Background
During 1999/2000, seven cities in the Philippines prepared a City Development Strategy (CDS) with assistance from the World Bank/Japan, concurrent with UNDP/ UN-HABITAT support to three cities (under the now completed UN-HABITAT supported Local Environmental Planning and Management project). Together these cities now form the resource base for disseminating the lessons learned to 31 other cities in the Philippines, by supporting the League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP) in advocating for a change in urban management practices, and building the capacity of the League’s City Liaison Officers to deliver innovative management approaches, such as the preparation of Environmental Management and City Development Strategies. The objective of this project is to share UN-HABITAT’s technical knowledge, management tools and field level experiences with the League and the partner cities.
Results
2003 was a year of consolidation, documentation and policy learning for project completion in November, with the LCP-based technical team providing intensive input in support of 13 cities who wished to further target and refine the draft City Development Strategies presented late 2002. This included support in project planning and the conduct of feasibility studies for their priority projects and programmes, as well as a considerable expansion in overall capacity-building support to all partner cities through the Ataneo de Manila School of Government. All 41 City Development Strategies were up-loaded onto the very successful internet-based “knowledge management platform” resource centre, with summaries published internationally. Lessons learned were shared amongst all LCP members through national-level workshops, as well as institutionally at the Philippine Urban Forum (PUF), which acted as the Policy Action Group chaired by the Deputy Secretary of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council. The PUF continues to integrate lessons learned into policy guidelines, will review mechanisms to support further national replication during 2004, when management tools and a CDS Manual is expected to be finalised for publication.
Partners
League of Cities of the Philippines; 41 City Governments and city partners; Philippine Urban Forum members; Cities Alliance; World Bank
- UN-HABITAT and IPADE Joint Country Programme on Water and Sanitation
- Strengthening Philippine City Capacities to Address Climate Change Impacts
- Citizens Action for Local Leadership to Achieve MDGs
- Family-Based Actions for Children and Their Environments in the Slums
- Integrated Shelter Recovery Project in Albay
- Integrated Approaches to Poverty Reduction at Neighbourhood Level
- National Facility for Adaptation and Replication - Local Environmental Planning and Management
- OPERATIONALISING THE NATIONAL URBAN DEVELOPMENT AND HOUSING FRAMEWORK - THE PHILIPPINE URBAN FORUM (Completed)
- UPSCALING POVERTY-FOCUSED CITY DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES IN THE PHILIPPINES (Completed)
