Embedding climate change resilience in coastal city planning: Early lessons from Cartagena de Indias, Colombia

Posted on: 22 March 2013
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Cartagena is the first coastal city in South America to produce its ‘Guidelines for Adaptation to Climate Change’, which assess the city’s vulnerabilities and identify adaptation options that will support socioeconomic development. These guidelines lay the foundation for forthcoming municipal plans, including a full climate change adaptation plan and zoning policies. With the release of its adaptation guidelines, the Colombian coastal city of Cartagena has taken the first step towards managing sea level rise, extreme weather, flooding, health and disease resulting from a changing climate. This report’s vulnerability assessment is the most comprehensive of its kind yet developed in Colombia.

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Community Programme for Neighbourhood Improvement in Mexico City

Posted on: 21 March 2013
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In 2007, the Government of Mexico City put in motion the Community Programme for Neighbourhood Improvement (PCMB), the purpose of which was to carry out small-scale urban interventions throughout the city, through a highly participatory process that could reverse the process of deterioration of the urban infrastructure in many colonias, communities and neighbourhoods, and which could help to counteract processes of socio-spatial segregation. The 2012 International Study Visit organised in Mexico by the Building and Social Housing Foundation (BSHF), represented an opportunity for the PCMB to examine its design, implementation and its results, with a view to enriching its operations with inputs from experts from academia, government and international civil society. Based on the international experiences presented, efforts were made to establish the necessary areas of work to convert the PCMB into public policy for Mexico City, whilst identifying its strengths, weaknesses and challenges ahead. The international study visit also sought to explore the possibility of sharing and transferring the PCMB experience to other countries, where through a constant flow of information, along with in-person and virtual meetings, we will be able to develop and take forward this difficult task of improving our surroundings together with the people. A report presenting the outcomes of this study visit, the key features of the project and highlighting key learning points and reflections is available online along with additional relevant resources.

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The rise of the South: Human progress in a diverse world

Posted on: 18 March 2013
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The 2013 Human Development Report is the latest in the series of global Human Development Reports published by the UN Development Programme since 1990 as independent, empirically grounded analyses of major development issues. The report examines the long-term human development implications of the rise of new powers in the developing world and highlights Algeria, Brazil and Mexico as among the top 15 countries in reducing Human Development Index (HDI) shortfalls., trends and policies.

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Report on adaptation challenges in Pacific island countries

Posted on: 18 March 2013
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The Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) has released a report which aims to contextualise the Pacific’s adaptation challenges, highlighting adaptation efforts and ongoing challenges. It outlines current adaptation activities, national priorities, challenges and constraints, and successes and lessons learned.

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The State of China’s Cities 2012/2013

Posted on: 18 March 2013
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This is a collection of contributions from UNHabitat, China Science Centre of International Eurasian Academy of Sciences, China Association of Mayors and Chinese Society of Urban Planning. This publication captures new initiatives taken by the central and local governments of China to make the life of rural migrants equitable to those of urban residents in terms of security of employment, education, pension, medical care and housing; build 36 million flats for low income families in cities between 2011 to 2015; consolidate institutions for disaster reduction and prevention; expand poverty reduction programmes in rural China; and build and demonstrate low-carbon and ecological cities and communities.

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This is a village with no facilities beyond raw security

Posted on: 15 March 2013
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In his latest column, Dezeen editor-in-chief Marcus Fairs discusses why gated communities are “becoming the default setting in towns and cities around the world” and asks whether it matters who owns the land beneath our feet. The article and comments are available online.

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Sanctuary in the city? Urban displacement and vulnerability in the Gaza Strip

Posted on: 14 March 2013
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Since 2010 the Humanitarian Policy Group (HPG) at the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) has been carrying out a series of studies on urban displacement. This multi-year research project, supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, explores the phenomenon of displacement in the urban environment and the implications and challenges it poses for humanitarian action. Through field research in eight urban centres in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, the study aims to consider the reality of life for displaced populations in urban areas, investigate the policy and operational challenges that confront national and international stakeholders when responding to the needs of urban internally displaced people and refugees, and offer recommendations for strengthening support to these populations. The latest report looks at internal displacement over the past ten years in Gaza.

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Urban planning for city leaders

Posted on: 12 March 2013
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Urban {Planning for City Leaders is a UN-Habitat initiative to provide local leaders and decision makers with the tools to support urban planning good practice. It aims to inform leaders about the value that urban planning could bring to their cities and to facilitate a collaborative dialogue between leaders, policy makers and planners about urban development. This guide offers practical advice in this respect.

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Sustainable urban freight in Asian cities

Posted on: 11 March 2013
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This report provides an overview on the current situation with regard to urban freight in Asia and outlines possible measures to be taken.

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The competitiveness of global port cities: The case of Mersin, Turkey

Posted on: 11 March 2013
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This working paper offers an evaluation of the performance of the port of Mersin, an analysis of the impact of the port on its territory and an assessment of policies and governance in this field. It examines port performance over the last decades and identifies the principal factors that have contributed to it. The effect of the ports on economic and environmental questions is studied and quantified where possible. The value added of the port cluster of Mersin is calculated and its interlinkages with other economic sectors in Turkey delineated. The major policies governing the ports are assessed, along with policies governing transport and economic development, the environment and spatial planning. These include measures instituted by the port authorities, as well as by local, regional and national governments.

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