[SustainableTompkins] shaping livable cities report from the IDRC in Canada

[Maura Stephens]

Shaping Livable Cities [pdf]
http://www.idrc.ca/uploads/user-S/11502208271CRA_WUF_ENG_FINAL.pdf

Thinking about policy solutions for urban regions is a great deal easier
than actually putting them into action, and that is why this latest report
from The International Development Research Centre in Canada is most
welcome. This recently released 36-page report starts off with this
important sentence: "They [cities] are engines of economic growth and
cultural prosperity, but they are also centres of pollution and poverty."
Divided into three substantive chapters, the report provides specific case
studies of various urban innovations, such as Beijing's urban agriculture
initiatives and a program designed to integrate agriculture into municipal
planning in Kampala, Uganda. Other studies draw on experiences in Vancouver,
Hyderabad, and Managua. Overall, the report is well written and may be of
great interest to persons in the fields of international development as well
as scholars interested in evaluating such programs.