Citylinks Inks

CityLinks CityLinks Global challenges, local solutions Global challenges, local solutions 2003–2008 2003–2008

The mission of ICMA is to create excellence in local governance by developing and fostering professional local government management worldwide.

ICMA 777 North Capitol Street, N.E. Suite 500 Washington, D.C. 20002-4201 Telephone: 202-289-4262 Fax: 202-962-3500 icma.org

08-248 ICMA: Leaders at the Core of Better Communities

ICMA (the International City/County Management Association) is the premier local government leadership and management organization. Its mission is to create excellence in local governance by developing and advancing the professional management of local government. ICMA has been doing this since 1914 by providing technical and management assistance, training, and information resources to its members and the local government community. In 1989, with its first USAID grant, ICMA began working worldwide. Since then it has successfully designed, implemented, and evaluated hundreds of international projects, establishing a solid reputation for its practical, hands-on approach to meeting global challenges.

To learn more about ICMA International, please visit http://icma.org/international or send an e-mail to [email protected].

ver its five-year lifespan (2003-2008), the ICMA CityLinks program has improved the capacity of cities worldwide to provide quality services Oto their residents and to sustain those improvements over time. ICMA is pleased to offer this report, which highlights the successful work done through CityLinks across the spectrum of local government activities— including solid waste and environmental management, road construction, local economic development, disaster preparedness, financial management, and citizen participation.

CityLinks built on the success of the Resource Cities program, which was created by ICMA and USAID in 1997. At that time, many countries were struggling with responsibilities that devolved to the local level with decentralization of functions and services that were once provided by national governments. These new responsibilities frequently came to local governments at a time when burgeoning populations were already stretching the resources that were available for service delivery in many cities.

CityLinks is committed to fostering democratic local governance—on the principle that transparent, effective governance and service delivery at the local level are the keys to successful self-government in any society. Using flexible models that suit local needs, the CityLinks program has helped empower local governments, nongovernmental organizations, the private sector, and citizens to arrive at solutions that can be implemented effectively, readily adapted to other locations, and sustained after CityLinks involvement has ended.

To do this, CityLinks establishes professional partnerships between local government entities in the United States and their counterparts in developing and transition countries.

Participants learn from one another through peer exchange and the transfer of skills and experience. Together, Resource Cities and CityLinks have established more than 75 of these partnership arrangements, and more than 450 dedicated U.S. city and county professionals have shared their experience and expertise with their counterparts in other countries. Many of the relationships continue beyond the duration of the program.

CityLinks can point to many achievements. Among them: n Three cities in Thailand increased citizen participation in decisions about redevelopment plans, fees for services, and other policies that affect their lives. n A consortium of cities in Bulgaria, together with the Bulgarian Foundation for Local Government Reform, established a local economic development certification program, launched a Web site to market local assets to investors, and institutionalized training for economic development

CityLinks 2003–2008 [ i ] http://www.icma.org/citylinks (Foreword continued)

professionals. Their efforts resulted in the creation of 2,500 new jobs and the investment of 140 million Euros in new and expanding businesses. n Two tsunami-ravaged cities in India designed and built community playgrounds, educated citizens about public services, and increased access to reliable, safe drinking water for their residents. n Three municipalities in South Africa created plans for local economic development and took steps toward growing their economies. n In Jordan, CityLinks partners designed and implemented centralized medical waste collection and disposal practices that helped safeguard the health of the community. n CityLinks partners provided technical assistance and training that helped the municipality of Kabul, Afghanistan, establish systems for solid waste management and infrastructure repair and maintenance, including its first public-private partnerships. Based on the program’s success, CityLinks was awarded a contract to replicate the program in seven provincial capitals.

ICMA thanks the many organizations and individuals who have contributed to the success of the CityLinks program. We are grateful to the USAID missions worldwide and to USAID/Washington for their support of CityLinks, to the city and county professionals who shared their knowledge and experience, and to the organizations in the United States and other countries who partnered with us to foster local development around the world.

David Grossman Director of International Programs

CityLinks 2003–2008 [ ii ] http://www.icma.org/citylinks Geographic Table of Contents

