In conformity with its objective of
functioning as a local Government, Kathmandu Metropolitan
City (KMC) sought the assistance of the World Bank for the
preparation of a City Development Strategy (CDS). The
various sectoral as well as integrated strategies presented
in this document seem to be an overwhelming demand on KMC
with its limited manpower and money. A CDS is essential if
KMC is to focus its development potential. The optimism lies

In conformity with its objective of
functioning as a local Government, Kathmandu Metropolitan
City (KMC) sought the assistance of the World Bank for the
preparation of a City Development Strategy (CDS) for
Kathmandu. The various sectoral as well as integrated
strategies presented in this document seem to be an
overwhelming demand on KMC with its limited manpower and
money. However, a CDS is essential if KMC is to focus its

This report aims to analyze key aspects
of the low-income housing sector in Brazil, and to provide
an analytical framework for reviewing alternatives to
addressing the lack of adequate formal housing and urban
services for the poor. It addresses four fundamental
questions for policymakers in the housing sector in Brazil:
First, should the government be involved in policy
interventions in the low-income segment of the housing

This report reviews the status of the 28
countries of Europe and Central Asia (ECA) with respect to
the environmental Millennium Development Goal (MDG). The aim
of this goal is to 'ensure environmental
sustainability,' which is elaborated by a set of three
targets and eight indicators. The indicators for the
environment MDG are important not only as measures of
environmental sustainability, but also as contributors to

The report's objectives are i) to
better understand the nature and magnitude of urban
transport problems, particularly in respect of the poor, and
ii) to articulate a strategy by which the World Bank and
other agencies can assist national and city governments to
address these problems. The first part of the report
considers how urban transport can be used as an instrument
of urban development and poverty reduction. Chapter 2

In conformity with its objective of
functioning as a local Government, Kathmandu Metropolitan
City (KMC) sought the assistance of the World Bank for the
preparation of a City Development Strategy (CDS) for
Kathmandu. The various sectoral as well as integrated
strategies presented in this document seem to be an
overwhelming demand on KMC with its limited manpower and
money. However, a CDS is essential if KMC is to focus its

To find out why African countries' experience with urbanization and sustained growth appeared to differ from that of other countries, the authors investigated the determinants of urbanization across countries over 40 years. Rather than studying individuals' decisions to migrate, they relied on macroeconomic data and cross-country comparisons. A central hypothesis of their study: that individuals move (with varying degrees of ease) in response to economic incentives and opportunities. If location incentives are distorted, so is growth.

What factors influence community
participation in the delivery of urban services? In
particular, does security of tenure enhance the probability
of participation as it provides individuals with incentives
to act collectively in pursuit of a common objective? And
are collective efforts less likely to succeed when there is
a high degree of heterogeneity in culture or endowments
among community members? The authors use household level

The Colombo Municipal Council (CMC), in
collaboration with the World Bank, UNDP, UNCHS (HABITAT) and
the Western Provincial Council (WPC) in Sri Lanka, launched
a project in February 2000 to formulate a comprehensive
strategy framework and a perspective plan of action for
development of the city. The purpose was to identify key
areas and issues that need systemic and planned attention of
the Council and other major stakeholders and to develop

This report highlights the discussion,
processes, lessons learned in examining innovative options
for participation by all stakeholders in seeking new social
and economic contracts between civil society and urban
governments. The improvement in relationships is geared
towards providing better services for urban poor and
directly contributing to urban poverty alleviation. The
report attempts to capture the new wave of enthusiasm and

Nontraditional infrastructure service
providers supply many low-income consumers in slums and
urban peripheries in developing countries. And technological
change has eased entry by new providers. But the current
approach to private participation in infrastructure
typically gives exclusivity to a local monopoly for a long
period. In return, the monopoly utility is obligated to
provide service to all in the area at a certain standard,

The study aims to contribute towards a
national urban strategy, in an effort to maximize
Mexico's cities competitiveness, and livelihoods, in
the urban economists' terms - to maximize agglomeration
economies, while minimizing congestions costs. The country
is in a good position for this challenge: it has relatively
a mature urban system, implying an overall urban population
growth, and, a reasonably balanced system of cities.