Urban challenges: scoping the state of the Commonwealth's cities

This report explores the need for an action research programme on the state of the Commonwealth's cities. It asserts that governance, inclusion and practical policies are vitally important in tackling environmental hazards and other urban challenges, and makes a case on the need to re-invent planning as a practice to reduce vulnerability to hazards and slum formation, build sustainable economic growth, and create safer, environmentally-friendly cities. It also considers climate change as broad theme for action research and aims to involve local policy-makers, professionals and civil society organisations in action research on such aspects.

The overall report responds to the need to manage the scale of urban growth in equitable and sustainable ways as the situation threatens to undermine aspirations embedded in the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). It was produced for ComHabitat by the Commonwealth Association of Planners (CAP) in partnership with the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI), the Commonwealth Foundation and the Commonwealth Secretariat.