IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v8y2016i8p800-d76005.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Coping with Migration-Induced Urban Growth: Addressing the Blind Spot of UN Habitat

Author

Listed:
  • Philipp Aerni

    (Center for Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability (CCRS) at the University of Zurich, Zähringerstrasse 24, 8001 Zürich, Switzerland)

Abstract

The demography of cities in the 21st century will be shaped, to a large extent, by migration. This paper argues that the rights-based approach to urban policy advocated in the preparatory work of Habitat III, the UN Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development to be held in October 2016 in Quito, Ecuador, may not be conducive to this goal. The approach lacks a contextual and dynamic understanding of urbanization. It implicitly assumes that a growing and expansive urban economy would primarily benefit the rich and harm the poor. The resulting containment policies to stop “urban sprawl” and defend “the right to the city” can, however, be counterproductive if adopted in cities in less developed countries (LDCs) that grow fast due to internal migration. Attempts to limit urban growth may merely lead to more informal settlements, less affordable housing, and increasing costs of doing business. In other words, it may benefit the rich and harm the poor. LDCs should, therefore, refrain from adopting defensive urban policies mostly advocated by more developed countries (MDCs) and, instead, plan for sustainable urban expansion designed to improve access to essential urban services and to create a level playing field for newcomers in business. In this context, urban policies may build upon the basic insights of the late urbanist Jane Jacobs. She recognized that the vital function of cities is to provide affordable infrastructure and an institutional environment that enable migrants and other marginal urban communities to contribute to urban prosperity and problem-solving with their skills, networks, and entrepreneurial minds. The resulting social and economic empowerment increases access to essential human rights and ensures that cities become more inclusive, resilient, and sustainable.

