Infrastructure development in the past was often implemented without adequately taking into consideration the possible negative environmental and social impacts. Drawing from the experience of the Bumbuna Hydropower project in Sierra Leone, this paper proposes to complement safeguard policies by...

"The availability and quality of basic public services are important determinants of urban quality of life. In many cities, rapid population growth and fiscal constraints are limiting the extent to which urban governments can keep up with increasing demand for these services. It therefore...

Bulgaria's housing sector provides a window into the broader issues of the country's social, and economic transformation. This process has been difficult, and, as was the case in many transition countries, one of the main problem areas has been the housing sector. While the government has played...

At the request of the Government of Egypt (GOE), the objective of this brief note is to provide concise recommendations on next steps for the National Housing Program (NHP). These recommendations and policy analysis are an elaboration of the framework for housing policy reform in urban areas in...

This document builds upon several recent studies and reports carried out in the 2006-2007 period. The first note, entitled analysis of housing supply mechanisms (World Bank), analyzes the situation of housing supply in urban areas in Egypt, including the study of existing formal and informal...

The objective of this study, requested by the Minister of Housing, Utilities and Urban Development, is to assist the government of Egypt in: formulating a coherent national affordable housing strategy which puts in place an effective institutional and regulatory framework that creates the...