IDB, regional development banks launch joint report on liveable cities in the Caribbean

WASHINGTON, United States (CMC) — The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has collaborated with the African Development Bank (AFDB), the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in launching a joint report on liveable cities in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The IDB said the report, “Creating Livable Cities: Regional Perspectives,” looks at urbanisation trends across emerging and developing economies across the world.

IDB President Luis Alberto Moreno on Friday took part in the launch of the publication at IDB headquarters here with the presidents of the other three development banks: Akinwumi Adesina of AFDB, Suma Chakrabarti of EBRD and Takehiko Nakao of ADB.

The IDB said the world’s urban population has grown from just 750 million in 1950 (or 31 per cent of the total population) to 4.2 billion in 2018 (55 per cent of the total population) – a number that is estimated to reach 5.2 billion in 2030 (60 per cent of the total population).

“While the majority of leading economic hubs are still in advanced economies, the centre of economic activity is moving toward the developing and emerging markets,” the report says.

It also points out that cities need large scale investments to develop and maintain infrastructure and services, such as urban transport, water supply, sanitation and solid waste management.

In the face of rapid growth, the report says overstretched services, skills shortages and increased vulnerabilities to disasters are adding to cities’ environmental stress.

“Realising the cities’ potential requires flexibility, careful planning and good governance,” the report says.

The publication also examines the types of policy interventions and approaches needed to promote competitive, inclusive, equitable and environmentally-sustainable and climate-resilient cities.

The report says these are four factors that, taken together, make cities liveable.

It says regional development banks play an important role in “identifying, distilling and diffusing knowledge and actions that can accelerate progress toward creating more liveable cities.”

The report says Latin America and the Caribbean is the most urbanised developing region in the world, with eight out of 10 people now living in cities.

“Urbanisation has yielded many gains, including better economic opportunity and access to services,” the report says. “However, to reap the full benefits of urban agglomeration, there is a need to re-examine how urban leaders and institutions should nurture inclusive, sustainable and prosperous cities for all.”

The IDB said it has partnered with governments and cities in the region for the past 60 years, adding that this is consistent with its institutional strategy and the four core areas of the Urban Sector Framework’s aim to promote liveable cities in the region “through solutions that target deficits in urban governance, urban infrastructure and public services, housing and urban habitats.”

“Therefore, the IDB is committed to promote the sustainable development of liveable cities in the region through knowledge and investment that promote inclusion, productivity and resilience,” the statement said.

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/latestnews/IDB,_regional_development_banks_launch_joint_report_on_liveable_cities_in_the_Caribbean