The Global Urban Futures Project invites you to the launch of the Urban Economics Seminar
October 23, 2015, Room 1009 @ 6 E 16th Street, New York, NY 10011
RSVP here
10:00 - 10:45 am - Building the foundation for productive cities: three pronged approach to urbanization Marco Kamiya
UN-HABITAT is promoting the Three Pronged Approach (3PA) as a strategy for good urbanization. good urban planning, efficient financial and legal framework. Resting upon quantitative evidence, this study aims to discuss that: i. Well-planned cities have higher urban productivity in the long run, ii. Financial strategies are key for a successful implementation of plans and for creating an urban ecosystem with steady and resilient value creation patterns, iii. Legal framework is essential to link finance and planning. The study present evidence that each element of the 3PA is a necessary condition for good urbanization, though there are more elements and context local governments need to integrated the three elements to achieve sustainable urbanization.
10:45 - 11:30 am - Urbanization and Structural Change in Africa: An Empirical Analysis Gulelat Kebede
We propose a discussion on productivity and growth in the Sub-Saharan African context. Most African cities do not conform to a standard model of urbanization since rapid growth has been accompanied by increasing poverty and inequality, while the expected job growth has not occurred. This paper discusses elements of productivity and structural change in African cities and the impact on urbanization.
11:45 - 12: 30m - Where is the money?: strengthening the role of municipal finance in urban development Marco Kamiya
Municipal finance is the base for healthy and sustainable local governments. Most of the small and medium municipalities in developing countries have permanent deficits and very few have access to external financing or are ready to design Public Private Partnerships. This policy paper is one of the inputs for HABITAT III and provides elements to discuss sources of financing and governance for municipalities to provide local governments with a more stable flow of endogenous and exogenous revenues. Policies and instruments are discussed.