Africa India Cuddalore and Nagapattinam, Ethiopia India—Port Orange, Palm Bay, and CityLinks Program in Ethiopia...... 1 Oldsmar, Florida...... 26 Local Economic Development • Public Disaster Preparedness, Management, Service Delivery • Municipal Finance Mitigation, and Emergency Response • Coastal Restoration and Park Develop- ment • Financial Management • Jordan Improved Citizen Access to Services • Jordan University of Science & Model Street Development Technology—Jordanian Ministry of Health—East Carolina University, Thailand North Carolina...... 5. Medical Waste Management Chiang Mai, Khon Kaen, and Phuket, Thailand—Portland, Oregon...... 31 Redevelopment Projects • Environmen- Mali tal Management • Financial Manage- Bamako, Mali—Athens—Clarke ment • Citizen Participation County, Georgia...... 7. Solid Waste Management Europe and Eurasia South Africa Albania South African Cities Network Tirana, Albania—Catawba County, (SACN)—Virginia Beach, Virginia . . . . 10 North Carolina...... 35 Local Economic Development Municipal Assets Management • Busi- ness Licensing and Permitting • Solid Waste Management Asia Afghanistan Bulgaria Strengthening the Capacity of the Bulgaria CityLinks Program...... 41 Kabul Municipality...... 15. Local Economic Development • Infra- Infrastructure Management • Solid structure Management • Waste Waste Management Management Afghanistan Municipal Russia Strengthening Program...... 22 Solid Waste Management • Road Alaska—Russian Far East Construction and Rehabilitation • Water Partnership Program...... 46 Management • Electricity Supply • Job Local Economic Development Creation

CityLinks 2003–2008 [ iii ] http://www.icma.org/citylinks Sector Table of Contents

Economic Development Afghanistan Municipal Cuddalore and Nagapattinam, Strengthening Program...... 22 India—Port Orange, Palm Bay, and CityLinks Program in Ethiopia...... 1 Solid Waste Management • Road Oldsmar, Florida...... 26 Local Economic Development • Public Construction and Rehabilitation • Water Disaster Preparedness, Management, Service Delivery • Municipal Finance Management • Electricity Supply • Job Mitigation, and Emergency Response • Creation Coastal Restoration and Park Develop- South African Cities Network ment • Financial Management • (SACN)—Virginia Beach, Virginia . . . . 10 Cuddalore and Nagapattinam, Improved Citizen Access to Services • India—Port Orange, Palm Bay, and Local Economic Development Model Street Development Oldsmar, Florida...... 26 Afghanistan Municipal Disaster Preparedness, Management, Chiang Mai, Khon Kaen, and Phuket, Strengthening Program...... 22 Mitigation, and Emergency Response • Thailand—Portland, Oregon...... 31 Solid Waste Management • Road Coastal Restoration and Park Develop- Redevelopment Projects • Environmen- Construction and Rehabilitation • Water ment • Financial Management • tal Management • Financial Manage- Management • Electricity Supply • Job Improved Citizen Access to Services • ment • Citizen Participation Creation Model Street Development Tirana, Albania—Catawba County, Chiang Mai, Khon Kaen, and Phuket, Chiang Mai, Khon Kaen, and Phuket, North Carolina...... 35 Thailand—Portland, Oregon...... 31 Thailand–Portland, Oregon...... 31. Municipal Assets Management • Busi- Redevelopment Projects • Environmen- Redevelopment Projects • Environmen- ness Licensing and Permitting • Solid tal Management • Financial Manage- tal Management • Financial Management Waste Management ment • Citizen Participation • Citizen Participation Bulgaria CityLinks Program...... 41 Bulgaria CityLinks Program...... 41 Tirana, Albania—Catawba County, Local Economic Development • Infra- Local Economic Development • Infra- North Carolina...... 35 structure Management • Waste structure Management • Waste Municipal Assets Management • Busi- Management Management ness Licensing and Permitting • Solid Alaska—Russian Far East Waste Management Partnership Program...... 46 Bulgaria CityLinks Program...... 41 Local Economic Development Local Economic Development • Infra- structure Management • Waste Environmental Management Management Finance and Municipal Jordan University of Science & Technology—Jordanian Ministry of Management Health—East Carolina University, CityLinks Program in Ethiopia...... 1 North Carolina...... 5. Local Economic Development • Public Medical Waste Management Service Delivery • Municipal Finance Bamako, Mali—Athens—Clarke Strengthening the Capacity of the County, Georgia...... 7. Kabul Municipality...... 15. Solid Waste Management Infrastructure Management • Solid Strengthening the Capacity of the Waste Management Kabul Municipality...... 15. Afghanistan Municipal Infrastructure Management • Solid Strengthening Program...... 22 Waste Management Solid Waste Management • Road Construction and Rehabilitation • Water Management • Electricity Supply • Job Creation

CityLinks 2003–2008 [ iv ] http://www.icma.org/citylinks CityLinks Program in Ethiopia

