In this report, ESCAP explores the future of urbanization in Asia and the Pacific, focusing on the dynamic shifts in the region’s urban landscape. It highlights the region’s demographic transformations, including population ageing, and the persistent challenges of urban poverty and inequality. The analysis covers urban areas of all sizes, …
Asia and the Pacific is the region most affected by natural disasters which hit hardest at the poorest countries and communities. And on present trends, as more migrants crowd into slums and shanty towns in Asia-Pacific cities, whole communities are likely to see their homes and livelihoods shattered or washed …
Urbanisation is one of the most important potential drivers of productivity and growth in the global economy. But if countries and cities are to capture the productivity benefits of urban growth while minimising the costs, cities will need to shift to a more economically and environmentally sustainable growth pattern. This …
The Fourth Industrial Revolution is set to erupt in cities throughout the world. Bits are meeting bricks as the internet enters the spaces we live in, becoming the Internet of Things. The results will impact most aspects of our lives, raising questions of urgent concern. Which dimensions of cities will …
A distinctive feature of urbanization in the last 50 years is the expansion of urban populations and built development well beyond what was earlier conceived as the city limit, resulting in metropolitan areas. This is challenging the relevance of traditional municipal boundaries, and by extension, traditional governing structures and institutions. …
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) underscore the need to address broad inequalities in their quest to ‘leave no-one behind.’ Income Inequality Trends in sub-Saharan Africa: Divergence, Determinants, and Consequences is a groundbreaking United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) study that provides policy guidance …
Authored by NewClimate Institute and The Climate Group and powered by CDP data, ‘States, cities and businesses leading the way: a first look at decentralized climate commitments in the US’ shows that the US can already meet half of its climate commitments under the Paris Agreement by 2025, if the …
A new United Nations report warns that a third of the planet’s land is now severely degraded thanks to a doubling in the consumption of natural resources over the past 30 years. Some 15 billion trees and 24 billion tonnes of fertile soil are lost each year, according to the …
The Government of India along with the various State and Local Governments is implementing several flagship Urban Missions. An overarching goal of the various missions and schemes is to make Indian cities more ‘Liveable’. The Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD) has developed a set of ‘Liveability Standards in Cities’ to …
TEPIC, Mexico, Sept 7 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Giving the poorest people in the world's fast-growing cities access to affordable, clean energy supplies, while wiping out the use of hazardous solid fuels is essential for urban economies to grow on a warming planet, researchers said. Some half a billion people …
This paper examines the relationship between spatial and economic mobility in Uganda using longitudinal data from 2005 through 2012. The study relies on a detailed panel tracking survey and exploits exogenous variation in the spatial intensity of violent conflict, rainfall shocks, distance from the regional capital, and ethnic networks in …
Ahead of a major meeting next week, a prominent group of civil society representatives is urging the United Nations to strengthen its coordinated response to rapid urbanisation by copying mechanisms set up decades ago: those created to combat global climate change. The suggestion comes from an umbrella group of urban …
As the plight of the world’s urban poor occupies an irrevocable priority of the global development agenda, fresh steps being proposed by a panel of experts on how to reform the United Nation’s current lead agency on urban issues, UN-Habitat are ruffling some feathers among the international community. The eight …
This book brings together research findings and experiences from science, policy and practice to highlight and debate the importance of nature-based solutions (NBS) to climate change adaptation in urban areas. Emphasis is given to the potential of nature-based approaches to create multiple-benefits for society. The expert contributions present recommendations for …
Most developed countries now implicitly or explicitly aim to promote more compact urban forms, as compactness is associated with a wide range of positive effects: increases in productivity due to agglomeration economies, travel time savings, and a smaller ecological footprint due to lower energy and land consumption. This working paper …
Millions of residents in some of the fastest growing cities in the world don’t have access to clean, reliable energy, and the challenge of reaching them is not getting easier. In 2012, only 58 percent of the urban population had access to electricity in low-income countries, and nearly 500 million …
Indian cities are crucial to the response to climate change. As the bulk of their infrastructure is yet to be built, their current decisions can lock-in, or lock-out, inclusive and climate resilient forms. Examine the case study of Rajkot to highlight how cities can use existing governance arrangements to promote …
Cities can ‘hack’ global sustainability goals for their own purposes, report says. A new report shows that even though the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were designed with national governments in mind, the majority of the targets are relevant to cities. In a report released, “Hacking the Sustainable Development Goals: Can …
There have been several traffic management measures taken in Delhi, the odd-eve traffic experiment conducted in year 2016 was first of its kind. CPCB took it as an opportunity to explore if there was any significant reduction in ambient noise levels due to restrictions in number plates. In urban context …
Cities in the United States can now see how they stack up against international development standards, in an effort that organisers hope will offer a model for other countries. The first-ever US Cities SDG Index ranks the country’s 100 most populous cities, using statistics for their metropolitan areas, to look …
Global shifts in water and sanitation will have a profound effect on societies and economies. Other transformations are shaping these shifts, including where people live, what they expect from governments and markets, their productive and polluting activities, how they innovate and whether they pursue conflict or peace. Understanding these shifts …
