City Know-hows

Prioritising resident wellbeing in the growth of secondary cities in low- and middle-income countries

School children cycling through a park in Udon Thani, Thailand.

Opportunities exist to influence the growth of secondary cities, home to most of the world’s urban population, in ways that maximise residents’ wellbeing as well as achieve sustainability goals. More research is required to understand how this can be achieved, in particular in relation to city governance.

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Target audience

Urban planners and City leaders

The problem

Many aspects of city-living negatively impact residents’ wellbeing and are also linked to environmental degradation. While many of the world’s largest cities are attempting to retrofit solutions to these problems, secondary cities present opportunities to embed sustainability and wellbeing into their growth to avoid repeating problems of the past. In order for this to be achieved, understanding of determinants of wellbeing in secondary city contexts is required.

What we did and why

We conducted a scoping review of the academic literature on determinants of wellbeing in secondary cities. We focused on research in low- and middle-income countries as cities in these contexts experience challenges related to resourcing and governance which may make achieving positive growth trajectories particularly challenging. For the relevant resources we identified, we examined their geographic and thematic spread, considerations of equity dimensions, and conceptualisation of wellbeing.

Our study’s contribution

Our study highlights significant gaps in research which need to be addressed, including:

  • No studies in low-income countries and, within middle-income countries, a bias towards studies in larger secondary cities in China.
  • A focus on ‘downstream’ drivers of wellbeing, (e.g. housing and greenspaces), with a lack of consideration of the influence of governance.
  • Limited focus on equity dimensions, with some (e.g. disability) receiving no attention at all.
  • A lack of consistency in the conceptualisation and measurement of wellbeing.

Impacts for city policy and practice

To aid the growth of secondary cities whilst ensuring sustainability and wellbeing of residents, practitioners and policy makers need to:

  • Draw on existing research that looks at city-living as it influences residents’ wellbeing.
  • Look for opportunities to partner with academics to conduct research where gaps exist, in particular into how governance drives the well-being of city residents.
  • Gather well-being data in a consistent manner in order to compare between populations and contexts.

Further information

Full research article:

Scoping review of wellbeing research in low- and middle-income countries’ secondary cities
Rachel M. Pateman, Diane Archer, Sitong Mu, Jaee Nikam, Kate Williamson, Rosie Witton & Steve Cinderby

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