Blogs

Without access to affordable and well-located housing alternatives, households have no other option than to build informally, and in areas most prone to natural disasters. The World Bank organized a discussion on “Improving Housing Policies to Increase Affordability and Mitigate Climate and Disaster Risks” in Washington D.C. on March 22-23.

While stuck in I-66 traffic one morning, a colleague and I had a vigorous debate on the merits of open-source versus proprietary (commercial) software. I was left with the realization of how much misinformation still persists about this particular subject.

If we focus on aggregate losses—the traditional approach to disaster risk—we restrict our consideration to how disasters affect those wealthy enough to have assets to lose in the first place. We largely ignore the plight of poor people, who are, and always have been, those who suffer the most.

We may not know exactly what the world will look like in two decades, but we know this: it is going to be a world of cities. Each year, urban areas are growing by an average of more than 75 million people – more than the population of the world’s 85 smallest countries combined.

In many communities along the West African coast, it is becoming increasingly dangerous, and in some cases impossible, to live close to the sea, because the beach is disappearing at an alarming rate.

Geosynthetic Reinforced Soil (GRS) abutments allow for rapid and resilient construction of bridges using locally available materials, without specialized equipment. With GRS, bridges can be constructed in as little as five days and at a cost 30-50% lower than traditional approaches.

Since 2002, more than 260,000 kilometers of road were constructed or rehabilitated by World Bank supported projects. For these investments, and future Bank transport investments, to really realize their intended impact, we believe it is critical that they are resilient to climate and possible climate change.

In response to rapid urbanization, flooding, and other stresses in and around La Paz, the government of Bolivia is developing a comprehensive urban development policy.

Across the Europe and Central Asia region today, policymakers are confronted daily with a wide range of development challenges and decisions, but the potential impacts of adverse natural events and climate change – such as earthquakes or flooding – may not always be first and foremost in their thoughts.

What are some of the key issues that will shape global development in 2017? In the timeline below, revisit some of the stories on sustainable development from last year.