In terms of the splintering of cities, it is important to understand contemporary urbanization processes, speculative real estate development, and ways to challenge these via new modes of politics. This case study analyzes the impacts of largely ‘illegal’ city building, on different groups of people within the city, particularly relating to spatial (in)justice and violence.

The term “inclusive cities” is
increasingly being used as a “catch-all” phrase to signify
intent but with little precision in its use. In this note we
use “inclusive cities” to mean cities in which we see a
commitment to an inclusive politics with the establishment
of institutionalized interactions between organized groups
of disadvantaged citizens and the state with local
government taking a primary role. They are also cities in

Afghanistan is a deeply fragile and
conflict affected state. It has been in almost constant
conflict for over 35 years since the Soviet invasion of
1979. Today the country is at a crossroads in its
development with economic growth down sharply and poverty
incidence stubbornly high. Afghanistan faces tremendous
development challenges. Gross domestic product (GDP)
per-capita is among the lowest in the world, poverty is deep

The volume emphasizes the need to rethink cities and to imagine a better urban future by providing the reader with diverse perspectives on urbanization such as the changing economic landscape, city competitiveness, entrepreneurship, inclusion, informality, sustainability, and provision of essential services.

The purpose of this paper is to provide
information on how to transform and strengthen pluralistic
agricultural extension and advisory systems in moving toward
the broader goal of increasing farm income and improving
rural livelihoods. The focus of this book is primarily on
the technical knowledge, management skills, and information
services that small-scale farm households will need to
improve their livelihoods in the rapidly changing global

This joint working paper lays out a
rationale and strategic framework for improving food
security and managing food-price shocks in the Arab
countries. The paper does not provide country specific
policy and project recommendations. Such recommendations
will follow from the country by country application of the
framework, taking into account each country's political
and cultural preferences, resource endowments, and risk

A new report by the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) outlines eight reasons why it is important to address HLP issues from the outset of a humanitarian response, including:
Saving lives, preventing further displacement and human rights violations
Adapting humanitarian response to complex urban environments
Ensuring equal access to humanitarian assistance
Promoting access to justice in crises contexts and contributing towards durable solutions

In 2013 the World Bank set itself two
ambitious goals: to end extreme poverty within a generation
and to boost the prosperity of the bottom 40 percent of the
population worldwide. In Latin America, the significance of
both goals cannot be overstated. Indigenous people account
for about 8 percent of the population, but represent 14
percent of the poor and over 17 percent of all Latin
Americans living on less than United States (U.S.) $2.50 a

This report argues that the practice of
disaster risk management (DRM) is a defining characteristic
of resilient societies, and should therefore be integrated,
or 'mainstreamed', into all aspects of
development. The report will inform the Development
Committee at the annual meetings 2012, and support
discussion at the Sendai dialogue, a special event
co-organized by the Government of Japan and the World Bank

This paper introduces a novel top-down approach to geospatially identify and distinguish areas of mixed use from predominantly residential areas within urban agglomerations. Under the framework of the World Bank’s Central American Country Disaster Risk Profiles (CDRP) initiative, a disaggregated property stock exposure model has been developed as one of the key elements for disaster risk and loss estimation. Global spatial datasets are therefore used consistently to ensure wide-scale applicability and transferability.

The story of urbanization in Kenya should be one of cautious optimism. As an emerging middle-income country with a growing share of its population living in urban areas and a governance shift toward devolution, the country could be on the verge of a major social and economic transformation. How it manages its urbanization and devolution processes will determine whether it can maximize the benefits of its transition to a middle-income country.