Abstract

Argentina’s path to economic prosperity is through efficient, sustainable and economically thriving cities. Not only are cities a spatial concentration of people, but also they generate agglomeration economies by concentrating ideas, talent, and knowledge. Argentina is one of the most urbanized countries in Latin America, with 90 percent of Argentine people currently living in cities. Argentina’s cities are geographically and economically diverse, and its largest urban area – Metropolitan Buenos Aires – is one of Latin America’s urban giants. Argentine cities need to address three main challenges to leverage their economic potential. Argentina’s current patterns of urban development are characterized by (a) high primacy and unbalanced regional development, (b) limited global economic footprint of urban economies, with employment concentrated in nontradable and resource intensive sectors, and (c) unplanned low-density urban expansion. Argentine cities thus face the challenges of moving toward a more balanced regional development, transitioning from local to global cities, and from urban sprawl to articulated densities to take full advantage of the benefits of agglomeration economies. To address these challenges, Argentina needs the leadership of the federal government; the coordinating power of provinces; and the capacity of empowered, financially sound municipalities. Argentine cities also need system-wide policy reforms in areas such as territorial planning, municipal finance, housing, urban transport, and local economic development. Leveraging the Potential of Argentine Cities: A Framework for Policy Action aims to deepen our empirical understanding of the interplay between urbanization and agglomeration economies in Argentina by asking the following: (a) What are the main trends and spatial patterns of Argentina’s urbanization that underlie agglomeration economies?, (b) Are urban policies leveraging or undermining the benefits of agglomeration economies?, and (c) Are Argentine cities fully reaping the benefits of agglomeration economies to deliver improvements in prosperity and livability? By addressing such questions and exploring their implications for action, this study provides a conceptual framework, empirical data, and strategic directions for leveraging the potential of Argentine cities. Document type: Book

Abstract

Today, more than half of Haiti’s population calls cities and towns their home, in a major shift from the 1950s when around 90 percent of Haitians lived in the countryside. Urbanization is usually paired with economic growth, increased productivity, and higher living standards, but in Haiti it has taken a different course. Potential benefits have been overshadowed by immense challenges, all of which require immediate action. To better understand the factors that constrain the sustainable and inclusive development of Haitian cities, this Urbanization Review organizes the challenges along three dimensions of urban development namely planning, connecting, and financing. Planning reviews the challenges in supporting resilient growth to create economically vibrant, environmentally sustainable, and livable cities. Connecting focuses on the obstacles of physically linking people to jobs and businesses to markets, while financing focuses on identifying the key capital, governance, and institutional constraints that are hurdles to successful planning and connecting. Document type: Book

Abstract

Myanmar’s decentralization of governance, financing and service delivery is taking place against aparticularly challenging backdrop. Myanmar is a country with considerable geographic and socialdiversity and a history of isolation, conflict and underdevelopment. Decades of civil conflict and tight military rule have marked Myanmar’s political, social and economic life since its independence from British rule in 1948, and left a host of historical institutional legacies including underrepresentation of women, civil service norms that prioritize compliance over performance, bureaucratic silos and weak public investment management, that still impact the country today. Political and economic transitions, begun in 2011, have promoted growth and improved welfare outcomes, though the benefits have not been equally shared with all groups or geographic areas. There remain extreme variations in the provision and quality of public infrastructure and services, reflected in large disparities per capita income and humandevelopment outcomes. These inequalities are widening, economic growth is spatially concentratedin the growth poles of Yangon and Mandalay, while rural and remote areas, such as those on the Shanplateau, are isolated from the centers of growth. The Myanmar subnational PER examines Myanmar’s nascent subnational institutions, focusing on governance, union-local administrative and fiscal relations and service delivery from a local perspective. The aim is to identify pragmatic and practicable policy options for incrementally strengthening the institutional capacity and inclusiveness of subnational governments within the confines of the current constitution. While political debate on the future shape of a federal Myanmar continues, reforming local governance institutions, within the considerable space available in the current constitution, as suggested throughout the PER, is an important way to support “federalism from below”, promoting a more sustainable, inclusive and accountable system of governance and fiscal management that better reflects Myanmar’s considerable social and economic heterogeneity.

Abstract

Transit-oriented development, commonly known as TOD, is a planning and design strategy that focuses on creating urban development patterns which facilitate the use of public transit,walking and cycling, as primary modes of transport and which supports vibrant, diverse and livable communities. This is achieved by concentrating urban densities, communities and activities within a 5-10 minute walking distance from mass rapid transit stations (both bus and rail-based), developing quality urban space and providing convenient and efficient access to a diverse mix of land uses. TOD brings together elements of land use and transport planning, urban design, urban regeneration, real estate development, financing, land value capture, and infrastructureimplementation to achieve more sustainable urban development. Since TOD implementation can be complex, it is essential that cities understand the dynamics at play related to all citysystems- real estate economics, transit routing, infrastructure design, land use planning and zoning, the development of the local economy through urban regeneration, and urban design- toachieve the concept’s full potential. TOD, as a tool, enables city actors to negotiate through varying urban priorities to ultimately prioritize inclusion and resilience in an optimized environment. The World Bank considers these priorities as the bedrock of successful TODs.

Abstract

Urbanization in Myanmar is still in an early phase with slightly less than one-third of the population living in cities. This presents an enormous opportunity for the country. Cities are engines of growth and prosperity, which facilitate industries to grow jobs, services and innovations. Cities are also fundamental to lifting people out of poverty through increased employment opportunities and incomes to citizens. No country has reached middle income status without urbanizing. That being said, the way that cities urbanize is important to growth, poverty and livability. If adequate investments are not made in basic infrastructure and services, urban planning, and in ensuring a governance and financing structure that can deliver for residents, cities instead can end up with major problems of congestion, pollution, sprawl, and inequality which can create or worsen social divisions, and potentially contribute to crime and violence. The report, Myanmar’s Urbanization: Creating Opportunities for All aims to understand urbanization in Myanmar drawing on the growing literature on the topic in Myanmar, especially for Yangon. It uses an inclusive urbanization lens and proposes a set of priority policy areas for urgent attention that will help to ensure the benefits of urbanization are widely realized given the projected growth of cities. An inclusion lens is particularly important in Myanmar as the country transitions from a complex history that has been characterized by decades of economic and political isolation, conflict, and underdevelopment. Inclusive urbanization is reliant on three keydimensions; economic, social and spatial. Economic inclusion refers to equitable access to employment and income-generating activities in a city, and resilience to shocks. Spatial inclusion refers to equitable and affordable access to land, housing, infrastructure and basic public services. Social inclusion relates to individual and group rights, equity, security and dignity. Such aspects of social inclusion and exclusion are relevant to groups who are often marginalized inday-to-day urban life.

Abstract

Today, more than half of Haiti's population calls cities and towns their home, in a major shift from the 1950s when around 90 percent of Haitians lived in the countryside. Urbanization is usually paired with economic growth, increased productivity, and higher living standards, but in Haiti it has taken a different course. Potential benefits have been overshadowed by immense challenges, all of which require immediate action. To better understand the factors that constrain the sustainable and inclusive development of Haitian cities, this Urbanization Review organizes the challenges along three dimensions of urban development namely planning, connecting, and financing. Planning reviews the challenges in supporting resilient growth to create economically vibrant, environmentally sustainable, and livable cities. Connecting focuses on the obstacles of physically linking people to jobs and businesses to markets, while financing focuses on identifying the key capital, governance, and institutional constraints that are hurdles to successful planning and connecting.