With cities accounting for half the world's population today, and two-thirds of global energy demand, urbanization is exacting a serious toll on the environment. As rapid urban growth continues, energy use in cities and associated levels of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are projected to...

The World Bank is one of the world's premier international financial institutions. It provides low-interest loans, interest-free credits, and grants to developing countries for a wide array of purposes that include investments in education, health, public administration, infrastructure,...

Land reform can broadly be divided into land tenure reform-the establishment of secure and formalized property rights in land-and land redistribution-the transfer of land from large to small farmers. The paper is therefore divided into two chapters. The first chapter gives a short narrative of...

With three quarters of its population living in cities, Latin America is now essentially an urban region. Higher urbanization is usually associated with a number of positives, such as higher income, greater access to services, and lower poverty incidence, and, Latin America is no exception....

This book contributes to the empirical and theoretical analysis of the performance of cities in a globalizing world, bringing together a range of perspectives on the policy implications for urban management. It provides guidance for policymakers on ways of capitalizing on the global economy that...

Over the past two decades China's growth has been rapid, social indicators have improved, and poverty levels have inched downward. However, widening inequality, increasing resource and financial imbalances, and growing environmental concerns provide China with daunting challenges in improving...

The Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) prepared this synthesis note as an input to the ongoing process surrounding the international agenda for Small States. Its purpose is to provide a perspective on some of the issues small states face through a review of World Bank experience with country and...

Building Urban Resilience in East Asia is a World Bank program that aims to increase the resilience of cities to disasters and the impacts of climate change by using a risk-based approach to making public investment decisions. The objective is to demonstrate a scalable methodology and practical...