STATE OF THE WORLD'S CITIES 2012/2013 Prosperity

model to rebuild local government and improve service
delivery. Bangalore in India has launched technologybased
public-private experiments in governance in a bid
better to deliver public services, too. In Latin America
and the Caribbean, Rosario, just like Santo Domingo, has
introduced significant institutional innovations in terms of
participatory governance. In Nairobi, Kenya, the private
sector has launched ‘Pesapal’ a new payment platform
enabling low- and middle-income residents to conduct
e-commerce transactions and even to pay school fees via cell
phones or the Internet.
Many other social and institutional innovations involve
the creation of new systems and models to meet the needs
of underserved populations in a more efficient, effective,
and sustainable manner. In Iran’s Tehran, the scope of the
WHO-UN-Habitat ‘Urban HEART’ Programme has been
extended to assess equity under not just under the health
dimension but also a more general social perspective.
Shenzhen has created a multilevel social security system
that includes basic social insurance, poverty insurance,
compensation for job seekers, and special care for patients
and the disabled, which includes the migrant population
that represents up to 75 per cent of the population. 20
Chongqing has created investment companies to activate
state-owned capital to speed up the construction of
infrastructure and public facilities, using a combination of
innovative funding mechanisms: taxes, land reserves, fees,
state bonds and state-owned capital. 21
Social and institutional innovation can take the form of
enlightened rules or legislation. In Cebu, the Philippines, an
ordinance now encourages those employed in outsourced
business processing services to enrol in (post)graduate
studies, in a bid to expand the pool of highly skilled people.
Rosario, Argentina, has declared itself a “Human Rights
City”, with a commitment to openness, transparency and
accountability. 22 Some other institutional innovations
connect urban planning and design with the use of social
public space. In Colombia,
Bogotá has improved
Innovations are
many diverse public spaces
FACT often copied (sidewalks, public parks
or transferred from
and libraries) in a bid to
abroad. More often than rebuild social cohesion.
not though, this causes
Singapore’s ‘Skyway’ is a
problems as foreign
spectacular aerial walkway
innovation runs against
the grain of the social or
among giant man-made
cultural features of the trees that collect rainwater
target communities. and generate solar energy,
Innovating to Support the Transition to the City of the 21st Century
107
and is an invitation to view
the city from a different
perspective. In Korea,
the municipality of Seoul
resorts to urban design to
improve the efficiency and
enhance the attractiveness
of the city with innovative
projects, such as the ‘Han
River Renaissance’ scheme
and the ‘City in the Park’
initiative. 23
THE TRANSFORMATIvE POWER OF INNOvATIONS
Almost by definition, innovation processes are not linear,
nor are they easily controllable. However, as far as urban
innovation is concerned, a consistent basic pattern seems to
be at work. Whether in response to new risks or immediate
emergencies, or in more ordinary circumstances, urban
innovation seems to result from cooperation and dialogue
among a broad variety of stakeholders. Such dialogue acts
as a catalyst, bringing together a variety of perspectives,
resources, capacities and types of human capital. 24
Innovations introduce knowledge, products, processes
and programmes that change the ways of doing business or
using resources, or even social attitudes and preferences.
Innovations are at the core of all economic processes and
they contribute to knowledge generation and information
flows’. 25 Innovations of a technological nature have added
value and helped transform
the urban space (e.g.,
connectivity, proximity
and distance, de-location
of manufacturing).
Although innovations
take place mainly in major
metropolitan centres,
they are not restricted to
big cities.
The transformative
power of innovation is
closely linked to the various
components of prosperity –
productivity, infrastructure,
quality of life, equity
and environmental
sustainability. Innovation
can contribute to any of
POLICy
Cities have
interest
to promote social and
institutional innovations in
response to local problems
to address social needs
and improve the efficiency
and quality of urban
management.
POLICy
It is in cities’
best interests
to strengthen the links
between policy-makers,
business, academia, civil
society and a variety of
practitioners to promote
urban innovations.
FACT
Local authorities
are becoming
increasingly aware that
promoting interactions,
synergies and adequate
environments can
enhance local creative
capital and prosperity.