Author: Alice Preston Jones

Categories
Africa

Rapid Planning Toolkit in Bo, Sierra Leone

Rapid Planning Toolkit in Bo, Sierra Leone 

CROSS-CUTTING SECTORS

Urban planning, capacity building, climate, governance 

ORGANISATION(S)

The Prince’s Foundation in partnership with the Commonwealth Association of Planners, New York Marron Institute for Urban Management, UN-Habitat, Bo City Council, Commonwealth Local Government Forum, Commonwealth Association of Architects and University College of Estate Management 

PROJECT OVERVIEW 

The speed and scale of growth anticipated in the next few decades will mean that managing urban areas, and planning for new sustainable urban extensions, will be one of the most important challenges facing cities and societies in the 21st century. The Rapid Planning Toolkit is a simple and practical 4-step tool which intends to assist city leaders and built environment professionals in creating robust and implementable walkable neighbourhood plans in rapidly growing cities or towns. The Toolkit advocates that built environment professionals collaborate with local and national governments, technical specialists and local communities to create effective city planning. The Toolkit is currently being tested in Bo, Sierra Leone which has a population of 270,000, set to triple to 540,000 by 2040. In just 9 months they completed Steps 1-3, including tree planting and are due to start Step 4 in 2021. An Online Learning Platform which will enable cities to learn about the Toolkit, download resources and access templates will be available soon. Click here for more information about the Toolkit resources and the Bo Case Study. 

RELEVANCE TO THE CALL TO ACTION ON SUSTAINABLE URBANISATION ACROSS THE COMMONWEALTH

These examples have been chosen because of their relevance to the Call to Action, as shown by the direct quotes provided below. To view the Call to Action click here.

  • “Sustainable urbanisation demands collective action – genuine multi-level governance – to empower, enable and support cities and their citizens” 
  • Cities and human settlements are responsible for ensuring delivery of essential services including water, sanitation, healthcare, education, public transport, and housing. 
  • Sustainable urbanisation requires a commitment to good governance, integrated planning, effective service delivery together with fiscal and political empowerment. 
  • Sustainable urbanisation demands collective action – genuine multi-level governance – to empower, enable and support cities and their citizens.  
  • Universities, research, technology, innovation, and knowledge sharing will be at the heart of ensuring sustainable cities and human settlements of the future.   

THIS EXAMPLE HAS BEEN PROVIDED BY

Commonwealth Association of Planners (CAP): https://www.commonwealth-planners.org/

The Prince’s Foundation: https://princes-foundation.org/

Categories
Asia Pacific

SDG Cities Challenge in Malaysia, India, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and Australia

SDG Cities Challenge in Malaysia, India, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and Australia 

CROSS-CUTTING SECTORS

SDGs, SIDS, Capacity Building, Data 

ORGANISATION(S)

Connected Cities Lab, Business Council for Sustainable Development Australia, Banksia Foundation 

PROJECT OVERVIEW 

The 2020 SDGs Cities Challenge began on 13 May 2020 with ten initial cities from Malaysia, India, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and Australia. There is a wealth of resources available for cities and business to support the implementation of the SDGs however it is not always easy to find a methodology that best fits a city’s local context and identifies appropriate local solutions. The SDGs Cities Challenge links cities with their urban partners in academia, business and community in a structured process of co-design. This creates innovative approaches for cities to accelerate action towards the Sustainable Development Goals, in particular SDG11, using an initiative or project to which they are already committed. Each city is given the opportunity to produce an implementation plan, and ultimately a voluntary local review (VLR) aligned to the SDGs. The SDGs Cities Challenge is a comprehensive, long-term program aligned with the 2030 Development Agenda. Click here to find out more.  

RELEVANCE TO THE CALL TO ACTION ON SUSTAINABLE URBANISATION ACROSS THE COMMONWEALTH

These examples have been chosen because of their relevance to the Call to Action, as shown by the direct quotes provided below. To view the Call to Action click here.

  • “With almost 50% of Commonwealth citizens living and working in cities and human settlements, and 65% of the 169 targets underlying the 17 SDGs linked to territorial and urban development, sustainable urbanisation must be central to the Commonwealth’s agenda for delivering a common future: connecting, innovating, and transforming.”  
  • “Sustainable urbanisation requires a commitment to good governance, integrated planning, effective service delivery together with fiscal and political empowerment.” 
  • “Sustainable urbanisation demands collective action – genuine multi-level governance – to empower, enable and support cities and their citizens.”  
  • Universities, research, technology, innovation, and knowledge sharing will be at the heart of ensuring sustainable cities and human settlements of the future.  

