ABSTRACT
Due to the increasing concentration of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere, worldwide mitigation efforts are imperative for stabilizing carbon levels and slowing further warming of the planet (IPCC, 2014). Cities in low-income countries are projected to grow faster and therefore likely to contribute to GHG emissions in the next decades. This raises concern about future emissions and the need to transform urban development pathways following low carbon development strategies. The second wave of urbanization is occurring mostly in Southeast Asia and Africa (Fischer-Kowalski and Swilling, 2011; Swilling, 2010), where it is projected that the urban population will grow to 750 million in Africa and 2.6 billion in Asia by 2030 (UN-Habitat, 2009). Although by 2011 the urban majority was living in small cities of less than 0.5 million inhabitants, medium-sized cities are experiencing the fastest growth (UN-Habitat, 2009). UN-Habitat defines medium-sized cities as those with populations ranging from 0.5 million to two million inhabitants, although there are debates around the typologies of cities based on population size (UN-Habitat, 2009; Lacour and Puissant, 2008).
