u r b a n

WORLD
July 2009
Volume 1 Issue 3

Innovative cities
Why learning is the key to
urban development

India bids to be a global leader in solar energy

After the Sichuan earthquake: how citizens are rebuilding shattered lives
Why the gender gap is growing in cities
Interview: Mexico City’s Mayor reveals a novel approach to urban regeneration

FOR A BETTER URBAN FUTURE

 u r b a n CONTENTS
WORLD
OPINION ANALYSIS
www.unhabitat.org
© 2008 UN-HABITAT
4 Message from the Executive 18 A new strategy to close the
UN-HABITAT
P.O.Box 30030, GPO Director gender divide
Nairobi 00100, Kenya
Tel. (254-20) 762 3120
Emily Wong
Fax. (254-20) 762 3477 5 Drivers of change
E-mail: urbanworld@unhabitat.org
Gary Lawrence ARUP 22 Global parliamentarians
EDITOR: Roman Rollnick Berti Leinius
EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS: Tom Osanjo, Eric Orina
7 Cities and the business of the
EDITORIAL BOARD
Oyebanji Oyeyinka (Chair)
environment BEST PRACTICES
Daniel Biau John D. Wiebe
Lucia Kiwala 26 Giving revenue collection a big
Anatha Krishnan
Eduardo López Moreno 9 Lessons from an elder boost in Somaliland
Jane Nyakairu statesman Antony Lamba, Asia Adam and
Edlam Yemeru
Nicholas You
Interview with former Edward Miller
Mariam Yunusa Mozambique President Chissano
Raf Tuts
29 Anji County
PRESSGROUP HOLDINGS EUROPE S.A. COVER STORY Li YU
San Vicente Martir 16-6-1
46002 Valencia, Spain
Tel. (34) 96 303 1000 INNOVATIVE CITIES 32 News and project round-ups
Fax. (34) 96 303 1234
(North America and Europe)
E-mail: urbanworld@pressgroup.net 11 Secrets of innovative cities
PUBLISHER: Angus McGovern
MANAGING EDITOR: Richard Forster
Tim Campbell
STAFF WRITERS: Jonathan Andrews,
Kirsty Tuxford
ART DIRECTOR: Marisa Gorbe
14 How innovation can drive
ADVERTISING: Fernando Ortiz, Clive Lawson, economic recovery
Kristine Riisbrich Christensen Christine Auclair
Urban World is published four times a year by
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are those of the authors and do not reflect the
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Why developm
urban
d lives
editor at
r energy shattere
ilding

India
bids to
the Sich
be a glob
uan eart
al lead
hquake:
grow
er in sola ens are rebu
how citiz
ing in
cities
als a nove
l approac
h to urba
n rege
neration
UN-HABITAT.
After gap is or reve
gender ’s May
Why the Mexico City
:
Interview

Photo © With the Permission

P of BilBao
B
Bao turismo

u r b a n
11 28
2 WORLD July 2009
 FOR A BETTER URBAN FUTURE

IN FOCUS URBAN WATCH

36 Latin America 64 People

Mexico City rides a new wave:
interview with Marcelo Ebrard
Jonathan Andrews
News and project round-ups
44 Asia and Pacific
Can India lead the global
market for solar power?
Kirsty Tuxford
47 After the quake: how self-
build is the key to Sichuan’s
recovery
Maya Alexandri
News and project round-ups
53 Africa
Field report from South Sudan
Eduardo Feuerhake
“Young people are the
forgotten majority”
A donor speaks out
Interview with Eric Berg
UN-HABITAT News
66 UN-HABITAT reveals
Business Award winners
Jake Julian
65
68 Countdown to Expo 2010
Katja Makelainen and Maria-Jose
Olavarria
69 Publications
70 Book review
Medinas 2030
74 Calendar of events

News and project round-ups 75 Conference briefing

Cities at the climate change
60 Middle East frontline
News and project round-ups

62 Central and Eastern Europe

News and project round-ups

46

36 Volume 1 Issue 3
u r b a n
July 2009 WORLD 3
OPINION Message from the Executive Director
N early 150 years ago, the
great French author and
thinker, Jules Verne (1828
– 1905) wrote about air travel, air con-
ditioning, metro rail systems, cars, te-
levision, the internet (a worldwide “te-
legraphic” system), and other pillars of
our globalized urban world several ge-
nerations before any of these were even
invented.
He even wrote about calculators and
a chair with an electric charge that was
used to execute criminals. And perhaps
just as startling, Verne predicted a geo-
metric, modern centrepiece built for
the Louvre. The glass pyramid standing
there today was built well over a lifetime
after his death. In that year 1863, he also
wrote about a tall tower in Paris – a generation before the Eiffel
Tower.
All of this in his futuristic novel, Paris in the 20th Century.
And well before their time, he also spoke of modern skyscrapers.
His descriptions of the modern innovative city are very similar
to what we have in the real world today. How would he find it
today, browsing around a riverbank stall along the Seine with
posters of our planet from space, some showing the ravages of
climate change and pollution coming from dirty cities?
How would such a great urban thinker find our urbanized
world today?
It is a blight on our generation that he would probably not
have been surprised to see that we have reached a point in his-
tory early in the 21st century where unless cities can be made
more sustainable, the legacy of negative environmental and so-
cial costs will become irreversible.
In this urban era with more than half of humanity living in cit-
ies and towns, urban poverty, deprivation and social exclusion
will become pervasive with a resultant increase in crime, and
health problems and, of course, political and social unrest.
Cities will continue to provide a refuge for those escaping con-
flict zones. Would Mr. Verne be shocked at our slums, today home
to one billion people mostly in cities in the developing world?
The negative consequences of rapid and poorly planned ur-
banization, including climate change, shows us that the local
and global agendas are one and the same. Well planned and
managed cities and communities are not only at the heart of
any effective strategy in reducing poverty and social exclusion
in an urbanized world, they are also critical to reducing the eco-
logical footprint of cities for sustainable development to become
possible. While there will be no single solution, the issues and
challenges are clearly universal and require global learning and
collaboration.
The question that needs to be posed is how can we harness
the positive aspects of urbanization to promote social inclusion,
smarter growth and thus contribute to our collective stability
and prosperity? How can urbanization become the cornerstone
u r b a n
4 WORLD July 2009
of a new inclusive civilization? How can
we help create vibrant and socially cohe-
sive urban communities?
Would Mr. Verne have been able to tell
us how to use the economic downturn to
be more inventive and innovative?
The world’s urban professionals have
a huge responsibility in front of them
because reinventing cities is largely in
their hands. Architects, planners, sur-
veyors, engineers and landscape ar-
chitects, have an ethical if not moral
obligation to help confront the urban
challenge ahead. Each time architects
and planners draw a line, they define a
space. That space has to be more socially
inclusive and environmentally sounder.
What they design becomes part of the
urban landscape for generations to come.
The private sector has also an enormous role to play as driv-
ers of economic change and leaders of innovation. But this time,
given the nature of the global crisis, the business community has
realized that it has a stake in investing in people and in commu-
nities on a larger scale.
The private sector understands well that business cannot suc-
ceed in a society that fails and well functioning cities are needed
for harmonious development which in turn drives economies,
underwrites employment, and enables markets to work.
Therefore, the global financial crisis makes investing in inclu-
sive development more urgent than ever.
In this equation, national and local governments have a large
responsibility to support and encourage the professionals and
the private sector to work towards solutions and reinvent cit-
ies together while involving communities. This global challenge
will be at the heart of UN-HABITAT’s work in the years to come
with our new World Urban Campaign. The Campaign advocates
better design and better planning for urban spaces, safer and
healthier communities, and more equitable and inclusive urban
governance in order to attain better quality of life for everyone.
It will be about reinventing cities together as one global
community.
After all, the city is our greatest achievement. Although ro-
bust, it is also fragile, and it must have care and nurturing like all
resilient living organisms. Cities are the cradle of human inven-
tion, art, culture.
Our modern world’s economic, political and social stability
rests on the city’s shoulders. City states preceded the creation of
nation states. And today cities endure and this is truly something
to celebrate.
 Gary Lawrence OPINION

Drivers of change:
building our urban
future
Sustainability and sustainable development are about how the Earth’s natural systems work
and how they affect and are affected by individual and aggregate human behaviour, writes
Gary Lawrence*, Principal and Urban Strategies Leader at Arup.

T hat we do not really understand

the long-term causes and effects
at the intersection of natural
phenomena and human behaviour is quite a
barrier to sustainability. Neither mortal nor
computer model has the information and
perspective necessary to demonstrate exactly
what is going on, or what best to do.
The biggest barrier to making more re-
sponsible decisions about the present and fu-
ture is the number of individuals and groups
active in the discussion that are absolutely
certain about things for which certainty is ir-
responsible. One particularly virulent form of
this phenomenon is the propensity of groups
to be certain about the values, motives, and
desires of others without ever discussing
them honestly.
I am convinced that the ideas and viewpoints
of sustainability and sustainable development
are attractive. If we have the courage to reshape
the ideas in ways that have more natural and Gary Lawrence Photo © aruP
emotional appeal to the citizens of the world,
we can, I think, see sustainable development be-
come the context through which civic renewal, Should those of us who are doing just fine 1. Gaining clarity about the nature
greater justice, more equity, and more construc- feel any obligation to our fellow humans whose of the problem or opportunity
tive ownership in our new urban future can local systems are in collapse? Should we take What if we accepted that the true cost of oil
emerge. steps to make life better for future people we is USD 480 a barrel?
Sustainability is both a physical reality and will never know? Should we try to make human There is a tendency to focus on attributes,
a political choice. The physical reality is that development more sustainable? rather than fundamentals, because the
there is a limited amount of land, fresh water People now and in the future demand attributes are often more intuitively
and natural resources. As we use these up or that we completely integrate the aesthetic obvious. Climate change is an attribute
alter them so they are no longer beneficial, and scientific factors, as well as the real of the more fundamental issues of en-
we limit our future potential. Technological needs and desires of people – their senses, ergy and population growth and even
innovation can help clean up some of our their emotions and their diverse identities. population growth is a function of available
messes, derive better benefits from underu- In this context it can be considered that energy resources, yet we have decided
tilized resources, and occasionally provide there are four critical stages to shifting from that the problem is greenhouse gas
substitutes for scarce resources. one paradigm to another. emissions.

u r b a n
July 2009 WORLD 5
OPINION Gary Lawrence
Conflict in Africa taking the Responsibility to Protect
In June 2007, renowned energy expert
and analyst Milton Copulus, estimated
the true cost of oil at USD 480 per barrel.
This takes into account the direct and in-
direct costs, economic costs of oil supply
disruption, and military expenditures. This
would translate to USD 220 to fill the aver-
age family car in the United States. How we
value energy, price it, choose to use it, and
share it drives the climate equation.
If we were willing and able to fold all of
the now external costs of energy into fully-
loaded costs would that in itself make de-
sign more effective? Energy issues shape
possibilities about location, mobility and
access, and building form itself.
2. The problem or opportunity must
be addressed
What if we understood that it would take
at least 120 years for a standard waste in-
cinerator to produce the amount of dioxins
resulting from London’s Millennium fire-
works display?
Often we are certain we know the answer
without having undergone any sort of meth-
odological approach to gaining knowledge.
For instance, communities almost always
resist waste-to-energy facilities in part for
fear of emissions. But do they know that
one of the things most communities love
can be much more damaging? How do we,
in communicating what is really at stake in
such key decisions, move beyond conven-
tional wisdom into actual rational conver-
sations about cause and effect?
It can be all too easy for professionals to
propose solutions to problems that stake-
holders either do not think need addressing
or are of lower priority than other issues
cared about. Part of this is the result of not
getting the question right and this is facili-
tated by the tyranny of experts where the
public is expected to simply defer to the in-
tellectual superiority of others. Experience
teaches us that this is often a path to heart-
ache. And part is a failure to appreciate
and incorporate the wisdom of the masses
when they are provided unbiased informa-
tion that is accessible to them, not just to
the experts.
This is not to suggest that majority must
rule. The literature is pretty clear however
that if institutions and individuals that the
majority trusts and for whom they feel some
u r b a n
6 WORLD July 2009
kinship are not convinced that the problem
at hand is a priority then the majority will
withhold their permission.
3. Knowing what to do and being hon-
est with the public
Some 35 million new housing units are
needed annually – or 95,000 units daily –
to meet the world’s urban housing need. In
2005, one out of three urban dwellers was
living in slum conditions.
We can feel more confidence (and influ-
ence) when addressing attributes of prob-
lems rather than fundamentals, but ad-
dressing attributes will never solve the un-
derlying problems. For instance, design can
go a long way towards addressing aspects of
some problems.
However, great design of products that
do not advance civilization merely uses up
scarce resources without addressing the
core of the problem. The fundamentals are
nearly always political. We make choices
rooted in the interplay of self-interest,
sympathy for others, respect for others, and
concerns about our own morality.
Nowhere is the ascendancy of self-inter-
est more apparent than in addressing our
housing issues.
Getting housing built for the homeless
and poorly housed is a serious problem. In
my days as planning director for the City of
Seattle, we used the term affordable hous-
ing to describe housing units that could be
afforded by those with household incomes
less than the regional median household
income. After a long and painful process,
we discovered that for most residents in
the communities in question, the term af af-
fordable housing meant “housing for peo-
ple who aren’t like us, who don’t share our
values, and who are threats to our property
and lives.” It is not surprising that there is
such resistance to affordable housing.
Finding ways to reduce the psychologi-
cal distance between communities that
perceive themselves as stakeholders in the
future of a place and those that they per-
ceive as not stakeholders is very tough. If
we can’t find formulas in which sympathy,
respect for rights, and concerns about each
other’s individual moral identity balance
the perceived self-interest of those who fear
the change, then it is possible only at huge
political cost.
4. Choosing to do what we know
Cities house half the world’s population
but consume three-quarters of the world’s
resources and produce three-quarters of
the world’s pollution.
We are not focusing sufficiently on the big
questions that shape our future. The activi-
ties of urban settlements are key contribu-
tors to climate change factors. For most
people in the world, the lack of water for
irrigation of crops and the lack of potable
water for drinking will have a much more
dramatic and immediate effect than rising
sea levels and the increasing range of com-
municable disease associated with temper-
ature increases. Global climate change and
its current and potential consequences for
life property and prosperity are accepted as
the major challenge for human society in
the next 100 years.
Without the choice to act, and in the
cases we care about the choice to act differ-
ently, conventional wisdom will dominate
and we will make much less progress than
would otherwise be possible. The choice to
act differently is a risk management issue
– political risk, financial risk and resource
management risk. u
*Gary Lawrence is a principal at Arup
and its Urban Strategies Leader. He
provides thought leadership for strategic
urban development throughout the firm’s
70 global offices. With roots in Seattle,
he has served as advisor to the Clinton
Administration’s Council on Sustainable
Development, UN-HABITAT’s landmark
Habitat II conference in Istanbul in
1996, the US Agency for International
Development, the Brazilian President’s
Office, the British Prime Minister’s
Office, the European Academy for the
Urban Environment in Berlin, and
the Organization for Economic and
Community Development (OECD) in Paris
on matters of sustainable development
and environmental policy. He is actively
involved in the local and national chapters
of the Urban Land Institute, the American
Planning Association, and the US Smart
Growth Leadership Council. In Bellingham,
Gary serves as Adjunct Professor at
Huxley College of Environmental Studies
at Western Washington University.

Cities and the
business of the
environment
Urbanization has transformed human society and in the
process is redefining the business of the environment, says
John D. Wiebe, President and CEO of the Vancouver-based
GLOBE Foundation of Canada, a not-for-profit organization
dedicated to finding practical business-oriented solutions to
the world’s environmental problems.
E nvironmental concerns and activi-
ties increasingly are a part of our
everyday lives. As nations large
and small, rich and poor strive to cope with
the changing social, economic and ecological
challenges of urban growth, our concepts of
what constitutes the business of the environ-
ment are also changing.
Historically the business of the environ-
ment encompassed activities and enterprises
focused on solving problems of air and water
pollution, the remediation of contaminated
land, the supply and reuse of water, and the
management of liquid and solid wastes.
More recently the environmental market-
place has grown to include the development
of technologies to supply and make more ef-
ficient our use of energy, both traditional fossil
fuel based and from renewable sources.
Increasingly people are finding employ-
ment in a broad cross section of sectors that
now comprise the green economy many of
which did not provide significant environmen-
tal content in the past.
These include activities and enterprises
designed to reduce carbon emissions, particu-
larly in the transport and construction sectors;
to transform our cities into more sustainable
and healthier places in which to live and work;
and to provide more environmentally friendly
goods and services for an increasingly urban-
ized global population.
The business of the environment in to-
day’s urban-centered world has changed to
encompass most of those activities that de-
fine the quality of our daily lives.
The fact that more than half of humanity
now lives in cities is well known.
Responding to the environment-related
challenges of rapidly growing urban popu-
lations – particularly in the mega-cities of
the developing world – is a daunting un-
dertaking, the enormity of which cannot be
minimized. It is a task involving more than
supplying safe drinking water, improving
air quality, providing adequate housing, or
managing the disposal or recycling of waste.
It extends to the very form and design of
cities and of the transportation, communica-
tion and distribution networks that are the
lifelines of cities. It encompasses the crea-
tion of urban spaces where people can live
and work, and to the restoration of ecologi-
cal balances between cities and the hinter-
lands that sustain them. It includes making
better use of the energy needed to power the
services and facilities upon which we depend
to survive.
The enormity of this challenge is in fact
the wellspring of the changes that have
transformed the business of the environ-
ment. The demand for housing in urban ar-
eas has prompted the redesign of buildings
and the products used to construct them to
John D. Wiebe OPINION
John D. Wiebe Photo © GloBe foundation
accommodate greater urban densities while
improving the amenities needed for healthier
living.
The increased demand for and the rising
costs of energy have sparked the redesign
of household appliances, heating and light-
ing fixtures, passenger vehicles, and many
other consumer products to make them more
energy efficient and durable. On a broader
scale they have stimulated a technological
revolution focused on harnessing new forms
of low-carbon energy and transforming and
smartening the electricity grids that power
our cities and towns.
The need to feed, clothe and keep healthy a
growing population has led to more sustain-
able supply networks for food and water, and
in the management of liquid and solid wastes.
Municipal waste to energy systems are becom-
ing commonplace and the technologies they
employ more innovative.
In effect, whereas in the past urbanization
was viewed as a bad thing, that led people to
live in miserable conditions in slums with few
opportunities to find work, or to educate their
children or to escape poverty, many now see
urbanization as the engine of growth that can
lead to cities which, if well planned and man-
aged, offer their residents new opportunities
for productive lives.
A useful analogy to better understand the
enormity of the transformation of the business
u r b a n
July 2009 WORLD 7
OPINION John D. Wiebe
Cities need to be healthier and more sustainable places
to live and work Photo © dan PaWley
W
of the environment is to view cities as living
beings. Cities can grow old and can die, as
do all living things; and maintaining good
health applies as much to cities as it does
to the people who live in them. Cities can
be reborn.
Building on the parallel with medicine,
there is equally a split between treating ill-
ness and preventing it, between remedying
environmental problems and preventing
them.
Perhaps the greatest preventative chal-
lenge the world now faces relates to climate
change, and cities are highly vulnerable in
this regard, particularly those in low lying
areas relative to adjacent oceans, or in wa-
ter scarce regions where persistent drought
conditions prevail. Increasingly the busi-
ness of the environment is focused on de-
ploying the measures required to adapt to
the impacts of climate change or to protect
cities from violent weather disturbances
and flooding.
Today’s business of the environment is
cross-sectoral, multi-disciplinary and links
almost every industrial sector in the mod-
ern economy. Almost every organization in
u r b a n
8 WORLD July 2009
business and government has environmen-
tal considerations it must deal with. Even
the finance, banking and insurance indus-
tries are being influenced by environmental
concerns, many of which relate to climate
change and global warming.
That is why growth estimates for the busi-
ness of the environment are so persistently
high relative to other economic sectors.
Over the past decade growth in traditional
‘end-of-pipe’ environmental business activ-
ity has risen by 3 to 5 percent a year in most
developed economies, but at much higher
rates – approaching and often exceeding 10
percent per year in many emerging econo-
mies, particularly in India and China.
When renewable energy and low carbon
technology sectors are factored in, antici-
pated growth rates for the business of the
environment increases dramatically.
Countries in Eastern Europe still require
enormous investments in basic environ-
mental infrastructure, such as water supply
and waste management. Developing coun-
ties in Asia and South America require mas-
sive investments in primary environmental
services including clean air, water and land
over the next 10 years. The most significant
potential growth in environment-related
business is found in China and India, the
world’s most populated nations.
In addition to the traditional environ-
mental goods and services industries, re-
newable energy technologies are forecast
to grow exponentially over future decades.
The International Energy Agency forecast
that by 2030 renewable electrical genera-
tion including hydropower, wind, solar,
geothermal, wave and tidal power will grow
globally by 145 percent over 2008 figures.
Even in the shorter term, growth fore-
casts for the key components of the envi-
ronmental business sector are positive,
notwithstanding current economic condi-
tions. Growth in traditional environmental
goods and services will exceed 22 percent
by 2015 over 2007/8 levels; by 45 percent
in the emerging low carbon component,
and by an astounding 63 percent in the re-
newable energy sector.
Efforts to tackle climate change will cre-
ate millions of new green jobs in the com-
ing decades, according to a joint study last
year by the International Labour Organiza-
tion and the UN Environment Programme
The Globe Foundation
The GLOBE Foundation, formed in 1993,
has helped companies and individuals
realize the value of economically viable
environmental business opportunities
through its conferences and events, re-
search and consulting, project manage-
ment, communications and awards. It
helped, for example, to ensure that the
third session of UN-HABITAT’s World
Urban Forum in Vancouver in 2006 was
a landmark historic event. For further in-
formation see: www.globe.ca
on the global green economy. Key findings
include:
Sectors particularly important for their
environmental, economic and employment
impact are energy supply, renewable ener-
gy, buildings and construction, transporta-
tion, and basic industries such as agriculture
and forestry.
Already over 2.3 million people work in the
renewable energy sector and an additional
20 million jobs are expected.
In agriculture, 12 million new jobs could
be created in biomass for energy and related
industries.
A worldwide transition to energy-efficient
buildings would create millions of jobs, as
well as existing employment for many of the
estimated 111 million people already in the
construction sector.
Investments in improved energy efficiency
in buildings could generate an additional
2 - 3.5 million green jobs in Europe and the
United States alone, with much higher poten-
tial in developing countries.
Recycling and waste management em-
ploys an estimated 10 million in China and
500,000 in Brazil today and is expected to
grow rapidly in many countries due to esca-
lating commodity prices.
In short, the business of the environment
in the world’s cities will continue to expand
and in the process will improve the quality
of living for city dwellers everywhere, and
also create new livelihoods and economic
prosperity. The future of our planet de-
pends on it. u
 President of Mozambique OPINION

Lessons from an
elder statesman
One of the world’s greatest men of peace, Joaquim Chissano,
the former president of Mozambique, told a youth summit on
the eve of the fourth session of the World Urban Forum last
year that he always looks up to them for wise counsel and
advice. Mr. Chissano, who speaks five languages, is the winner
of the inaugural Mo Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African
Leadership in 2007. He led Mozambique for 18 years during
which he steered the country out of a devastating civil war.
Lee-Anne Ragan met him in Nanjing last November when
they presented a workshop together on peace building at the
fourth session of the World Urban Forum.

H
President Joaquim Chissano Photo © un -h
haBitat

ere are eight lessons I learned How it applies to business: take a hard 4. Look to your roots
from President Chissano about look at who all your stakeholders are and keep Don’t forget the root causes of conflict (such
facilitating peace on the local them meaningfully involved all the way. as the root causes of tradition), and don’t just
and global stage. Many of his words of wisdom take a superficial look.
below apply to business practices as well. 3. Keep your eye on the horizon Language is important, values can be
Always keep your eye on the overall vision: found in verbs – especially in a country where
1. Be realistic maintaining reconciliation and unity. Learn people speak different languages even in the
Peace is sometimes more complicated to keep how to live in and with new conditions. Keep same province.
than to make. After a conflict, people are ea- being creative. How it applies to business: dig deep -
ger to recover and you have to go through the How it applies to business: balance being how does your organizational culture affect
process of reconciliation, especially when the present and future focused. conflict?
conflict involves internal enemies – nationals
of the same country.
It’s complicated. After reconciliation the
situation is not the same as before the con-
flict. You cannot reconstitute the country the
same way. You have to learn how to live in
new conditions.
How it applies to business: manage peo-
ple’s expectations regarding conflict and
change.