THIS EXAMPLE HAS BEEN PROVIDED BY

Connected Cities Lab: https://sites.research.unimelb.edu.au/connected-cities

Categories
Asia

Revolutionising House Lending for Pakistan’s Informal Sector

Revolutionising House Lending for Pakistan’s Informal Sector

CROSS-CUTTING SECTORS

Finance, housing, urban poor, climate 

ORGANISATION(S)

REALL in partnership with Ansaar Management Company (AMC) and House Building Finance Company (HBFC)

In Pakistan, the affordable housing challenge is vast with many bottlenecks. One of the main blockages is the lack of housing finance for people on low incomes. These people have been systematically misunderstood or excluded by mainstream mortgage lenders.

Reall have invested in affordable housing property developer, the Ansaar Management Company (AMC), who has successfully launched a pioneering new mortgage product in partnership with the semi-state-owned lending institution HBFC.

AMC and HBFC’s mortgage product is available to people in both formal and informal employment. They have de-risked lending by AMC withholding titles until the loan amount is recovered as a guarantee to HBFC. Community development officers maintain the housing site which increases property value and reassures HBFC that returns will exceed sale value in the case of customer default.

The mortgage product for people on low incomes is the first of its kind in Pakistan. With more than 60 mortgages granted so far, the initial performance has been outstanding with average repayment rates of 80% in 30 days, increasing to 99% in 90 days. This data is proving the commercial viability of lending to this market segment whilst creating opportunities to scale up, resolve the escalating urbanisation crisis and unleash the developmental and economic potential of affordable housing.

RELEVANCE TO THE CALL TO ACTION ON SUSTAINABLE URBANISATION ACROSS THE COMMONWEALTH

These examples have been chosen because of their relevance to the Call to Action, as shown by the direct quotes provided below. To view the Call to Action click here.

  • “Cities and human settlements are responsible for ensuring delivery of essential services including water, sanitation, healthcare, education, public transport, and housing, upon which their citizens depend.”  
  • “There is already a substantial deficit in investment in essential urban infrastructure.” 
  •  “Sustainable urbanisation requires a commitment to good governance, integrated planning, effective service delivery together with fiscal and political empowerment.” 
  • “Sustainable urbanisation demands collective action – genuine multi-level governance – to empower, enable and support cities and their citizens.” 

THIS EXAMPLE HAS BEEN PROVIDED BY

REALL: https://www.reall.net/

Categories
Africa

Land Tenure Regularisation in Rwanda

Land Tenure Regularisation in Rwanda

CROSS-CUTTING SECTORS

Land tenure, finance, capacity building, gender, climate, governance 

ORGANISATION(S)

The Government of Rwanda, DFID 

PROJECT OVERVIEW 

Rwanda, like many other African countries, had multiple, overlapping tenure systems, with no formal or consistent way of accounting for them in a land register or cadastre. This resulted in rising informal land markets as well as associated increase in land prices and conflict. In order to address this, the government along with development partners rolled out a large-scale Land Tenure Regularisation Programme. By using local para-surveyors and digital technologies, they managed to do this at a cost of US$7 per parcel. This was first piloted in 2007, and then rolled out in full, ending in 2013. Click here for more information on this project.  

RELEVANCE TO THE CALL TO ACTION ON SUSTAINABLE URBANISATION ACROSS THE COMMONWEALTH

These examples have been chosen because of their relevance to the Call to Action, as shown by the direct quotes provided below. To view the Call to Action click here.

  • “Sustainable urbanisation requires a commitment to good governance, integrated planning, effective service delivery together with fiscal and political empowerment.” 
  • “The Commonwealth has the potential to transform the way in which it does business to achieve a uniquely Commonwealth response to the challenges and opportunities of urbanisation.” 
  • “Sustainable urbanisation demands collective action – genuine multi-level governance – to empower, enable and support cities and their citizens.” 

