Life in Canadian Communities (see Annex 3), will be reviewed as part of the indicator development.

City indicator activities in other countries such as India, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and the U.S. will also be reviewed. The objective would be to develop indicators that capitalize upon international experience while minimizing ‘new requirements’ for cities, most of which are already collecting extensive data for city indicators.

**Partnering with UN-HABITAT:** The work plan builds on UN-HABITAT’s extensive experience and Urban Indicator database. This comprehensive database and national statistics information of individual countries is expected to comprise the bulk of readily accessible data for development of future city indicators in developing countries. UN-HABITAT’s ‘State of the World’s Cities – 2006’ highlights the critical role of cities, and the need for comprehensive indicators. The Report’s four parts<sup>5</sup> review critical themes for cities in developing countries. In all areas, urban indicators are crucial for monitoring trends and measuring the impacts of interventions.

The first phase of this work plan includes a study financially supported by the Government of Japan (value of study estimated at $US 830,000). The work plan is presented in Annex 8. Draft indicators will be proposed and then piloted by several cities.

# **2. The Role of Cities**

Cities can be thought of as set of people and firms linked by economic and social relations in a tight web of physical connection and communication. The concentration of employment, education, entertainment, and accommodation, brings people close enough to share each other's company, culture and ideas. It brings firms close enough to develop markets, takes advantage of diversified consumers and inputs, generates innovation, and pushes forward social progress. Cities enable specialization and the creation of niches that can be capitalized upon.

Arguably a city’s most important role is to supply as good a ‘quality of life’ as possible for its current and future residents. Cities do this with varying degrees of success and this success is not always predicated on a city’s affluence. Two neighboring cities, of similar economic means, can provide very different qualities of life for their residents.

The role of cities is often complicated as cities are defined largely by local and national culture, and their ability to deliver services is often determined by national affluence and the share of government revenues entrusted to cities. Cities are generally ‘the creatures’ of ‘higher’ levels of government and yet they are usually held most accountable by the public for service delivery.

Cities often have local and global roles. Locally, cities ideally provide a set of services and products that are needed by their residents and for which these residents would contribute directly or indirectly. A city’s global role is a function of the degree of globalization and world-wide transactions reflected in interactions between cities. Large ‘world cities’ are part of the contemporary globalized world as wider contexts and more complex technology favors the existence of large human agglomerations where creativity and employment can have their highest

> 5 State of the World’s Cities – 2006. Part 1: The Millenium Development Goals and Urban Sustainability, Part 2: The State of the World’s Slums, Part 3: Human Settlements and Vulnerability, Part 4: Pro-Poor Reform for Slum Upgrading and Prevention. UN-HABITAT.

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