Urbanization is rapidly increasing, and municipalities are
becoming the locus of opportunities and challenges for countries on their
journey to self-reliance. By 2050, more
than two-thirds of the world’s population will live in urban areas. The
majority of that urban growth over the next thirty years is happening in Asia
and sub-Saharan Africa. USAID is increasingly
working with cities to address some of the most pressing development challenges
as their populations face more acute shocks and stressors from violence to
climate events and global pandemics.
This series of four Learning Briefs was developed by the
Urban team and researchers based on emerging trends in urban spaces and
informed by the bi-annual World Urban Forum (WUF) in 2020. The initial audience
for Learning Briefs were USAID staff
working in and with USAID Missions, and now these have been shared here to
inform a broader audience. Each three-page learning brief includes background
information, key questions to consider, resources from USAID and the broader
development community, and suggestions for steps to take to move the needle
forward in your work.
The four Urban
Learning Briefs in this series discuss: