UN-HABITAT Products and Services

UN-HABITAT POSITIONING STATEMENT UN-HABITAT, the United Nations Human Settlements Programme, is the United Nations agency for housing and urban development. It is mandated by the General Assembly to promote economically, socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities with the goal of providing adequate shelter for all.

It helps transform cities into friendlier, healthier, greener places with better opportunities where everyone, including the urban poor, can live in dignity.

UN-HABITAT is one of the new United Nations bodies with work with organizations at every level, including local governments, to plan finance build and manage cities that are productive and livable places for all and which do not pollute the environment.

The world is at the dawn of a new urban era with most of humanity now living in cities. UNHABITAT is at the frontline of the battle against fast growing poverty cities, rapid urbanization, unemployment disasters and the scourge of climate change. It does it by turning innovative ideas into action.

The United Nations gateway for cities, UN-HABITAT is flexible, focused and responsive to the aspirations of cities and their residents. Our flagship publications are widely acknowledges as the premier works of reference on city trends and urban issues.

sustainable urbanisation FOR A BETTER URBAN FUTURE United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) P.O. Box 30030, GPO 00100, Nairobi, Kenya Tel: +254 20 7625159 Fax: +254 20 7625015 info.rmu@unhabitat.org www.unhabitat.org UN-HABITAT is the United Nations body mandated to promote socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities and to provide adequate shelter for all

UN-HABITAT’s programmes in hundreds of cities around the world are designed to achieve a measurable impact upon the lives of the urban poor as a major contribution to the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals.

Cover Image © Mudassar Ahmed Dar/Shutterstock & Li Wa/Shutterstock

DISCLAIMER The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries, or regarding its economic system or degree of development. The analysis, conclusions and recommendations of this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme, the Governing Council of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme or its Member States. Copyright © United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT), 2010

Governing Council Every two years, UN-HABITAT’s work and relationships with its partners are examined in detail by a Governing Council composed of 58 member countries of the United Nations. It is a high-level forum of governments at the ministerial level that sets UN-HABITAT’s policies and approves the agency’s work programme and budget for the next two years. The Governing Council reports to the UN General Assembly through the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) which co-ordinates the work of UN agencies. The governments also have representatives at the agency’s world headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, with whom senior UN-HABITAT officials meet regularly throughout the year in the Committee of Permanent Representatives (CPR) on policy issues.

UN-HABITAT’s projects fall under various programmes that are the platforms from which the organization launches its operations.

Programmes are designed to help policy-makers and local communities find durable solutions to human urban settlement challenges.

Programmes operate globally, regionally and nationally and as such, they hold a huge potential to improve the lives of millions of urban poor, significantly. Therefore programmes represent the organizations core activities, for which vastly increased and sustained funding is required.

UN-HABITAT has the following sources of funding: • Regular budget allocations approved by the UN General Assembly (core funding).

• General purpose contributions – non-earmarked voluntary contributions from governments to support the implementation of the approved work programme.

• Special contributions – earmarked voluntary contributions from Governments and other donors for the implementation of specific activities included in the work programme and consistent with the UN-HABITAT’s mandate.

• Technical cooperation contributions – earmarked resources from Governments and other donors for the implementation of specific technical country level activities.

UN-HABITAT runs country-level operations through its Regional offices.

These are as follows: • The Regional Office for Africa and Arab States.

Location: Nairobi, Kenya.

• The Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific.

Location: Fukuoka, Japan.

• The Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean.

Location: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

• The Office for Central European Countries (OCEC).

Location: Warsaw, Poland.

• A Cairo Office for the Arab States is envisaged, with financial support from the Government of Egypt.

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The Plan’s vision is to help create, by 2013, the conditions for international and national efforts “to realize more sustainable urbanization, including efforts to arrest the growth of slums, and set the stage for the subsequent reduction in and reversal of the number of slum dwellers worldwide”.

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Enhanced Normative and Operational Framework

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Ms. Tibaijuka gives her inaugural speech during the official opening ceremony of the 22nd session of the Governing Council in Nairobi, Kenya.

World Urban Forum The World Urban Forum is a biennial gathering that is attended by a wide range of partners, from governments, non-governmental organizations, community-based organizations, urban professionals, academics, local authorities and national and international associations of local governments. It gives all these actors a common platform to discuss urban issues in formal and informal ways and come up with actionoriented proposals to create sustainable cities.

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FA4 Environmentally sound basic infrastructure and services to expand access to and to sustain provision of adequate clean water, improved sanitation, waste management, and ecologically sounds transport, energy and appropriate technologies in urban and peri-urban areas.

UN-HABITAT’s Governing Council approves the organization’s work programme and budget every two years. Most of the funding comes from government and intergovernmental donor voluntary contributions, while United Nations member States provide the regular budget.

Local authorities, the private sector, multilateral organizations and other United Nations bodies provide funds for specific projects termed earmarked or non-core activities.

The Plan comprises strategic and institutional components. The strategic component envisages a world in which people living in urban settings can access decent housing, clean water and basic sanitation services. The institutional component places UN-HABITAT at the forefront of reform so that accountability, transparency and results-based management are adopted as standard procedure.

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FA3 Pro-poor land and housing to assist national governments and Habitat Agenda partners to adopt pro-poor, gender and age sensitive housing, land management and property administration through enabling policies and improved regulatory frameworks.

Programmes and Projects

The Medium-Term Strategic and Institutional Plan

FA1 Advocacy, monitoring and partnerships to promote sustainable urbanization through education, communication, evidence-based information through collection and analysis of data, policy dialogue and strategic partnerships.

FA2 Participatory urban planning, management and governance to strengthen the performance of national governments, local authorities and other stakeholders to engage in developing more livable, productive and inclusive cities.

Funding

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The world is at the dawn of a new urban era with most of humanity now living in cities. UN-HABITAT is at the frontline of the battle against fast growing poverty in cities, rapid and chaotic urbanization, unemployment, disasters and the scourge of climate change. It does it by turning innovative ideas into action. UN-HABITAT is flexible, focused and responsive to the aspirations of cities and their residents. The organization’s flagship publications are widely acknowledged as the premier works of reference on city trends and urban issues. UN-HABITAT’s programmes in hundreds of cities around the world are designed to achieve a measurable impact upon the lives of the urban poor as a major contribution to the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals. To help realize the goal and vision of affordable housing and sustainable urban development, UN-HABITAT’s Medium-Term Strategic Institutional Plan concentrates on six mutually reinforcing focus areas; five of these are substantive, while the sixth concerns the agency’s internal management objective for the plan period.

FA6 Excellence in management to improve the implementation of the organization’s work through strengthened result-based management and improved communication, skills and facilities for better financial, human resources and knowledge management systems.

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This is a brief introduction to UN-HABITAT which highlights UN-HABITAT’s Medium Term Strategic and Institutional Plan’s focus areas and its operational activities: its products and services. These include the promotion of decent housing and urban development for all. All the programmes and projects presented in these focus areas are part and parcel of the Medium-Term Strategic and Institutional Plan and are relevant to the attainment of Goal 7, Targets 10 and 11 of the Millennium Development Goals. The Plan is a blueprint to help Member States meet the challenges of rapid urbanization and climate change. Another element of importance is UN-HABITAT’s humanitarian and disaster management role. The importance of responsive funding to this effort cannot be overstated, given the importance of disaster preparedness and the enormity of land and housing needs that arise as a result of conflict and disasters around the world.

FA5 Strengthened human settlements finance systems to improve access to finance for housing and infrastructure, particularly for the urban poor. Innovative finance mechanisms and institutional capacity will leverage the contributions of communities, local authorities, the private sector, government and international financial institutions.

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Introduction

UN-HABITAT’s Enhanced Normative and Operational Framework is “an integrated approach to support governments and their development partners to achieve more sustainable urbanization”. The framework consists of a partnership and networking strategy; and an integrated approach to policy development, capacity-building and project implementation. The aim here is to mobilize a critical mass of partners and networks in support of the sustainable urbanization agenda. These include United Nations bodies, international finance institutions and the Habitat Agenda partners for the monitoring, reporting and advocacy of urbanization and urban poverty concerns.

Trust Funds UN-HABITAT operates trust funds aimed at helping beneficiaries to achieve specific aspects of the Millennium Development Goals and other development targets. These trust funds are designed to facilitate contributions by multiple donors in support of a common set of development objectives. In addition, they reduce transaction costs through a transparent and accountable governance system – mostly donor representatives, and international and national partners.

Such trust funds include: • Slum Upgrading Facility provides advisory services, the packaging of financial products and referral functions to its clients. Critical is the concept of “credit enhancements” guaranteeing local loans from commercial banks for slum improvement projects.

• Experimental Reimbursable Seeding Operation: It provides seed money for pro-poor housing and related infrastructure projects on a reimbursable basis.

• Water and Sanitation Trust Fund supports developing countries in achieving the internationally agreed development goal for water and sanitation in rapidly growing urban areas. It leverages policy advisory skills and local institution building with follow up investments from regional development banks and the World Bank.

• Palestinian Housing Fund is designed to improve the living conditions of the Palestinian people and to promote peace building.

© UN-HABITAT S UN-HABITAT has awarded grants from its Opportunities Fund for Urban Youth-Led Development to 67 projects proposed by young people from around the world.

Youth Programme The Barriers to Cross UN-HABITAT regards young people as a key component for a better world and as active partners in meeting the challenges posed by the world’s human settlements crisis. Though young people constitute a large proportion of the urban population in rapidly urbanizing developing countries, they often, have no jobs and limited participation in decisions that affect them. UN-Habitat believes that any effective intervention to improve the livelihoods of urban and slum dwelling youth must provide a path through which they can attain sustainable livelihoods, and be meaningfully engaged in decisions affecting them.

UN-HABITAT regards young people as active partners in meeting the challenges posed by the world’s human settlements crisis

The Road Map The work of UN-HABITAT with respect to youth is guided by the Habitat Agenda, which mandates that the needs of children and youth have to be considered especially in developing and enhancing their skills and training for decision-making roles and sustainable livelihoods through, for example, promoting their involvement in micro and small scale private and cooperative sector enterprises. In addition to this UN-HABITAT and its partners have and must continually design programmes to improve project management skills for youth organizations, and programs and projects which bring about safe and inclusive cities. UN-HABITAT also strives to mainstream youth issues into all of the organization’s activities by supporting and strengthening the awareness of youth issues and providing coordination within the agency.

The Destinations UN-HABITAT’s Strategy for Enhanced Engagement with youth, adopted by the Governing Council in 2005, has provided a framework for designing and implementing, the Youth Empowerment Programme (YEP), which is a programme supported by the Government of Norway and other Member States. The implementation of this strategy has seen considerable success, with four key activities implemented: • One Stop Youth Resource Centers – providing a space for youth to receive key services, training and to undertake youth-led initiatives.

• UN-HABITAT Urban Youth Fund – providing financial support for youth-led development initiatives in developing countries, initial donors are the Norwegian government and it hopes to engage more partners. About 67 youth groups have benefited globally.

• Moonbeam Youth Centre – providing construction training and support for young women and men entrepreneurs from Mavoko and Kibera slums.

• Urban Entrepreneurship Programme – focusing on creating self-employment or growth oriented businesses.

Key Publications: • UN-HABITAT & Youth • Habitat Debate Vol.9, No.2: “Young People in an Urbanizing World” • Youth Entrepreneurship and Employment • Better Childhood in The City • Youth Violence and Public Policies in Latin America • Global Partnership Initiative • Opportunity Fund

sustainable urbanisation FOR A BETTER URBAN FUTURE United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) P.O. Box 30030, GPO 00100, Nairobi, Kenya Tel: +254 20 7625159 Fax: +254 20 7625015 info.rmu@unhabitat.org www.unhabitat.org UN-HABITAT is the United Nations body mandated to promote socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities and to provide adequate shelter for all Cover Image © Shutterstock

Available Investment Opportunities Key investment opportunities in UN-HABITAT are planned activities that require committed funding. They are identified in UN-HABITAT’s regional areas of operation and are of a wide-range. They can be broadly classified under focus areas of UN-HABITAT’s Medium Strategic and Institutional Plan. www.unhabitat.org/pipelineprojects DISCLAIMER The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries, or regarding its economic system or degree of development. The analysis, conclusions and recommendations of this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme, the Governing Council of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme or its Member States. Copyright © United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT), 2010 Printing: UNON, Publishing Services Section, Nairobi, ISO 14001:2004-certified

for more inclusive, safer and greener towns and cities

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This focus area aims to use education, communication and evidence-based information to promote sustainable urbanization by collecting data and analyzing it, and through policy dialogue, advocacy, strategic partnerships and resource mobilization.

• Global Campaign for Sustainable Urbanization and Urban Development • Best Practices and Local Leadership Programme • Global Urban Observatory Programme (also applies to Focus Area 2) • Youth Programme

The Global Campaign for Sustainable Urbanisation The Barriers to Cross Poorly managed urbanization generates a number of potentially devastating problems. Among these are, uncontrolled urban sprawl, pollution, unsustainable use of land, water and other natural resources, poverty and social exclusion. Globally, these fuel the negative impact of climate change.

The Road Map Through advocacy, the campaign for sustainable urbanization works to promote and reinforce the attitudes, actions and policies that would enable governments and civil society to create and maintain sustainable conditions of urbanization. Campaign actions will include annual and biennial events as well as targeted national and global actions, in harmony with yearly campaign themes. Through the campaign, the combined influence of governments, local authorities, media, private sector, civil society and academia will be harnessed to achieve policy change, investment and changed mindsets, which are needed to shape our cities towards a sustainable future.

The Destinations The Campaign Will: • Enhance UN-HABITAT’s catalytic role, with a systematic approach towards partnership, advocacy and networking.

• Drive substantive coherence, linking Medium-Term Strategic and Institutional Implementation Plan focus areas.

• Amplify key messages of the plan through targeted advocacy and awareness, including global reports, the World Urban Forum and World Habitat Day. Other Routes: The campaign will also: • Mobilize partners, providing the glue that keeps everyone working together.

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Provide the visibility to leverage the mission, raising the voice that keeps the campaign high on the global agenda.

Act as a beacon, continuously guiding stakeholders towards the mission.

Motivate all stakeholders ensuring resource allocation, continuity and growth.

The Best Practices and Local Leadership Programme Best Practices are actions that have made a lasting contribution to improving the quality of life and the sustainability of communities, cities and regions. The program is a global network including government agencies, local authorities, professional and academic institutions, as well as grassroots organizations dedicated to the identification and exchange of successful solutions for sustainable human development.

Objectives: • Raise awareness of decision-makers on critical social, economic and environmental issues.

• Better inform decision-makers of the practical means and policy options for improving the living environment. It does so by identifying, disseminating and applying lessons learned from Best Practices to ongoing training, leadership and policy development activities.

Best Practices and Local Leadership Partners Specialize in: • Housing and urban development • Urban governance • Environmental planning and management • Architecture and urban design • Economic development • Social inclusion • Crime prevention • Poverty reduction • Women • Youth

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Effective Advocacy, Monitoring and Partnership

• Cultural heritage • Municipal finance and management • Infrastructure and social services The policy implications and lessons learned from Best Practices are incorporated into Habitat’s State of the World’s Cities report and other publications.

The Global Urban Observatory is further classified in to Regional Urban Observatory, National Urban Observatory, and Local Urban Observatory.

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Activities: Activities are based on the development of an integrated network of national and local urban observatories. This targets are policy-makers at all levels in many organizations especially in civil society participating in sustainable urban development. The main areas of work include: • Assistance to governments, local authorities and organizations of local civil society to amplify their ability to collect, manage, maintain and use information on urban development.

• Enhancement of the use of knowledge and urban indicators to formulate policy, planning and urban management through a participatory process.

• Collection and sharing of results of global, national and city-level monitoring activities, as well as disseminating good practices in the use of urban information worldwide.

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Global Flagship Reports

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The Executive Director Ms. Anna Tibaijuka addresses participants at the dinner hosted by the Rockefeller Foundation during the World Habitat Day 2009 celebration in Washington DC, USA.

Best Practice Products Include: • Documented and peer-reviewed best practices.

• Examples of good policies and enabling legislation.

• Case studies and briefs and transfer methodologies.

These products target decision makers and practicing professionals at all levels of government and organized civil society.

UN-HABITAT publishes two flagship reports which are; The Global Report on Human Settlements and The State of the World’s Cities Report.

These reports serve as the main vehicles for improving understanding of emerging urban conditions and trends as well as progress towards the realization of the Habitat Agenda goals and the United Nations Millennium Development targets on slums, water and sanitation.

The Global Report on Human Settlements Prepared under a mandate from the United Nations General Assembly, P L A N N I N G Sustainable Cities the Global Report on Human Settlements is the most authoritative and up-to-date assessment of human settlements conditions and policy trends in the world’s cities and other settlements. Published biennially, the report presents an in-depth review of key human settlements trends and policies at the international, regional, national and local levels. Its main objective is to raise awareness of the most pressing human settlements challenges faced globally and identify effective policy responses. The Report is written in clear non-technical language and is supported by informative graphics, case studies and statistical data. It is therefore an essential reference for practitioners and policy makers concerned with human settlements development as well as researchers, academics and civil society organizations worldwide.

GLOBAL REPORT ON HUMAN SETTLEMENTS 2009

Partners: The Best Practices Programme forms part of the City Monitoring Systems, UN-HABITAT’s facility for monitoring global trends in sustainable urban development and evaluating progress in the implementation of the Habitat Agenda and the Millennium Development Goals.

Tool: The criteria for Best Practice are included on the Best Practices website.

The lessons learned from selected best practices are analyzed in case studies and guides and are made available to countries, and cities.

The Global Urban Observatory The Global Urban Observatory strives to improve the worldwide base of urban knowledge by helping governments, local authorities and civil society organizations to develop and apply policy oriented urban indicators, statistics and other urban information. It monitors progress towards the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals as well as the Development Impact Assessment of programmes in cities.

United Nations Human Settlements Programme

Issues of the Global Report on Human Settlements published include the following: • Global Report on Human Settlements, 1986 – analyses worldwide and regional human settlements trends and prospects.

• An Urbanizing World, 1996 – reviews global human settlement conditions and trends within the context of rapid urbanization.

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Cities in a Globalizing World, 2001 – analyses the implications for human settlements of global trends towards social and economic integration.

The Challenge of Slums, 2003 – presents the first global assessment of slums, emphasizing their problems and prospects.

Financing Urban Shelter, 2005 – presents the first global assessment of housing finance conditions and trends.

Enhancing Urban Safety and Security, 2007 – analyses three major threats to the safety and security of cities: crime and violence; insecurity of tenure and forced evictions; and natural and human-made disasters.

The State of the World’s Cities Report The Governing Council of UN-HABITAT mandated the agency to prepare on a biennial basis a State of the World’s Cities Report synthesizing information and knowledge on the state of the world’s cities. This was in view of strengthening the ability of governments, local authorities and key partners on urban conditions and trends and to formulate effective urban policies. The State of the World’s Cities Report is evidence-based and seeks to address the layperson, including mayors, decision makers, non-governmental organizations and the media. While conveying substantive knowledge and data, the presentation of information is intended to be readerfriendly and accessible to a wider public. As such, it includes visual media and is written and formatted in a journalistic style, in a language that avoids jargon.

The State of the World’s Cities Report is evidence based and seeks to address the layperson and is reader-friendly Issues of the State of the World’s Cities Report Published: • The (first) State of the World’s Cities 2001 covered general key issues: shelter, society, environment, economy and governance from an urban perspective. It emphasized the importance of establishing partnerships between local and national governments in order to address existing urban challenges effectively.

• The (second) State of the World’s Cities Report 2004: Globalization, Culture and Cities extended the themes developed in the last reports, focusing on the uneven socioeconomic on the need for an urban culture of inclusion and peace in the context of globalization.

• The (third) State of the World’s Cities Report 2006/7 was about the Millennium Development Goals and urban sustainability, presenting for the first time, a desegregation of city information (slum / non-slum) and urban indicators at city level on the key Millennium Development Goals.

• The (fourth) State of the World’s Cities Report 2008/9 adopted the concept of “Harmonious Cities” as a theoretical framework to understand the challenges of the urban world, including the spatial nuances of economic and social policies, urban inequalities and climate change.

Region Specific Flagship Reports Apart from the Global Report on Human Settlements and the State of the World’s Cities Report, UN-HABITAT has been mandated by its Governing Council during its 2007 session to expand its existing flagship reports with a new biennial flagship report series that looks at urban and housing issues at the regional level. Whereas the successive State of the World’s Cities reports are considered highly worthwhile publications, it was deemed by the Governing Council that a report with a global outlook cannot always do full justice to very regional specific urban and housing conditions and trends. In response, UN-HABITAT prepared and launched in 2008 it first regional flagship report.

State of The African Cities 2008: A Framework for Addressing Urban Challenges in Africa Prepared under the mandate from UN-HABITAT Governing Council, the State of the African Cities Report THE STATE OF series is the most authoritative AFRICAN CITIES 2008 and up-to-date assessment of A framework for addressing human settlements conditions urban challenges in Africa and policy trends in African Cities and towns. Published biennially from 2008 onwards, the report presents in-depth review of key human settlement conditions, trends and emerging issues at the African Regional, national and local levels. Its main objective is to raise awareness of the most important human settlements related challenges and to identify areas of policy intervention. (&$ &($

In line with the mandate from the Governing Council, further state of the region’s cities reports are now being prepared. UN-HABITAT is currently preparing the 2010 round of biennial state of the region’s cities reports as follows:• State of the Latin American and Caribbean Cities 2010 to be launched at the Fifth Session of the World Urban Forum(WUF5).

• State of the Asian and Pacific Cities 2010 is due for launching at the 2010 African Ministerial conference on housing and Urban Development (AMCHUD).

• State of the European Cities in Transition 2010 will be launched during the first quarter of 2011 at a venue and occasion still to be determined.

Furthermore the 2012 round of biennial regional flagship reports will also include a first: • State of the Arab Cities 2012 Report Depending on the Region, a sub-regional approach is followed outlining sub-regional commonalities of current conditions and emerging trends in housing and urban development along six major themes: Population and Urbanization, The Urban Economy, Urban Poverty and Housing Conditions, Urban Environmental Challenges, Urban Governance and Emerging Issues.

Urban Planning and Design

The Safer Cities Programme Urban Safety and Prevention of Urban Crime and Violence

The Barriers to Cross Planning and design of urban areas has seized centre stage, as a result of rapid urbanization and climate change. Emerging global trends and regional differences in the scale and impact of the urbanization process has led to a lot of interest by policy makers, practitioners and academia in understanding the issues that must be addressed in order to deliver sustainable urbanization. A new urban planning paradigm is emerging which attempts to address in the three pillars of sustainable urbanization – economy, ecology and equity holistically in integrated and sustainable design. This new paradigm also requires new skills, methods, and practices for decentralized and local planning, management, and governance depending on context and scale. Cities are drivers of land use change. Currently the average annual population increase in the cities of developing countries is estimated at 64 million or 175,000 persons per day. Urban planning and design has therefore become a priority for guiding urbanization and as a tool for improving environmental conditions in rapid growing cities and in slums. Of the three billion people who live in cities today, one in three is a slum dweller.

a new urban planning paradigm is emerging which attempts to address in the three pillars of sustainable urbanization – economy, ecology and equity

The Road Map In response to these needs, UN-HABITAT, has established a unit charged with urban design and planning services. This unit has also an agencywide mandate to lead in the development of prototypes applicable in real situations through the application of tools, techniques, and processes developed through normative and capacity-building work.

The Barriers to Cross The world’s poor are the worst affected by urban crime and violence, insecurity of tenure and forced eviction, and natural and human made disasters. Rising levels of urban violence and crime worldwide are a deterrent to local and foreign investment. This is especially true for Africa, the Caribbean, Latin America, and the Pacific, which face significant development challenges. It is estimated that 60 per cent of urban residents in developing countries have been victims of crime.

Crime and violence present major challenges for urban social and economic development, compounded by poverty and social exclusion.

Impacts of crime and insecurity are pervasive and widespread, disproportionately affecting the poor, often jeopardizing opportunities and pro-poor policies.

The Road Map Launched in 1996, the Safer Cities Programme is a local government support programme that seeks to add value to sustainable urbanization through good governance and appropriate urban planning and management to prevent and reduce the incidents and impacts of crime and violence in developing and transition countries. The Programme supports the implementation of the Habitat Agenda, which acknowledges the responsibility of local authorities in preventing crime. The Programme’s Strategic Plan (2008-2013) guides the work of UN-HABITAT on urban safety and will reinforce its delivery by strengthening and scaling-up of its global component, creation of a global alliance and partnerships on urban crime prevention, and the development of a shared conceptual framework. The Programme, while directly contributing to Focus Area 2 of the UN-HABITAT Medium Term Strategic and Institutional Plan, concentrates on the delivery and support to: Governance of safety at local level – i.e. support to local dialogue, integrated prevention, policy development, and citywide strategies.

sustainable urbanisation FOR A BETTER URBAN FUTURE United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) P.O. Box 30030, GPO 00100, Nairobi, Kenya Tel: +254 20 7625159 Fax: +254 20 7625015 info.rmu@unhabitat.org www.unhabitat.org

Safety and security within urban public spaces and in connection with slum upgrading, urban renewal and urban development projects. It combines both normative and operational activities at global, regional, and local level, and undertakes: • Normative/policy development and exploration of innovations • Development and testing of tools • Advocacy and networking • Development of strategic partnerships • Capacity Building

UN-HABITAT is the United Nations body mandated to promote socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities and to provide adequate shelter for all Cover Image © Hendrik Petrus Berlage

S A planned urban centre in Barcelona, Spain.

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The Destinations With the ultimate objective of leveraging resources for increased investment in the areas of urban safety, a ‘Safer Public Spaces and Streets’ Campaign, which was conceived in support of the Global Campaign on Sustainable Urbanization, will strengthen global level activities towards Governance of Safety and Safety within Urban Public Spaces.

Available Investment Opportunities Key investment opportunities in UN-HABITAT are planned activities that require committed funding. They are identified in UN-HABITAT’s regional areas of operation and are of a wide-range. They can be broadly classified under focus areas of UN-HABITAT’s Medium Strategic and Institutional Plan. www.unhabitat.org/pipelineprojects DISCLAIMER The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries, or regarding its economic system or degree of development. The analysis, conclusions and recommendations of this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme, the Governing Council of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme or its Member States. Copyright © United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT), 2010 Printing: UNON, Publishing Services Section, Nairobi, ISO 14001:2004-certified

for more inclusive, safer and greener towns and cities

Promoting Gender Equality The Barriers to Cross If we are to meet the global anti-poverty targets pledged in the Millennium Development Goals, we cannot afford to overlook the needs of women and girls, who make up half the global population and represent the majority of the urban poor. To stabilize and prevent the growth of slums and promote livable, productive cities, we need to respond to enduring gender differences and inequalities. These inequalities persist despite decades of campaigning by women’s rights organizations.

For example: • Women hold less than 2 per cent of the world’s private land.

• Women in slums and informal settlements are particularly at risk of violence in public spaces.

• The lack of separate toilet facilities for boys and girls in slums and informal settlements deters many girls from attending school, particularly after the onset of puberty.

The Road Map UN-HABITAT promotes women’s empowerment and gender equality in the sustainable development of cities. By creating awareness of the different effects of urbanization on men and women by promoting gender equality, whole communities can benefit, societies can become fairer and services more effective. UN-HABITAT is tackling gender equality in housing and urban development under the following action areas: • Advocacy and monitoring of gender equality in cities – UN-HABITAT is promoting and developing global reports, tools and policy guides that reflect gender differences, so that inequalities in specific areas can be first identified and then redressed.

• Urban planning, governance and management – Genderresponsive policies and legislation will help governments and stakeholders to design and develop inclusive cities and urban services that respond better to the needs of women and men. For example in resource allocation, personal safety and security, and post-conflict and disaster reconstruction.

• Addressing inequalities in land and housing – a woman’s right to land and housing is often linked to marital property and inheritance rights. UN-HABITAT is working with governments to improve policy, legal and regulatory frameworks that also respond to women’s land and housing issues.

The Destinations Gender Mainstreaming UN-HABITAT promotes women’s rights, women’s empowerment and gender equality within the area of housing and urban development.

The organization spearheads the implementation of its gender policy with its two objectives – women’s empowerment and gender mainstreaming – in all its programmes and activities. Emphasis is placed on advocacy, research, training and capacity building of UN-HABITAT’s staff, development of gender resource materials and tools, and the provision of technical advice to UN-HABITAT programmes and member governments. UN-HABITAT is building the capacity of all its programmes to deal effectively with gender issues through the following: • Technical advice and training: UN-HABITAT is organizing specialized training for staff on incorporating gender work in regular programming. It also publishes tools, gender analytical reports, policy briefs and best practice guides.

• Advocacy UN-HABITAT promotes gender equality in projects or organizations dealing primarily with human settlements.

UN-HABITAT also promotes issues around gender, housing and urban development within the United Nations system, women’s forums and organizations at regional and international level including the

empowerment of women through land, housing and participation in decision making at the local level. UN-HABITAT promotes women security of tenure; access to housing finance; ownership of land, housing and property; by supporting Women Land Access Trusts as intermediary organizations between low-income women and critical actors such as financial institutions; relevant government departments and institutions; local authorities; the private sector; and civil society.

It also promotes capacity-building for women leaders of grassroots and community-based organizations in order to work effectively with local authorities, politicians and others in dealing with pressing community problems and mobilize resources for the advancement of women at the local level.

Successes: • A Gender Equality Action Plan was developed after extensive consultations with stakeholders, staff, beneficiaries and partners The Gender Plan relates specifically to all the focus areas in UN-HABITAT’s work and outlines how gender work can be included into mainstream UN-HABITAT work around housing and urban development.

• Gender indicators for all UN-HABITAT publications – UN-HABITAT produces and compiles statistics and gender analytical reports that show the situations of women in comparison to men, so that gender differences and inequalities can be identified and considered during policy formulation and development planning at global and country level.

• Publications for gender training and sharing of best practices – These include Gender in Local Government: a sourcebook for training local government; Gender mainstreaming in Local Authorities: Best Practices; and incorporation of a chapter on gender and land in Land Administration and Post-Crisis Situation.

The Cities in Climate Change Initiative UN-HABITAT is supporting cities in developing countries to address climate change. A component of the Sustainable Urban Development Network (SUD-Net), the Cities in Climate Change Initiative (CCCI), builds on UN-HABITAT’s long experience in sustainable urban development, specifically through the Sustainable Cities Programme and Localizing Agenda 21 Programme.

The Barriers to Cross The initiative is developing, adapting and making available methodologies that provide city managers and practitioners with guidelines on how to cope best with climate change. The initiative has a strong focus on poverty reduction strategies. In particular, it seeks to support the development of pro-poor and innovative approaches for the implementation of climate change policies and strategies

The Road Map

The Sustainable Urban Development Network The Barriers to Cross While global resources to promote sustainable urban development are adequate, the conditions needed to carry out the actions are often lacking.

The required conditions are adequate access, relevant for interaction and the necessary human, technical and financial capacities. The Sustainable Urban Development Network (SUDNet) was created to fill this void. The overall vision is to strengthen the capacities of decision-makers of local authorities and other urban players and to contribute to the realization of the vision of livable, productive and inclusive cities, which embrace social harmony, economic vitality and environmental sustainability.

S Locals in Nias, Pakistan involved in the construction of their residential houses.

approaches to sustainable urban development. It strengthens global networks through providing regional, national and local-level partnership platforms. It is one of the main vehicles for advancing the Global Campaign for Sustainable Urbanization. In addition to the above partnership and membership strategy, the Network has built partnerships at global, national, regional, and city levels. The Members include institutions, organizations and professionals, and include governmental, intergovernmental and nongovernmental organizations; local authorities and city networks. The Network’s partners are those who contribute substantial knowledge, as well as financial and technical resources to the Network. Members can register at the SUDNet website www.unhabitat.org/sudnet. Currently, the Network has two components: the Cities in Climate Change Initiative and the Habitat Partner Universities Initiative.

The Road Map UN-HABITAT supports the development of this innovative network of global partners, which focuses on promoting interdisciplinary

The Cities and Climate Change Initiative has four key objectives: (1) to promote active climate change collaboration between local governments and their associations; (2) to enhance policy dialogue so that climate change is firmly established on the agenda; (3) to support local governments in making climate-sensitive changes; and (4) to foster awareness, education, and capacity-building strategies that support the implementation of climate change strategies.

The Destinations Cities in Climate Change Initiative emphasizes practical initiatives and governance issues for municipalities and their citizens. To achieve its objectives, climate change networks at the global, regional, national and city levels are supported. The networks include national governments, local government associations, non-governmental bodies, universities, the private sector, and UN organizations. They help to enhance awareness of climate change issues and the dissemination of knowledge among key actors. Cities in Climate Change Initiative also supports education, capacity building and the localization and implementation of national adaptation and mitigation strategies. In particular, Cities in Climate Change Initiative works with local authorities to strengthen their

Training and Capacity Building The Barriers to Cross

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This focus area is geared towards strengthening the performance of national governments, local authorities and other stakeholders so that cities can become livable, productive and inclusive through policy dialogue, the development of tools, building capacity, pilot initiatives and country-wide technical aid.

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Promotion of Participatory Planning, Management and Governance

S Makeshift houses built near the bank of the River Buriganga in the slums of Dhaka, Bangladesh. The houses are above ground level to compensate for floods.

capacities to integrate climate change concerns in local and city-wide planning and budgeting for cost-effective policy responses.

The initiative is currently active in Ecuador, Mozambique, Philippines and Uganda, with Norway as the lead donor. Additional components are being prepared for sub-regions with high levels of vulnerability to climate change, such as Sub-Saharan Africa, the Pacific and the Caribbean. This initiative is being implemented in close collaboration with other relevant agencies of the United Nations system.

The Shelter Initiative for Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation (SICCMA) is another component of Cities in Climate Change Initiative. In partnership with academia, private sector and international cooperation, Shelter Initiative for Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation supports local authorities and Ministries of Housing to develop building codes, local knowledge and alternative building practices, to mitigate and to adapt to the effects of Climate Change on cities. Shelter Initiative for Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation promotes the use of low-cost, energy-efficient, green building materials and construction technologies and design, with a specific focus on hazard-resistant housing in urban areas affected by disasters related to climate change.

Many local authorities lack the human resources required to meet urgent needs for sustainable urban development. Without strong local institutions and motivated staff, reform will not deliver the desired development outcomes. Local governments need to practice and promote good urban governance by performing their enabling, regulating and empowering roles while ensuring, equity, participation, transparency and accountability. Cities need to create wealth and generate employment as the focal points for local economic development, while forging partnerships with the private sector and non-governmental organizations for improved service delivery. With emerging global issues such as climate change and economic crisis, cities need to manage better and do more with fewer resources. Training and capacity building is therefore a wise investment for the future sustainability of our cities.

The Road Map UN-HABITAT supports capacity building through developing cutting edge and action oriented tools on a range of topics such as leadership, financial management, local economic development, land, participatory planning and conflict management. In the past decade, UN-HABITAT has developed over 11 high impact training tools in a range of areas, based on demand. These tools have been widely used and translated into more than 30 languages. Supporting training Institutions through training, curricula development, organizational development and networking. Since 2002 UN-HABITAT, through the training and capacity building branch, has collaborated with over 95 capacity-building institutions in over 40 countries to strengthen institutional and national capacities.

The Destinations Supporting the development and implementation of national capacity building strategies, programmes and projects. Typical partners in training and capacity building, include local government authorities, line ministries, local government associations, national training institutions, regional and National NGOs with relevant mandates, universities, international institutions, and multilateral agencies including the UN.

Habitat Partner Universities Initiative As one of the priority components of the Sustainable Urban Development Network, the Habitat Partner University (HPU) initiative promotes Education, Training and Research for sustainable urban development. The Habitat Partner Universities collaboration is a means of enlarging cooperation between UN-HABITAT and institutions of higher education, as well as facilitating exchange and cooperation between universities in developing and developed nations. Habitat Partner Universities are institutions willing to promote the socially and environmentally sustainable development of towns and cities in accordance with the Millennium Development Goals. UN-HABITAT works with the Habitat Partner Universities in building the capacity of tertiary institutions in teaching and research regarding the sound development of human settlements to meet the needs relevant to their context. This includes facilitating exchanges between Habitat Partner Universities in different countries, and other institutions, bilaterally, or internationally. Working with tertiary institutions on enhancing the quantity and quality of research and training in Sustainable Urban Development, it aims to make such knowledge more accessible and relevant to actors at city level.

The Road Map Highlight urban development issues; build the capacity of the target group and implementation partners. The programme consists of; rapid urban profiling for sustainability, rapid assessment of current urban conditions in governance, land, slums, gender, the urban environment, local development, basic urban services and other themes such as cultural heritage, urban security, urban disaster management and climate change, as well as municipal finance. The assessments focus on priority needs and capacity gaps and looks at how existing institutions at local and national levels respond to urban issues.

The Destinations UN-HABITAT is geared towards developing urban poverty reduction policies at the local, national and regional levels by assessing needs and possible response mechanisms which would contribute to wider ranging implementation of the Millennium Development Goals. Each assessment is based on an analysis of existing data and interviews with urban communities, urban institutions, civil society, the private sector priorities, proposals for capacity building and other projects aimed at reducing urban poverty. Urban profiling allows for dialogue between government and non state actors.

The Slum Upgrading and Slum Prevention Programme The Barriers to Cross Despite the different approaches and actions undertaken over the last 40 years, slums expansion has not been checked. Today, while more than half of the world’s population lives in urban areas, one third of this group (one billion) is composed of slum dwellers where 90 percent live in developing countries, in inadequate housing and with few or no basic services, under health threatening circumstances that perpetuate the cycles of poverty. Unless structural action is taken, the number of slum dwellers is projected to reach about two billion over the next 30 years.

