact on the commu-nityrsquos feelings of ownership security and pride ndash feelings that had been passed on to young residents too

A C u lt u re o f De m o c ra c y India is proud of its status as the worldrsquos largest democracy and imperfect thoughthe system may be people in Sathyanagar assumed that their relationship with government agencies and officialswas not one of ldquoDo we have a right to expect thisrdquobut rather ldquoHow can we best access that which is rightfully oursrdquo

Table 1 Factors that cont ributed to children rsquos wel l-be ing in Sathyanagar

Restructure the criteria and procedures used by funding agenciesAlthough many funding agencies espouse participatory ideals in theirprogramme brochures and publicize participatory practices in theirproject descriptions the reality is that few if any funding agencies operatein a manner that actually supports local participation efforts Mostfunding agencies limit the range of issues or types of projects for whichtheir funds can be used they want to know ahead of time what the projectoutcomes will be they prefer to fund a few big projects rather than numer-ous small ones they prioritize quantitative project-oriented measures ofsuccess over qualitative and process-oriented measures and they estab-lish strict time-lines for the start and finish of each project Funding agen-cies need to commit themselves to long-term investments and solutionsneed to provide greater flexibility for local determination of funding prior-ities need to support small projects need to encourage project phasingand need to value process outcomes as well as product outcomes(14) Themessage that ldquothe ends justify the meansrdquo ndash a message unintentionally yetstrongly advocated by many funding agencies ndash needs to be removedfrom the funding equation

Provide local management and monitoring Participatory projectscannot be managed from a distance When the process is valued as highlyas other project outcomes project management and communication mustbe daily and face-to-face

Cultivate talented reliable staff International and national agenciesneed to cultivate talented reliable staff at the local level since it is herethat the success or failure of participatory programmes will be deter-mined Local level managers and staff need to be considered and valuedas the most important and influential people in the organization with theremainder of the organizational resources available to support them intheir ongoing work efforts Ineffective staff and inappropriate manage-ment should not be tolerated as an unavoidable part of the system

Integrate research and action Throughout the initial fundraisingphase of the project potential funding agencies consistently indicated thatthey had no interest in funding ldquoresearch projectsrdquo While safeguards needto be in place to ensure that research is linked to action and that researchresults are put to good use the almost complete lack of support forresearch-related activities was troubling and perhaps indicative of whyso many development projects fail to achieve their objectives or too oftenresult in more harm than good Research and action are interdependentNeither is viable without the other

Incorporate qualitative as well as quantitative measures of youngpeoplersquos well-being A statistical analysis of quantitative measures of thewell-being of Sathyanagar rsquos young people by itself would certainly nothave yielded the same understanding of their lives as did the participa-tory exploration of their life quality Factoring in qualitative measuresleads to a much richer understanding of young peoplersquos lives and theissues they face and reveals existing resources to be conserved as well asproblems to be addressed Importantly it also leads to far different conclu-sions about what should be done to enhance community quality for chil-dren and youth

Encourage reflection and evaluation and value success in all itsforms Project monitoring and evaluation cannot be achieved through asingle visit by an outside evaluator or even several visits over the courseof a project While an outside perspective can certainly be useful mostevaluation visits tend to be staged events put on by local staff for the

Envi ronmentampU rbanizat ion Vol 13 No 1 Apri l 2001 8 7

O B S TACLES TO YOUNG PEOPLErsquoS PARTICIPAT ION

14 Chawla L (in press)ldquoSpots of time differentways of being in nature inchildhoodrdquo in Kahn P Hand S Kellert (editors)Children and Nature MITPress Cambridge MA

benefit of the visitor Instead reflection and evaluation must be a regularpart of any participatory project and should be conducted in a mannerthat actively involves project staff as well as local residents It requires thatparticipants consider both the strengths and weaknesses of the processand its outcomes recognizing and valuing success while always search-ing for better ways to do things the next time around

Integrate natural settings into the urban environment The story ofSathyanagar reinforces what research on childrenrsquos environments hasrepeatedly shown namely that access to natural settings has an irre-placeable value in childrenrsquos lives(15) Planners and decision makers needto understand the value that these settings have and work to preservethem as part of the urban fabric

Develop partnerships and a broad-based support network A success-ful programme of participatory community development requires theactive involvement of a range of groups and individuals from localgovernment agencies and elected officials to service organizationscommunity groups technical professionals and individual residents TheSathyanagar project was able to move forward (although in a limited way)after its funds were cut off due to the support of local staff and DEEDSThe projectrsquos ability to move forward more fully would have been consid-erably enhanced if the network of support had been broadened at anearlier date to include government departments other NGOs and a coali-tion of funding sources

Although funding was pulled from the Sathyanagar project and thecommunity action plan was never developed and implemented therewere nevertheless a number of positive outcomes from the Growing Up

in Cities initiative Theseinclude the new study centrestaff training and experiencein participatory methods anoticeable shift in staff atti-tudes towards greater respectfor ldquoslumrdquo areas and youngpeoplersquos pleasure and enthu-siasm in thinking about theplace where they live andarticulating their ideas aboutit The research in Sathyana-gar also gave insight into anarea where much too little isknown the experience ofpoverty from childrenrsquosperspectives

Research on resilience inchildren at risk has demon-strated that resilient childrendo not possess unique quali-ties that set them apart fromother children Rather in themidst of adversity they havebeen able to secure importantresources that foster healthyand competent human devel-opment (16) These resources

8 8 Env i ro nmentampU r baniza t ion Vol 13 No 1 Apri l 2001

O B STACLES TO YOUNG PEOPLErsquoS PARTICIPAT ION

15 For further analyses ofconflicts between fundingagency practices andprocesses which actuallysupport beneficiariesrsquo self-determination seeNieuwenhuys O (1997)ldquoSpaces for the children ofthe urban poorrdquoEnvironment andUrbanization Vol 9 No 1pages 233-249 alsoSatterthwaite D et al(1996) The Environment forChildren EarthscanPublications Londonchapter 6

16 Masten A S and J DCoatsworth (1998) ldquoThedevelopment ofcompetence in favourableand unfavourableenvironmentsrdquo AmericanPsychologist Vol 53 No 2pages 205-220

A glade of trees and small meadow in a nearbyhidden ravine provided uncommon access tonature for a settlement such as Sathyanagar andwas highly valued by childrenPhoto S RPrakash

project team since the CEE programme coordinator had previously statedthat the toilet project had been undertaken with extensive communityparticipation including the participation of children This and severalother incidents made it clear that the claims and reality of previous partic-ipation efforts were two different things

