The objective of the Tamil Nadu Sustainable Urban Development Project for India is to demonstrate improved urban management practices and improve urban services delivery in participating Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) in a financially sustainable manner.
... See More + Some of the negative impacts and mitigation measures include: (i) all clearance required during construction will be ensured and made available before start of work; (ii) adequate measures will be taken and checked to control the Baseline parameters of Air, Water and Noise pollution; (iii) the contractor will identify site for temporary use of land for construction sites or storage of construction materials, etc.; (iv) where loose soil is met with, shoring and strutting will be provided to avoid collapse of soil; (v) a suitable site identified for safe disposal, in low lying areas within the project area as approved by the Engineer in charge and to other low lying area in consultation with local body; (vi) site identified for safe storage and handling of chemicals and other hazardous materials provided with proper display of requirements and marking as protected area; (vii) the contractor will provide garbage bins in the camps and ensure that these are regularly emptied and disposed off in a hygienic manner as per the Comprehensive Solid Waste Management Plan approved by the Engineer; (viii) maintenance of vehicles, equipment and machinery will be regular and up to the satisfaction of the Engineer to keep noise levels at the minimum; (ix) Control valves would be provided in the inlet of all booster stations, ULB sumps and service reservoirs to control the flow; and (x) the backwash water is collected in the recycle sump and the solids allowed settling during one hour detention period and will be recirculated into the treatment unit, besides this will also be reused for green belt.
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Ratings for the Rural Development Project were as follows: overall outcome of the project was rated Moderately Unsatisfactory, Risk to Development Outcome was rated Substantial, the overall rating of World Bank performance was Moderately Unsatisfactory and the overall rating of Borrower performance was Moderately Unsatisfactory.
... See More + Lessons are that Investment in rural service delivery requires an informed analysis and consideration of human geography, including the factors that influence population movement and household investment decisions. Rural productive investments made through CDD projects should build on established skills sets and tested economic relationships. Finally, projects can be used to demonstrate the benefits of citizen engagement, but mechanisms to promote sustained engagement must extend beyond project boundaries.
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Ratings of Xi'an Sustainable Urban Transport Project for China were as follows: outcomes were moderately unsatisfactory, risk to development outcome was moderate, Bank performance was moderately satisfactory, and Borrower performance was moderately satisfactory.
... See More + Some lessons learned included: (i) Comprehensive projects are unavoidable, but implementation requires focus; (ii) Procure whole products, not parts, because disjointed procurement leads to delays; (iii) An organization is needed for inter-jurisdictional and inter-agency coordination; (iv) Cost uncertainty in resettlement must be addressed during project preparation; and (v) Maintain flexibility during implementation to address any potential issue not foreseen during preparation.
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Implementation Completion and Results Report ICR4124 SEP 20, 2017
India's fast-growing cities face three key challenges in improving public health outcomes. The first is the persistence of weak links in the chain -- notably, slums badly underserved with basic civic services -- that can pose public health threats to all.
... See More + Richer residents corner public resources, such as water and sanitation services, but their children's health indicators suggest they are deeply affected by contagion from the broader urban environment. The second challenge relates to devolution of services to elected bodies. Devolution works poorly for intangible and highly technical services, such as public health, where success is measured by the lack of (adverse) events. The third challenge is high fragmentation of services that directly affect health outcomes. In India, some cities have addressed these challenges more effectively than others have. This paper explores the management of municipal public health services in two major Indian metropolises with sharply contrasting health and sanitation indicators. The paper explains how Chennai mitigates these challenges through active service outreach to vulnerable populations, and a considered approach to devolution that distributes responsibilities appropriately between line agencies, technical personnel, and elected representatives. Services in Delhi are quite constrained. These policy lessons are pertinent to other Indian cities and beyond.
