The urban Pacific: Inclusive citizenship as the basis for good governance

As the Pacific Islands continue to urbanise, models of governance and planning are coming under greater scrutiny. Both the city council approach and the good urban governance agenda have weaknesses in the region, especially in dealing with peri-urban settlements where most of the population growth is occurring. This paper critiques the ways in which Pacific Island towns and cities are governed, including recent good governance models, and calls for an approach which is culturally inclusive (and less hierarchical) and informed by concepts of citizenship and social justice. Indeed, policy makers will need to broaden their concepts and practices of governance if many Pacific agglomerations are to be socially, politically, environmentally and economically sustainable