International Conference on Syrian Cities

 

Preparations are underway for an International Conference on Syrian Cities which will take place in Damascus in mid April 2009. Organized by the Syrian Ministry of Local Administration and Environment and supported by a number of organizations such as the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ), the Arab Urban Development Institute (AUDI), UNDP, the German Congregation of Cities and the European Federation of Communities and Regions, this event will bring together around 600 decision-makers and experts in urban development. The focus will be on current strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for Syrian cities. As the regional (MENA region) and international context is crucial to understand the status and development of Syrian Cities, regional and international experts will bring in their expertise. An important outcome is expected to be a “Charta for Syrian Cities” which attempts to outline the key objectives for the development of Syrian cities in a constantly urbanizing MENA region.

 

Urban planning will be one of the topics dealt with in special workshop sessions during the conference. As UCLG is working on the topic of urban planning through an own commission, a delegation of Syrian authorities was invited to take part at the meeting of the commission during the upcoming UCLG World Council. In this meeting, the Syrian delegation will present and promote their conference and look for partners and experiences from other cities around the world that could be brought to Damascus next year.

CityFuture CDS Workshop in Windhoek, Namibia

 

Meeting of Namibian Local Governments on a joint proposal on City Development Planning for small and medium sized cities.

 

Between the 9^th and 12^th June, over 30 representatives of Local Governments, LG Associations, National Government and their international Partners met in Windhoek to prepare a proposal for the Association of Local Authorities in Namibia (ALAN). The proposal will be presented to Cities Alliance to promote nationwide CDS efforts with a focus on local employment. On the request of ALAN, UCLG provided advice. Namibian local authorities and association got a clear picture of the recent development tools and results of CDS tools in South Africa.

 

ALAN has been receiving continuous support of the Canadian Federation of Municipalities since Namibia’s independence. Also now, when ALAN looks forward to take on new tasks, the support of FCM is very committed. Nevertheless, also the South African association, SALGA, confirmed their availability to build capacity to the sister organization ALAN, and the city of Durban went straight to act as a mentor for the 6 municipalities, ensuring a clear picture of means and opportunities of strategic planning.  By this, the Namibian team could focus their proposal and envision their possible outcomes and roles for the upcoming years.

Besides a clear outcome of a revised proposal that was presented to the national state secretary of local governments (their line ministry) , also CA members such as GTZ were invited to joint, looking to maximize coherence of effort.

Some Interesting debates with inputs of all government levels might be to follow up in the global debate on urban development:

From the perspective of Namibia, that only counts on a population of 2 million,  what does urban development mean? Small and medium sized municipalities want to consolidate the urban and local economic development, so that they, in a form of cluster, can positively grow, taking up more functions and opportunities besides agriculture, to reduce unemployment and become attractive for youth to stay and not to leave to larger cities.  All the cities, including the capital city of Windhoek are aware that regional balance of population is important, convinced that locally driven strategies will be the best way to ensure this in a sustainable way.

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Dear Reader,

Our latest CDS newsletter covers 2 topics:

1. Mentoring Activities of CityFuture.
2. Commission on Strategic Urban Planning

1. Mentoring

In the spirit of Each One Teach One, cities support each other by identifying needs, opportunities and steps to set up a local CDS processes. It is crucial that cities, association and institutions who have valuable development experience share these lessons with their regional and global counterparts. The CityFuture Mentorship enables cities and association to find advice and partners inside the UCLG network. UCLG supports mentor-cities to share their urban planning experiences and provide hands on advice to cities who are seeking to implement CDS. In the final phase of CityFuture cities and associations now prepare their CDS proposals and count on strong direct support from partners in the regions.

The mentor cities, Rosario, Johannesburg and Durban not only draw from rich knowledge, but also demonstrated strong commitment to enrich the regional and global cooperation processes.

Lilongwe – Johannesburg

Johannesburg is assisting Lilongwe in its effort to prepare a City Development Strategy. The cities have initiated a cooperation including technical advice and personnel exchange, already resulting in the capacity development and a tight city partnership. Johannesburg’s experiences with legal planning frameworks and with technical planning work can serve as a role model for development in Malawi. The enabling environment is crucial for the success of local initiatives, therefore Lilongwe not only will advance its internal planning capacity, but also to influence the national planning legislation.. Local Governments are to increase coordination by proposing local strategies and public policies that unlock the process of decentralization. The Local Government Association of Malawi (MALGA) intends to build on the Lilongwe initiative and raise the experiences with the CDS methodology to the national level. Johannesburg and the South African LG Association help to facilitate a positive working relationship in this regard. The request of Lilongwe has already been approved and the grant is ready to be reimbursed.

