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Urbanization and Development: Multidisciplinary Perspectives

Online ISBN:
9780191595493
Print ISBN:
9780199590148
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
Book

Urbanization and Development: Multidisciplinary Perspectives

Jo Beall (ed.),
Jo Beall
(ed.)
Deputy Vice-Chancellor, University of Cape Town, South Africa
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Basudeb Guha-Khasnobis (ed.),
Basudeb Guha-Khasnobis
(ed.)
Senior Economic Advisor, UNDP (United Nations Development Programme), Malawi
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Ravi Kanbur (ed.)
Ravi Kanbur
(ed.)
Lee Professor of World Affairs and Economics, Cornell University, USA
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Published:
28 October 2010
Online ISBN:
9780191595493
Print ISBN:
9780199590148
Publisher:
Oxford University Press

Abstract

By many estimates, the world has just crossed the point where more than half the global population is urban, a trend driven by rapid urbanization in developing countries. Urban centres offer economies of scale in terms of productive enterprise and public investment. Cities are social melting pots, centres of innovation, and drivers of social change. However, cities are also marked by social differentiation, poverty, conflict, and environmental degradation. These are all issues that not only matter to cities but also lie at the heart of development. As such, the time is right to consider afresh the relationship between cities and development. This volume presents a significant new collection of multidisciplinary papers focused on urbanization and its implications for development. It raises four questions: • What is so special about the urban context? • Why is urbanization and urban growth important to development at the present conjuncture? • What are the strengths and limitations of our current state of knowledge about urbanization and development from the policy perspective? • How can a multidisciplinary perspective on the urban context add value to development research and policy?

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