Urban Development Series Knowledge Papers

19 items available

Permanent URI for this collection

https://hdl.handle.net/10986/18027

Produced by the World Bank’s Urban Development and Resilience Unit of the Sustainable Development Network, the Urban Development Series discusses the challenge of urbanization and what it will mean for developing countries in the decades ahead. The Series aims to explore and delve more substantively into the core issues framed by the World Bank’s 2009 Urban Strategy Systems of Cities: Harnessing Urbanization for Growth and Poverty Alleviation. Across the five domains of the Urban Strategy, the Series provides a focal point for publications that seek to foster a better understanding of (i) the core elements of the city system, (ii) pro-poor policies, (iii) city economies, (iv) urban land and housing markets, (v) sustainable urban environment, and other urban issues germane to the urban development agenda for sustainable cities and communities.

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On the Engagement of Excluded Groups in Inclusive Cities: Highlighting Good Practices and Key Challenges in the Global South
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2016-02) Mitlin, Diana Clare; Satterthwaite, David
The term “inclusive cities” is increasingly being used as a “catch-all” phrase to signify intent but with little precision in its use. In this note we use “inclusive cities” to mean cities in which we see a commitment to an inclusive politics with the establishment of institutionalized interactions between organized groups of disadvantaged citizens and the state with local government taking a primary role. They are also cities in which governments have undertaken specific measures to secure improved access for low-income and otherwise disadvantaged groups to a range of essential goods and services including secure tenure for housing, inclusion in access to basic services and where required approval of and support for housing improvements. This note begins by considering who is excluded and from what and how. Seven challenges to the achievement of more inclusive cities are discussed: (i) lack of household income and the continuing prevalence of informal incomes; (ii) a lack of state investment capacity; (iii) a lack of political will; (iv) a lack of the basic data needed for identifying and addressing exclusion; (v) a lack of space for participation, especially by the lowest income groups; (vi) a lack of vision for what an inclusive city means within city government; and (vii) the constraints on inclusion from city governments organized sectorally. The note then discusses the metrics and indicators that can help inclusion and that have relevance for the post-2015 sustainable development agenda. These are challenges that governments and communities must tackle through their collective efforts. In terms of collaboration between groups, three particular challenges must be addressed:(i) to avoid being partial in their efforts and so to reach out to all groups in the city through finding forms of engagement that incentivize a breadth of activities drawing in all of those in need; (ii) to set up processes that outlive specific administrations or interests and that provide for continuity in collaboration between civil society and the state in each city; and (iii) to link across cities and city regions. We see a need to think about collaboration and joint efforts between city administration and surrounding municipalities, as well as a need to link experiences and efforts across cities. This should help in ensuring appropriate central government policies, regulatory frameworks, and the redistribution of resources.
Inclusive Cities and Access to Land, Housing, and Services in Developing Countries
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2016-02) Serageldin, Mona
Paralleling the increasing disparities in income and wealth worldwide since the 1980s, cities in developing countries have witnessed the emergence of a growing divergence of lifestyles, particularly within the middle classes, reinforced by the widening gap between the quality of public and private educational and health care institutions, spatial segregation, gated communities, and exclusive semiprivate amenities. This erosion of social cohesion and citizenship in urban society has sharpened the growing perception and reality of exclusion. This book is arranged as follows: (i) chapter one discusses on the growing importance of inclusion in urban areas; (ii) chapter two describes trends affecting social inclusion in urban areas; (iii) chapter three focuses on infrastructure and public services: a powerful tool to promote social inclusion; (iv) chapter four explains restoring the social function of public space; (v) chapter five deals with access to land: a critical factor at the core of inclusion and exclusion; (vi) chapter six describes the erosion of inclusive options for affordable housing; (vii) chapter seven talks about generating revenues to finance urban improvements: land-based financing; (viii) chapter eight focuses on the right to the city; (ix) chapter nine describes Nongovernmental Organizations (NGO) and Community-Based Organizations (CBO) as strategic partners in driving the implementation of inclusionary programs; and (x) chapter ten has concluding remarks.
Climate-resilient, Climate-friendly World Heritage Cities
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2014-06) Bigio, Anthony Gad; Ochoa, Maria Catalina; Amirtahmasebi, Rana
While the negative impacts of climate change on urban areas are well-known and widely discussed, its implicit impacts on historic downtowns have not been studied as extensively. In recent years, cultural heritage conservation and valorization have increasingly become drivers of local economic development. Many projects supported by the World Bank in this field help leverage cultural heritage for economic development while developing infrastructure and services for residents and enhancing the livability of cities. The World Bank has also been very active in addressing climate change risks and increasing resiliency of urban areas. This paper is an effort to merge these two critical agendas. The paper investigates the impacts of climate change on 237 world heritage cities (WHC) and provides an overview of the geographic distribution of these cities around the globe. It discusses the importance of historic downtowns and provides various options available to the governments of these cities to address risk mitigation and adaptation to climate change. Further, it provides examples of WHC which have taken action to address vulnerability to the adverse impacts of climate change. This report is organized in following five sections: section one presents an overview of WHC, geographic distribution, and the growth of the urban agglomerations to which they belong. Section two presents the natural hazard risks and climate change impacts facing WHC, their location on the coastline or interior, and their rank in terms of level of vulnerability. Section three outlines the characteristics that historic cities have in terms of carbon emissions and potential for climate change mitigation. Section four discusses the sources of financing which WHC may turn to in order to address climate change mitigation and adaptation. Section five presents the climate change adaptation and mitigation action plans being implemented in the WHC of Paris, Tunis, Edinburgh, Mexico City, Hue, and Quito.
