Netherlands for the World Bank

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Netherlands for the World Bank

Tag Archives: sustainable cities

It’s time to start solving Latin America’s migration crisis with creative housing solutions

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The world’s largest migration crisis today may no longer be in the Middle East or Africa, ninha_-_by_greta_granados_de_orbegoso_world_bank_herobut in Latin America , where 4.8 million people have already fled Venezuela’s political and economic crisis to seek better lives, mainly in Colombia; but also in Peru, Chile, the U.S., and even Spain.

Surveys have indicated that over half of Venezuela’s young professionals wish to leave, and departures could reach 20% of the total population by the end of 2020. Yet, this crisis remains alarmingly underfunded by the international community, which is spending a mere $300 per capita to help Venezuelans compared to $5,000 per Syrian refugee. To be sure, these Venezuelan migrants are not fleeing armed conflict, but they are facing deadly living conditions.

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How can we help cities provide the building blocks for future growth?

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Basic infrastructure makes all the difference in the lives of people. Sometimes a road is all it takes… Access to clean drinking water and sanitation can improve children’s health,childrens_play_ground_in_a_public_park_-_by_ngoc_tran-shutterstock-resized reduce waterborne disease, and lower the risk of stunting. Street lighting can improve the safety of a community, reduce gender-based violence, and add productive hours for shops and economic activities, which can help people escape poverty.  A paved road can lead to a world of possibilities for small business owners, increasing access to additional markets and suppliers, as well as opportunities to grow their businesses.

The urban infrastructure finance gap
Cities already account for approximately 70-80 percent of the world’s economic growth, and this will only increase as cities continue to grow. In the next 35 years, the population in cities is estimated to expand by an additional 2.5 billion people, almost double the population of China. As a vital component for connectivity, public health, social welfare, and economic development, infrastructure in all its forms – basic, social, and economic – is critical for the anticipated urban growth.

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How do city leaders get things done? Learning from mayors in Japan

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pic1_1The task of mayors and city leaders is no longer limited to providing efficient urban services to their citizens. Job creation is at the forefront of the economic development challenge globally.

Cities need jobs and opportunities for their citizens and the means to generate tax revenues to fund projects that meet their populations’ growing demand for basic services. The WBG flagship report on Competitive Cities outlines how creating jobs in urban areas – urgently but also at scale– is essential.

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3 Big Ideas to Achieve Sustainable Cities and Communities

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2-Three big ideas, countless solutions

At the World Urban Forum, the World Bank will offer three big ideas that are essential for successfully implementing the New Urban Agenda:

  1. Financing the New Urban Agenda
  2. Promoting territorial development
  3. Enhancing urban resilience to climate change and disaster risks

The Bank will also be showcasing some of the innovative knowledge and transformative actions that have proven to help end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity in cities around the world.

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Cities: 12 big moments of building sustainable cities and communities (1-6)

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At the World Bank, our teams working on social development, urban development, disaster risk management, and land issues have endeavored with countries and cities worldwide throughout the year to achieve a common goal: building inclusive, resilient, and sustainable cities and communities for all. How did they do? From our “Sustainable Communities” newsletter, we have captured 12 moments that mark the major accomplishments and lessons learned in 2017—and inspire our continued work to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity in 2018. Below the first 6 moments are described. Tomorrow will het other 6 moments follow.

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eC2: Model Framework for Municipal Public Private Partnerships (PPP)

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Deadline: 21-Nov-2017 at 11:59:59 PM (Eastern Time – Washington D.C.)

Objective: The World Bank is pursuing an initiative aimed at developing model processes and documentation to help municipalities deliver more cost effective and faster PPP. This initiative will set out model documentation for the following PPP structure: Design, build, finance, operation, maintenance and transfer of an asset where a private entity is asked to (a) design and build a new asset (or refurbish an existing asset),(b) finance the build,(c) operate and maintain the asset,(d) earn revenues from the operation of that asset (whether from users, from other associated commercial activities and/or from payments made by government for operating the asset; and with or without a revenue share paid by the private investor), and (e) hand the asset back to government at the end of the period. Building on successful municipal programs in countries like Tanzania, Kenya and Indonesia, this initiative will gather lessons learned and turn them into municipal PPP frameworks for developing countries.

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eC2: Designing instruments for Clean Bus Implementation in LAC cities

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Deadline: 04-Sep-2017 at 11:59:59 PM (Eastern Time – Washington D.C.)

The World Bank is hiring a firm or organization to implement a detailed diagnosis, BRTC_double_decker_bus_03652design business models and financial instruments, and provide policy recommendations to speed up clean bus implementation in 5 cities: Buenos Aires, Mexico City, Montevideo, Santiago, Sao Paulo. The consultancy firm will have to develop a detailed diagnosis, including i) detailed market study, including a diagnosis of supply and demand of bus financing, ii) a detailed investigation of bus operations, concessions agreements and procurement practices that hinder or facilitate the sector, iii) and the current regulations/subsidies schemes in each of the cities, defined both at local and national levels. From this diagnosis, the firm will design business models, propose financing mechanisms, provide policy recommendations, and training to relevant counterparts to disseminate the results and support the implementation of projects.

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eC2:Consultant Services to Support for the Rollout of Indonesias Sustainable Cities Index (IKB Indikator Kota Berkelanjutan)

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Deadline: 07-Aug-2017 at 11:59:59 PM (Eastern Time – Washington D.C.) Smart city Arena

The main objective of this consulting assignment is to build a set of relevant indicators that helps to better track and understand the dynamic and good performance of cities in Indonesia.

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Join the World Bank Cities Boomerang Challenge!

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Can you make a #Loop4Dev?

Ever notice how cities can really encapsulate many of the things that make life Afbeeldingsresultaat voor instagram logoenjoyable? Green spaces to enjoy the outdoors, access to jobs, affordable housing for all, a well-connected public transportation system, access to healthy food, schools for all children, and so on. Some cities achieve this better than others, but creating a city that works for all of its citizens can be a challenge for governments and communities alike.

Why? Let’s look at some numbers: Up to 1 billion people living in slums in the cities of the world are in need of better services; Cities consume 2/3 of the world’s energy and account for 70% of greenhouse gas emissions; 66 out of 100 people will live in cities by 2050, which tells us the global population is becoming increasingly urban.

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Changing the Environmental Trajectory to Build Sustainable Cities in Africa

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  • A fast urbanizing Africa is rapidly degrading the natural capital of its cities. Unique features of Africa’s urbanization – such as substantially lower per capita incomes, high reliance on biomass fuels, extensive informal settlement with poor service levels, and the exposure of cities to environmental disasters, such as floods – are putting pressure on African cities’ natural environment and eroding the value of environmental assets
  • As a result, there is a significant risk that Africa’s cities may become locked into a “grow dirty now, clean up later” development path that may be irreversible, costly, inefficient, and reducing citizen’s welfare
  • However, there are important opportunities to change the trajectory that African cities are on, and to move toward a more harmonious relationship between the natural and built environments through green urban development policies

 

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