Local Economic Development Ethiopia partner cities: Adama (in Oromia region [state]), Dire Dawa (a “chartered city”), Public Service Delivery Gambella (in Gambella region), and Jijiga (in Somali region). Municipal Finance Populations of the Ethiopian cities: Adama, 200,000; Dire Sound local government is becoming increasingly important in Ethiopia with Dawa, 350,000; Gambella, 50,000; Jijiga, 150,000. the decentralization of power from the national to the regional and local levels ..At the same time, many municipalities in the country contend with U.S. partners: Portland, Oregon; Oldsmar, Florida; Flagler Beach, significant poverty levels, unemployment, in-migration of rural residents, Florida; and Port Orange, Florida. and a limited capacity to provide basic public services ..Strengthening local Program dates: September 2005 economies has become a high priority . to September 2009. Key program issues in Ethiopia: Program Objectives capacity and areas that are prone to Decentralization has put increasing pressure on regions conflict. In September 2005, the U.S. Agency and cities to provide basic public services, and many of these local for International Development Program Activities entities have limited institutional (USAID) granted ICMA an associ- capacity to perform essential ate award under ICMA’s CityLinks Following the successful Adama- functions. Local economic program to provide assistance to the Portland partnership, the program development has been identified Ethiopian cities of Addis Ababa and increased the level of resources to as a priority as cities face rising poverty rates, unemployment, and Adama for a period of two years. promote additional peer-to-peer in-migration from rural areas. ICMA began by establishing a part- exchanges from the United States nership between the city of Adama to Ethiopia and among cities in and the U.S. city of Portland, Oregon. Ethiopia, as well as to build the insti- That partnership was intended to tutional capacity of local and regional facilitate Adama’s local economic governments by utilizing technical development (LED) by attracting assistance and training provided by investments to the city and enhanc- local professionals and international ing the relationship between the pub- experts. lic and private sectors there, with the ultimate goal of creating more jobs. Three cities in Florida—Oldsmar, Flagler Beach, and Port Orange—were Based on the success of that work, paired with the cities of Dire Dawa the CityLinks program increased its and Jijiga. While continuing to work presence in Ethiopia, working in the with Adama, Portland began a part- city of Dire Dawa (one of the two nership with Gambella region and the “chartered cities” in Ethiopia); the city of Gambella. Gambella region (state) and that region’s capital city, Gambella; and The partnership with Adama has the Somali region and its capital city, continued to facilitate local economic Jijiga. The Somali and Gambella development there. The city agreed to regions are considered to be “emerg- establish the position of LED spe- ing,” with limited institutional cialist. The position will be central

CityLinks 2003–2008 [ 1 ] http://www.icma.org/citylinks to developing LED policies for the ery, citizen participation, peer-to-peer municipality, establishing public- exchanges, and training in leader- private partnerships and other forms ship skills for citizens and govern- of synergy with the private sector, ment officials. In addition, the city of and implementing a long-term vision Dire Dawa is focusing on emergency for increasing Adama’s competitive preparedness and response, and advantages and future economic Gambella and Jijiga are focusing on growth. sanitation and public transit.

In addition, Adama agreed to host Following are the most important the city’s first economic development activities implemented since the pro- Adama city staff meet with pro bono conference, which promoted its eco- gram began: professionals from the partner city of nomic potential and advantages for Portland, Oregon, to plan a new industrial n A workshop on basic concepts investors. Finally, Adama is progress- district. and best practices in emergency ing in planning an industrial district management was conducted that will emphasize agro-process- in Dire Dawa. The workshop ing, thus providing opportunities for included presentations on the producers in the Oromia region (of role of government in disaster which Adama is the capital) to pro- preparedness, emergency manage- cess their products and market them ment best practices of Florida, to other regions of the country. and the all-hazards approach to disaster management. To kick off the extension of the work plan, ICMA staff and pro bono advi- n At a sanitation workshop in sors completed a rapid assessment of Gambella, city officials and decentralization and an institutional citizens came together to discuss study in Gambella and Jijiga. The the state of sanitation in the city assessment focused on institutional and to agree on interventions. relations and intergovernmental Their consensus was to create coordination, selected urban services, a sanitation desk in the munici- regional and local revenue, and com- pality immediately, to make it munity participation. The main objec- accountable, and to develop a tives of the study were to gain useful sanitation system. The system information and insight that would will include the mobilization of lay the foundation for a work plan communities to provide door-to- and future project interventions and door trash collection and roadside guide the development and imple- solid waste collection services; mentation of training and capacity selection of temporary disposal building programs. stations and the development of a final disposal site and transporta- Under the program extension, all tion facilities; and a liquid waste the Ethiopia cities and regions in the disposal system that includes CityLinks program are working on improving existing public toilets. public finance, public service deliv-

