Transcript People are moving into cities at a tremendous rate. 75% of Latin America is urbanized, 60% of the world.

People are moving into cities at a
tremendous rate. 75% of Latin America is
urbanized, 60% of the world. Mega-cites are
emerging all over, here are the largest:
1.Tokyo, Japan 26.4 million
2. Mexico City, Mexico 18.4 million
3. Bombay, India 18.1 million
4. Sao Paulo, Brazil 17.8 million
5. Shanghai, China 17.0 million
6. New York City, USA 16.6 million
7. Lagos, Nigeria 13.4 million
8. Los Angeles, USA 13.1 million
9. Calcutta, India 12.9 million
10. Buenos Aires, Argentina 12.6 million
And this doesn’t account for the daytime
population. With this population growth there
is the migration of the poor, mostly to the
peripheries. The automobile has conquered
the world, using up the oil preserves. New
forms of energy are required. China for
example proposes producing 5 to 10, 000,000
new cars each year. Roads take up space, and
with the housing good or bad, we lose
agricultural land. Traffic is slowed to a
standstill. Rapid transit is expensive. Services
have decreased. Water is both scarce and
polluted worldwide. We are losing the natural
environment, which gives us more than
oxygen.
We are in a crisis,
However, as I understand the Chinese word for
crisis, it includes to ideograms, danger and
opportunity. We do have an opportunity, but
we cannot remain “in the desert” for forty
years.
Here I would like to quote from my good friend,
Anwar Fazal from UNDP, and a Malaysian:
Nothing, however, will work effectively if we
don’t have in place a framework of good urban
governance. At UNDP, we have identified at
least nine fundamental principles or core
characteristic that we use as benchmarks for
good governance and these must also form the
anchors of a good water policy strategy.
9 Principles of Good Governance:
1.
Strategic Vision
Leaders and the public have a broad and long-term
perspective on good governance and human
development, along with a sense of what is needed
for it. There is also an understanding of the historical,
cultural and social complexities in which that
perspective is grounded.
2.
Rule of Law
Legal frameworks should be fair and enforced
impartially, particularly the laws on human rights.
3.
Transparency
Transparency is built on the free flow of information.
Processes, institutions and information are directly
accessible to those concerned with them, and enough
information is provided to monitor them.
4.
Responsiveness
Institutions and processes try to serve all
stakeholders.
5.
Consensus Orientation
Good governance mediates differing
interests to reach a broad consensus on
what is in the best interest of the group and
where possible, on policies and procedures.
6.
Equity
All men and women have opportunities to
improve or maintain their well-being.
7.
Effectiveness & Efficiency
Processes and institutions produce results
that meet needs while making the best use
of resources.
8.
Accountability
Decision-makers in government, the private sector
and civil society organizations are accountable to
the public, as well as to institutional stakeholders.
This accountability differs depending on the
organization and whether the decision is internal
or external to an organization.
9.
Participation
All men and women should have a voice in
decision-making, either directly or through
legitimate intermediate institutions that represent
their interests. Such broad participation is built on
freedom of association and speech, as well as
capacities to participate constructively.
Ladislau Dowbor* suggested that if Brazil gives up
the market model of economics, and returns to
Keynesian economics, one can create a program,
that can deal with may issues, at the same time.
In the USA under Roosevelt, there was created
the Works Progress Administration (WPA), the
Public Works Administration (PWA) and a Civilian
Conservation Corps (CCC). These organizations
recruited the poor, hungry, and unemployed, the
young and old. They produced almost all the
infrastructure of the United States, took them off
the streets, fed, educated people, and gave them
hope. He asks, “Can this be done in Brazil?” I
believe it can, all over the world. In means a
commitment to do so. It also offers a possibility of
business and government a chance to cooperate.
What Healthy Cities offers is a model of a process
and a paradigm that must be used worldwide. The
crisis we are facing is truly an opportunity fo make
great changes in our thinking and doing. We, who are
on the frontlines can be the leaders, with values of
equity, participation, the uniqueness of each
individual and culture, the processes of conflict
resolution, kindness and compassion, honesty and
integrity, the broad definition of health, the broad
definition of community*, the development of shared
vision from community values, the importance of an
improved quality of life for everyone, diverse citizen
participation and widespread community ownership,
based upon systems change, the development of
local assets and resources and the creation of
benchmarks and measures of progress and outcome.
SOME OF THE PROGRAMS
THAT ARE DEALING WITH
THESE ISSUES WORLD WIDE
UN HABITAT has take the leadership in
looking at best practices:
The Safer Cities Program was launched in 1996
at the request of African mayors who wanted to
address urban violence by developing a
prevention strategy at city level. The program
supports the implementation of the Habitat
Agenda, which acknowledges the responsibility
of local authorities in crime prevention.
Furthermore, the Program is in line with the
ECOSOC Resolution 1995/9 of 24 July 1995.
The main objectives of the program are to:
(1) Build capacities at city level to adequately
address urban insecurity; and thereby
(2) Contribute to the establishment of a culture
of prevention.
The BLP works closely with Habitat’s Global
Campaigns on Secure Tenure and Urban
Governance on the Inclusive Cities Network.
Together with Urban Indicators Programme, the
BLP forms the Global Urban Observatory (GUO),
UN-HABITAT’s facility for monitoring global
trends in sustainable urban development and
evaluating progress in the implementation of the
Habitat Agenda and Agenda 21. The policy
implications and lessons learned from Best
Practices are incorporated into Habitat’s State of
the World’s Cities report. *
There are programs in cities on Safe Cities,
one being that of UN Habitat:
The Safer Cities Program was launched in
1996 at the request of African mayors who
wanted to address urban violence by
developing a prevention strategy at city level.