Other warning signs were apparent in the way in which the localproject staff was being managed by the Delhi-based programme coordi-nator especially the way in which unilateral decisions were made basedon incomplete and often inaccurate information Staff in the Bangaloreoffice never seemed to be completely aware of who was supposed to beworking on which project or even the basic status of the officersquos variousprojects In fact statements by the programme coordinator indicated thatthe initial proposal for Growing Up in Cities had been significantly modi-fied at the insistence of NORAD Yet repeated requests by the localGrowing Up in Cities directors to see a copy of the revised proposal andits staff plan schedule and activities were left unanswered

The unpredictable nature of programme management was exacerbatedby the way in which many of the local staff were treated Staff were repeat-edly told that their efforts were inadequate or unacceptable In severalsituations staff members were threatened with having their jobs termi-nated or even had letters sent home to their parents complaining abouttheir performance For the young largely lower-income staff membersand their families these incidents were extremely upsetting Rarely ifever were staff contributions and successes noted or rewarded

As the months of project work progressed the situation between theprogramme coordinator in Delhi and the local management team becameincreasingly strained Misunderstandings grew despite lengthy letters toDelhi explaining what was happening locally in Bangalore and in relationto the international Growing Up in Cities efforts These misunderstand-ings came to a head when the programme coordinator complained thatshe and CEE were not being properly acknowledged by the internationalproject (despite repeated explanations that the ldquointernational projectrdquo wasa grassroots network of individuals and organizations like CEE who werecommitted to childrenrsquos participation not a large central organizationwith resources at its disposal) She abruptly decided to halt all work on theproject and to withdraw CEE support All project files ndash including theresults of the door-to-door community survey and mapping work ndash wereto be locked in the CEE offices

Although this decision was upsetting and frustrating the responsesfrom local staff members were rewarding in their own way Althoughseveral of them relied on their income from CEE and did not want to jeop-ardize their employment they had also developed a strong commitmentto the project and to the young people of Sathyanagar On their own initia-tive they decided to continue working on the project in their own timein the evenings and at weekends and this allowed the completion of theactivities which represented the research portion of the Growing Up inCities programme In addition because the project had worked closelywith a second NGO DEEDS it was possible to implement at least oneresponse to the issues raised by Sathyanagar rsquos young people namely theneed for a quiet place to study as well as a place for job-training In 1998a study centre was constructed by DEEDS with the participation ofSathyanagar rsquos young people and with funding provided by Norwegianchildren through the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporationrsquos ldquoChildrenrsquosHourrdquo programme

8 4 Env i ro nmentampU r baniza t ion Vol 13 No 1 Apri l 2001

O B STACLES TO YOUNG PEOPLErsquoS PARTICIPAT ION

Unfortunately the same quality of response was not forthcoming fromeither CEErsquos national offices or NORADrsquos offices in Delhi or Oslo Despitefaxes phone calls and letters both organizations only said that theywould look into the matter No subsequent correspondence was everreceived

Both NORAD and CEE have earned reputations as well-intentionedorganizations with many good achievements to their credit The point ofthis story is not to single them out for blame The fact that even such well-reputed organizations failed to support this local participatory initiativeillustrates the extent of the barriers to translating the rhetoric of partici-pation into actual practice When the practice of international develop-ment so glaringly failed to support this initiative despite the quality ofthe organizations involved and the international connections of the pilotproject it raises significant questions about the possibility of success forgenuine community-based planning The fact that a single programmecoordinator was able to undermine the efforts of an entire project team ndashwith no recourse for addressing the issue at the local national or interna-tional level ndash illustrates the obstacles faced by young people and disen-franchised communities when it comes to the realization of their rightsincluding their right to define their own development priorities It alsoraises fundamental issues of NGO ethics and accountability Who isresponsible for ensuring that an NGO is actually working in a commu-nityrsquos best interests Without an effective institutional framework topromote ethics and accountability there is a very real risk that NGOs canundermine legitimate community interests leaving local residentswithout any established mechanism ndash such as an election ndash through whichthey can change the situation

V LESSONS FOR PLANNERS ANDDEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONS

THE STORIES SHARED by Sathyanagar rsquos young people speak to the real-ities of their lives and the place where they live whereas the experienceof working with them and with the various organizations and actors thataffect their lives has shed light on some of the realities of the developmentprocess and the challenges of participation Although the results of theGrowing Up in Cities project in Sathyanagar are based on interactionswith a small group of young people in a single place and time they never-theless provide insights and lessons that are worthy of consideration andapplication in other contexts

Sathyanagar fits the pattern of ldquoparadoxical povertyrdquo that has beenfound in other low income areas that are poor in material terms but richin other critical resources in the eyes of their children(13) The optimisticway in which the children of Sathyanagar presented their community leftus searching for clues as to how they could be so apparently confidentself-aware and resilient in an environment that was so demanding andat times threatening Table 1 presents a summary of what emerged assome of the key factors that supported young peoplersquos well-being inSathyanagar

Given Sathyanagar rsquos social cultural and environmental resources it istempting to think about what might have been achieved through thecomprehensive process of community-based planning that had beenproposed originally which would have built upon existing strengths and

Env ironmentampU rbanizat ion Vol 13 No 1 Apri l 2001 8 5

O B S TACLES TO YOUNG PEOPLErsquoS PARTICIPAT ION

13 For discussions ofldquoparadoxical povertyrdquo inplaces that are poor inmaterial resources yet richin social cultural or envi-ronmental resources seereference 12 Cosco andMoore (in press) alsoMcKendrick J (1998)ldquoFamilies and family envi-ronments in ManchesterrdquoTransactions of the Manches-ter Statistical Society 1995-1997 pages 1-27

addressed important needs Reflections on what went wrong point to anumber of lessons that may have value for others who are involved inplanning and development processes These lessons are applicablewhether one is working at the local regional national or internationallevels and whether within a governmental non-governmental or multi-lateral setting

Promote participation that is inclusive and meaningful Local resi-dents ndash especially women and children ndash need to be engaged in commu-nity development activities They are the only real ldquoexpertsrdquo on their dailylives and local conditions They should be treated as partners in the devel-opment process rather than as victims in need of help Real solutions

require that residents of all ages have a voice in the planning and deci-sion-making process and a real stake in the long-term development andsustainability of their community Enabling this to happen requires morethan a set of participatory methods It requires an understanding andcommitment to participatory principles from every level of the organiza-tions involved from funding agencies to project staff and residents them-selves

