Impact of investments in urban infrastructure on municipal revenues and the integration of informal sector activities : the Abidjan experience

New approaches are needed that address key issues of shrinking employment opportunities, erosion of household income, and the degradation of the living environment. In this light, urban upgrading projects in Abidjan have been reassessed in terms of the economic and environmental impact of investing in urban infrastructure in low income communities. Accomplishments of these projects are analyzed in terms of: (1) capacity to stimulate the development of income generating activities, formal and informal; (2) contribution to municipal revenue; and (3) improvement of sanitary conditions in the area. (Author abstract)