CityLinks 2003–2008 [ 2 ] http://www.icma.org/citylinks n A workshop on basic concepts Looking Forward “The economic development conference and best practices in public transit Among the noteworthy activities yet was impressive. The best practices from and transport was conducted in to be implemented are sanitation, Gambella city in March 2008. The Portland were remarkable. And the public transit, revenue enhancement, focus was the role of government and other public service delivery ideas presented by the private sector and public-private partnerships. projects and training in the cities of were very encouraging; they expressed n A local economic development Gambella, Jijiga, and Dire Dawa, as their interest in cooperating with the conference organized in partner- well as a comprehensive leadership ship between the municipality training effort involving multiple city and playing a role in the strategic of Adama and the Chamber of cities. A key future element of the plan.” Commerce of that city was held CityLinks program will be the promo- Bekele Shibru, head of Transport, in Adama in May 2008 and served tion of more city-to-city exchanges Trade and Industry Office, Adama to market and showcase the city within Ethiopia. For example, City administration as a locality ready for investment authorities from the city of Jijiga will and supportive of public-private participate in peer-to-peer exchanges relationships. with the city of Dire Dawa, in the n Tourism and marketing brochures areas of organization development, were developed and distributed human resources, finance, and public in Adama to promote the city’s service delivery. economic potential among local In addition, over the 2008-2009 and international investors. period, the CityLinks program will n In Dire Dawa, emergency signal facilitate up to four workshops that equipment was installed and an will bring together representatives emergency operations plan (EOP) from Ethiopian cities to discuss com- was completed. mon concerns and to share lessons n A pilot demonstration program learned. That, in turn, will contribute in the city of Gambella promoted to the establishment of local net- coordination between the regional works in the country and facilitate government and the city to pro- learning among peers. ICMA will also vide signage for a new road built promote the formation of associations with funding from the regional of municipalities, which could build government. The project also long-lasting learning networks among included public education for local government professionals in citizens on the appropriate use of Ethiopia. the roads by multiple users. n In Gambella, a workshop on solid waste and liquid waste management was implemented to promote best practices and to jump-start collaboration between the municipality and three kebeles (administrative units) in the city limits.

CityLinks 2003–2008 [ 3 ] http://www.icma.org/citylinks “I thank our professional colleagues from Portland for technical assistance and capacity building support in identifying and developing competitive advantages in the city, helping to improve our incubator program, and promoting local agro-business and tourism.” Sisay Negash, mayor, Adama City

Roads and other new infrastructure help promote economic development in Adama.

Results n The city of Gambella has identified its role in transit management n Dire Dawa is institutionalizing an and is developing the foundations urban disaster preparedness unit for establishing partnerships with to better respond to flash floods the regional government to coordi- and other hazards. As part of nate in the implementation of that the institutionalization process, function. three of the most affected kebeles during previous devastating n Through its local economic devel- flash floods (2005 and 2006) are opment conference, Adama is pro- becoming important stakehold- moting the role of local economic ers in the disaster prevention and development and the role of the preparedness efforts. private sector as a partner with the public sector. Two brochures n Emergency signal equipment was were developed and distributed, installed in Dire Dawa, and an highlighting Adama as a tourism emergency operations plan (EOP) destination and an agricultural was drafted for the city. center for investment.

CityLinks 2003–2008 [ 4 ] http://www.icma.org/citylinks Jordan University of Science & Technology— Jordanian Ministry of Health—East Carolina University, North Carolina

Medical Waste Management Jordan partners: Jordan University of Science & Technology (JUST) and Jordanian Jordan is a leader among Middle East countries in medical expertise and Ministry of Health (MOH). facilities ..In fact, residents of neighboring countries travel more frequently U.S. partner: East Carolina to Jordan for their medical needs than to any other country in the region .. University (North Carolina). This has placed immense pressure on Jordan’s ability to manage medical Program dates: May 2003 to October 2005. waste appropriately ..The handling and disposal of medical waste is critical to Key program issues in Jordan: maintaining good public health and protecting the environment from dis- Jordan is a major center for eases that can be spread to residents through contaminated drinking water medical care in the Middle East supplies or through direct contact with waste ..Like most Middle Eastern and thus generates a large volume of medical waste. Unless countries, Jordan is deeply concerned about protecting its precious and lim- properly managed, the waste ited drinking water resources, and improperly managed medical wastes can has the potential to spread contaminate the water supply through runoff . disease, either directly or through contamination of the country’s precious drinking water supply. Program Objectives Program Activities The Jordan University of Science & The partnership began collecting Technology (JUST), the Jordanian medical waste from northern hospi- Ministry of Health (MoH), and East tals after the MoH and JUST formally Carolina University (ECU) formed a agreed that JUST would collect waste partnership that focused on improv- from public hospitals in the region ing medical waste management in the on a fee-for-service basis (the fee to northern region of Jordan as a model be paid by MoH). The collection of that other regions in the country the waste, in addition to the techni- could follow. The northern region cal assistance provided by ECU and was chosen primarily because of the ICMA, was made possible by the readily available disposal capacity procurement of two medical waste at JUST, which has two incinera- transport vehicles and waste bins tors. The partnership objective was provided by USAID. to improve medical waste management through training in the handling In addition, the partnership con- and overall management of medical ducted a series of medical waste waste, procurement of new collection management workshops on the vehicles and storage bins, implemen- campus of JUST in Irbid, Jordan. ECU tation of a centralized collection and provided guidance and training mate- disposal system that allowed individ- rials and participated in the training ual hospitals to discontinue the use of program. The workshops targeted their incinerators and other disposal hospital administrators, supervisors mechanisms, and regulatory review of doctors and nurses, housekeep- and discussions. ing staff, and incinerator operators. The workshop focused on incinerator operations.

