Tag: Barbara Ward

It was irregular for a civilian not part of an official delegation to address the UN, but economist and author Barbara Ward spoke at Habitat I. She had after all written the theme books for the conference, Human Settlements: Crisis and Opportunity, and The Home of Man.  More on Barbara can be found at IIED,… read more Barbara Ward’s famous speech at Habitat I

“Land, because of its unique nature and the crucial role it plays in human settlements, cannot be treated as an ordinary asset, controlled by individuals and subject to the pressures and inefficiencies of the market. Private land ownership is also a principal instrument of accumulation and concentration of wealth and therefore contributes to social injustice;… read more Statement on land – Vancouver Action Plan 1976

Human Settlements: Crisis and Opportunity, 1974 – book cover showing Vancouver Barbara Ward is the under-celebrated economist whose work with the UN drove the formation of UN Habitat and provided the basis for its founding document, The Vancouver Declaration. In preparation for Habitat ’76 (or the UN Habitat Conference on Human Settlements as it was… read more UN Economist Barbara Ward writing in 1974 on Vancouver, cities and income inequality