INTRODUCTION TO COUNCIL DYNAMICS
United Nations Human Settlements Programme (from now on will be referred as UN Habitat) was established when the continued severe conditions of human settlements became a matter of concern. Its’ mission was to invoke that the human settlement for most of the part determines the standard of life, the increase in employment opportunities, housing, health services, education etc. which are the requirements for the satisfaction of basic needs. It aims to stimulate socially and environmentally sustainable human settlements development worldwide.
The historical background of the UN HABITAT starts on 1 January 1975, when the UN General Assembly established the United Nations Habitat and Human Settlements Foundation (UNHHSF), the first official sub-body of the United Nations dedicated to urbanisation. UNHHSF was assisted by United Nations Environment Programme(UNEP), and it was told to help national programmes regarding human settlements within only four million US dollars budget. After the primary international UN conference held in 1976 in Vancouver that entirely tackled the issues of urbanisation; United Nations Commission on Human Settlements was created as an inter- governmental body of United Nations. In 1996, the United Nations held a second conference on cities – Habitat II – in Istanbul, Turkey to assess two decades of progress since Habitat I in Vancouver and to escalate its efforts and cooperation to boost living standards within the cities, towns and villages throughout the globe, particularly in developing countries, where the matters are grave, and in countries with economies in transition. As the majority of the rustic areas have been continually minimised and urbanisation method gained speed after 1990’s, UN-Habitat initiatives on bettering human settlements came up to voice. From 1997 to 2002, Habitat decided to concentrate on sustainable urban development and to form necessary changes in its structure. On 1 January 2002, Habitat’s mandate was strengthened and UN-Habitat, the United Nations Human Settlements Programme was formally created. UN-Habitat is also gained from other internationally agreed upon development goals, as well as those established in the United Nations Millennium Declaration. In support of UN’s 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, UN Habitat additionally sets forth new urbanisation agenda. It aims to implement new urbanisation via governance structures, social inclusion, spatial development and metropolitan prosperity.
UN-Habitat is presently active in over 70 countries across the world. It has a wide array of diverse projects, such as post-disaster reconstruction programmes in Haiti, addressing slum growth and housing issues within the Democratic Republic of Congo, and supporting the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States to develop land policy pointers.
UN-Habitat, the United Nations Human Settlements Programme, is mandated by the UN General Assembly to promote socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities. It is the prime focus for all urbanization and human settlement matters within the UN system. The main documents outlining UN-Habitat’s mandate are the Vancouver Declaration on Human Settlements (Habitat I), the Istanbul Declaration on Human Settlements (Habitat II and the Habitat Agenda), the Declaration on Cities and Other Human Settlements in the New Millennium, and Resolution 56/206. UN-Habitat’s current mandate is also shaped by the United Nations General Assembly resolution 3327 (XXIX), which, in 1975, established the United Nations Habitat and Human Settlements Foundation (UNHHSF).
FUNCTIONS AND POWERS
As an agency, UN-HABITAT’s powers are quite restricted. It can initiate projects and initiatives to help countries in shaping a stronger future for their citizens however it cannot force them to implement such programs. UN-HABITAT can solely provide framework and guidance but it is entirely up to governments and different development actors to draft policies and implement changes. Despite this, UN-HABITAT has played a vital role in developing several areas across the world through partnership programs and providing counsel to policy-makers and communities.
The term ‘sustainable’ has been used to describe a world in which both human and natural systems can continue to exist long into the future.
In simple words, sustainable development refers to economic development that is conducted without depletion of natural resources.
Sustainable urban development seeks to make cities and towns that improve the long-term well being of the planet’s human and ecological systems.
Sustainable urban development concentrates on making use of alternatives in order to reduce the usage of scarce resources.
The dwindling state of natural resources to feed cities, it is necessary for urban planning to be regenerative from the start.
The phases of Urban Strategic Planning Process include:
Urban Situation Analysis
Sustainable Urban Development Planning
Sustainable Action Planning
Implementation and Management of Projects
A wide vary of technical and management solutions towards this end are already accessible, but so far implementation has been deficient.
Enabling policy frameworks initiate the foundation of progressive social and economic development, achieving climate protection goals, and meeting ever-increasing global energy demand. The political atmosphere plays an essential role in sanctioning businesses to invest in future-just and sustainable technology.
Transforming urban infrastructure into regenerative systems consequently needs an integrated approach, coordinated action and policy dialogue.
Sustainable Urban Development is important for social sustainability, economic growth and sustainability and environment sustainability
By obtaining urban development right, cities can offer jobs and higher livelihoods, increase economic growth, improve social inclusion, promote the decoupling of living standards and economic growth from environmental resource use, protect local and regional ecosystems, reduce both urban and rural poverty and drastically reduce pollution.
The Sustainable Development Goal 11 –Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable and the New Urban Agenda will enable the world to focus on urgent urban challenges and future opportunities, such as empowering urban actors to solve practical problems, addressing the specific challenges of urban poverty and access to infrastructure, promoting integrated and innovative infrastructure design and service delivery, and ensuring resilience to climate change and disaster risk reduction.
