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Conceptualizing Urban Prosperitytiers of government. In this respect, proper alignment ofcentral and local government expenditures at city level canfacilitate transfers and their effective use by urban authorities.Re-Thinking Urban ProsperityA poverty-stricken plumber in Hyderabad (India), afactory worker in Bogotá (Colombia), a middle manager inMadrid (Spain), a businessman in Fortaleza (Brazil), a carmechanic in Nairobi (Kenya) − all five will have aspirationsto prosperous lives. However, prosperity means differentthings to different people around the world. Whatever theindividual perception, regardless of culture and civilization,prosperity refers to a sense of general and individualsocioeconomic security for the immediate and foreseeablefuture, which comes with the fulfilment of other, nonmaterialneeds and aspirations.Yet, the prevailing view continues to confine prosperityto the realm of economics; a limiting view that shuts outother dimensions that are integral to human well-beingand necessary for individual and collective fulfilment.If anything, the 2008 financial crisis has amplified theneed to include other, non-economic dimensions in theunderstanding and measurement of prosperity.This Report introduces a new gauge for the degreeof prosperity in the cities of the world. Known as theCity Prosperity Index and developed by UN-Habitat,this new instrument combines the five dimensions ofprosperity as understood in this Report and as subsumedin measurable indicators. The index pinpoints strengths andweaknesses, in the process suggesting where policy actioncan address imbalances.Re-thinking prosperity in those terms requires a shiftaway from the current dominant perspective, which isoutdated and unsustainable on many grounds with itscombination of cheap fossil fuel, heavy dependence onthe motor car, highly segmented urban forms, socially andeconomically segregated spaces, endless urban peripheriesthat consume land, resources and in many cases naturalprotected areas – and all largely steered by private, notpublic interest.Conceptualizing Prosperity:The UN-Habitat ApproachProsperity implies success, wealth, thriving conditions, andwellbeing as well as opportunity. In any urban setting, akey question will arise: What are the essential conditionsand elements that are required for a city to thrive, or foran urban area to be described as prosperous, or for thepolicyShared urban prosperity puts people first, valuesthe tangible and intangible aspects of development,promotes inclusive economic growth, protects human rights,ensures enabling equitable development, cares for the naturalenvironment, reduces disaster risks and vulnerabilities for thepoor and builds resilience to adverse forces of nature. This newcity – the city of the 21st century –creates harmony between thefive dimensions of prosperity and enhances the prospects for abetter future.policyThe ‘good’, people-centred city of the 21st centurystimulates local job creation, promotes socialdiversity, maintains a sustainable environment and recognisesthe importance of public spaces. In short, this is a city that comeswith a change of pace, profile and urban functions and providesthe social, political and economic conditions of prosperity – a citythat is all-encompassing and accessible to everyone.wellbeing of the population? Put differently, what are themanifestations or outcomes of a prosperous city? In generalterms, a prosperous city offers a profusion of public goodsand develops policies and actions for a sustainable use andequitable access to ‘commons’. 3 More specifically, severalelements which come to mind guide what constitutes theUN-Habitat conceptualization of Prosperity.First, a prosperous city contributes to economicgrowth through productivity, generating the income andemployment that afford adequate living standards for thewhole population.Second, a prosperous city deploys the infrastructure,physical assets and amenities – adequate water,sanitation, power supply, road network, information andcommunications technology etc. – required to sustain boththe population and the economy.Third, prosperous cities provide the social services –education, health, recreation, safety and security etc. –required for improvedliving standards, enablingthe population to maximizepolicy A freshapproachindividual potential andto prosperity is needed,lead fulfilling lives.not just to respondFourth, a city is onlyto the effects of theprosperous to the extentcrisis and safeguardthat poverty and inequalities against new risks, butalso to steer the worldare minimal. No city cantowards economically,claim to be prosperoussocially, politicallywhen large segments of the and environmentallypopulation live in abjectprosperous urbanpoverty and deprivation.futures.13