2. Keep making peace all the time

Peace-building is about many things. The
material reconstruction and infrastructure –
schools, hospitals, shops and homes.
But then there is also social reconstruction.
Families, disarmament and demobilizing, the
reintegration of refugees, and displaced peo-
ple starting life anew. Reconciliation requires
maintaining unity. Peace-building is progres-
sive and it doesn’t stop. You have to keep
working at it all the time. Peace has been kept in Mozambique Photo © alan rainBoW

u r b a n
July 2009 WORLD 9
OPINION President of Mozambique
Balancing traditional methods with new technology is key
5. Respect diversity, language and
culture
Mozambique lacks a national language. One
does not realize how much this affects a na-
tion when one has to speak through inter-
preters. You cannot pretend that everyone
will understand what you say. Keep cultures
alive. Show respect for the ways people bury
their dead or celebrate their weddings.
u r b a n
10 WORLD July 2009
Photo © alex QuistB
uist erG
How it applies to business: figure out what
is expressed in your organization that may
not be understood by everyone and ensure
better understanding and shared values.
6. Embrace technology but never lose
sight of the basics
My mother cultivated her fields using tradi-
tional methods. But as the population grew
and this was no longer possible, we had to
change the way we transferred new farm-
ing methods to people. But while it’s good
to embrace the new, make sure it’s not at the
expense of traditional knowledge that is still
working.
How it applies to business: experience
shows it is usually not the first company to
use a break-through technology which suc-
ceeds, but those that follow. Balance your or-
ganization’s traditional knowledge with what
new technology has to offer.
7. Always be properly informed
When it comes to replicating best practices,
not everything will work everywhere. The
realities in Africa are different and there are
tendencies in the West to think that Africa is
one country. We are many countries that had
many different levels of development when
the Europeans first came.
Show due appreciation for these different
characteristics and look at the things that
work. Learn how we gather together in the
African Union, and understand our cause.
Africa is not alone in its tribal differences or
its failures – just look, for example, at the
Balkans and parts of Eastern Europe.
How it applies to business: seek out di-
verse opinions, ask questions, don’t burden
yourself with thinking you have to be an ex-
pert in everything.
8. Keep busy
Problems and frustrations lead to violence
when people are not at peace in their commu-
nities or their families. Search for sustainable
peace with development. People need to keep
busy so set up programmes and don’t allow
people time to quarrel. They should be busy
solving their problems.
How it applies to business: realize and
communicate your vision of success clearly
and get busy achieving and sustaining it.
And a final bit of wisdom as we parted
company:
“I think the creation of confidence building
is critical in peace building.” u
Lee-Anne Ragan is President and Director
of Training at the Vancouver-based corpo-
rate training company, Rock.Paper.Scissors
Inc. (www.rpsinc.ca)
 Innovative cities COVER STORY

Secrets of innovative
cities
Many of the cities that have implemented innovations in recent decades have drawn on
systematic learning, much of it gained from sources outside the city. Here Tim Campbell*,
Chairman of the Urban Age Institute, says that recent evidence suggests that cities are on the
move, actively seeking to find good and better practices.

Communication between cities has been insufficient in the past Photo © sasha aickin

u r b a n
July 2009 WORLD 11
COVER STORY Innovative cities

Why don’t cities learn?

In effect, they have already formed a large
shadow economy of knowledge. They know that
successful places have reformed, restructured,
or enjoyed regional competitiveness. What is
not so well known is that successful places en-
joy a kind of soft infrastructure composed of a
learning environment that is characterized by
trustworthy relationships, a culture of sharing,
and a willingness to collaborate.
But how is this achieved? The UN-HABITAT
Dubai Best Practice Awards have identified
and celebrated hundreds of great innovations.
But larger numbers of cities lag behind, or are
bogged down in making reforms. Why are suc-
cesses in a few places not spread more rapidly?
Why don’t cities learn?
The growing body of work in the academic
and institutional literature has largely ignored
these questions, although scholars in several
distinct domains — organizational learning
(and learning organizations), capacity — and
institution building, social capital, regional
competitiveness — provide some clues for ex-
ploration, for instance about the conditions, Bilbao removed trade protections to protect its economy
mechanisms and measurement of learning.
At the same time, regional economists and labelled “corporate”, “technical”, and “infor- Trade Development Alliance, and more re-
geographers have sensed that city and regional mal”, respectively. cently the Prosperity Partnership — all play a
competitiveness consists of some special re- Bilbao pursued complex organizational ar- role in keeping track of events, documenting
gional attributes that depend on home-grown rangements in Metropoli 30, an agency that findings, and building a data base.
qualities. brought a large variety of stakeholders to the Each of the cities has taken on the role of
table incorporated them into a formal struc- tracking performance indicators. Curitiba en-
Snapshots of learning innovators ture with a balance of powers and transpar- joyed a clear mandate from the beginning and
Recent research shows that innovative cities ency in deliberation, decision-making, and currently supports a strong data base on city
like Bilbao, Curitiba and Seattle have many implementation. management and performance. Basic infor-
similarities and important differences. First, Curitiba structured its learning process in mation on demographics, land use, income,
they are similar in that a crisis or shock of some IPPUC, the Planning and Research Institute economic fundamentals, and environmental
kind jolted them into action. of Curitiba. The most important elements of quality helped IPPUC partner with national
Bilbao perceived and reacted successfully learning took place within a smaller techni- authorities in many projects and activities,
to a threat to the city’s economic survival with cal staff of seasoned professionals operating for instance, housing census and infrastruc-
elimination of trade protections with the forma- interactively with each other. ture projects.
tion of the European market; Curitiba foresaw The learning style of the Trade Develop- Bilbao has assigned importance also to
increasing congestion in its inner core and was ment Alliance (TDA) in Seattle is the most benchmarking and now trades on this data
already vulnerable to chronic flooding. Seattle informal, and in many ways, inward of the and comparative analysis that it makes pos-
also experienced crises, first in the 1970s and three cases. The intense interaction among sible. Likewise, Seattle and the Puget Sound
again in the 1980s, with the cutbacks at Boeing participants in Seattle’s annual study tours Prosperity Partnership are now developing
Aircraft, one of the city’s primary employers. and trade missions has the effect of breaking data and city indicators, recruiting other cit-
Second, in each of these cases, the cities val- down barriers and forging new bilateral and ies from the Pacific Rim and Europe to take
ued information and knowledge and took the multilateral understandings among public, part in comparative analysis about innova-
initiative to obtain it, creating different mecha- private, and civic groups taking part in the tion and competitiveness.
nisms of discovery, proactively seeking out outbound visits. Perhaps the most important repository of
knowledge from other parts of the world to feed These cities are all proactive about knowl- acquired knowledge is in the minds of the
into city thinking and planning. edge, and each has its own way of accom- many actors involved in learning – members
Third, the cases provide three different plishing this. The flagship organizations in of the public and private sectors, civil society
versions of proactive learning that might be each case — Metropoli 30, IPPUC, and the organizations and neighbourhood groups.

u r b a n
12 WORLD July 2009

Photo © With the Permission of BilBao
B
Bao turismo
Proactive cities have excelled in building and
strengthening systemic relationships between
and among members broad segments of civil
society. The continuity of policy, political
commitment, and practice, seen most strik-
ingly in IPPUC, has allowed the creation of
deep reservoirs of knowledge and learning
that are continuously available to city deci-
sion-makers and private and civic partners.
Seattle and Bilbao also built up a large stock
of knowledge in their respective networks.
These practices in all three cities under-
score the importance of longevity of com-
munity members and rates of turnover in the
professional and artistic talent in the com-
munity.
The bottom line is that the soft infrastruc-
ture, i.e. the collaborative character and
cooperative spirit of a place, is intangible
but indispensable. Though information and
communication technologies are important,
they do not show up as a central feature of
innovative cities. Rather, it is the collective
learning in a place, the activities that engage
a wide cross-section of stakeholders that
break down internal barriers and create com-
mon understanding. Innovative places create
a culture of knowledge. Perhaps it could be
called a learning culture.
Innovative cities
Learning without change
Of course, not all learners are innovators.
Cities have different types of learning styles
that affect the outcome of their efforts. Let
us call the proactive learner-innovators
Type 1. Others vary in many ways, although
the following categories are neither tidy nor
mutually exclusive.
A second type engage in a specialized, self-
defined classes — like cultural heritage cities
or Agenda 21 cities — let’s call them Type 2.
They focus on specific goals, have a narrower
scope of concern, and restrict the extent to
which the learning reaches into the commu-
nity. Though the process of learning in Type
2 cities may last more than a decade, if the
engagement is intermittent and core stake-
holders are limited, the formation of the soft
infrastructure is stunted.
Similarly, cities that engage in twinning —
lets call them Type 3 learners — may take part
in high intensity learning, but twinning is usu-
ally focused on one or two core business prac-
tices, for instance, procurement or community
based planning, and confined to a restricted
number of participants, often city employees.
The interactive process is short term and usu-
ally technical. Many cities in Type 2 learning
and most in Type 3 have much less opportu-
nity than Type 1 cities to establish a continuity
of learning, extensive and repeated interaction
with many players, and depth of common un-
derstanding.
Similarly again, those cities that learn
new ideas and concepts in conferences and
on the web, Type 4 learners, might be said
to be grazing on externalities of knowledge
events, but enjoy little if any net effect on
collaborative spirit and the construction of
a soft infrastructure.
At the same time, prospective learners can-
not ignore the potential value of grazing. All
cities can benefit from accidental discoveries,
but few cities can expect much in new knowl-
edge and even less in soft infrastructure by
engaging only in Type 4 learning. Accordingly,
cities need to manage two types of learning
connections, loose and strong.
Light on the shadow economy of
learning in cities
An informal survey of 27 cities throws ad-
ditional light on the shadow economy of
learning. A web-based survey conducted
by the Urban Age Institute covered mostly
COVER STORY
cities in Asia and Latin America. The
survey identified innovators in terms of
self-declared “reformers” as opposed to
“non-reformers”. To what extent are cit-
ies engaged in learning, what modalities
are involved, and how to innovators differ
from the others?
Intensity of learning: For starters, the sur-
vey found that innovative cities spend a lot
more time learning than the rest. Respond-
ents in reformer cities personally devoted
an average of 3.6 weeks per year (upwards of
12 percent of the real working year) acquir-
ing new knowledge in city to city exchanges,
whereas the non-reformers spent only 2.8
weeks in this activity. These compare to na-
tional level investments in learning of 3 to 6
percent for OECD countries and to 5 to 7 per-
cent of staff time in training in US corpora-
tions in 2008, respectively.
Modality of learning: When asked about
the most effective form of learning, for in-
stance, seminars, private sector sources, uni-
versity courses, activities of associations and
city-to-city exchanges, this latter category
ranked first and was ranked much higher by
the innovative cities.
Content of learning: Cities indicated pri-
ority interest in a surprisingly small number
of substantive and policy areas. Urban plan-
ning and transport were each mentioned by
half the respondents, followed closely by
economic development and urban renewal
and reconstruction. Utilities such as water,
electricity, solid waste and housing trailed
well behind. On management issues, re-
spondents indicated an interest in finance,
urban policy making and metropolitan gov-
ernance, in that order.
Storage of knowledge: An important meas-
ure of learning activity is the extent to which
learning is documented or tracked. Here the
picture is mixed. Only a few respondents
reported no record keeping at all. The rest
made use of a blend of in-depth record keep-
ing, follow-up, and monitoring. The question
is important because of the issue of storage
and ability of a city to build knowledge over
time. Recall that the three cases of proactive
(Type 1) learning cities described earlier sug-
gest that both hard and soft forms of storage
are important, but little is known about how
these forms are blended and interact with
learning or indeed, whether patterns or even
strategies of learning are formed. u
u r b a n
July 2009 WORLD 13
COVER STORY Innovative cities

How innovation can

drive economic recovery
One way to deal with the global economic crisis is to invest in, and reinvent cities. President
Barack Obama’s Plan to Stimulate Urban Prosperity which focuses on building sustainable
communities through green urban policies and supporting innovation clusters, exemplifies this,
writes Christine Auclair, Chief of UN-HABITAT’s Private Sector Unit.

Investment in cities can lead to positive change, especially for the poor Photo © Wee linG soh

u r b a n
14 WORLD July 2009
 Innovative cities COVER STORY

N ew housing and related infra-

structure investments in cities
can act as key engines for eco-
nomic regeneration to restore the wealth of
households and generate new demand. Ms.
Jane Jacobs, the late Canadian urban vision-
ary, was among the first to argue that cities are
the true engine of growth and that innovation,
in the long run, is what keeps cities vital and
relevant. The question is: Will the financial
crisis inspire innovation that will help cities
reenergize their creative economies and gen-
erate sustainable solutions?
In the 1930s, at onset of the great depres-
sion a movement of planners came up with vi-
sionary projects, using new technologies and
principles, which made up the modern city as
part of a political project to reinvent societies.
In the United States, the New Deal produced
gigantic infrastructure and housing projects.
War and recession, coupled with population
increase and urbanization, pushed society at
the time to reinvent cities.
Today’s economic downturn has brought A victim of recession: an abandoned factory in Detroit Photo © maha rashi
some dramatic fiscal and revenue reductions
in many cities, affecting investment, develop- companies and such services clearly improve percent of the world population. What is be-
ment and maintenance of infrastructure. Busi- people’s lives. At the bottom of the pyramid, hind the strength of these mega-regions?
ness is seriously affected in key manufacturing there are lessons to be learned. The simple The Nobel laureate Robert Lucas, gives one
regions, cutting more and more jobs. In times and most economic solutions generated in explanation in the Journal of Monetary Eco-
of crisis, a CEO will tell you that customers are tough times can be optimal at best, and rep- nomics suggesting that talent-clustering is a
under stress. Yet some will disappear and oth- licable, even if they are not ideal or not what key driver of economic growth. Further, talent
ers will emerge stronger. And the market, as it most people necessarily want. rich eco-systems benefit from an accelerated
has done for the past 30 years, will return to Where will innovation lead in this double rate of urban metabolism said another study
growth – led by the companies that took ad- global financial and environmental crisis? published by the Santa Fe Institute. It added
vantage of the downturn to become even more A simple answer might be where the talent ex- that successful cities, unlike biological organ-
valuable, to grow even faster. This time, for ists. But matters are far more complex, with the isms actually get faster as they grow. They can
many, confidence in the market has vanished likeliest beneficiaries being the strongest eco- overcome financial problems with more ease
like a bubble burst before our eyes, calling for nomic regions that work as engines of the global than others, keeping talents and absorbing
real new thinking. economy as well as talented and innovative cen- growing and successful businesses. Hence, it
In order to forge a vision for innovative cit- tres that accompany their development. seems that eco-systems most likely to suffer
ies, one has to go back to the basics and look Richard Florida, writing last month in the from the financial downturn are those which
at urban survival options in the most affected The Atlantic magazine on how the new down- are at a distance from high finance and least
part of the world. Walking through a slum, turn will reshape America argues that the fi- connected to the strong economic hubs.
the amazing number of small businesses is nancial crisis will create “great mega-regions Along the same lines, a recent study of the
striking. These are businesses one would that already power the economy, and the world geography of innovation from McKinsey
never think of: a visitor can find hand-made smaller, talent-attracting innovation centres illustrated by a new Innovation Heat Map, has
windmills, solar batteries and pumps to bring inside them”. identified the factors common to successful
water and energy to homes, and retail shops Citing the United States as the example, he innovation hubs – the business environment,
selling repackaged products in easy sellable said that a reshaped America will be focused government and regulation, human capital,
small quantities to cater for slum customers at on these mega-regions and be “a landscape infrastructure and local demand. The study
amazing prices. that can accommodate and accelerate inven- shows that innovation hubs are characterized
Innovation based on survival strategies can tion, innovation, and creation”. by broad portfolios of businesses and sectors
lead to smart ideas. One recent outstanding According to recent studies, the world’s 40 and that diversification is the key to long-term
example is mobile phone money transfer sys- largest mega-regions produce two-thirds of survival.
tem used by people without bank accounts. global economic output an about nine out of In the end, those more likely to face the
They are now a huge market for cell phone 10 new patented innovation. They host only 18 crisis and foster innovation are the great

u r b a n
July 2009 WORLD 15
COVER STORY Innovative cities
Entrepreneurs in slums could bring prosperity to their neighbours
mega-regions with a broad range of activities
and clusters of talents.
How will the talented slum entrepreneurs
flourish in this new equation? Some believe
that at the bottom of the economic pyramid
in slums and deprived urban areas, invest-
ments can lead to new business opportunities
and enhance prospects for prosperity. For
that to happen, the conditions for learning,
creativity and sustainable innovation need
to be boosted and assets, knowledge and re-
sources have to be dramatically leveraged.
In any case, the double crisis of financial
and climate change can be expected to re-
shape our cities and their economies. In the
United States, the financial crisis has left
cities of the Rust Belt, like Detroit, in an
astonishing state, with a declining manu-
u r b a n
16 WORLD July 2009
facturing sector, a rapid population de-
cline, empty houses and schools and a city
unable to reinvent itself. The US has never
questioned its suburban sprawl so much
since the collapse of the mortgage system
last year. Writing recently in the New York
Times, two researchers defended the highly
developed Indian slum of Dharavi as “per-
haps safer than most American cities”, “pe-
destrian-friendly where children can play,
in the streets.”
Also, the discovery that Mexican slums
have been built with the waste of San Diego
including aluminium windows and garage
doors can teach us a lot. “Debris is building
these slums,” said Christian Werthmann
and Teddy Cruz as cited in the Boston Globe
earlier this year.
Photo © oxford Gamer
They argue that a lot can be learned
from the spirit of collaboration in informal
settlements and the ingenuity in the use of
space.
Where is innovation, between the slums
and the high tech mega-city region hubs?
In the present scenario of global eco-
nomic divide, we can expect different types
of innovation, in two different worlds. This
might not be the wisest way to go for future
generations. Facing such a divide calls for
collaboration and interactive learning.
In an increasingly interconnected world,
spurred by digital innovation, the flow of
information will increase, knowledge will be
closer and learning made easier for everyone.
Reinventing cities might then become an
easier game than we think. u
 u r b a n
WORLD
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FOR A BETTER URBAN FUTURE

u r b a n
July 2009 WORLD 17
ANALYSIS Women at risk from poverty

A new strategy to close

the gender divide
The combined impact of rapid urbanization, climate change and global economic downturn
is creating further inequalities between men and women in cities, especially among the poor,
writes Emily Wong of UN-HABITAT’s gender mainstreaming department. Here she explains
how the agency is seeking to remedy this through a new Gender Equality Action Plan.

Women and children in slums are being pushed further into poverty due to the economic crisis Photo © evG
v enia GrinBlo

u r b a n
18 WORLD July 2009
 Women at risk from poverty ANALYSIS

I n April this year, the 58 member States

in the Governing Council that oversees
UN-HABITAT backed a new strategy
on promoting gender equality and empowering
women. The Gender Equality Action Plan pro-
vides a road map for all UN-HABITAT program-
mes to address gender concerns in the course of
pursuing a better urban future in a world where
more than half of humanity lives in towns and
cities.
Under the Millennium Development Goals,
the global community made a commitment to
achieving “a significant improvement in the lives
of at least 100 million slum dwellers” by 2020.
However, the United Nations has calculated that
the financial crisis, with high and volatile food
and energy prices, has pushed at least 100 mil-
lion people around the world back into poverty.
Both men and women in slums face problems
associated with poverty, poor living conditions
and lack of social safety nets. But research shows
that women and girls are by far the worst af af-
fected. Widows are robbed of land and property
Women are at greater risk of losing their livelihoods as the recession bites Photo © un-haBitat
by their own in-laws, because in many coun-
tries traditional practices still override universal
rights. Girls in slums have to choose between stated that evidence from the East Asia crisis and The potential of women to mobilize commu-
defecating in a plastic bag or risking rape should others show that families suddenly faced with nities in preparing against disasters, whether by
they dare venture outside to a dirty public toilet unemployment and lost wages often pull their building stronger homes or organizing warning
at night. Often women are left out of decisions children out of school, especially girls, and that systems, is a valuable, but still largely untapped
on new homes after a disaster. Women eking out they seldom return to class afterwards. resource.
a living in the informal sector are the first to lose “Even when times are good, exercising their But there are exceptions. In UN-HABITAT’s
their livelihoods as the recession bites. Girls are rights is one of the biggest problems faced by post-disaster reconstruction work in Indonesia,
often forced to sacrifice school to do household women, especially those living in poverty,” says project workers used an approach called the
chores instead. Indeed, the list goes on and on. Mrs. Anna Tibaijuka, Executive Director of UN- “People’s Process”, which places trust in com-
This is why the Gender Equality Action Plan HABITAT. “Whether it comes to securing a loan munity members, including women, to take the
is an important tool to galvanize and focus ef ef- to build or renovate the home, or obtaining the lead in planning and design of their homes and
forts in closing gender gaps and raising living title to inherited property, women always have villages.
standards for the women and girls who are over- more trouble. Gender equality and women’s One of the Gender Equality Action Plan’s
represented among the poorest of the poor, plus rights and empowerment are pivotal compo- focus areas is around advocacy, which includes
the most disadvantaged. nents of sustainable urbanization in the face of awareness raising around best practices to in-
UN-HABITAT’s 2008-2009 flagship report, the current economic, financial, and food crises, corporate gender issues into urban development
the State of the World’s Cities shows that house- not to forget the increasingly frightening ravages and housing work.
holds headed by women suffer disproportion- of climate change.” In developing and implementing the new ac-
ately from “multiple shelter deprivations”. These Accounts of the South Asian earthquake in tion plan, UN-HABITAT has emphasized the
deprivations are defined as any combination of 2005, also known as the Kashmir or Great Pa- importance of partners. These have included
lack of durable housing, lack of sufficient living kistan Earthquake, as described in UN-HABI- the woman’s organizations and civil society net-
area, lack of access to water, sanitation, and a TAT’s latest Global Report on Human Settle- works that have provided inputs into the plan
lack of security of tenure. ments, revealed that women were largely de- and also training institutions and other UN part-
In Haiti for example, (see table) nearly 60 pendent upon men for access to relief and that ners, such as the United Nations Development
percent of households headed by women from few women received tents or food. Neither did Fund for Women (UNIFEM), with which UN-
three shelter deprivations, while in Kenya and they come forward to participate in food or cash HABITAT is working.
Nicaragua, one-third of woman-headed house- work programmes. For example, UN-HABITAT has joined
holds suffer all four deprivations. And yet women have vast knowledge as carers UNIFEM in the Global Programme on Safe Cit Cit-
In its recent report, Averting a Human Crisis of children, the injured and the elderly, and as ies Free of Violence Against Women. This is the
During the Global Downturn, the World Bank organizers in the home. first global effort to develop a safer cities model

u r b a n
July 2009 WORLD 19
ANALYSIS Women at risk from poverty

Percentage of Urban Households Headed by women with different degrees of Shelter Deprivation in Selected
Countries

Country % % one shelter % two shelter % three shelter % four shelter

deprivation deprivations deprivations deprivations
Ghana (2003) 38 34 51 -
Kenya (2003 23 24 28 31
Madagascar(1997) 28 24 29 14
Senegal (1997) 27 23 25 14
Tanzania (1999) 28 28 15 -
Nicaragua (2001) 40 37 39 33
Haiti (2000) 52 50 57 -
Indonesia (2002) 13 14 17 -
Nepal (2001) 2 0 14 19 -
Armenia 30 38 17 -

Source: UN-HABITAT (2006) Urban Indicators Database, 2006. Additional analysis by Prabha Khosla.
Note: Shelter deprivations are defined as the absence of the following conditions: durable housing, sufficient living area, access to improved water, access to sanitation, or secure tenure.

of preventing violence against women — both
at home and in public spaces — by combin-
ing practical measures by local authorities
with efforts to empower women and mobilise
communities.
The new gender strategy also includes fur-
ther work with training institutions to build
the capacity of architects, urban planners
and local government workers to incorporate
gender issues into their work. The intention
Kibera slum where hundreds of thousands of women live in poverty
is that the design, budgeting, implementation
and monitoring of city services must bring
more equitable benefits to close the unac-
ceptable gender gaps.
Improving gender equality in access to
land and housing is another focus area of the
Gender Equality Action Plan.
Past experience has proven that the private
sector can also be strong partners in promot-
ing gender equality together with UN agen-
Photo © un-haBitat
cies, either by offering funding or technical
expertise.
The UN Trust Fund in Support of Actions to
Eliminate Violence Against Women was funded
in part by private sector donors, including John-
son and Johnson and Avon.
UN-HABITAT has also worked with Akright
Projects, a private real estate developer, to build
affordable homes for low-income women and
their families in Uganda’s Jinja district, about
80 kilometres east of the capital Kampala.
The homes were built on 50 plots of land
donated by Jinja Municipal Council, another
valuable partner that also provided technical
assistance during execution of the project’s first
phase.
UN-HABITAT is now working with the
Uganda Women Land Access Trust on the sec-
ond phase of the Jinja Women’s Pilot Housing
Project, which involves a revolving fund and a
credit guarantee scheme.
This enables poor women, who are normally
excluded from the regular banking systems, to
borrow money affordably to pay for better ac-
commodation.
But despite these examples, the struggle is an
uphill one.
“Women are still grossly denied the right to
adequate housing and related rights such as
land and water,” said Miloon Kothari, former
Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing at the
UN Commission on Human Rights. “We live in a
world today where millions of women are home-
less and landless.” u

u r b a n
20 WORLD July 2009
 xxxxxxx FEATURES

The gender gap is widening as women in poor urban areas are bearing the brunt of the economic downturn Photo © t. rolf
u r b a n
July 2009 WORLD 21
ANALYSIS Habitat Agenda update

Exercising political
power - the Global
Parliamentarians on
Habitat
At the Habitat-II conference in Istanbul in 1996, the Habitat Agenda adopted by 171 countries
carried several commitments on adequate and sustainable urban development. Yet after more
than a decade, writes Birte Leinius*, General Secretary of Global Parliamentarians on Habitat,
supporters must weigh its impact. Have participating States acted to ensure that the principles of
the Habitat Agenda are put into practice? One, if not the most important form of implementation,
is the adoption of the agreed policy objectives into national legislation.