CityLinks 2003–2008 [ 5 ] http://www.icma.org/citylinks The partnership also focused on n Appropriate separation of medical improving the incinerators to and regular solid waste. meet MoH regulatory standards to n Limited or no exposure to medi- adequately burn medical waste. cal waste by doctors, nurses, and Upgrading the incinerators required patients. the installation of emissions monitor- ing and cleaning devices, an auto- n Development of a strategy for mated waste bin feeder, and other private-sector involvement in modifications. As the project ended, medical waste management the partnership had secured a com- throughout Jordan. mitment from the Swiss government n Development of a strategy to Improvements in medical waste to financially support the upgrading management in Jordan included training improve the effectiveness of the of the JUST incinerators, as the incin- for incinerator operators and the regulatory enforcement of medical implementation of a collection system that erators are Swiss made. centralized incineration at one facility. waste requirements. Results n Increased hospital staff capacity to manage and handle medical By the end of the project, the team waste. had implemented policies and proce- dures in hospitals that ensure: n Efficient and safe collection and transportation of medical waste from hospitals to the JUST incinerators.

CityLinks 2003–2008 [ 6 ] http://www.icma.org/citylinks Bamako, Mali—Athens—Clarke County, Georgia

Solid Waste Management Mali partner city: Bamako. Population of Bamako: 1.3 million (at the time of the program). Bamako, the capital of Mali, had been unable to keep pace with the addi- U.S. partner: Athens–Clarke tional service needs of a population that grew from 189,000 to 1 .3 million County, Georgia. over a 35-year period ..Nowhere was that challenge more evident than in Program dates: June 2003 to the area of solid waste management ..In April 2003, Mali President Amadou December 2005. Tourmani Toure delivered a major policy speech in which he identified the Key program issues in Bamako: solid waste management issues confronting the capital city as a national Bamako, the Mali capital, was priority . unable to keep pace with the needs of its rapidly growing population, particularly in the Eager to assist in this endeavor, USAID/Mali identified the ICMA CityLinks area of solid waste management. program as a way to provide hands-on technical assistance to Bamako ..After diagnosing the problem, developing possible solutions, and gathering information that would help identify a partner city, ICMA selected the Unified Government of Athens–Clarke County, Georgia, because of its expertise in solid waste, its recycling program that had won national awards, and its approach to public education ..

A key asset that Athens–Clarke County brought to the project was the engineering administrator in the Athens Public Works Department, who had served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Mali ..His ability to speak Bumbra and French, the languages spoken in Mali, and his understanding of the local culture and norms contributed significantly to the development and implementation of solutions to Bamako’s solid waste challenges .

Program Objectives and dination, defined roles and respon- Activities sibilities, and accountability on the part of government officials; a lack of The partners met in Bamako in experience and technical expertise; January 2004 to develop an action and a lack of equipment associated plan based on a diagnostic study of with solid waste management. Given solid waste challenges, interviews, the scale of these challenges, the and consultations with Bamako solid CityLinks project team decided to waste officials and stakeholders, develop and implement a pilot project including nongovernmental organiza- that would emulate a functioning tions and collection entrepreneurs. municipal solid waste management Bamako’s solid waste challenges system. were vast, including trash disposal in areas that were not designated The pilot project was implemented for dumping (which over time gave in the Bamako neighborhoods of the city a “messy” and trash-strewn Bancouni and Korafina, with the idea appearance); a lack of planning, coor-