The Road Map The Slum Upgrading and Slum Prevention Programme focuses entirely on the challenge of slums, it has a knowledge-based character that comprises but not limited to a global analysis of citywide slum upgrading experiences, systematic documentation centre and dynamic database to be made available and accessible to city governments around the world.

The database, being the heart of the virtual knowledge resource hub will foster the development and application of tool kits focusing on the different dimensions of citywide slum upgrading programmes.

The programme works on three complementary axes.

• Improving the knowledge of slum improvement and slum prevention.

• Improving the capacity to develop slum upgrading and slum prevention policies and strategies.

• Supporting slum upgrading and slum prevention policies and strategies.

This programme undertakes a critical and systemic review of all experiences of slum upgrading that have reached scale (city, national) and assemble the result into a dynamic, well organized, easily accessible and user friendly database. This database will be a living entity, continuously updated by users. The analysis of these experiences will enable lessons to be learnt from which tool kits; quick policy guides and technical guidelines will be drawn and re-utilized in a selected number of countries. Best Practices documentation, publications, advocacy materials, training packages and regional workshops are the kind of activities that will be carried out. A Global Slum Upgrading Network will be made operational through the Virtual Knowledge Resource Centre for Slum Upgrading and Prevention, a digital web-based resource centre for slum upgrading and prevention to be built in partnership with a network of city governments, NGOs and private sector organizations.

The Destinations UN-HABITAT aims to set up Global Slum Upgrading Network (G-SUN), set up a secretariat for the network, scoping study of conditions of slums globally, research best practices. There will also be focused events, which will provide a platform to advocate for innovative approaches to slum upgrading and prevention.

sustainable urbanisation FOR A BETTER URBAN FUTURE United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) P.O. Box 30030, GPO 00100, Nairobi, Kenya Tel: +254 20 7625159 Fax: +254 20 7625015 info.rmu@unhabitat.org www.unhabitat.org UN-HABITAT is the United Nations body mandated to promote socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities and to provide adequate shelter for all Cover Image © Shutterstock

The Kenya Slum Upgrading Programme Kenya’s capital Nairobi is home to some of the world’s most densely populated slums. There are estimated to be about 200 slums and squatter settlements in the city. Kibera is the largest of these, with more than one million residents packed in an area less than 2.5 square kilometres. The Kenya Government has adopted the Kenya Slum Upgrading Programme, which is a collaborative effort between Kenya Government and UN-HABITAT. The Kibera Slum Upgrading decanting site was the launch site of the nationwide slum upgrading programme during the World Habitat Day in October 2004.

The developing objective of the programme is to improve the overall livelihood of people living and working in the slums and other informal settlements. This will be done by improving housing, income generation, infrastructure services and land tenure. Specifically, it is geared towards promoting broad-based partnerships utilizing

consensus building among all stakeholders, building institutional and human resource capacities at local and national levels of slum upgrading interventions, facilitate the implementation of innovative and replicable slum upgrading pilot projects, assisting the Government of Kenya in developing financial strategies for slum upgrading as well as collecting and disseminating information on sustainable slum upgrading practices.

The programme aims to improve the livelihoods of the people living and working in the slums by empowering them socially and economically through co-operatives, building associations and project management committees. It also provides training opportunities for slum dwellers in sustainable practices such as construction, water supply, sanitation and solid waste management projects for income generation purposes.

Available Investment Opportunities Key investment opportunities in UN-HABITAT are planned activities that require committed funding. They are identified in UN-HABITAT’s regional areas of operation and are of a wide-range. They can be broadly classified under focus areas of UN-HABITAT’s Medium Strategic and Institutional Plan. www.unhabitat.org/pipelineprojects DISCLAIMER The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries, or regarding its economic system or degree of development. The analysis, conclusions and recommendations of this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme, the Governing Council of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme or its Member States. Copyright © United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT), 2010

for more inclusive, safer and greener towns and cities

Promotion of Pro-poor Land and Housing

The Barriers to Cross Indigenous people are among the most vulnerable groups, affected by urbanization ad rural urban migration. The loss of traditional lands and housing contributes to the increased migration of indigenous peoples to urban centres, where barriers to adequate housing such as unemployment, poverty discrimination, and lack of affordable and adequate housing are particularly acute.

National governments and Habitat Agenda partners will be assisted to adopt pro-poor gender and age sensitive housing, land management and property administration programmes and strategies. This is done by promoting enabling policies and improving regulatory frameworks.

The Barriers to Cross By 2050 two thirds of humanity-6 billion people will be living in cities.

Currently there are an estimated one billion slum dwellers globally and if no remedial action is taken, this number is projected to rise to about over two billion in the next 30 years. In many developing countries slum dwellers already make up half the urban population. Slum dwellers lack one or more of the following five essential conditions: access to water, access to sanitation, secure tenure, and durability of housing and sufficient living area. Unless efforts are made to provide a range of affordable secure land and housing options, including the provision of services, cities will host hundreds of millions of new slum dwellers.

The Road Map UN-HABITAT creates the necessary conditions for concerted international and national effort to stabilize the growth of slums and to set the stage for the subsequent reduction in reversal of the number of slum dwellers.

UN-HABITAT works towards this objective by supporting nation and local governments and the Habitat Agenda Partners to implement improved land and housing policies that lead to systemic reforms that promote access to adequate shelter for all.

Key areas of intervention: • Supporting and enabling land and housing reforms • Increasing security of tenure • Promoting slum improvement and prevention Key activities that are undertaken in a gender responsive way include: developing alternatives to forced eviction, developing new land tools to implement pro-poor land policies promoting a range of land rights rather than just individual titles, strengthening the capacity of the United Nations to address housing, land and property issues in post conflict and post disaster situations and finally promoting measures to mitigate and adapt to the risk associated with global climate change.

Global Land Tool Network Dealing with land tenure poses one of the most complex tasks in the world. In the developing world, it is likely that less than 30 percent of the countries are covered by cadastre (official ownership register), less than 2 percent of the registered land rights are held by women and in some cities, 60 percent of the poor live in less than 5 percent of the land. There is indeed an unequal distribution of land in many countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. There is also a lack of prioritisation and political will,

Indigenous Peoples Issues in Urban Areas

often times linked to corruption. This often leads to conflicts over the control of land which contributes to war, political instability, poverty, refugees, internally displaced persons (IDPs), lower Gross Domestic Product (GDP), environmental degradation, poor quality of life for citizens, proliferation of slums and chaotic country/city planning.

S Figure 1. Interaction between the Global Land Tool Network goal, cross cutting issues, themes and tools.

In 2006, UN-HABITAT established the Global Land Tool Network as a global partnership of more than 42 key global actors in the professional, development partners, research and training, technical and civil society groups, to address land reform issues. The network consisted of organizations which had identified the lack of pro poor land tools to implement land policies.

The Barriers to Cross The Global Land Tool Network was started when an extensive gap analysis was conducted which drew several important conclusions.

First, the analysis noted that while there are many examples of good land policy, few policies have been fully implemented due to lack of pro poor, large-scale land tools. Second, a conclusion was that conventional land titling approaches have largely failed to deliver their expected results: existing technical solutions are too expensive, inappropriate for the range of tenure found in developing countries, unsustainable financially or in terms of available capacity, and instead a range of land tenure options is more appropriate. Third, an agreement was made to the effect that the land sector work cannot be done at scale successfully in many countries outside of greater donor coordination in the land sector, consistent with the Paris Declaration (2005).

The Road Map The Network’s objective is to contribute to the attainment of the Millennium Declaration and the Millennium Development Goals particularly on poverty alleviation, through land reform, improved land management and security of tenure.

Core values Global Land Tool Network with its partners, in its preparation of work programmes, formulating strategies, documentation of best practices, development of tools and in-country engagement, is guided by the following core values: 1) pro-poor, 2) governance, 3) equity, 4) subsidiarity, 5) affordability, 6) systematic large scale approach, 7) gender sensitiveness and 8) sustainability.

Engagement with Partners: The Global Land Tool Network partners are global institutions responding to the following five criteria: a) The values of the Global Land Tool

United Nations Housing Rights Programme The Barriers to Cross The United Nations Housing Rights Programme is a joint initiative of UN-HABITAT and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner of Human rights and has been in operation since 2002. It supports the efforts of governments, civil society and national human rights institutions towards the progressive realization of the right to adequate housing as provided for in the international human rights instruments and reaffirmed in the Habitat agenda. The programme promotes a rights based approach to housing development that seeks to empower the poor and homeless, to promote Security of tenure, especially for women and vulnerable groups in inadequate housing conditions, to strengthen protection against forced evictions and discrimination in the housing sector and finally to promote equal access to housing resources and remedies in cases of violation of housing rights.

The Destinations The programme mobilizes the stakeholders in the housing rights field at regional, national and local levels. It addresses normative and operational issues contributing to the implementation of one of the two principal goals of the Habitat Agenda: Adequate Shelter for All. Milestones The establishment of the web-based UN Housing Rights Documentation Centre where one can find essential housing rights advocacy tools such as relevant UN resolutions and documents including the updated ‘Fact Sheet on the Right to Adequate Housing’. This has empowered housing rights advocates worldwide. The programme’s outputs have influenced landmark court rulings in favour of poor communities’ right to adequate housing (for example in South Africa) and have influenced constitutional reviews (in Ecuador). The programme outputs are used globally as teaching materials in universities and training institutes.

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Network , b) Land tool development at scale/ upscale-able, c) To lend financial and/ or knowledge input, d) To represent regional/international institutions, organisations or networks and, e) Non commercial value.

S An indigenous family house near Alice Springs, Australia.

The Road Map The International Expert Group meeting on Urban Indigenous Peoples and Migration which is co-organized by UN-HABITAT, recommended the elaboration of policy guidelines for governments and local authorities to assist in development of public guidelines and public policies related to the challenges faced by indigenous people in urban areas.

The Destinations The Inter-Agency Group on Indigenous Issues (IASG) policy guide initiative, spearheaded by UN-HABITAT will add the urban component to the more generic Guidelines on indigenous people; this was developed by United Nations Development Group which is a task team for mainstreaming and integrating indigenous issues in UN operational activities. The initiative aims to provide guidance to policymakers, urban managers and practitioners on indigenous peoples’ needs and specific challenges. It is expected to advise more than guide local and national governments on possible measures, particularly policies, legislation and consultative/participatory mechanisms in the realization of their needs.

Support to Policy Development The Shelter Profile Programme

The Barriers to Cross Persistent housing shortages due to a malfunctioning housing sector are among the fundamental causes of slum development in cities. The

disconnection between the supply of land, infrastructure and finance and the construction industry, propel informal settlements, slums, overcrowding and poor living conditions. In this regard, governments need to take stock of the performance of the housing sector in a systemic manner to disclose bottlenecks, constraints and barriers that hinder the delivery of affordable housing options for the urban poor. The Shelter profile programme addresses the issues mentioned and is currently undertaking pilot projects in Malawi, Senegal, Tunisia and Uganda.

The Road Map This programme also provides evidence from the file to support required institutional, regulatory and policy reforms at local and national levels. The programme produces knowledge through applied research, market surveys and institutional and stakeholders’ analysis as well as city consultations, it therefore serves as an appropriate tool for policy recommendations. This report facilitates inputs in the following ways: • Policy and institutional frameworks • Housing Finance and markets • Infrastructure/basic urban services • Urban land supply systems • Construction Industry building materials and labour

The Destinations The final Shelter profile report on each country analyzes the performance of the housing sector as a whole. This includes an assessment of the institutional, policy and regulatory frameworks including capacity needs. It proposes the needed reforms to enable housing markets to function well and provide affordable housing options.

Shelter Initiative for Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation The Barriers to Cross With growing concern over the issues of global warming and climate change, the need to realize the vital impact and our global responsibility in the consumption and even production of renewable energy in cities becomes not at only a vital necessity but a moral imperative. The building and construction industry is considered a major contributor to climate change and a very key player in sustainable development, with significance to impacting the environment in both positive and negative terms. According to the International Energy Agency, buildings account for 30 to 40% of energy use worldwide. The construction industry consumes over 3 billion tonnes of raw materials each year (40% of total global use).

The Road Map The Shelter Initiative for Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation (SICCMA) is aiming to encourage the use of low cost energy-efficient and sustainable building materials and construction technologies, green building and neighbourhood design in order to mitigate and adapt to the new conditions of climate change. This initiative is within the UNHABITAT Sustainable Urban Development Network (SUD-Net) and with the Kyoto Protocol. Shelter Initiative for Climate Change Mitigation and

Adaptation aims to encourage research into and use of, energy-efficient and low greenhouse gas emitting building materials, manufacturing processes and construction technologies. Collaborating building and neighbourhood design completes the package to assist in mitigating climate change. In this regard, local authorities will be supported in enhancing the use of energy efficient building materials and technologies by including minimum energy standards for new developments.