Istanbul, the location of the Habitat-II conference in 1996 Photo © liana Bitoli
u r b a n
22 WORLD

I n 2006, the European chapter of
the Global Parliamentarians on
Habitat (GPH) initiated a study to
investigate how the objectives and principles
of the Habitat Agenda were received in the leg-
islation of five selected signatory countries in
Europe.
Peter Götz, Member of the German Bun-
destag and President of the Board of Directors
of the GPH and at the time President of the
GPH-Europe, said it was particularly important
that “in the countries selected for the study, not
only the main laws which deal with sustainabil-
ity of human settlements be identified, but also
the instruments that promote the objectives
and principles of the Habitat Agenda. The study
should give parliamentarians from around the
world valuable ideas on how to implement the
Habitat Agenda in their home countries.”
The five selected signatory countries
of the study are the Federal Republic of
Germany, Finland, the Netherlands, Romania
and Turkey.
From the investigation, it became apparent
that the objectives vary according to the level of
development of the country. Mature industrial
countries such as Finland, the Netherlands and
Germany have hardly any real need to catch up.
Given the appropriate policies, they can focus
their attention on providing other countries,
especially developing countries, with assistance
in implementing the Agenda.
Countries with smaller economies like Ro-
Laws to implement Habitat Agenda
The following laws have proved indispensa-
ble to the implementation of the objectives
and principles of the Habitat Agenda in all
countries subjected to the study:
A. Specific laws
l Laws on the planning of human set-
tlements at local and regional level
l Laws on urban regeneration and ur-
ban renewal
l Housing construction laws, housing
laws and laws on social housing
l Nature conservation laws
l Water resource management laws
l Emission control and protection laws
l Soil protection laws
Habitat Agenda update ANALYSIS
mania or those on the road of political reform
such as Turkey are particularly susceptible
to external stimuli with which they are en-
couraged to implement the Habitat Agenda.
This may be by way of concluding interna-
tional agreements or by incentives provided
by economic assistance programmes.
With regard to the tools used to imple-
ment the Habitat Agenda by each country,
two examples per country are cited here by
way of example:
1. The Netherlands
l Each year on the first Monday in October
a widely-publicized Habitat Day is held.
l In addition to the preparation of the an-
nual Habitat Day, the Habitat Platform
organizes conferences aimed at sharing
experiences and runs Habitat projects in
developing countries.
2. Finland
l De
Developers of potentially polluting projects
have to take out an environmental insur-
ance policy which covers the costs of
restoration of the environment in case of
damage.
l At the regional level, Centres for the Col-
lection and Exchange of Experience and
Knowledge have been established.
3. Romania
l The decentralization of government admin-
Romania Photo © cristian PoPescu
l Waste management laws
istration and the ongoing regionalization
l Environmental assessment legislation
are essential institutional prerequisites for
l Historical preservation acts.
sustainable settlement and housing.
l The introduction and strengthening of local
B. Laws relating to the organization
self-government is the basis for an effective
of the state
participation of the public in decision-mak-
l Laws on the decentralization of the
ing processes.
public administration
l Laws and decrees on the establish-
4. Turkey
ment of regions
l Self-commitment by accession to interna-
l Laws and decrees on the establish-
tional agreements has led to significant
ment of specialized agencies (e.g. with
progress in the implementation of the
responsibility for regionalization, envi-
objectives and principles of the Habita
Habitat
ronmental protection, exchange of ex-
Agenda.
perience)
l The reinforcement of building safety, es-
l Laws on municipal self-government
pecially against natural disasters, is a pre-
requisite for sustainable housing.
u r b a n
July 2009 WORLD 23
ANALYSIS Habitat Agenda update
5. Germany
l Recycling of waste disposal: The German
Recycling and Waste Management Act is
a very sophisticated solution to the waste
problem.
l The identification of substandard build-
ing materials with uniform symbols
in the European Community simpli-
fies building and increases building
security.
Overall, the study councluded that it is
worthwhile to continue to develop the ability
and the willingness of the national Legislatures,
to learn from each other, even across language
barriers.
In 2008 the Global Parliamentar-
ians on Habitat initiated the second part of
the study. This was released in early 2009.
Its aim was to identify the existing approaches
in the new Eastern European member states
of the European Union to the implemen-
tation of the Habitat Agenda and to raise
The Habitat Platform in Holland runs projects in developing countries
u r b a n
24 WORLD July 2009
awareness for sustainable urban and hu-
man development. The study was extend-
ed to include the countries of Bulgaria, the
Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia,
Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia.
At two workshops held in Bucharest, Roma-
nia, in April 2008 and in Berlin, Germany, on
World Habitat Day in October 2008, experts ex-
changed views about whether the Eastern Euro-
pean states possess the necessary instruments in
their legislation to implement the Habitat prin-
ciples. The agreed that many of the identified
legislative instruments for the implementation
of the Habitat Agenda are already being used by
these countries.
However, deficits in the following areas were
discovered:
Housing - In principle, each citizen is en-
couraged to use their own initiative to find
housing. People with low or without income
need governmental assistance.
Urban planning and settlements - Often
as a result of scarce public funding in the coun-
tries investigated, the public sector is dependant
on cooperation with the private sector. Only two
of the countries of the study have a legal basis to
regulate public-private partnerships. In the other
countries, the sectors often cooperate anyway.
Adequate shelter for all and sustainable
settlement development - the financial sup-
port of activities with money from the Euro-
pean Union in both these areas is of great sig-
nificance. In the future, national peculiarities
should be given more attention in the fund-
ing guidelines. The principle of subsidiarity
should continue to be respected because it is
a crucial prerequisite to the implementation
of the Habitat Agenda.
Environmental protection - Due to
EU directives, most of the instruments of the
agenda for environmental protection have al-
ready been implemented. Occasionally there
Photo © irum shahid

is need for action regarding the introduction of
recycling in waste management, the promotion
of environmentally friendly transport and the
regulation of fees for road use.
Energy policy - In this area, measures
concerning the promotion of energy con-
servation, the production of renewable
resources and the creation of incentives to
use them is necessary. Germany is a good
example to follow in this respect.
Socially sustainable settlements de-
velopment - The majority of countries
already have tools in place to promote
projects such as the employment of physi-
cally or mentally impaired people.
Distribution of the funds - In general,
research institutes focusing on urban and
regional development require stronger fi-
nancial support.
Germany is almost on schedule with implementing the Habitat Agenda
Habitat Agenda update ANALYSIS
natory states. It is only when one has determined
whether, how and with which instruments, the
principles of the Agenda are being implemented,
that one can bring changes in national laws or
develop instruments at international level. u
The habitat study was funded by the govern-
ment of the Federal Republic of Germany.
The project was led by the Deutscher Ver-
band für Wohnungswesen, Städtebau und
Raumordnung e.V. Berlin. Prof. Dr. Gerd
Schmidt-Eichstaedt and Dipl.-Ing. Tho-
mas Zimmermann from Planung und Re-
Strasbourg River Photo © manuruch cht GmbH, Berlin, were responsible for its
implementation. The project leader for the
Global Parliamentarians on Habitat was
Participation of civil society - Civil soci- Dr. Anneke Assen, President of the Former
ety is gaining in importance. Especially the Parliamentarians on Habitat. The European
Baltic countries have a high participation level. GPH presented the findings at the 5th Euro-
pean Forum of the GPH in May 2006 in The
Small loans can also contribute to the activa-
Hague, the Netherlands, and at the World
tion of private initiatives. Urban Forum III (WUF3) in June 2006 in
The results of the habitat studies of 2006 and Vancouver, Canada. For copies of the study
2008 are an essential step in the review of the contact Peter Goetz MP, directly
implementation of the Habitat Agenda in the sig- (peter.goetz @ bundestag.de).
Photo © stefanie scheider
u r b a n
July 2009 WORLD 25
BEST PRACTICES Field report - Africa

Giving revenue collection

a big boost in Somaliland
Somaliland’s declaration of independence from the rest of Somalia in 1991 ushered in an era
of relative stability in the former British protectorate, putting distance between the northwest
and the war-ravaged south-central region. However, it is in the new century that Hargeisa has
truly blossomed, write Antony Lamba, Asia Adam, and Edward Miller*. Here, they explain
how a new taxation system using GIS satellite technology has boosted public coffers to bring
much needed urban improvements.

A view of Hargeisa Photo © un-haBitat

u r b a n
26 WORLD
 Field report - Africa
F rom a hilltop on the edge of the
city, Hargeisa is a sprawl of shiny
tin roofs. New single-level dwell-
ings and scrub brush line sandy roads and
overlook wide, dry riverbeds. Sprinkled
throughout are buuls,, the makeshift huts of
displaced families and the city’s poor. This
capital of Somaliland and its financial and
political centre, keeps growing and growing.
Bomb explosions at a UN compound in
Hargeisa in 2008 provided grim reminders
danger does exist and led to the temporary
relocation of international staff. But Soma-
liland has always been a relatively secure
place for international agencies.
Though daily life in Hargeisa necessitates
caution, the pace is slow and the city is quiet.
UN staff based there enjoy an overabun-
dance of spaghetti and goat meat and are
able to stroll around markets, some of which
have been rehabilitated through UN-HABI-
TAT projects.
New taxation system
It was in this context that United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP) and UN-
HABITAT brainstormed on ways of making
a difference. The result: a Geographic In-
formation System (GIS) was established in
Hargeisa Municipality with technical assist-
ance from UN-HABITAT that has boosted
annual property tax revenues by a whopping
250 percent, from USD 169,062 in 2005 to
USD 588,754 in 2008.
With funding from the European Com-
mission and the UNDP, the project started in
2004 as part of the UNDP Governance and
Financial Services Programme and continued
in 2005 under the UN-HABITAT Urban De-
velopment Programme for the Somali region.
Hargeisa’s problem was daunting: low
municipal revenue meant overstretched
services and weakened infrastructure could
not be improved. Where to start? First and
foremost, UNDP and UN-HABITAT had to
devise a cost-effective approach to collect-
ing up-to-date household-level data for the
whole municipality.
However, the system had to provide quick,
visible results to attract political support. It also
had to be simple and use on-the-job training so
municipal staff could easily operate and main-
tain it. A building-based geographic database
with a limited number of relevant variables for
each building would be a perfect fit.
BEST PRACTICES
The first step was to build a spatial database
– basically, a customized map that shows the
location of each and every building in the mu-
nicipality, as well as other key features such as
main roads, rivers, and airports – to do this,
a high-resolution satellite image of Hargeisa
was digitized to produce a base map. The proc-
ess created a record of all the buildings on the
base map in a table that also generated unique
numbers to identify each building. After three
weeks, step one was complete.
The second step was to build a database
of property characteristics. The base map
was used to guide a household-level sur-
vey to collect attributes on each property.
Handheld computers were used to collect
the names of occupants, building floor area,
plot area, number of floors, building mate-
rial and quality, service connections, and
property type.
During the property survey, a massive un-
dertaking that lasted eight months, the spa-
tial database information was also verified,
while ground-level digital photographs were
taken of every building.
The third step was to integrate the two da-
tabases (the spatial database and the charac-
teristics database) to produce one geographic
database that links each building in the base
map and its location with a corresponding
set of attributes.
For immediate access to a picture of any
building on the base map, the ground-level
property photos were hyperlinked to the geo-
graphic database. The results showed that there
are 59,000 buildings in Hargeisa, 63 percent of
them residential.
The fourth step was to generate unique iden-
tifiers for each building. Hargeisa Municipality
is divided into five districts, 24 sub-districts,
77 neighbourhoods, and 384 sub-neighbour-
hoods. After the boundaries for these adminis-
trative units were identified and integrated into
the base map, the units were used to develop
a unique five-part code (district; sub-district;
neighbourhood; sub-neighbourhood; building
number) for each building.
The fifth and final step was to determine
property tax rates and generate property tax
bills for the year 2006. Altogether, 47,300
properties in Hargeisa were found to be tax-
able. A special computer programme was writ-
ten to automate property tax bill production.
Taxpayer-friendly property tax bills are
produced that clearly indicate the building
u r b a n
July 2009 WORLD 27
BEST PRACTICES Field report - Africa

tem is therefore more efficient and unlikely

Hargeisa Property Database and Taxation to have many mistakes – in the past, the
amount payable was not indicated in the de-
Total number of properties = 59,000 mand letter and property records were not
• 78 percent formal, 22 percent informal kept properly. When I paid this time, I also
• 68 percent residential, 12 percent commercial, 20 percent other received a receipt.”
Number of taxable properties in the old system: 15,850 (34 percent) The increased revenue has inspired fur-
Number of taxable properties in the new system: 47,334 (80 percent) ther action. In 2007, Hargeisa Municipality
Property tax revenue collection: started a public infrastructure and services
2004 → USD 144,417 (municipal records = 15,850 taxable properties) capital investment programme together with
2005 → USD 169,062 business-minded Hargeisa residents.
2006 → USD 241,983 (GIS-based database = 47,334 taxable properties) Through this programme, the municipal-
2007 → USD 412,179 (represents 24 percent of total municipal revenues) ity has for example spent USD 320,000 to
2008 → USD 588,754 rehabilitate two roads and USD 80,000 to
construct a bridge.
Hargeisa is expanding rapidly, and main-
code, property tax calculations, and tax pay- system became operational, property tax rev rev- taining and updating the property database
able for each property, together with a dig- enue for Hargeisa Municipality rose by 43 per- is costly. However, with continued technical
ital photograph of the property. cent to USD 241,983, with less than 40 percent support from development partners, the lo-
of the taxable properties actually paying the cal council will need only a small percentage
Positive results tax. In 2007, the local council conducted a me- of the increasing property tax revenues to
In 2006, Hargeisa Municipality opened a GIS dia campaign to improve compliance, and vari- pay for these costs. u
support office to handle the new property tax ous community meetings were held. Property
system. The office delivers hard copies of prop- tax revenue increased by 70 percent to USD
erty tax bills and neighbourhood maps once a 412,179 in 2007 and USD 588,754 by the end * Antony Lamba is a UN-HABITAT Land
year to each of the five municipal district offic- of 2008 – an increase of 250 percent between Mangement Officer who has been based
es. Trained municipal district staff continually 2005 and 2008. in Hargeisa for the past three years. Asia
verify bill information in the field. When it is “I think this new system is better than the Adam has served as a GIS expert with UN-
wrong, the GIS support office corrects it in the old one: every bill has a picture of the prop- HABITAT in Hargeisa for the past two years.
geographic database. erty, and the amount payable is reported Edward Miller is a Nairobi-based editor and
Overall, the results have been astounding. right on the bill,” says long-time property writer specializing in the region.
In 2006, when the new GIS-based property tax owner Abdirahman Ismail Faraah. “The sys-

Abdirahman Ismail Faarah – Hargeisa resident

“I have owned this house for a very long
time. I held the property title until 1994,
when it got lost in the civil war. At the mo-
ment I do not have any ownership docu-
ments for my house, but there is no dis-
pute and I have always been paying taxes
on it. I received the property tax bill for
2006 last July. The new bill has a picture
of my house and all the property details
are correct. I especially liked the photo-
graph. The amount on this bill is higher
than those of previous years. I used to pay
SOS 32,814 (approximately USD 4) and
now I pay SOS 51,275 (USD 6.40), but the
amount is still affordable.
“I came to know about the new property
taxation system when the bill was de-
livered to my house by municipal staff
last July. I saw the TV debates where the
participatory budgeting system was
being advocated along with the new
property taxation system. I think it
is a good idea that can work, and the
municipal authorities must give it a
chance. If the authorities fail to lis-
ten to taxpayers, then the taxpay-
ers should stop paying such taxes.
In my opinion, the increased rev-
enues should be used for projects
that benefit the community directly,
like garbage collection and road main-
tenance. I think 30 percent of the
revenues should be used for district-
based projects, while the rest should
go to Hargeisa Municipality.”
Abdirahman Ismael Faraah
Photo © un-haBitat

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28 WORLD July 2009
 Sustainable development BEST PRACTICES

A Chinese eco-
development model:
Anji County
When your declared aim is to become known as the Most Beautiful Countryside in the Nation,
you set yourself the highest possible standards. This is the ambition driving China’s central
government in Anji County, says Li Yu, Director at the International Centre for Planning and
Research at the Cardiff University School of City and Regional Planning.

A view of Anji County Photo © Bethany carlson

BEST PRACTICES Sustainable development

Urban-rural integration
The Anji County Comprehensive Plan (2006-
2020) for integrated urban and rural develop-
ment provides for an ecological hinterland as
well as a recreation and holiday resort, together
with a special manufacturing zone on the Yang-
tze River delta.
In this region 200 kilometres south of Shang-
hai with a population of 450,000, rural tourism
and value-added, green agri-food processing
are the designated engines of local economic
growth. Under this grand plan small towns act
as local gateways and hubs servicing rural areas.
Another priority is poverty reduction, including
the gap between urban and rural areas.
As far as basic infrastructure goes, significant
progress has already been made in Anji District.
All roads in rural settlements are paved and bus
services are now available, as is tap water. Pri-
mary schools, kindergartens and clinics have
been established in all main villages, as part of
plans to enhance collective living standards.
These have been found to be very effective in a
survey of 60 main villages (Table 1).
As far as human settlements are concerned,
the spatial layout of Anji District includes one
centre, five major towns and 60 main villages.
The centre, or gateway, is Dipu together with
Xiaofeng, a nearby economic sub-district. The
five major towns acting as hubs include two
industrial towns to the north and three others
specialized in eco-tourism, food and bamboo
processing respectively. As for the 60 main vil-
lages, their population ranges between 1,000
and 4,000 (500 in remote areas).
Any sustainable town must by definition be
accessible – a challenge, in an area where the
majority of local residents cannot afford private
motor cars. This is why Anji County authorities
provide regular, frequent bus services between
the gateway, hubs and more remote villages, for
the sake of better urban-rural integration. The
network effectively assists labour force conver-
sion from the agricultural to manufacturing and
other sectors, as encouraged by local authorities
for the sake of higher income generation in the
villages.
In the district’s five designated hubs, the two
industrial towns make significant contributions
to tax revenues, on top of demand for consumer
goods and housing and so on. The combined in-
dustrial zones provide consumption capability
and demands for retail, housing and other ur-
ban activities. Urban functions have been devel-
oped in a rational way, with the northern part of
Anji District more urbanized than others. In the
south, service standards and capacities are lower
in the three core towns, in line with comparative
economic competitiveness.
The survey has uncovered a further contrast
within Anji District: in northern industrial
towns, tax revenues are stronger than aggregate
personal income, whereas a reverse pattern pre-
vails in the tourist-oriented southern towns.
Under the plan, main villages are typically
close (i.e. within 10 kilometres) to industrial
parks, with public facilities and services provid-
ed to urban standards along with 3.5 metre wide
roads. Basic amenities include primary schools,
kindergartens, culture centres, clinics and con-
ventional shops – all designed to attract rural
populations and familiarize them with urban
living standards.
Since first proposed in 1996 the concept of
an Ecological Garden of Metropolises has been
a development objective for Anji District. This
led to the closure of 64 polluting industrial sites,
while another 74 were forced to adopt appropri-
ate human waste treatment systems at a cost of
CNY 80 million (USD 11.7 million).
Inward productive investment matters as
much as it does to any other local authority in
China. In Anji, though, every project must go
through environmental assessment by seven
distinct departments, and can be vetoed on pol-
lution grounds.
Anji’s green economy
In the past decade Anji County has managed
to diversify its industrial and service sector
base under the plan. (This includes a strong
tourism sector with over 3.3 million visitors
in 2006). Between 2001 and 2006, gross
agricultural and manufacturing output rose
from CNY 4.7 to 7.5 billion, with the annual
fiscal revenue doubling from CNY 62 to 130
million.
In the past five years, aggregate gross per-
sonal income also increased in both urban

Table 1: Public Service Figure 1: Average income of urban and rural residents
Provision in Central Villages
Item % of villages
Solid waste treatment 93.8
Eco-sewage treatment 56
Self-raising fund plus subsidies 90
Self-raising fund 10
Bus services to central villages 100
Tap water supply 60.5
Clinic 100
Kindergarten 88
Primary school 46
High school 8
Free school bus service 10
Tap water supply 60.5
Clinic 100
Kindergarten 88
Primary school 46
High school 8
Free school bus service 10
Source: Anji Statistical Bureau (2008)
Source: Author

u r b a n
30 WORLD July 2009
 Sustainable development BEST PRACTICES

1,600 processing companies spread over five

Figure 2: income between urban and rural residents
industrial parks. The 130 largest firms employ
over 10,000 people and overall the bamboo
industry contributes as much as 61 percent to
average rural income per head (and CNY 9.9
billion to local GDP).
The importance of bamboo processing to
Anji’s eco-friendly economy is best under-
stood through an outline of the whole pro-
duction chain. Villagers take care of the cut-
ting and initial raw treatment. They sell the
treated material to commercial companies,
agents or branches of processing firms in
small towns. The larger firms in turn make and
sell a variety of products. The largest firms sell
as much as 95 percent of production (especially
bamboo floors) abroad, and overall the indus-
try collectively earns an annual CNY 1.2 billion
from exports.
Source: Anji Statistical Bureau (2008) Anji actively encourages eco-tourism, and
in 2007, as many as 4.4 million Chinese and
43,000 foreign tourists visited Anji District,
generating a CNY 1.2 billion income.
and rural areas (Figure 1), with the differen- Bamboo The effects on the livelihoods and well-be-
tial ratio between these regressing to 1:1.97 Long renowned for its bamboo groves, Anji’s ing of the population are obvious, and in turn
in 2008, compared with 1: 2.12 in 2003 bamboo processing industry and its products further the the Most Beautiful Countryside in
(Figure 2) and a nationwide ratio of 1:3. are environmentally friendly. The district’s China objective. This successful experience can
10,000 hectares of bamboo forests support now be replicated elsewhere in the country. u
Renewables and recycling
As part of environmental protection policies,
Anji County government grants subsidize up to
50 percent of the value of individual projects,
including large public solid waste and sewage
treatment projects. Extension of basic utility
services is helping with both recycling and re-
newable energies. Once collected in villages, sol-
id waste is taken to the nearby town and burnt in
the local power station.
As for sewage treatment in rural areas, Anji
District authorities use a green alternative in-
stead of otherwise costly systems. This simple
eco-sewage treatment is based on plants and
sand. Sewage is discharged by gravity through
covered channels from each household to a pond
and treatment device at the lowest point of a vil-
lage. In some cases, the system can be comple-
mented with marsh gas power stations that pro-
duce energy for local households. Bio-filtration
is available for more remote households.
Anji’s renewable energy policy also relies on
the district’s abundant water resources. Thanks
to 113 small hydro-power stations, power out-
ages belong to the past, local development and
income generation thrive, while carbon dioxide
emissions are reduced.
The bamboo groves in Anji County are an important asset Photo © revati uPadhya
P

u r b a n
July 2009 WORLD 31
BEST PRACTICES Innovation and news from North America

Energy
Satellites to capture
solar power from space

Two Californian companies are set to change

the world of renewable energies by aiming to
capture solar energy from space and then beam
it down to earth to be used as electricity.
The companies, Pacific Gas and Electric Co.
(PG&E) and Solaren Corp., are seeking approval
from state regulators to turn this scientific dream
into reality. Once the deal has been approved,
the manufacturer Solaren, must then raise bil-
lions of dollars to design, launch and operate
the satellite and receiver station.
Once built it will be the world’s first Space
Solar Power (SSP) Plant. Capturing energy
would involve placing solar panels on a sat-
ellite to generate electricity that is then con-
verted to radio frequency. The receiver on the
ground then converts this to energy and feeds
it into the power grid.
While a system of this scale and exact con-
figuration has not been built yet, Solaren CEO New ways of harnessing the sun’s power are being developed Photo © takje
Gary Spirnak argues that the underlying tech-
nology is already established and is based on Spirnak. “This is the same energy conversion Once approval has been given, Solaren is con-
existing communication satellite technology. process Solaren uses for its SSP plant.” tractually obliged to begin commercial opera-
“For over 45 years, satellites have collected The advantage of SSP is that energy can be tions in 2016. “The geographical difficulties and
solar energy in earth orbit via solar cells, and harnessed at all times, day or night – avoid- financial costs – once overcome – would lead to
converted it to radio frequency energy for ing any weather or seasonal problems and is an endless supply of cheap energy for all,” be-
transmissions to earth receiver stations,” says completely carbon free. lieves Spirnak. u

Water “For decades, government agencies have transporting and treating water: 19 percent

Revitalizing Roman viewed rainwater primarily as a flooding haz-

technology
TreePeople, a Los Angeles (LA) based envi-
ronmental group, has revived the use of wa-
ter cisterns by building its own at its head-
quarters in an LA city park, recently collect-
ing a desperately needed 817,000 litres from
rainfall.
Rainwater harvesting technology has exist-
ed for thousands of years, with cisterns com-
mon in Rome and Sumeria. Rainwater is col-
lected from a surface, such as a roof, and then
directed towards a barrel or underground
chamber. A gravity fed hose is all that’s need-
ed to make the water useable.
ard and as a water quality issue, rather than
as liquid gold that falls from the sky,” explains
Andy Lipkis, founder of TreePeople. “Recog-
nizing this tremendous waste, we saw the po-
tential in harvesting rainwater by mimicking
the sponge and filter functions of a tree.”
California is currently going through a
statewide drought emergency; Governor Ar-
nold Schwarzenegger is urging people to cut
water usage by 20 percent. As more and more
people move to California, demand is already
outstripping supply.
Utilizing more cisterns would also have
benefits for the bigger environmental pic-
ture in California. A tremendous amount of
energy is used for water-related uses such as
of the state’s electricity and 30 percent of its
natural gas.
“Securing a local, reliable water supply
would thus not only save on energy costs, but
would also decrease the amount of green-
house gases released into the atmosphere,”
emphasizes Lipkis.
The systems can range from inexpensive
and low-tech, all the way up to technical en-
gineering projects with complex computer
automated treatment programmes. Lipkis
says this makes them perfect to be adopted in
less-developed countries.
“Many countries around the world have
long utilized this technology out of neces-
sity, so we should look to them for inspira-
tion,” he adds. u

