How The Resource Curse Affects Urban Development In East Timor

Abstract

East Timor is heavily reliant upon royalty and taxation revenues from petroleum and natural gas resources. Poor management of natural resources revenue has given ground for the nation to fall victim to the ‘resource curse’. This paper provides an overview of the country’s recent history whilst characterising its energy resources availability and case-studying a stressing and omnipresent urban problem: the persistence of internal displaced people (idps) living in refugee camps within Dili district. The objective of this contribution is to describe sample research conducted in the capital city of the first 21st century nation on Earth, so as to evaluate with empirical data how the wealth of natural resources is being used both to improve East Timorese daily lives and to regenerate the urban tissue.