The job creation potential of cities can be critical in reducing poverty. In other ways as well, cities have the potential to be far more environmentally benign than most are now. Well-designed cities can channel development away from wetlands and other sensitive areas. By integrating land use and transportation planning, cities can reduce both congestion and pollution. Achieving this will require changes in governance, from improving the formal regulatory and financing bodies of national and local governments to finding new ways to encourage the full participation of civil society.
Environmental management is complicated by issues of jurisdictional complexity.
By their very nature, urban environmental problems often require strategies that span jurisdictions and sectors. This is true whether the issue is delivering water and sanitation services to low-income communities or protecting coastal ecosystems from environmental degradation. Similarly, strategies to reduce air pollution will not work without addressing both stationary and mobile sources of emissions. Yet, in both developed and developing countries, responsibilities for urban environmental management tend to be fragmented among different agencies and jurisdictions. In addition, lines of responsibility and authority are sometimes blurred among the many actors.