Municipalities in Mozambique were
established by law in 1997 and elected in 1998 for the first
time, only a few years after the peace agreement. Most
inherited archaic and dysfunctional remnants of colonial and
central government systems and infrastructure, and as such
limited progress was achieved in transforming them into
functioning local governments during the first mandate
(1998-2002). During the second mandate (2003-2008), however,

Ethiopia in the decade up to 2005 has
been characterized by robust growth rates of the urban
economy, where a still limited share of the population
lives. The urban economy has been estimated to contribute at
least half of gross domestic product (GDP) (53 percent in
2002/03) and to explain a significant part of its growth.
Only an estimated 12.6 percent of the poor live in urban
areas and the overwhelming concentration of poverty in rural

This assessment of poverty and
inequality comes at an important juncture for Kenya. The
December 2007 elections and subsequent pronouncements of the
newly formed Grand Coalition have underlined the salience of
these issues to ordinary Kenyans, and for policy makers. The
violence in early 2008 highlighted the importance of
addressing poverty and inequality as major goals in their
own right, but also for instrumental reasons, as major goals

The 2009 edition of the little green
data book includes a focus section, four introductory pages
that focus on a specific issue related to development and
the environment. This year the focus is on urban areas and
the environment, exploring how cities and climate change are
affecting the way we live and how good public policies can
improve prospects for future generations. Urbanization and
economic growth move in tandem. As emerging market economies

This paper assesses the state of
research and examines priorities for future work in the area
of urbanization and growth. This is done by reviewing and
summarizing the findings of five scoping papers covering the
following topics: urban poverty, the political economy of
urban poverty, urban real estate and housing, urban
infrastructure finance, and external assistance for urban development.

This paper shows that support from the
family continues to be an important source of support for
the rural elderly, particularly the rural elderly over 70
years of age. Decline in likelihood of co-residence with, or
in close proximity to, adult children raises the possibility
that China's rural elderly will receive less support in
the forms of both income and in-kind instrumental care.
Although descriptive evidence on net financial transfers

En Afrique, pres de 500 millions de personnes resident aujourd'hui dans des bidonvilles. La plupart de ces quartiers ne sont pas << en regle >> en matiere de foncier, d'habitat, d'amenagement ou de services. Les operations urbaines constituent un outil privilegie pour ameliorer les conditions de vie des habitants des quartiers precaires. Malgre des progres indeniables realises dans la derniere decennie, le bilan reste mitige, notamment en termes d'impacts social, economique, urbain et environnemental.

Cities attribute much of their economic expansion to the development of transit systems that link people efficiently to jobs. However, many of South Africa's cities lack modern mass transit systems for transporting commuters. Partly as a result, South Africans, especially low-income workers, spend a high share of their disposable income on transport.

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 frustrates 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.

Landscapes in urban areas especially in developing countries are under pressure due to increasing population of urban dwellers and un-directed spread of city boundaries. Sound urban environment plays important aesthetic, ecological, cultural, social and engineering roles beneficial to the people. To support better management of vegetated sites, it is necessary to understand the spatial configuration at the landscape scale and changes that have occurred.

The primary completion rate for 7 countries-Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Mozambique, and Niger-more than doubled between 1991 and 2009. Still large differences persist between rich and poor within countries. In some low-income countries, such as Benin, the completion rates for the richest quintile are 95 percent or higher, but completion rates for the poorest quintile are 35 percent or less. And there is a 9 percentage point gap in the completion rates for boys and girls.

Immediately after the 1967 war and the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza the national religious youngsters (Gush Emmunim settlers) reached out to settle the new frontier of the biblical places. By thus, they have developed a Messianic myth. The interpretation of Gush-Emmunim settlers’ experience of landscapes reveals a complex and contradictory structure of sense of space. Settlers’ mythical sense of space may be understood in two strata - imagined and material.