George Martine, Gordon McGranahn and Mark Montgomery (eds), The New Global Frontier-Urbanization, Poverty and Environment in the 21st Century (Earthscan), 2008

Abstract

This book was prepared for the Commission on Growth and Development to evaluate the state of knowledge of relationship between urbanization and economic growth. It identifies insights and policy levers to help countries make urbanization work as part of national growth strategy. The first chapter sets the context of the book. Despite the clear link between cities and growth, policy makers and development professionals are often ambivalent about urbanization. It concludes that the policy debate needs to change from considering whether to promote urbanization or curtail it, to devise how to support structural shifts that make urbanization necessary. Other chapters of the book examine a wide range of topics: economic geography; cities of economic growth in developing countries; urbanization, agglomeration and economic development; and spatial inequality and economic development. The last chapter deals with importance of informal economy in housing policies of developing countries and lessons from US Sub-Prime Mortgage Crisis. These lessons have relevance to developing countries in Asia which are examining benefits of new financial instruments. The book seeks to create a better understanding of role of urbanization in growth and orient policy makers to tackle the urban challenges.The urban areas of Asia, Latin America and Africa are central to addressing challenges for twenty-first century, and ongoing urban transformation can be viewed as a set of opportunities. The book aims to get a grasp of some of the actions that could be taken to make the urbanization process a more positive force for development. Part I of this book reviews the demography of urban transition, stressing the importance of rural-urban linkages. Part II discusses how provision of housing and services could be improved drawing on different experiences. Part III analyzes the opportunities that urbanization provides for social and sustainable use of space. Part IV explores range of opportunities that the urban transformation provides, highlighting how these challenges and opportunities vary in Africa, Asia and Latin America.Environment and Urbanization ASIA 1(2) 227-229