CityLinks 2003–2008 [ 7 ] http://www.icma.org/citylinks that, after successfully developing an n Clean-up days: Several sanitation operating solid waste management days were organized in an effort system in the pilot area, Bamako to clean particular problem areas would be able to scale up the effort and provide information to com- to other areas of the city. Through a munity members about the impor- collaborative process that included tance of proper trash disposal key Mali and Bamako government and removal. These days were officials, private waste collectors, highly popular with residents. The nongovernmental organizations, the CityLinks project sponsored the city of Athens, and ICMA, the project rakes, shovels, wheelbarrows, and team worked closely to identify the gloves that were used by com- Mali’s capital, Bamako, has had difficulty three principal areas that required munity members to help clean up keeping up with rapid population growth. attention: education and outreach, these areas. collection operations, and landfill n Media and other outreach: A operations. skit was developed to heighten Education and Outreach awareness of the importance of proper trash disposal and gen- A key aspect of an effective solid eral cleanliness. It was aired on waste management system is ensur- national television and resulted in ing that residents are fully aware of an increased number of residents what they should be doing with their subscribing to collection services. waste to ensure proper disposal— (In Mali, private waste collec- where it should go and when. It is tors are responsible for waste also within the purview of the agency collection, similar to a franchise charged with solid waste responsibili- arrangement. Local officials desig- ties to attempt to change the behavior nated specific routes and areas to of the public so that they are willing particular collectors who became and able to conform to a particu- responsible for getting as many lar waste management practice or residents as possible to subscribe practices. This is often approached to their service.) The skit was sup- through a set of outreach activities. plemented with a beautification slogan, radio spots, and collection In this case the CityLinks team brochures. implemented a beautification and educational media campaign focused Collection Operations on two objectives: (1) to inform To ensure more effective collec- residents about available collection tion of solid waste, Athens–Clarke services and (2) to change residents’ County officials worked closely with attitudes and behaviors regard- the local Bamako team to undertake ing the cleanliness of streets and several studies aimed at identifying public places, particularly in regard paying and nonpaying customers, to dumping in areas that are not the quantity and types of waste that intended for trash disposal. The fol- were generated on each route, and lowing activities were completed as the most efficient collection routes part of the campaign:

CityLinks 2003–2008 [ 8 ] http://www.icma.org/citylinks possible. Based on these studies and Results Working with government the available budget, the project pro- n officials, private waste collectors, cured collection equipment that was The development of a landfill distributed to waste collectors. The operations sustainability plan, nongovernmental organizations, and including the creation of a tip fee. procured equipment included shov- U.S. partners, the CityLinks team els, trashcans, rakes, gloves, and four n Improved landfill operations, with helped Bamako improve its solid tractors used to pull collected trash enhanced sanitary conditions, in carts. The routes within the pilot aesthetics, and safety. waste management services and areas where the new equipment was n Improved collection of solid waste change public attitudes and behavior used very quickly showed a marked in the pilot area. difference in appearance. regarding the cleanliness of public n Improved appearance in the pilot places. Landfill Operations area, due primarily to a reduction The site used for landfill disposal was in trash strewn in inappropriate a significant challenge with regard to places. operations and was a social menace n A reduction in inappropriate as well. During the rainy season deep dumping by the general public. pools of water formed on the site, causing a very dangerous risk for n A change in public attitudes and children from the surrounding com- behavior regarding the cleanli- munity who scavenged and played on ness of streets and public places, the dump site. The activities planned thanks to the education and out- as part of the CityLinks project had reach campaign. to meet two objectives: to improve operations and to increase safety at the site. The CityLinks project met these two objectives by surveying and Equipment procured by the CityLinks program helped grading an entrance and exit road; improve solid waste collection operations. stabilizing the actual cells into which waste was dumped; constructing a guardhouse to regulate the incoming and exiting traffic, as well as to provide security; constructing a wall and fence around the site to keep children out, as well as to improve the appearance of the community by preventing blowing trash from settling in streets and homes; and spraying the site with pesticides to control pests that affected the homes located around the site.

CityLinks 2003–2008 [ 9 ] http://www.icma.org/citylinks South African Cities Network (SACN)— Virginia Beach, Virginia

South Africa partner Local Economic Development communities: Buffalo City (East London), Mangaung (Bloemfontein), Msunduzi South Africa’s cities are the places of opportunity that drive the bulk of eco- (Pietermaritzburg). nomic growth ..Many indicators, including job creation and revenue genera- Population of the South African tion, have demonstrated the significant growth that has occurred in South communities: Buffalo City, 765,000; Mangaung, 705,000; African cities and the potential for further development ..Despite the oppor- Msunduzi, 565,000. tunities, however, these same cities often have concentrations of poverty .. U.S. partner: Virginia Beach, Therefore, it is critical to explore and share ideas on how to continue to grow Virginia. the urban economy while ensuring that it translates into jobs and a better South African local partner life for all urban residents . organization: South African Cities Network (SACN). The structural framework whereby South African cities can provide for local Program dates: August 2004– economic development (LED) strategies begins with the adoption of each May 2006. city’s integrated development plan (IDP), in which economic development is Key program issues in an integral function of the city’s overall planning strategy ..The IDP is man- South Africa: The integrated development plan (IDP) is dated by the national Municipal Systems Act ..When the CityLinks program mandated by the national was initiated, there was widespread consensus that municipalities should be Municipal Systems Act; however, the South African partners integrally involved in promoting economic development, but consolidations agreed that while local economic of jurisdictions and the expansion of local government authority and respon- development was clearly sibility had forced them to focus instead on specific capital improvement established as a priority in the IDP, targeted action planning and projects and central government initiatives and programs .. implementation of specific project activities and the development With the help of USAID/South Africa, the nine largest cities in the country of strong and effective public established the South African Cities Network (SACN) to share best practices administration at the local level were lacking. and coordinate cities’ engagement with the central government in planning, promoting, and implementing economic development ..Within the context of strong, integrated governance, SACN focuses on the full scope of the urban management process ..USAID asked ICMA to establish a partnership program to support the efforts of SACN .

