Urbanization is transforming the developing world. However, understanding the pace, scale, and form of urbanization has been limited by a lack of consistent data.
... See More + East Asia's Changing Urban Landscape aims to address this problem by using satellite imagery and other data to measure urban expansion across the East Asia and Pacific region between 2000 and 2010. Illustrated with maps and charts, it presents trends in urban expansion and population growth in more than 850 urban areas (by country, urban area, income group, and city size categories). It discusses findings related to increasing urban population densities across the region and quantifies the administrative fragmentation of urban areas that cross local boundaries. The book discusses implications of the research and outlines potential policy options for governments that can help maximize the benefits of urban growth. These policy options include strategically acquiring land to prepare for future urban expansion; creating national urbanization policies that address the growth of the entire system of cities at once in order to support economically efficient urbanization; investing in small and medium urban areas; ensuring spatial access to the poor in order to make urban growth more inclusive; maximizing the benefits to the environment of existing urban density through location, coordination, and design of density; and creating mechanisms to support interjurisdictional cooperation across metropolitan areas. Leaders and policy makers at the national, provincial, and city levels who want to understand how trends in their cities compare with others in East Asia, as well as researchers and students interested in the transformative phenomenon of urbanization in the developing world, will find this book an invaluable resource.
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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.
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Policy Research Working Paper WPS7112 NOV 01, 2014
The world's urban population is expected to increase by about 2.7 billion by 2050. Virtually all of the increased population will be in developing countries, leading to massive needs for new and improved housing and urban infrastructures (UNDESA 2012).
... See More + The planning and design of these new developments will reshape or create new urban landscapes with significant implications for energy consumption, infrastructure costs, as well as the livability and social and economic resilience of cities. Studies of cities around the world indicate that a city's livability and its level of energy use are closely linked to its physical form, namely the spatial distribution and dimensions of buildings, streets, and parks, as well as the spatial coordination of residences, jobs, social services, and environmental amenities. See Less -
Working Paper (Numbered Series) 93678 NOV 01, 2014
This paper develops a dynamic model that explains the pattern of population and production allocation in an economy with an urban location and a rural one.
... See More + Agglomeration economies make urban dwellers benefit from a larger population living in the city and urban firms become more productive when they operate in locations with a larger labor force. However, congestion costs associated with a too large population size limit the process of urban-rural transformation. Firms in the urban location also benefit from a public good that enhances their productivity. The model predicts that in the competitive equilibrium the urban location is inefficiently small because households fail to internalize the agglomeration economies and the positive effect of public goods in urban production.
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Policy Research Working Paper WPS7051 OCT 01, 2014
Many developing countries display remarkably high degrees of urban concentration that are incommensurate with their levels of urbanization. The cost of excessively high levels of urban concentration can be very high in terms of overpopulation, congestion, and productivity growth.
... See More + One strand of the theoretical literature suggests that such high levels of concentration may be the result of restrictive trade policies that trigger forces of agglomeration. Another strand of the literature, however, points out that trade liberalization itself may exacerbate urban concentration by favoring the further growth of those large urban centers that have better access to international markets. The empirical basis for judging this question has been weak so far; in the existing literature, trade policies are poorly measured (or are not measured, as when trade volumes are used spuriously). Here, new disaggregated tariff measures are used to empirically test the hypothesis. A treatment-and-control analysis of pre- versus post-liberalization performance of the cities is also employed in liberalizing and non-liberalizing countries. It is found that (controlling for the largest cities that have ports and, thus, have better access to external markets) liberalizing trade leads to a reduction in urban concentration.
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Policy Research Working Paper WPS6913 JUN 01, 2014
The development objective of the Chongqing Small Towns Water Environment Management Project for China is to reduce flood risks and improve wastewater services in selected counties of the Chongqing municipality.
... See More + Some of the negative impacts and mitigation measures include: (1) the resettlement subsidy to under 16 years will be fully paid to the individual; and a certain portion of that for one aged 16 years or above will be used to pay basic endowment insurance premiums for urban enterprise employees voluntarily, and the remainder will be paid to the individual for production and livelihood restoration; (2) the owner will also pay a reclamation bond of 8,000-10,000 yuan per mu, and undertake the reclamation of the temporarily occupied land. The bond will be returned to the owner if the reclaimed land has passed inspection; (3) young crops on the land temporarily occupied for the subproject will be compensated for based on twice the actual period of occupation at 3,630 yuan per mu for irrigated land, 4,530 yuan per mu for non-irrigated land and 4,530 yuan per mu for woodland; and (4) affected houses will be compensated for at the compensation rates for rural residential houses, namely 634 yuan per
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Cities emerge from the spatial concentration of people and economic activities. But spatial concentration is not enough; the economic viability of cities depends on people, ideas, and goods to move rapidly across the urban area.
