II 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3229 

To direct the Administrator of the United States Agency for International 

Development to develop a strategy to foster sustainable urban development in developing countries that updates the Making Cities Work Urban 

Strategy. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 20, 2010 

Mr. KERRY (for himself, Mr. CARDIN, and Mr. DURBIN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To direct the Administrator of the United States Agency 

for International Development to develop a strategy to 

foster sustainable urban development in developing countries that updates the Making Cities Work Urban Strategy. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Sustainable Urban De5 velopment Act of 2010’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 


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1 (1) Approximately 51 percent of the world’s 

2 population lives in cities of various sizes and produce 

3 the majority of the world’s economic output. 

4 (2) It is estimated that by 2030— 

5 (A) almost 4,000,000,000 people will live 

6 in cities in the developing world; 

7 (B) urban populations in Africa and Asia 

8 will double; and 

9 (C) the number of people living in slums 

10 will double. 

11 (3) Of the approximately 1,000,000,000 people 

12 worldwide who live in slums, more than 50 percent 

13 are younger than 25 years of age. 

14 (4) In most countries, the largest urban areas 

15 account for significant shares of gross domestic 

16 product and, due to the economic advantages of 

17 large integrated markets for skills, inputs and out18 puts are often drivers of national economic growth. 

19 (5) More than 1,100,000,000 people lack ade20 quate access to safe water and nearly 2,500,000,000 

21 lack access to sanitation services. These problems 

22 may become more severe with rapid urbanization. 

23 (6) The costs of diseases and productivity losses 

24 linked to water and sanitation amount to— 


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1 (A) 2 percent of gross domestic product in 

2 less developed countries; and 

3 (B) up to 5 percent of gross domestic 

4 product in sub-Saharan Africa. 

5 (7) Insecure lease and real property ownership 

6 tenure often subject slum dwellers to arbitrary, often 

7 supra-market rents, forced evictions, threats, and 

8 harassment, particularly affecting women who are 

9 often heads of households. 

10 (8) Insecurity of tenure— 

11 (A) severely inhibits economic development 

12 by undermining investment incentives and con13 straining the growth of credit markets; 

14 (B) imperils the ability of families to 

15 achieve sustainable livelihoods and assured ac16 cess to shelter; and 

17 (C) often contributes to conflict over prop18 erty rights. 

19 (9) Although women constitute 66 percent of 

20 the world’s work force, they own less than 15 per21 cent of the world’s private property. This disparity 

22 is particularly damaging in cities and towns in which 

23 women are disproportionately affected by forced 

24 evictions and insecure tenure as a result of discrimi25 nation, gender-biased laws, and customs that— 


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1 (A) define women as legal minors or other2 wise prevent women from acquiring and secur3 ing property, housing leases, or ownership 

4 rights; and 

5 (B) increase the vulnerability of women to 

6 poverty, violence, and sexual abuse. 

7 (10) Cities can play an important role in eco8 nomic growth only if— 

9 (A) there is appropriate infrastructure, in10 stitutions, and policies; and 

11 (B) basic services are extended to every12 one. 

13 (11) Connective infrastructure, such as roads 

14 and telecommunications— 

15 (A) plays a critical role linking cities and 

16 their markets to rural production, to hinter17 lands, and to the global economy; 

18 (B) reduces economic distances; and 

19 (C) strengthens the ability of cities to take 

20 advantage of the resulting market opportunities 

21 and ensures that urban and rural development 

22 policies are integrated into a holistic approach 

23 that promotes economic growth throughout the 

24 country. 


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1 (12) The 2006 National Security Strategy 

2 states, ‘‘America’s national interests and moral val3 ues drive us in the same direction: to assist the 

4 world’s poor citizens and least developed nations and 

5 help integrate them into the global economy.’’. 

6 (13) In his October 2009 remarks for World 

7 Habitat Day, President Obama stated, ‘‘My admin8 istration is committed to . . . bolstering our metro9 politan areas, the cities, suburban and rural areas 

10 that are the engines of our economic growth. We are 

11 investing in a clean energy sector that will generate 

12 new green jobs, building affordable, energy efficient 

13 homes and promoting more sustainable development 

14 so that we can meet the needs of the present, for se15 curing the future for our children and grandchildren 

16 . . . That is why we are committed to working with 

17 the United Nations and our partners around the 

18 world to help more families find a safe and secure 

19 place to live.’’. 

