A national strategy for cities: Taking ownership of urban policy

This chapter explores the need for cross-cutting national urban policy frameworks to help governments achieve an evidence-based, whole-of-government approach to policies with a major impact on urban development. It presents the elements to be considered in designing such a framework, as well as questions that can be used to assess the degree of policy coherence with respect to five areas: i) money (urban finances) ii) places (spatial planning and land use) iii) connectivity (within and across urban areas) iv) people (policies responding to demographic, economic and social change) v) institutions (structures for urban development policy co-ordination across sectors, jurisdictions and levels of government).