November 2001 Insights Issue #38

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Sites for sore eyes

A good place to begin looking for information on urban governance is the UN Conference on Human Settlements at www.unchs.org which includes conference reports, publications, programmes and campaigns and useful links.

Urban Development and Governance is a key theme of the Management of Social Transformations Programme, www.unesco.org/most/most2.htm, offering resources on governance, management and civil society, capacity building and networking, and a calendar of events, including those organised by UNESCO.

The Urban Governance Initiative www.tugi.apdip.net/default.htm provides a comprehensive list of links to governance indicators, tools and methodologies, as well as publications, specifically for local governments in the Asia-Pacific region. Similarly, ESCAP www.unescap.org/huset/index.html focuses on Asia-Pacific. The TUGI Virtual Policy Studio cebe.cf.ac.uk/tugi supports capacity building on urban issues through exchange of experiences between stakeholders, providing training, advisory services and information dissemination.

Garnet at www.lboro.ac.uk/garnet/UrbanKaR/DFID-KAR-URBAN.html provides information on research and development projects supported by DFID's Knowledge and Research Programme. Research on Urban Governance Partnerships and Poverty www.bham.ac.uk/IDD/activities/urban/urbgov.htm provides a series of theme papers and case studies.

Key urban governance issues are covered by the World Bank at www.worldbank.org/html/fpd/urban/index.html including a database of information on regions and specific urban initiatives. A calendar details worldwide conferences and seminars on urban development.

A searchable database of practical community, government and private sector experience of working towards improved urban governance and poverty reduction can be found at the Best Practices and Local Leadership Programme www.sustainabledevelopment.org/blp/blpmain.html. The Global Urban Observatory, www.unchs.org/guo, is the UNCHS facility for monitoring progress in global implementation of the Habitat Agenda.

ELDIS, nt1.ids.ac.uk/eldis/urban/urban.htm, offers a further portal to institutions working in urban development as well as sectoral country profiles. Also take a look at the Human Settlements Programme at the Institute for International Environmental Development, www.iied.org, for research on urban issues and poverty. A network of European researchers on Urbanisation in the South, N-AERUS www.m20m.com/index.html supports research and training in urban issues, including an annual workshop.

Ursula Grant
International Development Department
School of Public Policy
University of Birmingham

u.grant@bham.ac.uk

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