20 (14) Target 11 of Goal 7 of the Millennium De21 velopment Goals states, ‘‘By 2020, to have achieved 

22 a significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 

23 million slum-dwellers.’’. 

24 SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

25 It is the policy of the United States— 


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1 (1) to recognize urban development, as an ob2 jective of United States foreign policy, and overseas 

3 development assistance, particularly programs 

4 that— 

5 (A) foster improved urban governance, 

6 management, and planning; 

7 (B) increase land and real property tenure; 

8 (C) promote the formal provision of, and 

9 access to, essential urban services and infra10 structure; 

11 (D) expand access to basic shelter, afford12 able urban housing; 

13 (E) economically empower women and 

14 youth; 

15 (F) promote civic participation and social 

16 cohesion; 

17 (G) respond to, and proactively prepare 

18 for, environmental and climatic challenges; 

19 (H) promote economic growth and alleviate 

20 poverty; and 

21 (I) expand the availability of financing for 

22 urban housing and infrastructure; 

23 (2) to prevent waste and duplication in the use 

24 of United States overseas development assistance 


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1 with respect to the programs described in paragraph 

2 (1); 

3 (3) to foster cooperative relations with foreign 

4 governments, intergovernmental organizations, pri5 vate businesses, and nonprofit and community-based 

6 organizations that support or implement programs 

7 similar to those described in paragraph (1); 

8 (4) to support innovative international mecha9 nisms designed to increase coordination and mutual 

10 complementarity in the planning, financing, and im11 plementation of sustainable urban development poli12 cies and programs implemented by the United States 

13 and other donors described in this section; 

14 (5) to ensure access to— 

15 (A) basic shelter and affordable housing, 

16 particularly by residents of slums and informal 

17 settlements and similar densely populated, im18 poverished urban areas; and 

19 (B) safe water and sanitation; 

20 (6) to promote— 

21 (A) the security of land and other real 

22 property use, lease, and ownership rights; 

23 (B) the legal recognition and protections of 

24 such rights by all income groups; 


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1 (C) equitable and sustainable national land 

2 policies; and 

3 (D) enhanced land administration services, 

4 including services for groups that— 

5 (i) are socioeconomically vulnerable or 

6 institutionally marginalized; or 

7 (ii) are subject to discrimination, in8 cluding women, children, the poor, and 

9 people living in urban slums and informal 

10 settlements; and 

11 (7) to support efforts to enhance the technical 

12 and financial capacity of developing country govern13 ments, including regional and municipal govern14 ments, to plan and manage urban growth in trans15 parent, participatory, and accountable manner. 

16 SEC. 4. SUSTAINABLE URBAN DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the United 

18 States Agency for International Development (referred to 

19 in this section as the ‘‘USAID’’) shall develop a strategy 

20 to foster sustainable urban development in developing 

21 countries that updates the Making Cities Work Urban 

22 Strategy. 

23 (b) CONSULTATION.—The strategy required under 

24 subsection (a)— 


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1 (1) shall be developed in consultation with other 

2 United States Government agencies with relevant 

3 technical expertise or policy mandates pertaining to 

4 urban development in foreign countries; and 

5 (2) shall draw upon best practices and success6 ful models of urban development undertaken or de7 veloped by international intergovernmental organiza8 tions, international finance institutions, recipient 

9 countries, United States and international non10 governmental organizations, private sector actors, 

11 and other appropriate entities. 

12 (c) CONTENT.—The strategy required under sub13 section (a) shall— 

14 (1) review and assess existing or past United 

15 States programs and foreign assistance strategies 

16 for developing countries designed to improve urban 

17 development, including— 

18 (A) increasing access to basic shelter, af19 fordable housing, and shared communal infra20 structure; 

21 (B) enhancing land tenure security; 

22 (C) promoting environmentally sound 

23 urban infrastructure and services; 

24 (D) building capacity for municipal plan25 ning, management, and governance; 


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1 (E) leveraging innovative financing for 

2 urban investments; 

3 (F) promoting gender equality and wom4 en’s empowerment; and 

5 (G) promoting active participation of 

6 urban dwellers in the planning and execution of 

7 urban governance and social services programs; 

8 (2) define short- and long-term objectives and 

9 performance measures by which progress in urban 

10 development in foreign countries should be meas11 ured; 

