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2. Becoming Urban Humanitarians: Engaging Local Government to Protect Displaced People
- Author:
- Loren Landau, Caroline Wanjiku-Kihato, Jean Pierre Misago, and Benjamin Edwards
- Publication Date:
- 09-2016
- Content Type:
- Research Paper
- Institution:
- Urban Institute
- Abstract:
- People displaced into urban areas due to war, persecution, or climatic crisis have claimed an increasingly prominent position in humanitarian operations and research. Through an examination of three African municipalities currently hosting displaced persons we study the cognitive, financial, and political incentives that work for and against a proactive response to displacement. We find that in cities where deprivation is widespread, effective engagement with municipal authorities demands a shift in approach. Rather than appeals to domestic or international protection principles, effective engagement with local authorities requires recognizing local authorities’ interests and incentives to develop strategies to align protection concerns with local political economic factors.
- Topic:
- Economics, Humanitarian Aid, Displacement, Urban, and Cities
- Political Geography:
- Uganda, Kenya, Africa, and South Africa
3. How can we better serve urban refugees?
- Author:
- Benjamin Edwards and Loren Landau
- Publication Date:
- 09-2016
- Content Type:
- Commentary and Analysis
- Institution:
- Urban Institute
- Abstract:
- The world is in the midst of a historic refugee crisis. In 2015, over 65 million people were forcibly displaced—19.5 million of them international refugees living outside their home countries. While the United States hopes to welcome up to 110,000 refugees next year, the scale of the crisis demands a larger and more creative response. Formal humanitarian approaches have focused on refugee camps and direct humanitarian aid, but cities and urban areas play a central role in hosting and protecting displaced persons. Today, only one-third of the world's refugees live in camps. Of the approximately 2.7 million Syrian refugees in Turkey, nearly 90 percent live in urban environments. Given the nature of the current crisis, what can humanitarian organizations do differently to address refugee concerns in urban areas? And what unique opportunities might arise by focusing on cities in addition to camps?
- Topic:
- Refugees, Displacement, and Urban
- Political Geography:
- Turkey and Global Focus
4. Three top priorities for the White House Summit on Global Development
- Author:
- Benjamin Edwards and Jonah Lefkoe
- Publication Date:
- 07-2016
- Content Type:
- Commentary and Analysis
- Institution:
- Urban Institute
- Abstract:
- At tomorrow’s White House Summit on Global Development, President Obama will convene stakeholders in international development to celebrate the administration’s successes and plan for its legacy. The Obama administration has reformed the development goals and how we implement development activities. Revisions to the goals include sector initiatives like Power Africa, Feed the Future, the President’s Global Climate Change Initiative, and Let Girls Learn—results-focused projects that have filled gaps in our development policies. Changes to implementation include President Obama’s landmark 2010 Presidential Policy Directive on Global Development, the USAID (US Agency for International Development) Forward reforms derived from that directive, and his recent signature on the Foreign Aid Transparency and Accountability Act of 2016. These initiatives are changing the way US development efforts are conducted, reimagining development with a focus on process and adaptability. The White House has laid out two goals for the summit: institutionalize the administration’s reforms, and recommit to expanding dignity and opportunity for all. To go beyond a well-earned celebration of progress already made, the event’s agenda should include three things.
- Topic:
- Development, Urban, Barack Obama, and USAID
- Political Geography:
- North America
5. Triggering Increased City-Level Public Finance for Pro-Poor Sanitation Improvements
- Author:
- Jameson Boex and Benjamin Edwards
- Publication Date:
- 01-2015
- Content Type:
- Research Paper
- Institution:
- Urban Institute
- Abstract:
- This paper provides a general framework for understanding the political economy and fiscal determinants of sanitation service provision by urban local governments. The paper will address several questions: what do we expect to influence spending on local sanitation? Do different fiscal instruments have an impact on expenditure levels? Do increased local revenues lead to increased expenditures over the long term? What role do different stakeholders play in determining expenditure levels? The paper first looks at the role of political factors in constraining local expenditure decisions, then turns to a review of the fiscal determinants of service delivery expenditures.
- Topic:
- Political Economy, Governance, Urban, Sanitation, Services, and Cities
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus