Urban Solutions: Metropolitan Approaches, Innovation in Urban Water and Sanitation and Inclusive Smart Cities

Evidence-based research is the foundations upon which decisions about urban policies and priorities must be made. To encourage a new generation of urban scholars, practitioners, and policymakers, and to disseminate their innovative ideas, the Wilson Center’s Urban Sustainability Laboratory, together with Cities Alliance, the International Housing Coalition, USAID, 2 Urban Solutions: Metropolitan Approaches, Innovation in Urban Water and Sanitation, and Inclusive Smart Cities and the World Bank, sponsors an annual paper competition for advanced graduate students working on issues related to urban poverty. The competition is designed to promote the early career development of young urban researchers as well as to strengthen the ties between urban policymaking and academia. This publication marks the sixth year of the “Reducing Urban Poverty” paper competition and includes a range of perspectives on urban challenges and policy solutions. A panel of urban experts representing each of the sponsoring institutions reviewed 137 abstract submissions, from which 21 student authors were invited to write a full-length paper. From these, seven papers were selected for this publication. Each chapter in this volume critically examines existing urban policies and projects, offering original, solutions-oriented research and strategies.