... See More + This constant movement within dense cities creates wealth but also various degrees of unpleasantness and misery that economists call negative externalities, such as congestion, pollution, and environmental degradation. In addition, the poorest inhabitants of many cities are often unable to afford a minimum-size dwelling with safe water and sanitation, as if the wealth created by cities was part of a zero-sum game where the poor will be at the losing end. The main challenge for urban planners and economists is reducing cities' negative externalities without destroying the wealth created by spatial concentration. To do that, they must plan and design infrastructure and regulations while leaving intact the self-organizing created by land and labor markets. The balance between letting markets work and correcting market externalities through infrastructure investment and regulation is difficult to achieve. Too often, planners play sorcerer's apprentice when dealing with markets whose functioning they poorly understand. The role of the urban planner is then, first, to better understand the complex interaction between market forces and government interventions, infrastructure investment and regulation, and second, to design these interventions based on precise quantitative objectives. Each city's priorities would depend on its history, circumstances, and political environment. But maintaining mobility and keeping land affordable remains the main urban planning objective common to all cities.
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Policy Research Working Paper WPS6870 MAY 01, 2014
Urbanization deserves urgent attention from policy makers, academics, entrepreneurs, and social reformers of all stripes. Nothing else will create as many opportunities for social and economic progress.
... See More + The urbanization project began roughly 1,000 years after the transition from the Pleistocene to the milder and more stable Holocene interglacial. In 2010, the urban population in developing countries stood at 2.5 billion. The developing world can accommodate the urban population growth and declining urban density in many ways. The most important citywide projects -- successes like New York and Shenzhen -- show even more clearly how influential human intention can be. The developing world can accommodate the urban population growth and declining urban density in many ways. One is to have a threefold increase in the average population of its existing cities and a six fold increase in their average built-out area. Another, which will leave the built-out area of existing cities unchanged, will be to develop 625 new cities of 10 million people -- 500 new cities to accommodate the net increase in the urban population and another 125 to accommodate the 1.25 billion people who will have to leave existing cities as average density falls by half.
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Policy Research Working Paper WPS6874 MAY 01, 2014
This paper focuses on three interrelated questions on urbanization and the geography of development. First, although we herald cities with their industrial bases as "engines of growth," does industrialization in fact drive urbanization?
... See More + While such relationships appear in the data, the process is not straightforward. Among developing countries, changes in income or industrialization correlate only weakly with changes in urbanization. This suggests that policy and institutional factors may also influence the urbanization process. In fact, the relationship between industrialization and urbanization is absent in Sub-Saharan Africa. Second, do development policies have a big-city bias and, if so, what does this imply for growth and inequality? Intelligent public infrastructure investment inevitably involves picking winners. One hopes that such choices are based on market indicators, such as where industry is starting to agglomerate and where there are clear needs. Yet governments seem to favor the biggest cities which in turn draw firms and migrants to these cities. To try to avoid excessive in-migration and oversized, congested cities, favored cities might adopt policies that make living conditions for migrants more unpleasant. This can result in increased inequality and social tension. Finally, the paper examines city sizes and city-size distributions. Factors determining both aspects are complex and poorly understood. It is hard to be proscriptive about either individual city sizes or overall city-size distributions. The best policies strengthen institutions in the relevant markets so that market forces can move the economy toward better outcomes.
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Policy Research Working Paper WPS6877 MAY 01, 2014
This study explores the complex process of transit and land-use integration in rapidly growing cities in developing countries. It first identifies barriers to and opportunities for effective coordination of transit infrastructure and urban development.
... See More + It then recommends a set of policies and implementation measures for overcoming these barriers and exploiting these opportunities. Well-integrated transit and land development create urban forms and spaces that reduce the need for travel by private motorized vehicles. Areas with good access to public transit and well-designed urban spaces that are walkable and bikeable become highly attractive places for people to live, work, learn, play, and interact. Such environments enhance a city's economic competitiveness, reduce local pollution and global greenhouse gas emissions, and promote inclusive development. These goals are at the heart of transit-oriented development (TOD), an urban form that is increasingly important to sustainable urban futures. This book uses a case study approach. It draws lessons from global best-case examples of transit-oriented metropolises that have direct relevance to cities in developing countries and elsewhere that are currently investing in bus rapid transit (BRT) and other high-capacity transit systems. It also reports the results of two original in-depth case studies of rapidly growing and motorizing cities that introduced extended BRT systems: Ahmedabad, India and Bogota, Colombia. Two shorter case studies enrich the understanding of factors that are critical to transforming cities with transit.
