I attended the Making Cities Work seminar, a monthly speaker series organized by USAID’s Urban and Engineering Team that is designed to highlight important issues in urban development. USAID/Philippines Mission Director Gloria Steele, gave a presentation about the Cities Development Initiative in the Philippines. It is part of the U.S. Philippines Partnership for Growth, a five year program that aims to address constraints to growth and stimulate the economies in Filipino cities.

Director Steele remarked that an analysis conducted by the U.S. Government and the Philippines Government revealed that weak governance and narrow fiscal space are the top constraints preventing growth in the Philippines. Through the Cities Development Initiative, both governments will jointly improve investment climate, create a competitive business environment, facilitate infrastructure improvements and public service delivery, and enhance human capacity resources to take advantage of economic opportunities. Currently, much of the growth and industries are only in Manila, which has a population of 10 million. According to Director Steele, “The initiative is built on the premise that economic growth and job creation are closely linked to urban development, where cities act as engines of economic growth. The CDI seeks to promote economic growth outside of Metro Manila to disperse economic opportunity in the Philippines as it moves from a low growth path to a higher, sustained, and more inclusive growth trajectory in line with other high-performing emerging economies.”

USAID has chosen Batangas, Cagayan de Oro, and Iliolo City for the program. All three cities are located on each of the major islands and have less than one million inhabitants. Some of the requirements for city selection were committed local partners, a stable government, and an enabling environment for growth that included airports, international ports, and renovated roads which create more efficient routes for interacting in markets nearby regions.

Although the program hasn’t been completely designed yet, CDI will implement projects in the following sectors: economic development, governance, education, energy, climate change, and health. The USAID mission has allocated 100 million dollars total for the entire program and will rely on proposals from competing organizations for project ideas. The CityLinks team is eager to hear about the best practices and lessons learned from this program.

For more information, visit the USAID Philippines's website: http://philippines.usaid.gov/.