Resource information
Urban growth is, in all parts of the
world, inevitable and welcomed. Despite concerns that local
governments will not be able to address those issues
associated with increased urban population, the number of
people living in urban centers will sur-pass those of the
rural population by 2030. Since productivity levels are
consistently higher in urban areas than in rural settings,
this would seem a reason to rejoice since it suggests more
people with higher salaries, better standards of living, and
less poverty. But will this be the reality, or will the
nightmare of hopeless poverty overshadow the positive
feelings of economic wealth and progress? This disjunction
between the wonders of the city and the horrors facing the
homeless poor is at the core of any professional work on
economic development and urban management issues. On one
hand, everyone agrees that cities are wonderful instruments
of change, culture, motivation and progress. Cities are also
at the core of democratic progress. Local government
elections offer a laboratory in which citizens can exercise
their rights to political action. The importance of cities
throughout human civilization is well demonstrated by the
protection they enjoyed during humanity's most violent
periods, and this often at the expense of the rural sector.
On the other hand, cities are often unable to adequately
answer to the needs of newcomers. Deficits in housing, water
and sanitation have an immediate impact on environmental
degradation, health indicators, child mortality, and the
self-esteem of city inhabitants. City managers and mayors
must deal with this disjunction, and make decisions without
adequate resources. They face challenges that range from
shrewdly handling municipal finances, to providing extended
services in an effort to reach the poor.
