PHILIPPINES • PROJECT BRIEF

key partners

Achieving Sustainable Urban Development (ASUD)

PHILIPPINES
UN-Habitat Philippines’ proactive, integrated,
and strategic response to increasingly complex
urban issues

Urbanization Situation Challenges In Urban Percentage of Filipinos living

50 84
in cities and urban areas
Planning & Management
Increasingly rapid urbanization of the
Philippines poses a great challenge to the • CAPACITY GAPS of many cities % %
country in terms of achieving sustainable for better and inclusive urban
urban development through informed planning and design PRESENT BY 2050

75
planning and efficient implementation of • OUTDATEDNESS AND LACK
strategic policies and programmes.
This growth is expected to happen
OF HARMONY of urban 
development policies
% Percentage of the
country’s economic
output attributed
not only in the capital Metro Manila and legal frameworks— to urban areas, 2.3
but mainly in small and intermediate particularly on land times than that of rural areas

1.5 51
cities. Without a strategic approach management, public spaces,
to increasingly complex urban issues,
cities will fail to create economic
and private sector participation
• NON-OPTIMAL FINANCIAL
%
opportunities and protect themselves
from environmental risks. CAPACITIES of cities and
UN-Habitat’s Achieving Sustainable municipalities million percentage of
number of the 1.5 million
Urban Development (ASUD) programme • VULNERABILITY of cities to ISFs that are in
informal settler
seeks to address urban development climate change, resulting in families (ISFs) danger areas
issues affecting today’s cities. lack of resilience.

Our Response
ASUD addresses the gaps and deficiencies in current urban planning processes
capacities of cities in urban
and policies at the national and local levels to be able to effectively respond to
planning, municipal finance and
the complex demands of rapid population and economic growth. It supports cities
in developing strategic sustainable urban development plans and implementing local economic development,
demonstration projects, particularly planned city extensions (PCEs). PCEs, as opposed governance, and implementation
to fringe development, represents an alternative to unplanned urban expansion through technical input from
PHOTOS: UN-Habitat/ T. Stellmach, C. Rollo

