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URBANIZATION AND DEVELOPMENT: EMERGING FUTURES
WORLD CITIES REPORT 2016
THE CHANGING DYNAMICS OF URBAN ECONOMIES
Economic transformation through the growth of cities has resulted, over the last thirty
years, in the greatest improvement in standards of living and poverty in history,
according to a new report by UN-Habitat.
According to the World Cities Report 2016, Urbanization and Development: Emerging Futures, the on-going spatial concentration of people in cities and towns has created a new economic geography. It adds that there has been a dramatic change since the
Habitat II conference in 1996, with city sizes increasing.
The report asserts that the benefits of agglomeration - an extended city or town area - have tended to outweigh the disadvantages and, while the extent varies considerably between cities, the benefits of agglomeration have provided the resources to allow
diseconomies of agglomeration to be managed.
UN Under-Secretary-General and UN-Habitat Executive Director, Dr Joan Clos, said: “Cities now generate around 80 per cent
of global GDP and cannot be ignored as a major source of income and development. The link between planning and economic
development policies for cities must be integrated across all levels of government if we are to maximize the potential for equitable
social and economic growth.”
Larger cities benefitting more than smaller ones
The report found that megacities and metropolitan regions have benefited more from globalization than secondary cities. The
world’s economically strongest urban centres contain 25 per cent of the global population and produce 60 per cent of global GDP.
There are significant regional differences in the GDP per capita of cities.
High-income countries and more developed regions have largely completed their urban transitions. The ability of developing
countries to urbanize and develop their standards of living will substantially depend on their ability to attract capital through
mobilizing domestic resources and Foreign Direct Investment.
City GDP growth rates are highest in developing countries predominantly in cities in Asia Pacific regions. Cities, particularly
in developing countries, based on port locations facilitating trade are associated with relatively higher per capita GDP. In some
countries, a single city can account for as much as 45 per cent of national wealth creation. The fastest overall economic growth
is in mid-sized cities of around 2-5 million population, according to the report.
United Nations Human Settlements Programme
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P.O. Box 30030, Nairobi 00100, Kenya
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Tel: +254 20 7623153/3151
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Fax: +254 20 7624060
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E-mail: [email protected] n Website: www.unhabitat.org
WORLD CITIES REPORT 2016 URBANIZATION AND DEVELOPMENT: EMERGING FUTURES
Figure 2.1: Share of GDP and national population in selected cities (developed countries)
Source: UN-Habitat, 2011f.
50
40
30
20
40
Share of national GDP (%)
Zurich
Warsaw
Vienna
Toronto
Tokyo
Sydney
Rome
Paris
New York
Madrid
London
Helsinki
Dublin
50
Boston
Barcelona
0
Auckland
10
Share of national population (%)
30 Nations Conference on Human Settlements – Habitat II – in 1996, the challenge arising from the
Since the second United
growth of cities has increased in scale and complexity with the level of urbanization and economic development being closely
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interrelated.
20
Share of national GDP (%)
40
Zurich
Warsaw
Vienna
Toronto
Tokyo
Sydney
Rome
Paris
New York
Madrid
London
Helsinki
Dublin
Boston
60
With rapid urbanization,0 the growth in formal and regulated employment opportunities is not sufficient to absorb the potential
migrant labour force. Cities play a significant role in economic growth and in particular, in improving productivity. Efficient cities
facilitate the more productive use of resources; thus facilitating in the creation of wealth and jobs.
Barcelona
However, despite the advantages
and opportunity urbanization provides, the report also concludes that cities are the front
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line of the emerging sharing economy and there is rising inequality between economies of large cities, secondary and small cities.
Auckland
80
Share of national population (%)
Figure 2.2: Share of national population and GDP in selected cities (developing countries)
Source: UN-Habitat,
2011f.
100
20
Share of national population (%)
20
Share of national GDP (%)
Share of national population (%)
1000
2000
500
The World Cities Report will be available for download from the UN-Habitat publication site
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http://unhabitat.org/urban-knowledge/publications/
and as an App for mobile devices from http://appstore.unhabitat.org
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011
010
009
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001
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1000
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0
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For more information, please contact: Mr. Gordon Weiss, Spokesperson and Head Advocacy, Outreach and Communications,
e-mail: [email protected], or Jeanette Elsworth, Head of Press and Media, [email protected] Tel: +254 20 7623147
Yagon
Shanghai
Sao Paulo
Santiago
Rio de Janeiro
Nairobi
Mumbai
Manila
Lima
Kinshasa
Khartoum
Karachi
Kabul
Jakarta
Hanoi
Dhaka
Chittagong
Cape Town
Cairo
Dar es Salaam
1500
Buenos Aires
Brasilia
Bogota
Bangkok
2000
Addis Ababa
0
Yagon
Shanghai
Sao Paulo
Santiago
Nairobi
Mumbai
Manila
Lima
Kinshasa
Khartoum
Karachi
Kabul
Jakarta
Hanoi
Dhaka
Share of national GDP (%)
Rio de Janeiro
40
Dar es Salaam
Chittagong
Cape Town
Cairo
Buenos Aires
Brasilia
Bogota
Bangkok
60
Abidjan
Addis Ababa
0
Abidjan
80
Municipal Finance and Financing
Infrastructure
Moving forward, cities must be able to do more with fewer
resources, and municipal roles are becoming more complex
with tasks that go from job generation, productive development policies, social inclusion, and climate change.
New models of public sector financing of infrastructure and urban development are needed. Strengthening city
finances through the better use of public-private partnerships,
local land taxes and user charges and the development of
more effective and equitable fiscal equalization arrangements
between national and city governments is essential for sustainable development.
Key messages
i.
The link between planning and economic development
policies for cities must be integrated across all levels of
government.
ii.
Strengthening city finances through public-private partnerships, land taxes and user charges and the development of more equitable fiscal arrangements between
national and city governments is essential for sustainable
development.
iii. Providing a legal framework for the decentralization of
responsibilities is essential to improving city governance
structures.
iv. Linking urban policy to economic development is critical
to improving the competitiveness and performance of
local economies.
The World Cities Report will be available for download from the UN-Habitat publication site
http://unhabitat.org/urban-knowledge/publications/ and as an App for mobile devices from http://appstore.unhabitat.org
For more information, please contact: Mr. Gordon Weiss, Spokesperson and Head Advocacy, Outreach and Communications,
e-mail: [email protected], or Jeanette Elsworth, Head of Press and Media, [email protected] Tel: +254 20 7623147