A rapidly increasing share of the world's population is living in cities. In the next 15 years the population of many cities in Asia and Africa will nearly double. In order to confront the challenges posed by this unprecedented rate of urban growth and increasing urban poverty, cities need to plan ahead in order to make more informed choices about the future and they need to act now. A city development strategy supports cities in this critical decision making process and is focused on implementation. It is an action-plan for equitable growth in cities and their surrounding regions, developed and sustained through participation, to improve the quality of life for all citizens.
The Alliance supports cities in preparing city development strategies that link their economic growth and poverty reduction objectives, often including citywide slum upgrading strategies. Since its launch in 1999, the Alliance has committed $60 million, linked to over $6 billion in investments. To date, Alliance activities have involved 160 cities worldwide.
The Cities Alliance is a global coalition of cities and their development partners committed to scaling up successful approaches to poverty reduction; it brings cities together in a direct dialogue with bilateral and multilateral agencies and financial institutions; Alliance members promote the developmental role of local governments and help cities of all sizes obtain more coherent international support; By promoting the positive impacts of urbanisation, the Alliance helps local authorities plan and prepare for future growth; The Alliance helps cities develop sustainable financing strategies, and attract long-term capital investments for infrastructure and other services.
The Alliance provides matching grants in support of: City development strategies (CDS) which link the process by which local stakeholders define their vision for their city and its economic growth, environmental and poverty reduction objectives, with clear priorities for actions and investments; Citywide and nationwide slum upgrading in accordance with the Alliance’s Cities Without Slums action plan (MDG Target 11), including promoting secure tenure, access to shelter finance and policies to help cities prevent the growth of new slums; and Sustainable financing strategies for cities to attract the long-term capital investments needed for infrastructure, including improving accountability for service delivery and demonstrating stable revenue streams to more effectively leverage domestic capital.
The text for this article courtesy The Cities Alliance, a partner and Cooperating Organization with dgCommunity Urban Development - photograph, courtesy Slum Dweller’s International, a partner of The Cities Alliance.
March 4, 2008
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