I2UD » Carolina

Regional Workshop on Local Social Accountability

Carolina — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 16:35:38 +0000

I2UD and Co-PLAN, together with the World Bank Institute, held a Regional Dissemination Workshop in Skopje, Macedonia on March 19-20, 2013, to present the results of the Social Sustainability Assessment. The Workshop connected officials and citizens from five pilot cities as they shared their findings and learned from each other about their common challenges.

Carried out jointly by I2UD and Co-PLAN on behalf of the World Bank, the objective of the Assessment was to gauge the level of accountability of local governments towards vulnerable groups. Through a participatory approach involving focus groups, interviews and scenario development workshops, city research teams gathered stakeholders to evaluate the main communication challenges between local authorities and citizens. Stakeholders also developed potential solutions which different actors could embrace and commit to that would improve communication between government and citizens, particularly the vulnerable. During the Regional Dissemination Workshop, the city teams presented the results of the assessment and their proposals. They then worked together to review their proposals based on the experiences and lessons learned from other cities. As the lead authors of the Assessment for the I2UD, John Driscoll and Carolina Morgan attended the Workshop, presenting the results of the Assessment as well as introducing the concepts of ICT and social accountability.

The theme of the workshop was the Social Accountability Framework developed by the study team. The three pillars of participation, transparency and feedback/monitoring anchored the challenges and solutions discussed. Three stakeholder groups – local authorities, citizens and intermediaries such as NGOs – were considered key actors in the development and implementation of the proposals, leading to a sense of ownership that was evident during the workshop. The city teams that participated in the Assessment process and the Regional Workshop comprised of representatives of the three stakeholder groups.

Workshop participants were especially enthusiastic about bringing Social Accountability into the discussion in their cities - something they said had not been done before except for isolated projects. They indicated the need to make social accountability initiatives part of the cities’ overall development strategy, and were inspired by other cities’ proposals and the best practices presented at the workshop.

The workshop materials are available for download below; photos for the workshop are available on I2UD’s Facebook page:

Opening Session

Strengthening Local Government Capacity in South-East Europe – The Austria World Bank Urban Partnership Sabine Palmreuther, Urban Development Practice, World Bank Institute
Sustainable Cities Initiative in Europe and Central Asia Sandra Schlossar, Social Development Department, Europe & Central Asia, World Bank
Social Sustainability Assessment Framework and Results John Driscoll, I2UD and Dritan Shutina, Co-PLAN

Best Practices Session

Introduction to ICT and Social Accountability Carolina Morgan, I2UD
e-Government in Moldova Irina Tisacova, Open Government Coordinator E-Government Center/CIO Office, Government of Moldova
e-Government in Pula, Croatia Lovorka Hajdić-Golja, LLB., Assistant Head of the Office of the City of Pula
System 48 in Indija, Serbia Mile Bodirozic
Sytem 48 in Strumica, Macedonia Exgenija Grammatikova

City Notes

Skopje City Note Sonja Damchevska, Mimoza Gugulovska, and Penka Nikolovoska, Coalition for Sustainable Development
Sarajevo City Note Elma Demir and Damir Mehmedbašić, US Alumni Association in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Prishtina City Note Florina Jerliu and Edon Myftari, Archis Intervention Prishtina
Durres City Note Aida Ciro, Ina Xhakoni, and Darina Kokona, Co-PLAN
Banja Luka City Note Nenad Galić and Nevena Predojevic, US Alumni Association in Bosnia and Herzegovina

The full list of participants and their contact information is available here.

The Social Sustainability Assessment was carried out by the Institute for International Urban Development (www.i2ud.org), Co-PLAN Institute for Habitat Development (www.co-plan.org), the Coalition for Sustainable Development (CSD), Archis Intervention Prishtina, and the US Alumni Association in Bosnia and Herzegovina This assessment is part of the World Bank’s Europe and Central Asia (ECA) Sustainable Cities Initiative financed by the Austria Partnership Program for Strengthening Local Governments in South-Eastern-Europe countries and managed by the ECA Social Development and ECA Urban Development departments and the World Bank Institute. For more information, please refer to the ECA Sustainable Cities Website: http://bit.ly/XWFMCG. The analysis, results, and views expressed in these documents are those of the authors alone and do not represent the position of the World Bank or any of its member countries.

