Pioneering an International Urban Development Program - A Frontline Snapshot of USAID History.

• Author: Chetwynd, Eric, Jr.

In the 1970s, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) developed its first overall policies on urban development. Prior to this effort, USAID had not undertaken a wholistic approach to the essential problems that a rapidly urbanizing country might encounter, and how this trend could have implications for the international goals of the United States. Over an intensive twelve-year period USAID created the first Office of Urban Development, forerunner of today's USAID's urban programs around the world.

Stemming primarily from the end of the colonial era in the 1950s and 60s a new and dramatic demographic change was taking place in most developing countries. People were migrating from rural to urban areas at a prodigious rate and with improved health, nutrition and post war security, natural population growth in these countries was exploding as never before. U.S. and other urban scholars and some donor agencies were beginning to worry that cities would be overwhelmed by these unprecedented population flows. They feared that high unemployment, underemployment and the inability to provide adequate services for basic human needs (housing, sanitation, health and education) would result in unrest and chaos and undermine the development process. These concerns were playing out at the height of the cold war when unrest and instability in any of these fragile nations was seen as a possible threat that could lead to further geo political advances of Soviet influence and Communism. Accordingly, this concern about the ability of cities to cope with burgeoning population growth was driven not only by concerns for development, but also national security and survival of western values and institutions.

In the summer of 1970, Dr Joel Bernstein, then Assistant Administrator for USAID's Bureau for Technical Assistance, convinced the USAID Administrator, John Hannah, that the Agency should investigate the impact of rapid urbanization on USAID's goals and objectives. The charge was to determine whether the Agency should have an overall policy and specific programs for dealing with this urbanizing phenomenon. Dr. William R. Miner and I were asked to lead this investigation and Miner was made director of the nascent Urban Development Staff which was given a broad mandate to complete this mission for the Agency.

As urban development was relatively new territory for USAID, we decided that the net should be cast widely in terms of input but should begin...