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32 WORLD July 2009
 Innovation and news from North America BEST PRACTICES

Transport
California set to
become US electric car
capital
The San Francisco Bay Area is set to develop
the USA’s first electric-car infrastructure sys-
tem. The pioneering company, Better Place,
seeks to provide, through its USD 1 billion busi-
ness plan, stations to re-charge batteries, and
it will offer battery exchange electric vehicles
which can operate on the network by 2012.
A mixture of public and private investment
aims to reinvigorate California’s competitive
advantage in innovative technology helping
the state to become the electric vehicle capi-
tal of the US.
“We are already a world leader in fighting
global warming and promoting renewable
energy,” says California Governor, Arnold
Schwarzenegger. “This type of public-private
partnership is exactly what I envisioned
when we created the first ever low carbon
fuel standard and when the state enacted the California is leading the way on electric car use Photo © roBerto marinello
zero emissions vehicle programme.”
Better Place’s CEO and founder, Shai facturers developing cars that have a plug, nology and infrastructure will be fine-tuned
Agassi says the network will help the envi- and have the ability to drive around the city over the following years.
ronment, boost the technology sector and and charge as they go,” he adds. The Bay Area will serve as the first region of
provide an impetus to the country’s big three Better Place hopes to finalize approvals for California to make the switch from carbon-based
car manufacturers. the Bay Area by the end of 2009 and begin transportation to sustainable mobility and joins
“We hope that by the time we deploy, we’ll the infrastructure development in 2010. As Australia, Israel and Denmark as world leaders
see Renault, Nissan and the three US manu- more electric cars enter the market, the tech- in reducing their oil dependence. u

LA recognizes the value of rain water Photo © muhammad omran rainWater

W
Water

u r b a n
July 2009 WORLD 33
BEST PRACTICES Innovation and news from Europe

Energy
Recycled waste heat to
power London homes

A new GBP 80 million data centre will trans-

form generated waste heat into free heating
for local communities in East London.
Due for completion in 2010, the nine-sto-
rey, 19,000 square metre facility from Tel-
ehouse Europe will export the heat from the
building’s cooling systems to provide up to
nine megawatts of power for the local neigh-
bourhood, which equates to providing hot
water and heating for 90,000 households.
Data centres are sometimes referred to as
“necessary evils”, creating eyesores on the
landscape and spewing out wasted heat. The
Telehouse project is trying to break that image
based on a range of innovative green schemes
that it and the WSP Group, a London-based in-
ternational sustainability and engineering con-
sultancy, have put into action. These include The new data centre will heat local communities in East London Photo © telehouse euroPe
green-energy systems and high-efficiency chill-
ers to reduce carbon emissions. valuable resource to the local community.” As the technology is quite basic, Martyn
“We recognize that any attempt to address The technology is nothing new, but the Bishop, senior technical director from WSP
the lack of space within the data centre indus- innovative application of this wasted heat is Buildings believes that the potential around the
try has to be undertaken with a level of envi- what’s catching the attention of city planners. world is high. “What we’ve demonstrated with
ronmental awareness,” says Bob Harris from The heat can be exported to surrounding are- this scheme is that it won’t impact on a data
Telehouse Europe. “By making good use of as, not just to households adjacent to the cen- centre’s critical services and operation. It’s one
the waste heat from the facility, we can mini- tre and will be available for free to any third of the few ways ahead that data centres can give
mize the environmental impact and provide a party that wants to take advantage of it. back to the environment,” he says. u

Environment development. In the 1990s ‘grow your own’ be- of course grow delicious food for themselves

Garden plots growing
back into fashion
Garden plots in the United Kingdom’s inner
cities are undergoing a resurgence that hasn’t
been seen since the Second World War.
All over the UK up to 250,000 allotments
dot the landscape alongside railway lines and
old manufacturing sites. They vary in size from
small vegetable patches to football pitches.
Products cultivated range from flowers, carrots
and potatoes to honey from bee keeping.
A legacy from the industrial revolution, the
plots were almost lost in the 1970s and 1980s as
the valuable inner city land was swallowed by
came popular again and demand has increased
dramatically throughout the UK.
Most local councils, who have a statutory
duty to provide allotments by law, now rec-
ognize that allotments not only provide an
opportunity for people to grow high quality,
local food, whilst keeping healthy and active,
but that allotments also provide valuable
green spaces for local communities and a ha-
ven for wildlife.
“New allotment sites are starting to pop up
with an opportunity to get growing,” says De-
borah Burn from the Allotment Regeneration
Initiative (ARI). “Many people who have never
gardened before are finding that allotments are
a great place to make friends, take the kids for
fresh air and learn where food comes from and
and their family,” she adds.
Internationally a similar solution has been
reinvented in cities across sub-Saharan Africa,
where people grow vegetables in unused spaces
for their own consumption and also to sell them.
Richard Wiltshire from ARI believes that,
“they are every bit as much survival gardens as
the originals were for the ‘Dig for Victory’ plots
during the Second World War. As most people
are recent migrants to cities in the sub-Sahara,
they have the knowledge at least on how to
grow food for themselves – as did the early ur-
ban allotment gardeners in the UK.”
The ARI is pushing further for new allotment
sites to be developed and older ones to be pro-
tected, as “we are still aware of many groups
that have had difficulty in getting land.” u

u r b a n
34 WORLD July 2009
 Innovation and news from Europe BEST PRACTICES

Transport
Spain leads the way
in high-speed rail
development
The success of the new high-speed rail link
between Barcelona and Madrid is catching
the attention of cities all over the world, in-
cluding the Middle East, China, South Africa
and even North America.
When the line linking Spain’s two biggest
cities opened last year it carried two million
passengers in the first 10 months; it contin-
ues to whisk businessmen the 500 kilometres
between the two cities in under 2.5 hours.
Spain’s high-speed network is still quite
young, but it’s hoping to expand to 9,000
kilometres over the next 10 years. Trains
are winning environmental points too, with
much lower carbon emissions per passenger
compared to flying. The new high-speed net-
works also free up existing lines for cargo, Spain’s trains are fast, green and efficient Photo © javier lóPeZ
e orteGa
eZ G
Ga

keeping trucks off the road.

US President, Barack Obama, recently
announced a USD 13 billion for the devel-
opment of a high-speed train network. In a
country that has largely shunned rail travel
in favour of driving and flying he faces an up-
hill battle.
“My high-speed rail proposal will lead to
innovations that change the way we travel in
America,” says Obama. “There’s no reason
why we can’t do this,” he says, noting such
a system would be cheaper and cleaner than
building new highways or adding to an over-
burdened aviation system.
Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states are closely
watching the development of Spain’s high-
speed rail network. Many are now planning
their own high-speed train lines as they pre-
pare for a post-oil future, built around serv-
ices that require infrastructure.
High-speed trains seem to tick all the right
boxes for medium distance travel between
cities – their ability to resolve transport prob-
lems and the prestige attached to the launch
of a shiny new train, look set to secure the in-
terest of several large cities worldwide. u

The UK’s citizens are taking more interest in growing fruit and vegetables Photo © maGda Zych

u r b a n
July 2009 WORLD 35
IN-FOCUS Latin America and the Caribbean

Mexico City rides a new

wave
Mexico City is one of the most densely packed cities on earth giving rise to problems of
pollution, crime and traffic. But since 2006 Mayor Marcelo Ebrard has been at the helm
tackling these issues through conventional means as well as through offers of free Viagra, ice-
skating rinks and kissing promotion days. Jonathan Andrews talks to this atypical mayor as his
city undergoes a major transformation.

Mayor Marcelo Ebrard Photo © mexico city mayor’s office

u r b a n
36 WORLD July 2009

Your father was an architect. Do you
think he instilled in you from an early
age an appreciation of how buildings,
transport, housing and infrastructure
should all compliment each other, and
function well together in a city?
Certainly. Much of the vision that I have for
the city and that we reflected in our General De-
velopment Programme 2007-2012 in terms of
urban infrastructure distribution and function-
ality was inspired by my childhood.
Obviously, this city has grown and changed
dramatically in the last three decades and
many of the foundation needs have not been
fulfilled as they appear, so one of the pri-
orities of my Administration is to cope with
these infrastructure gaps.
The challenge, however, is to implement a
very ambitious infrastructure programme in
a way that its different components, namely
housing, transportation, water and sewage
systems, hospitals, schools and road infra-
structure are compatible with the idea of
rescuing the concept of public space. This is a
very important concept for us and it has to do
with deploying all the necessary groundwork
that the city and its citizens need, and at the
same time increasing green areas and reduc-
ing excessive visual pollution from advertis-
ing infrastructure. To guarantee this, I have
created the Office of the Public Space Author-
ity, which coordinates with both the Ministry
of Housing and Urban Development, and
with the Ministry of Environment.
When you first became Mayor in
2006, what were the main issues and
problems you faced?
When I first came into office I made a com-
mitment to lead Mexico City into a new path
of equity, welfare and economic growth. This
meant facing up to issues such as public se-
curity, improving the economic and environ-
Biography
Mayor Marcelo Ebrard
Born in 1958 in Mexico City
Holds a degree in International Re-
lations from the College of Mexico
Studied public policy at the Ecole
Nationale d’Administration (ENA)
in Paris, France
Latin America and the Caribbean
mental conditions of the city and a better uti-
lization of the city’s comparative advantages.
This has been undertaken in accordance with
the General Development Plan 2007-2012,
which is based on seven main axes: political
reform, equity, security, a competitive econ-
omy, intense cultural movement, sustainable
and long term development and new urban
order. All of this with the purpose of improv-
ing the quality of life of all the members of the
community.
One of the first actions you
implemented was to improve the
historic Zocalo Square, by making
the area more pleasant for visitors
to walk around without hassle from
street vendors and hawkers. How
have you helped relocate the street
vendors, or supported them in their
microenterprises?
We made an agreement with the street ven-
dors and informal sector business leaders
in which we would help them institute their
businesses in an established building or mar-
ket if they would relocate from the streets.
This allows them to have better and more
secure business conditions while also allow-
ing visitors and tourists to visit Mexico City’s
historic downtown in a friendlier environ-
ment. These actions helped increase the flow
of tourists in the historic down town area,
which totalled more than six million in 2007.
Actually, the success of the model was such,
that we are using it to relocate vendors from
other areas in the city in order to implement
our vision for a new urban order.
What have been the main
achievements in your two-and-a-half
years?
We have reinforced and developed social
programmes to change the conditions that
generate social inequity, protect the most
vulnerable groups of society, guarantee the
expansion of social welfare programmes and
accelerate public and private investments to
maintain economic growth. We have imple-
mented a social policy that includes pensions
for the elderly, protecting the unemployed
through unemployment insurance and giving
scholarships to elementary and high school
students. Also, we established a new law that
protects the handicapped, made the protec-
tion of human rights a priority, improved the
IN-FOCUS
mass transit system through a new Rapid
Transit System and a new subway line and of
course we’ve implemented projects such as
the Proyecto Bicentenario, or Bicentennial
Project, which includes the installation of
8,000 cameras that will ensure the security of
the city’s population, and the Plan Verde, or
Green Plan, that will put the city on a path to
sustainable development. The focus, amidst
the current economic crisis, is on maintain-
ing the rhythm of economic activity through
an increase of public investment, which will
account for 27.4 percent of the city’s budget.
Is Mexico City seeing an increase
in tourism as a result of this policy
and also in cleaning and improving
historic areas in the city, such as
Zocalo Square?
Indeed, in 2008 Mexico City received more
than 11.5 million tourists and even though
there are still some security concerns, the
reality is that the problem has been greatly
magnified through the media and it’s not
based on specific facts. Following a series of
measures such as the restoration of down-
town buildings; the formation of the Mixed
Fund for Tourism Promotion, which com-
bines public and private resources with the
objective of promoting Mexico City as a world
class tourist destination; and the creation of
the tourist police, whose goal is to protect the
safety and well-being of tourists, there are a
growing number of tourists that visit the city.
And even though the perception of insecurity
and pollution still exists, the annual survey
undertaken by the Ministry of Tourism shows
that in general, tourists appreciate the kind-
ness of the city’s people, the affordable lodg-
ing prices, the restaurant and entertainment
options, and the security and safeness of the
city.
Mexico City holds a special place in
the country as the cultural, industrial,
business and political heart of the
entire nation. Is there a difficulty in
maintaining and improving Mexico
City as an attractive location, yet
at the same time, keeping the city
sustainable?
As I mentioned before, we see this as a chal-
lenge, certainly a complex one. However,
we have designed our policies and strate-
gies bearing this in mind at all times. The
u r b a n
July 2009 WORLD 37
IN-FOCUS Latin America and the Caribbean
Mexico City has invested in infrastructure and transport
creation of the Office of the Public Space Au-
thority is one of our quality control instruments
to guarantee that as we deploy our infrastruc-
ture programme and our competitiveness poli-
cies, the city not only maintains its sustainabil-
ity, but also enhances the quality of its public
spaces. A very important element that I would
like to highlight to reinforce the enhancement
of both competitiveness and sustainability is
that our economic, cultural, and educational
orientation is to position Mexico City as Latin
America’s knowledge capital. The strategies to
achieve this goal are 100 percent compatible
with both enhancing competitiveness and sus-
tainability through the development and pro-
motion of high-value added economic activities
that require highly qualified human resources
and soft infrastructure. We are confident that
through the implementation of this vision we
will keep, and even enhance, our position as the
cultural, economic, and political heart of the
country.
We have seen social programmes
your government has implemented
to improve citizens’ quality of life,
such as free Viagra for the elderly and
the Besame mucho, or kiss me a lot,
day for St Valentines, how important
do you rate the social aspects of
a city compared to managing the
infrastructure and transport?
u r b a n
38 WORLD July 2009
Photo © alex steffler
Mexico City’s development plan has three
main pillars; they are healthy public finances
and efficient fiscal policy, infrastructure and
services, and higher investment in human
capital. This last one incorporates the social
factors, such as organizing concerts or al-
lowing free access to historical exhibitions
in museums that are very important to the
residents of Mexico City because they add to
the skill and talent of the population and im-
prove their quality of life. These factors allow
the city to play a key competitive role in the
new conditions of the global economy. Also,
through the implementation of these pro-
grammes, we have proved that people benefit
from not only the fulfillment of basic needs
such as nutrition, health, and housing but
also from the qualitative needs such as en-
tertainment. Through the fulfillment of these
qualitative needs, we are addressing a key
component of quality of life for our citizens.
With the credit crisis gripping the
world, how do you value public/
private partnerships to achieve the
city’s goals?
They are very valuable because they utilize
the comparative advantages of the public and
private sectors and help satisfy the city’s in-
vestment requirements through an increase
in domestic and international capital flows.
Some of the advantages that public/private
partnerships offer are that they go beyond the
annual-investment scheme so that there is
legal certainty and guarantees for long-term
projects, they make the city an active partner of
the economic and social benefits, they increase
the value of the city’s assets and there is no pub-
lic debt involved. This last aspect is key to ac-
complishing two of our public policy priorities,
which are to maintain healthy public finances
and increase the quality of the city’s infrastruc-
ture and provision of public goods and services.
Through the promotion of several amendments
to our legal framework and the identification of
potential infrastructure and public goods and
services provision that could be exploited by
the private sector, we have structured a public
private investment portfolio which is over USD
10 billion for the next three years.
What initiatives have you
implemented with the private sector
and multilateral organizations?
Because of the different investment require-
ments that the city has, various local laws were
amended resulting in a whole new investment
regime that multiplies the possibilities of fi-
nancing public works and services through difdif-
ferent financing schemes such as Public-Private
Partnerships, Real Estate Infrastructure Trusts
and Technology Transfer Agreements, among
others. Among the projects developed trough
these investments schemes are the Superhigh-
ways of Mexico City, Multimodal Transfer Sta-
tions, a Tramcar in the downtown area and four
Knowledge Cities.
Also an agreement was signed with the Inter-
American Development Bank to create a Pub-
lic-Private Partnerships Unit in collaboration
with Mexico City’s Ministry of Finance.
Mexico City is renowned for its
pollution. What does your new
environmental plan incorporate?
Mexico City’s Plan Verde, or Green Plan, is the
government’s strategy that will put the city on
the path to sustainable development. Among the
actions and strategies it considers are the better
management of traffic flows, improvement in the
emissions quality of the public transportation
fleet and encouragement of alternative means of
transportation such as walking and cycling.
It is also a communications plan that will al-
low Mexico City’s citizens to know the environ-
mental issues that the city faces and the actions
taken by the government to solve these issues.
 Latin America and the Caribbean IN-FOCUS

Working jointly, the government and different

social organizations will analyze, improve and
constantly enrich the plan to ensure its correct
implementation.

Are citizens supporting the

programmes and ideas from this plan?
The citizens of Mexico City have been in-
volved in this plan since the early stages of its
development during which a citywide survey
on environmental issues was conducted so
that the population could identify and express
their environmental concerns. This informa-
tion, along with the input of experts on this
field, was used to design the programmes and
ideas behind Plan Verde. Also the popula-
tion knows that the improvement of the city’s
environmental conditions offers them and
future generations a better quality of life, so
they have been very supportive and involved
in the implementation of the plan.

You yourself take part in riding your

bike to work along with thousands
of other public officials on the first
Monday of every month, as part of the
Plan Verde. How important is it for
officials to practice what they preach?
It’s very important because in order for the
plan to be successful, every citizen, be it a
public official, a student or whoever, has a
responsibility to improve the environmental
conditions of the city that will put us on the
path to sustainable development. It is very
important for us to set an example and show
that we are committed to the Plan Verde.
Environmental conditions are improving in Mexico City Photo © dennis Poulette
Do you think cities, citizens and
businesses are appreciative of the and their corporate headquarters. Do than other cities. Because of this, besides the
need for sustainable development? you think there is now pressure for a Plan Verde, we have also created fiscal incen-
What more can be achieved to city to show its green credentials and tives for businesses that are committed to the
highlight the importance? environmental stewardship to attract environment. We also believe that companies
I think that society as a whole is very conscious business? around the world are more and more commit-
of the need for sustainable development, but Yes, those factors are very important because ted to corporate responsibility.
people don’t always realize just how much pow- an investor has to consider all factors, not just
er they have in the process and that they are an economic factors, but also political, social, and What’s next for Mexico City?
integral part of the problem and the solution. of course environmental factors. In the case of In terms of ecological development, we will
What matters is to inform everybody of the en- Mexico City, we were previously an industrial focus on renewable energies, emission-free
vironmental consequences if we continue on city, but in the last 30 years the local GDP has transportation, efficient combustion systems
the same road and that future generations will gone from being 51 percent industrial and 23 and cleaning fuels. We will also focus on the
live in a much grimmer environment if we don’t percent service sector to 14.3 percent industrial improvement and development of the city’s
implement sound measures today. and 50 percent service sector. These charac- infrastructure such as the airport, landfill, wa-
teristics make it vital for the city to offer better ter treatment facilities, subway, public vehi-
Before cities used tax incentives or green credentials and better living conditions cles renovation and information technologies
lax labour laws to attract businesses for current and potential business employees and telecommunications infrastructure. u

u r b a n
July 2009 WORLD 39
Sponsored statement
Sponsored statement
IN-FOCUS Latin America and the Caribbean: News

CLIMATE Energy
Buenos Aires launches fight against
climate change Uruguay to become leader in Latin American renewables
A special government team has been established
in Buenos Aires to draw up strategies for fighting
climate change. There will be an assessment of
how vulnerable the city is, how well it can cope
with the effects of climate change, how individual
homes might be affected and the cost of potential
adaptation measures. Special attention will be
given to energy efficient design in buildings and
the city also hopes to launch its first hybrid bus
by the summer.

SECURITY
UN-HABITAT strengthens Latin-American
Safer Cities programme
Priority was given to the Latin-American Safer
Cities programme at the 22nd UN-HABITAT
Wind energy will power street lights in Uruguay Photo © laura ulloa
meeting of the governing council in April.
Thirty-eight representatives from Latin
American countries attended a meeting to Uruguay is taking a giant step in moving away of San Carlos, a town of 25,000 residents east of
discuss a new plan helping to combat crime from its heavy reliance on hydroelectric energy Montevideo.
and insecurity in their cities. The meeting and fossil fuel by incorporating a new wind energy By 2015, the government hopes to increase
featured the presentation of the Guide for project into its energy plan as it aims to become a this total to 500 megawatts leading to closures
Local Governments in Latin America: Local leader in renewable energy in Latin America. of old power stations fuelled by gas or coal, that
Prevention Towards Social Cohesion and
Since 2005 Uruguay has been advancing its re- would still take into consideration an increase in
Citizen Security Policies developed by the
University of Alberto Hurtado, Santiago, Chile newable energies industry by giving concessions energy demand.
and UN-HABITAT. from 10 to 20 years to private investors to produce Other methods of generating energy are being
renewable energy, including wind power. The plan evaluated, including installing mini-turbines for
HOUSING also features incentives for homeowners to use households. According to the National Energy
Argentina to benefit from investment in
mini-wind turbines to create their own energy. Department this could reduce demand from the
housing
The Executive Director of UN-HABITAT, The first wind park, Nuevo Manantial, in op- grid by 30 percent. The mini turbines could also
Mrs Anna Tibaijuka, has signed six eration since October by a private company, in return feed the grid, giving homeowners a re-
agreements with partnering countries aimed produces 20 megawatts – a sizeable amount in duction on their bills.
at encouraging investment in housing for comparison to the city of Montevideo which uses If the projects are achieved, 6 percent of the
the poor. The agreements were finalized in 12 megawatts to illuminate its streets. country’s energy will be renewable, well above
April and Argentina is one country which will
Five more wind turbines will be added by June the government’s goal. It would also put Uru-
benefit from the Experimental Reimbursable
Seeding Operations (ERSO) initiative along that will increase total energy production by 10 guay at the forefront of renewable energy use
with Bangladesh, Kenya, Nepal, Tanzania megawatts and could supply all the energy needs in Latin America. u
and Uganda. ERSO is a system where
UN-HABITAT provides loans to financial
institutions who then give loans to the urban
poor for home renovations and infrastructure
upgrades.
Sustainable tourism
Dominican Republic takes action to protect
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
New cooking stoves save Brazilian forests biodiversity
Rural populations in Caatinga in north eastern
Brazil are no longer cutting down hundreds
of valuable trees to fuel their ovens because The Dominican Republic (DR) will invest the natural beauty of the DR is sustained for
they have been given efficient new stoves. heavily in infrastructure for further sustain- generations to come”.
Until now, more than 80 percent of the area’s able development of its tourism industry. Garcia announced the DR’s long-term
woodland has disappeared. The project to
At its recent annual tourism conference, commitment to developing pleasing, well-lit
provide new ovens was initiated by the NGO,
IDER - Brazil’s Institute for Sustainable Minister of Tourism Francisco Javier Garcia urban spaces where tourists can walk among
Development and Renewable Energy, with stressed that the government’s investment shops and restaurants while experiencing the
funding from the Global Village Energy Project will include building the Atlantic Boulevard culture and lifestyle of Dominicans.
(GVEP). The Renewable Energy and Energy in Puerto Plata, the revitalization and devel- A special approach to sustainable tourism
Efficiency Partnership (REEEP) provided the opment of major highways and roads, and an developments in the DR’s southwest region
cash for the project’s second phase.
“even deeper commitment to ensuring that is being undertaken, as the area is the most

u r b a n
42 WORLD July 2009

Water
IDB funds to clean up Medellin River
The city of Medellin in Colombia will complete an
ambitious new programme to rehabilitate a vital river
to improve the quality of life for local communities
and the surrounding natural habitat.
The USD 450 million financing will help turn
Medellin into one of the first large Latin American
cities to adequately treat nearly 100 percent of the
wastewater it collects. The loan provided by the
Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), will fi-
nance the Medellin River Sanitation Programme,
to be executed by Empresas Públicas de Medellin
(EPM), which already provides water and sewer
collection services to 99 percent and 98 percent, re-
spectively, of the people in its service area.
The first phase of the programme began eight
years ago on the completion of the San Fernando
Wastewater Treatment Plant. By removing harm-
ful organic material and toxins from approxi-
mately 20 percent of the wastewater flowing into
the Medellin River, the plant has already elimi-
nated the odours that used to emanate from the
river in the southern part of the city. As a result,
new parks have been built and more housing, as
the private sector has invested in areas that were
previously shunned.
“Medellin is a powerful example of how in-
vesting in water and sanitation can yield benefits
that go far beyond public health and the environ-
ment,” says IDB President Luis Alberto Moreno.
“These projects have become a key driver of
Medellin’s emergence as a dynamic, inviting and
socially progressive metropolis.”
In addition to reducing waterborne diseases and
bio-diverse territory in the Caribbean. There
are plans for an educational institution near
Baharona that will study the wealth of spe-
cies, fauna and flora in the southwest with
over USD 900 million being invested into in-
novative sustainable tourism developments
in the southwest that could serve as global
models.
The DR is taking a multidisciplinary ap-
proach to tourism, business and environmen-
tal issues. “The public and private sector are
working hand-in-hand creating new projects
that make sense for our environment, busi-
nesses and especially our families’ and visi-
tors’ well-being,” concluded Garcia. u
Latin America and the Caribbean: News
Water quality will improve in Medelin
Photo © fernando diaZ
unpleasant odours, the new plant – due to be built at
the northern end of the city – will enable local mu-
nicipalities to plan new riverside parks and residential
and commercial properties. By its completion in 2012,
95 percent of Medellin’s wastewater will be treated
and will even enable local companies to use treated
wastewater for some industrial applications. u
The Dominican Republic is protecting its bio-diversity
Photo © GaBriel Bulla
IN-FOCUS
INFRASTRUCTURE
Honduras receives World Bank funds to
rebuild roads
The World Bank has granted USD 25 million
to Honduras for repairs needed after a tropical
storm. Tropical Storm No. 16 caused massive
damage to road infrastructure in Honduras
– more than 700 kilometres of roads were
impacted. Sixteen bridges are also being
reconstructed and the money will be used to
enhance procedures and policies for natural
disaster mitigation and prevention strategies.
ENERGY
New agreement for energy efficient
buildings in Mexico
The public-private Renewable Energy and
Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP)
brought together major energy efficiency
stakeholders in Mexico in April to sign
a joint Memorandum of Understanding
(MoU) committing to the formation of a joint
action plan. The aim is to implement energy
efficiency in buildings at state and municipal
level across Mexico. The National Commission
for Energy Efficiency (CONUEE), The
National Network of State Energy Commission
(RENACE) and The Association for Energy
Efficiency in Buildings (AEAEE) all signed the
agreement and hope also to influence similar
initiatives in other Latin American nations.
TOURISM
New online tool to measure impact of
tourism
The Inter-American Development Bank
has released a new Tourism Sustainability
Scorecard, an interactive tool developed to
ensure that the Bank’s investments in private
sector tourism projects maximize social,
economic, cultural and environmental benefits
for local communities and destinations.
Tourism brings in substantial revenue and
alleviates poverty and the World Travel and
Tourism Council estimates that tourism will
contribute as much as USD 217 billion to the
Latin American and Caribbean economies
in 2009. Using the scorecard, the bank
will be able to give priority to projects that
demonstrate potentially positive impacts.
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Mexico signs sustainable development
agreement with UK
Mexico and the UK have signed a commitment
on sustainable development and climate
change. Progress under the previous
sustainable development partnership
programme, which began in 2006, was
discussed as were future priorities under the
new UK-Mexico programme, which continues
until 2010.The project to reduce Mexico City’s
transport emissions was deemed as a success,
as it has led to the creation of a zero emissions
corridor along one of Mexico’s busiest roads.
Mexico hosted World Environment Day in
June and has committed to reduce its carbon
emissions by 50 percent by 2050.
u r b a n
July 2009 WORLD 43
IN-FOCUS Asia and Pacific

Can India lead the global

market for solar power?
India has stated its intention to bring solar energy into the homes of millions of its citizens.
Kirsty Tuxford examines the merits of the government’s plan and outlines the benefits solar
power can bring for India’s poorest inhabitants.