State of the World’s Cities 2012/2013Table 1.1.1Defining a prosperous cityA prosperous city is one that providesProductivityInfrastructuredevelopmentQuality of lifeEquity and socialinclusionEnvironmentalsustainabilityContributes to economic growth and development, generates income, provides decent jobs and equalopportunities for all by implementing effective economic policies and reformsProvides adequate infrastructure – water, sanitation, roads, information and communication technology inorder to improve urban living and enhance productivity, mobility and connectivityEnhances the use of public spaces in order to increase community cohesion, civic identity, and guarantees thesafety and security of lives and propertyEnsures the equitable distribution and redistribution of the benefits of a prosperous city, reduces poverty andthe incidence of slums, protects the rights of minority and vulnerable groups, enhances gender equality, andensures civic participation in the social, political and cultural spheresValues the protection of the urban environment and natural assets while ensuring growth, and seeking waysto use energy more efficiently, minimize pressure on surrounding land and natural resources, minimizeenvironmental losses by generating creative solutions to enhance the quality of the environmentThis involves reducing the incidence of slums and newforms of poverty. Prosperous cities are equitable and sociallyinclusive. The benefits and opportunities that come with aprosperous city are equitably (re)distributed. A prosperouscity ensures gender equality, protects the rights of minorityand vulnerable groups, and ensures civic participation by allin the social, political and cultural spheres.Fifth, the creation and (re)distribution of the benefitsof prosperity do not destroy or degrade the environment,instead the city’s natural assets are preserved for the sake ofsustainable urbanization.The ‘Wheel of Urban Prosperity’Prosperity, as defined by UN-Habitat, is a social constructthat materializes in the realm of human actions. It buildsdeliberately and conscientiously on the objective conditionsprevailing in a city at any time, wherever located andhowever large or small. It is a broader, wide-ranging notionthat has to do with well-balanced, harmonious developmentin an environment of fairness and justice.As described above, prosperity takes in all urbanfunctions as subsumed in five main categories. Since shared,balanced development is a crucial feature of prosperity,none of the dimensions must prevail over the others andall must be kept roughly ‘equal’ – for the sake of a smooth‘ride’ on the path of prosperity. In practice, of course, it isa rare city where the five dimensions will be found equalat any point in time, and this is where policy interventionswill be called for, as suggested graphically by the profileof the city’s specific ‘city prosperity index’. For instance,infrastructure may be well-advanced, but inaccessible tolarge portion of the population, therefore compromising thenotion of equity. In other, frequent situations, a city may beeconomically efficient, enhancing job opportunities, but thenatural environment is neglected.Since socioeconomic conditions keep changing on alocal and a broader scale, they will have an effect on one ormore of the five dimensions of prosperity, and it will be forpolicy interventions to restore the balance. In this endeavour,urban authorities will find that the various interlinkages andinterdependencies betweenthe five dimensions canalso be of a positive nature.The ‘hub’For instance, provisionFACT is madeof the local urbanof water and sanitationpower functions, bothin informal settlementspublic (municipal andwill improve both equityother institutions andand quality of life, andagencies, laws andeven the environment.regulations, includingurban planning) andThis points to thenon-public (civil society,‘natural’ or ‘spontaneous’business, etc.).theyinterdependencies between combine in a variety ofthe five dimensions alongways according to localthe outer rim of theneeds and conditions,wheel. These can alsowith the synergiesbetween thembe strengthened with aresulting in innovativemultiplier effect throughinstitutional or policydeliberate, well-targetedpractice, all for the sakeinterventions through the of the public interest‘hub’ of the wheel, i.e., the and shared prosperity.14
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Part ThreePolicies forProsperous Ci
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Statistical AnnexTable 1City Prospe
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Statistical AnnexTable 2Proportion
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Statistical AnnexUrban Slum Populat
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Statistical AnnexTable 4City popula
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