a range of actors that often have different and / or conflicting interests, and a more heterogenous, fluid, and anonymous population compared to rural areas and an aggregated national level. A lack of reliable and granular data of conditions makes it more difficult to assess options and respond where needs are the greatest. Moreover, strong national interests in energy adds a political dimension to the work, both in countries where national laws and regulations are in place and in countries lacking in such. In urban areas particularly, the degree to which decentralised governments can regulate, control, and are able to provide energy, is a key factor for energy access at the local level. Given the above, multi-scale, cross-sectorial, and context-specific approaches are needed to address issues linked to unreliable, inadequate, and inequitable access to energy in urban areas. To move towards sustainable models for clean energy provision in urban settings and at scale, using and strengthening existing market structures and value chains is key. This requires market entry and scaling-up of activities by public and private sector actors in a way that includes poor and vulnerable segments of the population.
Urban crises response approaches With the increased number and scale of urban crises, new approaches, response tools, and ways of working are being developed and tested. For example, areabased approaches have been adopted as holistic and cross-sectoral ways of working within existing
urban systems and with local governments. These approaches are complementing international policy initiatives such as the Global Compact on Refugees and the New Way of Working in support of comprehensive and effective humanitarian assistance. While area-based approaches often focus on a subcity or neighbourhood levels, the Urban Recovery Framework (URF)-model has emerged as a tested methodology that considers policy, regulations, and interventions across multi-level governance and urban systems. The approach has been developed by UNHabitat and partners within country level programmes in the Middle East. The URF is responding to the needs of various population groups from local and city to national levels. These urban response approaches were conceived to fill a significant gap in the international system’s ability to support countries and cities affected by urban crises. Most crises response approaches are organized along sectoral lines, without recognizing their interdependence in urban areas, and thus less flexible in application to account for local dynamics. Economic, social, cultural, environmental, and political dimensions manifest differently across cities and scales of human settlements, and recovery programmes thus require a locally tailored approach. The URF process incorporates city- and community-level approaches as well as national political, legal, and regulatory environments. This to identify and strengthen linkages, connections, and synergies in response across areas and systems. Furthermore, response approaches, such
Increasing: •
actors
•
population
•
density
•
markets
•
grids
•
value of land
•
energy usage
National
Political & regulatory environment
...
City
Systems and value-chains
Varying degree of access to: •
services
•
infrastructure
•
adequate housing,
•
jobs
…
Neighbourhood/ household
Needs and vulnerabilities
Figure 2 Key considerations for clean energy provision and access from national to local level
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