International Standards: An Innovation in Urban Governance? The Case of Urban Development in Conakry

In developing countries, respect for international environmental and social standards relating to urban development, as defined by the World Bank Group and adopted by most public and private financial institutions through the ratification of the Equator Principles, represents real progress in the mode of urban governance. Whether concerning citizen participation in project development phases or the consideration of stakeholders, these advances are remarkable. Although the increasing adoption of these practices and normative frameworks marks an overall positive tendency, it does not preclude the creation of disparities in how citizens of the same city are treated as a function of the financial sources of the project concerned. Furthermore, in the case of Conakry (Republic of Guinea), urban development perspectives remain dependent on the new government’s current and future international partnership choices.