Furthering the urban agenda in developing countries: Guidelines for preparing national State of Cities Reports

International Development Planning Review (2010), 32, (1), 71–92.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3828/idpr.2009.14
Language: English
Pages: 22

Abstract

State of Cities Reports (SoCRs) are an important tool for urban planning and have been used increasingly over the past decade. They are based on the underlying belief that cities are important at national, regional and global scales and that they are fundamentally different from smaller places and rural areas and, thus, require specific analyses and responses. A second underlying belief is that it is useful to look at groups of cities, for example, all the cities in a particular country. They offer a way of increasing the profile of cities in national policy and improving data compilation and analysis to support urban planning at national and local levels. Through reflection on experiences of SoCRs in South Africa and Iraq, the authors compile a set of guidelines to assist teams charged with the task of compiling SoCRs, especially in developing countries.

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