The Cities

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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
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WHY FOCUS ON THE URBAN POOR?
WHY SHOULD WE BE IN THE CITIES ALLIANCE?
HOW CAN WE PARTICIPATE?
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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.

In the next 15 years, many cities in Africa and
Asia will nearly double in population.
United Nations, World Urbanization Prospects,
1999 revision.
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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.

UNCHS Global Urban Indicators Database
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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 seeingis 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.
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Why should we be in the Cities Alliance?
CITIES ALLIANCE CONSULTATIVE GROUP
Local Authority Organizations
UTO IULA METROPOLIS WACLAC
Bilateral Organizations
CANADA FRANCE
GERMANY ITALY JAPAN
NETHERLANDS NORWAY SWEDEN
UNITED KINGDOM UNITED STATES
Multilateral Organizations
UNCHS (HABITAT) WORLD BANK
POLICY ADVISORY BOARD
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.
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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 citys 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.

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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.

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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

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Why should we be in the Cities Alliance?
Promoting inclusion
Reducing poverty
Securing tenure
Reducing vulnerability
CITIES PROVIDE LOCAL SOLUTIONS TO GLOBAL PROBLEMS
Expanding access to credit
Promoting cultural heritage
Sustaining the environment
Reversing HIV/AIDS
Promoting gender equality
Expanding employment opportunities
Promoting education opportunities
Promoting economic opportunities
Expanding access to basic infrastructure
Reducing infant and maternal mortality