Operate using participatory principles Organizations working topromote participatory forms of development must internalize participa-tory principles and methods in their own operations Espousing partici-patory principles outside the organization and then operating in anauthoritarian manner within the organization will undermine credibilityand will eventually undermine the ability to undertake participatoryprogrammes

8 6 Env i ro nmentampU r baniza t ion Vol 13 No 1 Apri l 2001

O B STACLES TO YOUNG PEOPLErsquoS PARTICIPAT ION

Cul tural Identi ty The local culture ndash steeped in tradition myth and ritual ndash provided children with a strong senseof identity They knew who they were and they had a strong sense of belonging as well as pride

S o c i a l N e t w o rk s Extended families and the close-knit (though sometimes fractious) community gave youngpeople a sense of safety and the ability to move freely throughout the local area It was also evident that parents weredeeply concerned about their childrenrsquos well being and that by and large children felt that they were valued andimportant members of the community

R es po ns i bi l i t i e s Young peoplersquos sense of being valued was strongly reinforced by the expectations andresponsibilities placed upon them both at home and in the community at large

Na tu ra l D i v ers i ty One of the surprises revealed by Sathyanagarrsquos young people was the rich diversity ofnatural areas available in their local area These trees ponds and grassy areas provided a much needed refuge andsupported highly valued play experiences

L o c a t io n a n d L a y o u t Sathyanagarrsquos location on the fringe of the metropolitan area provided access tonatural settings as well as urban amenities and excitement ndash features that young people valued

Ba si c S erv ice s an d Fa c i l i t i es Although Sathyanagarrsquos residents face many hardships there are severalNGOs that are providing basic services and facilities to fill the void in government services especially in educationand job training

L a n d Te n u r e The fact that residents had title to their land undoubtedly had a strong impact on the commu-nityrsquos feelings of ownership security and pride ndash feelings that had been passed on to young residents too

A C u lt u re o f De m o c ra c y India is proud of its status as the worldrsquos largest democracy and imperfect thoughthe system may be people in Sathyanagar assumed that their relationship with government agencies and officialswas not one of ldquoDo we have a right to expect thisrdquobut rather ldquoHow can we best access that which is rightfully oursrdquo

Table 1 Factors that cont ributed to children rsquos wel l-be ing in Sathyanagar

Restructure the criteria and procedures used by funding agenciesAlthough many funding agencies espouse participatory ideals in theirprogramme brochures and publicize participatory practices in theirproject descriptions the reality is that few if any funding agencies operatein a manner that actually supports local participation efforts Mostfunding agencies limit the range of issues or types of projects for whichtheir funds can be used they want to know ahead of time what the projectoutcomes will be they prefer to fund a few big projects rather than numer-ous small ones they prioritize quantitative project-oriented measures ofsuccess over qualitative and process-oriented measures and they estab-lish strict time-lines for the start and finish of each project Funding agen-cies need to commit themselves to long-term investments and solutionsneed to provide greater flexibility for local determination of funding prior-ities need to support small projects need to encourage project phasingand need to value process outcomes as well as product outcomes(14) Themessage that ldquothe ends justify the meansrdquo ndash a message unintentionally yetstrongly advocated by many funding agencies ndash needs to be removedfrom the funding equation

Provide local management and monitoring Participatory projectscannot be managed from a distance When the process is valued as highlyas other project outcomes project management and communication mustbe daily and face-to-face

Cultivate talented reliable staff International and national agenciesneed to cultivate talented reliable staff at the local level since it is herethat the success or failure of participatory programmes will be deter-mined Local level managers and staff need to be considered and valuedas the most important and influential people in the organization with theremainder of the organizational resources available to support them intheir ongoing work efforts Ineffective staff and inappropriate manage-ment should not be tolerated as an unavoidable part of the system

Integrate research and action Throughout the initial fundraisingphase of the project potential funding agencies consistently indicated thatthey had no interest in funding ldquoresearch projectsrdquo While safeguards needto be in place to ensure that research is linked to action and that researchresults are put to good use the almost complete lack of support forresearch-related activities was troubling and perhaps indicative of whyso many development projects fail to achieve their objectives or too oftenresult in more harm than good Research and action are interdependentNeither is viable without the other

Incorporate qualitative as well as quantitative measures of youngpeoplersquos well-being A statistical analysis of quantitative measures of thewell-being of Sathyanagar rsquos young people by itself would certainly nothave yielded the same understanding of their lives as did the participa-tory exploration of their life quality Factoring in qualitative measuresleads to a much richer understanding of young peoplersquos lives and theissues they face and reveals existing resources to be conserved as well asproblems to be addressed Importantly it also leads to far different conclu-sions about what should be done to enhance community quality for chil-dren and youth

Encourage reflection and evaluation and value success in all itsforms Project monitoring and evaluation cannot be achieved through asingle visit by an outside evaluator or even several visits over the courseof a project While an outside perspective can certainly be useful mostevaluation visits tend to be staged events put on by local staff for the

Envi ronmentampU rbanizat ion Vol 13 No 1 Apri l 2001 8 7

O B S TACLES TO YOUNG PEOPLErsquoS PARTICIPAT ION

14 Chawla L (in press)ldquoSpots of time differentways of being in nature inchildhoodrdquo in Kahn P Hand S Kellert (editors)Children and Nature MITPress Cambridge MA

benefit of the visitor Instead reflection and evaluation must be a regularpart of any participatory project and should be conducted in a mannerthat actively involves project staff as well as local residents It requires thatparticipants consider both the strengths and weaknesses of the processand its outcomes recognizing and valuing success while always search-ing for better ways to do things the next time around

Integrate natural settings into the urban environment The story ofSathyanagar reinforces what research on childrenrsquos environments hasrepeatedly shown namely that access to natural settings has an irre-placeable value in childrenrsquos lives(15) Planners and decision makers needto understand the value that these settings have and work to preservethem as part of the urban fabric

Develop partnerships and a broad-based support network A success-ful programme of participatory community development requires theactive involvement of a range of groups and individuals from localgovernment agencies and elected officials to service organizationscommunity groups technical professionals and individual residents TheSathyanagar project was able to move forward (although in a limited way)after its funds were cut off due to the support of local staff and DEEDSThe projectrsquos ability to move forward more fully would have been consid-erably enhanced if the network of support had been broadened at anearlier date to include government departments other NGOs and a coali-tion of funding sources

