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
Leal
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
Patrick Wakely
Stephen Walsh
Rasna Warah
Emiel Wegelin
Dave Wetzel
David Wilmoth
Guang Yang
Glenn Yoder
Nicholas You
Joel Yudken
Muhammad Yunus
Robert Zdenek