This address describes the evolution of a research agenda for urban policy in developing countries. It traces the influence of best practice during the policy formulation process and the role of the web in disseminating conceptions of best practice. These conceptions are dominated by The World Bank, UN Habitat and the Cities Alliance, with this domination arguably not in the public interest. The research concerns search engine optimisation and the best practice regime and their impacts on professionals and civil society with a view to contributing to the democratization of the policy formulation process.

Professor Richard Tomlinson is Chair in Urban Planning in the Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning at the University of Melbourne. His research and publications have focused on housing and infrastructure; urban development in a context of HIV/AIDS; urban policy processes and international best practice; the effect of web-based search engines on urban policy perspectives; and mega-events and urban economic development. His more recent co-edited books are Development and Dreams: The Urban Legacy of the 2010 Football World Cup (HSRC Press, 2009), Democracy and Delivery: Urban Policy in South Africa (HSRC Press, 2006), and Emerging Johannesburg: Perspectives on the Postapartheid City (Routledge, 2003). He has served as a Visiting Professor at Columbia University, a Visiting Scholar at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a Guest Scholar at the Brookings Institution and at the New School University. His research awards include a Robert S McNamara Fellowship and a Fulbright Scholarship. He has also consulted to the South African government (post-apartheid), USAID, The World Bank, European development agencies, numerous NGOs and the private sector.