The Ministery New and Renewable Energy is installing solar cookers to help rural populations Photo © aline dassel
u r b a n
44 WORLD July 2009
 Asia and Pacific URBAN WATCH

M ahatma Gandhi once said:

“The earth provides enough
to satisfy every man’s need,
but not every man’s greed.” India’s govern-
ment has heeded these wise words with the
launch of the National Action Plan on Clima-
te Change which sets out India’s programme
to promote and invest in sustainable energy.
The Plan announced in June last year con-
sists of eight separate missions including the
National Solar Mission, which aims to “sig-
nificantly increase the share of solar energy
in the total energy mix”. With 5,000 trillion
kWh each year from long hours of sunlight,
Shyam Saran, the PM’s Special Envoy on cli-
mate change, has stated that India wishes to
become the leading solar nation in the world.
Critics say the Indian electricity sector is
not ready for solar and is beset with a number
of problems such as major transmission and
distribution losses, poor generation and end
use efficiency, and very low renewable energy
uptake (see the February 2009 report of the
South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and
People India’s National Action Plan on Cli-
mate Change: There is little hope here). But
the benefit of solar power as outlined in the
National Solar Mission is that its deployment
can be done independently of the national
grid and integrated when needed. The Action
Plan states that “transmission and develop-
ment losses are very low in decentralized
systems” which is precisely why solar power
could be the way forward for India.
Indian government’s National Solar Mission
plan at a glance
Target: Install 20,000MW capacity by 2020
2009-2012 – Expand ongoing urban, rural and off-grid projects:
Public buildings and residential building of 500 square metres or more to install
solar heating; micro-financing for solar lighting expected to light up three
million homes.
2012-2017 – Commercial use of solar thermal power plants:
Developing storage options; promoting solar lighting and heating on a large
scale; possible micro-finance available.
2017-2020 – Achieve tariff parity with conventional grid power:
Reach installed capacity of 20 gigawatts (Gw); install one million solar rooftop
systems; reduce the cost of solar projects.
Milestones for increased capacity are envisaged for the years 2030 and 2050
and renewable sources of energy as well as pro- and grid-connected solar power plants. A 25
viding financial support to energy efficiency and hundred-thousand square metre solar thermal
conservation projects, The Agency is running collector area was created and solar cookers
three programmes in the field of solar energy: were installed. Eight thousand remote villages
the solar photovoltaic market development and hamlets were also linked up to solar energy
programme, the solar thermal programme and systems.
the solar water pumping programme. On a micro level, specialist Akshay Urja
In December 2008, the Ministry of New shops (solar shops) have been set up across the
and Renewable Energy announced the imple- country by the Ministry in a substantial effort
mentation of schemes to promote solar energy to promote the consumption of solar energy.
across the country. The scheme began with The plan is to establish one shop on each dis-
the installation of solar lighting in the form trict of the country. The solar shop scheme aims
of home lighting, lanterns and street lights, to encourage private entrepreneurs and NGOs
solar-powered pumps and 5.2 MWp of off-grid to set up and operate the shops. Applicants

Incentives to turn to solar

Although there is the potential for major expan-
sion of the solar industry, there remain clear
obstacles to India becoming a world leader.
Jaideep Malaviya from the Malaviya Energy
Consultancy in India says: “There is a lack of at-
tractive incentives and lack of awareness over
the climate change issue, which is poorly un-
derstood.”
The government has reacted by putting in
place financial incentives to convince people
and industry to turn to green energy. Finan-
cial assistance for new and renewable energy
projects is being offered by the Indian Renew-
able Energy Development Agency (IREDA),
which is a public limited government company
under the administrative control of the Minis-
try of New and Renewable Energy. The Agency
operates a revolving fund for the promotion,
development and commercialization of new Solar power is India’s answer to its energy deficit Photo © Patrick moore

u r b a n
July 2009 WORLD 45
IN-FOCUS Asia and Pacific
Lighting will improve quality of life for poor communities
are eligible for loans of up to Rs. 10 hundred-
thousand (EUR 154,550) at 7 percent interest
rate through designated banks. In addition,
there are grants and incentives up to a pos-
sible Rs. 10,000 (EUR 154) per month during
the first two years of operation. The scheme
is operated through State Nodal Agencies and
the Renewable Energy Development Agency.
The Ministry admits that despite the fact
that the production of solar energy devices and
systems is on the increase, the initial high cost
of these energy systems is a barrier preventing
their use on a large scale. Other constraints
stem from the inherent intermittent nature of
renewable energy sources, which the Ministry
claims leads to low capacity utilization ranging
from 17 percent to 70 percent, depending on re-
source and location, grid synchronization limi-
tations and the fact that higher capital invest-
ments are required compared to conventional
power projects. The solution put in place by the
Ministry involves the application of preferential
tariffs and fiscal concessions to boost the com-
mercial attractiveness of solar power. The Re-
newable Energy Ministry has for example de-
veloped a generation-based incentive plan for
grid interactive solar power generation projects.
The aim of the plan is to achieve a reduction in
the cost of grid-connected solar systems and
solar power generation, as well as to develop
and demonstrate the technical performance of
grid interactive solar power generation.
u r b a n
46 WORLD July 2009
Selco’s solar energy benefits the poor
Photo © vivek chuGh
The Ministry says that significant achieve-
ments have been made as a result of the incen-
tives. More than 13,700 MW grid-interactive
power generators – 9 percent of the total in-
stalled capacity of the country – have been
established. Rural households have also ben-
efitted from 5.5 million off-grid renewable en-
ergy systems, which includes solar photovoltaic
lighting systems that are functioning to serve
homes with energy for cooking and lighting.
Private sector involvement helps the
poor
Even if the financial incentives work and the
obstacles are overcome, what’s in it for India’s
economy and people if the switch is flicked to
solar? India already boasts the second-fastest
growing economy in the world and Prime
Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, in his speech
launching the Action Plan predicted a vast
pooling of scientific, technical and managerial
resources to make use of solar energy which
will “power the economy and transform the
lives of our people”. Jaideep Malaviya agrees:
“[Implementation of solar power will] make
the economy strong since it will be able to
displace an equivalent amount of fossil fuel
usage which is by and large imported.”
Enterprises such as SELCO Solar are capi-
talizing on opportunities now available to the
private sector not only to develop and sell so-
lar technology to big companies but also to
Photo © selco
enhance living conditions for the poor and
rural populations in India. SELCO has played
a critical role in persuading commercial and
rural banking institutions to provide financial
backing for solar lighting and sustainable en-
ergy for the most deprived communities. The
company manufactures its own solar panels
and fluorescent light bulbs – keeping costs
down – and the 75,000 households which
now benefit from SELCO’s solar power can
spread the cost of the solar panels over five
years through weekly payments.
Sharing knowledge
India is also looking to other countries’ expe-
rience with renewables. The Ministry of New
and Renewable Energy is focused on interact-
ing with developed and developing countries
in terms of sharing experiences, taking up
joint research, design, development, demon-
stration and manufacture of new and renew-
able energy systems. Memoranda of Under-
standing have already been signed with the
Ministry of Climate and Energy in Denmark,
the Department of Energy in the Republic of
the Philippines and the Cuban government,
amongst others. Collaborations with other
nations – both developed and developing
– will be a positive step to help India rise to
the forefront of the solar industry. But what
does being a world leader mean to India? A
leader in terms of production? Or in terms
of R&D, economic growth or the percentage
of the population hooked up to solar power?
Perhaps the definition of ‘world leader’ is best
embodied in Ghandi’s words so being a leader
in solar energy means simply: “Satisfying eve-
ry man’s needs.” For the sake of future gen-
erations, it is to be hoped that that is the road
India’s government will chose to take.u
 Asia and Pacific IN-FOCUS

After the quake: how

self-build is the key to
Sichuan’s recovery
A devastating earthquake in Sichuan, China, last year left five million people homeless. Yet for
many, more than a year later the rebuilding process is still in its initial phases. Maya Alexandri,
a writer based in Beijing who recently visited the area of the quake, takes a look at progress
made so far, and how an outside non-governmental organization, Build Change, is making a
major difference to the survivors of one of the most devastating quakes in recent memory.

Residents get involved in rebuilding their homes Photo © Build chanGe

IN-FOCUS Asia and Pacific

I n the remote, rural villages near Wen-

chuan, the quake’s epicentre, many
obstacles have slowed the rebuilding
process. Some towns lack adequate roads,
making the delivery of necessary building
equipment and materials impossible, and
forcing many to wait for road repairs first.
Elsewhere, people have been waiting for
the government to pay promised rebuilding
subsidies.
“I thought the government would rebuild
my house for free,” says Xiao Qianghui, a
resident of Minle, Sichuan. “But then I
heard that the government would be giving
each of us 20,000 renminbi [about USD
3,000] instead.”
While some Minle villagers, like Wei
Qingli, whose husband is a construction
worker and whose uncle is a contractor,
were able to begin building their houses
themselves, the homeowner-driven ap-
proach has created problems for other vil-
lagers, like Xing Dayan: “We knew nothing
about housing construction,” she says.
All aspects of the process, from signing
contracts to supervising the construction,
were foreign to many of Minle’s residents.
“I don’t even know what layout my contrac-
tor used to dig the foundation,” says Yang
Shifu.
The homeowner-driven model has an-
other benefit over the alternatives: sustain-
ability. Houses built by donors tend to use
imported materials, like the lightweight
steel-frame house design that has been pro-
posed as an earthquake-resistant solution
for Sichuan. The design has proved unpop-
ular with locals and, once the donor with-
draws from the area, future houses will not
be built in that design. Other donor-driven
reconstruction efforts around the world
have included houses built from timber not
resistant to local pests, as well as homes
that are inappropriate to the climate.
A new partnership for the people
Since December 2008, the Chinese govern-
ment has been attempting to build local
capacity through its partnership with Build
Change. Build Change has trained villagers
about proper construction techniques and
how to manage contractors. Mrs. Xiao, who
participated in the training, is confident:
“Whoever builds my house, I’ll be able to
supervise the quality.”
Drafting home layouts is another form of
technical assistance that Build Change is provid-
ing in Minle. Before the drawing process begins,
Build Change staffers interview villagers to hear
their preferences.
“Homeowners should make the decisions
about colour, materials, size and where the toilet
goes,” says Ms. Hausler.
Build Change then drafts layouts that incorpo-
rate the homeowners’ preferences into a design
that includes earthquake resistant features. “The
layout was good and easy to understand,” says
Mrs. Wei, whose family members built a house
themselves based on Build Change’s design.
“Drafting the layouts also helps us to estimate
costs,” Ms. Hausler explains. Cost-estimation
for homeowner-driven reconstruction is critical.
Asked why, Ms. Hausler recalls how Indonesian
tsunami and earthquake survivors had often
spent too much of their rebuilding subsidy on
the foundation of their new home. By the time
the contractor had to connect the vertical tie-
columns to the horizontal ring-beam at the top
of the house – a connection of more importance
to the earthquake-resistant function of a single-
story house than the foundation – the home-
owner had run out of money.
Once budgetary issues have been taken
into account and construction begins, Build

The response
In Minle, the Chinese government re-
sponded to this challenge by partnering
with Build Change, a non-profit social en-
trepreneurship enterprize that provides
technical assistance to homeowners in de-
veloping countries who are rebuilding after
earthquakes and other disasters. Having
rebuilt houses in Indonesia, after the 2004
tsunami, Build Change has experience with
the homeowner-driven model for recon-
struction.
“If you don’t engage homeowners over the
layout of the house and the architectural de-
sign, the homeowners won’t be confident that
the house is safe,” says Build Change found-
er, Elizabeth Hausler. As a Fulbright fellow in
India after the 2001 earthquake in Gujarat,
Ms. Hausler spoke to people who had been
excluded from the reconstruction process
by the NGOs that had rebuilt their houses.
“These people were sleeping outside because
they didn’t trust that the house wouldn’t col-
lapse on them,” she explains. The Build Change organization is helping quake survivors Photo © Build chanGe

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48 WORLD July 2009
 Asia and Pacific IN-FOCUS

UN-HABITAT shares knowledge to help

quake survivors
According to figures provided by the official Xinhua Chinese news agency, the
huge 12 May earthquake claimed more than 60,000 lives in Sichuan Province and
other affected regions in the country. Nearly 30,000 people were reported miss-
ing, and nearly 300,000 others were injured in the earthquake. The China Seis-
mological Bureau (CSB) revised the magnitude of southwest China earthquake
from 7.8 to 8.0 on the Richter scale. Chinese President Hu Jintao who visited the
scene of the devastation expressed gratitude to foreign countries and NGOs like
Build Change for coming in to help. UN-HABITAT’s Executive Director, Mrs. Ti-
baijuka, visited two Sichuan towns last year with senior Chinese officials. She ex-
pressed her deep sympathy and solidarity with the victims and pledged support
for recovery and reconstruction work in the area. Touring a temporary shelter,
she said she was happy that victims had been given adequate attention and com-
mended the Chinese Government and people for taking quick action to relieve
suffering, ensuring that almost all the displaced survivors were sheltered. “Natural
disasters cannot be stopped. What is important is to minimize the impact and
build back better,” she said. UN-HABITAT is mandated to take the lead in disas-
ter prevention, mitigation, and preparedness and post-disaster rehabilitation with
regard to human settlements. In countries recovering from war or disaster around
the world, it fulfils this mandate by supporting national governments, local au-
thorities and communities in strengthening their capacity in managing disasters.
This applies both to the prevention and mitigation of disasters as well as the reha-
bilitation of human settlements. It creates awareness among decision makers and
communities on mitigation and adequate rehabilitation in human settlements. It
bridges the gap between relief and development by combining the technical exper-
tise, normative understanding and lessons learned through UN-HABITAT field
operations. “We are sharing our experience of working in post disaster reconstruc-
tion in other countries such Indonesia and Pakistan,” she said. In May, the agency
opened a new disaster mitigation office in Tehran, Iran, to operate at the national
and regional level in a part of the world also prone earthquakes.

Change conducts daily, on-site inspections
to ensure that contractors are adhering to
safety standards. Among other tasks, Build
Change staff test the quality of bricks being
used and check the ratio of dirt and gravel
to cement that the contractors use when
mixing the concrete.
Encouraging people to take charge
Build Change also encourages homeowners
to take control of the building process. Mrs.
Xing, who knew nothing about construc-
tion when the rebuilding process started,
was able to persuade her contractor to add
four tie-columns to her house and reinforce
the concrete lintel beams over the doors
and windows. “After my neighbours saw my
reinforced lintel beam, they all wanted the
same thing on their own houses,” she says.
If the homeowner-driven reconstruction
process in Minle continues apace, its villag-
ers should soon enjoy both the confidence
of living in an earthquake-resistant house
and also the enhanced capacity of being
able to build such houses in the future.
However, the key to success of home-
owner-driven reconstruction models, in
Sichuan and worldwide, is a combination
of rebuilding subsidies and technical as-
sistance of the kind Build Change provides.
A refinement of the homeowner-driven
reconstruction model would include such
technical assistance with the government-
granted rebuilding subsidies. Luckily for
villagers in Sichuan, the NGO world is fill-
Build Change staff ensure that locals are happy
ing that gap. u with the design Photo © Build chanGe

u r b a n
July 2009 WORLD 49
IN-FOCUS Asia and Pacific: News

SANITATION
Singapore to host World Toilet Summit
Energy
The topic of creating a sustainable sanitation Laos to build dam to fund environmental protection
marketplace will be under discussion at this
year’s Ninth World Toilet Summit from 2 to 4
December. This is the second time the Summit
has been staged in Singapore, and it’s receiving
strong support from the Singapore Economic
Development Board (EDB), the Restroom
Association in Singapore and the Singapore
Exhibition and Convention Bureau.

ENVIRONMENT
Indian cities win awards for environmen-
tal performance
Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and Bhopal have
been recognized for their performance on
environmental and sustainability issues in
a ceremony at the International Workshop
on Improved Urban Environment in March
of this year. ICLEI South Asia granted the
awards, and has also launched an initiative –
together with the National Institute of Urban
Affairs – to document cities’ good practices on
the ICLEI website.

ENERGY
Hong Kong government funds energy ef-
ficiency in buildings
The Environment and Conservation Fund
(ECF) has backed USD 450 million Building
Energy Efficiency Funding Schemes. ECF Com-
mittee Chairman Professor David Lung said
that the funding schemes will encourage build-
ing owners to take concrete action for enhanc-
ing the energy efficiency performance of build-
ings. The funding schemes provide subsidies to
encourage building owners to conduct audits
regarding energy usage in their buildings.
TRANSPORT
New WBCSD report says city mobility is
not sustainable
The World Business Council for Sustainable
Development has released the results of a two-
year study on public transport in four rapidly
developing cities: Bangalore, Dar es Salaam,
São Paulo and Shanghai. The study finds
that streets are becoming more congested,
transport-related health and safety risks are
a problem, as is the poor state of roads and
vehicles, and inexperienced drivers are causing
deaths and injuries. The report calls for more
integrated planning, public consultation and
education for transport users.
The new dam in Laos will bring revenue to the poor
Laos will set the standard for the construction
of ‘good dams’ with its new USD 1.25 billion
Nam Theun 2 Hydroelectric Project (NT2), set
to be unveiled in December. It aims to address
environmental and social impacts and will steer
revenue to the country’s neediest people.
Situated in the Nakai Plateau in Kham-
mouan province, the dam is surrounded by
some of the most natural and pristine moun-
tain ranges in south east Asia. The innovative
financing partnership brought together 27 dif
dif-
ferent financial institutions – both public and
private – from around the world.
“With a total project cost equivalent to
more than 80 percent of the country’s annual
GDP, this is the single-largest foreign invest-
ment in the Lao PDR’s history,” says John
Cooney, a former director of Infrastructure
for the Asia Development Bank. “But this is
also the world’s project, with partners from
around the globe.”
Ten percent of the project’s cost will go to-
ward funding environmental protection and
social safeguards. More than 6,000 people in
16 villages have been resettled. New houses,
Photo © frédéric Gloor
new roads, clean water, schools and regular
health check ups, including agricultural land
have been built and set aside for the 1,240
households.
More than 300 consultations and work-
shops were conducted with the local people
to ensure that the resettlement reflected the
peoples’ wishes.
Extensive public consultations on the envi-
ronment and social impacts were undertaken,
to gain the investment and to live up to the
stringent guidelines set forth by the World
Commission on Dams.
NT2 will export about 5,354 gigawatt-hours
of electricity annually to Thailand and provide
revenue to the Lao PDR through taxes, royal-
ties and dividends and will provide up to 7 to
9 percent of the government’s annual national
budget.
“Implementing the project has been a chal-
lenge for development professionals,” says
Cooney. “We hope that ‘good dams’ of the
future can become a powerful tool for fight-
ing poverty while addressing critical energy
needs.” u

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Water
New technology brings clean water to Indonesia
People in Jakarta, Indonesia now have a
cheaper alternative method of obtaining
clean drinking water. Air Rahmat or Gift
Water, is a new water purification technology
that is cheaper, faster and safer than boiling
water.
Previously many families would have had
to buy expensive bottled water or use a lot
more heat, energy and time to boil water for
drinking and food preparation. Air Rahmat
means water is clean and ready to use half an
hour after adding the solution.
Over 100 million people in Indonesia lack
access to safe drinking water and more than
70 percent of the country’s 220 million popu-
lation rely on water obtained from potentially
contaminated sources.
The Indonesian Government has intro-
duced Air Rahmat after being developed
through the Aman Tirta public-private part-
nership. Members include CARE, the John
Hopkins Centre for Communication Pro-
grammes and the United States Agency for
International Development.
Transport
“People’s car” achieves record sales in India
The new Indian built car, Tata Nano, the
cheapest car in the world, is beating the gloom
that has overcome other car manufacturers
throughout the world by achieving record
sales in its first month. The tiny price tag of
USD 2,500 matches its small proportions yet
the sale figures for its first month have hit
203,000 worth USD 510 million.
Nicknamed the “people’s car” the Tata Nano
aims to provide cheap, safe and fuel efficient
transport to millions of Indians, who want to
upgrade their motorcycles and older more pol-
luting vehicles that plague India’s city streets.
As India develops further and its cities con-
tinue to grow, environmentalists are concerned
that the Tata Nano would only further add to the
problems of congestion and pollution.
“Tata Nano is the least polluting car in In-
dia,” counter claims Tata chairman, Ratan N
Tata. “It provides safe, affordable, four-wheel
transportation to families who previously rode
Asia and Pacific: News
Water for thousands of people Photo © stePhen davies
The name refers to a liquid, 1.25 percent sodium
hypochlorite solution, which is effective in deacti-
vating microorganisms such as E.coli in water.
Rahmat itself stands for economical, easy to use
and healthy.
The product is already used in more than 25
countries and worldwide more than two million
households use similar products to Air Rahmat
Rahmat.
“By introducing this,” says Soetodjo Yuwono, Sec-
retary, Coordinating Ministry for People’s Welfare,
“we are offering a simple and sustainable solution
to the lack of access to safe water”. u
Tata Nano Photo © eddy thnu
motorcycles or drove older cars.”
Until recently only two cars were available to
Indians, both based on models that had not been
overhauled since the 1950s. The Tata Nano aims
to drastically change the manufacturing indus-
try in India but also to improve urban mobility
to all citizens through its affordability. u
IN-FOCUS
GOVERNMENT
Radical restructuring for Chinese Munici-
pal Government
Ceremonies were held in May in Tianjin, one
of the four province-level municipalities of
China, to inaugurate several new government
agencies. The ceremonies signify the structural
reform of the Municipal Government, which
aims to streamline policy making and execu-
tion. Previously, overlapping responsibilities of
different agencies and departments has caused
confusion.
TRANSPORT
Cycling and ecomobility promoted in
Asian cities
The Sustainable Urban Mobility in Asia
(SUMA) initiative, together with GTZ SUTP
and Interface for Cycling Expertise (I-Ce) have
launched a handbook on how to develop cycle-
friendly policies, facilities and transportation
systems. The book: Cycling-inclusive Policy De-
velopment: A Handbook, is aimed at engineers,
planners, community leaders and advocates
and contains crucial information regarding the
development of cycle-friendly policies. SUTP
members can download the handbook online.
GOVERNMENT
Indian local government accused of re-
sistance to new ideas
Chairman Sam Pitroda of India’s National
Knowledge Commission (NKC) – a body set up
by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2005 to
facilitate transformation into a knowledge soci-
ety – has stated that some levels of government
are resistant to new ideas, transparency and
accountability. Pitroda blames “rigid organi-
zational structures” and says that community
participation at a local level is needed in order
to create and implement effective programmes
for change.
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
UNEP approves environmental standards
set at Beijing Olympic Games
An environmental assessment completed by
the UN Environment Programme has found
that China adhered to, and in some areas,
actually exceeded sustainable development
goals for the Beijing Games. The evaluation
measured air quality, transport, energy, eco-
systems, water and waste and Olympic sites
and venues. UNEP were particularly pleased
to see that approximately 90 percent of the
city’s wastewater is now treated, and the
report concluded that: “a lasting environ-
mental legacy has been left in terms of new,
energy-efficient and eco-friendly buildings
and venues”.
u r b a n
July 2009 WORLD 51
IN-FOCUS Africa

u r b a n
52 WORLD July 2009
 Africa IN-FOCUS

Field report from South

Sudan
Communicating and maintaining the best urban practices is not easy even when conditions are
optimal. But trying to make change for the better in a remote and tense corner of Africa takes
a lot of hard thinking and careful, sensitive consideration. Here the Chilean architect, teacher
and illustrator, Eduardo Feuerhake, brings some wisdom from his native wind-swept Tierra del
Fuego to the Juba district, capital of South Sudan, via Mozambique.