Rosario – Ciudad Sur
In Latin America, similar processes have started. Cooperative events have brought about mutual exchange for strengthening urban strategic planning, with significant positive impacts on the capacity of local governments to understand and plan their common development issues. Ciudad Sur received valuable input and first hand practical experiences on initiating strategic planning. political legitimization and transparent management. Rosario itself has a reputable track record of implementing strategic plans and Ciudad Sur highly profited from the shared lessons. As part of the proposal, they are likely to intensify the exchange.

New processes are emerging at the moment; the Local Government Associations in Namibia (ALAN) receives mentorship by the LG associations of Canada (FCM), Kenya (ALGAK) and South Africa (SALGA), and in addition also by the city of Durban. During the Windhoek workshop in June, the already existing “sistership” of ALAN and SALGA was refreshed by supporting their advocacy processes, and concrete in-house training was envisaged. Regarding the proposal to Cities Alliance, small municipalities of Namibia want to take the lead in bringing more innovation to the evolving city development sector in the region. The cities’ main concerns are employment opportunities. Tailored advice by the city of Durban will enable to set lessons into context. The mentorship of Durban is envisaged to continue in form of punctual nationwide capacity buildings.

The National Association of Municipalities of Mozambique is our most recent participant and intends first to lead a pilot experience in Nampula towards a countrywide CDS proposal for developing an analytic state of the cities report for all 27 major urban areas in the country.

The lessons of the CityFuture mentoring activities demonstrate that south-south, peer-to-peer learning and cooperation can be extremely and mutually effective. Direct city partnerships help to address common regional problems and capitalize on common regional potentials. Such cooperation needs to be more accessible to cities in the south. UCLG continuosly promotes these experiences to cities and their development partners in order to strengthen a sustainable cooperation culture. Villa El Salvador and Sao Paolo are likely the next powerful city partnership.

2. Commission on Strategic Urban Planning

The commission is welcoming its new members; The European Association of Mediterranean Cities (MEDCITIES), the City of Durango (Mexico) and Cologne (Germany). We would like to take this opportunity and introduce the Member, MEDCITES:

MEDCITIES is a network with a clear focus on sustainable urban development and environment. The Mediterranean city network mobilizes decentralized co-operation between its members and strengthens the exchange and impact of CDS work. MEDCITIES is also a contact point for the commission with its member cities Sfax, Barcelona, Rome, Marseilles, Lyon, Aleppo, Larnaka, Limassol and Tangier. Some are already engaged in CDS cooperation, like Tripoli, Sfax, Aleppo, Barcelona, Rome and Marseilles, while others intend start CDS processes soon. The network has also been active in channeling support to local processes from international Partners, such as Cities Alliance, World Bank, UNDP, UNEP and AFD.

Medcities is planning to enhance the commissions’ policy dialogu through a Mediterranean event on CDS to promote and deepen cooperation between cities and international development institutions where members of the commission will be invited. Medcities encourages the commission to focus on state-of-the-art discussions on territorial economy and spatial development, themes also focused by the 2009 World Development Report.

Your UCLG CDS Team

CDS in Lilongwe

Lilongwe city officials attended our CityFuture workshop in Johannesburg last summer and have started to work toward becoming a Cities Alliance partner city and access its CDS support. Cities Alliance regarded the city initiative very positive, despite some weaknesses in starting the CDS process. Developing a CDS is not easy for Lilongwe, mainly because of little former experience on strategic planning, development and setting up an own long-term strategy. This context makes the process of Lilongwe an interesting example to monitor -and to learn from- becasue since the beginning, the process is a learning process for the city itself. Lilongwe has prepared a CDS proposal, which was transformed into a grant proposal which is currently beeing considered. 

The requested grant of about 70.000 $US will enable the CDS team of Lilongwe to analyze the legislative, economic and social environment in detail, and to properly prepare and plan a CDS. The principal outcome of this grant will be a well assessed proposal for driving a complete CDS process and a revision of necessary frameworks. As the country is under transition, the impact of the CDS will not only be of economic and social importance, it will also be a political impact.