Urban Planning Guide for City Leaders

Carolina — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 15:12:56 +0000

A recent UN-Habitat publication draws on the I2UD’s expertise in sustainable and pro-poor planning. The Urban Planning Guide for City Leaders aims to inform and inspire decision-makers in cities as they work to accommodate the nearly two billion new urban residents expected over the next 20 years. Pablo Vaggione was the lead author, and Dr. Mona Serageldin and Carolina Morgan contributed to the sections on urban governance and municipal finance. Elda Solloso, an I2UD research affiliate, also provided background papers. Download the Guide

ICLRD Successfully Completes 3-Year Program

Carolina — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 18:09:07 +0000

In a recent visit to Boston the An Taoiseach of Ireland, Enda Kenny, highlighted the work of the Institute in remarks at the Irish American Partnership Breakfast on February 2012. ‘Universities and research centers also have a key role to play in the peace process. A recent example is the work undertaken by the Institute for International Urban Development, based here in Cambridge, in developing new models of cross-border cooperation between local authorities in the Irish border region.’ This mention by the Taoiseach comes at the close of the first phase of a three-year program, the Cross-Border Spatial Planning Development and Training Network that is financed by the European Union through the Special EU Programmes Body. The Institute, as a founding member of ICLRD was involved in a suite of linked activities that support the long-term peace process including:

Executive Training for senior council officials, elected representatives and the private sector tailored help governments and the business community in shaping their local and regional development agendas.
Technical Assistance to reinforce strategic directions and follow-up on action plans developed through training and applied research. An example is the drafting the precedent-setting Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the cross-border local governments of Newry and Mourne District Council and the Louth Local Authorities. The MOU has been recognized by senior officials working on European cross-border cooperation as a model of good practice. We have continued this type of support to local governments involved in the NW Gateway Initiative and the spatial planning initiative in the Irish Central Border Region.
Applied research to tackle emerging topics on North/South cooperation such as shared services and the management of international river basins.
Evidence-based Planning and Mapping research with the All-Island Research Observatory is filling in information gaps in three key areas of cooperation: housing, the index of deprivation and access to services. The data and mapping tools are available online to practitioners, researchers, and policy-makers.
The Conferences and Technical Workshops provide a forum for policy-makers, practitioners and the academic community to engage on North/South and international practices.
The publication of Borderlands, The Journal of Spatial Planning in Ireland and briefing papers provides a platform for high quality articles by experts on emerging issues impacting local and regional development on the island of Ireland.

These activities are designed to be closely linked and reinforce each other highlighting a core value of ICLRD—its work is ‘cross-border, cross- disciplinary and cross-campus’. The Institute provides important linkages to international good practices in local and regional development. This year Senior Research Associates Linda Shi and Kendra Leith undertook research and developed case studies on shared services, highlighting good practices from New York State and the management of river basins that cross-jurisdictional boundaries drawing on the role of the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission to coordinate the activities of multiple local governments to improve the Connecticut River Basin. Senior Research Associate Daniel Tsai and Research Associate Carolina Morgan designed and developed the ICLRD web site and the resource sites for participants in the Executive Training Program. This is an important part of ICLRD’s mission, making resources available. Karen Keaveney of Queens University Belfast was a visiting senior research associate this year and took part in research in shared services drawing on Canadian good practices. Francois Vigier, President of the Institute continued in his active role as one of the ICLRD Directors. John Driscoll, Vice-President of the Institute continued in his role of managing ICLRD activities with his Irish colleagues from the National Institute of Spatial and Regional Analysis at Maynooth, University of Ulster and the Centre for Cross-Border Studies. John and Linda edited the Second edition of Borderlands, The Journal of Spatial Planning in Ireland, launched at the Seventh Annual ICLRD Conference in January. John’s role in developing the MOU between the cross-border local authorities was acknowledged by his colleagues in Ireland when he was presented with a signed copy of the MOU at the 2012 ICLRD Annual Conference.

I2UD at the UN Commission for Social Development

Carolina — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 18:08:59 +0000

Christa Lee-Chuvala attended the fiftieth session of the United Nations Commission for Social Development at UN Headquarters in New York from January 31 to February 3, 2012. Prior to the Commission’s official start on February 1, the NGO Committee on Social Development held a Civil Society Forum to enhance NGO participation in the Commission. The purpose of the Forum was to vote on a joint NGO declaration regarding the Commission’s 2012 Priority Theme, Poverty Eradication. I2UD is a voting member of the NGO Committee because of our consultative status with UN ECOSOC, and we were given the opportunity to comment on the Civil Society Declaration on Poverty Eradication as well as to vote on its adoption.

