WHAT IS THE CITIES ALLIANCE?

• The Cities Alliance is a global coalition of cities and their development partners committed to scaling up successful approaches to poverty reduction;

• The Alliance brings cities together in a direct dialogue with bilateral and multilateral agencies and financial institutions;

• Alliance members promote the developmental role of local governments and help cities of all sizes obtain more coherent international support;

• By promoting the positive impacts of urbanisation, the Alliance helps local authorities plan and prepare for future growth;

• The Alliance helps cities develop sustainable financing strategies, and attract long-term capital investments for infrastructure and other services.

WHAT DOES THE ALLIANCE SUPPORT?

The Alliance provides matching grants in support of:

• City development strategies (CDS)  which link the process by which local stakeholders define their vision for their city and its economic growth, environmental and poverty reduction objectives, with clear priorities for actions and investments;

• Citywide and nationwide slum upgrading in accordance with the Alliance’s Cities Without Slums action plan (MDG Target 11), including promoting secure tenure, access to shelter finance and policies to help cities prevent the growth of new slums; and

• Sustainable financing strategies for cities to attract the long-term capital investments needed for infrastructure, including improving accountability for service delivery and demonstrating stable revenue streams to more effectively leverage domestic capital.

CITIES ALLIANCE MEMBERS

• Slum Dwellers International (SDI)

• Local authorities, represented by United Cities and Local Governments and Metropolis;

• Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Philippines, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom and United States of America;

• Asian Development Bank, European Union, UNEP, UN-HABITAT and the World Bank.

A Policy Advisory Board, comprising eminent urban experts from each region, provides strategic advice to the Alliance’s members and secretariat.

FUNDING

• The Alliance has committed $88 million to date, linked to over $8 billion in investments.