Although funding was pulled from the Sathyanagar project and thecommunity action plan was never developed and implemented therewere nevertheless a number of positive outcomes from the Growing Up

in Cities initiative Theseinclude the new study centrestaff training and experiencein participatory methods anoticeable shift in staff atti-tudes towards greater respectfor ldquoslumrdquo areas and youngpeoplersquos pleasure and enthu-siasm in thinking about theplace where they live andarticulating their ideas aboutit The research in Sathyana-gar also gave insight into anarea where much too little isknown the experience ofpoverty from childrenrsquosperspectives

Research on resilience inchildren at risk has demon-strated that resilient childrendo not possess unique quali-ties that set them apart fromother children Rather in themidst of adversity they havebeen able to secure importantresources that foster healthyand competent human devel-opment (16) These resources

8 8 Env i ro nmentampU r baniza t ion Vol 13 No 1 Apri l 2001

O B STACLES TO YOUNG PEOPLErsquoS PARTICIPAT ION

15 For further analyses ofconflicts between fundingagency practices andprocesses which actuallysupport beneficiariesrsquo self-determination seeNieuwenhuys O (1997)ldquoSpaces for the children ofthe urban poorrdquoEnvironment andUrbanization Vol 9 No 1pages 233-249 alsoSatterthwaite D et al(1996) The Environment forChildren EarthscanPublications Londonchapter 6

16 Masten A S and J DCoatsworth (1998) ldquoThedevelopment ofcompetence in favourableand unfavourableenvironmentsrdquo AmericanPsychologist Vol 53 No 2pages 205-220

A glade of trees and small meadow in a nearbyhidden ravine provided uncommon access tonature for a settlement such as Sathyanagar andwas highly valued by childrenPhoto S RPrakash

Unfortunately the same quality of response was not forthcoming fromeither CEErsquos national offices or NORADrsquos offices in Delhi or Oslo Despitefaxes phone calls and letters both organizations only said that theywould look into the matter No subsequent correspondence was everreceived

Both NORAD and CEE have earned reputations as well-intentionedorganizations with many good achievements to their credit The point ofthis story is not to single them out for blame The fact that even such well-reputed organizations failed to support this local participatory initiativeillustrates the extent of the barriers to translating the rhetoric of partici-pation into actual practice When the practice of international develop-ment so glaringly failed to support this initiative despite the quality ofthe organizations involved and the international connections of the pilotproject it raises significant questions about the possibility of success forgenuine community-based planning The fact that a single programmecoordinator was able to undermine the efforts of an entire project team ndashwith no recourse for addressing the issue at the local national or interna-tional level ndash illustrates the obstacles faced by young people and disen-franchised communities when it comes to the realization of their rightsincluding their right to define their own development priorities It alsoraises fundamental issues of NGO ethics and accountability Who isresponsible for ensuring that an NGO is actually working in a commu-nityrsquos best interests Without an effective institutional framework topromote ethics and accountability there is a very real risk that NGOs canundermine legitimate community interests leaving local residentswithout any established mechanism ndash such as an election ndash through whichthey can change the situation

V LESSONS FOR PLANNERS ANDDEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONS

THE STORIES SHARED by Sathyanagar rsquos young people speak to the real-ities of their lives and the place where they live whereas the experienceof working with them and with the various organizations and actors thataffect their lives has shed light on some of the realities of the developmentprocess and the challenges of participation Although the results of theGrowing Up in Cities project in Sathyanagar are based on interactionswith a small group of young people in a single place and time they never-theless provide insights and lessons that are worthy of consideration andapplication in other contexts

Sathyanagar fits the pattern of ldquoparadoxical povertyrdquo that has beenfound in other low income areas that are poor in material terms but richin other critical resources in the eyes of their children(13) The optimisticway in which the children of Sathyanagar presented their community leftus searching for clues as to how they could be so apparently confidentself-aware and resilient in an environment that was so demanding andat times threatening Table 1 presents a summary of what emerged assome of the key factors that supported young peoplersquos well-being inSathyanagar

Given Sathyanagar rsquos social cultural and environmental resources it istempting to think about what might have been achieved through thecomprehensive process of community-based planning that had beenproposed originally which would have built upon existing strengths and

Env ironmentampU rbanizat ion Vol 13 No 1 Apri l 2001 8 5

O B S TACLES TO YOUNG PEOPLErsquoS PARTICIPAT ION

13 For discussions ofldquoparadoxical povertyrdquo inplaces that are poor inmaterial resources yet richin social cultural or envi-ronmental resources seereference 12 Cosco andMoore (in press) alsoMcKendrick J (1998)ldquoFamilies and family envi-ronments in ManchesterrdquoTransactions of the Manches-ter Statistical Society 1995-1997 pages 1-27

addressed important needs Reflections on what went wrong point to anumber of lessons that may have value for others who are involved inplanning and development processes These lessons are applicablewhether one is working at the local regional national or internationallevels and whether within a governmental non-governmental or multi-lateral setting

Promote participation that is inclusive and meaningful Local resi-dents ndash especially women and children ndash need to be engaged in commu-nity development activities They are the only real ldquoexpertsrdquo on their dailylives and local conditions They should be treated as partners in the devel-opment process rather than as victims in need of help Real solutions

require that residents of all ages have a voice in the planning and deci-sion-making process and a real stake in the long-term development andsustainability of their community Enabling this to happen requires morethan a set of participatory methods It requires an understanding andcommitment to participatory principles from every level of the organiza-tions involved from funding agencies to project staff and residents them-selves

Operate using participatory principles Organizations working topromote participatory forms of development must internalize participa-tory principles and methods in their own operations Espousing partici-patory principles outside the organization and then operating in anauthoritarian manner within the organization will undermine credibilityand will eventually undermine the ability to undertake participatoryprogrammes

8 6 Env i ro nmentampU r baniza t ion Vol 13 No 1 Apri l 2001

O B STACLES TO YOUNG PEOPLErsquoS PARTICIPAT ION

Cul tural Identi ty The local culture ndash steeped in tradition myth and ritual ndash provided children with a strong senseof identity They knew who they were and they had a strong sense of belonging as well as pride

S o c i a l N e t w o rk s Extended families and the close-knit (though sometimes fractious) community gave youngpeople a sense of safety and the ability to move freely throughout the local area It was also evident that parents weredeeply concerned about their childrenrsquos well being and that by and large children felt that they were valued andimportant members of the community

