Cities & Urban Communities
Photo by Hendri Lombard, World Bank
Photo by Hendri Lombard, World Bank
Cities generate 80 percent of global GDP and consume 75 percent of the world’s resources. Smart and innovative solutions are required to optimize the continued increase in global urbanization. Risks and opportunities for people and communities associated with creating sustainable urban infrastructure must be understood and balanced. It involves integral planning and management, strategic communication, participation, and inclusion.
IFC’s Sustainable Infrastructure Advisory works to mitigate social risks and maximize the positive opportunities associated with urban infrastructure and services. We work to improve community awareness and engagement practices to support the sustainability of infrastructure projects. We also help municipalities and private companies to design community engagement strategies centered around urban projects and foster coordination among the government agencies and community leaders in urban centers. This enables long-lasting and high-demand improvements in the quality of life for local communities.
By proactively investing in people around these infrastructure developments, we help them feel vested in the long-term presence and success of projects. It creates shared value and economic opportunities, especially for women and youth. We recommended actions such as building broad multi-stakeholder support for the project, integrating the community into the design, construction and operational planning, and building social acceptance for tariffs, to ultimately reduce construction delays, minimize cost overruns caused by non-inclusive design.
of global GDP are generated by cities
of the world’s resources are consumed by cities
of global CO2 emissions are created by cities
Colombia’s capital is adding to its transport infrastructure by building a cable car system in an impoverished area. The city officials wanted to ensure that the local population welcomed this as a positive catalyst for other changes, including increased tourism. IFC’s Sustainable Infrastructure Advisory team conducted an assessment to identify the potential sustainability risks and opportunities from the social and economic perspective and recommended actions to mitigate the risks and maximize opportunities for local people. We also helped the city to consolidate consistent community engagement activities around the cable car into one proactive and communicable strategy.
IFC’s Sustainable Infrastructure Advisory team worked with the government of Peru to produce a series of guides to promote good governance practices for municipalities. These guides are designed to improve local investment, transparency, and participation. The guides cover four key areas:
The introduction of TransMiCable into the transit system in Bogota has reduced travel time from over 1 hour to 13 minutes
The introduction of TransMiCable into the transit system in Bogota has had a profound impact, reducing travel time from over 1 hour to 13 minutes. The lessons learned will be used in future community engagement efforts for large infrastructure projects in the city. IFC’s Sustainable Infrastructure Advisory team has produced a strategic set of recommendations to address sustainability risks for the cable car project, take advantage of development opportunities and manage expectations. We also made recommendations to improve the current set of instruments being used to engage with communities and enhance interinstitutional coordination.
Photo by Dominic Chavez, IFC