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Policy Research Working Paper WPS8197 SEP 18, 2017
Das Gupta,Monica; Dasgupta,Rajib; Kugananthan,P.; Rao,Vijayendra; Somanathan,Trikkur V.; Tewari,K.N.Disclosed
Combining nightlight data as a proxy for economic activity with remote sensing data typically used for natural hazard modeling, this paper constructs novel damage indices at the district level for Indonesia, for different disaster events such as floods, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and the 2004 Christmas Tsunami.
... See More + Ex ante, prior to the incidence of a disaster, district-level damage indices could be used to determine the size of the annual fiscal transfers from the central government to the subnational governments. Ex post, or after the incidence of a natural disaster, damage indices are useful for quickly assessing and estimating the damages caused and are especially useful for central and local governments, emergency services, and aid workers so that they can respond efficiently and deploy resources where they are most needed.
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Policy Research Working Paper WPS8188 SEP 08, 2017
The development objective of the Tamil Nadu Sustainable Urban Development Project for India is to improve urban services delivery in participating urban local bodies (ULBs) in a financially sustainable manner and to pilot improved urban management practices in selected cities.
... See More + Some of the negative impacts and mitigation measures include: (1) all cash allowances shall be revised at the rate of 5 percent per annum starting from the financial year 2016-17, the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has to extend the R&R entitlements with revised rates (with 5 percent per annum) R&R assistance as it has been not revised for last 2 years; and (2) the structure cost for partially impacted structures will be paid to the structure owner (squatter) and wherever the tenant occupied structure or portion of the structure is affected, the structure cost of the same will be paid to the structure-owner.
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The development objective of the Tamil Nadu Sustainable Urban Development Project for India is to improve urban services delivery in participating urban local bodies (ULBs) in a financially sustainable manner and to pilot improved urban management practices in selected cities.
... See More + Some of the negative impacts and mitigation measures include: (1) based on the social categorization this project doesn't involve acquisition of private land and all the sites required for the project is free from encroachment, squatters, hawkers. (ii) The construction workers are basically migrant workers involving different type of skill required for each of the stage of the project; (iii)compensation for the private land will be paid by the local body; (iv) based on available sources, consultation with local authorities, local knowledge and/or observations.
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Transit subsidies in the urban area of Buenos Aires are high, amounting to a total of US$5 billion for 2012. They have been challenged on several counts: suspected of driving urban sprawl and associated infrastructure costs, diverting resources from system maintenance, and failing to reach the poor among others.
... See More + In this context, this paper examines the impacts of cost recovery fares under a range of different policy scenarios that could cushion the impact of fare increases. The alternative scenarios that are scrutinized are the uncompensated removal of the transit subsidy, its replacement by a lump sum transfer, and its replacement by two different construction subsidy schemes. Using a dynamic urban model (NEDUM-2D) calibrated for the urban area of Buenos Aires, all scenarios are assessed along four dimensions: (i) the efficiency/welfare impact on residents, (ii) the impacts on the internal structure of the urban area and sprawl, (iii) the impact on commuting-related carbon dioxide emissions, and (iv) the redistributive impacts, with a focus on the poorest households. A series of results emerge. First, there are consumption-related welfare gains for residents associated with replacing the transit subsidy by a lump sum transfer. Second, there are only moderate reductions in urbanization over time and thus infrastructure costs associated with the subsidy removal. Third, the replacement of the transit subsidy leads to only moderate increases in carbon dioxide emissions despite lower public transport mode shares, because households will chose to settle closer to jobs, thereby reducing commuting distances. Finally, the replacement of the transit subsidy by a lump sum transfer will lead to short-term harsh redistributive impacts for captive transit users in some areas of the urban area. Medium-term adjustments of land and housing prices will partially mitigate the negative impacts of higher transport costs for tenants, but will further hurt homeowners.
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Policy Research Working Paper WPS8166 AUG 14, 2017
This paper investigates the presence of endogenous peer effects in the adoption of formal property rights. Using data from a unique land titling experiment held in an unplanned settlement in Dar es Salaam, the analysis finds a strong, positive impact of neighbor adoption on the household's choice to purchase a land title.