ICMA recruited the city of Virginia Beach, Virginia (population 427,000), which belongs to the Virginia Hampton Roads Economic Development Alliance ..With a mayor supportive of local economic development, a talented staff, and a targeted strategy, Virginia Beach had successfully attracted investment (both foreign and domestic) and jobs and built up its tourism industry ..The city was eager to share its experience with SACN and its member cities as well as learn from them .

CityLinks 2003–2008 [ 10 ] http://www.icma.org/citylinks ICMA led a diagnostic visit to SACN and to the partner cities of Mangaung and Buffalo City (Eastern Cape Province) in early 2005 ..This visit illustrated the top priorities and problems in South African cities with respect to local economic development ..The team found that although planning and staff support for economic development were strong, the mechanisms and processes for implementing and operating economic development programs were weak ..Based on these findings and priorities, the team proposed that the partnership should address three top priority areas: industrial development, tourism, and program planning and implementation .

Local economic development was the focus Program Objectives Program Activities of a partnership between professionals from Virginia Beach, Virginia, and the ICMA and the city of Virginia Beach ICMA worked with SACN to for- South African Cities Network. collaborated with SACN to form a mulate and implement the three partnership for technical assistance cities’ individual city development and knowledge sharing in local strategies, with a focus on attaining economic development. This part- national and local government goals, nership capitalized on both SACN’s primarily with respect to urban eco- goal of helping its member cities nomic development. formulate and operate self-sustaining local economic development activities Buffalo City and ICMA’s experience in facilitating Buffalo City Municipality, located in municipal development worldwide. Eastern Cape Province, encompasses nearly 700 square miles. The residue The principal objective of the part- of apartheid frames the design and nership was to empower the staff in performance of Buffalo City’s govern- the municipalities of Buffalo City, ment and economy. At the start of the Mangaung, and Msunduzi to be more CityLinks program, the result was a effective both at promoting local eco- static economy and structural unem- nomic development and tourism and ployment officially recorded at 40 at engaging local stakeholders and percent; a thriving informal economy; institutions to plan and implement and institutionalized antipoverty LED strategies. This would ultimately spending that had increased by 7 involve broadening the cities’ LED percent each year since 1996, without vision as well as teaching them how a concurrent rise in tax revenues. to turn vision and theory into practice Census reports showed that nearly 53 and implementation. The partnership percent of local residents lived below also focused on strengthening SACN’s the poverty line—most likely, the true capacity to support its membership in figure was much higher. economic development. To work with Buffalo City, ICMA selected a former assistant city manager with sound economic

CityLinks 2003–2008 [ 11 ] http://www.icma.org/citylinks Through a CityLinks partnership, the development experience, particularly executing a robust business retention in the areas of attracting business program. An assessment of the city’s South African Cities Network shared investment and employment in a LED challenges and opportunities ideas with Virginia Beach, Virginia— large jurisdiction. In early 2006, this resulted in an “Invest BC” plan. The a city with a history of successful advisor worked with LED officers plan identified the board for the mar- in Buffalo City for three weeks to keting corporation and targeted inves- business attraction and tourism identify the municipality’s business tors as well as annual investment development—and set priorities for development needs and plan an levels and related benefits, which can local economic development in three implementation schedule. Part of this be adjusted to fit local norms. work included a first-ever retreat that South African cities. brought together local government In addition to outlining a market- and business executives to discuss ing plan, the partners set organiza- the municipality’s future economy tional, qualitative, and quantitative and develop an action plan. goals for benchmarking. After the business retention plan was cre- The retreat produced agreement ated, Buffalo City agreed to purchase on three broad objectives: (1) to advanced business-tracking software, strengthen quality of life; (2) to Synchronist, to assist in executing the attract higher education; and (3) to plan. recruit new industry and retain existing industry. Working groups were Mangaung formed and implementation time The city of Mangaung identified lines established. Buffalo City asked the development of an area knows for the advisor’s assistance in devel- as the N8 Corridor as its primary oping a business plan and funding development project to attract new requirements for a nonprofit invest- investment and increase the quality ment attraction organization. of life of residents. The N8 Corridor stretches along a national road from In addition, the partners identified Mangaung through Botshabelo to the need for a business retention Thaba Nchu. The Botshabelo indus- plan and system to track the needs trial area is one of the priority activity of existing industry in the city. The nodes along the corridor. The city objective was to create a program to hopes to facilitate LED activity to regularly interview major employers make both Botshabelo and Thaba and track their responses as a way to Nchu self-sustaining and less depen- strengthen and grow local employ- dent on Mangaung, by strengthening ment and identify industry needs and accentuating their competitive before a plant closes. advantages for a range of private investments along the corridor. The partners worked together to Actions supporting this goal include develop an action plan that outlined upgrading infrastructure and inten- the creation of a nonprofit market- sifying economic activities along the ing corporation with two goals: N8 Corridor. (1) increasing capital inquiries and employment and (2) developing and

