Researching urban development finance

CCGHS highlighted the creation of new and innovative funds for housing and land development as a key element of the Commonwealth development framework for human settlements.  A crucial element of encouraging the development of new and innovative funds must be an appreciation and analysis of existing funds, the context in which they have operated and lessons learnt.  ComHabitat has chosen to focus on researching finance for human settlements in urban areas for a number of reasons including: a recognition that poverty is becoming increasingly urban; and that in densely populated urban areas scaling up solutions will require larger scale and more complex financing arrangements than has been the case in the past.  We hope that this research project will result in practical recommendations of ways to increase the accessibility of urban development finance for a range of key actors.

Two ComHabitat partners, the Commonwealth Local Government Forum (CLGF) and Homeless International  have been working together to research local government finance in the Commonwealth.  An initial paper on Innovative Resourcing for Municipal Infrastructure and Service Provision can be downloaded from the bar on the left.  This paper was also published in CLGF's Commonwealth Local Government Handbook 2006. 

The initial research paper was discussed during a workshop at CLGF's recent regional symposium in Kampala.  The workshop found that a key constraint for local authorities was the lack of information about municipal financing options, and about potential support, at international level.  The workshop recommended that CLGF should:

• Provide a means for local government associations to share experience and information on local government financing in a more effective manner.
• Facilitate the dissemination of information on existing international support and assistance relating to financing local development.
• Document local case studies in a range of national contexts in order to increase understanding of the options for increasing access to resources.

The workshop outcome document can also be downloaded from the bar on the left.  CLGF and Homeless International are working together to take forward these recommendations.

Homeless International prepared a paper that provides an overview of existing international financing facilities for slum upgrading and infrastructure provision in developing countries for the April 2005 CCGHS meeting.  To download the paper or read it as inline text please click here.