Mentoring – A south-south success story

The mission team, composed of three Johannesburg city officials and one UCLG project manager provided  advice and guidance on the upcoming steps. The Lilongwe CDS Task Force has a clear picture now as to which next steps are crucial in order to prepare the CDS proposal and they have now taken the lead on defining the priorities and commiting partners. The Mentoring, especially of the Jo’burg staff, has established a fruitful partnership relation that will likely move beyond punctual assistance.
The team conducted interviews, assessments and field-visits to identify situation in Lilongwe, possible players, opportunities and limitation. The outcomes are shared and analysed with Johannesburg and UCLG.  Johannesburg will constantly aid formulation, preparation and (in the future) the implementation of the CDS proposal. This mentoring process itself is a very interesting way of knowledge transfer. 

MISSION OVERVIEW – International Policy Dialogue on Challenges of Slum upgrading, Sao Paulo

HOUSING POLICIES IN SAO PAULO

According to the City of Sao Paulo, World Bank assistance has a reputed track record. As we learned by interviewing Mr. Zee (WB), Sao Paulo has such a high debt that the Bank cannot work financially with the city even if they wish very much to do so.
The assistance started with a Cities Alliance pilot program in two Slum areas (2 years) and, since the beginning was emphasizing on planning methodology.
The second phase was focused on strategies for municipal a housing plan, providing analysis, studies and general support to the institutional arrangements of SEHAB, the Sao Paulo public housing company to implement social housing programs.

The housing policies of Sao Paulo Secretary of Habitat, SEHAB

SEHAB showcased a powerful example of implementing MDG priorities in the housing sector. The strategic plan for housing and Slum upgrading covered the implementation of national policies, environmental action, and the integration with other departments and enterprises. The 1.500 slums and 1.300 subdivisions are home to more than 380.000 people, with medium growth rates due to the fact that Sao Paolo is no longer a destination for rural-urban migration. The slums are mainly on public land and most dwellers already live for more than 10 years there. The Slums do have certain services (82% electricity, 60% Water/Sanitation). In respond to the demand, SEHAB and partner institutions today employ more than 200 people to go about the need of administering the informal areas.

The political priorities of upgrading are to reach large areas and avoid removal. The impact of upgrading and of the provision of land titles is growing economic wealth and increasing opportunities for the dwellers. The organization of the dwellers is relatively low, existing leaders take to voice during the process. It is supposed that the dwellers are overwhelmed by huge and immediate problems related to survival and an organization is only a second priority.

The legal instruments have raised very high expectations as they provided the main shift form informal to formal housing. The federal law in Brazil determines the municipal competence in definition and execution of urban development policies, including the application of sanctions for underutilised land and to counter speculation. Following the social function of property alleviation the results of land titling are very positive.

However, this instrument is to be handled with care and SEHAB advises not to overestimate them. Aware of the necessary transparency and communication, the processes are taking very long and still have to be proven for large scale implementations.

The social work is basic for detecting and joining forces for development. The integration is spatial and social; Slums are integrating into the city, not cities integrating into Slums. SEHAB, more than others, has to combine all technical support with social efforts, as observed during the field visits.

The planning instruments are served by modern GIS methods and land registration. The former informal areas will have advantages on a data system that is easy to update and also combines spatial to social characteristics (e.g. risk areas, materials, health, education, family profiles), enabling the municipalities to design more precise interventions and to have more transparent decision making and follow up of interventions.

Findings

Slum upgrading never happens in Isolation, and the key remains to enable poor to build, not to build “for them”

Slum upgrading is a baseball match: attach to all bases to reach the goal

Urban development provides employment, but is not necessary linked to economic growth

Urban development is not the same as city development, that refers to “center concept”

Metropolitan development is urbanization without cities and responses have to be more creative and less “centric”

Urban growth due migration happens most quickly in Africa and Asia, in Brasil growth is vegetative

Migration is slowed down in Sao Paolo, industries are leaving and schemes of employment change (more service related)

Housing needs public investment

Most dwellers buy ,they do not build houses

Key to successful development is in the hand of local expert, to be patient

The problem is the cost to protect and maintain public spaces

NGO have showcased very good projects, but they have not gone to scale

The construction and land development by “the informal private sector” is frequently more expensive than “formal” developer

Ensure the availability of public land and avoid opportunistic invasion

Land ownership is a pre-requisite for development

The titling is attractive to dwellers, but cities received it as difficult to apply. In Nigeria, people hold on land and expropriation would be conflictive

Financing schemes to receive benefit of land (mortgage) are needed

The collection of information is crucial: register when intervention is starting

Banks offer only credits for material, not for labour, which remains professionally low
Micro credits are feasible in low income groups through social networks, how to combine micro-credits with banks

Recovery is possible through fees in cooperation with service provider, e.g. water company, Sao Paolo had to offset the debt

The credit worthiness remains challenge: to educate people to maintain payment and to re-educate financial partners. Municipality often stays with the debt

