Resource information
The central theme addressed by this
evaluation, is whether the Bank ' s investment in
cities, improved the lives of the poor. This report is based
on a desk review of the Bank's urban portfolio. It
focuses on the results of the 99 operations completed in the
past 10 years. It uses the four pillars of livability, good
governance, bankability, and competitiveness of the Urban
Strategy Paper as the evaluation framework. At the project
level, the study identifies factors that help determine good
outcomes, such as building on previous operations, involving
beneficiaries, and avoiding straining borrower resources and
implementation capacity. At the strategic level, the study
finds that the portfolio has concentrated on the livability
pillar, through projects aiming to make the lives of the
urban poor healthier and more productive. Attention has also
been paid to governance, especially through operations that
strengthen municipal administration. Bankability aspects
received some attention, while the competitiveness
pillar-which seeks improvements to the workings of urban
markets- has proven the most elusive. The Operations and
Evaluation Department (OED) recommends: 1) Systematic
monitoring and evaluation and reporting of results-of
poverty alleviation especially-from the city to the
sector/strategic levels. 2) Revision of the business
strategy discussed in the Urban Strategy Paper, "Cities
in Transition" (USP) to ensure successful
implementation. This would provide explicit targets and
determine priorities that link the USP's four key
instruments-scaling-up services to the poor, city
development strategies, national urban strategies, and local
government capacity building-and four strategic
pillars-livability, good governance, bankability, and
competitiveness-to urban poverty alleviation. 3)
Clarification of the concept and the operational
consequences of the competitiveness USP pillar for urban practitioners.