Building Sustainability in an Urbanizing World : A Partnership Report
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2013-07) Hoornweg, Daniel; Freire, Mila; Hoornweg, Daniel; Freire, Mila; Baker-Gallegos, Julianne; Saldivar-Sali, Artessa
Cities are hubs of global change, and their global influence continues to grow. Cities contribute significantly to global challenges like climate change and biodiversity loss. At the same time, cities experience impacts like climate change first and with greatest intensity. Further, cities are becoming leaders worldwide in efforts to address global environmental and social problems. Some of the most important smaller-scale agreements and partnerships emerging from Rio+20 (the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development) were initiated by or focused on cities. Even as the conference reinforced the increasing difficulty of reaching consensus on global challenges, it also saw smaller-scale agreements and partnerships emerge. Some of the most important "microagreements" focused on cities.
Urban Agriculture : Findings from Four City Case Studies
(Washington, DC, 2013-07) World Bank
Urban agriculture contributes to local economic development, poverty alleviation, the social inclusion of the urban poor and women, as well as to the greening of the city and the productive reuse of urban wastes. Urban agriculture encompasses a wide variety of production systems in both urban as well as peri-urban areas. This study examines the contribution of urban agriculture to livelihoods, food security, health, and the urban environment through an assessment of existing urban agriculture activities among poor households in four selected cities. Another important benefit from urban agricultural production is in the cash savings from self-produced food that would otherwise have to be purchased. The role and importance of urban agriculture will likely increase with urbanization and climate change, so the integration of urban agriculture into development strategies and policy decisions would be important for long-term sustainability. This report is structured according to the basic framework mentioned above. Chapter two then summarizes the key findings from the four city case studies, analyzing the profiles of urban agriculture in each city, including the agricultural practices pursued, access to and use of urban land, as well as examining the available data for evidence of the importance of urban agriculture for livelihoods and food security. Chapter two also discusses the main findings from the case studies on the constraints facing urban agriculture. Chapter three then provides various recommendations for strengthening urban agriculture and addressing these constraints, recognizing that these need to be considered in light of the broader urban development agenda and the many competing priorities that cities face. The annexes to this report describe the methodology used for the city case studies, and provide detailed information on each city, including a general city profile, the urban agricultural practices in each city, the inputs used and outputs produced, and the income, expenditure, dwelling and food consumption profiles of residents.
Investment in Urban Heritage : Economic Impacts of Cultural Heritage Projects in FYR Macedonia and Georgia
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2012-09) Throsby, David
Although World Bank projects in the cultural heritage field are subject to the usual assessments that are applied to any project implementation, little is known about the subsequent performance of these projects in the years post-completion. This study was undertaken to provide some empirical evidence for the economic impacts of cultural heritage investment. Two case studies were chosen for this purpose, in the historic town centers of Skopje, former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and Tbilisi, Georgia, respectively. The economic principles those are important for the analysis of cultural heritage investment decisions make use of concepts such as scarcity, opportunity cost, and public preferences. The study confirms the positive impacts of the investments. In the Macedonian case, the project helped to stimulate an ongoing investment of US$2.5 million in the project site, the Skopje old bazaar. Tourist numbers increased compared to the control site in Prilep; between 2005 and 2010, daily tourist numbers in the Skopje Old Bazaar increased by 90 percent compared to a slight decline in Prelip. Employment also grew more rapidly in the target site than in the control area. This study leads to some lessons for the design of heritage projects and for the conduct of an ex post economic impact evaluation.
Financing the Urban Expansion in Tanzania
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2012-01) Sarzin, Zara; Raich, Uri