The Participatory Slum Upgrading and Prevention Programme The Barriers to Cross The implementation of the Participatory Slum Upgrading and Prevention Programme for the African, Caribbean and Pacific group of States began in 2008 and is ongoing in over 30 countries. The programme also aims to contribute to meeting the Millennium Development Goal Targets 10 and 11, which deals with the following increasing advocacy for urban development challenges and urban poverty. Better urban governance and management mechanisms dealing with urban growth, institutional development, stronger ownership of informal settlement upgrading, better revenue collection and municipal finance management, improved legislative environment, and increased land tenure security.

The State of the World’s Housing The State of the World’s Housing is an instrument for governments and local authorities, public organizations, civil society and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to improve their knowledge of the functioning of the housing sector as a whole and of the necessary decisions and actions to be taken in order to facilitate the effectiveness of the housing sector. Activities that have been planned in this regard include designing and collecting housing indicators, implementing housing sector studies in selected countries and also developing and delivering workshops, expert group meetings and also produce shelter profile reports in selected countries.

Global Shelter Strategy Paper For Year 2020 (GSS2020) The main objective of the GSS2020 is to facilitate adequate shelter for all by the year 2020 by promoting and stimulating governments to develop appropriate national and sub-national housing strategies that improve the situation of those left out without housing opportunities in their society. This paper promotes mutually supportive and interdependent policies towards land for housing, infrastructure, and housing finance, building materials, labor and technology.

The activities planned include organizing peer-review committees or constituent housing expert group to backstop and act as quality control of housing policies, selecting and training local teams of surveyors and researchers, investing in revival of housing indicators, analysis of policy implications and performance indicators and their monitoring.

Urban Energy Programme The Barriers to cross Energy used in buildings accounts for a significant percentage of the total national energy consumption. It is estimated that 40% of the total national electricity generated in developing countries is used in urban buildings alone and these consume more energy than the transport and industry sectors. In addition, the cost of energy accounts for a greater share in the provision of water and sanitation services in the majority of Sub Sahara Africa cities and towns. In the Lake Victoria region, water utilities use up to 80% of their revenue for electricity bills alone. The region is however endowed with renewable energy potentials.

UN-HABITAT assists national and local governments in reviewing and updating their building laws and regulations, with a view to promote low carbon emitting building materials and energy efficient designs and standards Furthermore, two billion people worldwide have no access to basic energy services. The majority of them live in developing countries, mainly in South Asia and in Sub-Saharan Africa. They depend on inefficient biomass fuels, such as wood, animal and crop waste for cooking and heating, which have detrimental effects on air quality and health. Moreover, about three-quarters of the world’s commercial energy are consumed in urban areas. In developing countries, the majority of urban population, the urban poor, has no access to modern energy services. Their energy needs have not been properly addressed, as development efforts have focused intensely on the electrification of rural areas.

The Road Map UN-HABITAT, as part of its responses to these challenges, has prioritised 3 keys focus areas: These are energy access for the urban and peri-urban poor; energy efficiency measures and renewable energy technologies.

UN-HABITAT works with governments and power utilities to increase electricity access in slum areas through innovative solutions such as prepaid electricity systems and community owned decentralised power generation systems. The agency also assists government in developing energy policies with particular attention to energy needs of the poor.

Within the focus area on energy efficiency, UN-HABITAT assists national and local governments in reviewing and updating their building laws and regulations, with a view to promote low carbon emitting building materials and energy efficient designs and standards. The programme also promotes awareness and capacity building on energy efficient practices and appliances. Energy audits are also conducted for water and sanitation utilities to improve the energy performance and to reduce energy cost.

The use of renewable energy technologies is promoted by UN-HABITAT in order to: reduce the cost of conventional energies (fossil fuel and electricity from the national grid); increase access to modern energy; and to mitigate climate change by reducing the carbon footprint. Public facilities such as: market places, slaughterhouses, public toilets, schools, prisons, barracks etc. generate considerable organic waste that could be

converted into useful thermal energy (biogas) for productive use. This will reduce the demand for firewood for cooking and improve the state of sanitation of those facilities, while reducing green house emission.

The Destinations To use energy efficient measures and renewable energy technologies for sustainable human settlements development. UN-HABITAT recognises the important role of energy to achieve the Millenium Development Goals. In fact none of the Millenium Development Goals can be met without major improvement in the quality and quantity of energy services in developing countries. Our method of work is to identify successful development models and promote its replication in wide scale. Best practices on urban energy projects are collected, assessed and promoted to improve the living condition of more people. Furthermore, the programme carries out demonstration and pilot projects whereby attention is given to capacity building, technology transfer, and microfinance and on the job training. Prior to any intervention, a rapid assessment and feasibility study are carried out on the potential of renewable energy projects for that particular place.

Activities: UN-HABITAT in collaboration with United Nations Environmental Programme, Global Environmental Facility and Governments of the East African Community (Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda), is developing a programme on “Promoting Energy Efficiency in Buildings in Eastern Africa.” The aim of this programme is to mainstream energy efficient measures in housing policies, building codes/standards and building practices in East Africa. This initiative will assist Governments, the private sector and the public to adopt energy efficient practices, and renewable energy technologies in buildings. Appliances such as energy saving lamps and domestic solar water heaters – to some extent – are being promoted and should be made compulsory for all new buildings.

Given that building account for 40% of national energy use, saving of at least 10% will avail additional energy for other uses. UN-HABITAT is also working with power utility to facilitate access to energy by the urban poor, through innovative systems such as the electrification of slums using prepaid methods.

sustainable urbanisation FOR A BETTER URBAN FUTURE United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) P.O. Box 30030, GPO 00100, Nairobi, Kenya Tel: +254 20 7625159 Fax: +254 20 7625015 info.rmu@unhabitat.org www.unhabitat.org

With the technical assistance of UN-HABITAT and its Water and Sanitation Trust Fund, a number of utilities in the Caribbean are embarked on intensive energy audits within their own operations. Feasibility studies on renewable energy technologies options to reduce the cost of Water and Sanitation (WATSAN) services have been conducted in 10 African cities and towns. A feasibility study for the construction of a 200 KW micro hydropower plant in Kisii, Kenya, shows that, the proposed power plant will provide a stable and clean source of energy for water pumping and reduce electricity costs for the water utility by about 80 percent.

Five potential biogas plants in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda have been identified to be implemented as pilot projects.

The programme is preparing a booklet on Case Studies on Renewable Energy Technologies and Energy Efficiency, mainly for the urban areas of developing countries.

Partners: National and local governments of participating countries, utilities, development agencies, civil society organisations, universities and private sector organisations.

UN-HABITAT is the United Nations body mandated to promote socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities and to provide adequate shelter for all Cover Image © Shutterstock

Available Investment Opportunities Key investment opportunities in UN-HABITAT are planned activities that require committed funding. They are identified in UN-HABITAT’s regional areas of operation and are of a wide-range. They can be broadly classified under focus areas of UN-HABITAT’s Medium Strategic and Institutional Plan. www.unhabitat.org/pipelineprojects DISCLAIMER The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries, or regarding its economic system or degree of development. The analysis, conclusions and recommendations of this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme, the Governing Council of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme or its Member States. Copyright © United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT), 2010 Printing: UNON, Publishing Services Section, Nairobi, ISO 14001:2004-certified

for more inclusive, safer and greener towns and cities

Water for Asian Cities Programme The Water for Asian Cities Programme is a collaborative initiative between Asian countries, UN-HABITAT and the Asian Development Bank.

The programme was launched on 18 March, 2003, during the third World Water Forum and a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Bank and UN-HABITAT. The agreement envisaged $10 million in grant funding (equally shared by UN-HABITAT and the Bank) to raise political awareness, build capacity and create an enabling environment for pro-poor investments in water and sanitation in Asian cities. The agreement also envisaged a follow-up to the Bank’s plan to invest $500 million through loans over a five year period. The overall objective of the Water for Asian Cities Programme is to support urban centres in Asia to meet the water and sanitation related Millennium Development Goals, by enhancing capacity at city, country and regional levels, and creating

an enabling environment for new investments in the urban water and sanitation sector.

The Barriers to Cross

The agreement also reflects the Bank’s plan to invest $1 billion over five years in the urban water supply and sanitation sector with a focus on sanitation. These investments will be part of the water financing programme 2006-2010 announced by the Bank in March 2006 to boost investments in the sector to well over $2 billion a year.

Water and Sanitation for Cities in the Latin American and the Caribbean Region Programme The Water and Sanitation Programme for cities in the Latin America and the Caribbean Region is a collaborative programme of the countries in the region, the Inter-American Development Bank and UN-HABITAT. There is a signed Memorandum of Understanding which elaborates the collaboration for the programme. The aim of this collaboration is to enhance pro-poor and sustainable investments in water and sanitation in the urban areas of the region and thereby support the countries in achieving the water and sanitation related Millennium Development Goal.

S Young Children with access to clean, safe, drinking water.

Water for African Cities Programme Since 1999, the Water for African Cities programme has been supporting African cities to address the water challenges facing the continent and to protect their fresh water resources. Following the first phase in eight cities in as many countries, a 2002 review of the programme heralded the approach, and called for it to be strengthened and broadened both thematically and geographically. The programme is being implemented in 17 cities within 14 countries.

The Mekong Region Water and Sanitation Programme (MEKWATSAN)

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The MEKWATSAN initiative is a collaborative effort between governments of the Greater Mekong Sub region (China, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Vietnam and Cambodia), the Asian Development Bank and UN-HABITAT. The objective of MEKWATSAN is to assist participating countries attain their water and sanitation Millennium Development Goals. The programme targets improved water supply and sanitation for 1.08 million people, but it is also expected to provide an enabling environment for further investments and support for the region as a whole. The programme’s objective is key to the sustainable urbanization and economic growth in the region through supporting the participating countries in the Greater Mekong sub region achieve their vision of enhanced connectivity, competitiveness and greater sense of community.

S A section of Kibera slum showing exposed water pipes.

Lake Victoria Region Water and Sanitation Programme UN-HABITAT, in association with the Governments of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, is implementing a major initiative for the water and sanitation needs of poor people living in the secondary urban towns around the

Ongoing reforms in the water and sanitation sector have provided opportunities to create more efficient, customer-focused and autonomous water and sanitation utilities. However, most developing countries’ utilities continue to face enormous challenges in meeting the increasing demands of growing populations. They suffer from a number of interrelated institutional weaknesses, including inadequate cost recovery, a low customer base and limited physical coverage, dilapidated physical infrastructure, high levels of unaccounted for water, low level staff skills and poor customer relations. Improving utilities’ effectiveness, efficiency and sustainability is at the centre of the global water supply challenge.

The Road Map The need for the establishment of a mechanism to promote Water Operators’ Partnerships to provide a basis for collaboration among water utilities is highlighted in the Hashimoto Action Plan, which was announced by the United Nations Secretary-General’s Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation during the 4th World Water Forum in Mexico, in March, 2006. UN-HABITAT has taken up this challenge and has established a Global Water Operators’ Partnerships Alliance Secretariat within the organization, while initiating donor consultations; support to regional Water Operators’ Partnerships processes.

The Road Map

The Barriers to Cross Functioning transportation networks are a key element for cities and towns across the globe and are a pre-condition for economic activity and social participation. At the same time, economic and social benefits of urban mobility are frequently accompanied by negative side effects such as congestion, social exclusion, accidents, air pollution and energy consumption. Since the mid-20th century, the negative side-effects of urban transportation have particularly become apparent in the metropolitan areas of developed countries. Rising car traffic volumes are increasingly causing lost economic productivity, environmental degradation and thus affecting the quality of life in cities in general.

In developing countries, rapid urbanization and motorization in recent decades in combination with insufficient investment in infrastructure has led to similar problems, often exacerbated by urban poverty and social exclusion.

In the face of a rising global population, continuing urbanization and the emergence of mega-cities, there is heightened urgency to apply solutions in the urban transport sector that contribute to sustainable urban development approaches and comprehensive responses to the impacts and causes of global warming while enabling mobility for the population. Sustainable transportation policies have to consider the multiple social, economic and environmental dimensions of urban transport and formulate effective policies and investment strategies to reconcile competing interests between different modes of transport and societal groups.

The Destinations The strategic objectives of the Global Water Operators’ Partnerships Alliance mechanism are to: Position the Global Water Operators’ Partnerships Alliance as an efficient, effective and functional global mechanism for regional, sub regional and national Water Operators’ Partnerships, supported by a coalition of agencies as well as engage in advocacy for Water Operators’ Partnerships in appropriate national, regional and international forums. In addition, it facilitates and supports regional, sub regional and national Water Operators’ Partnerships mechanisms, for improving the performance of public water utilities.

