Urban Planning for City Leaders - Cities Alliance

Urban planning for city leadersHow to addressinformalityThe informal economy is estimated to be worth USD 10 trillionglobally 100 and helps to make many cities competitive byproviding cheap and flexible labour. It creates opportunitiesfor poorer households that the formal economy cannot offerthem. Informal settlements provide employment to up to 90 percent of their inhabitants through thousands of businesses, and,although there are no legal title deeds, these settlements are“home” for millions of families who cannot afford anything onthe formal housing market. Local governments in developingcountries, where the informal economy can account for closeto 50 per cent of the GDP, would benefit from addressing theissues created by informality without stifling the opportunitiesit brings: they could make informality part of the city, upgradeexisting slums and prevent the formation of new ones.Urban planning - which has been singled out as one of thecauses of informal housing areas – can make space for lowerincome groups and their livelihood strategies in the city and cansupport inclusion rather than exclusion.88