Download or read book Which Way to Livable and Productive Cities written by Kirsten Hommann and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2019-04-18 with total page 59 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For African cities to grow economically as they have grown in size, they must create productive environments to attract investments, increase economic efficiency, and create livable environments that prevent urban costs from rising with increased population densification. What are the central obstacles that prevent African cities and towns from becoming sustainable engines of economic growth and prosperity? Among the most critical factors that limit the growth and livability of urban areas are land markets, investments in public infrastructure and assets, and the institutions to enable both. To unleash the potential of African cities and towns for delivering services and employment in a livable and environmentally friendly environment, a sequenced approach is needed to reform institutions and policies and to target infrastructure investments. This book lays out three foundations that need fixing to guide cities and towns throughout Sub-Saharan Africa on their way to productivity and livability.
Download or read book The Oxford Handbook of Africa and Economics written by Célestin Monga and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2015-07-02 with total page 1010 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For a long time, economic research on Africa was not seen as a profitable venture intellectually or professionally-few researchers in top-ranked institutions around the world chose to become experts in the field. This was understandable: the reputation of Africa-centered economic research was not enhanced by the well-known limitations of economic data across the continent. Moreover, development economics itself was not always fashionable, and the broader discipline of economics has had its ups and downs, and has been undergoing a major identity crisis because it failed to predict the Great Recession. Times have changed: many leading researchers-including a few Nobel laureates-have taken the subject of Africa and economics seriously enough to devote their expertise and creativity to it. They have been amply rewarded: the richness, complexities, and subtleties of African societies, civilizations, rationalities, and ways of living, have helped renew the humanities and the social sciences-and economics in particular-to the point that the continent has become the next major intellectual frontier to researchers from around the world. In collecting some of the most authoritative statements about the science of economics and its concepts in the African context, this ^lhandbook (the first of two volumes) opens up the diverse acuity of commentary on exciting topics, and in the process challenges and stimulates the quest for knowledge. Wide-ranging in its scope, themes, language, and approaches, this volume explores, examines, and assesses economic thinking on Africa, and Africa's contribution to the discipline. The editors bring a set of powerful resources to this endeavor, most notably a team of internationally-renowned economists whose diverse viewpoints are complemented by the perspectives of philosophers, political scientists, and anthropologists.
Download or read book Regional Development in Africa written by Norbert Edomah and published by BoD – Books on Demand. This book was released on 2020-08-19 with total page 262 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Regional development is a broad term but can be seen as a general effort to reduce regional disparities by supporting (employment and wealth-generating) economic activities in regions. In the past, regional development policy tended to try to achieve these objectives by means of large-scale infrastructure development and by attracting inward investment” (OECD, 2014).A territorial and regional approach to development is crucial in addressing regional challenges, regional economic competitiveness, and reducing socio-economic discrepancies. This book provides a forum to articulate and discuss Africa’s regional development issues in view of the rising opportunities within the African region. This volume contains 14 chapters and is organized in four sections: Introduction; Industry, Trade and Investment in Africa; Agricultural Services and the Water-energy-food Nexus in Africa; and Environmental and Cultural Dimensions to Africa’s Regional Development.
Download or read book African Cities and the Development Conundrum written by Carole Ammann and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2018-10-16 with total page 348 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This 10th thematic volume of International Development Policy presents a collection of articles exploring some of the complex development challenges associated with Africa’s recent but extremely rapid pace of urbanisation that challenges still predominant but misleading images of Africa as a rural continent. Analysing urban settings through the diverse experiences and perspectives of inhabitants and stakeholders in cities across the continent, the authors consider the evolution of international development policy responses amidst the unique historical, social, economic and political contexts of Africa’s urban development. Contributors include: Carole Ammann, Claudia Baez Camargo, Claire Bénit-Gbaffou, Karen Büscher, Aba Obrumah Crentsil, Sascha Delz, Ton Dietz, Till Förster, Lucy Koechlin, Lalli Metsola, Garth Myers, George Owusu, Edgar Pieterse, Sebastian Prothmann, Warren Smit, and Florian Stoll.
