What Works to Make Cities More Resilient?

Vibrant cities can contribute to a thriving economy, but only if urbanization is managed well. Most urban growth today is taking place in developing countries and emerging economies in an informal and unmanaged way, which results in chronic stressors, such as congestion, water scarcity, pollution, and crime. Also, many of these cities find themselves unable to provide basic services in the event of an acute shock, such as a flood or earthquake.

The Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) recently built on internal knowledge and external literature to develop a two-part framework for assessing urban resilience, at the levels of both World Bank Group operations and urban systems. IEG carried out this exercise for a recent evaluation, Building Urban Resilience, which examines the Bank’s support for resilience in urban areas during the period 2007–17.

Find out what works, according to IEG's findings, to help countries make cities more resilient—to cope, recover, adapt and transform—in the face of shocks and chronic stresses.