Throughout the twentieth century, there was a notable population shift in the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, from rural living situations to urban centers. In 2000 there were 49 cities with populations of over one million, four of them among the 10 largest cities in the world....

A growing number of cities around the world have established systems for monitoring the quality of urban life. Many of those systems combine objective information with subjective opinions and cover a wide variety of topics. This book assesses a method that takes advantage of both types of...

In this paper, we use a panel approach to study population growth in major cities around the world. We find that major cities grow faster in relatively backward economies and in more volatile, faster-growing economies. We also find that the effects of trade policy on the growth of major cities...

Building Cities reviews the experiences of the Latin American and Caribbean region in the design and implementation of neighbourhood upgrading programmes. The volume has a particular focus on the lessons learned by specialists of the Inter-American Development Bank and their technical and...

The IDB undertakes multiple activities in support of urban heritage preservation, including the provision of investment loans and reimbursable and nonreimbursable technical cooperation. The IDB also organizes policy debates, seminars, and technical exchanges among cities, and produces technical...

This presentation discusses lessons from urban transportation case studies in Latin America. Urban Sustainable Mobility Policies are discussed with strategies and plans from an integrated and comprehensive approach. This presentation was presented at the ADB Transport Forum held in Manila,...

This paper present examples of positive economic and social impacts of cultural projects and mentions an interpretation of the positive interaction between development and culture. Several best practices are explored for each single topic and guidelines for future IDB projects are suggested....

This document reviews the activities of the IDB to deal with the lack of fully serviced dwellings for the entire region's population. The document considers this a case of market and government failure, which has resulted in an estimated 10 to 15 million households living in substandard dwellings.

This paper considers why most households in Latin America and the Caribbean remain unserved by traditional housing finance systems and how micro-finance potentially offers a key to help the low/moderate-income majority meet their shelter needs.