Emerging from two days of discussion and debate on cities at the recent IGC Cities Conference, the challenge that resonated most widely from both research and policy participants was how urban infrastructure can be adapted to accommodate rising levels of urban density

Kaul, Upaasna

Yam, Emilie

LSE Research Online

20/06/2017 The new urban agenda: Cities of the future - IGChttp://www.theigc.org/blog/the-new-urban-agenda-cities-of-the-future/ 1/3Authors Upaasna KaulManaging Editor andEconomistEvaluation andCommunications, IGCLondon Hub Emilie YamPolicy CommunicationsManagerEvaluation andCommunications, IGCLondon HubPublished on: 17 Feb 2016Countries: International, UgandaResearch themes: Cities The new urban agenda: Cities ofthe futureEmerging from two days of discussion anddebate on cities at the recent IGC CitiesConference, the challenge that resonatedmost widely from both research and policyparticipants was how urban infrastructure canbe adapted to accommodate rising levels ofurban density.Rates of urbanisation, particularly for African cities are notexpected to slow-down anytime soon. Despite the promise ofhigher productivity and economic gains associated withurbanisation, without requisite investments in infrastructureand institutions, prosperity is not a guarantee. More research isneeded on policy priorities of city authorities as well as toensure that investments provide good value for money. City andmunicipal budgets are not infinite; large, ill-conceivedinfrastructure projects have the potential to suck up billions ofdollars, without generating the intended benefits for residents.A tale of two African citiesIn a Q&A session, the leaders of two important African cities –Patricia De Lille, the Mayor of Cape Town, and JenniferMusisi, the Executive Director of the Kampala Capital CityAuthority – highlighted the challenge for African cities inkeeping pace with urbanisation rates.De Lille and Musisi both said that providing services such aswater and sanitation to all urban residents remained a keychallenge. In Kampala, urban growth is outstripping thecapacity of the city to provide public services for all – the costof water, for example, is often too high for the urban poor, andthe city is left bearing the burden of the health risks associatedwith the lack of access to clean water. In Cape Town, a legacyof apartheid has meant that city officials have to overcomesignificant historical and structural barriers to access andequality of public services for all citizens.The two city leaders pointed to lack of resources as another keychallenge in managing their cities. In Kampala, chronicmismanagement of economic resources and high levels ofcorruption have hampered efforts to fund large infrastructureprojects and other initiatives. Musisi shared her solution toincreasing the effectiveness of city government – replace all ofthe city’s ineffective employees with people who have their ownvision for Kampala and want to be a part of the city’s20/06/2017 The new urban agenda: Cities of the future - IGChttp://www.theigc.org/blog/the-new-urban-agenda-cities-of-the-future/ 2/3“transformation. De Lille echoed the importance of a sharedvision of progress and development as being essential tosuccessful leadership at the municipal level and to ensure thatvital initiatives are not hindered by slow bureaucracy.In Cape Town, a legacy of apartheid has meant thatcity officials have to overcome significant historical andstructural barriers to access and equality of publicservices for all citizens. ”Show me the moneyMany of the barriers to improving the institutional effectivenessof city authorities seem to stem from resource constraints andthe need to better align incentives both for tax collectors andtax payers. Ineffective tax systems are both the cause and asymptom of under-development, particularly for citiesundergoing rapid urbanisation, such as Kampala. Withoutcollecting sufficient revenues from taxation, city authorities areseverely limited in the ability to provide or scale up publicservice delivery. This reflects the reality in most developingcountries where tax systems are characterised by low levels oftax enforcement and high levels of tax evasion.Basic public provisioning and access to clean water andsanitation should be on-going priorities for city governments.Migration flows into cities has led to expanded informalsettlements. In such high density, urban slums, a lack of accessto clean water and sanitation could prove highly problematicfor health systems, particularly in the face of rising anti-bioticresistance. Despite the high initial costs of building water andsanitation structures, the benefits from reducing stressors onhealth systems may, in the long-run, outweigh capitalexpenditures.Identifying the mechanisms with which city authorities canaddress gaps in urban public finance span a range ofapproaches from efforts to motivate tax collectors and improvetax administration to reforming land use regulations andenforcing land rights through formal titling. Other smallerinterventions have looked at the effectiveness of applyingbehavioural interventions, or the use of policy nudges toencourage preferred behaviours. Ultimately though, furtherresearch is needed on understanding how different policychannels interact and affect revenue collection levels.Stuck in a jamIn tandem with institutional gaps, sufficiency of urbaninfrastructure remains a significant challenge for cityauthorities. Building new infrastructure or upgrading existinginfrastructure will require large capital investments. Financialsustainability of such investments however, remains a keychallenge.  In the case of Cape Town, De Lille pointed out thatwithout sufficiently high levels of population density, theconstruction of a transportation network would not beaffordable. In contrast, Kampala is an example of how rapiddensification of a city leads to the proliferation of informal andunregulated transport providers. The Boda Bodas (motor-bike20/06/2017 The new urban agenda: Cities of the future - IGChttp://www.theigc.org/blog/the-new-urban-agenda-cities-of-the-future/ 3/3“unregulated transport providers. The Boda Bodas (motor-biketaxis of Kampala) are notorious for flaunting road-rules, oftendriving over sidewalks and medians to circumvent traffic jams.These unregulated modes of transportation are a symptom oftraffic congestion that imposes a large economic and social tollon the city. Musisi estimated that 24,000 man hours per day arelost by commuters due to traffic jams. Image credit: FloeschenWhile access to transport is rarely characterised as primary tosurvival, it is an identifiable contributor to global poverty traps.Inadequate infrastructure restrains higher levels of productivityand prosperity of cities.Musisi estimated that 24,000 man hours per day arelost by commuters due to traffic jams. ”Availability of public transportation networks that are bothaccessible and affordable for low-income residents is a keypolicy priority. Though, as illustrated by the contrastingproblems facing Cape Town and Kampala today, it is certainthat there are no short-cuts or easy fixes. Effective solutionsmust be tailored to the context and capacity of existinginstitutions.Stay tuned next week for our recap of the mostinteresting academic papers presented in the January 2016 IGCCities Conference.

The new urban agenda: cities of the future

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