THIS EXAMPLE HAS BEEN PROVIDED BY

International Growth Centre (IGC): https://www.theigc.org/

Categories
Africa

Participatory, Scaled-up Informal Settlement Upgrading in Nairobi, Kenya

Informal Settlement Redevelopment in Nairobi, Kenya  

CROSS-CUTTING SECTORS

Urban planning, land tenure, housing, governance, resilience, community-led 

ORGANISATION(S)

To develop holistic interventions, the partners launched eight consortia with 46 partner organisations, who range from academics and civil society groups to government officials, utilities agencies, and private firms. Each consortium was led by a corresponding department from Nairobi’s County Government. Additionally, Muungano and its partner NGOs SDI-Kenya and Akiba Mashinani Trust (known as the ‘Muungano Alliance’) worked closely with the consortia. 

PROJECT OVERVIEW 

Mukuru is a large informal settlement located in Nairobi’s industrial area, with about 300,000 residents. Mukuru residents face several risks simultaneously linked to low-quality shelter, infrastructure, and services, as well as the settlement’s insecure tenure and flood-prone location. About 95% of residents are tenants who rent rooms in shacks, typically built of mud and/or galvanised iron sheets. Residents usually have very limited access to water, sanitation, and hygiene; there is also elevated of tenure insecurity due to Mukuru’s prime location on contested private lands. Residents also face social and political exclusion, as in Nairobi’s other informal settlements. After years of advocacy by Kenya’s slum-dweller federation Muungano wa Wanavijiji and related action-research, Nairobi’s County Government declared Mukuru a Special Planning Area (SPA) in 2017. This SPA has developed an innovative combination of 1) large-scale, multi-sectoral upgrading, 2) strong community participation, 3) minimal displacement, 4) interdisciplinary consortia, and 5) partnerships between government, civil society, residents, and other stakeholders. The partners also 6) transformed conventional planning standards, while also seeking to enhance physical and social infrastructure. Consortia members found ways to keep nearly all households in place: for Mukuru’s new transport network, the widest road will be just 12m rather than the conventional 48m. The SPA will prioritise improved non-motorised transport and support the construction of narrower roads/paths. Implementation of this multi-sectoral intervention is already underway with various official agencies. Click here for more information.  

RELEVANCE TO THE CALL TO ACTION ON SUSTAINABLE URBANISATION ACROSS THE COMMONWEALTH

These examples have been chosen because of their relevance to the Call to Action, as shown by the direct quotes provided below. To view the Call to Action click here.

  • “Cities and human settlements are responsible for ensuring delivery of essential services including water, sanitation, healthcare, education, public transport, and housing, upon which their citizens depend.” 
  • “Sustainable urbanisation requires a commitment to good governance, integrated planning, effective service delivery together with fiscal and political empowerment.” 
  • “Sustainable urbanisation demands collective action – genuine multi-level governance – to empower, enable and support cities and their citizens.”  

THIS EXAMPLE HAS BEEN PROVIDED BY

International Institution for Environment and Development (IIED): https://www.iied.org/

Categories
Pacific

Building Capacity of SIDS for Local Economic Development in Kiribati, Cook Islands, Marshall Islands

Building Capacity of SIDS for Local Economic Development in Kiribati, Cook Islands, Marshall Islands 

CROSS-CUTTING SECTORS

Local economic development, governance, capacity building 

ORGANISATION(S)

CLGF, LED consultants, LGA and Local Authorities of participating countries together with members of the wards who are going to implement the project. 

PROJECT OVERVIEW 

Small Islands in the Pacific face daunting challenges posed by their small size, narrow production and export bases, limited resources and capacity constraints. These challenges are exacerbated by climate change, urbanisation and now COVID 19. To get out of poverty and hardship people are looking for local solutions to generate economic activities in order to improve standard of living. The overall objective of the project is to create and increase the sustainability of local economic development at the local level through the strengthening of LGAs and Local Authorities and supporting their interaction with communities. The project was designed to build the capacities of small island states for local economic development. It involves an action learning program delivered in each participating country plus providing some mentoring for project implementation. The action learning program provided opportunities for local experts in the country to address issues regarding local economic development and provided tools for assessing local economic development opportunities. Click here to find out more about the project. 

