This paper provides the first systematic empirical assessment of the pace at which housing investment has responded to rising demand from urbanization.
... See More + The assessment used National Accounts Statistics to build a data set of residential housing investment for more than 90 countries. The data set explicitly accounts for investment by households, the government, and the private sector. The analysis finds that housing investment follows an S-shaped trajectory taking off around per capita GDP of about $3,000 (US$2005) and tapering down at per capita GDP around $36,000 (US$2005). The analysis also finds that between 2001 and 2011, housing investment in low-income economies averaged 4.56 percent of gross domestic product and 9.12 percent in upper-middle-income economies. An important finding is that countries in Sub-Saharan Africa have housing elasticities similar to comparable low-income and lower-middle-income economies. In financing housing investment, the paper finds that developing countries tend to rely much more on domestic savings and government debt, whereas high-income Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries lever capital markets by tapping foreign savings. Not only does excessive reliance on domestic savings and government debt increase the sensitivity of housing investment to the cyclicality of growth of gross domestic product, it also can potentially crowd out investments in health and education.
See Less -
Policy Research Working Paper WPS7110 NOV 01, 2014
Rapid urbanization in Sub-Saharan Africa places immense pressure on urban services to meet the needs of the burgeoning urban population. Although several country- or city-level reports offer insight into the housing challenges of specific places, little is known about regional patterns affecting housing markets.
... See More + This lack of clear knowledge on the relative importance of the factors influencing households' housing demand in countries in Sub-Saharan Africa inhibits policy makers, researchers, the private sector, and development partners from making informed decisions when addressing affordable housing provision and the rapid increase in and growth of informal settlements. To shed light on the contours of housing patterns and impediments impacting the region's households, this paper provides a systematic review of housing conditions in Sub-Saharan Africa. By drilling down into the housing issues in the region from the perspective of the household, the paper analyses the trade-offs households make in allocating their budgets over time to housing and other amenities and provides a first approximation at understanding the differences in households' expenditure patterns and housing decisions across countries. The findings suggest that rather than emphasizing policies that purport to increase expenditures on housing at this stage of development, policy makers in Sub-Saharan Africa should focus on extending access to basic services and strengthening coordination between land use planning and service provision. As incomes increase, this focus would allow households the opportunity to access houses that are equipped with basic infrastructure and help countries move toward better overall quality of housing.
See Less -
Policy Research Working Paper WPS7112 NOV 01, 2014
Urbanization is the single most important transformation that the African continent will undergo this century. More than half of Africa's population will live in its cities by 2040.
... See More + In the face of rapid urbanization, there is a narrow window of opportunity to harness the potential of cities as engines of economic growth, and use this as a powerful leverage to achieve sustainable development and poverty reduction. Despite its rapid urban growth, Africa is less than halfway through the urbanization process and in some countries, a large number of people reside in rural areas. Rapid urbanization, if well managed, can curb urban sprawl, deteriorating access to services, greater inequality, and increased crime. The concentration of people in cities also elevates the risks and costs associated with extreme weather and natural disasters resulting from climate change. The World Bank Group's (WBGs) support will focus on three key areas: metropolitan areas and large cities; secondary and tertiary cities; and informal settlements. This will include both multi-sectoral investment programs that integrate a basket of services (for example, upgrading of electricity, water, sanitation, roads, drains in unplanned settlements); and sector specific projects (for example, in urban water, solid waste, and transport) to improve the effectiveness of service delivery. This paper is organized in following chapters: chapter one discusses why is it urgent to get Africa's urbanization right?; chapter two gives the vision for efficient, inclusive, and sustainable urbanization; chapter three presents priorities for Africa's policymakers; and chapter four deals with working with Africa to support efficient, inclusive, and sustainable cities.
See Less -
Working Paper 81546 SEP 01, 2013
Kariuki, R. Mukami; Bakalian, Alexander E.; Lall, Somik; White, Roland; Parby, Jonas Ingemann; Huang, Chyi-Yun; Wheeler, Sonia; Gracia, Nancy Lozano; Dasgupta, Basab; Mukim, Megha; Shi, Tuo
The report is organized into three chapters: chapter two looks at the pace and patterns of India's urbanization, providing a 100-year perspective on demographic shifts and a 20-year perspective on the spatial distribution of jobs across India's portfolio of settlements.