Habitat III is the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development taken place in Quito, Ecuador, in October 2016. Habitat III will be the first UN global summit following the adoption of the Post-2015 Development Agenda.
Habitat III is meant to reinvigorate the global commitment to the implementation of sustainable human settlements and urbanization by focusing on the implementation of a New Urban Agenda.
The New Urban Agenda is expected to assist governments in addressing urbanization challenges through national and local development policy frameworks.
Access to improved housing through enabling conditions and slum upgrading, developed in a comprehensive and integrated manner, will contribute to reducing social inequalities and strengthen drive towards sustainable urbanization in several developing economies.
Launched in 2014, UN-HABITAT’s Urban Planning and Design LAB proposes and implements urban planning projects from neighborhood to city-wide scale worldwide. The LAB supports native, regional and national authorities to implement policies, plans and designs through participatory planning processes for more compact, better integrated and connected cities that foster equitable sustainable urban development and are resilient to climate change.
Many cities within the developing world struggle with managing the explosive growth of their populations and settled areas. The LAB was created as a response to the growing demand from native, regional and national governments for helping with sustainable urban planning. It translates
UN-HABITAT sustainable urban planning principles into practice by developing plans and designs that can be enforced regionally. It additionally enhances the implementation of those plans and designs by linking the legal, financial and designing instruments
Stand Alone Goal On Cities – Goal 11 “Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable”
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development gives a important role to urbanization and cities with the inclusion of a stand-alone goal for cities and human settlements. This comes as recognition that cities are a string that connects all different goals together; their density and economies of agglomeration link economy, energy, surroundings, science, technology and social and economic outputs.
These interactions are important to formulate integrated policies that enhance the transformative role of urbanization and contribute to attain sustainable development. UN-Habitat has been selected as the steward agency in 8 indicators and as a supporting agency in another 5 for Goal 11 indicators.
UN-Habitat is providing support to local and national governments to replicate the new global agenda in city and country development plans and policies, making the UN-Habitat’s policy expertise on sustainable urban development available to governments at all stages of implementation, observing and reporting.
By 2050, the world’s urban population is anticipated to nearly double, emphasising on urbanization one of the twenty-first century’s most transformative trends. Populations, economic activities, social and cultural interactions, as well as environmental and humanitarian impacts, are more and more targeted towards cities, and this poses a huge sustainability challenges in terms of housing, infrastructure, basic services, food security, health, education, good jobs, safety and natural resources, among others.
Even after many enhancements seen since the United Nations Conferences on Human Settlements in Vancouver, Canada, in 1976 and in Istanbul, Turkey, in 1996, and the adoption of the Millennium Development Goals in 2000. We are still far from adequately addressing these and other existing and rising challenges, and there is a need to take advantage of the opportunities conferred by urbanization as an engine of sustained and comprehensive economic growth, social and cultural development, and environmental protection, and of its potential contributions to the actions of transformative and sustainable development.
By readdressing the manner cities and human settlements are planned, designed, financed, developed, ruled and managed, the New Urban Agenda will facilitate an end to poverty and hunger in all its forms and dimensions; scale back inequalities; promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth; attain gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls so as to completely harness their vital contribution to sustainable development; improve human health and wellbeing; foster resilience; and shield the surroundings.
The New Urban Agenda reaffirms our international commitment to sustainable urban development as an important step for realizing sustainable development in an integrated and coordinated manner at worldwide, regional, national, subnational and native levels, with the participation of all relevant actors. The implementation of the New Urban Agenda is responsible for the implementation and localization of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in a systematic manner, and to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and targets, including Goal 11 of making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.
The New Urban Agenda adheres to the ideology that culture and cultural diversity are sources of enrichment for humankind and provide a substantial contribution to the sustainable development of cities, human settlements and citizens, empowering them to play a dynamic and distinctive role in development initiatives.
One of the objectives of NUA is to ensure sustainable and inclusive urban economies by leveraging the agglomeration advantages of well-planned urbanization as well as high productivity, competitiveness and innovation, by promoting full and productive employment and reasonable work for all, by guaranteeing the creation of decent jobs and equal access for all to economic and productive resources and opportunities and by preventing land speculation, promoting secure land tenure and managing urban shrinking, where acceptable and appropriate.
The NUA commits itself to readdress the way they approach plan, finance, develop, govern and manage cities and human settlements, recognizing sustainable urban and territorial development as crucial to the achievement of sustainable
development and prosperity for all. Moreover, they acknowledge the leading role of national Governments, as acceptable, within the definition and implementation of inclusive and effective urban policies and legislation for sustainable urban development, and also the equally necessary contributions of subnational and native governments, as well as civil society and other relevant stakeholders, in a very clear and responsible manner.
UN-HABITAT is supporting the buildout of a Sustainable Urban Development Network (SUD-Net), an innovative network of global partners working with actors and networks to promote a three-sided and interdisciplinary approach to sustainable urban development. The general aim is to function at the local level to strengthen the capacities of national governments, the ability of decision-makers of local authorities and by promoting the inclusion of the community within the decision-making process.