RELEVANCE TO THE CALL TO ACTION ON SUSTAINABLE URBANISATION ACROSS THE COMMONWEALTH

These examples have been chosen because of their relevance to the Call to Action, as shown by the direct quotes provided below. To view the Call to Action click here.

  • “Cities and human settlements are responsible for ensuring delivery of essential services including water, sanitation, healthcare, education, public transport, and housing, upon which their citizens depend.” 
  • “Sustainable urbanisation requires a commitment to good governance, integrated planning, effective service delivery together with fiscal and political empowerment.” 
  • “Sustainable urbanisation demands collective action – genuine multi-level governance – to empower, enable and support cities and their citizens.“ 

THIS EXAMPLE HAS BEEN PROVIDED BY

Commonwealth Local Government Forum (CLGF): https://www.clgf.org.uk/

Categories
Africa Asia Pacific

Urban Data Collection in India

Urban Data Collection in India 

CROSS-CUTTING SECTORS

Urban planning, technology/data, governance 

ORGANISATION(S)

Indian Institute for Human Settlements in partnership with University of Cape Town and Connected Cities Lab. 

PROJECT OVERVIEW 

In the Indian context, data on urbanisation is not released at an adequate spatial and temporal resolution. While data is collected by various government agencies, however, it is collected relatively infrequently and is not released at a fine-grained resolution that allows researchers to understand urban inequalities, vulnerabilities, risks and exposure. This prevents policymakers, practitioners and researchers from formulating adequate policies and theory to deal with the challenges raised by urbanisation in these contexts. In order to address this, the Urban Informatics Lab and the Geospatial Lab at IIHS have been collaborating to develop open source, scalable methods to generate fine-grained data on India’s cities. This approach combines publicly available administrative data along with satellite data, using geo-spatial analysis techniques to develop new methods as well as new datasets that shed light on urban inequalities and pathways to sustainability. Further, IIHS are developing an Urban Observatory on Bangalore to disseminate this data. This approach is further being amplified through a set of partnerships across the Commonwealth – with the Connected Cities Lab, Australia and the University of Cape Town, South Africa. 

RELEVANCE TO THE CALL TO ACTION ON SUSTAINABLE URBANISATION ACROSS THE COMMONWEALTH

These examples have been chosen because of their relevance to the Call to Action, as shown by the direct quotes provided below. To view the Call to Action click here.

  • “Cities and human settlements are responsible for ensuring delivery of essential services including water, sanitation, healthcare, education, public transport, and housing, upon which their citizens depend.” 
  • “Universities, research, technology, innovation, and knowledge sharing will be at the heart of ensuring sustainable cities and human settlements of the future.” 
  • “Sustainable urbanisation demands collective action – genuine multi-level governance – to empower, enable and support cities and their citizens.”   

THIS EXAMPLE HAS BEEN PROVIDED BY

Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS): https://iihs.co.in/

Categories
Africa

Rethinking Public Finance for Children in Uganda

Rethinking Public Finance for Children in Uganda 

CROSS-CUTTING SECTORS

Youth, Governance, Public service delivery, Financing, SDGs 

ORGANISATION(S)

Government of Uganda – The Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, with UNICEF Uganda 

PROJECT OVERVIEW 

Uganda’s relatively young population, where close to 60% of the population below 18 years of age, and over 75% below the age of 35 years, is central to it’s country’s development towards a middle-income country. Traditionally having relied on donor funding for investment in social services, which is now in decline, there is a recognition of a need for greater transparency and accountability, and more efficient implementation. Value for money is now a priority, to ensure that with existing resources, integral services for child welfare and development can be maximised. The government is taking steps to improve monitoring of the impact of investments on social outcomes, having set up the Budget Monitoring and Accountability Unit to provide a framework to inform better spending decisions. Click here for more information.

RELEVANCE TO THE CALL TO ACTION ON SUSTAINABLE URBANISATION ACROSS THE COMMONWEALTH

These examples have been chosen because of their relevance to the Call to Action, as shown by the direct quotes provided below. To view the Call to Action click here.

  • “Well managed cities and human settlements are drivers of economic development, centres of innovation and entrepreneurship, and sources of trade and employment that are vital for the livelihoods of their citizens, 60% of whom are under 30.”
  • “Sustainable urbanisation requires a commitment to good governance, integrated planning, effective service delivery together with fiscal and political empowerment.”
  • “Sustainable urbanisation demands collective action – genuine multi-level governance – to empower, enable and support cities and their citizens.”