... See More + The paper also shows that this relationship holds in a separate, identical experiment held a year later in a nearby community, as well as in administrative data for more than 160,000 land parcels in the same city. Although the exact channel is undetermined, the evidence points toward complementarities in the reduction in expropriation risk, as peer effects are strongest between households living close to each other and there is some evidence that peer effects are strongest for households most concerned with expropriation. The results show that, within the Tanzanian context, households will reinforce each other’s decisions to enter formal tenure systems.
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Policy Research Working Paper WPS8163 AUG 10, 2017
Beirut, the capital city of Lebanon, faces huge traffic congestion, the cost of which is estimated to be more than 2 percent of the city's gross regional product.
... See More + Effective policies are needed, based on weighing their overall economic cost and benefit to society. This study developed an empirical model based on microeconomic theory, accounting for production and consumption behavior related to transportation in the Greater Beirut Area, to simulate various policy combinations. A key finding of the study is that individual supply-side policies, such as the expansion of roads or introduction of a bus rapid transit system, are quite effective at reducing traffic congestion while increasing economic output and welfare. They also account for most of the benefits from implementing policy packages with supply- and demand-side measures. The introduction of bus rapid transit with expansion of the road system to feed the bus rapid transit system reduces congestion by about 16 percent and congestion costs by more than 50 percent. This would increase Beirut's gross regional product by roughly 2 percent, and the average social welfare of the residents of Beirut by 4 percent. In contrast, demand-side instruments, implemented alone, lower gross regional product and welfare with limited effects on congestion.
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Policy Research Working Paper WPS8158 AUG 03, 2017
Anas,Alex; De Sarkar,Sayan; Abou Zeid,Maya; Timilsina,Govinda R.; El Nakat,Ziad SalimDisclosed
The World Bank Water Global Practice, under the WSS GSG Utility Turnaround thematic area, has implemented the Global Study on WSS Utility Aggregation to provide evidence-based guidance to policy makers and practitioners regarding when, why, and how water and sanitation utilities can work together, or aggregate, to successfully deliver specific policy outcomes, such as better services or lower costs.
... See More + Aggregation has been regarded as an opportunity to improve cost efficiency and performance of service delivery through economies-of-scale and cost-sharing, as well as enhanced human capacity. However, the study shows that successful aggregation—where the aggregated service provider performs significantly better than the previously disaggregated entities regarding the intended purpose, without unreasonable deterioration of other performance dimensions—is not always guaranteed. This work presents and reviews global evidence, analyzes specific aggregation case studies, and identifies the key characteristics that successful aggregations have in common, depending on their purpose and the context in which they occur. This knowledge brief summarizes the study outcomes, which are detailed further in the main report, Joining Forces for Better Services? When, Why, and How Water and Sanitation Utilities Can Benefit from Working Together. The accompanying toolkit (accessible at www.worldbank.org/water/aggregationtoolkit), offers a broader set of resources to inform aggregation processes.
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The development objective of Project for Integrated Urban Economic Development (PIUED) for Albania is to improve urban infrastructure, enhance tourism assets, and strengthen institutional capacity to support tourism related local economic development in selected areas in the south of Albania.
... See More + Some of the negative impacts include: (i) materials supplied from illegal or unauthorized sites may exert pressure on the natural resources; (ii) water and soil pollution from improper material storage, management and usage of construction machinery; (iii) water and soil pollution from improper disposal of waste materials; (iv) impact on vegetation, trees,meadows, etc; (v) disease prevention and health examinations; and (vi) cultural or historical interest. Some of the mitigation measures include: (i) requirement for official approval or valid operating license; (ii) ensure proper waste management on site in order to prevent pollution; (iii) dispose waste material at appropriate designated location protected from runoff, in cooperation with the municipality of Saranda; (iv) the clearing of vegetation shall be kept to a minimum, with replacement planting planned and conducted, and shall be done in coordination with the measures for protection of habitats and river banks; (v) preventative health examinations for workers, training on disease prevention, provision of education or information and health related to reduce sexually related disease; and (vi) during excavation and general works, the works will cease immediately, the area will be secured and the relevant authorities will be informed within three days of said finds.