Girls in Sudan have to walk long distances to fetch water Photo © shannon varis

u r b a n
July 2009 WORLD 53
IN-FOCUS Africa
I n November 2008, UN-HABITAT
called on Mr. Eduardo Feuerhake to
raise community awareness of local
needs and good governance practices and
produce material for immediate, everyday
use. His mission: to make it understandable
to everyone whether literate or illiterate, pol-
icy maker or school girl.
The best way to start, he felt, would be by
walking about to get a feel for the place and
taking some photographs.
“But after decades of civil war out here, I
quickly understood that pointing a camera at
someone is like aiming a gun at them. Peo-
ple do not like it and are nervous, so it always
takes a lot of careful consideration and getting
to know and understand people,” he says.
“You have to bear in mind all the time too
that for at least two generations people here
have had no schooling, so in creating aware-
ness of our work and what we are trying to
do to help the communities uplift themselves,
we have to get down to basics.”
The Chilean architect, who has also
worked on assignment for UN-HABITAT in
Mozambique for six years, was aware too that
the concepts he had to convey were perhaps
In the 10 southern states of Sudan, the United Nations Development Programme, working with the Government of South Sudan, is
engaged in what is called in UN parlance a Rapid Impact Emergency Project to build urban services such as abattoirs, market places,
public toilets, roads, drains and other sectors managed by the Ministry of Housing, Physical Planning and the Environment. The
project is financed through the Multi-donor Trust Fund for Southern Sudan and the public awareness component is managed by
UN-HABITAT.
A card games illustrating problems have solutions
u r b a n
54 WORLD July 2009
more complex than could be explained in
local radio broadcasts – the main means of
public communication in Juba and its sur-
roundings. The radio carries programmes
on peace building, schooling, HIV-AIDS, and
much news in a part of the world where fear
and paranoia still have a grip on the public
psyche. Many people still wonder whether
the war really is over, let alone whether an
election on creating a new country will ever
lead to that goal.
“I had to begin somewhere, and so I decid-
ed to start in schools where there is a wonder-
ful, interesting mix of pupils of all ages very
keen to learn even though there are practi-
cally no text books,” he says.
The more Feuerhake walked about the lo-
cal neighbourhoods, the more he saw and
understood the problems confronting peo-
ple in every walk of life: Outdoor defecation,
children unused to playing because of conflict
trauma, and many forced to work after class-
es, with the girls always expected to trudge a
long way to fetch water and help cook for the
family. Other problems such as muck in the
streets, the lack of drains, dangerous driv-
ing, poor building practices, poor hygiene,
insufficient water and sanitation, also pre-
vailed. And not to be forgotten – the large
numbers of disabled war victims without
special support or services.
“And so I had to start somewhere, to show
that where these problems exist, there are so-
lutions. And then to convey the fact that the
key here is the concept of maintenance in a
place where nothing had been maintained for
years,” Feuerhake says.
“I therefore decided on the card game us-
ing the drawings, some of them with photo-
graphic material incorporated. When people
play, no matter what age they are, they auto-
matically discuss the images, and that’s the
whole idea,” he added.
And from this work, the card game was de-
rived, with each set of two drawings showing
the problem and the solution. Using as little
text as possible they are tailored to convey
best practices in management of settlements
and basic services and even architectural in-
novation to people still learning to read.
The card game, with this booklet and the
posters published by UN-HABITAT are now
among the first materials freely available in
South Sudan schools. u
Photo © un-haBitat
Africa IN-FOCUS

u r b a n
July 2009 WORLD 55
IN-FOCUS Africa: News
HOUSING
Migrants fight for shelter
Migrants who had been living in a Methodist
church in Johannesburg have found more
permanent shelter. The relocation was
triggered when local merchants in the area
began legal action to evict the migrants,
claiming that the people sleeping rough were
causing unhygienic conditions. Initially the
accommodation will be for three months.
Skills training is also being given.
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
East African ministers back UN-HABITAT
initiative for Lake Victoria
The UN-HABITAT project to reverse
environmental deterioration of Lake Victoria
and improve living conditions in the lake
basin will be expanded thanks to backing
from East African ministers for water. UN-
HABITAT originally formulated the project
at the request of the Kenyan, Tanzanian and
Ugandan governments. Benefits felt from
the work so far include the rehabilitation
and expansion of dilapidated and inadequate
water supplies and sanitation infrastructure,
and improvements to drainage and solid
waste management systems. The project is
complimented by a comprehensive capacity
building programme.
HOUSING
Zimbabwe looks to foreign investors for
new housing
Zimbabwe’s government has outlined
housing as a priority issue within its new
Short Term Recovery Programme. National
Housing and Social Amenities Minister
Fidelis Mhashu says that Zimbabwe needs
USD 10 billion in investment in order to
make a full recovery from the deep political
crisis and historical inflation rate it has
suffered recently. Zimbabwe has invited
international investors to inject funding into
the housing sector, promising that investors
would be adequately covered and guaranteed
security of tenure.
HOUSING
Mauritania government forces move on
slum dwellers
Nine thousand slum-dwelling families from
the outskirts of the capital, Nouakchott in
Mauritania are being relocated to another
poor community known as Kosovo. The
national senator for Kosovo is against the
relocation because he says there are not
enough medical facilities, food or water for the
existing residents and the addition of 24,000
more people would aggravate an already
fragile situation. The National Agency of
Urban Development, the government agency
responsible for the move, argues that the need
for additional services has already been taken
into consideration.
u r b a n
56 WORLD July 2009
Sanitation
New portable toilet bag to help fight contamination
The Peepoo bag offers a solution to urban sanitation
Photo © PeePooPle
A new sanitary bag, designed for use as a portable
toilet, is due to be released in 2010. The bag aims
to reduce the presence of contaminated water in
urban areas where sanitation systems are lacking.
The Peepoo bag is a personal single-use toilet
that sanitizes human excreta thereby preventing
the faeces from contaminating water sources and
the surrounding environment. Lined with urea,
the bag breaks down the contents and renders
them harmless within two weeks, as compared to
two years if untreated.
Many people who live in fast growing urban
slums lack adequate sanitation. According to
Peepoople project manager, Camilla Wirseen, 25
Transport
Students unveil ‘new’ car for Africa
Eleven students from Makerere University in
Uganda have unveiled what they believe to be
the poor man’s car for Africa. The prototype
is not yet at the stages of development, and
looks more like something cobbled together
from the scrap heap, but the potential to pro-
vide rural and urban Africa with affordable
transport is within reach.
Whilst not pleasing on the eye, being made
up of sheet metal and wooden seats, the beau-
ty is in the ingenuity the students had in rein-
venting and improving old materials. The die-
sel engine was ripped from an old cotton mill
and tweaked to give fuel performance that
matches the newer and much more expensive
Indian car, the Tata Nano.
The car would especially benefit rural and
urban populations who need to ferry their
crops and goods into the centre of town to the
percent of the world’s urban population, or 560
million residents, lack adequate sanitation.
“To build toilets, not to say suitable toilets, in
dense informal settlements is difficult, almost im-
possible, among other things due to lack of space,
lack of secure tenure or floods,” says Wirseen.
“Often people have to resort to open defecation.
The Peepoo bag offers a choice and is individually
sustainable,” she says.
The Peepoo bag also has value as a fertilizer
due to the increase of urban agriculture. The
used bags can be sold to be utilized in semi-urban
farming such as horticulture gardens, tree nurs-
eries, small plot allotments or flower gardens.
The Peepoo bags have undergone testing in
Nairobi, Kenya with support from GTZ Germany
and Jean African Consultants. Camilla Wirseen
hopes to see the bag available from 2010 and says
its cost should be less than EUR 10 per person a
year.
“We are very concerned that Peepoople coop-
erate with the right partners and are currently in
negotiations with foundations first and foremost,
but also normal venture capitalists,” she adds.
“This project offers a sanitation solution adapted
to user need.”u
market. While the first car cost USD 4,500
to produce the students believe that its costs
would reduce significantly and are seeking
financial backing from the public and private
sector. u
A car for Africa Photo © dr . yasin naku ZiraBa
B

Housing
New report says Islamic charitable trusts could help
reduce poverty in Africa
A new report from the London School of Eco-
nomics in the UK – Financing Social Infra-
structure and Addressing Poverty through
Wakf Endowments: Experience from Kenya
and Tanzania – has examined the development
and activities of Islamic charitable trusts, or
Wakfs in East Africa and determined that given
new endowments to fund credit schemes and
training programmes, employment opportuni-
ties could be created and poverty reduced.
Wakfs have religious origins and historically
they have been responsible for funding many
social projects. Properties backed by Wakfs
provide affordable housing and premises for
business and community activities. A Wakf
functions to allow Muslims to place their assets
(usually property) into a trust for the benefit of
others. As a result social and religious facilities
can be built using funds and there is support for
the family and descendants of the asset holder.
The report says that in East Africa Wakfs
have contributed to public infrastructure and
social harmony. Libraries, universities, public
spaces and cemeteries, as well as schools, health
centres and hostels for homeless people have all
been constructed with funds from Wakfs.
Housing could be improved if charitable trusts are well utilized
Firm regulations governing Wakfs have result-
ed in their increased credibility in the public eye.
In Kenya for example, the Wakf Commissioners
of Kenya (WCK) look after Wakf properties and
issues. Thanks to this increased administration
the report summarizes that there is considerable
potential to raise more revenue from Wakf en-
dowments; but the necessary professional exper-
tise and political will is currently lacking.
The report’s author, Saad S Yahya, writes:
“The East African coast is rich in examples of
housing, schools, health centres and other ur-
ban facilities that have been financed through
endowments known as Wakfs, created by citi-
zens concerned with community well-being
and security of next of kin. From its early re-
ligious origins, the practice has developed into
a durable economic institution capable of en-
riching and expanding approaches for mobiliz-
ing resources for poverty reduction.”
Yahya argues that the value of Wakfs is not
being realized. Wakf properties could bring in
higher rental yields and vacant plots could be
developed, but the administrative bodies gov-
erning Wakfs lack the knowledge and expertise
to invest in the urban property sector. u
Photo © un-haBitat
Africa: News IN-FOCUS
ENERGY
World Bank funds USD 50 million electric-
ity project in Cote d’Ivoire
The World Bank is backing a USD 50 million
project to rehabilitate the electricity network in
Cote d’Ivoire in Africa. The Urgent Electricity
Rehabilitation Project consists of three compo-
nents and aims to improve the availability, re-
liability, efficiency and financial viability of the
region’s electrical power. The initial phase of
the project will repair and expand the distribu-
tion network; following this, preparations will
be made for future investments in the trans-
mission network, and thirdly, funding will be
made available for an institutional training
programme. There will also be a revolving
fund to pre-finance electricity hook-up charges
for low-income households.
HOUSING
Red Cross to help forgotten people of
Burundi
An informal settlement on the outskirts of the
capital, Bujumbura, has been home to 3,000
displaced people for as long as 15 years in
some cases. There are only two pit latrines and
no clean water supply. Site leaders say they
have received no assistance from the govern-
ment or aid agencies. A representative from
the UN Refugee Agency UNHCR, Bo Schack,
said that UNHCR did not previously know
about the site. Burundi’s Ministry for National
Solidarity said that they too had no knowledge
of the site, but are now distributing food. The
National Red Cross Society is also sending an
assessment team.
WATER
Tunisia launches support programme with
World Bank aid
The Tunisian government and the World
Bank have signed a loan for the equivalent of
USD 30.6 to support a plan for investments in
the Tunisian water sector. The country faces
increasing demands, but shrinking supplies,
and has therefore developed a water sector
support programme. The plan addresses inte-
grated water management and conservation;
economic efficiency of water use in agriculture;
and institutions restructuring and capacity
building in the water sector.
HOUSING
Malawi unveils new National Housing
Policy
Malawi’s capital Lilongwe played host to a
meeting of 65 housing experts in April.
The focus of the talks was to devise ways to
provide housing for the poor as part of a new
National Housing Policy. UN-HABITAT has
spent six months supporting specialists in
urban development while they conducted field
surveys and housing sector studies. Those
present at the talks included representatives
from national and local governments, utility
companies, NGOs, civil society, traditional
leaders, donor organizations, private sector
housing developers, financial institutions, pro-
fessional institutions and academia.
u r b a n
July 2009 WORLD 57
 u r b a n
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 u r b a n
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IN-FOCUS Middle East: News

UN-HABITAT
UN-HABITAT opens new office in Iran
Water
Mrs. Anna Tibaijuka, UN-HABITAT’s Low-cost technology reduces odour at UAE
Executive Director applauded the opening
of a new UN-HABITAT Disaster Mitigation wastewater plants
office in the Iranian capital Tehran in May.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony she
Ajman, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), percent or more, followed by the water regen-
congratulated the Ministry of Housing and
Urban Development for showing initiative in has successfully incorporated the first of a new erative carbon filter, which has been proven at
opening the office “at a time when disasters generation of odour control systems at one of the site to reduce odour below detectable limits.
are causing more and more destruction and its sewer and wastewater pumping stations. The one tonne of carbon media in the sec-
casualties all over the world”. Also present Ajman, with a population of 260,000, is the ond stage filter is designed to perform for up
at the opening ceremony were the Iranian smallest of the seven emirates making up the to six months, after which it can be regener-
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Manoucher
UAE in the Arabian Gulf. Recently a new sew- ated. The carbon will last for up to eight re-
Mottaki, and the Minister of Housing and
Urban Development, Mr. Mohammad er network and wastewater treatment works generation cycles giving four year’s perform-
Saieedi Kia. for the city was built and as part of the new ance. This compares with a traditional caustic
network, one of the pumping stations was lo- impregnated carbon filter, which would be
AWARDS
cated in a built up area, where odours needed spent after only six months and would need to
Winners of Dubai Awards unveiled
The Dubai International Awards for Best to be controlled. be completely replenished.
Practices took place in May and 12 winning The odour control system uses the novel Richard Hanson, Middle East Director for
cities received USD 30,000 in cash, a gilted combination of a catalytic iron-roughing filter ERG, adds: “Water regenerable carbon is an
wind tower and a certificate in recognition followed by a carbon-polishing filter using the ideal technology for the Middle East where re-
of their work towards building sustainable latest water regenerative carbon technology. duced running costs and minimal operator in-
development. The winners were from
Thanks to the regenerative carbon, the oper- volvement are so important in technology se-
Burundi, China, Colombia, the Democratic
Republic of Congo, Indonesia, Mexico, ating costs of the system are 75 percent lower lection. We expect it to become widely adopt-
Senegal, South Africa, Spain, and the United than an odour control system using conven- ed, especially as the climate is so completely
States for the Best Practices category, and tional impregnated carbon. suited to the regeneration cycle of warm water
two winners from Palestine and Pakistan ERG, a UK based company, recommended washing and drying. Already we are evaluat-
also received awards in the Best Practice
the design using catalytic iron in the first stage ing this technology for other pumping stations
Transfers category.
filter to reduce hydrogen sulphide levels by 50 in the region.” u
CONSTRUCTION
New report reveals lack of disabled
access to buildings in Lebanon
A report released by UN-HABITAT in May
has revealed a shocking lack of access for
the physically disabled to private and public
buildings and public spaces in southern
Lebanon. The report’s full findings were
presented at a seminar entitled “Towards
a Barrier Free Environment”, organized by
the Ministry of Interior and Municipalities,
UN-HABITAT, the Lebanese Physical
Handicapped Union and the unions of
municipalities of Tyre, Jabal Amel and Bint
Jabeil.

WATER
Innovative water plan launched in Jordan
Raed Abu Al Saud, Jordan’s minister for
water and irrigation, and the minister
for planning and infrastructure, Suhair
Al Ali, have sealed plans to launch a new
partnership initiative for Jordan’s water.
The stimulus came from the recent World
Economic Forum at the Dead Sea, and
has formed into a project which will bring
public, private and civil society stakeholders,
academics and development organizations
together to build innovative water projects,
learn how to make the most of resources and
attract private and public finance. The pumping station no longer emits odours Photo © erG

u r b a n
60 WORLD July 2009

Transport
Saudi Arabia aims to become high-speed rail
centre of Middle East
Railway lines for commuters and long distance
travellers are set to increase in the Middle East
with Saudi Arabia announcing an ambitious rail
programme and Dubai nearing completion of its
first metro line.
The USD 5.3 billion dollar north-south line,
from Riyadh to the Jordanian border, is one of
three separate developments intended to create
a railway network for Saudi Arabia, estimated to
cost USD 25 billion, that will increase its rail net-
work nearly fivefold.
A new railway will be built from Dammam and
Jeddah, linking east to west, from the Red Sea to
the Gulf, easing congestion on busy roads between
two of the largest urban areas in the Kingdom.
“We have the money from the second oil boom,
and clearly the intention of the government is to
invest in infrastructure,” says Rumaih Alrumaih,
the deputy chief executive for Saudi Railways Or-
ganisations. “Sandy deserts of this size and mag-
nitude have never been crossed by rail before. It’s
very challenging,” he adds.
Environment
Campaign launched to
save Jordan River
The Jordan River, famous for its religious im-
portance to Muslims, Christians and Jews, is
becoming more famous for its contamination
and dropping water levels, according to environ-
mental group Friends of the Earth Middle East
(FoEME).
Israel, Syria and Jordan are diverting over 90
percent of the Jordan River’s historical flow for
domestic and agricultural use. A five-year drought
and political tensions haven’t helped say FoEME.
In response to the degradation of the Lower Jor-
dan River, FoEME has recently launched a cam-
paign to identify the means by which water trans-
fers to the river can take place and help create the
political will to make them happen.
“The 300,000 residents of the Jordan Val-
ley are losing livelihood opportunities due to the
poor state of the river,” says Munqeth Mehyer,
FoEME’s Jordanian Director. “We call upon our
Middle East: News
Travel to Mecca is now easier Photo © G.m farooQ
Pilgrims could also be riding the rails faster, on
trains that travel up to 360km/h, to holy sites in
Mecca and Medina as early as next year, easing
busy and sometimes dangerous roads.
All this has brought the attention of European
and Canadian train manufacturers to a region
that had previously shunned public transport and
where urban dwellers saw the car as king.
These investments aim to make commuting a
more enjoyable option, with the Gulf Co-operation
Council aiming to join the national networks into a
regional network. u
The Jordan River is being depleted
Photo © samantha villaGran
governments to bring the Lower Jordan River
back into the lives of communities alongside its
banks through a cooperative regional rehabilita-
tion plan.”
The river originates in the mountains of eastern
Lebanon and passes through Syria. It flows south
into Israel’s Sea of Galilee and into the Jordan val-
ley, forming the border between Jordan and Is-
rael, including part of the Palestinian territories.
The campaign calls upon all governments to
meet their commitments to rehabilitate the Lower
Jordan River, as specified in Article II of the 1994
Peace Treaty between Israel and Jordan. u
IN-FOCUS
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
A new self-sufficient ecocity for Dubai
Earlier this year, the Dubai Chamber of
Commerce authorized the development of
a zone called Food City. A green landscape
and architecture company, GCLA, came up
with a master plan to develop the area into a
self-sustainable ecocity. The plan includes:
vertically stacked landscape surfaces, artificial
roof gardens, renewable energy systems,
aquatic farms and thermal conditioning.
The proposal includes several measures to
slash energy use by using concentrated solar
collectors and covering towers in thin-film
photovoltaic cells. GCLA claim that they want
to utilize nearly every urban sustainability
initiative from the past few years.
ENERGY
The Dow Chemical Company unveils new
solar technology
The Dow Chemical Company has revealed new
Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) technology
at the CSP, CPV, Thin Film Solar Summit in
Abu Dhabi. DOWTHERM™ A is a mixture
of Diphenyl oxide and Biphenyl that have the
high temperature stability which enables the
sun’s energy to be harnessed. The energy can
then be transported to a power generating
station that converts water into steam which
in turn drives turbines to make electricity. The
Dow Chemical Company is in the process of
supplying enough DOWTHERM™ A globally
to generate over 500 megawatts of electricity
from the sun.
PRIVATE SECTOR
Schindler opens branches in the Middle
East
Schindler has opened branches to sell, install
and service elevators and escalators in the
Emirates of Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Previously
Schindler operated in the two Emirates
through local firms, which sold, installed and
maintained Schindler products. The local
firms will continue to carry out all installations
sold prior to the opening of the new Schindler
branches, with support from Schindler,
who will now take over their own sales and
installations.
WATER
State-of-the-art desalination plant for
Kuwait City
The Kuwaiti Ministry of Electricity and Water
has awarded Doosan Heavy Industries &
Construction the contract to construct a
desalination plant that will provide drinking
water for 450,000 residents in Kuwait City.
The plant will process 136,000 m3/day (36
million US gallons per day (MGD)) and will
be Kuwait’s first seawater desalination plant
using RO technology. Doosan will design and
build the plant, which is to be constructed near
Shuwaikh port, as well as supply equipment
and materials. The project is scheduled for
completion in September 2010.
u r b a n
July 2009 WORLD 61
IN-FOCUS Central and Eastern Europe: News

URBAN PLANNING
New EU-funded project for sharing data
Best practices in urban planning and design
can now be easily shared across Europe,
thanks to Plan4All, an online forum launched
in May. The site exists within the framework of
the eContentplus program, and the makers say
that investors and decision makers will now
find it easier to find out about building laws
across the continent.
WATER
Global reserves under threat, says
Istanbul’s Mayor
Urbanization, population growth and climate
change are all placing water reserves under
threat, according to Kadir Topbas, ‚ Mayor of
Istanbul and Co-President of United Cities
and Local Governments (UCLG). Topbas‚ was
speaking at the World Water Forum held
in Istanbul during March. The consensus
reached at the Forum was that mayors and
local authorities have a key role to play in the
governance of water and action has to be taken
on a local level.
Transport
EBRD loan boosts Serbian rail industry
Serbia is set to receive new financing to im-
prove the quality of service and increase the
competitiveness of the Serbian rail sector.
New rolling stock will be purchased with a
EUR 100 million loan from the European
Bank of Reconstruction and Development
(EBRD), to replace the ageing passenger fleet
and improve service frequency and quality.
Together with the European Investment
Bank (EIB), the Reconstruction and Develop-
ment Bank will finance a programme of track
renewal that will include an upgrade of the
main rail track running from Croatia to Hun-
gary and its connection to Montenegro, and
the line connecting the Serbian capital Bel-
grade with the port of Bar in Montenegro.
The money will help improve the overall per-
formance of the passenger business, increas-
ing passenger numbers. At the same time, the
project hopes to contribute to the restructuring
of the Serbian rail sector, which will ultimately
deliver the wider benefits of enhanced competi-
tion and private sector participation.
“The EBRD is committed to helping Serbian
Railways improve the standards of transport
infrastructure,” says Thomas Maier, EBRD
business group director for infrastructure.
“Like the wider Serbian economy, the rail sec-
tor is experiencing the effects of the global
economic recession and the Bank sees it as
vital to provide long-term funding to Serbian
Railways to help weather the crisis. Continued
investments to boost the company’s operating
performance will aid the process of restructur-
ing of the rail sector in Serbia and promote the
overall economic growth of Serbia,” he says.
This latest loan builds on improvements al-
ready achieved. In 2001, electric locomotives
were refurbished and a railway-restructuring
programme was initiated. u

OLYMPICS
IOC to promote development through
sport
The Olympic movement has committed to
using its influence to promote peace and
development through its sporting events. The
International Olympic Committee met with
UN agencies at the International Forum on
Sport, Youth and Development on 8 May in
Switzerland. The IOC’s president, Mr Jacques
Rogge, emphasized the need for stronger
support from governments in order to build a
better urban future for impoverished cities.

