Category: Pacific

Categories
Pacific

Te Ara Awataha – The Awataha Greenway

Te Ara Awataha – The Awataha Greenway in Auckland, New Zealand

CROSS-CUTTING SECTORS

Urban planning, Housing, Climate, Resilience, Health, Transport, Water

ORGANISATION(S)

Auckland Council, Panuku Development Auckland, Kāinga Ora, Kaipātiki Project, Ngā Mana Whenua ō Tāmaki Makaurau (indigenous leaders)

PROJECT OVERVIEW 

Te Ara Awataha is a 1.5km green infrastructure project linking Northcote town centre to existing parks, schools and homes in Northcote, Auckland. It’s part of the wider urban regeneration of Northcote and seeks to resolve long-standing stormwater issues while creating a valued and resilient environmental asset. The project includes partial daylighting of the Awataha Stream, a shared walking and cycling path, native planting, play destinations and the integration of cultural design elements.

Te Ara Awataha is being delivered in partnership with the city council and its urban regeneration agency, the government housing authority and indigenous leaders from the area (Mana Whenua). The local community has been part of the design and delivery of the project, including a community-led restoration project at the source of the stream.

A key focus of the project is reviving the historic Awataha Stream, confined to an underground pipe since the 1950s and largely built over. This includes physical works to improve water quality and biodiversity, and social interventions that involve and educate the community. This approach instils a sense of kaitiakitanga (guardianship) for Te Ara Awataha.

Physical delivery began in 2020 and the project will be delivered in stages over the next 6 years.

Click here and 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.

  • “All the Commonwealth member states’ urgent priorities have an urban dimension, and a greater focus on sustainable urbanisation will ensure that people, and improving the quality of life for all remain central to the work of the Commonwealth.”
  • “Cities are a major source of greenhouse gas emissions and where the impacts of climate change are experienced acutely.”
  • “Seeking urgent action to reduce carbon emissions, halt biodiversity loss, strengthen climate resilience and adaptation, while addressing the finance gap and calling for a greater local response to climate change issues.”

THIS EXAMPLE HAS BEEN PROVIDED BY

Panku Development Auckland: https://www.panuku.co.nz/

Categories
Pacific

Local Climate Adaptive Living (LOCAL) facility in Tuvalu

Local Climate Adaptive Living (LOCAL) facility in Tuvalu 

CROSS-CUTTING SECTORS

Climate, resilience, finance, governance 

ORGANISATION(S)

CLGF, TA from UNCDF, on site local TA, national and councils  

PROJECT OVERVIEW 

LOCAL is a mechanism to promote climate change resilient communities and economics by increasing financing for and investment in climate change adaptation at the local level. LOCAL combines performance–based climate resilience grants which ensure programming and verification of climate expenditures at the local level, with technical and capacity building. The project is designed to re-enforce existing national and sub-national financial and fiscal delivery systems, and it uses the demonstration effect to trigger further flows for local adaptation, including national fiscal transfers and global climate finance for local authorities through their central governments. The project is built upon national systems, the performance-based climate resilience grants system comprises of the following key elements: 

  1. Local developing planning process and budgeting; 
  1. Public Finance Management; 
  1. Monitoring and evaluation 
  1. Reporting  
  1. A set of minimum conditions and performance measures for the performance-based climate resilience grants allocation and disbursements. 

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.’ 
  • “Cities are a major source of greenhouse gas emissions and where the impacts of climate change are experienced acutely.” 
  • “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
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
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
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
Pacific

Localising the 2030 Agenda Through Sustainable Urban Resource Management in Fiji

Localising the 2030 Agenda Through Sustainable Urban Resource Management in Fiji 

CROSS-CUTTING SECTORS

Waste management, capacity building, governance, SDGs 

ORGANISATION(S)

UNESCAP, UNHABITAT, JICA, CLGF, Ministry of Local Government, Nasinu Town Councils and members of different groups from communities in Nasinu including representatives from the informal settlement and business community.

PROJECT OVERVIEW 

Many people in the Pacific continue to move to towns and cities resulting in significant and unsustainable use of resources, environmental degradation, waste and pollution. This set of challenges is particularly problematic for poor and vulnerable populations with limited access to basic infrastructure and services as well as decent livelihoods especially linked to eco-systems and natural resources. These challenges were addressed in this project through strengthening the capacities of local governments and other key urban stakeholders to implement the 2030 Agenda in the area of urban resource management. This project has a long-term aim of engaging a broad range of urban stakeholders to be able to identify and then implement ways of improving waste management outcomes of the Nasinu Town Council and the community. The focus is to integrate processes such as participatory, evidence, multi stakeholder’s governance and capacity building as precursors to well informed actions. The project helps to build the skills of the Nasinu Town Council and the community members in good local governance practices and procedures to improve solid waste management in Nasinu. The project set up and manage a local multi stakeholder’s coalition who were provided with tools and resources to enhance their ability to plan and implement SDGs, collect, analyse and disseminate data and encourage stakeholders to work together. 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

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

Categories
Pacific

4°C Cooler – Using Green Infrastructure to Build a Climate Resilient and Prosperous Melbourne

4°C Cooler – Using Green Infrastructure to Build a Climate Resilient and Prosperous Melbourne 

CROSS-CUTTING SECTORS

Urban planning, Climate, Resilience 

ORGANISATION(S)

The City of Melbourne 

PROJECT OVERVIEW 

In response to the extremely hot weather experienced in Melbourne over several years, the City of Melbourne have developed an Urban Forest Strategy and Open Space Strategy. The aim is to green the city and ultimately reduce the summertime temperatures in Melbourne by 4°C by 2040. The strategies are to double the green canopy over the city up to 40%, increase the network of green spaces and to expand stormwater harvesting to provide irrigation at times of drought. So far $40 million has been invested and since 2010, 15,000 trees have been planted, streets retrofitted for increased permeability and a new stormwater harvesting system contributes to 25% of water required for landscape irrigation. 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 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

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

Categories
Pacific

Reaching Diverse Communities with Artificial Intelligence: The Talanoa Project in Auckland, NZ

Reaching Diverse Communities with Artificial Intelligence: The Talanoa Project in Auckland, NZ

CROSS-CUTTING SECTORS

Good Governance, Inclusion, Urban Planning, Public Service Delivery, Technology

ORGANISATION(S)

Beca Ltd

PROJECT OVERVIEW

New Zealand is a highly diverse society made up of different ethnicities and cultures, characterised by different languages and customs. Engaging and consulting with communities and the public is promoted under planning legislation in New Zealand and is becoming increasingly important for decision-makers as they look to bolster the robustness of their decision-making. Through this pilot project, Beca Ltd sought to understand how communities that historically do not participate in traditional engagement techniques would engage through a digital platform allowing them to participate in a time, place, and language they are comfortable with. The Talanoa Project was launched as an investigation into an innovative engagement tool to connect with Auckland’s Samoan community, the ‘silent majority’. Beca Ltd wanted to understand if using artificial intelligence (AI) technology could break through cultural barriers and if it should be embedded as a trusted method within our wider engagement strategies and plans as public feedback is sought to inform development projects. 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.

  • “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, 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

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