Urban Development

Globally, over 50% of the population lives in urban areas today. By 2045, the world's urban population will increase by 1.5 times to 6 billion. City leaders must move quickly to plan for growth and provide the basic services, infrastructure, and affordable housing their expanding populations need.

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Blog Post

2021: Urban Snapshot

A look back at 2021 milestones for the World Bank's Urban Development team
Publication

Place, Productivity & Prosperity

"Place-based policies"—such as special economic zones—often fail. What alternatives do we have?
Brief

Climate Action Through an Urban Lens

How can cities build resilience as they face the global climate emergency?

Urban Development At-A-Glance

Globally, 55% of the population lives in urban areas today. By 2045, the number of people living in cities will increase by 1.5 times to 6 billion, adding 2 billion more urban residents. With more than 80% of global GDP generated in cities, urbanization can contribute to sustainable growth if managed well by increasing productivity, allowing innovation and new ideas to emerge.

Overview

Data

Project

The Resilient Kerala Program

Kerala, India, is vulnerable to natural disasters and the effects of a changing climate, given its location along the coast and steep gradient along the slopes of the Western Ghats. The Resilient Kerala program is designed to support the state's resources for handling the impacts of climate change and natural hazards.

Details

Focus Areas

Disaster Risk Management

Disasters hurt the poor and vulnerable the most. The World Bank is a global leader in disaster risk management, supporting ...
Inclusive Cities

The concept of inclusive cities involves multiple spatial, social and economic factors.
Land

Land and housing are the most important assets of the poor. But the poor need secure rights to turn those assets into economic ...
Sustainable Cities and Communities

Learn how we work worldwide to build inclusive, resilient, and sustainable cities and communities for all.

Research

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Blogs

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Experts

Sameh Wahba

Global Director, Urban, Disaster Risk Management, Resilience and Land Global Practice

Maitreyi Bordia Das

Manager, Urban, Disaster Risk Management, Resilience and Land Global Practice, World Bank

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In Depth

Global Facility for Disaster Reduction & Recovery

GFDRR is a global partnership that helps developing countries better understand and reduce their vulnerability to natural hazards and climate change. Working on the ground with more than 400 local, national, regional, ...
Tokyo Development Learning Center

TDLC is a partnership between the World Bank and the Government of Japan. The Center serves as a global knowledge hub that operationalizes Japanese and global urban development knowledge, insights, and technical ...
City Climate Finance Gap Fund

The City Climate Finance Gap Fund (Gap Fund) helps cities in developing and emerging countries to realize their climate ambitions, turning low-carbon, climate-resilient ideas into strategies and finance-ready projects.
Global Partnership for Results-Based Approaches

Through a diverse portfolio of projects, GPRBA funds, designs, demonstrates, and documents results-based financing approaches to improve the delivery of basic services so that poor and marginalized people in developing ...