THIS EXAMPLE HAS BEEN PROVIDED BY

UN-Habitat: https://unhabitat.org/

Categories
Pacific

Te Wānanga – Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland)

Te Wānanga – Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland)

CROSS-CUTTING SECTORS

Urban planning, Transport, SDGs, Communities, Good Health, Wellbeing

ORGANISATION(S)

Auckland Council, Auckland Transport and Mana Whenua (local Māori authorities)

PROJECT OVERVIEW 

Located at the meeting point of Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland) city centre and Te Waitematā (Waitematā harbour), Te Wānanga is one of the new public spaces transforming our city centre waterfront. A design partnership with Mana Whenua (local Māori authorities) elevated design thinking to deliver a project that expresses local identity, culture history and aspirations for the future. This thinking brought a strong mauri (life force) focus to improving land and marine-based ecological health through the project. Te Wānanga has been designed as an ‘elevated tidal shelf’ which provides space for human, cultural and natural ecologies to interact. Kutai (mussels) secured below the deck provide habitat and food for marine fauna, improve water quality and provide a tangible means for educating the public on the need to care for and improve the mauri of Te Waitematā. Compact groves of coastal forest restore endemic taonga (treasured/important) species and create beautiful shady spots for people to enjoy as they relax. These groves play an important regenerative role, incorporating plants and associations from the original ecosystem of this area to re-introduce habitat and food for native fauna. Te Wānanga provides a valuable blueprint for future urban public realm development in Tāmaki Makaurau. Click here and here for more information.

RELEVANCE TO THE CALL TO ACTION ON SUSTAINABLE URBANISATION ACROSS THE COMMONWEALTH

These examples have been chosen because of their relevance to the Call to Action, as shown by the direct quotes provided below. To view the Call to Action click here.

  • “Cities are a major source of greenhouse gas emissions and where the impacts of climate change are experienced acutely.”
  • “Cities and human settlements are responsible for ensuring delivery of essential services including water, sanitation, healthcare, education, public transport, and housing, upon which their citizens depend.”
  • “Sustainable urbanisation requires a commitment to good governance, integrated planning, effective service delivery together with fiscal and political empowerment.”

THIS EXAMPLE HAS BEEN PROVIDED BY

Auckland Council

Categories
Americas & The Caribbean

Pioneering Initiatives for Sustainable Cities in Antigua and Barbuda

Pioneering Initiatives for Sustainable Cities in Antigua and Barbuda 

CROSS-CUTTING SECTORS

Community-led, Housing, Urban poor, Resilience, Renewable energy, Gender 

ORGANISATION(S)

Led by local community groups in partnership with the Department of the Environment and the Organisation of American States (OAS), and involvement of the Association of Persons with Disabilities 

PROJECT OVERVIEW 

The Caribbean island of Antigua is extremely vulnerable to the threat of climate change and severe weather conditions, with areas of poorly constructed housing and little in infrastructure and climate defences. Within the community, Ruth Spencer has been organising a programme of educating the public on solar power technology and its potential to lower their cost of electricy. Partnering with local community groups, churches and local suppliers, they have been able to provide materials and training to be able to install solar panels and carry out building upgrades. With funding from national organisations, they are working to mitigate against flooding and building sustainable agricultural practices to improve food security. These initiatives have been locally driven, with engagement from wide sectors of the community. Click here for more information. 

RELEVANCE TO THE CALL TO ACTION ON SUSTAINABLE URBANISATION ACROSS THE COMMONWEALTH

These examples have been chosen because of their relevance to the Call to Action, as shown by the direct quotes provided below. To view the Call to Action click here.

  • “Many Commonwealth cities and human settlements are grappling with poverty, informality, food security and migration.” 
  • “Cities are a major source of greenhouse gas emissions and where the impacts of climate change are experienced acutely.”
  • “Cities and human settlements are responsible for ensuring delivery of essential services including water, sanitation, healthcare, education, public transport, and housing, upon which their citizens depend.’
  • “Sustainable urbanisation demands collective action – genuine multi-level governance – to empower, enable and support cities and their citizens.”

THIS EXAMPLE HAS BEEN PROVIDED BY

UN-Habitat: https://unhabitat.org/