Metro-Matrix Theory » External Relevant References
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UN-Habitat: Governance Assessment Framework |
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| Very honored to see that multilaterals like the United Nations are following our metropolitan lead. In a recent publication from UN-Habitat (Governance Assessment Framework for Metropolitan Territorial and Regional Management, GAF-MTR) the Metropolitan Governance thesis presented by us 7 years ago (April 20, 2016: Confederal, Federal and Unitary) has been officialized: ‘The structure and composition of governing bodies in metropolises and regions also depends on whether they are constituted under confederate, federated or unitary systems.’ (page 31)
We would have appreciated the reference, as a matter of ethics. Scholars are sometimes not, but multilaterals should be ethical. Lack of it reflects incompetence and delegitimizes UN-Habitat as an Institution. |
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UN Habitat: The Economic Role of Cities |
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| Urbanization is one of the most powerful, irreversible forces in the world. It is estimated that 93 percent of the future urban population growth will occur in the cities of Asia and Africa,and to a lesser extent, Latin America and the Caribbean.
We live in a new urban era with most of humanity now living in towns and cities. Global poverty is moving into cities, mostly in developing countries, in a process we call the urbanisation of poverty. The world’s slums are growing and growing as are the global urban populations. Indeed, this is one of the greatest challenges we face in the new millennium. The persistent problems of poverty and slums are in large part due to weak urban economies. Urban economic development is fundamental to UN-HABITAT’s mandate. Cities act as engines of national economic development. Strong urban economies are essential for poverty reduction and the provision of adequate housing, infrastructure, education, health, safety, and basic services. Joan Clos |
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Steering the Metropolis The Book |
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| Steering the Metropolis, a book produced out of the academics and professionals involved in MIT Metro-Lab that takes place every January and was initiated by Gabriel Lanfranchi and continued by David Gomez Alvarez. The book proposal was well received by UN-Habitat (Eduardo Lopez-Moreno) and the Inter-American Development Bank (Robin Rajack) that decided to publish it.
The book includes all the main actual thinkers on Metropolitan management and governance. Let me point to the following chapters. - Metropolitan Governance. Mats Andersson - Political Economy. Pedro B. Ortiz and Marco Kamiya - The Rise of a New Discipline Gabriel Lanfranchi and Antonella Contin - Governance for Land Use. Cynthia Goytia - Steering Shared Prosperity. Eduardo López-Moreno and R. Orvañanos - Metro Governance in B. Aires Francisca M. Rojas - N.Y. Metropolitan Region. Thomas K. Wright. - Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Yan Tang, Dong Yang, Kai Chen and He Zhu - The Mumbai Conundrum Abhay Pethe, Sahil Gandhi and V. Tandel - The Negotiated City: London Greg Clark, Tim Moonen and J. Couturier - Paris: Governance by Design Nicholas Buchoud |
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World Bank Report on Metropolitan Explosion |
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| This study examined the dynamics of global urban expansion by defining a new universe of 3,943 cities with population in excess of 100,000 and drawing a stratified global sample of 120 cities from this universe.
Population data and satellite images for two time periods⎯a decade apart⎯were obtained and analyzed, and several measures of urban extent and expansion⎯among them the built-up area of cities and the average density of the built-up area⎯were calculated. Data for 90 cities out of the global sample of 120 is presented and analyzed in this report. Weighted averages of the built-up area and the average density, as well as compactness and contiguity measures⎯and their change over time⎯are presented for nine regions, four income groups and four city size groups covering the entire globe. The policy implications of the analysis are presented and discussed. The Central message of this study is quite clear: Developing country cities should be making realistic⎯yet minimal⎯plans for urban expansion, designating adequate areas for accommodating the projected expansion, investing wisely in basic trunk infrastructure to serve this expansion, and protecting sensitive land from incursion by new urban development. |
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The Challenge of the 21st. Century. Wilson Center |
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| In 2008, for the first time in history, more than half of all human beings lived in cit- ies. Cities are growing in population as well as in their geographic footprint at an accelerating pace.
Although megacities with populations over 10 million, such as To- kyo, Mexico City, and São Paulo, are widely recognized, most urban growth is taking place in so-called medium-size cities of between 1 million and 5 million. This reality changes how policymakers in every sphere can pursue their goals. |
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McKensey Urban World: Mapping the Economic Power of Cities |
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| The world is in the throes of a sweeping population shift from the countryside to
the city. The global urban population is growing by 65 million annually, equivalent to adding seven new Chicagos a year.1 And for the first time in history, more than half of the world’s population is now living in towns and cities. Underpinning this transformation are the economies of scale that make concentrated urban centers more productive. This productivity improvement from urbanization has already delivered substantial economic growth and helped radically reduce poverty in countries such as China. The expansion of cities has the potential for further growth and poverty reduction across many emerging markets. Urbanization will be one of this century’s biggest drivers of global economic growth. |
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McKensey Urban World: Cities and the Rise of the Consuming Class |
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| The urbanization of the world continues apace and is one bright spot in an otherwise challenging global economic environment. The shift in economic balance toward the East and South is happening with unprecedented speed and scale. We are quite simply witnessing the biggest economic transformation the world has ever seen as the populations of cities in emerging markets expand and enjoy rising incomes—producing a game-changing new wave of consumers with considerable spending power.
Meeting demand from these new consumers will necessitate an investment boom in buildings and infrastructure that will account for the lion’s share of global investment in the years to 2025. It is important that cities make the investment they need in an efficient and productive way to ensure healthy returns and lock in high levels of resource productivity for decades to come. |
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PriceWaterHouseCoopers: The largest city economies in the world |
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| Rankings of global cities by population are common, but while population statistics are important, they are only part of the story: leading cities such as London, New York, Paris and Tokyo are major economies in their own right, of
a size greater than medium-sized national economies such as Sweden and Switzerland. Cities are also centres of innovation, creativity and culture, as well as focal points for government, finance, business services and corporate headquarters in their respective countries (and sometimes also their regions in the case of financial centres like London in Europe, or political centres like Brussels in the EU). However, data are much less readily available on the overall size of city economies in terms of their total output, particularly outside the OECD countries2. |
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