Sustainability Aspects in Urban

Development Policies
Week 3
The key dimensions to sustainable
urban development and the role of
policy.

McGraw-Hill/Irwin © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

 Session Outline
 The Key Dimensions to Sustainable
Urban Development (SUD)
 The key urban development concerns
 Approaches to sustainable urban
d l
development t (SUD)
 The role of government and policy in
sustaining urban development
 Urbanization In LDCs
 Urbanization is one of the most powerful
powerful, irreversible forces in
the world.
 About 93 percent of the future urban population growth will
occur in LDCs.
 Global poverty is moving into cities,
cities mostly in developing
countries
 A process called the urbanisation of poverty.
 Among the key indicators of urban poverty are slums
 As global urban populations grow the world’s
world s slums are
growing
 One of the g
greatest challenges
g we face in the new
millennium.
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 Urban Development
 It is a complex and multidimensional process in terms of both
process and structure.
 Among
A th key
the k di
dimensions
i i l d the
include: th physical;
h i l the th
economic; social and political dimensions.
 Given
Gi it complexity,
its l it measures off sustainability
t i bilit in
i the
th
process of urban development are equally diverse and
complex.
complex
 The dimensions of sustainability must therefore be assessed
in order to observe changes in the city regions and nations
which we believe indicate progress toward increased
sustainability.

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 The Five Key Dimensions of SUD
 Derived from the five basic ways in which urbanization and
cities can contribute toward the developmental needs of
communities
1. The urban economy: Cities must seek to deliver the
economic i prosperity
it off itits citizens
iti th
throughh attracting
tt ti
investment, capital, jobs, productivity and income
2 City and Society: Must provide a concentration of
2.
opportunities for social development and well-being
3 Engine room for good governance: Must provide
3.
opportunities for improved institutional organization,
leadershipp and ppublic service delivery. y
4.
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 The Dimensions of SUD…
4. Environmental sustainability: Cities are generators of the most
significant environmental impacts
 Equally,
E ll th the combination
bi ti off increasing
i i environmental
i t l stresses,
t
advances in science and technology and innovations create
opportunities for sustainable options for environmentally
responsible livelihoods, lifestyles and behaviors for the future
5 Urban Infrastructure services and management: Cities must
5.
constitute the most intensive and productive forms of
accommodatingg and servingg an increasingg concentration of
people and business at minimum cost.
 The urban built environment must represent a platform for
wealth creation, social organization and human well-being.
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 Sub-clusters of SUD
 Each of the five dimensions is further sub-divided into 6
clusters of innovations towards SUD
1. Response
R to the
h opportunities
i i andd risksi k pausedd bby the
h
global environment (technology, trade, diplomacy, etc)
2 Macro-economic
2. M i ddevelopment
l t andd fifinance iincorporating
ti
the building of economic competitiveness and more
comprehensive urban development policies/ strategies
3. The strengthening of micro-finance institutions and
markets, education and training, MSEs, job creation and
poverty alleviation
4. Regularizing
g g and capacitating
p g the informal economy: y
providing legal and other support services/ material
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 Clusters Continued….
5. Micro-finance innovations, financial
management, and the promotion of pro
management pro-poor
poor
finance institutions to bring most members
into the economic mainstream.
g
6. Recognizing g and strengthening
g g rural-urban
linkages and provide new initiatives to bridge
the urban-rural divide strengthen peri-urban
governance and agrarian urbanization,

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 SUD Dimensions-Clusters

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 The Role of Policy as pre-requisite to SUD
 There are several theories forwarded in literature as
approaches to policy study. In some cases these theories
are referred to as models
 Among others, policy theories include: Political system
theory rationality choice theory,
theory, theory pluralism - elitism theory,
theory
group theory, institutionalism theory, incremental approach
and mixed scanning.
 Whereas so many theories exist, there is no consensus on
which is the “best” approach
pp ((Thomas,, 2001).
)
 Easton’s political system theory is said to be applicable in
explaining the policy making process of developing
countries
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 Political systems theory
 Implies a system composed of those identifiable and
interrelated institutions and activities in a society that make
authoritative
th it ti ddecisions
i i or allocations
ll ti off values
l th
thatt are
binding on society
 Mainstream
M i t banks
b k andd financial
fi i l institutions
i tit ti tturn poor
households away because they lack collateral or any
documented sources of cash income,income
 Micro-credit pioneers targeted those rejected by the banks as
a business opportunity.
 Inputs into the system are provided through outside interests
pparticularlyy from ppressure ggroups,
p , consumer ggroups p and
interest groups.
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 Rationalityy Choice Theoryy
 It is one that achieves the maximum benefits.
 Under this theoryy g
governments are expected
p to choose
policies from the alternatives
 Alternatives that derive g
gains to the ppublic exceedingg costs
by the greatest amount and;
 Government should refrain from policies if costs exceed
benefits.
 A policy is viewed as rational when the difference between
values it achieves and the values it sacrifices is positive
and;
 Greater
G t th than any other
th policy
li alternative.
lt ti
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 Rationality Choice Theory
To select a rational policy the theory assumes
that policy makers must:
 Know all society values, preferences and their
relative
l ti weights
i ht
 Know all the ppolicyy alternatives available
 Know all the consequences of each policy
alternative
 Do a cost benefit analysis for each alternative
 Select the most efficient policy alternative
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 Pluralism - elitism theory
 It is the view that politics and decision making are located mostly in the
framework of government, but that many nongovernmental groups use
their resources to exert influence.
influence
 It focuses on power and its distribution among elite groups and the way
they shape the policy making process.
 Perceives policy as a reflection of the values or preferences of ruling
elite
 Based on the notion that the few govern the many
 A multitude of groups, not the people as a whole, determine policy
makingg pprocess and use them to ggovern others.
 Organizations such as unions, trade and professional associations,
environmentalists, civil rights activists, business and financial lobbies,
and formal and informal coalitions of like-minded
like minded citizens
citizens, influence the
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making and administration of laws and policy
 Pluralism - elitism theory
 The public acts mainly as bystanders since a small
part of the populace participate.
participate
 Pluralist argue that common people concentrate
th i titime andd energies
their i on activities
ti iti iinvolving
l i work,
k
family, health, friendship, recreation among others
 and besides lack the virtues reason,
 Intelligence, patience for self-government and that;
 Direct democracy leads to anarchy and the loss of
freedom.
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