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Inside/Outside: Researching urban informalities

Adriana Valdez Youngvaldezyoung.com

Makeshift Research:

- DIY - Hidden in plain sight (silent majority)- Empathy, awareness- Ethnography (deep hanging out)- Timeless & Impermanent- Science & romance

1. [Slow] informal trade spaces in South LondonHigh Street London ReportLooking In-Between Peckham

Nicolas PalominosAdriana Young

2. [Fast] informal worker housing in Kuwait

Design Research Case 1 (2012):Street vendors - Rye Lane, London [9 months]

Institution: - LSE Cities - interdisciplinary group

Methods: - Quantitative socio-economic data (census, planning council, national economic studies)- Qualitative - visual, spatial, social (ethnographic, architectural analysis, urban design analysis)

Intention:- Reveal conflict between urban planning strategy and successes of informal economic cultures and spaces

Adopt local high street policies: recognise in Borough planning policy the importance of high streets as varied, complex and unique places, and not just as retail or necessarily town centre spaces.

1/3 of trips to High St. are not for consumption 40%of Londoners live

within a 5 min. walk of a High St. (3 mill.)

High Streets are mixed used urban corridors

>50%of London’s employees work within 200 m of a High St.(1.45 mill.)

3.6%of London’s road network(500 km)

High Streets are connected, adaptable, mixed, social and intense

boost small scale entrepreneurial activity

have a potential of multiple, complex and overlapping exchange activities

Rye LaneDetached, Inner South,Narrow, High Density, Deprived,

LIBRARY

TRAIN

TESCO

£290 MILLION REGENERATION

£60 PER WEEK

To create a street trading and market service that contributes to the regeneration of the borough, provides access to high quality affordable food and other goods, has significant positive economic and employment benefits, promotes and sustains independent and small business and contributes to a vibrant, safe public realm.

CLOTHING

FRUIT&VEG

SAFI’S STAND

PECKHAM DEMOGRAPHICS34% BLACK AFRICAN (ONS 2005)

67% WORKING AGE (NOMIS ONS 2009)

25% 0-15 YRS OLD POPULATION - 25,000 (ONS 2009)

PECKHAM RETAIL2,100 STORES13,400 EMPLOYEES6.4 AVG. # EMPLOYEES WESTFIELD STRATFORD: 233 STORES, 10,000 EMPLOYEES

SOUTHWARK TRADING POLICY1,000 TRADING AREAS70% OCCUPANCY£35 APPLICATION FEE£60 WEEKLY RENT£18 WEEKEND DAY RENT

HIGH STREET THICKNESS

SOUTHWARK HOUSING ASSOC.BengaliChineseFrenchSomaliSpanishTurkishVietnamese

THE MONEY STOREEuroUS Dollar Australian DollarJamaican DollarEgyptian PoundTurkish LiraBulgarian LevBrazilian ReaisChinese Yuan

SAFI SAYS HELLOPashto (Afghanistan)Urdu (India)Dagbani (Ghana)EnglishKrio (Sierra Leone)MandarinSpanish Tagalog (Philippines) Yoruba (Nigeria)

FRUITS & VEGETABLESAfghanistanBrazilChinaCosta RicaEcuador FranceGermanyGhanaItalyNetherlandsNew ZealandSpainUgandaUSA

WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM THE IN-BETWEEN?- INTENSITY OF SMALL SPACES

- VALUE OF EYES ON THE STREET

- FLEXIBLE, MODULAR FOOTPRINT

- TEMPORAL, SEASONAL FLUCTUATIONS

- LEGAL LABOUR LOOPHOLES

- TRADING EXPOSURE FOR VULNERABILITY

Overview:

Process:- Academic conventions (sociology, geography, urban ethnography, architecture)

- Design intervention

Actors:- Traders, Urban Planners & Architects, Community Advocates, Educators

Product: - Visual Record - Maps, Drawings, Graphs, Videos

- Design Intervention - Mobile phone game- Academic and non-academic articles

- Online archive and interactive tool

Design Research Case 2 (2013):Informal worker housing - Kuwait City, Kuwait [3 weeks]

Institution: - India China Institute - independent research

Methods: - Limited public published data on worker demographics and subject studies- Alternative data sources (media, human rights groups, interviews, site visits)

Intention:- Academic workshops- Material for human rights groups

Worker Housing Typologies

1 - Government labour camp2 - Private labour camp

3 - Informal/illegal housing4 - Domestic workers

5 - Bedoun camp6 - Fantasy park

Kuwait City, Kuwait

‘I Wish 2013’ Reality TV- Al Watan TV

‘Ramadan 2013’Wataniya Telecom

‘I signed a contract to work 8 hours a day. I work 16 sometimes

17 hours a day.’- Housekeeper for a Kuwaiti family

‘I want to see 10 people in front of me. For what, I don’t know.’

