Summary

Since the second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) in 1996, most countries of the Western Asia region have achieved significant progress in managing urbanization, despite the economic crisis, civil unrest, political turmoil and conflicts across the region over the past decade. All countries of the region, except Bahrain, Djibouti, Kuwait and Qatar, whose development patterns have always been predominantly urban, have experienced significant urban growth. By 2050, over 70 per cent of the Arab population will be urban, bringing new opportunities and challenges in sustaining inclusive, resilient, and safe human settlements. In order to achieve and sustain such settlements, policies shaping the urban space should foster peaceful coexistence, promote dialogue among residents and levels of governance, and integrate policy objectives such as health, transportation and mobility to enhance social equity, particularly for the urban poor and marginalized youth, women, and persons with disabilities. The major drivers of urbanization in the region have been: an ecology that limits urban expansion and therefore encroaches on agricultural land; and the age structure of the population, resulting in a youthful population generating high rates of household formation. Land in general, and urban land in particular, presents complex legal challenges reflecting the cumulative legacy of medieval Ottoman, colonial, and post-colonial rules and regulations that have shaped tenure rights. Unlocking the potential to capitalize on the key role of land as a public asset in the financing of urban projects will depend on resolving problems arising from complex tenure rights, unclear property titles, cumbersome legal and regulatory controls, and a lack of appropriate land management tools. The region has the largest youth cohort in the world, with the population aged 15 to 29 accounting for approximately one quarter of its population. Young people have tended to migrate to the region’s cities, especially the major urban areas, attracted by educational institutions and the prospects of finding opportunities for employment, better services or international migration. Urban policies must address the needs of a growing numbers of well-educated, unemployed young urbanites in order to leverage the youthfulness of the region’s populations as an asset. More broadly, recognizing and supporting youth, and particularly young women, as development partners and integrating their concerns into all local, national, and regional development frameworks is critical to improving their access to jobs, education, services and, consequently, livelihoods. While all countries in the region, except the least developed countries, have made remarkable progress in educating their young people, they have generally been unable to provide them with the skills they need to succeed in the labour market. The mismatch between job growth and the age structure of the population generates high youth unemployment in urban areas and continues to be politically and socially destabilizing. The challenge lies in the need to formulate policies to build human skills and generate productive employment opportunities. Such policies should include attention to creating an enabling environment and incentives for increased investments in productive urban economic activities. Women in general, and particularly university graduates, are disproportionately affected, as cultural traditions often constrain their access to certain jobs or their ability to enter the labour force. Policies aimed at creating decent jobs, particularly for urban youth and women, should strengthen labour productivity, improve working conditions, and enhance social equity.