R es po ns i bi l i t i e s Young peoplersquos sense of being valued was strongly reinforced by the expectations andresponsibilities placed upon them both at home and in the community at large

Na tu ra l D i v ers i ty One of the surprises revealed by Sathyanagarrsquos young people was the rich diversity ofnatural areas available in their local area These trees ponds and grassy areas provided a much needed refuge andsupported highly valued play experiences

L o c a t io n a n d L a y o u t Sathyanagarrsquos location on the fringe of the metropolitan area provided access tonatural settings as well as urban amenities and excitement ndash features that young people valued

Ba si c S erv ice s an d Fa c i l i t i es Although Sathyanagarrsquos residents face many hardships there are severalNGOs that are providing basic services and facilities to fill the void in government services especially in educationand job training

L a n d Te n u r e The fact that residents had title to their land undoubtedly had a strong impact on the commu-nityrsquos feelings of ownership security and pride ndash feelings that had been passed on to young residents too

A C u lt u re o f De m o c ra c y India is proud of its status as the worldrsquos largest democracy and imperfect thoughthe system may be people in Sathyanagar assumed that their relationship with government agencies and officialswas not one of ldquoDo we have a right to expect thisrdquobut rather ldquoHow can we best access that which is rightfully oursrdquo

Table 1 Factors that cont ributed to children rsquos wel l-be ing in Sathyanagar

Restructure the criteria and procedures used by funding agenciesAlthough many funding agencies espouse participatory ideals in theirprogramme brochures and publicize participatory practices in theirproject descriptions the reality is that few if any funding agencies operatein a manner that actually supports local participation efforts Mostfunding agencies limit the range of issues or types of projects for whichtheir funds can be used they want to know ahead of time what the projectoutcomes will be they prefer to fund a few big projects rather than numer-ous small ones they prioritize quantitative project-oriented measures ofsuccess over qualitative and process-oriented measures and they estab-lish strict time-lines for the start and finish of each project Funding agen-cies need to commit themselves to long-term investments and solutionsneed to provide greater flexibility for local determination of funding prior-ities need to support small projects need to encourage project phasingand need to value process outcomes as well as product outcomes(14) Themessage that ldquothe ends justify the meansrdquo ndash a message unintentionally yetstrongly advocated by many funding agencies ndash needs to be removedfrom the funding equation

Provide local management and monitoring Participatory projectscannot be managed from a distance When the process is valued as highlyas other project outcomes project management and communication mustbe daily and face-to-face

Cultivate talented reliable staff International and national agenciesneed to cultivate talented reliable staff at the local level since it is herethat the success or failure of participatory programmes will be deter-mined Local level managers and staff need to be considered and valuedas the most important and influential people in the organization with theremainder of the organizational resources available to support them intheir ongoing work efforts Ineffective staff and inappropriate manage-ment should not be tolerated as an unavoidable part of the system

Integrate research and action Throughout the initial fundraisingphase of the project potential funding agencies consistently indicated thatthey had no interest in funding ldquoresearch projectsrdquo While safeguards needto be in place to ensure that research is linked to action and that researchresults are put to good use the almost complete lack of support forresearch-related activities was troubling and perhaps indicative of whyso many development projects fail to achieve their objectives or too oftenresult in more harm than good Research and action are interdependentNeither is viable without the other

Incorporate qualitative as well as quantitative measures of youngpeoplersquos well-being A statistical analysis of quantitative measures of thewell-being of Sathyanagar rsquos young people by itself would certainly nothave yielded the same understanding of their lives as did the participa-tory exploration of their life quality Factoring in qualitative measuresleads to a much richer understanding of young peoplersquos lives and theissues they face and reveals existing resources to be conserved as well asproblems to be addressed Importantly it also leads to far different conclu-sions about what should be done to enhance community quality for chil-dren and youth

Encourage reflection and evaluation and value success in all itsforms Project monitoring and evaluation cannot be achieved through asingle visit by an outside evaluator or even several visits over the courseof a project While an outside perspective can certainly be useful mostevaluation visits tend to be staged events put on by local staff for the

Envi ronmentampU rbanizat ion Vol 13 No 1 Apri l 2001 8 7

O B S TACLES TO YOUNG PEOPLErsquoS PARTICIPAT ION

14 Chawla L (in press)ldquoSpots of time differentways of being in nature inchildhoodrdquo in Kahn P Hand S Kellert (editors)Children and Nature MITPress Cambridge MA

benefit of the visitor Instead reflection and evaluation must be a regularpart of any participatory project and should be conducted in a mannerthat actively involves project staff as well as local residents It requires thatparticipants consider both the strengths and weaknesses of the processand its outcomes recognizing and valuing success while always search-ing for better ways to do things the next time around

Integrate natural settings into the urban environment The story ofSathyanagar reinforces what research on childrenrsquos environments hasrepeatedly shown namely that access to natural settings has an irre-placeable value in childrenrsquos lives(15) Planners and decision makers needto understand the value that these settings have and work to preservethem as part of the urban fabric

Develop partnerships and a broad-based support network A success-ful programme of participatory community development requires theactive involvement of a range of groups and individuals from localgovernment agencies and elected officials to service organizationscommunity groups technical professionals and individual residents TheSathyanagar project was able to move forward (although in a limited way)after its funds were cut off due to the support of local staff and DEEDSThe projectrsquos ability to move forward more fully would have been consid-erably enhanced if the network of support had been broadened at anearlier date to include government departments other NGOs and a coali-tion of funding sources

Although funding was pulled from the Sathyanagar project and thecommunity action plan was never developed and implemented therewere nevertheless a number of positive outcomes from the Growing Up

in Cities initiative Theseinclude the new study centrestaff training and experiencein participatory methods anoticeable shift in staff atti-tudes towards greater respectfor ldquoslumrdquo areas and youngpeoplersquos pleasure and enthu-siasm in thinking about theplace where they live andarticulating their ideas aboutit The research in Sathyana-gar also gave insight into anarea where much too little isknown the experience ofpoverty from childrenrsquosperspectives

Research on resilience inchildren at risk has demon-strated that resilient childrendo not possess unique quali-ties that set them apart fromother children Rather in themidst of adversity they havebeen able to secure importantresources that foster healthyand competent human devel-opment (16) These resources

8 8 Env i ro nmentampU r baniza t ion Vol 13 No 1 Apri l 2001

O B STACLES TO YOUNG PEOPLErsquoS PARTICIPAT ION

15 For further analyses ofconflicts between fundingagency practices andprocesses which actuallysupport beneficiariesrsquo self-determination seeNieuwenhuys O (1997)ldquoSpaces for the children ofthe urban poorrdquoEnvironment andUrbanization Vol 9 No 1pages 233-249 alsoSatterthwaite D et al(1996) The Environment forChildren EarthscanPublications Londonchapter 6

