Construction raw materials are a source for local value addition – if their potential is fully tapped. The sector project "Extractives and Development" of the “The Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources" (BGR) presents its research results – and emphasises the need to pay special attention to labour rights and environmental protection.
Local governments in Nigeria have financial autonomy – technically. Idayat Hassan, Director of the Centre for Democracy and Development in Abuja, reveals why they are still severely disempowered and what needs to be done to revive them.
To learn more about the three levels of action required to improve municipal finance and ultimately build climate-neutral cities, take a look at this short explanatory film by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
A newly proposed tax reform could quintuple Freetown’s budget for the delivery of much-needed urban services. Yet, a political stalemate may endanger the city’s push for more transparency and progress. Braima Koroma, Dr Joseph Macarthy and Yasmina Yusuf from the Sierra Leone Urban Research Centre spotlight the country’s current state of decentralisation.
Participatory budgeting in Indonesia is not new, but policy makers still rarely consult with citizens on large-scale urban projects – even though it leads to better and more sustainable results. John Taylor and Ahmad Rifai make a strong case for embracing people-based budgets.
Evolving cross-border cooperation shows that trans-boundary action can help individual cities address local challenges. Emana Nsikan-George from Climate Alliance highlights the development of decentralised municipal cooperation and provides a promising example from Uganda and Germany.
Participatory Budgeting bridges the gap between governments and their people. Jules Dumas Nguebou and Achille Noupéou uncover what happens when disadvantaged Cameroonians suddenly have a say over city spending.
Are local government bodies in Bangladesh fully empowered? Dr Mohammad Tarikul Islam investigates this question and makes a case for strengthening local leadership through ensuring funds and participation.
Ghana is one of the frontrunner countries dedicated to implementing the SDGs. Highlighting the local perspective, one area of implementation is the revision of the country's National Urban Policy. URBANET spoke to Sylvanus K. Adzornu from the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development about key drivers for successful implementation of SDGs.
It has never been easier to stay in touch with family, friends and colleagues, wherever they live. Yet most of us still lack a digital infrastructure for connecting with the people living next door. Despite their success in some developed countries, hyperlocal social networks are not a fixture of most local communities. Hence, nebenan.de, Germany’s first hyperlocal communication platform, could offer a model for communities in developing countries seeking to leverage the power of hyperlocal communication to increase social capital, says co-founder Michael Vollmann.
What are the challenges Ghanaian cities face in achieving sustainable development? Isaac Ashai Omdatten, Mayor of Tema, describes how he makes his city more livable.
Rapid urbanisation accelerated by rural-urban and North-South migration due to economic imbalances causes serious challenges for local authorities in Ghana. On behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, the Support for Decentralisation Reforms (SfDR) programme supports the implementation of the Ghanaian decentralisation reforms at regional, district and local level.