- CEO of Swedish Cleaning Company

‘[The government] doesn’t want to embarrass ourselves, so we don’t publish our materials. We don’t publish cancer rates either.

It’s very high in Kuwait, but we don’t want people to worry.’UN-Habitat Officer

‘It’s a type of modern slavery.’- CEO of Swedish Cleaning Company

‘We get the maximum out of the worker. All they focus on is work.’

- Kharafi National Labour Camp Manager

‘We thought about how to relocate Jleeb Al-Shoyoukh as it is from Kuwait City to another located that’s well managed that is not close to the City.

- Nasser Al Bargash, Golden Triangle Project

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Kuwait is the 5th richest country in the world, where its 1.3 million nationals enjoy a per capita income of $81,800. At 1.1 million, Indian nationals comprise the largest ex-pat group in Kuwait. The Indian Embassy recommends the minimum annual salary for a maid at $2,520 and for more skilled professionals, such as architects, $16,824. Extreme income disparity between locals and foreigners precludes social and economic integration. Low-wage workers live in worlds apart. Rooted in a system called ‘kafala,’ conditions for workers have been likened to modern slavery and neo-feudalism. Originating in a Bedouin principle of hospitality, the kafala evolved in the 1960s into strict national laws that require all foreign workers to secure a sponsor (kafeel) who offers them an exclusive work contract that can be renewed every two years. While Kuwait national labour laws stipulate the terms of the contract, guaranteeing a minimum wage, set number of working hours, one day off per week, an annual trip back to the worker’s home country, a pre-paid mobile phone, and free room and board, there is no way for contracts to be enforced.

The kafeel decides whether a worker may change employers, and has the right to report the worker to Kuwaiti immigration to cancel a worker’s residency permit or request deportation at any time. Without a kafal, workers are restricted from accessing public services and leaving the country. But without these workers, how would Kuwaitis manage DQ\WKLQJ�IURP�PDNLQJ�GLQQHU�WR�UHÀQLQJ�RLO" What follows are snapshots from conversations, site visits and TV shows of working life in Kuwait.

ONE AT A TIMEBetta is a quarterly print publication investigating urban spaces one question at a time. Produced by Christina Kral and Adriana Valdez Young. This issue was made with support from a fellowship from the India China Institute and research guidance from architect Sharifa Alshalfan.

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A nanny awaits her teenage charge outside

of a mall store. It is not uncommon for Kuwaiti

young adults to be accompanied by their

childhood caretakers (Young 2013).

10 # of Dunkin Donuts opened

in Kuwait since 2004

1# of reforms since 1959 to labour laws

affecting foreign workers

6/6Gulf Countries use the kafala system

6/6Gulf Countries rank in the top ten globally

for highest rates of Diabetes

$7Minimum daily wage of foreign

domestic worker

$21Minimum daily wage of Kuwaiti national

$3Cost of two donuts and one regular coffee

at Dunkin Donuts in Kuwait

1/2.5 days Frequency that migrant workers attempt

or commit suicide

Weathered ads in Hindi and Arabic for taxi and satellite dish services at an informal worker housing complex in downtown Kuwait City (Young 2013).

6SHFXODWLYH�SODQ�IRU�D�ÁRDWLQJ�H[WHQVLRQ�RI�.XZDLW�&LW\��Studies in Architecture and Planning: Architecture in Kuwait 1987).

[1] Of Kuwait’s 3.6 million residents, 1.3 million are

Kuwaiti nationals and 2.3 million are ex-pat workers �,QWHUQDWLRQDO�2IÀFH�RI�

Migration 2010).