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Publication 74630 APR 01, 2014
Suzuki, Hiroaki; Cervero, Robert; Iuchi, KanakoEnglish,
Chinese
The objective of the Armenia Trade Promotion and Quality Infrastructure Project is to strengthen the enabling environment and firm capacity to increase private investments and exports.
... See More + The project's direct beneficiaries include both existing and potential exporters, who will benefit from an improved quality of programs and services provided under a more efficient trade promotion and quality system. Negative impacts include: loss of asset, loss of land acquisition, loss of household property, loss of structure, loss of trees and crops, loss of income, and loss of livelihood. Mitigation measures include: compensation in cash for all residential, commercial or other structures will be paid at replacement cost of these structures, without any depreciation of the structure and without deduction for salvageable materials; project affected persons, or PAPs will be provided full assistance for transportation of personal belongings, household inventory and salvaged material, and will be given a relocation allowance in addition to the compensation at replacement cost of their houses, lands and other properties; in cases where community infrastructure such as schools, factories, water sources, roads, sewage systems, electrical supply, or other community resources such as a woodlot or pasture is lost, this will be replaced at no cost to the community; and fees and taxes on land and/or house transfers will be waived or otherwise fees and taxes will be included in a compensation package for land and/or house. The competent government authorities will give preferential treatment to PAPs reconstructing their houses on their own, and support them in obtaining the necessary property titles and official certificates.
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This paper examines the effects of urbanization on development and growth. It begins with a labor market perspective and emphasizes the importance of agglomeration economies, both static and dynamic.
... See More + It then argues that more productive jobs in cities do not exist in a void and underscores the importance of job and firm dynamics. In turn, these dynamics are shaped by the broader characteristics of urban systems. A number of conclusions are drawn. First, agglomeration effects are quantitatively important and pervasive. Second, the productive advantage of large cities is constantly eroded and must be sustained by new job creation and innovation. Third, this process of creative destruction in cities, which is fundamental for aggregate growth, is determined in part by the characteristics of urban systems and broader institutional features. The paper highlights important differences between developing countries and more advanced economies. A major challenge for developing countries is to reinforce the role of their urban systems as drivers of economic growth.
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Policy Research Working Paper WPS6818 MAR 01, 2014
This note explores issues within the urban logistics and port-cities thematic pillar. It is one of three focus areas, or thematic pillars, for the multi-donor trust fund for sustainable logistics (MDTF-SL).
... See More + The goal of this pillar is to finance activities that will assist developing countries in two areas; addressing urban congestion resulting from retail distribution of goods, and improving the sustainable design and operation of port-cities. Activities under this pillar will concentrate on reducing congestion and pollution by focusing on the efficient distribution of goods in urban environments. Additional emphasis will be placed on the urban planning tools and investments required for port-cites to address sustainability issues endemic to densely populated economies serving as either a local or regional transport hubs.
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Many parts of the global and national systems of cities are not benefiting significantly from the new age and economic geography of cities. Most of these are the secondary and small cities of less than a million people.
... See More + This report examines what defines a secondary city and looks how to support growth within them, focusing on governance and decentralization, national policies on urbanization, competitiveness, latent capital, system imbalances, and integration. It concludes with examples of Cities Alliance support to secondary cities via its programmatic approach through the Cities Alliance Country Programmes in Uganda, Mozambique, Burkina Faso, Ghana and Vietnam.
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This environmental and social impact assessment of the Madagascar Integrated Growth Poles Project presents the environmental assessments for each of three strategic regions of the country: the district of Nosy Be, the Antananarivo / Antsirabe axis, and the district of Tolagnaro.
