Policy pointers

A 56-page U.S. guide to ideas, effective approaches and technical assistance resources to help low income communities plan, secure and direct new investment

Urban IssuesPosted: 2004-07-14

High Performance Cities: A Guide to Energy-Saving Policies for Urban Areas

Apollo Alliance and ICLEI

This 14-page U.S. document offers a range of strategies for achieving energy savings in urban areas

Climate Change & Environment, Urban IssuesPosted: 2005-09-14

Creating Child Friendly Cities (CCFC) Conference

ARACY

An 8-page Australian document reporting the outcomes and directions indicated by a symposium held to discuss the creation of child-friendly cities

Families, Children & Youth, Urban IssuesPosted: 2007-11-26

Do Cities Create Wealth? A Critique of New Urban Thinking and the Role of Public Policy for Cities

Atlantic Institute for Market Studies

A 22-page Canadian paper arguing that "new urban thinking" is little more than a justification for greater state involvement in urban affairs

Urban IssuesPosted: 2004-06-21

Linkages Between Housing, Policing and Other Interventions for Crime and Harassment Reduction in Areas With Public Housing Concentration

Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute

This 107-page Australian report evaluates two intervention approaches used to deal with crime and harassment in areas with large concentrations of public housing

Crime, Law & Order, Urban IssuesPosted: 2004-12-15

Linkages Between Housing, Policing and Other Interventions for Crime and Harrassment Reduction in Areas with Public Housing Concentrations

Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute

This 107-page Australian report investigates the problem of crime and harrassment experienced by residents in areas with large concentrations of public housing and the intervention programmes that have been developed to combat this

Crime, Law & Order, Urban IssuesPosted: 2004-11-25

Operating Deficits and Public Housing: Policy Options for Reversing the Trend

Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute

A 180-page report examining trends in the financial performance of Australian and New Zealand housing authorities with a view to developing policies for returning public housing to surplus and enabling an expansion in assisted housing

Housing, Urban IssuesPosted: 2004-06-10

Australian Unity Wellbeing Index: Special Report on City and Country Living

Australian Unity and Deakin University

A 56-page report monitoring the subjective wellbeing of the Australian population, comparing city dwellers with those living rurally

Regional, Urban IssuesPosted: 2005-03-04

Market-Based Community Economic Development

Brookings Institution

A 32-page U.S. paper illustrating how market-based economic development activities can enhance community development by optimising the utilization of undervalued assets

Urban IssuesPosted: 2005-03-22

The Need for Regional Anti-Congestion Policies

Brookings Institution

This 20-page brief examines the options available in the US to formulate effective regional approaches to mitigate road traffic congestion in cities

Urban IssuesPosted: 2004-02-23

Turning Around Downtown: Twelve Steps to Revitalization

Brookings Institution

A 24-page U.S. paper offering a template for successfully revitalizing inner city areas

Urban IssuesPosted: 2005-03-14

Neighbourhoods of Choice and Connection: The Evolution of American Neighbourhood Policy and What it Means for the United Kingdom

Brookings Institution

A 36-page paper describing American neighbourhood policy since the 1960s and offering proposals for future policy

Urban IssuesPosted: 2004-07-20

Investing in a Better Future: A Review of the Fiscal and Competitive Advantages of Smarter Growth Development Patterns

Brookings Institution

This 41-page discussion paper argues that more compact development patterns and investing in projects to improve urban areas could save taxpayers money and improve overall regional economic performance

Urban IssuesPosted: 2004-03-16

Mixed Communities in England

Brookings Institution and Joseph Rowntree Foundation

This 80-page report reviews research evidence and policy experience from the U.S. and the U.K. on the prospects for developing sustainable mixed communities

Urban IssuesPosted: 2005-06-07

Thinking Big: Responding to Urbanization in the Developing World

Canadian International Development Agency

A 55-page Canadian booklet presenting a range of urban strategies for developing countries, with examples of CIDA-assisted projects

International Development, Urban IssuesPosted: 2006-08-03

Child-Friendly Cities

Canadian Policy Research Networks

A 26-page bulletin highlighting recent initiatives, reports and other resources relevant to the need for and development of child-friendly cities

Families, Children & Youth, Urban IssuesPosted: 2005-02-21

The Impact of Urbanization on CO2 Emissions

CESifo

This 32-page paper examines the impact of urbanization on CO2 emissions in developing countries

Climate Change & Environment, Urban IssuesPosted: 2008-10-16

Technologies, Rules, and Progress: The Case for Charter Cities

CGD

This 12-page US working paper argues that a new type of development policy would be to voluntarily charter new cities for the purpose of changing rules, using a range of new legal and political structures analogous to the ones that made Hong Kong and Shenzhen possible

