Urban Policies: Past Activities

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The Inclusive Cities Project: UPP was key to implementing a multi-country project that ran from 2008-14 with partners from Asia, Africa and Latin America. Learn more. Building Inclusive Cities: Highlights from the Inclusive Cities Project, reflects impacts of the project.

Informal Economy Monitoring Study: This 10 city study evaluated the realities that informal workers face. Qualitative and quantitative research done in 2012 combined to offer an in-depth understanding of how home-based workers, street vendors and waste pickers are affected by economic trends, urban policies and practices, value chain dynamics, and other economic and social forces. To date, no other study has made these drivers visible to both informal workers and policy makers through systematic comparative research combining qualitative (participatory) and quantitative methods.The IEMS is also unique in that it puts the research findings in the hands of workers in the informal economy and their organizations.

Informal Economy Budget Analysis: Pioneered by the women’s movement, the interrogation of resource allocation within government budgets has proved to be a powerful policy analysis and advocacy tool. WIEGO has worked to adapt these techniques for the informal economy. Analysis of budget allocations for informal workers has been conducted in Brazil, Pakistan, Peru, and the Philippines and more recently in Accra, Ghana and Durban, South Africa.

Early WIEGO Work on Street Vending: UPP completed a set of comparative research projects on the status of street vendors and street vendor associations in the context of the urban regulatory environment. This was followed by a set of local, national, and international policy dialogues to disseminate the findings and lessons from these studies.

Informal Economy Theme
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