The development of Charter Cities
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Non-governmental organization (NGO)
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#SDGAction43838
Description
Over the last five decades, we have witnessed a growing recognition of the pivotal role played by urbanization in the development process. Cities are now deeply rooted at the center of development debates, owing to a greater appreciation of the benefits that are generated when policymakers respond to urbanization proactively as opposed to reactively. That is, well-planned urbanization leads to the upsides of density—greater productivity, heightened opportunities, increased incomes, and improved quality of life for all. Conversely, unplanned urbanization often brings about the downsides of density—congestion, contagious disease, crime, urban sprawl, and intergenerational urban slums. One of the most pressing public policy imperatives of the 21st century is to therefore help developing world cities realize these upsides of density, while helping prevent density’s downsides.
In short, the process of urbanization in many contexts is currently on a trajectory that is environmentally, socially, and economically unsustainable. It is these challenges and many more that the Charter Cities Institute aims to remedy. Charter cities—new cities with new rules—are one of the best tools to ensure urbanization brings about rapid and sustained economic development for all. A charter city is a city granted a special jurisdiction to create a new governance system. Charter cities can help achieve the following benefits:
a) Ending poverty in all its forms and dimensions, including the eradication of extreme poverty.
b) Ensuring equal rights and opportunities, socioeconomic and cultural diversity, and integration in the urban space.
c) Leveraging the agglomeration benefits of well-planned urbanization, including high productivity, competitiveness, and innovation.
d) Promoting full and productive employment and decent work for all.
e) Ensuring the creation of decent jobs and equal access for all to economic and productive resources and opportunities.
f) Promoting clean energy and sustainable use of land and resources in urban development.
g) Protecting ecosystems and biodiversity, including adopting healthy lifestyles in harmony with nature.
h) Promoting sustainable consumption and production patterns.
i) Building urban resilience; reducing disaster risks and mitigating and adapting to climate change.
The process to create each new charter city is complex. It requires the collaboration of numerous stakeholders, including new city developers, governments, investors, multilateral institutions, and international development experts. By coordinating the efforts of the various stakeholders, it’s possible to accelerate the development of charter cities and lift tens of millions of people out of poverty.
The development of charter cities will put people at the center, while better managing rapid urbanization and accelerating SDG implementation. In particular, charter cities will:
1. Fosters socio-economic advancement, increase productivity, and improve quality of life.
2. Enhance societal freedom, generate employment, and drive human progress by harnessing the forces of agglomeration.
3. Support the development of a broad range of alternatives for financing urban development in the Global South.
4. Address low-density development through planned infills and planned urban extension strategies as applicable to trigger economies of scale and agglomeration.
5. Address growing inequality by providing equal access to physical and social infrastructure and urban basic services.
6. Provide adequate and affordable housing.
7. Promote full and productive employment and decent work for all.
8. Support and assist in tracking whilst systematically documenting the performance of cities at the outcome level.
9. Create a long-term solution to migration by developing settlement locations for refugees through the creation of friendly migration policies in charter cities and harnessing the positive contribution of migrants in cities.
10. Promote access for youth to education, skills development, and employment
11. Achieve increased productivity and shared prosperity in cities and human settlements.
12. Develop mitigation and adaptation strategies to address climate change, for example, green public spaces and buildings or adequate waste management.
Enyimba Economic City
Talent City
Ciudad Morazan
Nkwashi
African School of Economics
African Center for Study of United States (Check)
Perim Associates
Thebe Investment Management
Explorer Academy
Universidad Francisco Marroquin
CSIS
Marron Institute
Politas Consulting
University of Indiana O’Neil School of Public and Environmental Affairs
Adrianople Group
80000 Hours
New Cities Foundation
SDGS & Targets
Goal 9
Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
9.1
9.1.1
Proportion of the rural population who live within 2 km of an all-season road
9.1.2
Passenger and freight volumes, by mode of transport
9.2
Promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and, by 2030, significantly raise industry’s share of employment and gross domestic product, in line with national circumstances, and double its share in least developed countries
9.2.1
Manufacturing value added as a proportion of GDP and per capita
9.2.2
Manufacturing employment as a proportion of total employment
9.3
9.3.1
Proportion of small-scale industries in total industry value added
9.3.2
Proportion of small-scale industries with a loan or line of credit
9.4
By 2030, upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them sustainable, with increased resource-use efficiency and greater adoption of clean and environmentally sound technologies and industrial processes, with all countries taking action in accordance with their respective capabilities
9.4.1
CO2 emission per unit of value added
9.5
9.5.1
Research and development expenditure as a proportion of GDP
9.5.2
Researchers (in full-time equivalent) per million inhabitants
9.a
9.a.1
Total official international support (official development assistance plus other official flows) to infrastructure
9.b
9.b.1
Proportion of medium and high-tech industry value added in total value added
9.c
Significantly increase access to information and communications technology and strive to provide universal and affordable access to the Internet in least developed countries by 2020
9.c.1
Proportion of population covered by a mobile network, by technology
Goal 11
Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
11.1
By 2030, ensure access for all to adequate, safe and affordable housing and basic services and upgrade slums
11.1.1
Proportion of urban population living in slums, informal settlements or inadequate housing
11.2
11.2.1
Proportion of population that has convenient access to public transport, by sex, age and persons with disabilities