A key element of the Civil Society Declaration that was the focus of the Forum was the UN’s Social Protection Floor Initiative (SPFI). Developed in 2009 in the wake of the global financial crisis, the SPFI urges that all countries institute an adequate social protection floor to provide income security and allow for individual and family access to basic services. The NGO Committee on Social Development developed an online campaign to build support and awareness for the SPFI, which has so far gathered 15,000 signatures worldwide. You can visit the campaign website here. The combination of economic development and social protection for reducing poverty was also a primary focus during the Commission

Discussion of the Commission’s theme of Poverty Eradication centered largely on employment (the provision of decent jobs) and the specific problems plaguing young people in developed and developing countries. In a special session on youth poverty and unemployment, delegates emphasized the impacts of the global recession on youth unemployment in their countries and called for empowering young people through skills training and support for entrepreneurship. IIUD prepared and submitted an oral statement to be read at the Commission. Because of shifts in the agenda there was not sufficient time for our statement, but it can be accessed here.

Discovering Cuba

Carolina — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 18:08:47 +0000

By Roger Kallman

This year the Institute embarked on a new experiment, bringing together Members of the Board and Friends of the Institute, on a specially organized trip to Cuba which not only provided an exceptional programme, but which also served to raise additional funds to support the work of the Institute. Led by Frank Vigier, President of I2UD, and supported by Mary Shia, twelve intrepid individuals spent eight fascinating days in Havana, Trinidad and Cienfuego and in the countryside which links them.

The trip provided a unique opportunity to experience this country, at a pivotal moment in its history, as it moves through political and economic changes which will have a profound impact on the future of its cities. Guided by leading Cuban architect, academic and urbanist, Julio Cesar Peres Hernandez, we toured both historic and contemporary examples of significant town planning and architectural design which have shaped the physical appearance and the character of those cities.

We explored the historic quarters of all three places which have been recognized by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites, and we enjoyed the opportunity to speak with specialists involved in their restoration. But in Havana, uniquely, we were able to trace the evolution of a major city over five centuries as it was transformed from what was initially a colonial outpost to the political and commercial hub of the Caribbean. We walked the esplanade, the Malécon, and the parks and plazas which give the city form, and viewed and toured many of the buildings which serve to define those spaces. The architecture of these structures ranges in style from Creole and Classical to Art Nouveau and Art Deco, but occasional examples of Modernist design emerge in sometimes unexpected places.

Within Havana, the names of the squares often gave clues as to their functions: Plaza Vieja, Plaza de San Francisco, Plaza de Armas and Plaza de la Catedral. But few hints were given as to their character – their scale, proportion and orientation. These were only revealed on closer inspection, which rewarded our efforts. As the city expanded in a westerly direction, new elements of urban design were added to the fabric of the city: the Paseo de Marti or Prado, as grand as its namesake in Spain, and the Parque Central, beside the national parliament building. Further westward, the Cementarlo Cristobal Colon, the City of the Dead within the City of the Living is without comparison in any other western city, save perhaps for Buenos Aires. Outside and to the south of Havana we visited Parque Lenin, an enormous new open space and joint Soviet/Cuban effort, at the heart of which we found the delightful “Las Ruinas”, an exquisite mixture of contemporary design and the remnants of an 18^th c sugar mill.

Havana began its eastward expansion across the Canal de Entrada which separates it from La Habana Vieja, the historic heart of the city. We toured East Havana in order to examine examples of new residential districts – Soviet style housing estates which represent the bulk of residential projects created during the last fifty years. These were built after the 1959 Revolution, to accommodate the surge in population growth, brought about both by natural increase and unprecedented immigration from the provinces. While master planned and designed in line with similar projects elsewhere in the world, these housing estates were inevitably beset by problems related to social planning, finance, management and construction.

While East Havana stands in marked contrast to much of the rest of the city, this experiment with an alternative housing format is not without its merits. It has the potential to be renewed much like the housing stock in other areas, and this can be accomplished through a combination of structural changes and selective interventions. Whatever other benefits may be attributed to these housing projects, perhaps the most important is that they relieved established areas from the pressure of wide-scale urban renewal which could have cost Havana much of its character as well as its architectural heritage.

A range of social and cultural experiences rounded out our program in Cuba. Particularly memorable was an evening in Havana spent at the Gran Teatro where we attended a performance of the world-renowned, National Ballet of Cuba. No less impressive, however, was a choir performance in Cienfuegos, performed, perfectly, in an almost austere environment, in the otherwise ornate Palacio de Valle. Wonderful lunches and dinners featured in our program as well, affording us the opportunity to experience Cuban cuisine – both traditional and contemporary. Particularly memorable was dinner in a paladar in Centro Habana, the remarkable La Guarida. The restaurant is famous for the building in which it is situated – the setting for the notable Cuban film, “Fresa y Chocolate” – but it is also distinguished for the imaginative style of its progressive method of cooking.