... See More + The report comprises a social assessment and cultural policy framework, identifies environmental impacts, and proposes mitigation measures aimed at integrating environmental and social dimensions into regional development, specifically, into the medium- and long-term development endeavors of each of the poles. It ensures that tourism development is sustainable in environmental and social terms. It also seeks to rationalize future subprojects. Anticipated impacts include soil erosion and sedimentation, loss of biodiversity, coral destruction due to starfish proliferation, water contamination from human pollutants, economic loss, disappearance of animal species, and, restricted access to land for the population and traffic congestion, further diminution of cultivable land, destruction of ancient buildings and homes, degradation of the marine environment and beaches from tourism activities, air pollution, disrespect of cultural taboos and moral values, and loss of cultural identity and increased sexual tourism. Some recommended mitigations include: signage and traffic management, installing drainage systems, building repair, land use management, public education and publicity campaigns about the risks of sexually transmitted diseases, promotion of public health, protection of water resources, installing latrines, privatizing garbage collection, feasibility studies on incineration, composting and biogas production, installing mechanisms to control air pollution including dust dispersion, scheduling work during normal business hours, repairing and maintaining transport vehicles, using other means to minimize noise such as planting a greenbelt along transport corridors, restoring land and woods, carefully handling hazardous substances, avoiding traveling through water courses, conserving vegetation, planning for emergencies, locating work camps at a reasonable distance from villages, and involving local authorities in operational activities and ensuring women's representation.
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Environmental Assessment E1118 NOV 04, 2013
Tecsult International Limitee; ECR; Land Ressources; APC
This paper presents a new type of land market analysis relevant to cities with plural tenure systems as in West Africa. The methodology hinges on a systemic analysis of land delivery channels, which helps to show how land is initially made available for circulation, how tenure can be formalized incrementally, and the different means whereby households can access land.
... See More + The analysis is applied to the area of Bamako in Mali, where information was collected through (i) interviews with key informants, (ii) a literature review on land policies, public allocations, and customary transfers of land, (iii) a press review on land disputes, and (iv) a survey of more than 1,600 land transfers of un-built plots that occurred between 2009 and 2012. The analysis finds that land is mostly accessed through an informal customary channel, whereby peri-urban land is transformed from agricultural to residential use, and through a public channel, which involves the administrative allocation of residential plots to households. The integrated analysis of land markets and land institutions stresses the complexity of procedures and the extra-legality of practices that strongly affect the functioning of formal and informal markets and make access to land costly and insecure, with negative social, economic, and environmental impacts over the long term.
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Policy Research Working Paper WPS6687 NOV 01, 2013
Urbanization deserves urgent attention from policy makers, academics, entrepreneurs, and social reformers of all stripes. Nothing else will create as many opportunities for social and economic progress.
... See More + The urbanization project began roughly 1,000 years after the transition from the Pleistocene to the milder and more stable Holocene interglacial. In 2010, the urban population in developing countries stood at 2.5 billion. The developing world can accommodate the urban population growth and declining urban density in many ways. The most important citywide projects - successes like New York and Shenzhen show even more clearly how influential human intention can be. The developing world can accommodate the urban population growth and declining urban density in many ways. One is to have a threefold increase in the average population of its existing cities and a six fold increase in their average built-out area. Another, which will leave the built-out area of existing cities unchanged, will be to develop 625 new cities of 10 million people - 500 new cities to accommodate the net increase in the urban population and another 125 to accommodate the 1.25 billion people who will have to leave existing cities as average density falls by half.
See Less -
Cities emerge from the spatial concentration of people and economic activities. But spatial concentration is not enough; the economic viability of cities depends on people, ideas, and goods to move rapidly across the urban area.
... See More + This constant movement within dense cities creates wealth but also various degrees of unpleasantness and misery that economists call negative externalities, such as congestion, pollution, and environmental degradation. In addition, the poorest inhabitants of many cities are often unable to afford a minimum-size dwelling with safe water and sanitation, as if the wealth created by cities was part of a zero-sum game where the poor will be at the losing end. The main challenge for urban planners and economists is reducing cities' negative externalities without destroying the wealth created by spatial concentration. To do that, they must plan and design infrastructure and regulations while leaving intact the self-organizing created by land and labor markets. The balance between letting markets work and correcting market externalities through infrastructure investment and regulation is difficult to achieve. Too often, planners play sorcerer's apprentice when dealing with markets whose functioning they poorly understand. The role of the urban planner is then, first, to better understand the complex interaction between market forces and government interventions, infrastructure investment and regulation, and second, to design these interventions based on precise quantitative objectives. Each city's priorities would depend on its history, circumstances, and political environment. But maintaining mobility and keeping land affordable remains the main urban planning objective common to all cities.
See Less -