they point to a direction of change but stop short of suggesting what needs to be changed how or in what time frame the term can mean many things but foremost in current global and national policy contexts is the recognition that cities require priority highlevel attention in national development strategies both in macroeconomic and social policy terms national urban policies contribute to building linkages between human settlements of various sizes and defining the broad parameters within which the transformative power of urbanization is activated and steered first not many national government institutions have the expertise and authority to understand the direct and indirect impacts of public policies on cities