What is the role of community-led urban development?
By 2050, two-thirds of people worldwide will live in urban areas. Many city dwellers in the global South live in informal settlements, without access to basic services. The global Sustainable … Continue reading
Governing Safer Cities: Strategies for a Globalised World
The security challenges of individual cities are increasingly a result of the intersection between local vulnerabilities and illicit flows from across national borders. States as a whole are affected by … Continue reading
Urban Lessons from Hong Kong and Tokyo
Urban Finland One of the best things is flaneuring across cities around the world. They’re all different, yet remarkably similar. It’s the perfect opportunity for reflecting how your own city … Continue reading
Aid for Gender Equality and Development
This UNU-WIDER special issue of the Journal of International Development comprises a set of papers on the theme of aid and gender equality. While the topic of aid effectiveness has … Continue reading
A City Built on Information Technology and Wisdom
Smart cities carry a vision of an urban space that is meticulously planned, technologically integrated, ecologically friendly, and to attract more investments in technology and physical infrastructure. It is technology … Continue reading
Urban resilience efforts must consider social and political forces
The social and political norms, values, rules, and relationships that undergird and structure the myriad decisions made by public and private actors—what we call “socio-political infrastructure”—are likely to be as … Continue reading
Enhancing Productivity in the Urban Informal Economy
The report argues for a radical and new policy paradigm, to promote inclusion of informal workers in urban dialogues, and mainstream the informal economy in urban policies and strategies. Over … Continue reading
FIFTY-YEARS ON: The Right to the City
2017 marks the Golden Jubilee of Henri Lefebvre’s Right to the City, his “cry and demand” for a more participatory and democratic city life. It’s a cause both to celebrate … Continue reading
The Rise of the Urban Creative Class in Southeast Asia
This report examines the intersection of urbanization and the rise of the new creative or middle class in Southeast Asia. In particular, it assesses the connection between the rise of … Continue reading
Reading Development 