Urbanization is undoubtedly a key driver
of development - cities provide the national platform for
prosperity, job creation, and poverty reduction. But
urbanization also poses enormous challenges that one is
familiar with: congestion, air pollution, social divisions,
The aim of the scoping study was to gain
an understanding of the productive activities slum dwellers
engage in that rely on energy services and the potentials
and challenges of slums in Ghana regarding access to modern
energy services and income generation from productive
As the world is urbanizing, many cities
are grappling with a population that is growing rapidly,
thereby increasing demand for land and housing. This
pressure on land and housing markets often is exacerbated by
inappropriate or inadequate policies. The result is a supply
In 2006-07, the Water and Sanitation
Program (WSP) initiated research to identify barriers to
service delivery for the urban poor. The findings of the
research have been presented in the Guidance Notes on
Improving Water Supply and Sanitation Services to the Urban
The case studies documented in this
report aim to inform the energy access community (including
practitioners, civil society groups, project planners, end
users) about best practices of successful energy access
initiatives targeted at slum dwellers. Eight case studies
Government entities in India hold large
amounts of public land. Their landholdings include some of
the most valuable property in the country. Parts of this
patrimony lie vacant or underutilized. Public sector bodies
also own large blocs of land that sometimes stand in the way
This paper pilots an approach to
identifying, categorizing, and mapping public land owned by
the central, state, and local government in urban developed
areas of Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. The methodology uses
information on plot sizes, location, and ownership that is
In conformity with its objective of
functioning as a local Government, Kathmandu Metropolitan
City (KMC) sought the assistance of the World Bank for the
preparation of a City Development Strategy (CDS). The
various sectoral as well as integrated strategies presented
Urbanization is the single most
important transformation that the African continent will
undergo this century. More than half of Africa's
population will live in its cities by 2040. In the face of
rapid urbanization, there is a narrow window of opportunity
This housing policy in developing
countries, conjectures and refutations article discusses
housing policy in developing economies. It examines recent
research findings in light of earlier arguments as to the
benefits of more market-oriented approaches. It also looks
