Chapter 8: Rethinking Urban Governance for the Future of Cities

Chapter 8:

Rethinking Urban Governance for the Future of Cities

Quick facts

1. Through the lens of spatial justice, effective multi-level governance plays a key role in ensuring that global shocks like the pandemic do not disproportionately impact vulnerable groups.

2. The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the digitalization of urban governance, which provides an opportunity to use new data, but also threatens to increase the digital divide.

3. City diplomacy and international city networks provide an emerging opportunity for cities to contribute learning and experience and adapt governance approaches to their own context.

4. Effective decentralization, local fiscal autonomy, adequate local capacity and links between

National Urban Policies and cities have not progressed enough.

5. While many cities are engaging in innovative participatory processes, globally, space for civil society is shrinking.

Policy points

1. In an age of global threats and disruptions, such as pandemics, natural disasters and armed conflicts, urban governance needs to be flexible and adaptable.

2. With cities being more culturally mixed, and with bigger distance between citizens and government, building trust and legitimacy are essential, including protecting data privacy.

3. Governments need to have adequate political and institutional legitimacy, clearly defined roles and need capacity and resources that meet their responsibilities.

4. There is a need for clearer and more decentralized regulatory frameworks to enable more own-source revenue, municipal borrowing and bond-issuance and more regular government transfers.

5. Government must revision their relationship between the private sector and civil society, with special attention to underrepresented groups to co-create strategies such as re-municipalization, community-led finance and forms of co-production of urban services.