The Cities
A l l i a n c e
A GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP
WITH CITIES TO MEET
THE CHALLENGE OF
PRO-POOR POLICIES AND
PROSPEROUS CITIES
WITHOUT SLUMS
www.citiesalliance.org
WHY FOCUS ON THE URBAN POOR?
WHY SHOULD WE BE IN
THE CITIES ALLIANCE?
HOW CAN WE PARTICIPATE?
Why focus on the urban poor?
•Over the past 25 years, the urban growth rate in the
developing world was 3 times higher than the rural
growth rate.
•Over the next 25 years, the urban growth rate will be
25 times higher than rural growth rate.
•Rural and urban development are interdependent.
City
2000
2015
Addis Ababa
Antananarivo
Bamako
Dhaka
Hyderabad
Jakarta
Lagos
Ndjamena
2.6
1.5
1.1
12.3
6.8
11
13.4
1
5
2.9
2.1
21.1
10.5
17.3
23.1
1.9
United Nations, “World Urbanization Prospects,” 1999 revision.
In the next 15
years, many cities
in Africa and Asia
will nearly double
in population.
Why focus on the urban poor?
•Poverty is rapidly urbanizing - growing in both scale
and extent.
•By 2025, two-thirds of the poor in LAC and Eastern Europe
and over one-third of the poor in Asia will live in cities.
•Africa, urbanizing at an unprecedented rate, will see at least
one-third of its poor in urban areas within a generation.
Cities
Almaty
Antananarivo
Chittagong
Guatemala
Hanoi
Kinshasa
Lagos
San Salvador
% of all
households
below poverty
line
37
32
78
80
51
70
66
40
UNCHS Global Urban Indicators Database
% of women
headed
households
below the
poverty line
Sewage connection
(% of urban
population
74
47
60
73
-80
66
14
88
17
53
-40
3
2
80
Why focus on the urban poor?
•They merit the basic rights of urban citizens.
•They save with and borrow from each other.
•They build their own shelter.
•They create their own networks when formal
institutions fail to serve them.
“…what we are now seeing…is that the poor have done much more for
themselves than what we can actually do for them. For example, what the poor
in Egypt have (in assets) is about 100 times more than all the foreign aid that
they received in the last 50 years.”
-Hernando DeSoto. The Mystery of Capital.
Why should we be in the Cities Alliance?
CITIES ALLIANCE
CONSULTATIVE GROUP
Local Authority
Organizations
UTO
IULA
METROPOLIS
WACLAC
GERMANY
NORWAY
ITALY
SWEDEN
Bilateral Organizations
CANADA
JAPAN
UNITED KINGDOM
FRANCE
NETHERLANDS
UNITED STATES
Multilateral Organizations
UNCHS (HABITAT)
POLICY ADVISORY
BOARD
WORLD BANK
SECRETARIAT
“A unique feature of the Alliance is its plurality: international financial institutions,
UN agencies, local authority associations, NGOs, and the business community. This
will guarantee that a broad spectrum of expertise and resources will be put together to
foster urban development and improve the living conditions of millions of people.”
-Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Italy.
Why should we be in the Cities Alliance?
The goal is to make unprecedented improvements in the
living conditions of the urban poor through collective
action in two key areas:
•City development strategies which reflect a
shared vision for the city’s future and local
priorities for action to reduce urban poverty.
•Citywide and nationwide slum upgrading to
improve the lives of at least 100 million slum
dwellers by 2020.
Why should we be in the Cities Alliance?
What is the value added?
Advancing collective know-how to:
•Improve the quality of urban development cooperation and urban
lending by sharpening the focus on scaling-up successes.
•Strengthen the impact of urban development cooperation by more
directly linking it with investment follow-up.
•Use existing resources to achieve greater value through enhanced
collaboration and synergies built through the Alliance.
•Engage partner networks in developing new tools and practical
approaches for knowledge sharing.
The Alliance relies on the experience and expertise of its partners for
implementation.
Why should we be in the Cities Alliance?
• Build political commitment and shared vision
• Create learning alliance to fill knowledge gaps
• Catalyze citywide and nationwide impacts
Why should we be in the Cities Alliance?
Reducing
poverty
Promoting
inclusion
Securing
tenure
Reducing
vulnerability
CITIES
PROVIDE
LOCAL
SOLUTIONS
TO GLOBAL
PROBLEMS
Expanding access
to credit
Reversing
HIV/AIDS
Promoting
cultural heritage
Sustaining the
environment
Expanding employment
opportunities
Promoting
gender equality
Promoting economic
opportunities
Expanding access to
basic infrastructure
Promoting education
opportunities
Reducing infant and
maternal mortality