Our visit to Cuba began and ended in the enigmatic city of Havana, but the knowledge we have acquired, and the impressions we have formed, reflect our experience gained throughout the country.

See photos.

Letter from the Field: Lesedi, South Africa

Carolina — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 13:44:47 +0000

Carolina Morgan, Research Associate

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I’m writing from Pretoria, South Africa, where I’ve spent the last week visiting small townships in Lesedi Municipality, about an hour and a half away. This trip begins I2UD’s third project with WorleyParsonsRSA, an engineering firm, to help improve South African townships (learn about our past work). Under the current project with Lesedi, we’re helping four townships draft urban design frameworks and identify projects in preparation for their application for the national Neighborhood Development Partnership Grant. This grant funds physical improvements that have social, economic and environmental benefits in ‘disadvantaged’ areas, meaning those that suffered under Apartheid.

We began our site visits in Ratanda, the largest of the four townships. After reviewing Ratanda’s maps and project documents, I had not expected to find such a lively community. It was cheering to see people decorating the façades and front yards of their government-provided houses, groups chatting outside convenience stores, and children walking back from school in their impeccable uniforms. While most people’s basic needs have been met, the township’s economic development has stalled due to the lack of an attractive township center (there are 3 main sections separated by vast tracts of land), too few access roads to nearby cities, and an absence of economic opportunities.

The townships of Kwazenzele and Impumelelo are visibly poorer. In Kwazenzele, many people live in slum-like conditions, and the government has only had funding to deliver one-third of the promised 240 houses. The township has one major road, one soccer field, and two large open spaces that are used only for dumping trash. Impumelelo is a larger township with maze-like roads and hard-to-find entrances and exits. Almost every house here is subletting to another family who sets up a shack in the back yard.

The fourth township we visited, Jameson Park, is strategically located between Heidelberg and Nidel, two of the most important cities in the region, and across from a large future industrial park. Given anticipated changes, Jameson Park hopes to leverage planned growth to meet its development needs and to ensure that its residents are not excluded from economic opportunities.

In talking with communities leaders and municipal officials, I’ve found that these communities lack good infrastructure, economic activity, and connectivity to other urban centers. Yet, despite the range of challenges in the different townships, and even within them, there are great opportunities in each to utilize the national grants. I am returning to Cambridge with over 1,500 photos, a long list of invaluable inputs from the communities themselves, support from the Municipality, and plenty of ideas that we will develop into urban design frameworks and project proposals within the next few months.

Responding to the Environmental Challenge? Spatial Planning, Cross-Border Cooperation and River Basin Management

Carolina — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 15:56:15 +0000

The International Centre for Local and Regional Development (ICLRD)(2011)

This report recognises that environmental assets do not adhere to man-made boundaries and considers the challenges and opportunities in integrating environmental management and development strategies at national, regional and local-policy level. Building on two international case studies, the report puts forward a number of strategic options for the effective implementation of river basin plans in Ireland on a cross-border basis. John Driscoll and Linda Shi contributed to this report.

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Developing a Strategic Alliance between Newry and Mourne District Council and the Louth Local Authorities

Carolina — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 16:16:32 +0000

The International Centre for Local and Regional Development (ICLRD) The report co-authored by John Driscoll considers a variety of legal instruments to facilitate cross-border cooperation between Newry and Mourne District Council and the County Louth local authorities, and which can assist other local authorities in developing joint initiatives. The Strategic Alliance was successfully concluded between Newry and Mourne District Council and the Louth Local Authorities in December 2010 and formally launched in Brussels at a special event in March, 2011. The accompanying Memorandum of Understanding is included as an appendix in this report.

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The Basel Metropolitan Area: Three Borders – One Metropolitan Area

Carolina — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 17:31:39 +0000

The International Centre for Local and Regional Development (ICLRD) 2010

This study, written by Francois Vigier, John Driscoll, and Kendra Leith, focuses on the Trinational Eurodistrict Basel (TEB), a region with strong cross-border functional linkages and a history of developing joint projects and co-ordination mechanisms. It is part of a series of reports on cross-border and inter-jurisdictional planning and governance.

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Regional Planning in the Boston Metropolitan Area

Carolina — Sun, 03 Oct 2010 17:39:37 +0000

The International Centre for Local and Regional Development (ICLRD), 2010

With its focus on the greater Boston Area, this case study written by Francois Vigier, John Driscoll, and Jameas Kostaras provides practitioners, policy makers and academics involved in cross-border and inter-jurisdictional cooperation with practical examples of how cooperation, in local and regional development, can be shaped by collaborative efforts. It is part of a series of reports on cross-border and inter-jurisdictional planning and governance.

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