The global

city Günter Meinert Angelika Hutter

Günter Meinert,
Angelika Hutter In 25 years’ time, two-thirds of the world’s population will be living in
towns. Growing urban populations place heavier demands on city man-
agers. They will have to make economic reforms, provide basic services,
integrate a multicultural population and curb the consumption of natural
resources. GTZ policy advice contributes to good urban governance.

N Secretary-General Kofi Annan coined origin of politics. Large or small, municipalities in

U the term Urban Millennium, and for good

reason. The urban population is rising by
180,000 a day and the stresses on urban politicians
and administrations are enormous, but political
and administrative management capabilities are not
keeping up with the rapid pace of urban growth.
Conflicts are on the rise and traditional institutions
and values are being eroded. Due to chronic gover-
nance deficits, many cities particularly in the devel-
oping countries, already face insoluble problems.
Nevertheless, the city still fascinates people. Rural
exodus will continue simply due to the enormous
appeal of urban life and not just because of the bet-
ter economic opportunities in cities. The balance
of opportunities and dangers of life in tomorrow’s
cities will depend heavily on two factors: one, the
number of people who can take advantage of the
opportunities and two the successful negotiation
of and adherence to viable rules for the difficult
coexistence of very diverse social, cultural and eth-
nic groups. The success or failure of these efforts
will have an effect beyond local precincts. Cities
are forging closer national and international links
all the time, people are changing their places of
work, exchanging experience and are informing
themselves through the media. What happens in
one city has an effect on others, even more so in
future. City-dwellers get to know directly what
democracy means, and they demand it too. Added
to this is the growing political role of cities in
decentralization and democratization. Both proces-
ses delegate considerable decision-making powers
and funds for public expenditure from the national
level to towns and municipalities. So the urban
community, the polis, is not just the etymological
many countries are coming to be a new power
factor, wielding influence on national policy. This
influence is exerted, for example, through city alli-
ances or influential mayors, who often enough
rise to the rank of minister or even prime minister.
There is an increasing awareness of the role of
urban centres in development and it is also shap-
ing the agendas of international organizations, as
attested by the recent foundation of the interna-
tional association United Cities and Local
Governments, and the theme of the 2010 World
Exposition in Shanghai, ‘Better City, Better Life’.
Modern ways to cooperate
Looking at this panorama and its many facets, we
ask what Technical Cooperation can contribute to
coping with the immense problems. For about 30
years, GTZ has been promoting urban develop-
ment, currently in more than 100 projects with an
urban theme. Our development experts support
integrational strategies, good urban governance
and capacity development and contribute to
improving the framework for these. Urban devel-
opment is often concerned with technical aspects,
setting up urban infrastructure, public services and
land registers as well as pro-poor business promo-
tion. GTZ here acts as a knowledge broker. Our
personnel can draw on extensive experience from
many projects and specialist bodies. They put
together a package of expertise for the case in
hand. Sectoral advisory services help municipal
authorities to assess the economic, social and eco-
logical impacts of urban development. It often
turns out that integrated approaches are needed to

address several problem complexes at the same
time. Examples of this are projects in urban rede-
velopment that provide assistance in employment
and housing, infrastructure and the protection of
historical monuments in a multisectoral strategy.
Cities already consume enormous amounts of
natural resources today, as recent urban manage-
ment instruments such as eco-budgeting or the
ecological footprint show. The waste heaps are
mounting, the sewage streams are swelling, and
exhaust and waste gas concentration is rising. The
health of many millions of city dwellers suffers as
a result and satellite pictures have already revealed
the global consequences – the pollution of large
expanses of ocean. In Southeast Asia, a brown
cloud is looming over a large expanse of the conti-
nent. As in the past in Europe, the smoking chim-
ney stacks are clear evidence of economic pro-
gress. In many countries, the cities account for the
bulk of the national product. As innovation cen-
tres and magnets for national and international
investments they generate the largest part of eco-
nomic growth. In Asia, the cities are responsible
for 80 per cent of economic growth. The impres-
sive skylines of the globalization winners cannot,
however, belie the fact that these efforts to make
good the development backlog are unfortunately
treading the unsustainable path taken by the in-
dustrialized countries. Alongside the winners are a
large number of losers – countries, cities and peo-
ple unable to hold their own in the competition.
Even in locations with high economic growth,
large parts of the population benefit little. A grow-
ing number of poor people are forced into the
informal sector where jobs are, however, declining
and the working conditions are deteriorating. This
race to the bottom is also affecting the cityscape.
Districts are becoming dilapidated, slums and
sprawling informal settlements line the outskirts.
In sub-Saharan Africa, 72 per cent of all towndwel-
lers live in slums, almost 900 million people
worldwide. Measured against this, the Millennium
Goal of significantly improving the conditions of
life for 100 million slum-dwellers by 2020 seems
almost modest. Reaching this goal alone will call
for enormous additional efforts by cities, national
governments and the international community.
Participating in the future
To work, viable solutions require the cooperation
of the many stakeholders. Citizens must participate
in the major decisions affecting the development
of their city. This is the only way to articulate con-
cerns and settle conflicts. Participation leads peo-
ple to cooperate. Poor sections of the population
in particular need support to give them a say.
Suitable management methods are needed to en-
able private enterprises to render public services.
Municipal authorities have to give proper account
of their decisions and make their expenditure and
U R B A N M ANAGEMENT akzente special 23
outcomes transparent. Development projects pro-
duce prototypes that bring the principles and pro-
cedures of good governance into public discussion
and set them on the political agenda. Faced with
the broad array of urban problems and the
shortage of municipal funds, the contribution
Development Cooperation can make may appear
small, but a modern cooperation approach does
not aim at working through one set of problems
after another as a way to solve the whole complex
issue of urban development. GTZ raises the abili-
ties of the stakeholders to solve their problems
themselves. Imparting knowledge is only one
aspect. Experiencing projects live and practising
methods of reaching a goal changes attitudes,
views and ways of working. This applies to peo-
ple as much as to organizations that benefit from
GTZ’s methods of organizational development.
New forms of urgently needed cooperation
amongst groups and organizations also frequently
emerge in the course of a project. When problems
need to be tackled in new ways, it often becomes
apparent how inadequate and restricted the statu-
tory framework is. To be able to establish sustain-
able project strategies, GTZ therefore contributes
to reforming government sector policy, devising
development instruments or amending laws and
guidelines. Urban development projects cooperate
with urban associations and ministries. Based on
tried and tested approaches, sound decision-
making aids are prepared in a joint procedure.
Extensive consultation processes facilitate political
consensus and acceptance for reforms.
The challenge for Technical Cooperation in
urban management is to apply just the right mix
of sectoral, organizational and implementation
advice to meet the specific needs and strengthen
the management capabilities of everyone involved
in urban development. GTZ provides in-process
services for this. Echoing the theme of the next
World Exposition, its slogan could be: Better
Management for Better Cities.t
Günter Meinert is Priority Area Manager for
Sustainable Urban Development
Angelika Hutter is a Planning Officer for Urban
Development