Urban Governance, Voice, and Poverty in the Developing World

by Devas, Nick; Amis, Philip (CON); Beall, Jo (CON); Grant, Ursula; Mitlin, Diana (CON); Nunan, Fiona (CON); Rakodi, Carole (CON)

• ISBN13: 9781853839931
• ISBN10: 1853839930
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-10-28
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

* Authored by an international team of researchers * Marshals a wealth of evidence to expose the little-examined links between urban governance and poverty * Provides policy guidance for cities, governments, practitioners, and the poor for alleviating the growing problem of urban poverty In this book an international team of researchers examines the hitherto little-examined relationship between urban governance and growing poverty. The core of the book is the result of three years of research in ten cities in Africa, Asia, and Latin America including interviews with key actors both within and outside city governments, discussions with poverty groups, community organizations, and NGOs, as well as analyses of data on poverty, services, and finance. Ultimately the evidence demonstrates that in many countries the global trend towards decentralization and democratization offers exciting new opportunities for the poor to have an influence on the decisions that affect them. It proves that the extent of that influence depends on the nature of those democratic arrangements and decisionmaking processes at the local level. The book presents insights, conclusions, and practical examples that are of relevance for all cities, and it outlines policy implications for national and local governments, NGOs, and donor agencies.

Author Biography

Nick Devas is Director of the International Development Department of the School of Public Policy at the University of Birmingham.

Table of Contents

List of Photographs	vi
List of Figures, Tables and Boxes	vii
The Research Team	ix
About the Authors	x
Preface	xii
Acknowledgements	xiii
List of Acronyms and Abbreviations	xiv
1 Introduction	1	(14)
Nick Devas
This research and its key message	3	(1)
How have urban governance and poverty been considered in previous work?	4	(1)
The city case studies	5	(7)
Outline of the book	12	(3)
2 Urban Poverty and Governance in an Era of Globalization, Decentralization and Democratization	15	(22)
Nick Devas
Urban poverty	15	(8)
Urban governance	23	(4)
Global shifts: globalization, decentralization, democratization	27	(7)
Conclusion	34	(3)
3 Economic Growth, Urban Poverty and City Governance	37	(16)
Ursula Grant
Introduction	37	(1)
Do the poor benefit from city economic growth?	38	(5)
City economic growth and poverty reduction: Labour markets and economic opportunities	43	(5)
City governance and economic growth: What room for manoeuvre?	48	(3)
City governance and poverty reduction: What are the possibilities?	51	(2)
4 Surviving in the City: Livelihoods and Linkages of the Urban Poor	53	(15)
Jo Beall
Introduction	53	(1)
Framing urban livelihoods	54	(3)
Household livelihood strategies	57	(4)
Wider social networks of the urban poor	61	(3)
Urban governance and the social assets of the poor	64	(3)
Conclusion	67	(1)
5 Urban Politics: Exclusion or Empowerment?	68	(27)
Carole Rakodi
Introduction	68	(1)
Democratization, decentralization, rights and regime change: The political context	69	(4)
Forms of democracy: Urban political structures and arrangements in theory and practice	73	(14)
Actors, power relationships and political practices	87	(4)
Conclusion	91	(4)
6 Urban Government: Capacity, Resources and Responsiveness	95	(28)
Nick Davas
New opportunities for responsive city government	95	(1)
Constraints on city government	96	(7)
Generating and managing the financial resources	103	(10)
Responsive city government: Mechanisms of participation and accountability	113	(7)
Conclusions: City government and the poor	120	(3)
7 Civil Society Organizations: Do They Make a Difference to Urban Poverty?	123	(22)
Diana Mitlin
Introduction	123	(2)
Civil society and urban development: A background	125	(2)
The extent of civil society organizations in the ten cities	127	(2)
Civil society and poverty reduction	129	(4)
The constraints facing civil society	133	(9)
Conclusion	142	(3)
8 Regulating the Informal Sector: Voice and Bad Governance	145	(19)
Philp Amis
The importance of the informal sector	146	(2)
Background to the informal sector	148	(1)
The role of city government in enhancing and protecting the assets of the poor in the informal sector	149	(3)
Regulation of the informal sector	152	(1)
The stories from the cities	153	(6)
Emerging themes	159	(3)
Concluding remarks	162	(2)
9 Accessing Land and Services: Exclusion or Entitlement?	164	(22)
Fiona Nunan and Nick Devas
The challenge	164	(1)
Inadequacies in provision	165	(2)
Gaining access: Ways and means	167	(4)
Access and the nature of urban governance	171	(13)
Conclusions: Access to land and services: Exclusion or entitlement?	184	(2)
10 Conclusions: Urban Governance, Voice and Poverty	186	(14)
Nick Devas
City comparisons	187	(1)
Some conclusions on the key research questions	187	(7)
Some implications for policy and governance	194	(5)
Directions for further research	199	(1)
Annex 1: Research Methodology	200	(2)
Annex 2: Urban Governance, Partnerships and Poverty Research Working Papers	202	(3)
References	205	(14)
Index	219