Financing Sustainable Urban Development in LDCs

* This publication of the Financing for Development Office at the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN-DESA) and the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) is designed to promote knowledge sharing among stakeholders in urban inance and local sustainable development. Its prime objective is to support government officials in the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) at the local and national levels to strengthen their urban finance frameworks and to create an enabling environment in their constituencies. At the same time, its aims to enrich the policy dialogue at the United Nations in the context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It serves as an input to the Financing for Development follow-up process to enhance stakeholder accountability and to ensure the continuous engagement of local governments. It should support the means of implementation of the New Urban Agenda, especially in LDCs, as well as the implementation of SDG 11. 

The reader will find an overview of the multi-dimensional challenges LDCs face in financing sustainable development at the local level from the political, institutional and economic perspectives. The overall approach of the publication builds on the authors’ understanding of urban finance (sometimes also referred to as local or municipal finance) as a holistic concept that covers three essential activities: revenue mobilization (including resource transfers), public financial management, and long-term borrowing and investment, as these are heavily interlinked and mutually reinforcing. The reader shall unveil the critical interlinkages between the different dimensions of urban finance, including revenue generation, financial management and long-term capital formation. Most importantly, it illustrates concrete country experiences in meeting related challenges through a wide range of case studies from local governments in LDCs.