characterized by sprawling, segregated, and poorly connected developments. specialists, city-to-city sharing
sessions, and the town-and-
Strategies: Urban Policy & Planned City Extensions gown approach to promote
• DEMONSTRATE innovative on the National Urban Development
cross-fertilization of ideas and
sustainable urban development and Housing Framework, and the experiences.
approaches in integrated PCEs in national guidelines for Local Shelter • INCREASE awareness on urban issues
the pilot cites of Iloilo, Silay, and Planning by local governments.
through knowledge management
Cagayan de Oro.
• DEVELOP partnerships and link cities strategies (group discussions, urban
• IMPROVE urban development to additional financial resources. information consultations, national
policies through extending support
• STRENGTHEN technical, conferences, international exchanges,
to local legislation and through
policy advocacy, review, and reform, especially institutional, and financial e-learning, and e-discussions).
5 Pilot Cities Three-Pillar Strategy and
Guiding Principles
Legislation
& Governance
Finance
& Economy
Planning
& Design
Iloilo
Silay
Cagayan
de Oro
Butuan
Zamboanga
What Challenges Do We Face
in the Philippines?
• The Urban Development and
Housing Act of 1992 needs to be
Project Duration: reviewed and updated.
• The existing National Urban
2013–2015 Development and Housing
Framework, which defines
primary strategies in developing
Partners: sustainable communities, has
Housing and Urban yet to incorporate parameters
Development on climate change, population
Coordinating Council and economic density, and the
(HUDCC) development of open spaces.
• Many urban planning
Housing and Land approaches tend to be short-
Use Regulatory Board sighted, reactive, and parochial. cityhood for more
(HLURB)
• Urban database and information
management is limited.
Department of the
Interior and Local
• Technical skills in spatial
Government (DILG)
planning among some planners
and developers are limited.
League of Cities of the • Building and infrastructure
codes need to be updated.
Philippines (LCP)
• Most cities have limited capacity
Agencia Española to generate local revenue.
de Cooperación
• Economic potential of many
Internacional para el
cities remains unmaximized.
Desarrollo (AECID) • Stronger private sector
participation in land
development is needed.
ADEQUATE PUBLIC MIXED SOCIAL STRUCTURE MIXED URBAN USES PROPER AND WELL
SPACE AND EFFICIENT Promote social integration, Avoid specialized land zoning, DESIGNED DENSITY
AND CONNECTED STREET diversity of social groups, allot sufficient space for mixed Trigger economies of scale and
NETWORK Support local economy, rental and ownership, different rent use, and promote holistic management ensure livability (at least 150 persons
connectivity, culture, creativity; and scales, cosmopolitan values, 20%–50% of the urban ecosystem. per hectare).
promote develop ability to absorb of residential space for low-income
future development. residents.
EFFICIENT MOBILITY SUSTAINABLE ENERGY
URBAN RESILIENCE PRACTICAL AND Emphasize walking distances Reduction of greenhouse
ENFORCEABLE NORMS AND and public transport, aim to gas emissions and promotion
Promote climate change
resilience as well as disaster RULES Human rights based, reduce vehicular dependency, improve of renewable energy sources and
preparedness and management. participatory, democratic, respectful. accessibility of services and goods. technologies.
Milestones 2012 2013 2014
October April April
Partnership
with ARCADIS
Shelter
Programme
Knowledge sharing
UN-Habitat Headquarters mission
Project launch and forum visits and technical assistance
One in every two on sustainable urban
May
Creation of the project steering
Philippine cities development committee and city technical
Scenario-based conceptual
that have enjoyed Strong collaboration and
working groups
planning workshop for the city
coordination with UN-Habitat extension sites of Cagayan de
ICONS: www.flaticon.com; PHOTOS: UN-Habitat/ T. Stellmach
July Oro, Iloilo, and Silay
Headquarters and Regional Office
than 10 years have for Asia and the Pacific
City level coaching and
mentoring (ongoing)
not realized their (ongoing) July
full local revenue UN-Habitat Headquarters
October Policy and
guidelines review
potential. mission visits and technical
of the Local
assistance
Shelter Planning
• Public spaces, heritage sites,
manual
and urban ecosystems are
grossly undervalued. November
UN-Habitat Headquarters mission Orientation on planned
• Existing built-up areas and August
visits and technical assistance city extensions
infrastructure are not yet Habitat III Country Report
adaptive to climate change preparation through local
UN-Habitat Headquarters mission
and disaster risk reduction visits and technical assistance and national consultation
and management. workshops and expert group
meetings
What Have We Accomplished?
• Initiated the review of the
National Urban Development
and Housing Framework
with the Housing Land Use
Regulatory Board
• Enhanced local shelter planning
(LSP) guidelines
• Supported the initial rollout
City
Level
• Completed climate change
vulnerability and adaptation
assessment in four cities:
Butuan, Cagayan de Oro, Iloilo,
and Silay
• Formulated city extension
conceptual plans for Cagayan
de Oro, Iloilo, and Silay; the
plans were presented to the city
mayors and local partners
• Enhanced the capacities
of city project technical
working groups
• Assessed the financial capacity
of three pilot cities: Cagayan de
Oro, Iloilo, and Silay
• Sustained technical mentoring and
UN-Habitat Philippines
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6819 Ayala Avenue, Makati City 1229, Philippines
Tel: (63-2) 901 - 04 - 32
http://unhabitat.org.ph
UN-Habitat Global Website
http://unhabitat.org
of the LSP formulation to
benefit at least 124 towns and
cities
• Completed the Habitat III
National
Country Report Level
• Reviewed urban-related
national policies and legislation
• Advocated the urban agenda
in Post-2015 discussions
coaching on urban planning,
urban economy, and municipal
• Extended the urban planning
finance and legal support
horizon to 30 years from
• Catalyzed ARCADIS’ support the current 5- to 10-year
in the development of spatial paradigm among city planners
layout for the city extension
• Advanced city extension
conceptual plans
plans as a possible
PHOTOS: UN-Habitat/ T. Stellmach, Y. Flores
• Influenced some private negotiating tool of local
developers into considering government units for national
the city extension plans in government and as a possible
their future property investment promotions tool
development projects for the private sector.
• Scaled up advocacies for mixed
land uses, especially among
land owners
• Inculcated ownership of ASUD
principles and standards in local leaders
UN-Habitat Regional Office
for Asia and the Pacific
ACROS Fukuoka Building, 8th Floor
1-1-1 Tenjin, Chuo-ku, Fukuoka 810-0001, Japan
Tel: (81-92) 724 - 7121 / 23
Fax: (81-92) 724 - 7124
habitat.fukuoka@unhabitat.org
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