• Provide web-based and other platforms to facilitate information collection, analysis and dissemination.

• Host, promote and support a range of events directed at meeting the demands and needs of public utility members of the Alliance.

Partners: National and local governments of participating countries, the Asian Development Bank, the African Development Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, the World Bank and the private sector.

S A flurry of rickshaws passes through a street in Dhaka, Bangladesh. More rickshaws are found in Dhaka than any other city in the world.

UN-HABITAT advocates for policies and models to achieve sustainable urban transportation systems across the globe in the context of an overall mission to promote sustainable development of human settlements and the achievement of adequate shelter for all. The practical work of UN-HABITAT places particular emphasis on developing answers to the challenges of the rapid urbanization process in developing countries and the needs of the urban poor.

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Water and Sanitation Programme

Global Water Operators Alliance

UN-HABITAT and Transport

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To expand access to and sustain provision of adequate clean water, improved sanitation, waste management, and environmentally sound transport and energy in urban and peri-urban areas is the intent of this focus area.

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Lake Victoria region. The Initiative has been designed to achieve the Millennium Development Goal whose target is for the improvement of water and sanitation in small urban centres. This is done by taking into account the physical planning needs of these urban centres together with attention to drainage and solid waste management as an integral part of environmental sanitation. The first phase of the initiative covers the requirements for six towns with populations varying from 10,000 to 85,000 each.

Environmentally Sound Basic Urban Infrastructure and Services

S A sanitation hand-cart in Asia.

The work focuses on the following five thematic areas: 1. Promote human settlements development strategies that better integrate land use planning and transport to minimize trip distances and reduce negative impacts.

2. Promote public transport and non-motorized transport as either a substitute, or complementary mode for travel to the private car through expanded infrastructure and service supply.

3. Increase the efficiency of existing transport operations through improved planning and management of all modes of transport, traffic demand management, increased vehicle efficiency and new fuel technologies.

4. Improve mobility levels for the urban poor through promotion of affordable urban transport plans, programmes and appropriate technologies.

5. Decentralize urban transport infrastructure investment decisionmaking, planning and management at the local level.

Besides normative activities and demonstration projects in transport policy and for extending infrastructure systems, there are also transport-related components under other Medium-Term Strategic and Institutional Plan focus areas and activities. Particularly for informal settlements, the transport of basic goods and services is often times a prerequisite for improving the lives of slum dwellers beyond promoting passenger transportation and non-motorized travel. In the context of the Water and Sanitation Programme, a first aspect is the delivery of water. In the absence of pipe networks, dwellers are frequently forced to haul water containers over long distances. Investing in cost-effective and appropriate technological solutions such as bicycle trailers can lower the cost of water access, free up time of residents – often times women – for pursuing income activities and generate employment opportunities.

© UN-HABITAT S Working with communities to provide simple, low-cost housing significantly improves living conditions.

The Kenya-Italy Debt for Development Programme The Barriers to Cross

The Destinations The objective is to help Kenya achieve sustainable economic growth, increase employment and alleviate poverty through a bottom-up approach. The programme supports Kenya in education, health, water and slum upgrading. These are all in line with the country’s own national policies.

sustainable urbanisation

This EUR 44,000,000, 10-year programme, signed in January, 2006, aims at converting Kenya’s debt to Italy into money for the implementation of development projects. It is a debt-for-development swap.

FOR A BETTER URBAN FUTURE United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) P.O. Box 30030, GPO 00100, Nairobi, Kenya Tel: +254 20 7625159 Fax: +254 20 7625015 info.rmu@unhabitat.org www.unhabitat.org

The Road Map The slum upgrading components supports that of the country’s programme known as Kenya Slum Upgrading Programme (KENSUP). The Italian programme aims to upgrade the Korogocho slum. Korogocho is one of the largest slums in Nairobi, composed of eight villages covering about 40 hectares. The settlement is characterized by congestion and high unemployment. The other components of the Italian programme are: • Education (vocational training): supporting Kenya revitalizes its youth polytechnics. The programme will fund projects in capacitybuilding, curriculum development, the provision of equipment as well as infrastructure rehabilitation.

• Health: improving the access to basic health services in rural and urban areas through implementation of community health project.

UN-HABITAT is the United Nations body mandated to promote socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities and to provide adequate shelter for all Cover Image © Shutterstock

the programme’s objective is to help Kenya achieve sustainable economic growth, increase employment and alleviate poverty.

Key investment opportunities in UN-HABITAT are planned activities that require committed funding. They are identified in UN-HABITAT’s regional areas of operation and are of a wide-range. They can be broadly classified under focus areas of UN-HABITAT’s Medium Strategic and Institutional Plan. www.unhabitat.org/pipelineprojects

Water: the programme supports community-driven development projects in the upgrading of water supply systems such as wells, bore holes, dams, piped water systems as well as implement capacity-building activities focusing on sanitation and water management.

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Available Investment Opportunities

S Despite some global advances, sub-Saharan Africa still has a high prevalence of slums.

DISCLAIMER The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries, or regarding its economic system or degree of development. The analysis, conclusions and recommendations of this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme, the Governing Council of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme or its Member States. Copyright © United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT), 2010

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Strengthened Human Settlements Finance Systems

The focus is to improve access to finance for homes and infrastructure, particularly for the urban poor. This will be done through innovative finance mechanisms and institutional capacity to leverage the contributions of communities, local authorities, the private sector, government and international financial institutions.

Urban Finance

that has been established in pilot projects in four countries (Ghana, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Tanzania) through the Slum Upgrading Facility (SUF) Programme.

The Barriers to Cross The UN estimates that the resources required to achieve the Millennium Development Goal of improving the lives of 100 million slum dwellers by 2015, are USD 20 billion per year. This is far above the current level of investment going into slum upgrading and prevention. There is simply not enough money available through governments and donors to begin to address social and affordable housing needs at the scale required.

The Road Map

Each Local Finance Facility uses one-time grant funding to set up operations and capitalise a revolving credit enhancement fund to support slum upgrading projects desired by the community. Each Local Finance Facility operates as a sustainable business under the direction of an inclusive board of directors drawn from community groups, domestic banks, local municipalities and relevant national ministries.

Typically, each Local Finance Facility will seek to finance projects with a combination of community savings, subsidies from the municipality or a national ministry and local domestic commercial bank lending.

Urban Finance Strategy One response to this challenge, is UN-HABITAT’s sustainable credit enhancement and catalytic investment approach. The agency invests in affordable and social housing and related infrastructure improvements for under-served communities.

Reach of Revolving Loan Fund Programme (ERSO) (30th down to 85th income Percentile)

Urban Finance Approaches Loans UN-HABITAT is providing loans to affordable, social housing and infrastructure projects through a Revolving Loan Fund Programme called ERSO (Experimental Reimbursable Seeding Operations). Working with local banks and microfinance institutions and non-governmental organizations in Palestine, Tanzania, Uganda, Nicaragua, Nepal and Laos, UN-HABITAT finances land development planning, affordable and social housing construction and takeout micro mortgage and microfinance housing loans. We leverage our funds by working with international financial institutions and public-private partnerships.

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This combination brings intended projects within the financial reach of the lowest income communities, while encouraging community sponsorship of the projects and pride in local ownership.

New Opportunities Revolving Loan Fund Programme UN-HABITAT has reviewed over 50 potential investments to date under the ERSO project.

In 2010, we expect to have fully deployed the initial USD 3.6 million in ERSO revolving loan funds. This initial round of lending will support creation and upgrading of over 33,000 affordable and social housing units in six countries (with housing investments to be made which leverage additional investment and project value of over 175:1 on our initial funding).

There is potential to develop a Local Finance Facility prototype to assist with the reconstruction of Haiti, and these discussions are underway as a part of the UN-HABITAT response to the crisis and the need for housing and security of tenure. There is scope for a broader Global Finance Facility Reconstruction Fund that can be established to address future natural disasters or post-conflict rebuilding situations. © Suzi Mutter S Informal settlement in Ibbagwatte Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Reach of Local Finance Facilities (70th income Percentile to Bottom of Pyramid)

to ensure long term success of each programme project and to create fundamental fairness for low income communities and borrowers. In our current projects, this is being done in a very participatory way, involving communities, government, financial institutions and the private sector.

The Destinations

Local Finance Facilities Programme There are promising opportunities to expand the Local Finance Facility programme concept. The first is through the establishment of new Local Finance Facilities in other countries, as is now being planned in Kisumu, Kenya, and in Kumasi, Ghana, working in partnership with the Millennium Cities programme and other key partners. We are aiming to attract investment to extend the programme to all the Millennium Cities in Africa.

The revolving loan fund is a highly effective tool to reach underserved populations from the 30th down to the 85th income percentiles and is highly complementary to our Local Finance Facility (LFF) approach, reaching populations from the 70th income percentile to the bottom of the income pyramid.

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With additional funding, UN-HABITAT has the opportunity to pursue investment opportunities in up to five additional public-private housing finance projects over the next 20 months, creating up to USD 750 million in total investment, helping over one million people. If extended, the programme can become a self-sustaining fund management operation, directing social investments in microfinance housing lending, affordable and social housing construction and infrastructure improvement.

We believe that integrating market-based solutions and business approaches with community-led efforts will be the most effective way to address the scale of inadequate housing, water and sanitation for human settlements across the globe.

Local Finance Facilities In addition to our lending activities, UN-HABITAT approaches under-served populations through Local Finance Facilities, a concept

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Technical Assistance and Capacity Building Loan and credit enhancement guarantee approaches need to be offered with a strong element of technical assistance and capacity building

To broaden this approach, we are working with CHF International to create a global partnership which will offer borrower financial literacy training, bank technical assistance for lending operations and technical assistance to community groups seeking to finance housing projects.

This partnership could begin immediately in Ghana and Palestine in connection with current CHF activities and our existing LFF and ERSO projects.

Current donors for Urban Finance’s specialised programmes are Spain, the Rockefeller Foundation, Bahrain (ERSO Trust Fund) , Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom (Slum Upgrading Facility).

Key partners include International Finance Corporation, US Overseas Private Investment Corporation, Inter-American Development Bank, Bank of America, Central American Bank for Economic Integration, Cooperative Housing Foundation, Aspen Institute’s Middle East Investment Initiative, Millennium Cities, Swedbank/SIDA, Global Housing Foundation and Habitat for Humanity International.

Cities Alliance Programme The Barriers to Cross The Cities Alliance is a global coalition of cities and their development partners committed to scaling up successful approaches to poverty reduction. This requires working with governments that are best placed to improve the living conditions of the greatest numbers of the urban poor. The Alliance is applying a Medium-Term Strategy, covering 2008-2010, the goal of which is “for the Cities Alliance to increase its contribution to systemic change and to scale”.

The Road Map The Alliance brings cities together in a direct dialogue with bilateral and multilateral agencies and financial institutions and promotes the developmental role of local governments; helps cities of all sizes to obtain more coherent international support by promoting the positive impacts of urbanization, helps local authorities plan and prepare for future growth and also helps cities develop sustainable financing

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TARGET POPULATION OF UN-HABITAT PROGRAMMES,

BY INCOME LEVEL

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strategies and attract long-term capital investments for infrastructure and other services.

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Partners and Members of the Programme: Slum dwellers, international and local authorities, represented by United Cities and Local Governments and Metropolis, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Philippines, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom and United States of America, Asian Development Bank, European Commission, United Nations Environment Programme, UN-HABITAT and the World Bank.

Poverty Reduction: raising the awareness of poverty and inequality in development; analysing the nature, characteristics, trends and distribution of poverty and inequality; devising policies and strategies to tackle poverty and inequality problems.

Urban Economy and Finance Programme The Barriers to Cross The urbanization of poverty is one of the largest challenges to mankind. The persistent problems of poverty and slums are largely due to weak urban economy. Urban economic development and finance are fundamental to achieve all aspects of UN-HABITAT’s vision and mandate. The Urban Economy and Finance Programme promotes urban economic development strategies and policies that enable cities to act as engines of economic development and as centres of resources for human settlements development. It provides an analytical focus on the urban economy; its relationship to the national and global economy; as well as its relationship to housing and urban development.

The programme focuses on poverty reduction and promotes policies, strategies and tools which enhance the productivity of cities.

The Road Map The Urban Economy and Finance Programme includes the following sub programmes:• Urban Economy Development • Housing and Municipal Finance

Productive Cities and Poverty reduction Regional Economic Development

Productive and Inclusive Cities: exploring how to make cities more economically productive, socially inclusive and harmonious, while expanding jobs and business opportunities. In addition, it is necessary to increase incomes and improve quality of life, particularly for low income and disadvantaged groups.

