Incentivizing Change

Since 2002, the Asian Development Bank has worked with the Government of Bangladesh on expanding the Urban Governance and Infrastructure Improvement Project (UGIIP), to revitalize 96 of the country’s 328 important secondary towns—pourashavas. Advancing Bangladesh's urban development through performance-based infrastructure financing for pourashavas improving their governance, UGIIP has transformed individual lives and whole communities—with livelihood training, inclusive organizations for better civic management, and new infrastructure creating healthier, sustainable environments for vulnerable residents. Including beneficiaries' personal stories, this report examines how the UGIIP strategy has stimulated simultaneous progress in Bangladesh's urban governance and infrastructure.