This paper summarizes the outcome of an international conference on addressing the issue of urban youth in conflict with the law in Africa. It discusses the most effective responses to youth crime and violence which centre on prevention and inclusion (especially of youth in government) rather than exclusion, punishment and incarceration.

It also highlights the key role for local governments in developing effective local responses that draw in and support all key local actors (parents, schools, police, businesses).

This Working Paper critically assesses the potential role of local authorities in promoting biodiversity conservation in the Lake Victoria Cities within the existing global framework of the Convention on Biological Diversity.

It sets the broader context on the inextricable linkages between biodiversity conservation and the urban environment. Specifically, by critically evaluates the emerging role of cities.

Le budget participatif apparaît de plus en plus comme une rénovation des pratiques d’administration municipale propre à promouvoir les principes de bonne gouvernance urbaine. De fait, le budget participatif peut procurer bien des avantages aux autorités locales comme à la société civile.

Il peut rendre les dépenses municipales plus transparentes et stimuler la participation des citoyens à la prise de décisions relatives aux ressources publiques. Il peut améliorer les recettes fiscales des municipalités.

Il aussi peut réorienter les investissements municipaux vers les infrastructures de base en faveur des quartiers défavorisés. Il peut enfin renforcer les réseaux sociaux et aider à aplanir lesdivergences de vue entre les dirigeants élus et les différentes composantes de la société civile.

With rapidly increasing urban populations, cities in Africa are faced with enormous challenges and will have to find ways to facilitate by 2015 urban services, livelihoods and housing for more than twice as many urban dwellers than it has today.

A worrying trend with the African urbanization process is that it is a process rooted in poverty rather than an industrialization-induced socio-economic transition as in other major world urban regions. Africa’s escalating urban problems have received less attention than warranted and now, at the dawn of Africa’s urban age, these need to be addressed.

Introduction of participatory budgeting can be a sound vehicle in realizing good governance and fighting poverty. It is a mechanism that involves elected leaders, public officials, service providers, and non-state actors – civil society, private sector and development partners.

This Training Companion is part of the effort to build capacity of local government practitioners in introducing participatory budgeting in local government in Africa. The Companion was developed with a view to providing users with Information, tool, methodologies, case studies and tips on how participatory budgeting can be introduced. The materials in the Companion were collected from various local governments in Africa and beyond that are already practicing participatory budgeting. Users are encouraged to adopt the material to their local condition.

This strategy paper has been developed in the context of UN-Habitat’s Safer Cities Programme, and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). It forms part of UN-Habitat’s work on urbanization, the inclusive city, the problems of urban youth, and issues of governance and youth participation.

It is in keeping with the Millennium Development Goal of achieving a significant improvement in the lives of urban slum dwellers by 2020.

Introduction of participatory budgeting can be a sound vehicle in realizing good governance and fighting poverty. It is a mechanism that involves elected leaders, public officials, service providers, and non-state actors – civil society, private sector and development partners.

This Training Companion is part of the effort to build capacity of local government practitioners in introducing participatory budgeting in local government in Africa. The Companion was developed with a view to providing users with Information, tool, methodologies, case studies and tips on how participatory budgeting can be introduced. The materials in the Companion were collected from various local governments in Africa and beyond that are already practicing participatory budgeting. Users are encouraged to adopt the material to their local condition.

This report draws on the main papers, discussions and recommendations of the African Regional Seminar on Enhancing Resource Allocation to Cities to Strengthen their Role as Engines of Economic Growth and Development – convened by the Urban Economy and Finance Branch of UN-HABITAT and held in Nairobi on 2-3 November 2005.

The report sheds light on the required measures to enhance resource allocation for accelerating urban development in Africa.

The paper explores the implications of globalization processes for urban Sub-Saharan Africa.

It argues that urban settlements and their inhabitants are generally unable to defend themselves against the adverse impacts of globalization or to realize its potential benefits, due to Africa's economic and political marginalization and its aid dependence.

The report is highlighting the priorities to intervene in the fastest urbanizing region of the world.

Decentralisation, good governance, empowerment of local authorities and inclusive processes of resources allocation and decision making are fundamental for a sustainable development.