This policy note focuses on analyzing
critical institutional and planning issues affecting
Dhaka's Metropolitan Area, and suggests policy
recommendations for introducing sound urban environmental
planning to improve the quality of life by mitigating and
This report provides Mayors and other policymakers with a policy framework and diagnostic tools to anticipate and implement strategies that can avoid their cities from locking into irreversible physical and social structures. At the core of the policy framework are the three main dimensions of urban development.
Infrastructure can be an agent of change in addressing the most systemic development challenges of today s world from social stability to rapid urbanization, climate change adaptation and mitigation, natural disasters, and global issues such as food and energy security.
Climate resilient cities a primer on reducing vulnerabilities to disasters is prepared as a guide for local governments in the East Asia Region to better understand the concepts and consequences of climate change; how climate change consequences contribute to urban vulnerabilities; and what is being done by city governments in East Asia and around the world to actively engage in learning, capac
Sri Lanka's country vision is to
become a global hub between the East and the West and an
upper middle-income country by 2016. Sri Lanka's urban
vision, as defined in the government's development
policy framework is to develop a system of competitive,
This paper discusses the importance of maps in urban planning and the consequences for cities planned within a'non existent maps context', when the power of decision belongs to the dwellers.
Morocco is a middle-income country with
good water infrastructure that provides access to safe
drinking water and sanitation to the majority of the urban
population. In 2005, Morocco made it a priority to extend
service to poor peri-urban settlements, and encouraged
Housing is one of the most important
sectors of the economy -- in developing countries as in
richer ones -- with large positive externalities in terms of
economic growth, public health and societal stability. It is
the primary form of asset accumulation for the poor -- often
The Bank has been involved in a number
of urban upgrading projects over the last three decades,
which have demonstrated that quality of life in slums can be
improved through realistic policies, investments and
implementation processes. This note reviews community-driven
The proliferation of urban slums is due
in large part to obsolete regulatory, legal and
institutional frameworks at the local level governing land
use, development standards, land registration and titling.
These regulations are often exclusionary, insisting on
Nontraditional infrastructure service
providers supply many low-income consumers in slums and
urban peripheries in developing countries. And technological
change has eased entry by new providers. But the current
approach to private participation in infrastructure
This paper is an attempt to look at the rationale behind these reforms, status of these pro poor reforms across different states in India and bottlenecks hampering the implementation of these reforms.