Collaborative Urban Governance

A better way to improve the management and development of cities: Brian H. Roberts, Michelle Addison

This discussion paper describes an initiative to support the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) on the Future We Want and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). The paper provides an overview of the evolution of collaborative urban governance, an area of increasing interest to governments worldwide in helping to improve the development, operation and management of cities. The paper details evidence of how traditional forms of urban governance, based on formalised structures and institutional arrangements, are not performing well and result in poor decisions. In exploring the concept and application of collaborative urban governance, the authors offers reasons why collaborative urban governance is an innovative approach that ESCAP could use to support programs of activities to improve the management, competitiveness and development of cities in the Asia-Pacific Region.