Download or read book Africa s Cities written by Somik V. Lall and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2017 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Cities in Sub-Saharan Africa are experiencing rapid population growth. Yet their economic growth has not kept pace. Why? One factor might be low capital investment, due in part to Africa's relative poverty: Other regions have reached similar stages of urbanization at higher per capita GDP. This study, however, identifies a deeper reason: African cities are closed to the world. Compared with other developing cities, cities in Africa produce few goods and services for trade on regional and international markets To grow economically as they are growing in size, Africa's cities must open their doors to the world. They need to specialize in manufacturing, along with other regionally and globally tradable goods and services. And to attract global investment in tradables production, cities must develop scale economies, which are associated with successful urban economic development in other regions. Such scale economies can arise in Africa, and they will--if city and country leaders make concerted efforts to bring agglomeration effects to urban areas. Today, potential urban investors and entrepreneurs look at Africa and see crowded, disconnected, and costly cities. Such cities inspire low expectations for the scale of urban production and for returns on invested capital. How can these cities become economically dense--not merely crowded? How can they acquire efficient connections? And how can they draw firms and skilled workers with a more affordable, livable urban environment? From a policy standpoint, the answer must be to address the structural problems affecting African cities. Foremost among these problems are institutional and regulatory constraints that misallocate land and labor, fragment physical development, and limit productivity. As long as African cities lack functioning land markets and regulations and early, coordinated infrastructure investments, they will remain local cities: closed to regional and global markets, trapped into producing only locally traded goods and services, and limited in their economic growth.
Download or read book Urbanization and Development written by and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Urbanisation in the Developing World written by David Drakakis-Smith and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2010-11-26 with total page 278 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: First published in 1986, this reissue is concerned with the increased social problems, regional imbalances, and economic dislocation resulting from the alarming growth rate of cities in the developing world. It considers theoretical questions and contains wide-ranging case studies to support the arguments made. It relates urbanisation in the developing world to changes in the broader global economic system, as well as looking at the urbanisation process over time.
Download or read book Urbanization and Industrialization for Africa s Transformation written by and published by UN. This book was released on 2017 with total page 218 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The 2017 Economic Report on Africa focuses on the linkages between industrialization and urbanization. Urbanization is one of Africa mega trends with profound implications for the social, economic, environmental dimensions of growth and transformation. Theory and experience demonstrate that industrialization and urbanization can be mutually reinforcing processes. It is therefore imperative to explore the linkages between urbanization and industrialization given the profound implications for structural transformation in Africa. So far, current policy narratives and frameworks on structural transformation and industrialization in Africa have largely failed to factor in the spatial and urban dimensions of industrialization, and in particular the advantages presented by productivity enhancement and agglomeration effects generated by cities. Yet, the nexus between urbanization and industrialization is of particular relevance for Agenda 2063 and the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development. Both agendas recognize urbanization as a critical factor for sustainable development. It is also important to consider urbanization and industrialization in light of Africa's engagement with the Third United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III) to be held in Quito, Ecuador in October 2016. In this context, African policy makers have clearly recognized urbanization as an engine of structural transformation for inclusive and sustainable growth.
Download or read book Urban Planning for City Leaders written by Pablo Vaggione and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 190 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This guide is the result of a UN-Habitat initiative to provide local leaders and decision makers with the tools to support urban planning good practice. It includes several "how to" sections on all aspects of urban planning, including how to build resilience and reduce climate risks, with an example from Sorsogon, Philippines. It outlines practical ways to create and implement a vision for a city that will better prepare it to cope with growth and change. The overall guide offers insights from real experiences on what it takes to have an impact and to transform an urban reality through urban planning. It clearly links planning and financing and presents many successful practices that emphasize strategies to address real issues. It aims to inform leaders about the value that urban planning could bring to their cities and to facili.
Download or read book Planning Power written by Ambe Njoh and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2007-01-24 with total page 513 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With a multidisciplinary perspective, Planning Power examines British and French colonial town and country planning efforts in Africa. Drawing out similarities in the colonial administrative and economic strategies of the two powers, rather than emphasizing the differences, the book offers an unusually nuanced view of African planning systems in a time of upheaval and political change. In showing how the colonial authorities sought to gain political and social control in Africa, it can be seen how their will to exert political power influenced every area of planning practice during this era. This unique comparative analysis of British and French colonial town planning – covering the entire sub-Saharan African region – takes theories from a wide range of disciplines, including political science, history, urban and regional planning, economics and geography to paint a comprehensive picture of the subject. Written by a prolific researcher and writer in the political-economy of urban and regional planning in Africa, Planning Power is valuable reading for students and academics in a range of disciplines.
Download or read book World Urbanization Prospects written by United Nations Publications and published by . This book was released on 2019-10-18 with total page 124 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The report presents findings from the 2018 revision of World Urbanization Prospects, which contains the latest estimates of the urban and rural populations or areas from 1950 to 2018 and projections to 2050, as well as estimates of population size from 1950 to 2018 and projections to 2030 for all urban agglomerations with 300,000 inhabitants or more in 2018. The world urban population is at an all-time high, and the share of urban dwellers, is projected to represent two thirds of the global population in 2050. Continued urbanization will bring new opportunities and challenges for sustainable development.
Download or read book How to achieve the welfare state in the twenty first century written by Kozulj, Roberto and published by Editorial UNRN. This book was released on 2019-09-18 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Kozulj proposes a bold and vital idea: if the activities linked to urban development were reoriented towards the construction and reconstruction of sustainable cities, this would tend to solve a large part of the problem of structural unemployment,
Download or read book Urban Growth in Emerging Economies written by Gordon McGranahan and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-04-29 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Along with globalization, urban transitions have been central in the southward shift in economic power towards the newly emerging economies. As this book shows, however, these transitions have not been painless, and it is important for the rest of the urbanizing world to learn from the mistakes. It examines the role of urbanization and urban growth in the emerging economies, taking the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) as case studies. Their different approaches towards urbanization have shaped their historical development paths and assisted or constrained their futures. Several of the BRICS bear heavy burdens from past failures to accommodate urban growth inclusively and efficiently, and many other urbanizing countries in Asia and Africa are in danger of replicating their mistakes. The overriding lesson of the book is that cities and nations must anticipate urbanization, and accommodate urban growth pro-actively, so as not to be left with an enduring legacy of inequalities and lost opportunities. This book is aimed at students and researchers in urban studies and development studies. It will also be of interest to policy advisors concerned with urbanization and the role of cities in a country’s development
Download or read book From Farm to Firm written by and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2011 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The process of rural-urban transformation presents both opportunities and challenges for development. If managed effectively, it can result in growth that benefits everyone; if managed poorly, it can lead to stark welfare disparities and entire regions cut off from the advantages of agglomeration economies. The importance of rural-urban transition has been confirmed by two consecutive World Development Reports: WDR 2008 Agriculture for Development; and WDR 2009 Reshaping Economic Geography. Focusing on Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, this book picks up where the WDRs left off, investigating the influence of country conditions and policies on the pace, pattern, and consequences of rural-urban transition and suggesting strategies to ensure that its benefits results in shared improvements in well-being. The book uncovers vast inequalities, whether between two regions of one country, between rural and urban areas, or within cities themselves. The authors find little evidence to suggest that these inequalities will automatically diminish as countries develop: empirical and qualitative analysis suggests that spatial divides are mainly a function of country conditions, policies and institutions. By implication, policymakers must take active steps to ensure that rural-urban transition results in shared growth. Spatially unbiased provision of health and education services is crucial to ensuring that the benefits of transition are shared by all. But connective infrastructure and targeted interventions also emerge as important considerations, even in countries with severely constrained fiscal and administrative capacity. The authors suggest steps for navigating the tricky political economy of land reforms. And they alert readers to potential spillover effects that mean that policies designed for one space can have unintended consequences on another. Policymakers and development experts, as well as anyone concerned with the impact of rural-urban transition on growth and equity, will find this book a thought-provoking and informative read.
Download or read book Urban Planning Against Poverty written by Jean-Claude Bolay and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2019-11-12 with total page 218 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This open access book revisits the theoretical foundations of urban planning and the application of these concepts and methods in the context of Southern countries by examining several case studies from different regions of the world. For instance, the case of Koudougou, a medium-sized city in one of the poorest countries in the world, Burkina Faso, with a population of 115.000 inhabitants, allows us to understand concretely which and how these deficiencies are translated in an African urban context. In contrast, the case of Nueve de Julio, intermediate city of 50.000 dwellers in the pampa Argentina, addresses the new forms of spatial fragmentation and social exclusion linked with agro export and crisis of the international markets. Case studies are also included for cities in Asia and Latin America. Differences and similarities between cases allow us to foresee alternative models of urban planning better adapted to tackle poverty and find efficient ways for more inclusive cities in developing and emerging countries, interacting several dimensions linked with high rates of urbanization: territorial fragmentation; environmental contamination; social disparities and exclusion, informal economy and habitat, urban governance and democracy.
Download or read book Urbanization in Nigeria written by Akin L. Mabogunje and published by . This book was released on 1971 with total page 353 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book World Cities Report 2020 written by United Nations and published by . This book was released on 2020-11-30 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In a rapidly urbanizing and globalized world, cities have been the epicentres of COVID-19 (coronavirus). The virus has spread to virtually all parts of the world; first, among globally connected cities, then through community transmission and from the city to the countryside. This report shows that the intrinsic value of sustainable urbanization can and should be harnessed for the wellbeing of all. It provides evidence and policy analysis of the value of urbanization from an economic, social and environmental perspective. It also explores the role of innovation and technology, local governments, targeted investments and the effective implementation of the New Urban Agenda in fostering the value of sustainable urbanization.
