Center for Habitat Development Dervish Hima Street, ADA Tower, Ap. 4 P.O. Box: 2995, Tirana Albania Tel: +355.(0)4.257808/9, Fax: +355.(0)4.257807 Cel: +355.(0)38.20.34126/32957 E-mail:
[email protected] Tirana, 20 October 2001 International Conference of the European Network of Housing Research (ENHR) Making Cities Work! Comparing between “Transitional” and “Developed” Urban and Housing Models! Albania, 26-30 May 2003 Draft idea for comment, Version; 20 September 2001 Background The rapid growth of cities poses major challenges to everyone living there like citizens, the private sector, and local governments. On the one hand cities are the motors of economic development; on the other hand the living environment in cities is under threat from the risk of social and environmental degradation. In countries of ‘developing’ features, almost a quarter of the urban population lives in absolute poverty, and another quarter in relative poverty. Housing is one of the main problems to them. Large groups of poor people have no access to basic shelter and infrastructure services, aside from what they produce on their own. In the so-called ‘developing’ countries negative externalities are increasing at such levels that they can seriously threaten the entire development. How can people benefit more from the advantages of living in the city, and suffer fewer of the negative effects? This depends on progress in three areas: reducing poverty; strengthening the economy; and protecting the urban environment. In a nutshell this means promoting sustainable development. Although government is considered to be the prime instigator of development, experience shows that local governments need support from the many other actors in the city such as private companies, local communities, civil society organisations, and international funding organisations.