16 Masten A S and J DCoatsworth (1998) ldquoThedevelopment ofcompetence in favourableand unfavourableenvironmentsrdquo AmericanPsychologist Vol 53 No 2pages 205-220

A glade of trees and small meadow in a nearbyhidden ravine provided uncommon access tonature for a settlement such as Sathyanagar andwas highly valued by childrenPhoto S RPrakash

addressed important needs Reflections on what went wrong point to anumber of lessons that may have value for others who are involved inplanning and development processes These lessons are applicablewhether one is working at the local regional national or internationallevels and whether within a governmental non-governmental or multi-lateral setting

Promote participation that is inclusive and meaningful Local resi-dents ndash especially women and children ndash need to be engaged in commu-nity development activities They are the only real ldquoexpertsrdquo on their dailylives and local conditions They should be treated as partners in the devel-opment process rather than as victims in need of help Real solutions

require that residents of all ages have a voice in the planning and deci-sion-making process and a real stake in the long-term development andsustainability of their community Enabling this to happen requires morethan a set of participatory methods It requires an understanding andcommitment to participatory principles from every level of the organiza-tions involved from funding agencies to project staff and residents them-selves

Operate using participatory principles Organizations working topromote participatory forms of development must internalize participa-tory principles and methods in their own operations Espousing partici-patory principles outside the organization and then operating in anauthoritarian manner within the organization will undermine credibilityand will eventually undermine the ability to undertake participatoryprogrammes

8 6 Env i ro nmentampU r baniza t ion Vol 13 No 1 Apri l 2001

O B STACLES TO YOUNG PEOPLErsquoS PARTICIPAT ION

Cul tural Identi ty The local culture ndash steeped in tradition myth and ritual ndash provided children with a strong senseof identity They knew who they were and they had a strong sense of belonging as well as pride

S o c i a l N e t w o rk s Extended families and the close-knit (though sometimes fractious) community gave youngpeople a sense of safety and the ability to move freely throughout the local area It was also evident that parents weredeeply concerned about their childrenrsquos well being and that by and large children felt that they were valued andimportant members of the community

R es po ns i bi l i t i e s Young peoplersquos sense of being valued was strongly reinforced by the expectations andresponsibilities placed upon them both at home and in the community at large

Na tu ra l D i v ers i ty One of the surprises revealed by Sathyanagarrsquos young people was the rich diversity ofnatural areas available in their local area These trees ponds and grassy areas provided a much needed refuge andsupported highly valued play experiences

L o c a t io n a n d L a y o u t Sathyanagarrsquos location on the fringe of the metropolitan area provided access tonatural settings as well as urban amenities and excitement ndash features that young people valued

Ba si c S erv ice s an d Fa c i l i t i es Although Sathyanagarrsquos residents face many hardships there are severalNGOs that are providing basic services and facilities to fill the void in government services especially in educationand job training

L a n d Te n u r e The fact that residents had title to their land undoubtedly had a strong impact on the commu-nityrsquos feelings of ownership security and pride ndash feelings that had been passed on to young residents too

A C u lt u re o f De m o c ra c y India is proud of its status as the worldrsquos largest democracy and imperfect thoughthe system may be people in Sathyanagar assumed that their relationship with government agencies and officialswas not one of ldquoDo we have a right to expect thisrdquobut rather ldquoHow can we best access that which is rightfully oursrdquo

Table 1 Factors that cont ributed to children rsquos wel l-be ing in Sathyanagar

Restructure the criteria and procedures used by funding agenciesAlthough many funding agencies espouse participatory ideals in theirprogramme brochures and publicize participatory practices in theirproject descriptions the reality is that few if any funding agencies operatein a manner that actually supports local participation efforts Mostfunding agencies limit the range of issues or types of projects for whichtheir funds can be used they want to know ahead of time what the projectoutcomes will be they prefer to fund a few big projects rather than numer-ous small ones they prioritize quantitative project-oriented measures ofsuccess over qualitative and process-oriented measures and they estab-lish strict time-lines for the start and finish of each project Funding agen-cies need to commit themselves to long-term investments and solutionsneed to provide greater flexibility for local determination of funding prior-ities need to support small projects need to encourage project phasingand need to value process outcomes as well as product outcomes(14) Themessage that ldquothe ends justify the meansrdquo ndash a message unintentionally yetstrongly advocated by many funding agencies ndash needs to be removedfrom the funding equation

Provide local management and monitoring Participatory projectscannot be managed from a distance When the process is valued as highlyas other project outcomes project management and communication mustbe daily and face-to-face

Cultivate talented reliable staff International and national agenciesneed to cultivate talented reliable staff at the local level since it is herethat the success or failure of participatory programmes will be deter-mined Local level managers and staff need to be considered and valuedas the most important and influential people in the organization with theremainder of the organizational resources available to support them intheir ongoing work efforts Ineffective staff and inappropriate manage-ment should not be tolerated as an unavoidable part of the system

Integrate research and action Throughout the initial fundraisingphase of the project potential funding agencies consistently indicated thatthey had no interest in funding ldquoresearch projectsrdquo While safeguards needto be in place to ensure that research is linked to action and that researchresults are put to good use the almost complete lack of support forresearch-related activities was troubling and perhaps indicative of whyso many development projects fail to achieve their objectives or too oftenresult in more harm than good Research and action are interdependentNeither is viable without the other

Incorporate qualitative as well as quantitative measures of youngpeoplersquos well-being A statistical analysis of quantitative measures of thewell-being of Sathyanagar rsquos young people by itself would certainly nothave yielded the same understanding of their lives as did the participa-tory exploration of their life quality Factoring in qualitative measuresleads to a much richer understanding of young peoplersquos lives and theissues they face and reveals existing resources to be conserved as well asproblems to be addressed Importantly it also leads to far different conclu-sions about what should be done to enhance community quality for chil-dren and youth

Encourage reflection and evaluation and value success in all itsforms Project monitoring and evaluation cannot be achieved through asingle visit by an outside evaluator or even several visits over the courseof a project While an outside perspective can certainly be useful mostevaluation visits tend to be staged events put on by local staff for the

