Governing Cities: New Institutional Forms in Developing Countries and Transitional Economies

Urbanization and decentralization are overwhelming trends in almost every country of the world. Together they place a heavy burden on urban managers but at the same time generate tremendous opportunities for institutional change. Governing Cities provides insight into the effects of these global trends and the innovative efforts of governments, the private sector and communities to capitalize on the potential they unleash for improved governance of the cities they inhabit. The editors distil and discuss the elements contributing to the changing role of urban management: the prerequisites for and effects of decentralization - the importance of good governance and attention to cultural diversity - the role and potential of technological developments - the importance of formulating policies at city level. Governing Cities analyses practical experiences from formerly highly centralized economies of Eastern Europe as well as initiatives - both successful and less successful - in countries as diverse as India, Ethiopia, Indonesia and Brazil.

Miene Pieter van Dijk is an economist who splits his time between working as IHS professor of Urban management in emerging economies at the Economic Faculty of the Erasmus University in Rotterdam (EUR) at IHS. He worked on and in developing countries since 1973, in particular on the role of small enterprises in urban development and on urban finance issues.

Marike Noorhoek is a public administration specialist in development administration and organization & management. She is a thematic staff member of the Urban Management Department of the Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies. Presently she runs and teaches in a variety of tailor-made and three-month courses, and has executed advisory and training assignments in Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe and the Middle East and Arab Region.

Emiel Wegelin is an economist, and has been Director of the Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies from 1996 to 2001. Prior to this he has held senior management positions in the UNDP/UNCHS/World Bank Urban management Program, and the Netherlands Economic Institute. Prior to that, he worked throughout Asia on housing and urban developments issues as a project economist for the Asian Development Bank and on various long-term bilaterally funded assignments. Presently Dr E. Wegelin is working as a consultant for his own company Urb Act (International Advisory Services for Urban Action).