In Papua New Guinea, as in many areas in the Pacific, urban populations are often located in hazard-prone areas in the coastal zone. Storm surges and sea-level rise can affect settlements, food production and infrastructure. A lack of basic services such as clean water supply and solid waste management can exacerbate the negative effects of climate change. Amid all this, the poorest are almost always the most vulnerable, as they have less access to infrastructure, basic services and social safety nets in the event of a disaster

Kokopo is the main administrative, commercial and educational centre for Papua New Guinea’s East New Britain province and the New Guinea Islands region. It has grown rapidly over the last 13 years from a small district town to becoming the fourth largest city in the country. It has a population of approximately 23,000 people (both urban and rural).

The formal areas of the city are well served with urban services like water, energy, sanitation, refuse collection, and road network. This is not the same however for the settlements and rural villages and people from these areas often resort to illegal means to access services. Kokopo will continue to grow due to its strategic location in the New Guinea Islands region and the rich agricultural base of the rural hinterland of the province.

Goroka is the administrative headquarters for the Eastern Highlands Province and it is located on the Okuk Highlands Highway. Goroka is a thriving busy city with its formal sector enjoying a wide range of urban services and amenities. The city attracts overseas and local tourists to its world re-known Goroka Show and Goroka Coffee Festival. Goroka City like other Melanesian cities exhibits a common feature of formally laid out modern patterns of urban development that are surrounded by informal and uncontrolled informal settlements development.

As the major coffee producing region of the country, the agriculture sector plays an important role in the economy of the province. Despite its favourable economic conditions, the incidences of poverty in Goroka City are apparent, as evidenced by the standard of living among the lower income population in the fringe areas of the city. Inadequate or a lack of urban services and amenities, high unemployment rates, environmental degradation, and uncontrolled and spontaneous growth of informal housing are key features of the city.

These urbanization issues are further exacerbated by high incidences of prostitution and HIV/AIDS among the urban population. The key concerns and challenges of Goroka City are apparent in terms of the following issues;

(a) governance and effective urban planning and management of informal sector housing and land mobilization to meet the growing demands of the urban population.

(b) the provision of basic urban environmental services.

Port Moresby is the capital city of Papua New Guinea and is the administrative, commercial and educational centre of the country. It has a population of a little over 400,000 with an average density of 16 persons per hectare. It developed based on its historical and strategic considerations. The main economic activities in Port Moresby are in the service industry.

The unemployment rate in Port Moresby is high with more than 50 percent of the unemployed in settlements and urban villages. Most of these people participate in some form of informal sector activities. 60 percent of the total land area in Port Moresby is alienated or state land while 40 percent is under customary ownership. The availability of basic urban services like water, energy, sewerage network, and sanitation and refuse collection is varied between the formal areas and the informal and settlement areas. While formal areas are often serviced, some people who live in settlements often resort to illegal means to access basic services.

Public transport needs improvement and the existing road network is poorly maintained particularly in the suburbs and the informal settlements. Health care and education facilities although available are sometimes run-down and poorly resourced. Port Moresby is set to expand due to its strategic location and strong trade agreements with its neighbouring countries in the Asia Pacific region.

The Papua New Guinea Urban Profiling consists of an accelerated, action-oriented assessment of urban conditions, focusing on priority needs, capacity gaps, and existing institutional responses at local and national levels. The purpose of the study is to develop urban poverty reduction policies at local, national, and regional levels, through an assessment of needs and response mechanisms, and as a contribution to the wider-ranging implementation of the Millennium Development Goals.

The study is based on analysis of existing data and a series of interviews with all relevant urban stakeholders, including local communities and institutions, civil society, the private sector, development partners, academics, and others. The consultation typically results in a collective agreement on priorities and their development into proposed capacity-building and other projects that are all aimed at urban poverty reduction.

In 2002, the Government of Papua New Guinea with the support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and technical assistance from the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) launched the Safer Port Moresby Initiative with the express aim of addressing the underlying causes of crime that have accompanied the unprecedented urban growth of Port Moresby.

The Safer Port Moresby Initiative (SPMI) is a citywide crime prevention initiative that is built on partnerships with public, private and popular (sector) institutions that can contribute towards crime reduction in the city. The initiative is presently being run from the offices of the Department for Community Development, formally known as the Department of Social Welfare and Development and works closely with the City Government (National Capital District Commission – NCDC).