Envi ronmentampU rbanizat ion Vol 13 No 1 Apri l 2001 8 7

O B S TACLES TO YOUNG PEOPLErsquoS PARTICIPAT ION

14 Chawla L (in press)ldquoSpots of time differentways of being in nature inchildhoodrdquo in Kahn P Hand S Kellert (editors)Children and Nature MITPress Cambridge MA

benefit of the visitor Instead reflection and evaluation must be a regularpart of any participatory project and should be conducted in a mannerthat actively involves project staff as well as local residents It requires thatparticipants consider both the strengths and weaknesses of the processand its outcomes recognizing and valuing success while always search-ing for better ways to do things the next time around

Integrate natural settings into the urban environment The story ofSathyanagar reinforces what research on childrenrsquos environments hasrepeatedly shown namely that access to natural settings has an irre-placeable value in childrenrsquos lives(15) Planners and decision makers needto understand the value that these settings have and work to preservethem as part of the urban fabric

Develop partnerships and a broad-based support network A success-ful programme of participatory community development requires theactive involvement of a range of groups and individuals from localgovernment agencies and elected officials to service organizationscommunity groups technical professionals and individual residents TheSathyanagar project was able to move forward (although in a limited way)after its funds were cut off due to the support of local staff and DEEDSThe projectrsquos ability to move forward more fully would have been consid-erably enhanced if the network of support had been broadened at anearlier date to include government departments other NGOs and a coali-tion of funding sources

Although funding was pulled from the Sathyanagar project and thecommunity action plan was never developed and implemented therewere nevertheless a number of positive outcomes from the Growing Up

in Cities initiative Theseinclude the new study centrestaff training and experiencein participatory methods anoticeable shift in staff atti-tudes towards greater respectfor ldquoslumrdquo areas and youngpeoplersquos pleasure and enthu-siasm in thinking about theplace where they live andarticulating their ideas aboutit The research in Sathyana-gar also gave insight into anarea where much too little isknown the experience ofpoverty from childrenrsquosperspectives

Research on resilience inchildren at risk has demon-strated that resilient childrendo not possess unique quali-ties that set them apart fromother children Rather in themidst of adversity they havebeen able to secure importantresources that foster healthyand competent human devel-opment (16) These resources

8 8 Env i ro nmentampU r baniza t ion Vol 13 No 1 Apri l 2001

O B STACLES TO YOUNG PEOPLErsquoS PARTICIPAT ION

15 For further analyses ofconflicts between fundingagency practices andprocesses which actuallysupport beneficiariesrsquo self-determination seeNieuwenhuys O (1997)ldquoSpaces for the children ofthe urban poorrdquoEnvironment andUrbanization Vol 9 No 1pages 233-249 alsoSatterthwaite D et al(1996) The Environment forChildren EarthscanPublications Londonchapter 6

16 Masten A S and J DCoatsworth (1998) ldquoThedevelopment ofcompetence in favourableand unfavourableenvironmentsrdquo AmericanPsychologist Vol 53 No 2pages 205-220

A glade of trees and small meadow in a nearbyhidden ravine provided uncommon access tonature for a settlement such as Sathyanagar andwas highly valued by childrenPhoto S RPrakash

Restructure the criteria and procedures used by funding agenciesAlthough many funding agencies espouse participatory ideals in theirprogramme brochures and publicize participatory practices in theirproject descriptions the reality is that few if any funding agencies operatein a manner that actually supports local participation efforts Mostfunding agencies limit the range of issues or types of projects for whichtheir funds can be used they want to know ahead of time what the projectoutcomes will be they prefer to fund a few big projects rather than numer-ous small ones they prioritize quantitative project-oriented measures ofsuccess over qualitative and process-oriented measures and they estab-lish strict time-lines for the start and finish of each project Funding agen-cies need to commit themselves to long-term investments and solutionsneed to provide greater flexibility for local determination of funding prior-ities need to support small projects need to encourage project phasingand need to value process outcomes as well as product outcomes(14) Themessage that ldquothe ends justify the meansrdquo ndash a message unintentionally yetstrongly advocated by many funding agencies ndash needs to be removedfrom the funding equation

Provide local management and monitoring Participatory projectscannot be managed from a distance When the process is valued as highlyas other project outcomes project management and communication mustbe daily and face-to-face

Cultivate talented reliable staff International and national agenciesneed to cultivate talented reliable staff at the local level since it is herethat the success or failure of participatory programmes will be deter-mined Local level managers and staff need to be considered and valuedas the most important and influential people in the organization with theremainder of the organizational resources available to support them intheir ongoing work efforts Ineffective staff and inappropriate manage-ment should not be tolerated as an unavoidable part of the system

Integrate research and action Throughout the initial fundraisingphase of the project potential funding agencies consistently indicated thatthey had no interest in funding ldquoresearch projectsrdquo While safeguards needto be in place to ensure that research is linked to action and that researchresults are put to good use the almost complete lack of support forresearch-related activities was troubling and perhaps indicative of whyso many development projects fail to achieve their objectives or too oftenresult in more harm than good Research and action are interdependentNeither is viable without the other

Incorporate qualitative as well as quantitative measures of youngpeoplersquos well-being A statistical analysis of quantitative measures of thewell-being of Sathyanagar rsquos young people by itself would certainly nothave yielded the same understanding of their lives as did the participa-tory exploration of their life quality Factoring in qualitative measuresleads to a much richer understanding of young peoplersquos lives and theissues they face and reveals existing resources to be conserved as well asproblems to be addressed Importantly it also leads to far different conclu-sions about what should be done to enhance community quality for chil-dren and youth

Encourage reflection and evaluation and value success in all itsforms Project monitoring and evaluation cannot be achieved through asingle visit by an outside evaluator or even several visits over the courseof a project While an outside perspective can certainly be useful mostevaluation visits tend to be staged events put on by local staff for the

Envi ronmentampU rbanizat ion Vol 13 No 1 Apri l 2001 8 7

O B S TACLES TO YOUNG PEOPLErsquoS PARTICIPAT ION

14 Chawla L (in press)ldquoSpots of time differentways of being in nature inchildhoodrdquo in Kahn P Hand S Kellert (editors)Children and Nature MITPress Cambridge MA

benefit of the visitor Instead reflection and evaluation must be a regularpart of any participatory project and should be conducted in a mannerthat actively involves project staff as well as local residents It requires thatparticipants consider both the strengths and weaknesses of the processand its outcomes recognizing and valuing success while always search-ing for better ways to do things the next time around

