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www.oecd.org/gov/urbandevelopment
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Around half of the population in OECD countries live in predominantly urban regions and the number rises to almost 80% if some other less densely populated urban areas are taken into account. Cities are important generators of wealth, employment and productivity growth and often quoted as the engines of their national economies. Productivity levels are generally higher in metropolitan areas and the increased trade and capital flows give rise to increased flows of people, goods, capital, services and ideas. In many OECD countries, metropolitan regions produce a larger percentage of the national GDP than their representative population percentage. As globalisation progresses, the pursuit of competitiveness in urban regions has become a major local and national policy objective. Cities increasingly compete with one another, and with other cities around the world, to attract innovative investments and knowledge activities. Meanwhile, they have to face typical negative externalities connected with urbanisation such as inequalities and social cohesion, urban sprawl and congestion, environmental problems, housing shortages and distressed areas. Addressing such issues as well as implementing new strategies to foster city attractiveness and competitiveness requires an appropriate metropolitan governance that could mobilise all stakeholders including public from all layers of government as well as from the private sector and the civil society.
The OECD’s Working Party on Territorial Policy in Urban Areas (WPURB) works with the Territorial Development Policy Committee (TDPC) to assess trends and challenges of urban regions; to promote regional competitiveness and achieve a more sustainable urban development; and to address institutional changes needed to enhance the capacity of urban governments, in partnership with civil society and the private sector.
OECD work on cities, urban and metropolitan regions, has led to a number of Territorial reviews on urban regions (metropolitan areas and city-regions), specific chapters in National Territorial Reviews and thematic publications on globalisation and city competitiveness and attractiveness, infrastructure, housing and environment, as well as social cohesion and distressed areas. The analysis of urban development is complemented with input from series of international conferences gathering a large number of international experts, politicians, mayors and ministers, bureaucrats and practitioners, journalists as well as representatives from international organisations, the business sector and the civil society. Territorial statistics and indicators are fundamental tools for enhancing cross-cities comparability and improving the analysis and evaluation of policies.
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