The League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP), the umbrella organization for Philippine cities recently marked the completion of the third phase of the City Development Strategies (CDS 3) project, implemented with support from the Cities Alliance and the World Bank. At a workshop it held in Quezon City, attended by city mayors, CDS local teams, consultants, development partners, financing institutions and national government officials the LCP spotlighted the project achievements of the 15 CDS3 c more...

The following statement was issued in Geneva by the Special Rapporteur of the Human Rights Council on adequate housing, Raquel Rolnik, on the occasion of World Habitat Day . 'Can we celebrate today World Habitat Day with joy and hope?' This year's theme is 'Harmonious Cities.' Are the world cities heading towards harmony? One of every three city dwellers lives in a slum. The growth of slums in the last 15 years has been unprecedented. Today there are approximately 998 million slum dwellers in th more...

By Patricia Clarke Annez , Gwenaelle Huet , George E. Peterson. Published June 2008 by World Bank. The world’s urban population doubled between 1970 and 2008, growing from 1.5 billion to 3 billion people. Future world population growth will be concentrated in developing countries—the majority in medium-size and smaller cities and towns. International institutions and governments alike face the challenge of efficiently financing the massive investment in infrastructure required to support th more...

By Charles Karelis, Yale University Press 2007.
In this important book, one of America's boldest and most original thinkers charges that conventional explanations of poverty are mistaken, and that the anti-poverty policies built upon them are doomed to fail. Using science, history, fables, philosophical analysis, and common observation, Charles Karelis takes us to a deeper grasp of the link between consumption and satisfaction—and from there to a new explanation of what keeps poor people poor more...

Edited by Joseph E. Stiglitz , Aaron S. Edlin and J. Bradford DeLong, Columbia University Press 2008. In this valuable resource, more than thirty of the world's top economists offer innovative policy ideas and insightful commentary on our most pressing economic issues, such as global warming, the global economy, government spending, Social Security, tax reform, real estate, and political and social policy, including an extensive look at the economics of capital punishment, welfare reform, and th more...

Addressing environmental degradation and ensuring environmental sustainability are inextricably linked to the World Bank Group’s mandate to reduce poverty and improve people’s lives. The Independent Evaluation Group (IEG), an independent unit within the World Bank Group, has examined Bank Group support for environmental sustainability from 1990 to 2007. While there are difficulties in comparing the experience in the public and private sectors, a contribution of this evaluation is in bringing more...

Edited by Maja Daruwala and Venkatesh Nayak, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative 2008.
This book is a collection of case studies from across the globe, testifying to the power of right to information laws in bringing about the practical realization of human rights for everyday people. Time and time again, these stories demonstrate how access to information has provided the means for people to demand respect for their rights, from the right to food, health care and education, to the right to b more...

By Roumeen Islam and Gianni Zanini, The World Bank 2008. The World Bank's World Trade Indicators (WTI) database on the CD-ROM included in this book provides more than 300 performance indicators measuring at-the-border and behind-the-border country trade policy, institutions, and outcomes from 1995 to 2007. Complementing the rich database are Trade Briefs for 142 developing countries summarizing insights from the data and the main findings of analytical work conducted by the Word Bank, the IMF, a more...

'The quality of the environment in urban areas is of vital importance. It is one of the main factors that determine whether a city is a healthy place to live, whether we enjoy living there, and whether we want our children to grow up there.

One of the key issues affecting the quality of the environment and the quality of life in our towns and cities is road traffic. Heavy motor traffic means poor air quality, unacceptable levels of noise and a weakened sense
of neighbourhood and local commun more...

'The ideas explored in Connected Cities chart the emergence of a political and economic phenomenon-the city as the new connected republic of the 21st Century. Simon Willis, Global Head of eGovernment for the Internet Business Solutions Group at Cisco Systems, has collated essays that show how different cities, at the cutting edge of the process, are grappling with the various stages of connectivity.'