Achieving a system of competitive cities in Malaysia
This study focused on understanding three key aspects of city competitiveness: economic growth, urban governance, and social inclusion. The study covers six main conurbations in Malaysia: Kuala Lumpur, Johor Bahru, George Town, Kuantan, Kota Kinabalu and Kuching. Lessons from international experience were used as guidance in the context of Malaysia’s own experience and provided critical input to the set of recommended policy options. Main report & Overview
Africa’s Cities: Opening Doors to the World
Cities in Sub-Saharan Africa are experiencing rapid population growth. Yet their economic growth has not kept pace. Why? One factor might be low capital investment, due in part to Africa’s relative poverty: Other regions have reached similar stages of urbanization at higher per capita GDP. (Read more...)
Cities in Eastern Europe and Central Asia: A Story of Urban Growth and Decline
Today, urbanization in Eastern European and Central Asian countries is also profoundly affected by demographic transition. Having experienced more than two decades of fertility rates below replacement levels, and currently suffering from negative net-migration rates, many countries in the region are experiencing an overall decline of their population. Compared to the rest of the world, countries in the region have much lower population growth rates, and are among the only countries experiencing both a decline of their total population and of their urban population. (Read more...)
Cities of Refuge in the Middle East : Bringing an Urban Lens to the Forced Displacement Challenge
This policy note aims to advance our understanding of urban forced displacement, induced by conflict, by looking at the issue from the perspective of receiving towns and cities. It explores why we need a different approach to addressing urban forced displacement; how to “think differently” about urban forced displacement along the humanitarian-development assistance spectrum; what we can learn from existing urbanization and other relevant experiences to inform humanitarian and development responses; and what “thinking differently” means for local, national, and international development actors. (Read more...)
Competitive Cities for Jobs and Growth: What, Who, and How
A competitive city is a city that successfully facilitates its firms and industries to create jobs, raise productivity, and increase the incomes of citizens over time. Worldwide, improving the competitiveness of cities is a pathway to eliminating extreme poverty and to promoting shared prosperity. The primary source of job creation has been the growth of private sector firms, which have typically accounted for around 75 percent of job creation. (Read more...)
East Asia's Changing Urban Landscape: Measuring a Decade of Spatial Growth
Urbanization is transforming the developing world. However, understanding the pace, scale, and form of urbanization has been limited by a lack of consistent data. East Asia’s Changing Urban Landscape aims to address this problem by using satellite imagery and other data to measure urban expansion across the East Asia and Pacific region between 2000 and 2010. (Read more...)
East Asia and Pacific Cities: Expanding Opportunities for the Urban Poor
Urbanization in East Asia and the Pacific has created enormous opportunity for many. Yet the rapid growth of cities can also create challenges as national and local governments try to keep up with the needs of their growing populations. Among these challenges is a lack of affordable housing, resulting in increasing slums, deficits in basic service provision, and widening inequality for urban dwellers. (Read more...)
Enhancing Public Sector Performance : Malaysia’s Experience with Transforming Land Administration
This report is part of the series focusing on documenting the lessons from Malaysia for other developing countries in improving their public-sector management. These lessons include those at the center of government, such as the delivery unit method applied to the implementation of the national priorities, or implementing the elements of performance-based budgeting, as well as deeper analysis of specific approaches in various sectors. (Read more...)
Enhancing Urban Resilience in the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area
The Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA) is one of the fastest-growing city regions in West Africa. GAMA is exposed to recurrent shocks and stresses on top of numerous developmental challenges and climate change issues that threaten development gains. The deadly floods of June 2015 are a reminder that creating a resilient and inclusive city must be a priority at all government levels. (Read more...)
Greening Africa’s Cities
Africa is urbanizing late but fast. This brings many benefits but, as this report shows: thus far, urbanization in Africa, unique in a number of respects, is having deleterious and largely unchecked impacts on the natural environment; the degradation of natural assets and ecosystems within African cities carries tangible economic, fiscal and social costs; there are important opportunities to change the current environmental trajectory of African cities so that they move towards a more harmonious relationship between their natural and built environments. (Read more...)
Haitian Cities: Actions for Today with an Eye on Tomorrow
Today, more than half of Haiti's population calls cities and towns their home, in a major shift from the 1950s when around 90 percent of Haitians lived in the countryside. Urbanization is usually paired with economic growth, increased productivity, and higher living standards, but in Haiti it has taken a different course. Potential benefits have been overshadowed by immense challenges, all of which require immediate action. (Read more...)
Insights for Global Development Solutions
The Development Digest is a half-yearly publication that features key works from teams based at the World Bank Group Global Knowledge and Research Hub in Malaysia. This third issue of the Development Digest focuses on green Islamic financing, where Malaysia leads the way with the issuance of the world's first green corporate sukuk. This digest also looks into topics like ASEAN at 50, open data, the role of GDP in development, migration, and microfinance. (Read more...)
Investing in Urban Resilience: Protecting and Promoting Development in a Changing World
Cities in the developing world are rapidly expanding, boosting countries’ economies, reducing poverty, and fueling global prosperity. But as more people, assets, and economic activity become concentrated in cities, and infrastructure struggles to keep up with rapid growth, the risk posed by natural disasters and climate change is rising. (Read more...)
Leveraging Urbanization in South Asia: Managing Spatial Transformation for Prosperity and Livability
The number of people in South Asia's cities rose by 130 million between 2000 and 2011--more than the entire population of Japan. This was linked to an improvement in productivity and a reduction in the incidence of extreme poverty. But the region's cities have struggled to cope with the pressure of population growth on land, housing, infrastructure, basic services, and the environment. (Read more...)
Malaysia Economic Monitor, June 2015 : Transforming Urban Transport
After a strong finish in 2014, growth moderated in early 2015. Malaysia’s economy expanded by 6.0 percent in 2014, accelerating to 7.3 percent q/q saar in Q42014 due to resilient domestic demand and a pick-up of exports. Growth moderated to 4.7 percent q/q saar in Q1 2015 on account of weaker external demand, but domestic demand remained strong. (Read more...)
Malaysia Economic Monitor, December 2017: Turmoil to Transformation, 20 Years after the Asian Financial Crisis
The aim of the Malaysia Economic Monitor (MEM) is to foster better-informed policy analysis and debate regarding the key challenges that Malaysia faces in its endeavor to achieve rapid, inclusive and sustainable economic growth. (Read more...)
Regenerating Urban Land: A Practitioner's Guide to Leveraging Private Investment [Online tool: Urban Regeneration: Decision Tool for City Planners]
Regenerating Urban Land draws on the experience of eight case studies from around the world. The case studies outline various policy and financial instruments to attract private sector investment in urban regeneration of underutilized and unutilized areas and the requisite infrastructure improvements. (Read more...)
Urban Sustainability Framework (USF)
The Urban Sustainability Framework (USF) is structured in two parts, along with annexes that explore the good practices of specific cities and organizations and the positive results of their initiatives.
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