Econmic Develoment

Secondary cities are a subject of renewed interest to international development organizations and finance agencies. Secondary cities vary in size from a few hundred thousand to over five million in countries like China. Cities Alliance is currently undertaking an investigation for a book on systems of secondary cities and the role they play in supporting the development of regions and countries. The paper presents research by the authors which investigates trends, influences, and challenges, including the forces of New Economic Geography facing the development of secondary cities in the development of regions using a systems analysis approach.  This paper draws on the findings of 16 case studies examining systems of cities and has a particular focus on urban land governance systems.    The paper outlines how some aspects of urban land governance systems can be improved to support the development of secondary cities, drawing on the learning experience gained from the case studies. The paper concludes with the need to reform land governance systems with a focus on the adoption of collaborative governance.