Bridging Divides : Enabling Urban Capabilities
Cities benefit from two key conditions, both with direct implications for social, cultural, and economic integration. One is a large middle class and a large sector of modest profit-making firms, distinct from a sharp concentration of incomes and p...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington DC
2014
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2013/11/18862607/bridging-divides-enabling-urban-capabilities http://hdl.handle.net/10986/17600 |
| Summary: | Cities benefit from two key conditions,
both with direct implications for social, cultural, and
economic integration. One is a large middle class and a
large sector of modest profit-making firms, distinct from a
sharp concentration of incomes and profits. The other is a
well-distributed urban economy: robust neighborhood sub
economies preventing excessive economic concentration in the
center, and good transportation for people and goods- not
only to the center but also transversally. The urban economy
is marked by capture at the top, poorer middle classes,
larger destitute populations, and more crime and conflict.
These challenges, though present in cities the world over,
play out differently in smaller, prosperous cities in Europe
and North America than in megacities in Asia, Africa, and
Latin America. But cities today are also seeing a massive
upgrading of infrastructure in city centers and high value
neighborhoods. One outcome is widespread homelessness and
destitution, even in cities where these problems had become
rare by the mid- to late 20th century. The reasons for this
juxtaposition vary enormously due to the differences among
cities and among the national economies and societies in
which they function. Some cities are sinking under the
weight of the negatives, while others are, more recently,
succeeding. The major challenges that confront cities and
society in general have increasingly strong feedback loops
that disassemble the old civic urban order. Fighting climate
change may well force citizens and immigrants to work
together, regardless of religion, culture, or phenotype. |
|---|