International Development, Urban IssuesPosted: 2010-03-10

Jerusalem: A Modern Vision

Chatham House

The 20-page transcript of a UK address on the future of Jerusalem by the city's mayor

Urban Issues, Governance & PoliticsPosted: 2010-04-18

A Collective Responsibility, a Collective Work

CLASP

This 34-page US report outlines how economically distressed communities can create supportive activities to bolster youth success in school and later life

Families, Children & Youth, Urban IssuesPosted: 2008-05-17

Displacement of Crime or Diffusion of Benefit: Evidence from the New Deal for Communities Programme

CLG

This 54-page UK report examines the effect on local crime figures of the New Deal for Communities programme

Crime, Law & Order, Urban IssuesPosted: 2008-05-28

New Deal for Communities: A Synthesis of New Programme-Wide Evidence: 2006-07

CLG - UK

This 86-page UK report provides an overview of recent evidence on how NDC areas (areas requiring renewal) are changing

Urban IssuesPosted: 2008-01-30

Physical Capital: How Great Places Boost Public Value

Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment

A series of essays (75 pages) on the concept of "physical capital", the potential value of the built environment

Urban IssuesPosted: 2005-06-22

Building Successful Cities: Lessons from the United Kingdom

Conference Board of Canada

This 12-page Canadian briefing examines UK national and local governance solutions to challenges facing its cities

Urban IssuesPosted: 2007-01-07

People Make Places: Growing the Public Life of Cities

Demos

This 41-page U.K. report explores how to boost people's participation in public space and the wider public life of their towns and cities

Urban IssuesPosted: 2005-10-05

Transferable Lessons from the New Towns: Housing Research Summary

Department for Communities and Local Government

A 17-page summary of an extensive review of the research and other literature dealing with the English new towns programme, conducted to identify lessons to be learned from the programme

Housing, Urban IssuesPosted: 2006-07-12

The State of American Cities

Department of Communities and Local Government - UK

An 87-page report on the state of American cities prepared for the UK's Department of Communities and Local Government

Urban IssuesPosted: 2006-12-04

The Metropolises of the South: Laboratory for Innovations?

Development and Peace Foundation

This 12-page German policy paper addresses the problems created by the worldwide growth of population in urban areas

Urban IssuesPosted: 2006-07-06

The ‘Mega-Eights’: Urban Leviathans and International Instability

FPRI

A US essay arguing that the emerging growth in the number of megacities will have serious, if as yet largely underappreciated, consequences for international stability, human security and environmental degradation.

Urban Issues, Defence, Terrorism & SecurityPosted: 2010-03-06

Myths About Urban Growth and the Toronto "Greenbelt"

Fraser Institute

This 87-page Canadian paper balances the case for conventional urban growth with that for "smart growth"

Urban IssuesPosted: 2004-12-11

Cities: Who Decides?

Grattan Institute

The 56-page Australian report of an investigation into decision-making in eight of the world’s most successful cities, and the governance arrangements accompanied their broad-based improvement

Urban Issues, Governance & PoliticsPosted: 2010-10-18

Fluid Cities Create

Griffith Review

A 10-page Australian essay discussing the factors making a city culturally dynamic

Urban IssuesPosted: 2008-05-28

Crime and Cohesive Communities

Home Office - UK

This 20-page UK paper investigates the relationship between community cohesion and reported levels of crime

Crime, Law & Order, Urban IssuesPosted: 2006-06-20

Communications Policies to Urban Village Connections: Beyond Access?

ICII - QUT

This 17-page Australian report examines strategies for enabling and supporting connections between urban village residents

Urban IssuesPosted: 2008-02-28

Climate Change and Cities

id21

A UK article addressing the challenges of adaptation to climate change in cities

Climate Change & Environment, Urban IssuesPosted: 2008-02-25

Adapting to Climate Change in Urban Areas

IEED

A 124-page paper dealing with the possibilities and constraints for adaptation to climate change in low- and middle-income countries

Climate Change & Environment, Urban IssuesPosted: 2007-11-07

Capital, Capacities and Collaboration: The Multiple Roles of Community Savings in Addressing Urban Poverty

IIED

This 71-page UK paper discusses ideas and methodologies on reducing urban poverty, paying particular attention to the changes that can be triggered by the practice of community savings

Poverty & Hunger, Urban IssuesPosted: 2011-11-01

Cities and Climate Change

IISD

This US article looks at the urban dimension of climate change

Climate Change & Environment, Urban IssuesPosted: 2011-10-18

Neighbourhood Stigma and the Perception of Disorder

Institute for Research on Poverty

This 5-page U.S. paper examines how the racial, ethnic and socio-economic structure of neighbourhoods shapes perceptions of disorder

Urban IssuesPosted: 2005-11-17

Breaking Gridlock: Lessons from London's Success Story

Institute for Research on Public Policy

This 4-page article reports on the results of London's traffic congestion charge and assesses the implications for Canada's cities

Urban IssuesPosted: 2004-02-24

Does School Integration Generate Peer Effects? Evidence from Boston's Metco Program

Institute for the Study of Labor

This 42-page discussion paper examines evidence from Boston's Metco Program, which desegregates by sending (mostly) black students out of the Boston public school district to attend schools in more-affluent suburban districts.