SUD-net is a response to UN-HABITAT’s international responsibility towards sustainable urban settlements. It is recognised that there is still a scarcity of adequate access, relevant forums for interaction and the necessary human, technical and monetary capacities for promoting sustainable urban development. Promoting sustainable urban development is thus a priority for many urban development partners mirrored in most urban policies.
As the framework and operational approach to promote sustainable urbanization, SUD-Net’s activities are embedded in key principles and characteristics:
Mobilizing and strengthening international, regional, national and local partnerships/networks;
Promoting native urban knowledge arenas (LUKAs), providing forums for knowledge sharing and interaction between native urban players;
Catalyzing the knowledge-policy-practice and sharing it widely;
Promoting in-house coherence through dynamic and interdisciplinary operational frameworks;
Promotion of pro poor strategies, approaches and models; and
Ensuring pro-poor urban initiatives and technological styles have as wide an impact as possible.
Urbanization is an important factor in determining the Post-2015 development agenda, because of this UN-HABITAT must focus on activities to ensure social and economic equality in cities. In 2007 more than half of the world’s population was living in towns and cities, making cities the main area of human settlement and urbanization a real concern in the development of SDGs. Cities are no longer simply a space where people settle – they are social, cultural, and political centers. They shape and influence a country’s political and environmental developments and are also fundamental in sustainable processes. Even though urbanized regions do have a promising future, cities are also confronted with numerous challenges. Climate change, inefficient energy use, fuel shortages, and a highly increasing population are all potential challenges for cities. To make the most out of cities and maximize their potential, seven steps need to be taken towards sustainable development in cities. The first step, future cities should be more connected, compact, and integrated. Thus, cities shall be no longer mono-functional but show economic and social diversity by having a mixed land use. Thereby, transport costs of companies and other institutions can be minimized; land use can be optimized, and social diversity is enhanced. A well-organized and managed public urban space will lead cities to improved economic performance and social interaction. People tend to deal with problems within cities using a sectoral approach, corresponding to a diversification of different urban areas within a city. However, problems need to be solved on a citywide basis to improve the solution and tackle the issues at their core. Emphasis lies on a well-planned infrastructure. Important features of sustainable cities are a common public space, optimized street connectivity, and a variety of houses within an area that allow social diversity due to different housing prices.
UN-Habitat support to the Kenya Municipal Programme is formulated under the broad framework of “Support to Sustainable Urban Development Sector in Kenya”. After discourse with a number of counties, the Kenya Municipal Programme and UN-Habitat designed a capacity development programme aimed at supporting the effective implementation of Kenya Municipal Programme Component 2. This capacity development programme contributes to the aim envisaged under Component 1. UN-Habitat support to Component 2 mainly involves capacity development in the counties, and includes training designed for county officers and Members of County Assemblies (MCAs), and providing technical advice to the on-going strategic urban development planning processes in the counties. The trainings are structured according to the Kenya Municipal Programme Clusters.
The training for county officers and Members of the County Assemblies is bind on the broader UN-Habitat Three-Pronged Approach illustrated by Figure 1.2. The Three-Pronged approach places prominence on linking space, processes and resources to encourage better urban centres. The underlying principle is to enhance a stronger correlation between urbanisation and urban development. Urbanisation can be a powerful tool for transformation, however, it needs to be well planned, managed and governed. The training was centered on UN-Habitat’s training programme for urban policy makers, based on the “Urban Planning for City Leaders” publication and Integrated Rapid Urban Planning Studio tool. The training targets both technical and political leaders owing to their specific, yet mutually reinforcing roles in county planning, governance and management; members of county assemblies are tasked with policy, legislative, oversight and representative roles, while technical officers are tasked with the actual delivery of services, management and execution of all county functions.
Requisite infrastructure is one of the main conditions for sustainable urbanisation. Land infrastructure is needed for integration, and integration is essential to provide market scale for industrialization and city growth. Despite the natural constraints of geography, Africa has grown, and must continue to grow at a rapid pace to improve its’ competitiveness. The fate of cities in Africa is critically dependent on sustainable urban development facilitated by infrastructure which will inturn integrate Africa’s cities.
The African Urban Agenda (AUA) program is a UN-Habitat initiative designed to raise the profile of sustainable urbanisation as an enabler for attaining structural transformation in Africa and the Agenda 2063. Its objectives include strengthening partnerships between state and non-state actors in order to promote the formulation of national urban policies by central governments, developing solutions tailored to the regions peculiar problems and achieving people -centred sustainable urban development in Africa. It complements the three pronged approach by putting sustainable urban development within the African context.
The AUA program has contributed to achieving sustainable urbanisation and human settlements in Africa. It has in its first phase, organised events, published reports and partnered with the Africa Union, UNECA, ACC and UCLGA. The next phase of the AUA phase II will be conceptualised to include key activities such as documenting past, present and future trends of urbanization in Africa; policy dialogues, advocating for curriculum review in Africa higher institutions to reflect the goals and target of Sustainable Development Goals with emphasis on Goal 11 and the outcomes of Habitat III (The New Urban Agenda) ; building new capacities and strengthening capacity of existing AUA partners on SDGs and the New Urban
Agenda, promote national urban policies, review and organise validation workshops for Africa’s position to Habitat III.