11.3
11.3.1
Ratio of land consumption rate to population growth rate
11.3.2
Proportion of cities with a direct participation structure of civil society in urban planning and management that operate regularly and democratically
11.4
Strengthen efforts to protect and safeguard the world’s cultural and natural heritage
11.4.1
Total per capita expenditure on the preservation, protection and conservation of all cultural and natural heritage, by source of funding (public, private), type of heritage (cultural, natural) and level of government (national, regional, and local/municipal)
11.5
By 2030, significantly reduce the number of deaths and the number of people affected and substantially decrease the direct economic losses relative to global gross domestic product caused by disasters, including water-related disasters, with a focus on protecting the poor and people in vulnerable situations
11.5.1
Number of deaths, missing persons and directly affected persons attributed to disasters per 100,000 population
11.5.2
Direct economic loss attributed to disasters in relation to global domestic product (GDP)
11.5.3
(a) Damage to critical infrastructure and (b) number of disruptions to basic services, attributed to disasters
11.6
By 2030, reduce the adverse per capita environmental impact of cities, including by paying special attention to air quality and municipal and other waste management
11.6.1
Proportion of municipal solid waste collected and managed in controlled facilities out of total municipal waste generated, by cities
11.6.2
Annual mean levels of fine particulate matter (e.g. PM2.5 and PM10) in cities (population weighted)
11.7
11.7.1
Average share of the built-up area of cities that is open space for public use for all, by sex, age and persons with disabilities
11.7.2
Proportion of persons victim of non-sexual or sexual harassment, by sex, age, disability status and place of occurrence, in the previous 12 months
11.a
Support positive economic, social and environmental links between urban, peri-urban and rural areas by strengthening national and regional development planning
11.a.1
Number of countries that have national urban policies or regional development plans that (a) respond to population dynamics; (b) ensure balanced territorial development; and (c) increase local fiscal space
11.b
By 2020, substantially increase the number of cities and human settlements adopting and implementing integrated policies and plans towards inclusion, resource efficiency, mitigation and adaptation to climate change, resilience to disasters, and develop and implement, in line with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, holistic disaster risk management at all levels
11.b.1
Number of countries that adopt and implement national disaster risk reduction strategies in line with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030
11.b.2
Proportion of local governments that adopt and implement local disaster risk reduction strategies in line with national disaster risk reduction strategies
11.c
Support least developed countries, including through financial and technical assistance, in building sustainable and resilient buildings utilizing local materials
Goal 1
End poverty in all its forms everywhere
1.1
By 2030, eradicate extreme poverty for all people everywhere, currently measured as people living on less than $1.25 a day
1.1.1
Proportion of the population living below the international poverty line by sex, age, employment status and geographical location (urban/rural)
1.2
By 2030, reduce at least by half the proportion of men, women and children of all ages living in poverty in all its dimensions according to national definitions
1.2.1
Proportion of population living below the national poverty line, by sex and age
1.2.2
Proportion of men, women and children of all ages living in poverty in all its dimensions according to national definitions
1.3
Implement nationally appropriate social protection systems and measures for all, including floors, and by 2030 achieve substantial coverage of the poor and the vulnerable
1.3.1
Proportion of population covered by social protection floors/systems, by sex, distinguishing children, unemployed persons, older persons, persons with disabilities, pregnant women, newborns, work-injury victims and the poor and the vulnerable
1.4
By 2030, ensure that all men and women, in particular the poor and the vulnerable, have equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to basic services, ownership and control over land and other forms of property, inheritance, natural resources, appropriate new technology and financial services, including microfinance
1.4.1
Proportion of population living in households with access to basic services
1.4.2
Proportion of total adult population with secure tenure rights to land, (a) with legally recognized documentation, and (b) who perceive their rights to land as secure, by sex and by type of tenure
1.5
By 2030, build the resilience of the poor and those in vulnerable situations and reduce their exposure and vulnerability to climate-related extreme events and other economic, social and environmental shocks and disasters
1.5.1
Number of deaths, missing persons and directly affected persons attributed to disasters per 100,000 population
1.5.2
Direct economic loss attributed to disasters in relation to global gross domestic product (GDP)
1.5.3
Number of countries that adopt and implement national disaster risk reduction strategies in line with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030
1.5.4
Proportion of local governments that adopt and implement local disaster risk reduction strategies in line with national disaster risk reduction strategies
1.a
Ensure significant mobilization of resources from a variety of sources, including through enhanced development cooperation, in order to provide adequate and predictable means for developing countries, in particular least developed countries, to implement programmes and policies to end poverty in all its dimensions
1.a.1
Total official development assistance grants from all donors that focus on poverty reduction as a share of the recipient country's gross national income
1.a.2
Proportion of total government spending on essential services (education, health and social protection)
1.b
Create sound policy frameworks at the national, regional and international levels, based on pro-poor and gender-sensitive development strategies, to support accelerated investment in poverty eradication actions
1.b.1
Pro-poor public social spending
SDG 14 targets covered
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Deliverables & Timeline
Resources mobilized
Partnership Progress
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Timeline
Entity
Region
- Africa
- Latin America and the Caribbean
Geographical coverage
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Contact Information
Ololade Ogunsanya, Chief of Staff