During the Soviet Union period new cities and townships in Central Asia were created primarily to meet the needs of the national economic development plan. After gaining independence in 1991, many urban settlements in Central Asian countries faced decline in economic activities and subsequent decreases in local budget revenues, deterioration of urban infrastructure, as well as declining capacities and resources to manage urban development under market conditions. In response, Central Asian countries had to embark on reform of municipal management systems and engender support for social and economic development in urban areas.

Since 2011, Center for Economic Research (CER) with support from ESCAP and UNDP Uzbekistan has been implementing the project on "Sustainable Urban Infrastructure Development", which has provided a platform to share international experiences and case studies for enhancing regional cooperation and cross-boundary information exchange. The first phase of the project focused on issues of urban development in Uzbekistan and resulted in a comprehensive report that was presented during the international workshop held from 5 to 6 July 2011 in Tashkent. In the second phase, the scope was expanded to cover broader aspects of municipal governance and urban planning within the context of sustainable development. Country perspectives and preliminary results of the research were presented and discussed at an international workshop in Tashkent from 9 to 10 October 2012.

	Links to project partners
	Center for Economic Research
	UNDP Uzbekistan

1. International Workshop on "Municipal Governance and Urban Infrastructure in Uzbekistan", Tashkent, 5-6 July 2011

	Report         English | Russian
	Presentations
	Demographic trends and limits of agrarian model Bakhtiyor Ergashev, Research coordinator, CER
	Main Areas of Industrial Policy and Spatial Development in Uzbekistan Ildus Kamilov, Deputy Director, CER
	Spatial Development in Uzbekistan: Place and Role of Cities Iskandar Yunusov, Independent expert
	The current system of municipal management in Uzbekistan: powers, functions and limitations Abdulla Khashimov, Team Leader, CER-UN ESCAP
	Effective management of municipal utilities Oksana Remiga, Program Manager of the Human Security/Local Development Cluster, UNDP Ukraine .
	Institutional and financial arrangements for urban management and development: cases of China and India Songsu Choi, Lead Urban Economist, the World Bank
	Condominium management: comparative analysis of Uzbek and international experience Gavhar Alieva, Director, "Kelajak shahri rivoji" Consulting Center
	Reforming the system of urban infrastructure in Ukraine Oksana Remiga, Program Manager of the Human Security/Local Development Cluster, UNDP Ukraine
	Basic principles for sustainable services Marilynne B. Davis, Chief of Party, USAID Contractor, USAID's Local Development Initiative .
	Water Supply and Sanitation Sector: Main Trends and the Case of Russia Alexandr Puzanov, Director, Institute for Urban Economics, Russian Federation
	Reorganization and reform of urban infrastructure management system in Poland Kamil Wyszkowski, Head of UNDP Project Office in Poland
	Municipal budgets and financing urban infrastructure: budgetary authority and search for optimization ways Bahtbek Sugirbaev, Head of unit, the Ministry of Finance of Uzbekistan
	Municipal Budgets and Improving Infrastructure Development in Asia and the Pacific Adnan Aliani, Chief, Sustainable Urban Development Section, Environment and Development Division, UN ESCAP
	Way Forward: Strategic Action Plan for Enhancing Municipal Governance System and Infrastructure Development for Uzbekistan and Central Asia Kyungkoo Kang, Economic Affairs Officer, Sustainable Urban Development Section, Environment and Development Division, UN ESCAP

2. International Workshop on "Urbanization in Central Asia: Current State, Issues, Perspectives", Tashkent, 9-10 October 2012

	Report         English | Russian
	Presentations
	Urbanization in Central Asian Countries in Soviet and Transition Periods Bakhtiyor Ergashev, Research Coordinator, CER
	Urbanization in Central Asia: Long-term Trends, Challenges and Opportunities Ildus Kamilov, Deputy Director, CER
	Urbanization in Kazakhstan: Issues and Perspectives Meruert Makhmutova, Director, Public Policy Research Center, Kazakhstan
	International Practice of Industrialization and Urbanization Policies: Searching Optimal Solutions Mavzuna Karimova, Head of Department on Issues of External Economic Relations, Institute of Economics and Demography of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tajikistan
	Transformation in Agricultural and Industrial Societies: Role of Cities Murat Suiunbaev, professor, Kyrgyz-Russian Slavic University
	Reforming Public Utilities Sector in Uzbekistan: Issues and Development Prospects Gavhar Alieva, Municipal Development Specialist, Local Development Initiative, USAID
	Uzbek-French Cooperation in the Field of Urban Planning: the Case of Tashkent City Aleksandr Kuranov, professor, Tashkent Institute of Architecture and Construction
	Municipal Governance Reforms in the CIS and Eastern Europe Oksana Remiga, Senior Program Manager, Local Development/Human Security Cluster, UNDP Ukraine
	Building Inclusive and Sustainable Cities in the Asia-Pacific Region: Lessons for Central Asia Donovan Storey, Chief, Sustainable Urban Development Section, Environment and Development Division, UN ESCAP
	Central Asia: Urbanization and "Poles of Growth" Abdulla Khashimov, Deputy Director General, ITS Central Asia Co. Ltd.
	Housing Challenges in Eastern Europe and CIS Countries Yarissa Lyngdoh Sommer, Urban Specialist, World Bank