City Development Strategies (CDS)

The concept of city development strategies (CDS) can be understand well if the concept of sustainable urban development is clear in the mind. Since there has been massive talks about sustainability and urban development. so now lets jump directly to City Development Strategies (CDS).

 The CDS concept was intiated by World Bank  in 1998 in East Asia in to order to develop sustainability framework in every walk of time and making cities capable to face increasing Urbanization challenges and Risks.

—The World Bank (2000) has described the process of sustainable development’s achievement in cities, indicating that cities must be livable, competitive, properly governed, and bankable.

      

The CDS intiatives were first implied to Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, and China. Since then, many countries in the world are following this perspective of urban development on sustainability foundation. For instance, the South African Cities Network has inbuilt City Development Strategy (CDS), working since 2006 providing its members and coordinators a holistic model for promoting sustainable and equitable growing opportunities. The objective, in this context, is to make sure integrated approach and viewpoint for developing planning policies in South African Cities.

Framework of South African CDS

According to UN-Habitat 2002, the four focussed themes of CDS are mentioned below:

•    livability,

•    competitiveness,

•    good governance, 

•    bankability

Cities Alliance

The Cities Alliance is a global partnership for urban poverty reduction and the promotion of the role of cities in sustainable development. 

• Local authorities: United Cities and Local Governments and Metropolis 
• Governments: Australia, Brazil, Chile, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Italy, Nigeria, Norway, Philippines, South Africa,Sweden, and the United States of America 
• Non-governmental organisations: Slum Dwellers International (SDI) and Habitat for Humanity International
• Multi-lateral organisations: European Union,  UN-HABITAT and the World Bank
   (Cities Alliance Website : http://citiesalliance.org/about-cities-alliance)

Strategical Framework of Cities Alliance - Cities without Slums

As the name speaks that cities without slums, so the objectives of Cities Alliance is to encourage cities by supporting their local government through active citizenship and strong economic framework through public and private investment as this will help the cities to:

• develop national policies according to urban development needs
• develop and apply local plans
• provide basic services to urban poor
• activate citizen participation in city governance