Housing Finance and Municipal Finance Systems: promoting inclusive housing finance systems and mechanisms as well as municipal finance systems to improve the effectiveness, efficiency and accessibility of existing finance systems; creating and devising innovative finance mechanisms and instruments. It publishes human settlements finance systems and financing tools series.

Urban and Regional Economic Development: promoting urban and regional economic development by enhancing the capacities of central and local governments with respect to regional and national development and by developing strategies and tools for regional economic development.

Community-based and Cooperative Initiatives: Assistance to create, develop and sustain capacities of the poor and grassroots communities to meet their needs for housing and poverty reduction and urban services.

50 per cent of the staff reported improvements over the last year of operations. However, the overall improvement in efficiency still remains a priority and will continue to require high attention.

The Enhanced Normative and Operational Framework The Barriers to Cross The Enhanced Normative and Operational Framework is proving to be an effective instrument in mainstreaming the Habitat Agenda at the country level. Habitat country programme documents have been developed in partnership with United Nations country teams and approved by Governments in 33 countries, including six out of the eight pilot countries in the United Nations “Delivering as one” initiative. The development of a results framework for the Medium-Term Strategic and Institutional Plan is the highlight of the reporting period. The framework identifies strategic results, expected accomplishments, indicators and outputs for the period 2009–2013. This “results chain” will not only guide the work of UN-HABITAT during the remainder of the MediumTerm Strategic and Institutional Plan period; it will also provide the basis for results-based monitoring and reporting, more transparent allocation of resources and accountability.

The Road Map The main focus is to improve the institutional performance of UNHABITAT in delivering its mandate in line with the priorities set by its governing body in the work programme and the Medium-Term Strategic and Institutional Plan. An internal strengthened Programme Review Committee (PRC) facilitate effective execution of results-based planning, monitoring and evaluation, promote alignment and cohesion of the programmes, and also ensure that lessons captured from monitoring and evaluation systematically inform the planning and design of new programmes and projects.

The Destinations

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Development of supportive business processes continues to be a significant challenge to effectively deliver the Medium-Term Strategic and Institutional Plan. Improvements have been made in recruitment and cooperation agreement approval processes, and slightly above

S Participants at the World Urban Forum, the world’s premier conference on cities.

Progress has also been made in the application of Results-Based Management, UN-HABITAT is still in gradual transition as regards ResultsBased Management. The increased demands for reporting has led to growing transaction costs, and has highlighted the need to streamline reporting processes, both in terms of harmonizing reports and building systems that can serve as data source for multiple reports.

Improvements in Enhanced Normative and Operational Framework approaches have materialized; however, consistent alignment of normative support and operations across Divisions, Branches and Sections is still underway.

Analyzing all tasks that need to be undertaken for the remaining period of the Medium-Term Strategic and Institutional Plan has required rigorous analysis of organizational needs and estimation of costs and realistic completion dates. This has led to delays in the finalization of the Medium-Term Strategic and Institutional Plan Roadmap for 2010-2013.

Although financial resources have increased, imbalance between nonearmarked and earmarked funding, the reliance on a small number of donors still remain. This is especially evident in the lack of funding for Habitat Country Programme Document implementation. With this in mind, the Agency faces a challenge in the establishment of result-based budgeting to maximise the utilization of available resources in its programmes.

sustainable urbanisation FOR A BETTER URBAN FUTURE

Conclusions: Focus area 6, Excellence in Management aims at ensuring effective implementation of the organization’s work. This will be done – inter-alia – through enhanced results-based management, improved communication, and better financial, human and knowledge management systems and tools.

Thus, the following objectives are expected to be met: • High impact results at country and global level resulting from more cohesion and resource sharing and better alignment between normative and operational work.

• Increased efficiency and effectiveness through improved knowledge management and information including systematic dissemination of policy and programme information.

• Improved performance and policies based on feedback from an enhanced integrated programme monitoring, evaluation and reporting focusing on results and lessons learned from experience; • More predictable and sustainable funding from a wider donor base as a result of implementing a comprehensive resource mobilization strategy.

• Increased effectiveness through enhanced management skills and better alignment between staff skills and functions as a result of improved human resource management system.

• Higher visibility of the organization’s work and its issues through greater commitment by all staff to a common vision, culture and branding.

United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) P.O. Box 30030, GPO 00100, Nairobi, Kenya Tel: +254 20 7625159 Fax: +254 20 7625015 info.rmu@unhabitat.org www.unhabitat.org UN-HABITAT is the United Nations body mandated to promote socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities and to provide adequate shelter for all Cover Image © Shutterstock

Available Investment Opportunities Key investment opportunities in UN-HABITAT are planned activities that require committed funding. They are identified in UN-HABITAT’s regional areas of operation and are of a wide-range. They can be broadly classified under focus areas of UN-HABITAT’s Medium Strategic and Institutional Plan. www.unhabitat.org/pipelineprojects DISCLAIMER The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries, or regarding its economic system or degree of development. The analysis, conclusions and recommendations of this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme, the Governing Council of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme or its Member States. Copyright © United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT), 2010 Printing: UNON, Publishing Services Section, Nairobi, ISO 14001:2004-certified

for more inclusive, safer and greener towns and cities

Excellence in Management

The overall execution of this focus area has a significant impact on the management, institutional effectiveness and corporate culture of UN-HABITAT. In particular, strengthening of results-based management, which is a key element of the focus area; considerably enhance the organization’s accountability, efficiency and effectiveness.

To achieve that, UN-HABITAT needs to mainstream its business processes and establish a corporate approach when dealing with development partners. The Focus Area 6 (Excellence in Management) leads the Agency towards achieving that to serve its beneficiaries in the most efficient and effective manner.

Business processes develop guidelines on the implementation, management, reporting, and oversight mechanisms for monitoring

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The Destinations © UN-HABITAT

Thus, the purpose for Results-Based Management is to enable UN-HABITAT perform its mandate efficiently and effectively as mandated

by General Assembly resolution 55/231. Results-Based Management is integral to the Agency’s management philosophy (or methodology) and practice. Public and private sector organizations that measure and evaluate the results of their work find that this information transforms and empowers them. It allows them to reward success, to learn from experience and to build public confidence. Being able to measure and evaluate results is a prerequisite to delivering quality programs, services and policies. Results-Based Management requires attention from the beginning of an initiative to its end. It means clearly defining the results to be achieved, delivering the program or service, measuring and evaluating performance and making adjustments to improve both efficiency and effectiveness. It also means reporting on performance in ways that are acceptable to all UN-HABITAT stakeholders.

The Road Map In the context of UN-HABITAT, knowledge management seeks to support sharing of relevant information and knowledge among staff for organizational effectiveness and to harness the efforts of Habitat Agenda partners to achieve sustainable urbanization. UN-HABITAT is currently developing a Knowledge Management Strategy with a vision of global recognition of the Agency as the premier reference centre for information, knowledge and strategic learning about sustainable urbanization. The goal of the Knowledge Management Strategy is to help the Agency achieve this vision by creating an enabling environment that enhances the capacity of the Agency’s staff and its partners to share, reuse, and create new information and knowledge.

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The Medium-Term Strategic and Institutional Plan strengthens UNHABITAT role as a vigorous catalyst. Its sharpened focus enhanced normative framework for aligning global and country level activities, and commitment to partnerships and reinvestment capacity building forms the basis of a vision and a commitment to help stabilize the chaotic aspects of rapid urbanization and deliver cities without slums as envisioned in the Millennium Declaration. This is but a first step towards the overarching goal of sustainable urbanization and as a social, economic and environmental contribution to peace, stability and sustainable development. It is an important step that over one billion fellow citizens are counting on.

Medium-Term Strategic and Institutional Plan’s Focus Area 6 includes implementation of Results Based Management which is supported by Knowledge Management systems and other institutional adjustments, to enable the organization fulfill its mandate to promote sustainable urban development. Knowledge management comprises a range of strategies and practices used in an organization to identify, create, represent, distribute, and enable adoption of experiences, best practices, lessons, processes, technologies and information. This knowledge may be either embodied in individuals or embedded in organizational processes or practice. Knowledge management goes beyond information management because it provides tools to promote information sharing and collaboration at all levels.

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Streamlining Business Processes

Results-Based Management Results-Based Management is a systematic participatory life-cycle approach to management that aims at achieving improved performance and demonstrable results. Results-Based Management is concerned with both the achievement of results and the evidence-based measurement of these achievements. Historically, projects have focused their attention on resource inputs (what they spend), activities (what they do) and outputs (what they produce). Although accurate information at this level is important, however, it is insufficient to achieve the results orientation demanded by this management framework.

Human Resources Management and Administration In order to better align staff competencies with programme priorities, improve efficiency, transparency and delegation of authority, Human Resources Management undertakes the following tasks. Development of Standard Job Descriptions; update individual job descriptions; monitor and update post reclassifications; development of a job description and classification database; preparation of user manuals; development and implementation of a staff skill inventory; launching a consultants roster; post management system.

The Barriers to Cross

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compliance to delegated responsibilities. It also supports the implementation of the standard operating procedures for project review and approval, travel planning and approval, cooperation agreements, including briefing sessions, and training on online tools. In addition, the accountability framework aims at developing an audit trail in the systems/databases, and set-up of the Cooperation Agreement Review and Advisory Committee to establish quality standards and oversight mechanisms. These business processes include:

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Excellence in management creates a consent environment for the effective implementation of the five substantive Focus Areas within the Medium term Strategic and Institutional Plan. Its full implementation has a significant impact on UN-HABITAT’s management, institutional operations and corporate culture. In particular, UN-HABITAT is strengthening and mainstreaming the results-based management approach, a key element of this institutional plan. The Executive Director’s Office coordinates and oversees the execution of the whole MediumTerm Strategic and Institutional Plan, and leads in the execution of the five substantive focus areas: 1. Effective advocacy, monitoring and partnership.

2. Promotion of participatory urban planning, management and governance.

3. Promotion of pro-poor land and housing.

4. Environmentally sound urban infrastructure and services.

5. Strengthened human settlements finance systems.

6. Excellence in management.

Excellence in Management consists of the following inter-linked areas;

Knowledge Management

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Results-Based Management puts a premium on measurement and learning, while focusing on defining realistic expected results, monitoring progress towards achievement of results, evaluating, and reporting on performance against planned results, integrating lessons learned into managements decisions and making adjustments to achieve results. In a Results-Based Management system division of roles and responsibilities, strategies, processes, organizational approaches, are made in the light of the resources available. Result based management is an international best practice system of work.

Implementation of the strategy should result in: empowered staff through access to knowledge and innovation; provision of partners with easy access to knowledge and information; establishment of institutional frameworks and mechanisms to support the generation and management of evidence-based knowledge to link lessons learnt from operational activities to normative dialogue and advocacy and harness the efforts of the global network of Habitat Agenda Partners to document and synthesize knowledge on sustainable urban development; adequate resource implementation of knowledge generation and management strategy.

Resource Mobilization The UN-HABITAT Resource Mobilization Unit was established in 2008 in order to ensure a corporate approach when fundraising according to GA RES/56/206. It maintains continuous interaction and communication with Development Partners and coordinates the resource mobilization activities of concerned substantive offices. Its value added is a systemic approach encompassing intelligence, managing donor relations, and coordination. The Unit is based on principles that form part of the overall pursuit of Excellence in Management which are: building donor confidence; adopting corporate fundraising procedures; strengthening consistent messaging and communications, balancing core and earmarked funding; complying with Medium-Term Strategic and Institutional Plan’s focus areas; and managing donor funded human resources.

With limited core resources from the UN system, funding of UN-HABITAT depends basically on donor confidence – to what extent donors believe that UN-HABITAT has an important and relevant agenda in line with their own priorities and capacity and capability to perform and deliver. Among the activities of the Resource Mobilization Unit, there are the provision of value-added services and information to the substantive offices within of UN-HABITAT and the support to consolidate and broaden the donor base, as well as to tap non-conventional sources of funding. Its overall mandate within UN-HABITAT is to maintain effective communication and relation with development partners and within the Organization.

The unit has setup different products to help attain its goal: Publications Resource mobilization is an activity requiring a continuing engagement and good quality information and communication to raise funds over time and in a durable manner. So far the unit has been able to issue three publications that are anchored on the six key pillars corresponding to the six Focus Areas of the Medium Term Strategic and Institutional Plan. Each of these strategic elements are closely linked to Millenium Development Goal 7 on environmental sustainability, in particular the 7C (related to access to safe water and basic sanitation) and the 7D (related to improving the conditions of slum dwellers). A critical publication developed is called UN-HABITAT Products and Services and is intended as a guide to all the products and services offered by UN-HABITAT in carrying out its human settlement projects throughout the developing world. It provides an exhaustive reference source for both existing and potential partners who wish to help in the organizations mission of meeting the basic needs and uplifting the living standards of millions of urban poor worldwide.

