The early development strategies of both China and India were urban- and industry-focused, discounting the importance of rural development. Despite sweeping reforms in both countries, the urban bias and subsequent spatial disparities still exist today. In order to reduce poverty and increase growth, developing countries need to correct these spatial disparities through a set of policies that take advantage of the synergies and linkages between rural and urban areas.

Urbanisation and economic transformation - the growth of non-farm, industrial and service sectors - offer many opportunities for improvements in poor people's lives.The crucial challenge is to ensure that places work better for people, providing an enabling and supporting environment for changing livelihoods and economies. But all too often there is a failure to recognise and manage the urban transition, resulting in the continuing urbanisation of poverty, vulnerability and exclusion.

The relationship between urban and rural areas has undergone great change in recent years. It is now often difficult to clearly define the borders between the two; instead we find a continuum ranging from agricultural zones to suburbs, informal settlements and urban centers. But do countries and development cooperation policies have the instruments needed to promote a dynamic and balanced development of urban and rural areas and open up opportunities for the people who live there?

The handbook introduces key economic and related concepts explaining the functioning of urban land markets. By introducing key classical economic concepts, the handbook provides foundational economic terms that are often referred to in relation to urban land markets. In doing this, we do not imply that African land markets should or ought to 'fit' into neo-classical economic theories, nor do we propose that 'perfect' markets exist.

In 2007 Urban LandMark undertook a series of consultations as part of the Voices of the Poor project. Four workshops were held in the centres listed above. The workshops were attended mostly by civil society organisations as well as NGOs. In all, 105 participants from more than 30 different civil society organisations participated. This case study presents the perspectives and experiences of civil society organisations with regard to access to urban land by the poor as derived from the consultations. These perspectives are fairly representative of urban community organisations as a whole.

Trading Places is about urban land markets in African cities. It explores how local practice, land governance and markets interact to shape the ways that people at society's margins access land to build their livelihoods.

The authors argue that the problem is not with markets per se, but in the unequal ways in which market access is structured. They make the case for more equal access to urban land markets, not only for ethical reasons, but because it makes economic sense for growing cities and towns.

In the vast majority of countries land and housing affordability is a critical contemporary challenge. While in different countries and regions the specificities of the challenge vary, the universal truism is that it is becoming increasing difficult for the vast majority of urban residents to obtain and retain adequate and affordable land and housing.

UN-Habitat and GIZ have developed the Metropolitan Capacity Assessment Methodology (MetroCAM) as a joint contribution to implement urban sustainable development agendas and bring them to the metropolitan scale. It complements the Unpacking Metropolitan Governance series. 

L’urbanisation est souvent considérée comme ayant des effets néfastes sur le développement rural. En fait, c’est tout le contraire. Les espaces ruraux et urbains, les populations et les entreprises sont étroitement liés et on peut dire avec certitude qu’il n’y a pas de développement rural sans développement urbain et inversement.

Les conditions de vie des populations pauvres conditionnent leur demande en matière de micro-assurance. Ces personnes sont généralement des travailleurs indépendants du secteur informel, illettrés et peu au fait du concept d’assurance.
Ils vivent souvent dans des zones rurales mal équipées en infrastructures. Les services d’assurance équitable doivent permettre aux populations pauvres des zones rurales et urbaines d’atténuer les impacts des crises qui menacent leurs vies, leur productivité et leurs ressources.

WEBSITE INTRODUCTION: Across the Mekong region, ‘development’ has become synonymous with rapid economic growth, to be achieved through predominantly large-scale, private investments. The development model promoted by the region’s governments prioritizes trade and investment liberalization, and privatization. Private investment is sought in virtually every sector of the economy from energy, oil, minerals, agriculture and food processing to education, health, tourism, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, transportation and urban infrastructure.

This case study draws on research that investigated how urban land is claimed, used or divided and the various land use management (LUM) practices that exist around these various and sometimes competing land uses. This case study is based on a research study undertaken by Colin Marx and Margot Rubin with Progressus Research and Development, commissioned by Urban LandMark. An introduction to the case study is given below. You can do these activities on your own or in groups, as appropriate for your learning session.