Towards a More Equal City: Framing the Challenges and Opportunities

The document outlines the challenges of rapid urbanization in the Global South, where a growing proportion of the poor live in cities with limited financial resources. It proposes a framework to categorize cities by economic productivity and population growth, focusing on 'struggling' and 'emerging' cities. The authors argue that prioritizing equitable access to core services—housing, water, sanitation, energy, and transportation—is a critical entry point for transformative urban change, citing the examples of Medellín and Surat as cities that achieved broad transformation through targeted reforms and strong political coalitions.

• Rapid global urbanization is heavily concentrated in Asia and Africa, with approximately 2.5 billion additional people expected to live in cities by 2050; over 90 percent of this growth will occur in these two regions.
• Cities in the Global South face a critical gap in service provision, with up to 70 percent of residents lacking access to one or more core services, including housing, water and sanitation, energy, and transportation.
• The document identifies four primary challenges for sustainable cities: the unprecedented rate of urban population growth, the increase of urbanization in low-income countries, the rising share of the global poor living in urban areas, and the lack of public financial resources per capita in Global South cities.
• Transformative urban change, as seen in Medellín, Colombia, and Surat, India, typically involves a combination of a shared vision among a coalition of change agents, available financial resources, and long-term political commitment.

APA

Beard, V. A., Mahendra, A., & Westphal, M. I. (2016). Towards a More Equal City: Framing the Challenges and Opportunities. World Resources Institute. https://files.wri.org/s3fs-public/Towards_a_More_Equal_City_Framing_the_Challenges_and_Opportunities_Exec_Summary.pdf

Chicago

Beard, Victoria A., Anjali Mahendra, and Michael I. Westphal. Towards a More Equal City: Framing the Challenges and Opportunities. World Resources Institute, 2016. https://files.wri.org/s3fs-public/Towards_a_More_Equal_City_Framing_the_Challenges_and_Opportunities_Exec_Summary.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Beard |first1=Victoria A. |last2=Mahendra |first2=Anjali |last3=Westphal |first3=Michael I. |title=Towards a More Equal City: Framing the Challenges and Opportunities |publisher=World Resources Institute |date=2016 |url=https://files.wri.org/s3fs-public/Towards_a_More_Equal_City_Framing_the_Challenges_and_Opportunities_Exec_Summary.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{beard2016towards, author = {Beard, Victoria A. and Mahendra, Anjali and Westphal, Michael I.}, title = {{Towards a More Equal City: Framing the Challenges and Opportunities}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, year = {2016}, url = {https://files.wri.org/s3fs-public/Towards_a_More_Equal_City_Framing_the_Challenges_and_Opportunities_Exec_Summary.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }