This series is designed to cover all aspects of sound financial management for local governments in developed and developing countries and economies in transition. Concepts of good governance, transparency and accountability are woven into the text of every chapter, and the needs and potential obstacles to greater decentralization and democracy are highlighted. Each volume is self-contained with its own Trainer’s Guide, exercises and web resources.

Financing Urban Shelter presents the first global assessment of housing finance systems, placing shelter and urban development challenges within the overall context of macroeconomic policies.

Local to Local Dialogue: A Grassroots Women’s Perspective on Good Governance, describes locally designed strategies through which grassroots women’s groups initiate and engage in ongoing dialogue with local authorities, with a view to influence policies, plans and programmes in ways that address women’s priorities. six case studies chronicle the experiences and efforts of each of the women’s groups to identify priorities and negotiate with local authorities.

The publication is a guide for all urban stakeholders - policy makers, professionals, private sector, civil society organizations and concerned citizens working to improve the quality of life in their cities.

The Challenge of Slums presents the first global assessment of slums, emphasizing their problems and prospects. Using a newly formulated operational definition of slums, it presents estimates of the number of urban slum dwellers and examines the factors at all level, from local to global, that underlie the formation of slums as well as their social, spatial and economic characteristics and dynamics. It goes on to evaluate the principal policy responses to the slum challenge of the last few decades.

This publication has been prepared as background documentation for the Dialogue on the “Strengthening of Local Authorities” during the 19th Session of the Governing Council of UN-HABITAT.

The degree of success and efficiency of housing production and delivery depends on the prevailing legal, institutional and financial framework. Housing finance credit mechanisms are generally weak in most developing countries because of low-income levels, weak regulatory and legal framework provisions for land title and tenure system, absence of effective laws governing credit and absence of credit rating systems.

All forest land uses can be characterised in economic terms, although until recently there was no satisfactory way to compare the market and non-market benefits of alternative forest land use options.

The resource guide is targeted to a small but potentially influential group :professional associations and their members who serve local government associations.

This paper’s background is the debate between proponents of pro-growth policies - developed under the form of structural adjustment from the 70s until early 90s - and those advocating poverty reduction strategies, culminating recently in the introduction of Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSP) in 1999.

The report illustrates that effective constitutional and legislative guarantees of the right to adequate housing are not only realistic but have already been adopted successfully in a number of countries with diverse legal, social, economic and cultural systems.