City Development Strategy (CDS)

What is a CDS  |  Essentials of A CDS  |  Strategic Focus of CDS  |  CDS Monitoring Progress 

The economical future of countries is determined by their urban centers, this is mainly due to the increase in urban population. Generally within the framework of decentralization more power and resources have been given to cities and its population worldwide. This in turn wills double the importance of good governance and good management of cities economies.

In their evolving partnership, the Arab Urban Development Institute (AUDI) , the Cities Alliance (CA) and the World Bank’s Middle East and North Africa Region (MENA) have agreed to evaluate the modalities of establishing a capability within AUDI to assist regional towns and cities in undertaking City Development Strategies (CDS).

The CDS is a relatively new tool, introduced in the Bank-wide Strategy for Urban Development and Governance, intended to focus the analytical expertise of the Bank and its partners on the city as the unit of analysis, much as country analytical work focuses attention on the country. The purpose of the CDS tool is to assist cities reach a shared vision for the their future and local priorities for action to reduce urban poverty, upgrade squatter settlements, support good governance and facilitate local economic development processes. In doing so, it helps cities work more effectively with civil society and donor partners to improve their contribution to national development.

A CDS helps a city take stock of its opportunities and endowments, gauge its place in relation to its hopes for the future, and to link these objectives to choices for improving its competitive position, identifying critical investments, mobilizing private sector partnerships, and in line with the Bank’s mission, to reduce poverty. The Cities Alliance and its partners, including the World Bank,  are engaged in more than 50 cities currently preparing CDSs.

The MENA region’s representation among these cities is not commensurate with the region’s size and income levels. An important part of the reason for this lies in the fact that no regional champion and resource-center sensitized to the region’s issues has emerged. AUDI, as the region’s pre-eminent organization for urban decision-makers, can play this role as it mobilizes its resources and those of its partners to assist its membership in learning about and undertaking CDSs.  This document outlines a proposal for establishing a facility within AUDI to support CDS activities in the region.

 To help cities implement the CDS, AUDI collaborated closely with those cities at all stages of the process.

1. In late 2002, AUDI prepared a report assessing the institutional capacity for developing an indicators program for Aden as one of the background documents utilized in the preparation of a CDS for the city of Aden.

 2.In mid – 2003 AUDI and the World Bank collaborated in assisting the cities  of Amman and Alexandria prepare applications to the Cities Alliance to finance two separate CDSs, which focus in part on local economic development, upgrading and improving  services to underserved communities/districts and urban environmental enhancement. Both cities received grants for this purpose from Cities Alliance. AUDI and The World Bank have begun assisting both cities with the CDS preparation.

3. Since March 2005 AUDI has launched a regional CDS Facility intended to (i) build the capacities of MENA cities and professionals in CDS related activities; (ii) serve as a regional center for CDS related knowledge management serving MENA cities, professionals, and research institutions, (iii) assist MENA cities preparing CDSs financed either entirely from national/local resources, or partially through external grants and/or loans, which AUDI would seek to mobilize as co-financing through regional donors  and local governments; (iv) Assist MENA cities in identifying and recruiting regional or international consultants.