The program supports the implementation of
the Habitat Agenda, which acknowledges the
responsibility of local authorities in crime
prevention. Furthermore, the Program is in
line with the ECOSOC Resolution 1995/9 of 24
July 1995.
The Safer Cities Approach
Violence does not happen spontaneously. It
grows out of an unequal and exclusive society,
and out of lack of institutional and social
control.
An inadequate urban environment and exclusion
encourage crime and violence. Moreover, the
criminal justice system, including police, courts
and prisons, is poorly adapted to the rapidly
changing urban environment, and is unable to
respond to the concerns and needs of urban
dwellers, particularly the poor. This situation
leads to distrust, intolerance and in some cases
violent reactions such as "mob justice" as a
collective form of defense against petty crime.
Another example of UN HABITAT is the
sustainable cities program*.
The Sustainable Cities Program (SCP) is a joint
UN-HABITAT/UNEP facility for building capacities
in urban environmental planning and
management. The program is founded on broadbased cross-sectoral and stakeholder
participatory approaches. It contributes to
promoting urban environmental governance
processes, as a basis for achieving sustainable
urban growth and development. Currently the SCP
operates in 20 main demonstration and 25
replicating cities around the world, including cities
in China, Chile, Egypt, Ghana, India, Kenya, Korea,
Malawi, Nigeria, the Philippines, Poland, Russia,
Senegal, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Tunisia and Zambia.
UNICEF has its program of Child Friendly Cities
What is a Child Friendly City? It is a city, or any
local system of governance, committed to fulfilling
children's rights. It is a city where the voices,
needs, priorities and rights of children are an
integral part of public policies, programs and
decisions. It is, as a result, a city that is fit for all.
The Child Friendly Cities Initiative (CFCI) was
launched in 1996 after Habitat II, the second UN
Conference on Human Settlements (Istanbul,
1996) and its resolution to make cities livable
places for all and, in UNICEF terms, for "children
first." The Istanbul Conference declared that the
well-being of children is the ultimate indicator of a
healthy habitat, a democratic society and good
governance.
The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child,
now ratified by 191 countries, challenges cities to
conceive of themselves-and the services,
amenities and quality of life they provide-in a new
way. While there may be illegal settlements, from a
child rights' perspective there are no illegal
children. All children in cities have the right to
access basic services and enjoy opportunities for
development, whether they live with their families
or alone, in informal settlements or on the streets.
CFCI advocates the adoption of governance
approaches and participatory urban management
that aim to ensure that the youngest citizens
realize their fundamental rights.
In practice the movement for Child Friendly Cities
has seen young citizens take part in municipal
decision-making and help planners design "the
city they want;" and child-sensitive quality
indicators have been developed to measure
progress against child-oriented goals.
With the growth of CFC activities, cities have
increasingly expressed the need to exchange
notes, share experiences and sort out common
problems together. Informal exchanges have
gradually developed into networks and regular
meetings. After Habitat II, CFCI partners gathered
in Accra, Ghana in 1997 and in Italy in four major
fora in 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2000.
And finally complete view of the UN is UNESCO.
UNESCO functions thanks to the synergy between
diverse community actors that together form an
international community.
These communities include governments,
National Commissions, Parliamentarians, NGOs
and Associations. Among them we also find the
media, schools, cultural and scientific institutions,
private sector partners and the United Nations
family of institutions.
Together, they give life to UNESCO's ideals and
values around the world, at local, national and
international levels.
Community Care Networks are partnerships
focused on achieving better accountability,
aligning resources with social needs and
improving the health of the population.
Report: Public-Private Partnerships to Improve
Health Care
The Collaboration Primer: Proven Strategies,
Considerations and Tools to Get You Started
Community Care Network Demonstration
Publications
Read Community Care Network Briefings:
Evaluating Partnerships (Winter 2002)
Community Building (Fall 2001)
Report: Sustaining Community Health: The
Experience of Health Care System Leaders
The Communities Movement
Many different community based groups and
movements with complementary perspectives
can loosely be referred to collectively as the
"Communities Movement. The Communities
Movement entails an effort to link the various
community-based movements while
maintaining the integrity of each in order to
further benefit communities by building on
what these movements have in common and
highlighting their unique and valuable
differences. There is an emphasis then, on
integration not merger, on collaboration and
synergy toward the common goal of
community transformation.
The Sustainable Communities Movement www.sustainable.org
The Sustainable Communities Movement
works to produce communities that are
more environmentally sound, economically
prosperous, and socially equitable. This
movement emphasizes the importance of
environmental protection and seeking
approaches to long term interrelated human
and natural sustainability.
The Smart Growth Movement www.smartgrowth.org
The Smart Growth Movement recognizes
connections between development and
quality of life. It leverages new growth to
improve the community. In general, smart
growth invests time, attention, and
resources in restoring community and
vitality to central cities and older suburbs.
As communities continue to grow, smart
growth provides a scaffold to ensure that
this growth is well-managed and beneficial
for all.
The Community Building Movement www.ncbn.org
The Community Building Movement works
to reduce poverty and create social and
economic opportunity through
comprehensive community building
strategies. In addition, this Movement works
to achieve social and economic equity for all
children and families. Community builders
work on physical and economic community
development, but also focus on promoting
strong social networks among community
residents.
The Livable Communities Movement www.livablecommunities.gov
The Livable Communities Movement assists
communities to grow in ways that ensure a high
quality of life and strong, sustainable economic
growth. There is an emphasis on the integrity
and compatibility of the "built environment" with
human and ecological well being.
The Safe Communities Movement - promotes a
community culture of safety and well being by
addressing occupational, community and
lifestyle issues. There is a particular emphasis
on both accident and violence prevention.