Creating Jobs and
Livelihoods
Cities and towns
are places both for living and for working. Given the magnitude and pace of
urbanization, a key global challenge is to create more and better quality
employment in urban regions. A large number of urban residents worldwide make
their living through casual or informal employment, often under precarious
conditions. Many people are working long hours for low pay without any form of
representation or social protection - frequently in dangerous, and sometimes
even violent and illegal activities.
Expanding well-paid
employment and improving overall working conditions are crucial prerequisites
for reducing urban poverty. Policy interventions and key investments in urban infrastructure
and transportation, in decent affordable housing and community development, in
slum upgrading and inner-city regeneration, will only be successful and
sustainable if the livelihoods of all inhabitants, especially for people and
households with lower incomes, are fully included in the development process
and genuinely share in the economic, social, and health benefits generated by
employment growth.
Urban areas have
many competitive advantages for promoting employment and income growth and improved
working conditions, but these various opportunities are often misunderstood or
not fully exploited by local governments. While many stakeholders have taken
actions to address labor and employment issues in cities and towns, much more
still needs to be done. Local governments, working in partnership with private
businesses and civil society organizations, require additional financial
resources, assistance in building capacity, and general empowerment from
central governments and international donors, in order to effectively address
many jobs-related challenges.
Job creation and
retention, together with business promotion policies, must be carried out
through a process of social dialogue, with respect for workers' rights, and by
providing them with necessary social protection. Global Urban Development’s
program committee on Creating Jobs and Livelihoods will help develop innovative
solutions for urban leaders, both by promoting good practices, and by engaging
in research and action projects to demonstrate new and better ways of
increasing employment, incomes, and entrepreneurship.
Creating
Jobs and Livelihoods Committee
Co-Chairs: Vinay Lall,
Janice Perlman, and Edmundo Werna
Poonam Ahluwalia
Jamie Alderslade
Jockin Arputham
Nefise Bazoglu
Iman Bibars
Edward Blakely
Susan Blaustein
Albina du Boisrouvray
Robert Buckley
Sundar Burra
Yves Cabannes
Tim Campbell
Gregory Casagrande
Greg Clark
William Cobbett
Claudia Coulton
Louise Cox
Sam Daley-Harris
Forbes Davidson
Mary del Carmen Diaz Amador
Malika Djebli
Michael Donovan
Alain Durand-Lasserve
Nathaniel von Einsiedel
Reese Fayde
Seth Fearey
Bruce Ferguson
Marlene Fernandes
John Flora
Neil Fraser
Robert Friedman
Malik Gaye
Santosh Ghosh
Emilio Haddad
Peter Hall
Andre Herzog
Emille van Heyningen
Daniel Inkoom
Lorna Johnson
Jane Katz
Thomas Kingsley
Jeroen Klink
Claudia Laub
Gideon Mandara
Miklos Marschall
Cecilia Martinez
Richard McGahey
Nhlanhla Mjoli-Mncube
Eduardo Moreno
Geoff Mulgan
Fergus Murphy
Etienne Nel
Gertrude Ngenda
James Nixon
Geoffrey Nwaka
Marielza Oliveira
Mary Jane Ortega
Amara Ouerghi
Erik Pages
David Painter
Elena Panaritis
Jan Peterson
Christine Platt
Mario Polese
Jonathan Potter
Philip Psilos
Sangeetha Purushothaman
Jonas Rabinovitch
Donovan Rypkema
Wandia Seaforth
Marivel Sacendoncillo
Jane Samuels
Wicaksono Sarosa
David Satterthwaite
Theo Schilderman
Stephanie Schmidt
Hugh Schwartz
Nancy Sedmak-Weiss
Mona Serageldin
Philip Shapira
Michael Sherraden
Seymour Spilerman
Marcus Spiller
Richard Stren
Irene Vance
Andrea Veach
Patrick Wakely
Stephen Walsh
Rasna Warah
Emiel Wegelin
Dave Wetzel
David Wilmoth
Guang Yang
Glenn Yoder
Nicholas You
Joel Yudken
Muhammad Yunus
Robert Zdenek