UCLG welcomed the knowledge exchange in the name of cities of all sizes and can add the findings of the work in City Future:
Systematic preparation to increase administrative effectiveness is interesting for other cities. UCLG can support on transferring knowledge and findings in further discussion

Our friend Mr. Tinga, the initiator if the city channel (aka. CAN, aka potluck) has been talking to people about the project and it seems that a private venture would be a quicker way to get the project started. If we go the amateur video route ala YouTube, we will be able to generate decent video material to generate an audience. Find attached a revised business concept. If you have people on your end interested to get this going, then we can be able to build the initial critical mass. Go, spread the word!

click here to download the proposal

Click here to download the CityFuture Booklet

Today we want to present our small comprehensive summary of the UCLG CityFuture Program with our Booklet. The CityFuture Program is entering the final phase and it is time to reflect about the process and findings. We received positive feedback on the publication and therefore like to share it with whoever is interested. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us: m.mayr(at)cities-localgovernments.org

Your UCLG CDS Team

Click here to access the municipal library

Our colleagues at FLACMA have created a virtual library for dedicated urban and municipal matters – open to everybody! We want to take the opportunity and promote this idea. We invite everybody to contribute meaningful and interesting material, whether movies, studies or papers. Please read the manual first, so that your document will apear at the right place and can be found easily.

Your UCLG CDS team

Click here to download the newsletter

1. Strategic Planning Commission
2. CityFuture News – Delivery of Proposals
3. Partnership UCLG – Cities Alliance

The theme of the second CDS newsletter “delivering the promise” is twofold. First, we are entering the final phase of CityFuture during which the initial promise to deliver the CDS Proposal of cities will be fulfilled. Second, more and more members of CityFuture advance towards a more long-term commitment. The set up of the UCLG Urban Planning Commission will contribute to enhancing the dialogue and sustainability beyond the program cycle of CityFuture, a truly promising development!

Strategic Planning Commission

After the Urban Planning Commission was established at the UCLG World Congress in Jeju, the members laid out and identified the work plan and key issues. The Commission will: (i) build spaces for discussion, exchange, and dissemination of good practices; (ii) Improve the visibility and worldwide appreciation of local management experiences that have achieved remarkable transformation thanks to urban strategic planning; (iii) Facilitate the transfer of technical know-how gained in successful experiences; (iv) Make contributions to UCLG’s political instances such as the Executive Bureau or the World Council; and (v) Consolidate links with the other UCLG commissions and/or groups working on issues that cross-section with this Commission.
For more information, see: http://www.cities-localgovernments.org/…

The Commission is welcoming new members, Belo Horizonte (Brazil), Bilbao (Spain) and we would like to take the opportunity and introduce our most recent member, Guangzhou (PR China).
Guangzhou is the capital of the Guangdong Province and the largest industrial and commercial city in southern China and home to more than 11 million inhabitants. With its history going back more than 2.200 years, Guangzhou was the starting point of the Ancient Marine Silk Road, and one of the earliest foreign trade ports. Guangzhou is the third largest city in terms of overall economic power, and one of China’s most important windows to foreign trade and cooperation. The strategic goal of Guangzhou is to realize harmony between man and nature. Having made outstanding achievements in the past, Guangzhou regards strategic urban planning as vital to ensure that development does not subtract from the quality of life. Guangzhou today focuses on environmental planning and cultural heritage. While modernizing old towns, the city balanced these with great efforts in conservation. Guangzhou has become an international metropolis ideal for both investments and living, with a unique charming urban environment, green mountains, clear waters, modern residential areas, and prosperous commercial districts. The city cooperates actively with institutions in China and beyond, and intends to host a key event related to CDS.