DISASTER REDUCTION
Romania and Greece to invest more in
earthquake-proof buildings
The UN International Strategy for Disaster
Reduction (ISDR) says that buildings are the
main killers when earthquakes hit. A UNISDR
report released in May says that more than
100 million people worldwide are exposed to
earthquakes and Europe, Romania, Greece,
Italy and Turkey are the most at-risk areas.
ISDR Deputy Director, Helena Molin-Valdes
says that earthquake resistant features should
be applied to new buildings in quake zones, as
the cost of investing is minimal compared to
reconstruction and loss of life after a quake.
Serbia will benefit from railway funding Photo © alex anyan

u r b a n
62 WORLD July 2009

Infrastructure
Ukraine issued warning over soccer facilities
Both Poland and Ukraine were given stern warn-
ings that their cities vying to host finals of the
UEFA Euro Cup in 2012 still need to improve
stadiums, transport and hotel accommodation.
Most cities in Poland received ticks of ap-
proval, yet the Ukranian cities Donetsk, Lviv
and Kahrkiv have “important shortcomings” in
their infrastructure, according to UEFA.
A statement from UEFA reads: “The
comprehensive review showed important
shortcomings regarding infrastructure in all
Ukranian cities in question. Significant work
must be undertaken to meet minimum re-
quirements for an event of the size of a final
tournament of the UEFA European Football
Championship.”
The final match will only be held in Kiev if spe-
cific conditions with regard to the stadium, air-
port, regional transport and accommodation are
met by 30 November.
Sporting events are normally key drivers for
countries and cities to improve their infrastruc-
ture rapidly, through funding from the private
sector and, in this case, funding from the Euro-
Energy
Turkey to build largest ever wind farm
A new 135-megawatt wind farm is to be built
in the eastern Turkish region of Osmaniye. It
will be the largest wind farm under develop-
ment in Turkey and will aim to reduce elec-
tricity outages by using renewable energy
sources.
Turkey is intent on becoming an emerging
market destination for wind power invest-
ments. It is the sixth-largest electricity mar-
ket in Europe and one of the fastest growing
globally.
European Investment Bank (EIB) will pro-
vide EUR 30 million to finance the project,
which is part of a larger consortium.“The use
of wind power resources will improve energy
security and lower greenhouse gas emissions
for electricity generation,” says EIB vice-pres-
ident Matthias Kollatz-Ahnen. “The project
is therefore fully in line with the EU climate
change policy.”
Central and Eastern Europe: News
pean Union. The risks of failing and international
embarrassment are extra motivations.
Part of the rationale for UEFA awarding the
tournament to Poland and Ukraine was for those
reasons, and to reach out to Eastern Europe.
UEFA will closely monitor the progress of prepa-
rations in all of the cities and will make another
assessment in December 2009. u
The location of the UEFA Euro Cup is still to be
chosen Photo © steve Woods
The provision of electricity and the devel-
opment of Turkey’s renewable energy poten-
tial contribute to the growth of Turkey and
its urban areas. It will meet rapid demand
increase in Turkey using economically viable
and sustainable wind resources. u
Turkey is increasing its reliance on wind power
Photo © maria Gurka
IN-FOCUS
ENERGY
New Turkish wind farm backed by Siemens
Siemens are supplying 13 of their new SWT-
2.3-101 wind turbines to the Turkish EnerjiSA
Power Generating Company. The machines
are destined for a wind farm in north-western
Turkey and their installation is due to be
finalized in 2010. Selahattin Hakman, the
Group President of Sabanci Holding Energy,
says that renewable energy will represent 10
percents of EnerjiSA’s portfolio.
ENVIRONMENT
Bulgaria pledges to reduce methane
emissions
The international climate change initiative,
Methane to Markets (M2M) welcomed Bulgaria
as its 29th member in May. Methane is 20
times stronger than carbon dioxide at trapping
heat in the atmosphere, making it a powerful
greenhouse gas. Bulgaria’s contribution
to methane prevention will be to promote
landfill projects to capture methane emissions
for beneficial uses. The US Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) estimates the M2M
programme could prevent the equivalent of
180 million metric tons of carbon dioxide in
methane release. The M2M partnership is
formed by more than 900 public and private
sector organizations, as well as countries,
including the European Commission.
WATER
St Petersburg wins wastewater funding
from EBRD
St Petersburg in Russia will benefit from a new
project to reduce the discharge of untreated
sewage by 6 percent. At the moment 85 percent
of effluent discharged is biologically treated, but
the remainder is pumped raw into the Baltic
Sea. The project is financed by the European
Bank for Reconstruction and Development
(EBRD), the international community, the
Russian budget, the local government and
the city’s water utility. The goal is to treat 94
percent of sewage by 2012 and eventually
eliminate all untreated waste in order to protect
the Baltic Sea.
ENERGY
New gas pipeline to serve Eastern Europe
Nabucco Gas Pipeline International will begin
construction of an EU-supported gas pipeline
project in 2011, according to the company’s
managing director Reinhard Mitschek. Austria,
Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Turkey are
signing an intergovernmental agreement to
collaborate. The aim of the project is to decrease
the EU’s dependence on Russian gas.
u r b a n
July 2009 WORLD 63
URBAN WATCH People
“Young people are the forgotten majority”
A donor speaks out
U N-HABITAT is at the vanguard of
a movement to recognize youth,
their talents and their concerns,
as a global resource for a better world. We listen
to their voices at the Youth Forum held every
two years on the eve of the World Urban Forum.
At the most recent Forum in Nanjing China, in
November last year, the agency launched its
new Opportunities Fund for Urban Youth-led
Development. Here Louisa Gikonyo of UN-
HABITAT speaks to the man behind the idea,
Erik Berg, Senior Advisor at the Norwegian Mi-
nistry of Foreign Affairs, whose government is
making it happen through an annual grant of
USD 1 million.
Why youth?
We have seen it again and again. During the
last 50 years the youth and student movement
has stood up against in the Indo-China war and
made it stop, fought the apartheid system in
South Africa and promoted de-colonization and
national independence in Africa and Asia. Youth
still fight for human rights against unjust political
and economic systems all over the world. Youth
have been and will always be a lead change agent
globally, nationally and locally.
So what’s new?
We are in an unprecedented demographic
situation: young people under 25 comprise
half of the global population and 85 per-
cent of the world’s working age population.
The average age in the 10 least-developed
African countries is 16 years or younger. In
times of economic crisis, as we now face,
young people are the ones who bear the
brunt of rising unemployment. In interna-
tional development assistance the resource
focus has been on early childhood. Much
less attention has been given to the situa-
tion of young people. We have to redress
this situation and increase resources to all
vulnerable groups be they children, youth
or old people. The new Youth Fund is just
one tool to promote this inter-generational
dimension. In development, young people
are the forgotten majority when it comes to
receiving resources.
u r b a n
64 WORLD July 2009
Eric Berg Photo © un-h
haBitat
What youth organizations have you in
mind, and why do this?
Youth led non-governmental organizations are
those that are fully led, managed and coordi-
nated by young people. It means that staff and
members are all below a certain age and work
on a variety of issues from a youth perspective.
Youth led organizations are in a unique position
to develop and implement initiatives that ad-
dress matters from a youth perspective and offer
solutions that respond to the diverse realities of
young people. Currently, almost half the world’s
population is under 25, that’s three billion peo-
ple. To put it bluntly: We cannot neglect the po-
tential of three billion change agents? Can we?
What is the Fund’s purpose?
The prime purpose is as I see it is to promote and
develop models for youth-led development. No
fund will ever have sufficient resources to eradi-
cate today’s poverty among youth. The Fund
will therefore have to focus on identifying and
disseminating efficient and relevant models for
development. Interventions that focus on doing
something with the causes of poverty and in-
justice will be given particular priority through
small- and medium-sized grants that can make
a difference.
And the resources?
Development resources for youth led develop-
ment are scarce. One of the Fund’s main pur-
poses, particularly in its initial phase, will be to
leverage resources for youth led development
to scale up promising development initiatives.
New international development players such as
the Gates Foundation, Microsoft, and Kelloggs
are of particular interest. The international fi-
nance institutions such as the World Bank and
the regional development banks will also be
challenged to contribute as well as progressive
bilateral donors.
How do we get it going?
Youth organizations will define their needs in
accordance with the regulations of the Fund. A
Youth Advisory Board will be set up within UN-
HABITAT to assess all applications and advise
the Executive Director. She will weigh who gets
the support of the fund. u
Grant applications
Is your organization working on an in-
novative and sustainable project that
will improve your community and the
lives of those around you? Is your or-
ganization youth-led? If you answered
“yes” to these questions, your organiza-
tion could be eligible for a grant.
The Opportunities Fund for Urban
Youth-Led Development managed by
UN-HABITAT supports innovative
projects that promote employment,
good governance, adequate shelter and
secure tenure, with particular emphasis
on urban youth. Single, youth-led devel-
opment projects are eligible for grants
of up to USD 25,000.
The date for applications has passed,
but see www.unhabitat.org/opfund for
information.
UN-HABITAT thanks the Government of
Norway for its generous support in establish-
ing the Fund.

A new UN-HABITAT office for
eastern Congo
U
N-HABITAT opened an office
in the eastern Congolese bor-
der town of Goma in May as
part of a joint United Nations programme
to assist tens of thousands of people forced
to flee during years of conflict in the Lake
Kivu district. The office will work to help
resolve land disputes.
Working with the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and
the UN peacekeeping mission in Demo-
UN-HABITAT officials
brief UK legislators
T
wo senior UN-HABITAT officials,
Paul Taylor and Michael Mutter
made presentations on urbanization
and poverty to members of the British parlia-
mentary International Development Committee
this May.
At the end of the almost two-hour session,
the chairman of the House of Commons Select
Committee on International Development, Mr.
Malcolm Bruce, admitted their previous lack
of awareness of the importance of urban is-
Obama administration to
host World Habitat Day
T he Obama Administration will co-
host with UN-HABITAT the global
celebrations of World Habitat Day
in Washington, D.C. on 5 October 2009. Cabi-
net Secretary Shaun Donovan, who heads the
US Department for Housing and Urban Devel-
opment, said he welcomed the event as an op-
portunity to foster collaboration between the
two agencies.
A group of 15 policy institutes, NGOs, and
cratic Republic of Congo, the programme
is part of the UN Security and Stability
Strategy Plan, which this year will focus
on establishing mediation mechanisms to
address land disputes in North Kivu and
in Ituri with the aim of extending to South
Kivu as soon as possible.
Land problems are at the heart of much
of the violence in the two provinces of
North and South Kivu. Immediately after
conflict, access to land is the main obsta-
sues and the large scale urbanization of poverty
around the world. Mr. Bruce said that most of
the evidence previously presented to the Com-
mittee concerned rural poverty.
“We are concerned with the apparent anti-ur-
ban bias and will raise this with others who will
be giving evidence before us, including the Min-
ister for International Development,” he said.
The two UN-HABITAT officials noted the his-
torically important role of the Department for
International Development (DFID) in support-
foundations will join the Department for Hous-
ing and Urban Development and UN-HABITAT
in organizing a number of high-level events on
the occasion of WHD 2009.
An occasion celebrated on the first Monday in
October each year, World Habitat Day this year
will focus on the theme of improved urban plan-
ning so that our cities can manage and reduce
the impacts of climate disruption, the economic
crisis and urban poverty around the world. u
People URBAN WATCH
cle to the return of refugees and internally
displaced persons. The fact that the 1973
land law is not widespread, and the fact
that a large majority of land transactions
or disputes are settled through customary
law, has also exacerbated the tensions.
The immediate objective is to create the con-
ditions for an estimated 40,000 people to come
home by establishing housing, land and prop-
erty mediation mechanisms in North Kivu and
Ituri during a first phase, and subsequently in
South Kivu, Orientale and Katanga.
The long term objective is to help the
Ministry of Land Affairs develop a sus-
tainable policy and legislative framework
on land administration and urban spatial
development. u
ing UN-HABITAT. They also expressed the de-
sire for stronger engagement in the future given
the seriousness of the issues to be addressed and
the potential contribution by the United King-
dom’s strong resource base in universities and
civil society.
Key issues which the inquiry sought to ad-
dress included: how effectively developing coun-
try governments and donors, particularly the
DFID, are addressing the challenges presented
by urban poverty; and DFID’s contribution to
meeting Target 7 of the Millennium Develop-
ment Goals which seeks to improve the lives of
slum dwellers and the provision of basic services
and infrastructure in slums, including energy,
housing, transport, sanitation, water, health and
education. u
World Habitat Day will be in Washington DC
Photo © susan maxWell
W
u r b a n
July 2009 WORLD 65
URBAN WATCH People
UN-HABITAT reveals Business Award
winners
By Jake Julian
F ive companies have been awarded
the highest accolade at the first
ever UN-HABITAT Business
Awards which will be presented at July’s
Habitat Business Forum in Delhi. The win-
ners of the Best Practice Awards include:
Mexico’s CEMEX; WIPRO Ltd of India; Chi-
na Merchants Property Development from
China; and Kenyan companies Adopt a Light
and Safaricom (see boxes).
The awards recognize those companies
that have improved the urban environment
through responsible business practices.
The selection committee, comprised of an
international jury from countries including
China, USA, India, France, Kenya and Russia
Best Practice: Affordable Housing Solutions
Winner: CEMEX (Mexico)
CEMEX, the world’s largest construction
supplies company, which grossed over USD
21 billion in 2008, won the award for Af-
fordable Housing Solutions with their Pat-
rimonio Hoy and Productive Centres for
Self-employment (Community Blockers)
initiatives. The Patrimonio Hoy scheme,
which is marketed as “build your house and
get empowered”, gives low-income families
living in urban and semi-urban access to
loans, services, training and building mate-
rials in order to build their own homes. The
families receive weekly instalments of MXP
200 (USD 14,80) with MXP 165 (USD 13,00)
covering the cost of construction materials
while the remaining MXP 35 (USD 1,80)
covers services such as access to consultants,
fixed material prices for 70 weeks, one year
of material storage, home delivery of materi-
als and improvement of public schools’ in-
u r b a n
66 WORLD July 2009
assessed each submission according to four
primary criteria: impact, sustainability, inno-
vation and affordability.
The Adopt a Light and Safaricom innova-
tions stood out in particular for their effect on
reducing crime, a key element in UN Habi-
tat’s goal to promote sustainable city devel-
opment.
Executive Director of UN Habitat, Mrs.
Anna Tibaijuka says: “The incidence of
crime, robbery and gang violence, as well
as gender based domestic violence, un-
dermine both macro and micro economic
growth and the productivity of a country’s
development, as well as societal and indi-
vidual well-being.”u Lighting streets reduces crime
Photo © adoPt a liGht
G
Ght
frastructure. Under the Community Blockers
programme, people enrolled on the Patri-
monio Hoy scheme are taught how to make
the materials to build their houses. CEMEX
provides training, equipment and supplies
for the fabrication of the materials (cement,
aggregates and steel rods) People in these
communities not only learn new skills but
are given the opportunity to pay back the
Photo © cemex
loans by selling surplus materials through
CEMEX’s network. As a result of these initia-
tives, the living conditions of more than one
million people have improved. The selec-
tion committee said: “In the face of a major
housing crisis in Mexico, Patrimonio Hoy
presents an innovative scheme that allows
low-income families to build their homes
through micro-credit saving mechanisms,
coupled with access to affordable materials
and technical assistance.” It is now easier for low-income families to
build their own homes Photo © cemex

Best Practice: Sustainable
Water, Sanitation, Waste Management
and Urban Infrastructure
Winners: WIPRO Ltd. (India) and
Adopt A Light (Kenya)
WIPRO Ltd, an IT company based in Ban-
galore, won the award for its design and
construction of energy-efficient buildings.
By using local and regional building materi-
als it has lowered energy consumption with
an 18 to 30 percent saving in electricity use,
and an 18 to 20 percent saving in water con-
sumption.
Adopt a Light, a Nairobi based private-
public partnership with Nairobi City Coun-
cil, launched a scheme in 2005 to light the
streets and slums of the Kenyan capital. The
simple action of installing lighting reduces
the crime rate by up to 40 percent, accord-
Best Practice: Innovative
Information and Communications
Technology Solutions
Winner: Safaricom (Kenya)
With mugging, carjacking and armed robbery
rife in areas of Kenya, secure transit of money
is a serious challenge. Conventional means
of transferring funds are expensive and slow.
But Safaricom, seeing that the majority of the
population had a mobile phone, or at least
access to one, saw the opportunity to launch
M-PESA, an innovative mobile phone-based
transfer system. The service, with over 10 mil-
lion users, was primarily set up to help the
four million Kenyans who do not have access
to a bank account but with over 5000 agents
across the country, the programme now sup-
ports many businesses too. The model is sim-
People URBAN WATCH
Best
Practice:
Clean Urban
Energy
Solutions,
Mitigation and
ing to independent research conducted in
the UK. So far, the company has installed
Adaptation to
over 3,000 streetlights in the city, and 33
high-power, wide-coverage floodlights in
Climate Change
the slums where 60 percent of the Kenyan
work force live. The company funds instal- Winner:
lation by finding sponsors to adopt a light
by buying advertising space alongside China
the light. The revenue raised covers op-
erational and maintenance costs. The ini-
Merchants
tiative has additional benefits to reducing
crime in that not only are there fewer road
Property
accidents, but also business and domestic Development
activities can continue after dark.
Co (China)
China Merchants set out to build a com-
munity with low carbon emissions, clean
water and low waste output by using 65
percent less energy and efficient water
and wastewater treatment techniques.
The Selection Committee was impressed
with the Green Hills project and praised
it by saying that it had “made a consider-
able investment in exploring sustainable
development models and generating a
new approach to sustainable life styles
and urbanization for China”.
ple: mobile phone users visit an agent and
upon proving their identification are regis-
tered. They hand over money and the agent
transfers an equal e-value through the M-
PESA system onto the customer’s handset.
The customer then uses this e-value to send
money to another registered user. People can
use M-PESA to send, receive or withdraw
money, buy airtime, pay bills or save it in
their account. People who previously could
not easily transfer funds, are now able to send
and receive money, all from their phone. The
Selection Committee described the system as
“fast, secure, efficient and cost effective”. Renewable energy plays a big role in the
Green Hills project Photo © miGuel saavedra
u r b a n
July 2009 WORLD 67
URBAN WATCH People
Giant steel clock marks
countdown to Expo 2010
By Katja Makelainen and Maria-Jose Olavarria
T he one-year countdown to the
Expo 2010 started 1 May at a
special ceremony in Tiananmen
Square, Beijing, where a giant clock is now
ticking off the seconds, hours and days to
go to the great exhibition due to be held in
Shanghai.
The countdown gained fresh momentum
after United Nations agencies met for a week
in March to finalize plans on how they will
showcase their work at the glittering United
Nations Pavilion. Each agency in the UN sys-
tem will have a week next year to showcase its
work at a specially designated UN pavilion.
The Shanghai World Expo is being coordi-
nated by UN-HABITAT.
“With half of humanity now living in an ur-
ban environment, the world is at the dawn of
a new urban era,” says the Secretary-General,
Mr. Ban Ki-moon. “Expo 2010 in Shanghai,
under the theme Better City, Better Life, is
the first global exposition dedicated to the
u r b a n
68 WORLD July 2009
potential — and the problems — of urban liv-
ing in the 21st century.”
“The United Nations pavilion at Expo
2010, with the theme One Earth, One UN,
will showcase the wide-ranging efforts of the
UN system to help the world to achieve sus-
tainable urban development,” he continues.
“The exhibitions will display not only our
knowledge and best practices, but also our
unity of purpose advancing this crucially im-
portant agenda.”
The United Nations pavilion will be widely
broadcast to our large global network of part-
ners. Marketing of the pavilion will include
press releases, constant web updates, flyers,
regular newsletters, websites, Google Ads,
events programmes, placards at the Pavilion
and magazines – including a special UN edi-
tion available to Expo visitors.
All UN bodies are encouraged to share the
information on sponsorship packages with
their partners. Supporting the UN Pavilion
will enable all sponsors to show their com-
mitment to sustainable urbanization and to
the work of the United Nations around the
world.
UN-HABITAT also announced that Crystal
CG will sponsor the United Nations pavilion
at the Expo Online. Crystal CG is an experi-
enced multimedia provider. It was, for exam-
ple, responsible for creating the magnificent
virtual worlds and design for the Beijing
Olympics.
Crystal CG will partner with the United
Nations pavilion team to bring our pavil-
ion to virtual life and provide an unforget-
table experience to all those around the
world who cannot attend the Expo. The
United Nations team has also recently as-
signed an in-house contact for Expo Online.
E-mail: shanghaiexpo2010@unhabitat.org
to reach the team. See the UN-HABITAT
website at www.unhabitat.org for further
details. u
 New UN-HABITAT publications

UN-HABITAT’s new Annual Report was launched

in Nairobi at the 22nd session of the Governing
Council. For copies of these and other publications,
see our website www.unhabitat.org

The agency has updated the booklet that tells the

UN-HABITAT story and how the agency works. It
is now available in all six languages of the United
Nations.

UN-HABITAT
P.O.Box 30030, GPO
Nairobi 00100, Kenya
Tel. (254-20) 762 3120
Fax. (254-20) 762 3477

