Publication:
Enablers of Inclusive Cities: Enhancing Access to Services and Opportunities

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2023-11-21
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2023-11-21
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In both G20 and non-G20 countries alike, cities have a crucial role to play in the achievement of national development goals. Already, cities generate more than 80 percent of global GDP and, with a share of the global population that is projected to reach nearly 70 percent by 2050, up from the current share of around 57 percent, the global importance of cities will only grow further in the decades ahead. However, whether the cities of tomorrow can fulfil their potential as drivers of national economic development will depend, to a large extent, on how inclusive they are - that is to say, the extent to which they are able to provide all their residents with quality access to services, markets, and spaces. This is because not only is inclusion in and of itself important, but because more inclusive cities are also both more prosperous and more resilient cities. At the same time, many policies that contribute to inclusive urban development carry important co-benefits for both climate change mitigation and adaptation, as well as vice versa. In this context, this report addresses four important questions: (a) What is an inclusive city (b) How inclusive are cities in G20 member and guest countries, as well as in other countries, globally today (c) What instruments should policymakers draw-on to make the cities of tomorrow more inclusive or, to put it more succinctly, what can policymakers do to make their cities more inclusive And, finally, (d) What are the roles of different stakeholders - city leaders and their associated local governments; national governments, including their ministries of finance; the private sector; civil society organizations; and others - in the effective wielding of these instruments or, to put it more bluntly, who needs to do what.
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World Bank. 2023. Enablers of Inclusive Cities: Enhancing Access to Services and Opportunities. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/40642 License: CC BY-NC 3.0 IGO.
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