CityFuture News – Delivery of Proposals

Participants of the two CityFuture regions, Africa and Latin America, are currently preparing their City Development Strategy proposals.
Ciudad Sur (Chile) is preparing a CDS with a sharp focus on reducing structural poverty and social inclusion. The process is being mentored by the city of Rosario. The Chilean Ministry of Housing, a Cities Alliance Member, has been closely involved in the process. Discussions with the Cities Alliance and UCLG are underway, and are to be e through active mentoring. The next step is to confirm institutions and to draft an operational plan.
Villa El Salvador’s (Peru) CDS focuses on local economic development and Slum Upgrading. VES draws from a long history of participatory planning, and now tries to integrate its urban development into the metropolitan system of Lima, by linking both CDSs and enhancing the policy dialogue. Villa El Salvador seeks active participation of the World Bank in the preparation activities to formulate the proposal and later to become a supporting partner to the proposal.
San Juan de Pasto (Colombia): The CDS proposal has been intensively discussed within the participatory process and received external support by the GTZ. Pasto is focusing on the integration of informal settlement into the urban system, environmental protection of risk areas and economic development of displaced population. The process is centered around strong participation. The national government strongly supports the process.
Durango (Mexico): The proposal of Durango aims at providing alternative housing solutions to urban poor. The city intends to set up a strategy for housing, with a focus on securing the financial feasibility of massive housing solutions, including the development of financial instruments for Mexican cities. The proposal has received advisory support from CIDEU, the Latin American Planning Network, which they chair.
Lilongwe (Malawi) is preparing a CDS proposal centring on slum upgrading and future slum prevention. The Proposal has been used to inform wider national Slum Upgrading policies in Malawi. The proposal is already being discussed within the Cities Alliance and has attracted interest from the Members. The city needs a preparatory grant to set up an institutional framework with all stakeholders to create an enabling environment. The preparation process is supported by Johannesburg and the Malawian Association of Local Governments (MALGA), via the CityFuture program.
Nampula is Mozambique’s third largest urban centre and the ‘capital’ of northern Mozambique. Poverty reduction is the overall objective of the CDS . The city works closely with surrounding areas and seeks metropolitan integration through strategic planning and the efficient use of spatial instruments. Nampula aims to build technical and institutional capacity within the Municipality and increase public participation for ensuring more adequate planning and management of human settlements in Nampula City and surrounding rural areas.

Partnership UCLG – Cities Alliance

UCLG and Cities Alliance will strengthened their partnership and working relation beyond CDS and local finance activities, and UCLG seeks to broaden its already strong membership within the Alliance. A number of publications (present and future) are envisaged and a more intensive policy dialogue will take place in the future. The lessons and practices of CityFuture will be used in the future to support local governments and cities in their strategic planning processes. UCLG will be able to help their members to capitalize on the positive aspects of urbanization, which no doubt will be the single main impact on development in the 21st century.

You will find more information on our website soon, prepare for more to come!

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1 & 2. CDS at the UCLG World Congress
3. UCLG Strategic Urban Planning Commission
4. Related news

The UCLG World Congress in Jeju (Republic of Korea) saw nearly 2.000 participants discussing local government issues under the headline “changing cities are driving our world”. There were two dedicated meetings on city development strategies, one coordinated by Cities Alliance and one by UCLG.

Parallel session on CDS

The key note delivered by the Jean Pierre Mbassi, the Secretary General of UCLGA, reminded the participants about the logic of a CDS process: “If you fail to plan you plan to fail”. Strategic planning needs to promote economic growth, social inclusion, environmental sustainability and good governance. It is urgent that international development community fully recognizes the strategic role of cities for economic growth and poverty alleviation. To achieve the MDGs, local governments need to engage and commit to processes beyond the terms of elected representatives, processes that can result from CDSs. In many countries, there is also an opportunity to create legal instruments for strategic urban planning.

Meeting on CityFuture

Participants of the two regions of CityFuture, our cooperation program between UCLG and Cities Alliance, came together and met with members of the Cities Alliance, the GTZ, UNDP and USAID. The objective of this executive meeting was to review the outcomes in the two regions, Africa and Latin America, and to decide on a way forwards, including the nearby establishment of a urban planning commission within UCLG. The cities have been addressing possible partners and references in their countries, a process we call “Matchmaking. More and more cities coming into contact with each other, with local government associations and with Cities Alliance members to share their CDS experiences.

UCLG’s Strategic Urban Planning Commission

Rosario created a commission on urban strategic planning within UCLG, which was approved and validated during the World Congress. This is a step towards strengthening the urban planning worldwide.Building on Rosario’s successful CDS experiences, both on their own process and within the CityFuture network, the city now leads the newly created global network. The purpose is to share experiences, support city-to-city learning, promote good practices and deepen South-South cooperation.
Members of the new commission are: Tripoli; the South African Local Government Association; Lilongwe; Villa el Salvador; Ciudad Sur; the Brazilian LGA CNM; Porto Allegre; the LGA of Mozambique; Mexican LGM FENAM; Durango, UCLG Africa; Maputo; Matola, Jakarta; and the Mayos association of Senegal.

Related News

The CityFuture Network is expanding, for example cities like Mexico-City, Ecatepec and Marrakech expressed interest to join the program and prepare proposals based on the experiences of our members
All participants of the CityFuture program, as well as all other interested cities are invited to join the urban strategic planning commission