At this event, the programme associated with the Call to action on sustainable urbanisation in the Commonwealth was launched, under the leadership of the Association of Commonwealth Universities, the Commonwealth Association of Architects, the Commonwealth Association of Planners, and the Commonwealth Local Government Forum, with support from The Prince’s Foundation and the Government of Rwanda.
This event was jointly hosted by the Commonwealth Local Government Forum and the Commonwealth Association of Planners. It explored strategies for addressing rapid urbanisation in small states facing the specific challenges of remoteness, vulnerability to climate change and natural disasters, and the capacity needed to deal with these and other constraints. The session drew on experiences from small states across the Commonwealth, shared innovations and highlight specific issues of managing sustainable urbanisation in a small state context.
Chair: Dr Eris Schoburgh, Associate Dean, Faculty of the Social Sciences and Senior Lecturer, Department of Government, University of the West Indies.
Panellists:
- Mayor Khalid Belisle, Mayor of Belmopan, Belize
- Dr Carol Archer, Professor in Urban Planning and Public Policy, University of Technology, Jamaica
- Clive Edwards, Project Manager, Local Government Reform Programme, Ministry of Local Government & Community Development, Government of Jamaica
- Dr Angus Friday, Climate Change Expert
The event attracted over 66 attendees from 26 countries, with approximately 31 attending via the Vimeo livestream.
Questions to the panel, together with expressions of support, came from a variety of sources, including from Akin Looby, Vice President of the Commonwealth Association of Architects for the Americas and Vice President of the Trinidad and Tobago Institute of Architects, and Eric Sanchez from the CAP Young Planners Network in Belize.
Key messages
- SIDs have specific vulnerabilities relating to their size and they are also particularly vulnerable to climate change and natural disasters.
- It is important to focus on appropriate solutions and appropriate urbanisation in small states, and local communities should be fully engaged in planning and decision making
- We must work towards more collaborative governance in small states to maximise benefits to local communities and address the challenges of rapid urbanisation
- The private sector should play a key role in supporting the build-back better/green recovery in small states across the Commonwealth
- Small states face significant challenges in financing urban development. Many small states are facing increasing debt, and with the impact of COVID-19 on tourism income in particular, the public sector will be under further threat. Since many small states are seen as middle income countries, their ability to draw on development funds is limited, so we must look to alternative financing solutions.
- There is real scope for regional/Commonwealth networks to ensure accessible technical and professional capacity is available in SIDS