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The development objective of Project for Integrated Urban Economic Development (PIUED) for Albania is to improve urban infrastructure, enhance tourism assets, and strengthen institutional capacity to support tourism related local economic development in selected areas in the south of Albania.
... See More + Some of the negative impacts include: (i) materials supplied from illegal or unauthorized sites may exert pressure on the natural resources; (ii) water and soil pollution from improper material storage, management and usage of construction machinery; (iii) water and soil pollution from improper disposal of waste materials; (iv) impact on vegetation, trees,meadows, etc; (v) disease prevention and health examinations; and (vi) cultural or historical interest. Some of the mitigation measures include: (i) requirement for official approval or valid operating license; (ii) ensure proper waste management on site in order to prevent pollution; (iii) dispose waste material at appropriate designated location protected from runoff, in cooperation with the municipality of Saranda; (iv) the clearing of vegetation shall be kept to a minimum, with replacement planting planned and conducted, and shall be done in coordination with the measures for protection of habitats and river banks; (v) preventative health examinations for workers, training on disease prevention, provision of education or information and health related to reduce sexually related disease; and (vi) during excavation and general works, the works will cease immediately, the area will be secured and the relevant authorities will be informed within three days of said finds.
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Ratings for the Urban Governance and Development Program: Emerging Towns Project for Nepal were as follows: outcomes were moderately satisfactory, the risk to development outcome was substantial, the Bank performance was moderately satisfactory, and the Borrower performance was also moderately satisfactory.
... See More + Some lessons learned included: bank’s support to local governments in a fragile political environment and weak governance structure will benefit from a realistic and simple project design and clear implementation arrangements. A local governance program can achieve desired outcomes by taking the integrated approach of strengthening of local institutional capacity and supporting capital investment programs for access to service and for infrastructure provision. Stakeholder consultations suggested that the unique nature of the Project was the combination of improving infrastructure and basic services (which the municipalities lack) on the one hand, and strengthening institutional capacity to plan and implement infrastructure investments, on the other hand. By strengthening institutions in tandem with implementing physical infrastructure investments, the project could demonstrate the benefits of sustained institutional development at the local level while addressing critical infrastructure needs. Local government strengthening and institutional development is a slow and incremental process, especially in a fragile environment, and requires time to show results. During the initial implementation period, the Project required close support and follow up with participating municipalities, a strong socialization process, as well as institutional support before benefits materialized. This lead-time however had a pay back and resulted in improved sustainability of urban development. An effective urban governance program requires institution building at both national and local levels. To improve decentralized urban infrastructure and service delivery, the project strengthened institutions at the national level (including MoUD, MoFALD, and TDF) as well as the participating municipalities. This approach enabled scaling up or evolving to wider replication of programs built on strengthened policies and institutions at both national and local levels.
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Implementation Completion and Results Report ICR4091 JUL 27, 2017
The Skills Toward Employment and Productivity (STEP) survey is an initiative of the World Bank in cooperation with other development partners and nongovernmental agencies.
... See More + STEP was carried out in more than 14 countries globally. In Ghana, the first phase of the survey, focusing on adults in urban communities, was undertaken in partnership with the University of Ghana’s Institute of Statistical, Social, and Economic Research; the Ministry of Education; the Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training; and the Ghana Statistical Service. Stepping Up Skills in Urban Ghana provides detailed insights from the survey for policy makers. These insightscover areas including investments in early childhood education, the role of improvements in the quality of education, and the creation of incentives for economic actors to invest in on-the-job training to improve Ghana’s competitiveness and the well-being of its citizens.
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