Integrate natural settings into the urban environment The story ofSathyanagar reinforces what research on childrenrsquos environments hasrepeatedly shown namely that access to natural settings has an irre-placeable value in childrenrsquos lives(15) Planners and decision makers needto understand the value that these settings have and work to preservethem as part of the urban fabric

Develop partnerships and a broad-based support network A success-ful programme of participatory community development requires theactive involvement of a range of groups and individuals from localgovernment agencies and elected officials to service organizationscommunity groups technical professionals and individual residents TheSathyanagar project was able to move forward (although in a limited way)after its funds were cut off due to the support of local staff and DEEDSThe projectrsquos ability to move forward more fully would have been consid-erably enhanced if the network of support had been broadened at anearlier date to include government departments other NGOs and a coali-tion of funding sources

Although funding was pulled from the Sathyanagar project and thecommunity action plan was never developed and implemented therewere nevertheless a number of positive outcomes from the Growing Up

in Cities initiative Theseinclude the new study centrestaff training and experiencein participatory methods anoticeable shift in staff atti-tudes towards greater respectfor ldquoslumrdquo areas and youngpeoplersquos pleasure and enthu-siasm in thinking about theplace where they live andarticulating their ideas aboutit The research in Sathyana-gar also gave insight into anarea where much too little isknown the experience ofpoverty from childrenrsquosperspectives

Research on resilience inchildren at risk has demon-strated that resilient childrendo not possess unique quali-ties that set them apart fromother children Rather in themidst of adversity they havebeen able to secure importantresources that foster healthyand competent human devel-opment (16) These resources

8 8 Env i ro nmentampU r baniza t ion Vol 13 No 1 Apri l 2001

O B STACLES TO YOUNG PEOPLErsquoS PARTICIPAT ION

15 For further analyses ofconflicts between fundingagency practices andprocesses which actuallysupport beneficiariesrsquo self-determination seeNieuwenhuys O (1997)ldquoSpaces for the children ofthe urban poorrdquoEnvironment andUrbanization Vol 9 No 1pages 233-249 alsoSatterthwaite D et al(1996) The Environment forChildren EarthscanPublications Londonchapter 6

16 Masten A S and J DCoatsworth (1998) ldquoThedevelopment ofcompetence in favourableand unfavourableenvironmentsrdquo AmericanPsychologist Vol 53 No 2pages 205-220

A glade of trees and small meadow in a nearbyhidden ravine provided uncommon access tonature for a settlement such as Sathyanagar andwas highly valued by childrenPhoto S RPrakash

benefit of the visitor Instead reflection and evaluation must be a regularpart of any participatory project and should be conducted in a mannerthat actively involves project staff as well as local residents It requires thatparticipants consider both the strengths and weaknesses of the processand its outcomes recognizing and valuing success while always search-ing for better ways to do things the next time around

Integrate natural settings into the urban environment The story ofSathyanagar reinforces what research on childrenrsquos environments hasrepeatedly shown namely that access to natural settings has an irre-placeable value in childrenrsquos lives(15) Planners and decision makers needto understand the value that these settings have and work to preservethem as part of the urban fabric

Develop partnerships and a broad-based support network A success-ful programme of participatory community development requires theactive involvement of a range of groups and individuals from localgovernment agencies and elected officials to service organizationscommunity groups technical professionals and individual residents TheSathyanagar project was able to move forward (although in a limited way)after its funds were cut off due to the support of local staff and DEEDSThe projectrsquos ability to move forward more fully would have been consid-erably enhanced if the network of support had been broadened at anearlier date to include government departments other NGOs and a coali-tion of funding sources

Although funding was pulled from the Sathyanagar project and thecommunity action plan was never developed and implemented therewere nevertheless a number of positive outcomes from the Growing Up

in Cities initiative Theseinclude the new study centrestaff training and experiencein participatory methods anoticeable shift in staff atti-tudes towards greater respectfor ldquoslumrdquo areas and youngpeoplersquos pleasure and enthu-siasm in thinking about theplace where they live andarticulating their ideas aboutit The research in Sathyana-gar also gave insight into anarea where much too little isknown the experience ofpoverty from childrenrsquosperspectives

Research on resilience inchildren at risk has demon-strated that resilient childrendo not possess unique quali-ties that set them apart fromother children Rather in themidst of adversity they havebeen able to secure importantresources that foster healthyand competent human devel-opment (16) These resources

8 8 Env i ro nmentampU r baniza t ion Vol 13 No 1 Apri l 2001

O B STACLES TO YOUNG PEOPLErsquoS PARTICIPAT ION

15 For further analyses ofconflicts between fundingagency practices andprocesses which actuallysupport beneficiariesrsquo self-determination seeNieuwenhuys O (1997)ldquoSpaces for the children ofthe urban poorrdquoEnvironment andUrbanization Vol 9 No 1pages 233-249 alsoSatterthwaite D et al(1996) The Environment forChildren EarthscanPublications Londonchapter 6

16 Masten A S and J DCoatsworth (1998) ldquoThedevelopment ofcompetence in favourableand unfavourableenvironmentsrdquo AmericanPsychologist Vol 53 No 2pages 205-220

A glade of trees and small meadow in a nearbyhidden ravine provided uncommon access tonature for a settlement such as Sathyanagar andwas highly valued by childrenPhoto S RPrakash

include a close relationship with a parent figure who provides warmthand structure a supportive extended family network connections to pro-social organizations and adults beyond the family effective schools andopportunities to be sociable and to develop a sense of self-confidence self-esteem and faith At their best childrenrsquos environments function withredundancy if a resource is lacking in one place it can be found inanother In many ways despite its very real socio-economic disadvan-tages Sathyanagar provided resources for resilience

As we noted at the beginning of this paper most of the worldrsquos chil-dren ndash like the children of Sathyanagar ndash face socio-economic inequitiesthat require that they demonstrate sturdy levels of resilience if they are tosurmount the obstacles they face and become successful members of theirsocieties It is therefore critical to know what works for the children ineach community in addition to knowing what does not This type ofunderstanding can only be gained through an inclusive and participatoryevaluation that involves residents of all ages children as well as adults inidentifying ldquoresources for resiliencerdquo as well as issues for action For theseprocesses to work development aid agencies governments and NGOsmust learn how to support genuine processes of participation that buildon peoplersquos strengths in reality as well as in rhetoric

Env ironmentampU rbanizat ion Vol 13 No 1 Apri l 2001 8 9

O B S TACLES TO YOUNG PEOPLErsquoS PARTICIPAT ION