68%Foreigners

31%Kuwaitis

66%Private

32%Domestic

4% Illegal

[2] Breakdown by sector of Kuwait’s foreign worker population (Human Rights

Watch 2010).

the sweetest tabooExcess foreigners. Excess weight. Both can cause public embarrassment. To rebalance the local and foreign populations, the Labour Ministry of Kuwait recently decided to reduce the foreign worker population by 100,000 every year for the next ten years. To do this, it launched a campaign of forced deportations, along with a program entitled Kuwaitization, which compels private companies to hire a quota of Kuwait nationals. Enticing Kuwaitis to work has been so challenging that companies simply add names of Kuwaitis to the payroll to avoid JRYHUQPHQW� ÀQHV��EXW� VFUDS�DQ\�KRSH� WKDW�those citizens will show up to work.

Troubling data on housing and health are also treated topically. Even though international agencies such as the ILO and UN-Habitat have conducted surveys of foreign workers, labour conditions, and informal settlements, data is not publicly released. A UN-Habitat RIÀFHU� GHIHQGHG� WKH� FRYHU� XS�� ¶>7KH�government] doesn’t want to embarrass itself, so we don’t publish our materials. We don’t publish cancer rates either. It’s very high in Kuwait, but we don’t want people to worry.’

1

2 3 4 5

Worker Housing Typologies. [1] Government-built residential complex constructed in the 1960s - an experiment in high-density residences in downtown Kuwait City - originally intended to house Kuwaiti widows and currently home to foreign workers. [2] Newly constructed private residencies in Kuwait City with built-in quarters for domestic servants. [3] An illegally constructed, mixed-use factory/residence in the Jleeb Al-Shoukh neighborhood of Kuwait City. [4] Newly constructed, unoccupied, government-built gated city to house 10,000 foreign male workers in Subhan. [5] The recreation center (featuring televisions DQG�WDEOH�WHQQLV��IRU�ZRUNHUV�DW�D�.KDUDÀ�1DWLRQDO�/DERXU�&DPS�LQ�6XODEL\D���$OO�LPDJHV�DXWKRU�������

interview with the labour ataches of the indian embassy, kuwaitQ What are common problems that Indian workers IDFH�LQ�.XZDLW"���

A Physical abuse, mental harassment, unpaid salary, and working up to 18 to 24 hours a day.

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A When workers call us to complain, we call the sponsor and ask them to come to the Embassy. Normally they don’t respond. Since passports are kept by the sponsors, the worker cannot go back to India. Legally they are not allowed to keep the passport - but this is the practice in Kuwait. If the worker runs away, the VSRQVRU�ÀOHV�D�SROLFH�FDVH�DQG�WKH�ZRUNHU�FRPHV�WR�XV�for help. Our Embassy will issue new travel documents if a sponsor refuses to give them over.

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A We have a database of around 3,000 families who can no longer hire domestic workers from India because of past abuses. But there have been no legal reforms. There are no rights for domestic workers. [Labour laws do not apply to domestic workers.] Workers in the private sector have some rights. We visit labour camps on the invitation of the company when they invite us - not by surprise. We check the kitchen, washrooms, AC and that it’s not too crowded. We also phone the workers directly to check in.

Q Has the Embassy ever demanded more worker rights IURP�WKH�.XZDLWL�*RYHUQPHQW"

A In 1999, we blocked workers from coming in protest of bad cases of harassment and abuse. But it was of no use. If there is demand, they will come through other countries.

INTRODUCTION

[Sources] Dunkindonutskuwait.com, Dasman Diabetes Institute 2013, Indian Embassy in Kuwait 2013, Human Rights Watch 2010, Migrant Rights 2013, Forex News

2013 and Arab Times 2013.

Design Research Case 2 (2013):Informal worker housing - Kuwait City, Kuwait [3 weeks]

Process:

- Reveal informalities within a highly formal, rigid system - Stalking the public - media ethnography

Actors- Workers, employers/consumers, government, UN agencies, local and international NGOs

Product:

- Zine - shift awareness, cultural perception

Discussion:

1. Break into small groups

2. Pick a place where an informal economic activity takes place

3. Brainstorm a research strategy a. Process - academic and non-academic research methods

b. Actors - what do different stakeholders gain from your research?c. Impact - how could your research outcomes influence policies, perceptions, physical sites?