More Urban, Less Poor; An Introduction to Urban Development and Management

This book presents the case for a stronger focus on urban issues by local and national governments and international agencies – and it justifies its provocative title by explaining how urban development can be the engine of economic, social and cultural development with benefits for both rural and urban populations. Both authors have many decades of experience, working in international agencies. Goran Tannerfeldt had a central role in developing the urban policy of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) from the mid-1990s to the present, and Per Ljung headed the World Bank’s central unit for policy development and research in urban development. This is one of the most accessible discussions of urban development, and the text is illustrated throughout with many graphs, diagrams and photos.

After an initial short summary and conclusions section, the book is organized into five chapters. The first describes urban trends and discusses what underpins these – including the association between urbanization and economic development and rural–urban linkages. Chapter 2 describes the scale and nature of urban poverty – including issues of health, safety and livelihoods. Chapter 3 is on “Cities and towns facing problems”, but with an emphasis on the fact that it is not urbanization but rather, inadequate or poorly conceived or implemented policies that are the root causes of these problems. It discusses the size of “slum” populations in selected cities, the lack of secure tenure (and the difficulties in addressing this), and the difficulties that slum dwellers face in getting housing finance and basic services. It also has sections on environment and health, on AIDS, and on urban challenges in the transition economies of Eastern Europe and Central Asia – also on obstacles to addressing urban problems, including weak local governance, poor municipalities, the backlog in infrastructure deficiencies, distorted land and housing markets and inappropriate regulatory frameworks.

Chapter 4 is on managing urban growth. As it states at the outset, slums and inadequate infrastructure are largely the result of failed policies, bad governance, inappropriate legal and regulatory frameworks, unresponsive financial systems, corruption and lack of political will. This has sections on governance at local and national level, civil society and accountability, transparency and corruption. It then discusses different aspects of urban management, including inclusive city development strategies, land management, providing secure tenure, urban transport, and environmental management and protecting cultural heritage. This chapter also discusses how to improve municipal finances, enhance service delivery (including the use of community-based alternatives) and create a functioning housing finance service. The chapter ends with a two-page checklist of key areas in pro-poor urban development. Chapter 5 examines the role of development cooperation, and lays out a powerful rationale for supporting urban development and how it can be realized. The book ends with the comment: “National governments and donors have for too long ignored the challenges of rapid urban growth; they have neglected urban poverty, slums and environmental degradation. The result is an urban crisis. Concerted and well-targeted efforts are now required. Governments must undertake fundamental policy reforms, and development cooperation must increase and be more effective. A full understanding of these issues – the purpose of this book – is the first step towards the ultimate goal, an urban world without poverty” (page 163). There is also an annex with a series of tables containing urban statistics.