International assistance for cities in low- and middle-income countries: do we still need it?

Based on evidence of a secular decline in urban development assistance on the part of many overseas agencies such as the World Bank and USAID, this article suggests reasons for the decline and considers what can be done to reverse it. Urban assistance (from North to South) is still needed in many countries because it strengthens economic development at all levels of recipient nations and because it engenders networks of decentralized cooperation that promote local development. To be more effective, urban assistance programmes must support local research; they must support South—South networks; they must continue to focus on pro-poor policies; and the agencies that undertake these must act responsibly as the local stakeholders they have in fact become.