12 (3) integrate United States programs and for13 eign assistance strategies that address urban devel14 opment and slums in developing countries; 

15 (4) integrate into the broader strategic foreign 

16 assistance plans of the Department of State and the 

17 programs and objectives of the United Stated Agen18 cy for International Development related to urban 

19 development and slums; 

20 (5) assess the feasibility of establishing, in the 

21 USAID, a senior advisor for urban sustainable de22 velopment, who would— 

23 (A) provide— 

24 (i) leadership for coordinated pro25 gramming; 


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1 (ii) technical support for urban devel2 opment; and 

3 (iii) dissemination of best practices 

4 with policy and technical staff with experi5 ence and expertise in urban planning and 

6 development; 

7 (B) guide urban programming; 

8 (C) help build the capacity of government 

9 officials in developing countries to more effec10 tively manage urbanization; and 

11 (D) encourage the organization and in12 volvement of local civil society, including collec13 tive and municipal associations; 

14 (6) evaluate options to leverage private sector 

15 partnerships on issues related to housing, slum im16 provement, and finance though— 

17 (A) the Global Development Alliance of 

18 USAID and the Global Partnerships Initiative 

19 of the Department of State; 

20 (B) the Overseas Private Investment Cor21 poration; 

22 (C) the Development Credit Authority; 

23 (D) the Millennium Challenge Corporation; 

24 and 

25 (E) other relevant initiatives; 


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1 (7) support a policy of United States Govern2 ment collaboration and coordination with other do3 nors towards urban development issues, including— 

4 (A) working to achieve Target 4 of Goal 7 

5 of the Millennium Development Goals; 

6 (B) supporting local development plans 

7 and strategies; 

8 (C) reviewing technical assistance and fi9 nancial resource needs for urban development 

10 programming; 

11 (D) fostering greater program coordination 

12 among donors; and 

13 (E) disseminating best practices in urban 

14 planning and development; 

15 (8) assess the feasibility of establishing a pilot 

16 urban strategies initiative that would— 

17 (A) support, through technical and finan18 cial assistance, a select number of cities in de19 veloping countries by identifying, developing, 

20 and implementing long-term sustainable urban 

21 development strategies to provide a framework 

22 for future growth and development in identified 

23 countries; 

24 (B) provide support for such urban devel25 opment strategies through a variety of apVerDate Nov 24 2008 00:13 Apr 21, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3229.IS S3229

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1 proaches, including direct financial support, in2 novative financial mechanisms, and private sec3 tor investment; 

4 (C) raise critical global awareness of urban 

5 development issues, including the emergence of 

6 mega-cities and the increasing burdens placed 

7 on secondary cities in developing countries; and 

8 (D) fully integrate the needs of women, 

9 who are often heads of households, yet do not 

10 have equitable access to land, resources, or 

11 services; 

12 (9) analyze approaches to improve environ13 mental sustainability in urban areas, while recog14 nizing that developing cities are facing severe envi15 ronmental stress as a result of the difficulties of ex16 panding facilities fast enough to keep up with rap17 idly growing populations and industrial activity; and 

18 (10) develop a plan for providing long-term 

19 United States support for sustainable urban growth 

20 and development initiatives in developing countries 

21 that— 

22 (A) includes regular coordination between 

23 United States Government agencies that have 

24 relevant technical expertise or policy respon25 sibilities, as appropriate, including— 


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1 (i) the United States Agency for 

2 International Development; 

3 (ii) the Department of State; 

4 (iii) the Millennium Challenge Cor5 poration; 

6 (iv) the Department of Housing and 

7 Urban Development; 

8 (v) the Department of the Treasury; 

9 and 

10 (vi) the Overseas Private Investment 

11 Corporation; and 

12 (B) draws upon the available expertise of 

13 United States-based city and regional elected 

14 officials and professionals in— 

15 (i) community, real estate, and bank16 ing sectors; 

17 (ii) major United States private foun18 dations, nongovernmental organizations, 

19 and policy, education, and research organi20 zations; 

21 (iii) United Nations organizations; 

22 and 

23 (iv) multilateral development banks. 

24 (d) REPORT.—Not later than 12 months after the 

25 date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall 


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1 submit a report to Congress that includes the strategy re2 quired under this section. 

Æ 


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