Suggested Citation

  • Philipp Aerni, 2016. "Coping with Migration-Induced Urban Growth: Addressing the Blind Spot of UN Habitat," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(8), pages 1-21, August.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:8:y:2016:i:8:p:800-:d:76005
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/8/8/800/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/8/8/800/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Cristina Martinez‐Fernandez & Ivonne Audirac & Sylvie Fol & Emmanuèle Cunningham‐Sabot, 2012. "Shrinking Cities: Urban Challenges of Globalization," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(2), pages 213-225, March.
    2. Douglas Gollin & Remi Jedwab & Dietrich Vollrath, 2016. "Urbanization with and without industrialization," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 21(1), pages 35-70, March.
    3. Unknown, 2016. "Department Publications 2014," Publications Lists 239845, University of Minnesota, Department of Applied Economics.
    4. Edward L. Glaeser & Sari Pekkala Kerr & William R. Kerr, 2015. "Entrepreneurship and Urban Growth: An Empirical Assessment with Historical Mines," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 97(2), pages 498-520, May.
    5. Minasyan, Anna, 2016. "Your development or mine? Effects of donor–recipient cultural differences on the aid-growth nexus," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(2), pages 309-325.
    6. Rajan, Raghuram G. & Subramanian, Arvind, 2011. "Aid, Dutch disease, and manufacturing growth," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(1), pages 106-118, January.
    7. Raghuram G. Rajan & Arvind Subramanian, 2008. "Aid and Growth: What Does the Cross-Country Evidence Really Show?," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 90(4), pages 643-665, November.
    8. Kelbesa Megersa & Danny Cassimon, 2015. "Public Debt, Economic Growth, and Public Sector Management in Developing Countries: Is There a Link?," Public Administration & Development, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 35(5), pages 329-346, December.
    9. Benjamin Marx & Thomas Stoker & Tavneet Suri, 2013. "The Economics of Slums in the Developing World," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 27(4), pages 187-210, Fall.
    10. Calestous Juma, 2013. "Development: Starved for solutions," Nature, Nature, vol. 500(7461), pages 148-149, August.
    11. Lessmann, Christian & Markwardt, Gunther, 2016. "Aid, Growth, and Devolution: Considering Aid Modality and Different Types of Decentralization," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 118-130.
    12. Michael Powe & Jonathan Mabry & Emily Talen & Dillon Mahmoudi, 2016. "Jane Jacobs and the Value of Older, Smaller Buildings," Journal of the American Planning Association, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 82(2), pages 167-180, April.
    13. Edward Glaeser & Abha Joshi-Ghani, 2015. "The Urban Imperative," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 23882, December.
    14. Anna, Petrenko, 2016. "Мaркування готової продукції як складова частина інформаційного забезпечення маркетингової діяльності підприємств овочепродуктового підкомплексу," Agricultural and Resource Economics: International Scientific E-Journal, Agricultural and Resource Economics: International Scientific E-Journal, vol. 2(1), March.
    15. James Alm, 2015. "Financing Urban Infrastructure: Knowns, Unknowns, And A Way Forward," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(2), pages 230-262, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Arash Kordestani & Setayesh Sattari & Kaveh Peighambari & Pejvak Oghazi, 2017. "Exclude Me Not: The Untold Story of Immigrant Entrepreneurs in Sweden," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(9), pages 1-22, September.
    2. Batara Surya & Seri Suriani & Firman Menne & Herminawaty Abubakar & Muhammad Idris & Emil Salim Rasyidi & Hasanuddin Remmang, 2021. "Community Empowerment and Utilization of Renewable Energy: Entrepreneurial Perspective for Community Resilience Based on Sustainable Management of Slum Settlements in Makassar City, Indonesia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-36, March.
    3. Philipp Aerni, 2021. "Decentralized Economic Complexity in Switzerland and Its Contribution to Inclusive and Sustainable Change," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-18, April.
    4. Kyle Farrell, 2017. "The Rapid Urban Growth Triad: A New Conceptual Framework for Examining the Urban Transition in Developing Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(8), pages 1-19, August.
    5. Batara Surya & Haeruddin Saleh & Seri Suriani & Harry Hardian Sakti & Hadijah Hadijah & Muhammad Idris, 2020. "Environmental Pollution Control and Sustainability Management of Slum Settlements in Makassar City, South Sulawesi, Indonesia," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(9), pages 1-34, August.
    6. Batara Surya & Hadijah Hadijah & Seri Suriani & Baharuddin Baharuddin & A. Tenri Fitriyah & Firman Menne & Emil Salim Rasyidi, 2020. "Spatial Transformation of a New City in 2006–2020: Perspectives on the Spatial Dynamics, Environmental Quality Degradation, and Socio—Economic Sustainability of Local Communities in Makassar City, Ind," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(9), pages 1-50, September.
    7. Tasneem Siddiqui & Lucy Szaboova & W. Neil Adger & Ricardo Safra de Campos & Mohammad Rashed Alam Bhuiyan & Tamim Billah, 2021. "Policy Opportunities and Constraints for Addressing Urban Precarity of Migrant Populations," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 12(S2), pages 91-105, April.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Dreher, Axel & Fuchs, Andreas & Langlotz, Sarah, 2019. "The effects of foreign aid on refugee flows," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 127-147.
    2. Guy Michaels & Dzhamilya Nigmatulina & Ferdinand Rauch & Tanner Regan & Neeraj Baruah & Amanda Dahlstrand, 2021. "Planning Ahead for Better Neighborhoods: Long-Run Evidence from Tanzania," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 129(7), pages 2112-2156.
    3. Haldar, Anasuya & Sethi, Narayan, 2022. "Effect of sectoral foreign aid allocation on growth and structural transformation in sub-Saharan Africa—Analysing the roles of institutional quality and human capital," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 1010-1026.
    4. Gharad Bryan & Edward Glaeser & Nick Tsivanidis, 2019. "Cities in the Developing World," NBER Working Papers 26390, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Askarov, Zohid & Doucouliagos, Hristos, 2015. "Spatial aid spillovers during transition," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 40(PA), pages 79-95.
    6. Juergen Bitzer & Erkan Goeren, 2018. "Foreign Aid and Subnational Development: A Grid Cell Analysis," Working Papers V-407-18, University of Oldenburg, Department of Economics, revised Mar 2018.
    7. Aurore Gary & Mathilde Maurel, 2015. "Donors’ Policy Consistency and Economic Growth," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 68(4), pages 511-551, November.
    8. Mouhamadou Sy & Hamidreza Tabarraei, 2010. "Capital inflows and exchange rate in LDCs: The Dutch disease problem revisited," Working Papers halshs-00574955, HAL.
    9. Temple, Jonathan & Van de Sijpe, Nicolas, 2017. "Foreign aid and domestic absorption," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 431-443.
    10. Tony Addison & Mina Baliamoune-Lutz, 2017. "Aid, the Real Exchange Rate and Why Policy Matters: The Cases of Morocco and Tunisia," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(7), pages 1104-1121, July.
    11. Arvind Magesan, "undated". "Foreign Aid and Economic Growth in Developing Countries: An Instrumental Variables Approach," Working Papers 2015-08, Department of Economics, University of Calgary, revised 25 Jun 2015.
    12. Sabine Deij & Jakob B. Madsen & Laura Puzzello, 2021. "When are instruments generated from geographic characteristics in bilateral relationships invalid?," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 36(4), pages 437-452, June.
    13. Joong Shik Kang & Alessandro Prati & Alessandro Rebucci, 2012. "Aid, Exports, and Growth: a Time-Series Perspective on the Dutch Disease Hypothesis," Review of Economics and Institutions, Università di Perugia, vol. 3(2).
    14. Kym Anderson & Sundar Ponnusamy, 2019. "Structural Transformation to Manufacturing and Services: What Role for Trade?," Asian Development Review, MIT Press, vol. 36(2), pages 32-71, September.
    15. Axel Dreher & Sarah Langlotz, 2020. "Aid and growth: New evidence using an excludable instrument," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 53(3), pages 1162-1198, August.
    16. Minasyan, Anna, 2018. "US aid, US educated leaders and economic ideology," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 244-257.
    17. Mosley, Paul, 2015. "Fiscal Composition and Aid Effectiveness: A Political Economy Model," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 106-115.
    18. Eberechukwu UNEZE, 2011. "Foreign Aid And The Real Exchange Rate In The West African Economic And Monetary Union (Waemu)," Applied Econometrics and International Development, Euro-American Association of Economic Development, vol. 11(2).
    19. Paul Mosley, 2012. "The politics of what works for the poor in public expenditure and taxation: a review," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series esid-011-12, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    20. Michael Mitchell Omoruyi Ehizuelen & Meibo Huang, 2016. "Fostering Economic Development: Is External Finance Responsible for the Poor Economic Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa?," Global Economy Journal, De Gruyter, vol. 16(2), pages 313-347, June.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:8:y:2016:i:8:p:800-:d:76005. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.