In developing countries the twin tasks of building more dispersed and democratic governments and opening economies to freer markets and greater private ownership have been attempted in tandem-and have proved a difficult undertaking. A reduction in barriers to the movement of capital and goods...

The 5th urban research symposium on cities and climate change responding to an urgent agenda, held in Marseille in June 2009, sought to highlight how climate change and urbanization are converging to create one of the greatest challenges of our time. Cities consume much of the world's energy,...

This paper provides the key elements to develop an integrated approach for measuring and monitoring city performance globally. The paper reviews the role of cities and why indicators are important. Then it discusses past approaches to city indicators and the systems developed to date, including...

Urban growth is, in all parts of the world, inevitable and welcomed. Despite concerns that local governments will not be able to address those issues associated with increased urban population, the number of people living in urban centers will sur-pass those of the rural population by 2030....

The report is organized into eight chapters: chapter one discusses urbanization and the growing global impact of cities, reviews the widely accepted definitions of sustainability and sustainable cities, and elaborates on the need for innovative approaches to the various aspects of...

This book examines the influence of local public services on the economics of cities. The relationship between economic development and urbanization is indisputable; less clear, however, are the ways in which cities directly contribute to economic growth and employment creation. Current economic...

Este volumen contiene los anales de un seminario sobre modernización de las finanzas municipales. En el seminario se discutieron e intercambiaron experiencias sobre las políticas que los gobiernos centrales pueden adoptar para que la descentralización proporcione los beneficios que se le...