www.un-habitat.org FOR A BETTER URBAN FUTURE

URBAN WATCH Book review
Medinas 2030
By Thierry Naudin
T From Morocco to Syria, old walled
cities epitomize the exceptional her-
itage that characterizes the south-
ern and eastern shores of the Mediterranean
Sea. Over centuries, these medinas thrived off
many cross-currents of a cultural, religious, so-
cial and economic nature, as testified by their
remarkable urban and architectural features.
The paradox is that in the present global
age their prospects may be coming under
threat, warns a forthcoming book*.
With its 31 old walled cities, five of which
feature on the UNESCO World Heritage
list, Morocco provides an apt illustration of
the dilemmas and hard choices facing me-
dinas today – or so suggest French archi-
tectural and urban planning experts Lucien
Godin and Gérard Le Bihan in a contribu-
tion to the book.
Like the largest and best known among
them – in Marrakesh, Fez and Meknes –
many Moroccan medinas today find them-
selves in the throes of ‘riyadh fever’: tra-
ditional patioed residential buildings are
turned into second homes or upmarket ho-
tels by affluent foreigners, effectively driv-
ing out low-income populations and small
local businesses. This goes to show that,
as in many historic city centres across the
world, demographic and economic cross-
currents play a defining role in Morocco.
The medinas today are home to only an es-
timated 700,000 people, including 1,300 for-
eigners, compared with Morocco’s 17 million total
urban dwellers. At the same time, the fact that 70
percent of those urban dwellers live in cities that
have preserved their medinas highlights the im-
portant role they can still play in local economies.
In Moulay Idriss, a major pilgrimage centre,
the medina is host to as much as 40 percent of
the whole population, compared with only 1
percent in the business capital Casablanca on
the Atlantic shoreline. Between them, with 20
percent (including 400 foreigners), stands the
famous medina of Marrakesh.
Morocco’s old walled cities today are mainly
host to poor rural migrants in search of better
u r b a n
70 WORLD July 2009
opportunities. They gradually took over from
merchants and civil servants from the 1950s
to the 1970s. As these migrants have found
out, even dilapidated areas in medinas offer
better housing than slums on the periphery,
with the souks and small traditional business-
es providing all sorts of low-qualified jobs in
what often remain vibrant city centres.
In this sense, as stressed by the authors, “me
“ -
dinas provide a very important vector of eco-
nomic and social integration”” at local level. On
the other hand, their exceptional heritage value
is dragging them into a process of integration
into the global economy through the forces at
play in the tourism market.
In the medinas poor, illiterate households
cram into rented abandoned buildings in vari-
ous states of disrepair (50 percent are consid-
ered unhealthy); but property speculation is rife
as foreigners invest in spacious old mansions,
bringing alterations at odds with the local his-
toric style. At the other end of the housing spec-
trum lie buildings on the verge of ruin (about
10 percent of the total stock). In all cases, archi-
tectural and planning rules and regulations are
blithely disregarded, and as a result the herit-
age value of the medinas is eroding on the back
of creeping social disintegration.
No wonder then that, as noted by the authors,
the words “repulsive” and “kitsch” are both
used to characterize the current state of
Moroccan medinas. With their overall pop-
ulation due to shrink further by close to 50
percent by 2030 (on current trends), this
awkward contrast may be there to stay – if
nothing is done.
As the title suggests, the book envisages
a number of scenarios. One can only hope
that these will act as a wake-up call for pub-
lic authorities: so far, weak and poorly co-
ordinated initiatives have not matched the
discourse on cultural heritage preservation,
while the World Bank, UNESCO and often
fledgling local conservation societies can
only do so much.
As a result, in Morocco as in other coun-
tries, the available options for the future
of the medinas have basically remained
the same for the past 25 years, as noted by
Marcello Balbo in his introduction to the
book. In the meantime, however, the threat
of what the authors refer to as ““an unsched-
uled undoing” of the medinas has become
more distinct in Morocco.
Based on an analysis of the situation in
Azemmour and Meknes, Godin and Le Bihan
map out two basic scenarios for Moroccan me-
dinas. In the first, market forces are allowed
to take their course unfettered, opening up
two opposed alternatives. Should the ongoing
global credit crunch ease in a reasonably short
term, local owners would continue to sell their
medina properties to foreign investors. Current
low-income residents and their small businesses
would be driven away with nowhere else to go,
and rehabilitation would be left entirely with
private operators. The medinas would be turned
into gentrified enclaves for upmarket or mass
tourism; instead of social integration with the
 Book review
Traditional souks in the heart of the medina
all on the back of dominant global economic
trends. Kitsch or squat? In both cases the sur-
rounding metropolitan area stands to lose.
The second, preferred scenario would com-
bine the development of tourism and revitali-
zation of the medinas. In what the authors call
““a multiple-function medina””, social diversity
would be maintained through proper housing
rehabilitation. On top of architectural renova-
tion and reconditioning, the overall quality of
the heritage would be preserved, as well as the
Ancient buildings could be left for Moroccon
residents or developed into hotels socio-economic and religious roles of the medi-
Photo © salva BarBera nas. This, the authors add, would be “in recogni-
tion of a distinctive feature of Moroccan towns
surrounding conurbations, Morocco’s old walled and cities as the central locus for exchange and
cities would largely depend on tourist circuits specific functions.” Proper infrastructure in and
and the presence of vast hotel compounds and around the medinas would restore them as the
resorts in the vicinity. historic cores of many towns and cities.
Conversely, a prolonged global credit crisis Elaborating on this scenario, they warn that
would put an end to property speculation in it is dependent on four distinct conditions:
Morocco’s medinas. The tourism sector would lSpecific social housing and urban revival
grind to halt, newly-built accommodation would policies must be designed for the medinas.
remain idle and current plans for more would be This must include improved housing con-
abandoned. Thousands of existing or prospec- ditions and promotion of a greater social
tive low-qualified local jobs and other oppor- mix through appropriate housing supply
tunities would be wiped off. Rural migration to and improved amenities.
larger towns would resume, with migrants from lBetter integration of the medinas within the
harder-hit sub-Saharan countries adding to the larger urban areas that have developed
inflow. Dilapidated buildings in the medinas around them must be encouraged. In Mo-
would again become a shelter of choice for the rocco as in other countries, old walled cit-
poorest segment of the population. Mass squat- ies typically play a triple role in towns and
ting would discourage any efforts at rehabilita- cities: as residential areas, as traditional
tion and scarce government funds would be di- centres (particularly for trade and culture)
verted to other priorities, with insecurity driving and as touristic landmarks.
out any remaining foreigners. lTogether with legal and institutional frame-
Although the authors stop short of such works, financial resources must be aligned
coarse characterization, market forces – if left with medina revitalization policies. The
unfettered in Moroccan medinas – only seem funding of operational schemes can no
to pave the way for a game where the (foreign) longer rely on government subsidies and
rich, push the (local) poor out, or conversely, the year-to-year vagaries attached to
URBAN WATCH
Photo © serGi
G montaner
them. The sources of funding must be di-
versified, taking advantage of the potential
associated with existing policies (renova-
tion, public-private partnerships, etc.).
Regulations on unhealthy buildings and
those on the verge of ruin should be fully
enforced.
lLocal re-appropriation of the medinas,
some of which have become externalized.
This tough, inescapable challenge must be
met if these age-old urban fabrics are not
to turn into rich- or poor-only areas, and
instead play their own role in local urban
development.
For all their diversity, Morocco’s 31 medi-
nas, and the cities around them, would obvi-
ously stand to benefit from such a revitaliza-
tion programme. As Balbo notes, “a medina
can only contribute effectively to the devel-
opment of the city as a whole if rehabilita-
tion is seen as an opportunity to promote
social inclusion, itself a precondition for
sustainable spatial inclusion.” This is why
he insists that political will must come be-
fore proper policies if medinas are to survive.
In the present and foreseeable economic condi-
tions, this can be a challenge. Short of rising up
to it, though, the cross-currents at work in the
global economy today will undo the medinas
built over so many centuries. u
*
*Marcello Balbo (ed.) Medinas 2030, to be
published in French (L’Harmattan, Paris),
Arabic (Groupe Yamama, Tunis), and English.
The book is based on a seminar on the future of
Southern and Eastern Mediterranean medinas
held in 2008 at UN-HABITAT partner univer-
sity IUAV Venice (Italy) with support from the
European Investment Bank. Thierry Naudin is a
London based writer and editor.
u r b a n
July 2009 WORLD 71
 u r b a n
72 WORLD July 2009
 u r b a n
July 2009 WORLD 73
URBAN WATCH Calendar of events
Urban Research Symposium
28-30 June 2009
Marseille, France
http://www.urs2009.net/
Habitat Business Forum – Innovative
Cities: Showcasing and Debating Urban
Challenges and Solutions
7-9 July 2009
Vighan Bhawan, New Delhi, India
www.ficci-habitatbusinessforum.com
Multilayered Cities and Urban Systems
30 July – 9 August
Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India
http://www.multilayeredcities.com/
10th Asia Urbanization Conference
16-19 August 2009
University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
http://www.hku.hk/asia2009
15th International Sustainable Development
and Research Conference
5-8 July 2009
Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands
http://globalchallenge2009.geo.uu.nl/
World Water Week
16-22 August 2009
Stockholm, Sweden
http://www.worldwaterweek.org/
Global Mayors Forum
15-18 September 2009
Hong Kong and Shenzhen, China
http://www.g-mforum.org/English/default.aspx
u r b a n
74 WORLD July 2009
The symposium focuses on the theme of Cities and Climate Change: Responding to an
Urgent Agenda and aims to push forward the research agenda on climate change from
a city perspective. The event is structured around five broad research clusters which
represent the most relevant issues faced by cities and peri-urban areas on climate
change. Following the event further information will be available in two publications.
The first will contain the most relevant and cutting-edge research papers directed
towards academics and researchers. The second will be a handbook aimed at decision
makers of 40 short papers on the practical applications of dealing with climate change
in cities. There will be a side event on 1 July.
This is the first Habitat Business Forum focusing on cities that have demonstrated
planning and development innovation. The forum will provide a platform to debate
urban challenges and solutions. The private sector, as a key driver of innovation, will
showcase best practices and debate new solutions to housing, infrastructure, energy,
transport and ICT needs in cities.
The conference proposes to present research on and debate several themes including:
Urban Structures and Systems; Resources and Urban Requirements – Water, Energy,
Services, Other Infrastructure; Security and Conflict – for the economy, the people, the
environment; and Urban Infrastructure.
The conference will address the following themes: Urban population change including
migration; Urban systems; Quality of life; Sustainable development; City marketing
and economic development; Social justice; Urban governance; Transportation; Ap-
plications related to GIS; Comparative urbanization; and Environmental conditions in
Asian cities. The event is organized by the Asian Urban Research Association (AURA),
which is a non-profit and private research organization whose primary purpose is to
promote the study of urbanization and urban growth in Asian regions.
The conference follows the theme of Taking up the Global Challenge: Analysing the
implementation of innovations and governance for sustainable development. The focus
will be on the key factors explaining successes (and failures) in the practices of imple-
mentation of innovations and governance for sustainable development from all over the
globe. The event is organized by the International Sustainable Development Research
Society (ISDRS), which aims to foster and communicate the importance of sustain-
able development in a global society. The society is a coalition of academic researchers,
teachers, government, non-governmental organizations and industry.
Hosted and organiz ed by the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI), the World
Water Week in Stockholm has been the annual focal point for the planet’s water issues
since 1991. The forum provides a place for the exchange of views and experiences between
the scientific, business, policy and civic communities. It focuses on new thinking and
positive action toward water-related challenges and their impact on the world’s environ-
ment, health, economic and poverty reduction agendas. There will also be an award cer-
emony to celebrate projects already making a difference towards saving water.
The First Global Mayors Forum, themed: High Growth Cities: Meeting the Chal-
lenges for Sustainability. A total of 1,000 international guests are expected, includ-
ing outstanding mayors, city administrators, leaders from the United Nations and
international organizations, and experts on urban development. There will be a
number of activities, including a plenary session, parallel sessions, roundtable ses-
sions and exhibition fair.

Cities at the climate
change frontline
UN-HABITAT’s Executive Director and former US President Bill Clinton joined delegates from
cities around the world in May to press home the message that action on climate change has
to be implemented in cities.
Cities should lead the way in reducing emissions
T he third C40 Large Cities Climate
Summit drew together mayors and
executives from 40 cities and 17 af
note address, the former US leader, whose Clin-
af-
filiate municipalities across the globe. In his key-
ton Climate Initiative develops programmes to
help cities cut the emissions blamed for global
warming, warned of dire consequences if cities
did not enact policies to mitigate the problem.
Mr. Clinton said the good practices shared
among the C40 members would advance the
reduction of greenhouse gas emissions add-
ing that in the current economic crisis, it was
crucial to invest wisely.
According to Mr. Clinton, in the United
States, for every USD 1 billion invested in
building and construction, 870 jobs are cre-
ated. It was possible today for economies to
grow without emitting greenhouse gases, and
the world must act now to cut emissions be-
fore it is too late, he said.
Conference briefing
“We know that if we don’t reduce greenhouse
gases by somewhere in the range of 80 percent by
2050, bad things are going to happen,” Clinton
said in a keynote speech at the third C40 Large
Cities Climate Summit, held this year in Seoul.
“Global warming could lead to a drop in food
production and access to water, creating new
dangers to public health,” Mr. Clinton warned.
“It is absolutely certain if we let the worst hap-
pen, then the consequences will be so severe that
we won’t be able to save the planet for our grand-
children,” Clinton said. The former president,
who now runs the Clinton Climate Initiative,
joined mayors and leaders from 70 cities around
the world for the three-day conference to trade
advice and share experiences on ways they have
gone green.
In her speech Mrs. Tibaijuka said it was no co-
incidence that global climate change had become
a leading international development issue at the
same time as the world has become urbanized.
URBAN WATCH
Photo © soPhie
P
Phie montreal
“The way we plan, manage, operate and
consume energy in our cities is the key driver
behind the phenomenon of global warming.
Seventy-five percent of global energy consump-
tion occurs in cities. Roughly half of this comes
from burning fossil fuels for urban transport,”
she said.
“In fact, urban transportation is the planets
fastest-growing source of greenhouse gas emis-
sions. As most cities manage urban transport,
this is the single most important area where
wisely invested city budgets can make the big-
gest contribution in continued climate change
mitigation,” Mrs. Tibaijuka said.
She said that under the UN Framework Con-
vention on Climate Change, many UN agencies
had worked hard to reduce impacts of the cli-
mate change and raise the public awareness. “I
appreciate the participating mayors’ commit-
ment and kindly ask for their further coopera-
tion to join our activities,” she added. u
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 SPECIAL FOCUS International Society of City and Regional Planners (ISOCARP)

Low carbon cities

A message from ISOCARP about its 45th World Congress to
be held in Porto, Portugal between 18 -22 October 2009
Sponsored statement

Old Porto riverside Photo © University of Porto – facUlty of engineering

Message from the

Presidents
2009 will be an extremely important year in
terms of the political decisions that are needed to
combat climate change. The world’s governments
will be meeting in Copenhagen this December
to discuss and, we sincerely hope, agree upon a
successor to the Kyoto Protocol, which in 1997
started the faltering attempts to curb emissions
of greenhouse gases. The summit, COP 15, will be
the most important global climate change meet-
ing ever because there is so much at stake for the
future of our planet, its human populations and
all the other life forms that live on it. Pierre Laconte Paulo Pinho
President of ISOCARP President of the Local Organising
The science is now clear about the link between
Committee
man’s activities, the build up of greenhouse
gases and the warming of the climate system.
With their increasingly sophisticated model-
ling systems, climatologists are now able to
ferent parts of the world, for example, the devas- quacy of food and water supplies, as well as other
predict, with a reasonable degree of confi-
tating drought in south eastern Australia. key resources. At the same time, the deforestation
dence, the likely future effects of this warm-
We have reached this present position in just 10 that reduces the earth’s capacity to absorb carbon
ing within the different regions of the world.
human generations. The sober scientific evidence dioxide continues on a massive scale. The present
However, the effects are already becoming
suggests that we have a maximum of 10 years to trends are in the wrong direction.
clear, as is evident from the massive shrinkage
stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations at a level There is thus a huge weight of responsibil-
of polar sea ice, the rapid retreat of the world’s
that would avoid potentially catastrophic climate ity on the leaders who will be attending COP
glaciers, and the rising mean sea levels which
change. We face this threat at a time of continu- 15. To achieve the drastic cuts in greenhouse
threaten many of our largest cities. They are
ing population growth that is coupled, on the one gas emissions that are needed, we will have to
manifest too in the extreme weather patterns
hand, with rising material expectations but, on act on a range of fronts combining technologi-
and events that are being experienced in dif-
the other, with growing concerns about the ade- cal solutions with the pursuit of new and less

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 International Society of City and Regional Planners (ISOCARP)
resource intensive paths for human develop-
ment. We must move rapidly towards a low
carbon economy in which those emissions
are a fraction of what they are now.
An emphasis upon the cities
Over half of the world’s population now lives
within cities. Because they concentrate peo-
ple and activities, they place a particular bur-
den upon the world’s resources. Their future
is crucial in the search for sustainability and,
if we are to put the world on a lower carbon
path, action based upon the cities will form a
major part of the solution.
Spatial planning and effective city man-
agement will be crucial in bringing this
about. ISOCARP’s 45th World Congress to be
held in Porto, Portugal this October explores the
role of planning and of all those involved in the
planning and development process, in the drive
to achieve less resource intensive, low carbon
cities. As this special supplement describes, the
Congress provides a major opportunity to dis-
seminate and share experience about strategies
and practical approaches to the planning and
design of low carbon cities. This will be achieved
through a combination of keynote presentations,
technical seminars, workshops, technical tours
and other events, providing much scope for de-
bate and the reaching of conclusions regarding
best practice.
As a final note, we are delighted that
UN-HABITAT has agreed to play a major role
in our Congress.
We look forward to welcoming you to Porto
this autumn!
Five critical themes
Porto 09 builds upon the results of ISOCARP’s
Congress on urban sprawl held last year in Dal-
ian, China. In sustainability terms, the unre-
strained, land consuming patterns of much
urban growth – the manifestations of sprawl
– are the opposite of what we need to achieve.
Encouragingly, speakers at that Congress were
able to point to numerous examples of schemes
where planning has been able to shape cities
that are more respectful of the environment
in its widest sense. Through its five discussion
themes and its plenary sessions, the 45th Con-
gress continues the debate. It asks how in prac-
tical terms should low carbon cities be planned,
designed and delivered?
Theme 1: Tackling the effects of
climate change on our cities and
urban regions – today and tomorrow
According to the climatologists, there is a high
level of confidence that already dry areas – for
example the Mediterranean Basin, the western
USA, southern Africa and north eastern Brazil –
will suffer a further decrease in water resources
due to climate change. By contrast, areas in high
latitudes that are already wet will receive even
more rainfall. Worldwide, sea level rise threatens
the integrity of many coastal cities while extreme
weather events will increase in their intensity. On
the other hand, some regions might benefit in the
medium term, in terms of crop yields, for exam-
ple, before negative effects become more general.
The Congress seeks to address the realities
for cities and urban regions in different parts
of the world. What is the right way forward for
specific cities? Should they adapt to observed
and anticipated climate change, or should the
emphasis be on mitigation, to tackle the causes
of climate change, as part of the collective effort
to reduce the build up of greenhouse gases? The
view of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC) is that, globally, a mix of strate-
gies that includes both mitigation and adapta-
tion is required, but which ingredient should be
prioritized in any specific city, or are both equally
important?
There is also the challenge of how we can best
foster and plan for new technologies aimed at
saving energy or reducing resource depletion. In
particular, there are immense opportunities for
the development of renewable energy industries,
amongst which wind power is the most mature.
Renewables, energy efficiency and green indus-
tries generally have the potential to create many
millions of jobs worldwide and to transform city
economies. Will green industry be the sign of a
successful city in the 2020s?
Theme 2: The role of strategic land use
planning
The link to planning for low carbon cities is
through the concept of sustainable develop-
ment. However, while we can readily recog-
nize urban sprawl as the antithesis of sustain-
able development, it can be more difficult to
define city structures that work well in those
terms. So a key question for the Congress is
how at the strategic scale we should shape
our cities and urban regions as sustainable,
low carbon places and how we should formu-
late and implement our plans to that end.
In any one place, there may be a number of op-
tions. From a European perspective, the conven-
tional planning wisdom is that a reasonably high
density, a mix between housing and employment
uses, and a degree of self containment are among
the pre-requisites for low carbon areas. But how
universally valid is such a vision? Also, given that
sustainability has economic and social, as well as
environmental dimensions, how should we set the
priorities, or are there genuine ‘win win’ strategies
SPECIAL FOCUS
Integrated public transport in Zurich, Switzerland
Photo © chris gossoPP, isocarP
that provide clear routes to low carbon cities?
There is then the question of how necessary
growth should be channelled. Is land recycling
automatically the best option in terms of carbon
emissions or can planned urban extensions or
new settlements perform as well, given the right
designs? What does practical experience tell us?
And where the needed emphasis is on restructur-
Sponsored statement
ing or upgrading of older places, how can we best
achieve this in ways that also lead to improved en-
ergy efficiency and reduced carbon emissions?
state
Theme 3: Integrating transport,
community energy, and waste/
recycling strategies
Land use planning cannot on its own guar-
antee low carbon cities and high environ-
mental quality; a spatial planning approach
is vital, whereby land use considerations can
be integrated with infrastructural planning.
Thus, efficient public transport systems, and
measures to manage or restrain the unbri-
dled use of the private car, can play a major
role in limiting carbon emissions. Local en-
ergy planning, providing for energy efficient
building layouts and designs, efficient local
electricity and heat generating plant, and the
widespread use of renewable technology, has
also a substantial part to play. And effective
waste planning, through waste minimization,
recycling, and composting, as well as energy
recovery in appropriate cases, makes better
use of resources, and limits landfill disposal
and emissions.
The Congress will look at planning ap-
proaches for these sectors. Thus, on trans-
port, it will address demand management to
reduce the need to use the car, for example
through pricing and car parking policies,
while Porto’s award winning metro system
indicates what can be done to foster the use
of public transport. On energy, Porto 09 will
explore the concept of community energy
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July 2009 WORLD 77
 SPECIAL FOCUS International Society of City and Regional Planners (ISOCARP)

Solar housing in Freiburg, Germany
Photo © chris gossoPP, isocarP
strategies, as well as action to combat the
growing incidence of heat islands in dense
cities where the priority is to keep the city
cool. Porto’s own sustainable energy action
plan will provide an important case study.
Theme 4: Design for low carbon cities
Planning, by itself, has often been too ‘broad
brushed’ to cope with the necessary detail for
a quality living and working environment.
That is the domain of urban design. Good
Sponsored statement
the developers who will carry out the work, and
to the communities that will be directly affected.
Spatially, there will be two elements to this, the
new developments that will be planned and
designed following low carbon principles and
the remodelling of older areas. There is also the
question of skills, in what for many will be an en-
tirely new area of work.
So who should take the lead in this process,
central or local government or other agencies?
How should the low carbon city be financed and
who should be the financiers? What monitoring
schemes are needed to measure environmental
performance over the longer term? The switch
from present practices to low carbon cities is go-
ing to require considerable management skill,
and a great willingness to innovate. We believe
that participants in our Congress will gain many
useful ideas.
ISOCARP – knowledge
creation and sharing
ISOCARP is a global association of experienced
professional planners. It was founded in 1965 to
pects, stimulates research, and improves
awareness on major planning issues. Its main
event is its World Congress held annually in
a different city each year. Other activities in-
clude its Urban Planning Advisory Team and
Young Planning Professionals programmes.
The Porto Congress will include presenta-
tions on both of these (see below).
The Society’s publications include the
ISOCARP Review which is produced annually
in conjunction with the Congress. This attrac-
tive book features many of the most notable
case studies presented at that event. Other
publications include the International Man-
ual of Planning Practice (IMPP), a unique
compendium of, and commentary upon, the
world’s planning systems. The Society also
runs a number of awards; these include its
Awards of Excellence which are conferred
annually in recognition of exceptional urban
initiatives.
Advisory teams
The Urban Planning Advisory Team (UPAT)
Programme seeks to assist individual cities

design is the key to creating successful places bring together recognized and highly qualified and regions in the pursuit of specific plan-
that are sustainable in the broadest sense. planners. Today, the ISOCARP network con- ning projects and programmes.
There is a growing recognition of what con- sists of both institutional and individual mem- A UPAT gathers a select group of expert
stitutes good design and there are numerous bers drawn from more than 70 countries. It is a international planners, members of ISO-
examples from around the world of success- non-governmental organization recognized by CARP, in a multi-skilled, fast response team
ful places that both function well and are at- the United Nations (UNCHS) and the Council that works on a specific urban or regional
tractive in architectural and landscape terms. of Europe and it has formal consultative status planning issue. Within one week, the UPAT
But the new dimension is the need for those with UNESCO. generates a report that provides the commis-
places to be low carbon as well. The objectives of ISOCARP include the im- sioning local authority or other body with
The Porto Congress will address the ingre- provement of planning practice worldwide. recommendations that may serve as a basis,
dients of low carbon design. As a key ques- ISOCARP encourages exchange between or as guidelines, for design strategies for the
tion, what are the characteristics of an energy planners, promotes the profession in all as- target city or area. A group of students and/
efficient, resource conscious, building layout
and how can these best be secured within
both new developments, and within existing
ones, often the more difficult challenge? And,
underlying this, what standards of energy ef-
ficiency should we be aiming for?
Good, low carbon design also implies plac-
es that are well connected but where there
is a reduced dependence upon the car. Also,
open space and landscaping are vital as a
balance to intensive built development; they
are crucial to human health and well being,
to biodiversity and to moderating the urban
climate. There is another dimension too, in
terms of local food production; this can have
both economic and social benefits as well as
reducing ‘food miles’.

Theme 5: The management and

delivery of low carbon cities
The move towards low carbon cities will place
immense burdens upon those responsible, from
the public authorities and related agencies, to
Photo © isocarP-sitges ii

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78 WORLD July 2009
 International Society of City and Regional Planners (ISOCARP)
or young planning professionals from the lo-
cality complements the team.
The UPATs hosted so far are:
l 2004 La Rioja, Spain Regional, social
and economic development
l 2005 Sitges, Spain (I) Urban regenera-
tion along the railway corridor
l 2006 Cancun, Mexico Disaster man-
agement
l 2006 Schiphol, The Netherlands Mas-
terplan for neighbouring authorities
l 2006 Sitges, Spain (II) Historic centre
pedestrianization
l 2007 Rijswijk, The Netherlands New
functions for an urban hub
l 2007 Schwechat, Austria Airport area
masterplan
l 2007 Sitges, Spain (III) El Garraf re-
gional plan
l 2008 Cuenca, Spain Upgrading of the
historic centre
l 2008 Lincoln City, USA City masterplan
l 2008 Guadalajara, Mexico Appraisal of
the 2001 Panamerican Games Masterplan
l 2008 Zurich, Switzerland Regional plan
l 2009 Szczecin, Poland Metropolitan re-
gion development
There will be a presentation of the results of
the most recent UPATs at the Porto Congress.
ISOCARP would welcome further invitations
for UPATs from individual cities and regions.
Young planners
The Young Planning Professionals (YPP) Pro-
gramme is a crucial component of ISOCARP’s
dedication to promote and enhance the planning
profession. The objective is to provide emerging
professionals with an opportunity to work in a
multi-cultural setting and share their experi-
ences. Since 1991, ISOCARP has been organizing
YPP Workshops, bringing together young plan-
ners from all parts of the world. The workshops
are brief, but very intense, brainstorming plan-
ning and design exercises in which our young
colleagues work on real-life planning problems
in the host city in an area defined by the local au-
thority or university departments.
Over a concentrated period of three to four
days, the YPPs work in closely-knit interna-
tional teams, exchanging ideas and learning
from each other. The workshops, thus, pro-
vide a synergetic platform where new ideas
and creative solutions to complex and multi-
faceted urban issues are produced. The tangi-
ble results are then published in a Workshop
Report. The intangible ones, however, stay in
the hearts and minds of the participant YPPs,
who not only learn from each other but make
life-long friends.
YPP Workshop in Dalian, China
Photo © Jiang ling, china
The Douro YPP Workshop will take place just
before the Porto Congress. As befits the theme
of the Congress, it will focus upon the benefits
of using sustainable energy in the built up areas
of the Douro Region, the world’s oldest demar-
cated wine region, now listed as a World Herit-
age Site by UNESCO.
The YPPs will then present their main find-
ings to a special plenary session of the Porto
Congress. Just after the main Congress, there
will be a second presentation and public dis-
cussion back in the Douro Region. This will
involve Portuguese experts, technicians and
politicians.
Young Planning Professionals from all over
the world are invited to take part in future YPP
Workshops which are planned in conjunction
with the annual ISOCARP Congresses. For fur-
ther information please visit: www.isocarp.org
More about the Congress
The Congress will be held at the University of
Porto, which is well served by the city’s metro
system. The programme is a very rich one
which includes the following:
n Plenary speeches by:
l Professor Jean-Pascal van Ypersele, Vice
Chair of IPCC
l Richard Rosan, President of the Urban-
Land Institute
l Professor Eduardo de Oliveira Fernandes,
President of Porto’s Energy Agency
l Professor Jacqueline McGlade, Executive
Director of the European Environment
Agency
l Paul Taylor, Head of Urban Development,
UN-HABITAT
n Technical seminars covering:
l Energy, transport and the environment
l Low carbon cities – today and tomorrow
n Parallel workshops addressing the five
critical themes
n Technical tours, choices to include:
l The metro project
SPECIAL FOCUS
The Porto metro
Photo © University of Porto – facUlty of engineering
l Urban regeneration
l Environmental improvement of Porto’s
waterfront
l Contemporary architecture and cultural
events
n UPAT and YPP presentations
n Porto planning presentation
For more information about the Congress
and about ISOCARP’s many other activities,
visit www.isocarp.org u
Sponsored statement
How to register
ISOCARP welcomes city and regional
planners from all over the world. The
Congress is open to any interested indi-
vidual, party or organization, young plan-
ning professional, expert and interested
professional from other related disci-
plines (ISOCARP members and/or non-
members).
Carbon offsetting
We have calculated the anticipated emis-
sions from this event and are offsetting
these through Climate Care. The cost of
the offset is included in the registration
fee. Climate Care will fund projects in
energy efficiency and sustainable energy
around the world to reduce global carbon
emissions on our behalf.
Registrations are handled online at
www.2009.isocarp.org, via the link to
‘Registrations’.
Early bird registration is open until 31
July 2009.
Late registrations can be accepted until
arrival at Congress.
ISOCARP accepts all major credit cards
and/or bank transfers.
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