This paper seeks to develop estimates of the net cost of the urban expansion in Tanzania. The paper focuses on developing estimates of the cost of planning and servicing land for new residential urban settlement. It does not attempt to develop detailed estimates of the cost of addressing infrastructure backlogs which would include the retrofitting of basic urban infrastructure to unplanned areas. On the revenue side, estimates of current spending in urban areas takes into account urban Local Government Authority (LGA) budgets as well as sectoral spending in urban areas (e.g., in the water sector). A number of assumptions were made to estimate both costs and revenues. These assumptions have been set conservatively, therefore, estimates of the net cost of the urban expansion are considered to be on the lower end of the possible range. These estimates can inform discussions on future investment needs of urban LGAs. They may also serve as the basis for analyzing options for financing each type of infrastructure; for determining what might be financed publicly versus privately, what might be financed with current funds versus credit, what might be financed with local versus national funds; and to determine the spatial arrangement of infrastructure to maximize efficiency, equity and sustainability. This paper focuses on estimating the cost of providing a basic package of urban infrastructure to service new residential neighborhoods. While urban population growth will multiply demands for infrastructure spanning commercial, industrial and residential areas of the city, this paper focuses on residential areas only. Additionally, while urban population growth can potentially lead to the densification of existing (planned and unplanned) urban areas as well as the growth of new urban settlements, this paper focuses on infrastructure provision in new urban settlements, with cost estimates based on the assumption that these areas will be planned. This is a significant simplifying assumption since in Tanzania the majority of urban development is unregulated.
Guidebook on Capital Investment Planning for Local Governments
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2011-10) Kaganova, Olga
The purpose of this guidebook is to provide practical advice to local governments (LGs) in developing countries on how to establish and maintain a process of planning and funding capital investment as a regular activity integrated with other activities of the LG and based on principles of good public management. The guidebook is addressed mainly to cities that have not yet established such a process or are interested in revising their current processes. The guidebook is written for decision makers and technical experts in LGs who are engaged or should be engaged in this process. The guidebook is designed primarily for urban LGs, but much of the information is useful for mixed or rural jurisdictions as well. This guidebook also is useful for the staffs of donor agencies and/or consultants who assist cities in municipal development projects. This guidebook is one instrument integrated with other World Bank urban programs and instruments that support sustainable urban development in developing countries within the framework of the World Bank Urban and Local Government Strategy. These other urban programs include the: (1) Urbanization Review Framework (URF), which provides macro-level diagnostic tools to identify key policy issues related to urbanization and the investment priorities for it; (2) Eco2: Ecological Cities as Economic Cities (city or metropolitan sustainable urban development initiative that assists developing country cities to achieve environmental and economic sustainability; and (3) Disaster Risk Management Program (DRM). This guidebook will help LGs prepare specific capital investment plans (CIPs) based on their national urbanization strategies and city-based sustainable urban development plans elaborated through the Eco2 initiative and/or various Disaster Risk Management Program (DRM) instruments. The guidebook will be especially useful to LGs if they have adopted their urbanization strategies and established clear investment priorities.
Conserving the Past as a Foundation for the Future : China-World Bank Partnership on Cultural Heritage Conservation
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2011-09) Ebbe, Katrinka; Licciardi, Guido; Baeumler, Axel
The rich cultural heritage of China is an essential touchstone of its collective identity. The country's archaeological sites, historic architecture, expressive arts, cultural landscapes, and ethnic diversity also are treasured around the world. Despite their importance, China's cultural assets are under tremendous pressure due to the country's rapid development, particularly its rapid urbanization. Moreover, rising incomes and mobility have significantly increased domestic tourism, leading to the overdevelopment and deterioration of cultural heritage sites. However, many of China's government officials, conservationists, and community groups have recognized these threats and, over the past several decades, have worked tirelessly to protect their country's cultural heritage. Based on the 12 projects developed under this partnership, this report presents an overview of the project approaches and experiences, takes stock of the challenges, extracts initial lessons learned, and identifies new directions and challenges ahead. The principal audience of the report is national, provincial, and municipal decision-makers engaged in conserving China's cultural heritage. This report also is intended to be of relevance to World Bank staff and those in the international community who wish to gain an overview of the projects conserving cultural heritage in China that have received World Bank financing.
Memo to the Mayor : Improving Access to Urban Land for All Residents - Fulfilling the Promise
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2011-06) Lipman, Barbara; Rajack, Robin
As the world is urbanizing, many cities are grappling with a population that is growing rapidly, thereby increasing demand for land and housing. This pressure on land and housing markets often is exacerbated by inappropriate or inadequate policies. The result is a supply of well-located land and housing that falls well short of demand and the proliferation of poorly serviced informal settlements, many of which are located far from jobs, city services and amenities. This paper discusses the major policy levers local leaders may have at their disposal to improve access to land and housing and thereby change the landscape of cities for the better. It discusses common obstacles administrative, political, and financial and options for overcoming them. In particular, the report: (1) takes a fresh look at some traditional mechanisms such as land regulation, property taxation, and public-private partnerships; (2) reintroduces some innovative land tools community land trusts, guided development, transfer of development rights, land pooling/readjustment, and land sharing that may have a place in cities' arsenal of responses; and (3) suggests ways to garner the political support that will be needed to move forward with programs of reform.