Informal settlements are a permanent
feature of South Africa's cities. Estimates from the
General Household Survey by Statistics South Africa show
that more than 26 percent of all households in the
country's six metropolitan areas live in informal
dwellings. The government's policy efforts have focused
on provision of subsidized housing, first introduced as part
of the Reconstruction and Development Program. Through the

The East Asian and Pacific region has
achieved tremendous progress in poverty reduction in recent
years. However, further progress in poverty reduction may be
undermined by the high levels of vulnerability in many
countries across the region. The term vulnerability is
viewed from an economic context, where it is conceived as
the likelihood of suffering from future deteriorations in
standard of living which may result in a state of poverty,

This report investigates Egypt's
regional economic growth, explores the causes for
geographically unbalanced development, and proposes policy
options to make unbalanced growth compatible with inclusive
development. Regional disparities in income and consumption
may be attributed to differences in natural endowments and
geographical location, but unbalanced growth is mostly due
to economies of scale, spillover effects, and the lower

Sri Lanka's country vision is to
become a global hub between the East and the West and an
upper middle-income country by 2016. Sri Lanka's urban
vision, as defined in the government's development
policy framework is to develop a system of competitive,
environmentally sustainable, well-linked cities clustered in
five metro regions and nine metro cities and to provide
every family with affordable and adequate urban shelter by

Urban land markets have a profound effect on how well poor households are able to access the jobs, amenities and services offered in the city. But often the way in which this market works frustrate attempts to open up better located living and business opportunities for poorer urban households and communities, despite government policies and programmes intended to address these challenges. The challenge in South Africa is even larger because of worsening poverty and inequality, and the continuing growth of cities through urbanisation.

Cities as we know them today are already dramatically changing. Our living environments are reshaping the way we live.

This new ‘urban age’ presents

a unique opportunity for us to remake and reinvent our cities. How well we plan and design our living environments will matter.

Designing our city looks at how Singapore is planned for long-term sustainability, encouraging us to think about how we can shape it and new ideas that can transform our future.

The Double Burden of Malnutrition (DBM) is the coexistence of both under nutrition and over nutrition in the same population across the life course. 'Across the life course' refers to the phenomenon that under nutrition early in life contributes to an increased propensity for over nutrition in adulthood. The DBM affects all countries, rich and poor, and is a particular concern in countries with high stunting rates. The consequences of the DBM are enormous; early life under nutrition is an underlying cause associated with about a third of young child deaths.

Infrastructures, through externalities, modify the territorial status quo: by creating advantages and disadvantages, they lead to inequalities and territorial cohesion problems, calling for a setup of territorial equalization mechanisms. In this paper, the estimation of the costs and benefits generated from the building of the new Cispadana regional motorway (Emilia-Romagna Region, Italy) is described.

This paper discusses the importance of maps in urban planning and the consequences for cities planned within a'non existent maps context', when the power of decision belongs to the dwellers.

Carsharing (CS) is increasing its role worldwide as an alternative transport mode, often more sustainable than private transport with self-owned vehicles.

Release of the final report of the International Comparison Program (ICP) and publication of new estimates of purchasing power parities (PPPs) in World Development Indicators 2008 are an important statistical milestone. The estimates offer a consistent and comprehensive set of data on the cost of living in developed and developing countries, the first since 1997, when the results of the previous ICP data collection were published in World Development Indicators. The 2005 data cover 146 countries and territories, 29 more than the last round in 1993, and many for the first time.

The importance of the agglomeration process in facilitating growth and productivity increases in Indonesia's manufacturing sector cannot be ignored. The agglomeration process is associated with improved productivity as firms enjoy external benefits from either urbanization or from the sharing of inputs available in certain locations. Evidence suggests that Java remains the main corridor for manufacturing activities, with large cities attracting manufacturers that are looking for externalities from urbanization.