Resource Mobilization System In order to ensure a corporate resource mobilization approach, this internal system provides donor related information to users in an easy and user friendly manner. It includes information about the development partners and its policy priorities, the activities carried out related to fundraising, the proposals submitted to Development Partners as well as information on the Donor Countries.

Pipeline Projects UN-HABITAT also offers investment opportunities in a wide range of sectors in its countries of operation through its database of pipeline projects, also available online (www.unhabitat.org/pipelineprojects).

Post-disaster Reconstruction and Sustainable Recovery

Thinking and Acting Strategically Together with the International Federation of Red Cross, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and a range of NGOs, UN-HABITAT is providing series of post disaster shelter options as alternatives to tents and plastic sheeting in for instance, Peru, Pakistan, Indonesia, Afghanistan, Somalia, Uganda and Sudan. Finally, the potential for disaster risk management is at best slim, and often given consideration, sadly, only after a disaster occurs. The opportunity to think and act strategically, ensuring that vulnerabilities are addressed and resilience ensured during reconstruction following crises, is one of the many strengths of UN-HABITAT’s early engagement in post-disaster situations.

The right to adequate shelter is central to the mandate of UN-HABITAT and expressed through the campaigns on “Urban Governance” and “Shelter for All” and is even more important when addressing the needs of communities affected by disasters. Shelter is often the primary need in the post-disaster phase, but the delivery of immediate shelter needs must be undertaken within a long-term shelter strategy. The very same applies to the overall reconstruction and rehabilitation of other infrastructure and services. In parallel, the displacement of populations as a result of natural or human-made disasters is one of the key issues informing UN-HABITAT’s disaster management strategy.

Disaster Preparedness and Vulnerability Reduction

S Upgraded settlements in Bossaso city, Somalia.

Humanitarian Response

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Urban populations can often be captured in general humanitarian responses. For instance, targeting vulnerable communities and groups in need is a major challenge for humanitarian actors in urban areas because the potential beneficiaries are sometimes highly mobile, often inaccessible and frequently integrated into existing slums and settlements scattered across the city. Nevertheless, donors have yet to develop strategies for designating funds for humanitarian operations in urban areas. UN-HABITAT supports human settlements in crisis through the Inter-Agency Standing Committee.

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In an increasingly urbanised world, those most in need in an aftermath are the urban poor. UN-HABITAT is striving to promote disaster awareness and the development of local capabilities to foster institutionalised disaster management and mitigation policies. UN-HABITAT aims to reduce risk and vulnerabilities of conflict and natural disasters with special attention to reducing social and economic vulnerability in human settlements to reduce loss of lives and livelihoods and protect broadbased development gains.

A young girl surveys the remains of her house in a village in West Aceh, Indonesia after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.

sustainable urbanisation FOR A BETTER URBAN FUTURE

Re-establishing livelihoods, planning and management of settlements and basic services for these vulnerable groups is a key priority of UN-HABITAT’s settlements crisis management programming. Being aware of the complexity of the problem, UN-HABITAT has elaborated a set of integrated strategies taking into account the specific needs of refugees and IDPs: creation of strategic partnerships for resettlements rehabilitation and housing for IDPs/refugees in emergency, local integration and reintegration phases; security of land and property tenure; and development of productive economic activities.

Subsequent to designing and operationalizing the Iraq Settlements Rehabilitation Programme in 1997, UN-HABITAT Disaster Management Programme continues to provide substantive backstopping in the areas of post-conflict reconstruction strategies, capacity building of local governments, urban planning and gender analysis. In Kosovo, for example, UN-HABITAT Disaster Management Programme continues to support the United Nations Admin Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) attending to four key areas; the rehabilitation of the municipality administration; the development of new spatial planning legislation; the regularization of housing and property rights; and the restoration of property and land registries. In Sudan, on the other hand, UN-HABITAT Disaster Management Programme supports road rehabilitation projects focusing on improving transportation infrastructure to increase the access for communities in the country and enhance local self-reliance through improved transportation and exchange of goods and services.

United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) P.O. Box 30030, GPO 00100, Nairobi, Kenya Tel: +254 20 7625159 Fax: +254 20 7625015 info.rmu@unhabitat.org www.unhabitat.org UN-HABITAT is the United Nations body mandated to promote socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities and to provide adequate shelter for all Cover Image © IRIN

Available Investment Opportunities Key investment opportunities in UN-HABITAT are planned activities that require committed funding. They are identified in UN-HABITAT’s regional areas of operation and are of a wide-range. They can be broadly classified under focus areas of UN-HABITAT’s Medium Strategic and Institutional Plan. www.unhabitat.org/pipelineprojects DISCLAIMER The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries, or regarding its economic system or degree of development. The analysis, conclusions and recommendations of this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme, the Governing Council of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme or its Member States. Copyright © United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT), 2010 Printing: UNON, Publishing Services Section, Nairobi, ISO 14001:2004-certified

for more inclusive, safer and greener towns and cities

The Road Map

Strengthened Responsiveness of Human Settlements in Crisis

The increasingly important role of UN-HABITAT in the humanitarian arena adds value to those institutions consumed with the task(s) of saving and preserving human lives. The U.N. community and humanitarian NGOs requested UN-HABITAT to get involved and provide its expertise also in the humanitarian setting. The primary value added is by working hand in hand with humanitarian agencies leveraging short term investments in emergency into longer time developmental gain. This potentially shortens the term of crisis and creates opportunities for early recovery and sustainable development.

A cornerstone of UN-HABITAT’s strategy, reflected in its MediumTerm Strategic and Institutional Plan is its “Sustainable Relief and Reconstruction” (SRR) approach. This approach aims to leverage investments in emergency and recovery to support and foster longerterm development of human settlements. Through this approach UNHABITAT ensures that its involvement in post-crisis interventions is linked to longer-term development strategies including land and property rights and administration and rebuilding more resilient settlements.

This has been demonstrated in recent crises in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, the Philippines, Mozambique, Sudan, Somalia, Uganda, Peru and, presently, Haiti.

and long-term stability: a humanitarian action in the longer term perspective that indeed helps preventing the stabilization of protracted humanitarian solutions.

The Destinations This strategic policy is derived from the key elements of the Sustainable Relief and Reconstruction framework; it is also closely linked to the UNHABITAT Medium-Term Strategic and Institutional Plan, the Habitat Agenda and other mandatory instruments. The policy maps out and defines the reinforcing role UN-HABITAT plays in effective, accountable and sustainable responses to needs in both pre- and post-crisis conditions.

This contribution was effectively recognized when UN-HABITAT was invited to bring its perspectives and support to human settlements emergency and recovery efforts through the Executive Committee for Humanitarian Affairs (ECHA) and the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) Cluster System, with particular responsibility as focal point for housing, land and property rights and issues.

S Ruins from the 2008 earthquake in Sichuan, China.

The Barriers to Cross While some disasters fail to attract adequate relief funding, many are facing shortcomings in types of response. Housing, Land and Property (HLP) is one of the sectors that are drawing increasing attention from the international humanitarian community as well as among the affected populations for several reasons, not least of which is the chronic shortage of financial and technical support to meet these needs.

In complex emergencies, one of the major challenges to sustainable peace is restoring House, Land and Property (HLP) rights to returning refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs). Such restoration calls for resolving ongoing disputes, re-establishing rights registration systems, rebuilding damaged or destroyed houses and, not least, protecting the rights of vulnerable groups. Similarly, in the aftermath of natural disasters one of the most pressing challenges is to undertake a swift damage assessment in order to determine cost-effective, technically sound and more sustainable shelter response strategies that build on people’s own coping mechanisms. This includes a systematic approach to

tenure activities, helping affected families to re-start their lives beyond immediate relief and providing a sound basis for sustainable recovery.

In humanitarian situations worldwide the highest concentrations of affected populations live in urban settlements. Crises arising from economic, social and/or political strife, as well as from natural and human-made vulnerabilities, either displace urban populations, or force rural families into cities seeking security and potential livelihoods.

Consequently, thousands of displaced persons and refugees, in addition to suffering many forms of loss, also lose their rights to housing, land and property due to conflicts and disasters every year.

Shelter and secure tenure are the fundamental elements of what makes human settlements what they are, and the capacity to plan, manage, and administer these are the responsibility of both national and local governments. It is during crises – both natural and human-made – that this responsibility is most affected. Ironically, it is also during these times of crises that the greatest development gains may be realized in the shortest possible time-frame.

© IRIN S A collapsed building in Haiti after the earthquake in January 2010. Shelter is often the primary need in the post-disaster phase, but the delivery of immediate shelter needs must be undertaken within a long-term shelter strategy.

As a member of the UN Executive Committee for Humanitarian Affairs (ECHA), UN-HABITAT continues to advocate for more sustainable response policies and strategies. In collaboration with the Major Humanitarian Response System, UN-HABITAT supports an inter-agency forum for transforming housing, land and properties into operational responses in order to ensure effective transition from relief to development.

Understanding that crises debilitate governments, both national and local, and the restoration of normalcy is key to sustainable recovery, UN-HABITAT engages within crises situations to provide assistance and support both to international humanitarian actors, and to government to hasten the recovery process.

the response to recent disasters has, among other things, demonstrated that efforts to broaden the strategic response to shelter needs should be strengthened Failure to act instantly and thoroughly on issues such as housing, land and property dispute resolution often leads to renewed conflicts when people and communities return to their places of origin. This is clearly demonstrated in Southern Sudan, East Timor and other countries where insufficient or inadequate attention to land and property rights in peace agreements and return planning have led to renewed fighting and loss of lives and property. Therefore, recording and restoring Housing Land and Property rights is more than simply a protection issue; it is a fundamental condition for building sustainable peace through revitalizing economic activities, promoting social cohesion

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The mandate for these operations is derived from the United Nations Habitat Agenda as well as three UN General Assembly Resolutions (59/239, 60/203 and 61/206) which recognize the important role and contribution of UN-HABITAT in countries affected by natural disasters and complex emergencies.

S Floods in Congo Town, Liberia.

The cluster approach operates on two levels: global and field. At the global level, the agency collaborates with others and builds better capacity in critical ‘gap’ areas, UN-HABITAT leads on promotion of House, Land and Property rights, developing enhanced ‘surge’ House, Land and Property capacity, improving needs assessment tools, providing specialized technical expertise and strengthening prevention with humanitarian partners.

The response to recent disasters has, among other things, demonstrated that efforts to broaden the strategic response to shelter needs should be strengthened. Particularly in the case of natural disasters, people often prefer to receive a “shelter kit” to help them recover damaged building elements and use them to build their own emergency shelter from the rubble, which could become the first step in a more extensive process of recovery.

In the time it takes to provide emergency tents, families could easily re-construct individual shelter units that will give them the protection they need to cook and sleep, particularly in rural settings and urban fringes. Therefore, they can remain on the spot and protect their land and property, feed animals and use available shelter for livelihood activities. In this perspective, the current shelter approach must build more on people’s own coping mechanisms; it must include women, minorities and others who may not be represented in the planning and management process of strategies for emergency shelter or return, integration or settlement after displacement.

The guiding principles of UN-HABITAT’s approach to human settlements in crisis, Sustained Relief and Reconstruction, provide a robust framework for action. The concept and principles represent a substantive and achievable set of objectives, culminating in the twin goals of (1) ensuring that investments in the emergency and recovery phases are leveraged longer term impacts, and (2) integrating the essential elements of disaster risk reduction in the process. The development of guiding principles makes it possible to articulate the basic philosophy which the bodies involved must adopt if relief and reconstruction assistance is to have a positive effect on the sustainable and equal development of human settlements in post-conflict and disaster environments.

The principles establish important baselines and the priority areas of focus considered necessary for truly sustainable relief and reconstruction functions.

Guiding Principles of the Sustainable Relief and Reconstruction Approach • •

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Permanent links between emergency relief and reconstruction and the transitional phase of development are established.

Building and mobilizing capacities across all levels and stakeholders must be a priority from the earliest stages throughout the process, from relief and reconstruction to recovery and development.

Operating within a human rights framework, particularly in terms of land rights and security of tenure, and women’s equal rights.

Effective peace-building requires the following five elements: (1) clear and understandable legal and regulatory frameworks, (2) effective and impartial land and property administration, (3) a functional interface between local government and the citizenry in a dialogue that builds trust and commitment (with capacity building where essential), (4) a common vision and (5) coordination of international institutions and bodies.

Since crises, and in particular conflicts; virtually always cause population displacements, the very early stages of recovery must include sustainable strategies that integrate rights-based approaches to shelter, tenure and protection of the most vulnerable segments of a community.