... See More + The review is based on a careful, spatially detailed analysis of data from economic and demographic censuses, annual surveys of industry, national sample surveys, and special surveys of freight transport. This chapter provides diagnostics on whether Indian industry is adequately exploiting agglomeration economies and whether there are hints of specific barriers to the natural tendency of standardized industry to reshuffle from large metropolitan areas to smaller urban areas. Chapter three examines specific policy issues and investment bottlenecks that are curbing the pace and benefits of urbanization in India. The policy issues relate to land markets and housing, connectivity (within and between cities), and access to basic services. The purpose of this analysis is to unravel the specific distortions that may be preventing India from reaping the entire range of benefits of urbanization. Chapter four provides some options for policy reform, distilling lessons from relevant international experience. It provides options for establishing the 'rules of the game' that can define the workings of land and property markets as well as coordination of land use and infrastructure in cities. This chapter also provides a framework for policy makers to identify the role of regulatory and price reform in expanding infrastructure services and to make investments that enhance capacity.
See Less -
This review analyzes the profile, trends and challenges of Georgia's changing urban landscape since independence in 1991 and provides policy suggestions to facilitate the economic transition of the country through its cities.
... See More + In its analysis and subsequent recommendations on policy interventions, this report draws on a program of diagnostics called the 'Urbanization Review' (UR). The UR diagnostic is based on three main pillars of urban development which have emerged as key areas of policy engagement for successful cities. These are: a) planning, charting a course for cities by setting the terms of urbanization, especially policies for using urban land and expanding basic infrastructure and public services; b) connecting, physically linking people to jobs, and businesses to markets; and c) financing, raising and leveraging up-front capital to meet the increasing demand for infrastructure and services. In moving forward, the review recommends that Georgia focus on: a) developing a national urban strategy that recognizes the contribution of each city to the overall economy, i.e. a 'systems of cities' approach that can assist in reducing regional disparities; b) assisting cities to develop urban plans, including local economic development plans, c) reforming building and planning codes; and d) assisting cities in improving their local governance and finances.
See Less -
Around the world, in both developed and developing countries, policy makers use a variety of tools to manage and accommodate urban growth and redevelopment.
... See More + Government officials have three main concerns in terms of land policy: (i) accommodating urban expansion, (ii) providing infrastructure, and (iii) managing density. Together, the planning for infrastructure and urban expansion, land use, and density policies combine to shape the spatial structure of cities. This paper reviews global experience on using land based instruments to accommodate urban development and financing infrastructure. The review suggests that urban transformation is most efficient when land markets are fluid, particularly when they are grounded in strong institutions that (i) assign and protect property rights, (ii) enable independent valuation and public dissemination of land values across uses, and (iii) enable the judicial system to handle disputes that may arise in the process.
See Less -
Policy Research Working Paper WPS6312 JAN 01, 2013
The efficiency and productivity of Colombia's urban system will be a key determinant in the ability of the country to transition from a middle income to a higher-income economy.
... See More + Colombia, as with most Latin American countries, has experienced positive growth rates in the past few years, mitigating the potential adverse impacts of the global financial crisis. High commodity prices as well as improvements in macroeconomic and financial management, diversification of trading partners (particularly through stronger links with China), and the safe integration into international financial markets are the main drivers for recent success in Colombia and the Latin American region (World Bank 2011). This book is organized as follows: chapter two concentrates on establishing patterns and trends of the spatial and urban transformation in Colombia. Key policy issues for Colombia's urbanization process are highlighted and policy alternatives considered. It also attempts to identify areas where further in-depth analysis would be valuable. Three of these areas are further developed in chapters three through five. The remainder of this chapter will highlight key messages from each of the three crosscutting themes of connectivity, coordination, and finance. The chapter will conclude with a discussion on the World Bank's strategic engagement strategy for sustainable cities.
See Less -
Other Urban Study 72462 SEP 11, 2012
Samad, Taimur; Lozano-Gracia, Nancy; Panman, Alexandra
Three-fourths of the Colombian population, around 34.5 million people, live in urban areas. Bogota, the capital, with almost 8 million inhabitants, is one of the densest cities in the Western Hemisphere.
... See More + In recent decades, Colombian cities have been engines of growth, while at the same time improvements in quality of life has been directly associated with urbanization. Nevertheless, this development represents enormous challenges, for which a wide range of innovative solutions is needed. Among the challenges facing the Government of Colombia are congestion, mobility, disaster risk management, urban environmental protection, housing and basic services, as well as redevelopment of cities. This report provides a first effort in analyzing the urban system, in order to maximize urbanization's benefits and minimize its externalities.
See Less -