Education, Urban IssuesPosted: 2004-02-17

A Question of Balance: Cities, Planning and the Barker Review

IPPR

A 12-page UK paper exploring the role of planning in urban growth

Urban IssuesPosted: 2007-03-13

Them and Us: Britain and the European City

IPPR

A 12-page UK discussion paper examining what can be learned from European City models

Urban IssuesPosted: 2006-08-29

Mid-sized Cities Hold the Key to a Rapid Return to Growth

IPPR

A UK article arguing that a focus on medium-sized cities and their hinterlands might not only be better for equity, but also better for growth and efficiency

Urban IssuesPosted: 2012-04-02

The Stability of Mixed Income Neighbourhoods in America

IZA

This 61-page discussion paper sketches out the empirical implications of slow transition towards mixed income neighbourhoods in the US

Urban Issues, Social PolicyPosted: 2008-03-11

"Smart Growth" = Crime, Congestion and Poverty

National Center for Policy Analysis

A 2-page U.S. brief analysis arguing against the "smart growth" movement for urban development

Urban IssuesPosted: 2004-04-27

Network Organising: A Strategy for Building Community Engagement

National Housing Institute

A U.S. article describing how organising networks of citizens can assist urban regeneration

Urban IssuesPosted: 2005-05-03

The Neighbourhood Challenge

Nesta UK

A 42-page UK report examining how communities can lead meaningful change in their neighbourhoods

Urban Issues, Social PolicyPosted: 2011-09-21

Making Connections: An Evaluation of the Community Participation Programmes

Office of the Deputy Prime Minister

This 44-page report evaluates the Community Participation Programmes established in the most disadvantaged areas of the U.K., providing funding to stimulate and support community activity in these areas

Urban IssuesPosted: 2005-04-05

Making It Happen in Neighbourhoods: The National Strategy for Neighbourhood Renewal - Four Years On

Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, U.K.

A 72-page progress report of achievements in applying the National Strategy for Neighbourhood Renewal, designed to effect substantial improvements in deprived neighbourhoods

Urban IssuesPosted: 2005-02-01

Transport Policies Facing Large Cities

Parliamentary Library of New South Wales

A 46-page Australian report considering the problems facing transport policy in large cities

Urban IssuesPosted: 2008-06-17

Success and the City: Learning from International Urban Policies

Policy Exchange

This 85-page UK report examines how overseas cities have addressed urban issues similar to those facing some UK cities

Urban IssuesPosted: 2008-04-15

Living for the City: A New Agenda for Green Cities

Policy Exchange

A 151-page collection of essays on contemporary cities, illustrating the linkage beteen community action, healthier/safer environments and improved economic growth

Urban IssuesPosted: 2006-12-03

Suburban Sprawl and Physical and Mental Health

Rand Corporation

A 9-page U.S. article summarising the results of a study of the association between suburban sprawl and chronic medical conditions and mental health disorders

Health, Urban IssuesPosted: 2004-10-23

The Value of Open Space: Evidence from Studies of Nonmarket Benefits

Resources for the Future

This 82-page U.S. report reviews articles attempting to estimate the value of different types of open space

Climate Change & Environment, Urban IssuesPosted: 2005-02-23

Pricing Urban Congestion

RFF

This 39-page US discussion paper reviews literature on the optimal design of pricing policies to reduce urban automobile congestion.

Urban IssuesPosted: 2008-12-13

New Challenges in Urban Security

SDA

The 16-page report of a Belgian debate on security challenges in cities

Defence, Terrorism & Security, Urban IssuesPosted: 2011-08-01

Neighbourhood Characteristics and the Distribution of Crime

Statistics Canada

This 174-page report comprises studies examining the relationships between the distribution of crime and the characteristics of demographic, socio-economic and landuse situation in three Canadian cities

Crime, Law & Order, Urban IssuesPosted: 2008-04-03

Neighbourhood Characteristics and the Distribution of Police-reported Crime in the City of Toronto

Statistics Canada

This 56-page Canadian research paper explores the spatial distribution of police-reported crime in the city of Toronto. The relationships between neighbourhood characteristics and crime rates are examined

Crime, Law & Order, Urban IssuesPosted: 2009-09-28

Creating Better Communities: A Study of Social Capital Creation in Four Communities

