5 Urban Development Policies in Developing Countries

The recent world recession-some might even call it has been sweeping through developing countries since T a depression-is testing the vitality of urban poliWorld War 1I will be sustained through the end of this cies in developing countries. One is reminded of Dickcentury. Second, there are significant quantitative difens's Tale of Two Cities: "It was the best of times, it was ferences between contemporary urbanization in dethe worst of times." On the one hand, the pressures to veloping countries and the historical patterns observed move the economy again, to confront the problems of for today's advanced economies. Third, the policy probsluggish exports, and to lower high unemployment lems encountered in developed countries have clearly rates, together with the lack of government resources been diverging from those of developing countries. Simfor state and local investments, make it the worst of ple extrapolations of past trends in developed countries times for urban development policies. On the other will be of limited value for the formulation of urban hand, it is generally in periods of strain or crisis that the policies for developing countries. significance of the urban sector for the national economy is most truly appreciated. Austerity is forcing peoThe Main Characteristics of Urbanization ple to rethink the fundamental issues of urban developDevMam Conries ment and the types of policies that can be most fruitfully in Developing Countres pursued. This may be the best of times to review policy There were approximately 800 million people in 1750, priorities and to look for robust solutions to urban about 1.3 billion by 1850, 2.5 billion by 1950, and over problems. 3.6 billion in 1970; there will be between 6.2 and 6.5 Before the prospects for urban development policies billion people by 2000. Most of this population growth is are outlined, some questions must be answered. What taking place in developing countries. For instance, the are the characteristics of policies toward urbanization 1982 census shows that the population of China is more and the policy tools that have been used in developing than 1 billion and is growing by 17 million a year. These countries? What rationales are given for those policies? demographic changes have been associated with a rapid What do we know about the effects and effectiveness of redistribution of population from rural to urban areas policies? Without answers to such questions it is not and a significant shift in the proportion of the urban possible to examine properly the future direction of population that lives in large or very large cities. Before urban development policies. 1850 no country was predominantly urban, and in 1900 only the British population was more than 50 percent urban. By 1920, 14 percent of world population was Basic Trends in Urban Policy urban. Now that proportion is close to 40 percent, and it is anticipated that by 2000 half of the world's population The forces that shape urbanization and urban policies will be urban. The urban areas of developing countries in developing countries can be summarized in three absorbed about 600 million people between 1950 and broad propositions. First, the wave of urbanization that 1980. During the final quarter of this century there are