The Benevolent Society

This 28-page Australian report examines what makes communities inclusive and caring

Social Policy, Urban IssuesPosted: 2008-02-12

Improving the Prospects of People Living in Areas of Multiple Deprivation in England

U.K. Cabinet Office

A 124-page U.K. report identifying the factors that combine to drive an area into decline and setting out proposals to strengthen local economies, improve housing and the physical environment, and improve the performance of public services and delivery of regeneration support

Urban IssuesPosted: 2005-02-01

The State of the World Cities 2004/2005

UN-Habitat

A report charting the progress and the challenges faced in a rapidly urbanising world (single page linking to all chapters)

Urban IssuesPosted: 2004-09-27

Race and Residence Prospects for Stable Neighborhood Integration

Urban Institute

This 10-page U.S. report focuses on shifts in the black-white composition of neighbourhoods in large metropolitan areas

Urban Issues, Social PolicyPosted: 2004-04-15

Understanding Diverse Neighbourhoods in an Era of Demographic Change

Urban Institute

This 46-page US paper develops a new set of neighbourhood typologies using categories that reflect important differences in income as well as the extent of racial and ethnic diversity

Social Policy, Urban IssuesPosted: 2006-08-31

Better Opportunities for the Poor

Urban Institute

Six briefs examining the results of a US programme designed to help poor minority families move to better locations (single page linking to each paper)

Urban Issues, Social PolicyPosted: 2008-03-28

Cultural Vitality in Communities: Interpretation and Indicators

Urban Institute

This 104-page US report describes a method for measuring cultural vitality in communities

Urban Issues, Social PolicyPosted: 2006-12-21

In the Face of Gentrification: Case Studies of Local Efforts to Mitigate Displacement

Urban Institute

A 100-page report describing strategies to balance revitalization of neighbourhoods with measures to reduce the displacement of low-income families

Housing, Urban IssuesPosted: 2006-03-24

The Impact of Community Development Corporations on Urban Neighbourhoods

Urban Institute

This 81-page U.S. report examines changes in property values to evaluate the success of community development corporations in stimulating urban regeneration

Urban IssuesPosted: 2005-09-06

Monitoring Success in Choice Neighborhoods: A Proposed Approach to Performance Measurement

Urban Institute

This 50-page paper considers how to effectively evaluate outcomes and measure success in comprehensive community transformation efforts like Choice Neighborhoods. The Choice Neighborhoods Initiative proposed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is intended to transform neighborhoods of extreme poverty and severely distressed housing into revitalized mixed-income communities

Urban Issues, HousingPosted: 2010-05-28

Community Revitalization in the United States and the United Kingdom

Urban Institute

This 27-page Anglo-US report compares approaches to community revitalization, community cohesion, and sustainable neighborhoods in cities across the United States and the United Kingdom.

Urban IssuesPosted: 2009-02-01

A Decade of Hope VI: Research Findings and Policy Challenges

Urban Institute

A 72-page report summarising existing research into the Hope VI urban redevelopment program in the U.S., with an assessment of its achievements, impacts and lessons learned

Housing, Urban IssuesPosted: 2004-05-20

Atlantic Exchange: Case Studies of Housing and Community Redevelopment in the US and the UK

Urban Institute

This 29-page report describes two case studies of previously distressed communities—one in the United States and one in the United Kingdom—that have been redeveloped and revitalized

Urban Issues, HousingPosted: 2010-03-25

The Public Value of Urban Parks

Urban Institute

An 8-page U.S. policy brief outlining the under-exploited potential of parks to contribute to urban neighbourhoods

Urban IssuesPosted: 2004-06-24

Urban Environments and Health: Identifying Key Relationships and Policy Imperatives

URP

A 25-page Australian monograph examining the relationships between urban environments and health

Urban IssuesPosted: 2007-03-05

The Role of Community and Lifestyle in the Making of a Knowledge City

URP

A 92-page Australian paper investigating the role of community and lifestyle in the making of a globally successful knowledge city

Urban IssuesPosted: 2007-02-26

Hidden Cities: Unmasking and Overcoming Health Inequities in Urban Settings

WHO, UN-HABITAT

This 145-page report shows how ill-health is linked to poverty in cities, and not just among the poorest urban populations

Health, Urban IssuesPosted: 2010-11-26

An Agenda for Research on Urbanization in Developing Countries

World Bank

This 30-page policy research working paper assesses the state of research and examines priorities for future work in the area of urbanization and growth

International Development, Urban IssuesPosted: 2010-11-22

Geography of Growth : Spatial Economics and Competitiveness

World Bank

This 204-page volume examines spacial economics and competitiveness in the context of urban growth

Urban Issues, Economic PolicyPosted: 2012-05-04