CityLinks 2003–2008 [ 12 ] http://www.icma.org/citylinks With an estimated population of The partners also recommended number of initiatives to further eco- 180,000, Botshabelo is reportedly that the steering committee evolve nomic growth. For example, it hosted the largest township in the Free into a full-fledged quasi-public N8 an economic development conference State Province. It continues to grow Corridor Redevelopment Authority in which potential growth sectors in population and land area, fueling that included municipal and national were identified and key properties a growing need for jobs and public agencies. To provide for nonpartisan were put out for development pro- infrastructure. The Botshabelo indus- continuity, it was designed with a posals. The city also established an trial complex is home to 150 factories board of directors that can work with investment facilitation team to deal that employ more than 12,000 people the varying terms of mayors. In addi- with concession applications and in textiles, plastics, and other types of tion, the new authority should act as development proposals and to serve manufacturing. However, Botshabelo a private-sector development agent in as a one-stop shop for investors. Job has a large, underutilized industrial the acquisition, disposition, develop- creation was on the rise, and busi- complex. Both Botshabelo and the ment, and oversight of N8 Corridor ness confidence was at an all-time N8 Corridor also have significant actions and investments. This in turn high. amounts of unused or underused should lead to economic growth, publicly owned land. Unemployment new investment, job creation, and In 2006, ICMA recruited the project is high; moreover, the housing sup- infrastructure development. The development manager of Virginia ply, public facilities, and infrastruc- development of the N8 Corridor was Beach to work with the city man- ture are in poor condition. These viewed as a realistic and attainable ager and LED staff in Msunduzi. He factors act as deterrents to the private goal, provided that the plan could be brought a comprehensive knowledge investment that would help residents carried out with structured coordina- of planning, organizing, and execut- become more self-reliant. tion across all levels and would prove ing economic development programs inclusive of all public and private and strategic plans. To create an In 2006, the CityLinks team worked stakeholders. action plan that would lead to a stra- with the Mangaung director and tegic plan to increase investment in her staff to develop a plan for the Msunduzi the city, the partners worked together Botshabelo industrial area in the When the CityLinks program started, for three weeks, first in Msunduzi broader context of the N8 Corridor. the city of Msunduzi boasted a and then via e-mail, to outline Then they worked with the N8 rapidly growing economy, although Msunduzi’s economic development Corridor Steering Committee, includ- poverty and unemployment remained status, potential, and needs. ing public- and private-sector stake- key issues. The city realized that its holders, to develop a plan ultimately economic development strategy must Short-term and long-term goals focused on leveraging improve- further strengthen the economy and included: (1) revising the staffing ments and economic growth for the generate sufficient employment for its structure to manage development Botshabelo area. citizens. However, the recent designa- initiatives; (2) developing a business tion of Pietermaritzburg (Msunduzi retention and expansion program To reach the city’s development goals municipality) as the administrative and tourism products; (3) increas- along the corridor, the plan calls for and legislative capital of the Kwa- ing funding for the tourism sector; innovative public and private tools Zulu Natal province was expected to (4) creating industrial sites and city and methods to create jobs, public act as a catalyst for economic devel- improvement districts; and (5) com- infrastructure improvements, and opment and redevelopment of the piling an economic database. new and rehabilitated housing and city center. retail opportunities. Mangaung out- After reaching agreement on a dis- lined a set of next steps to implement In terms of economic development trict-wide economic development the plan drafted by the partners. planning, the city had undertaken a strategy, the group appointed a con-

CityLinks 2003–2008 [ 13 ] http://www.icma.org/citylinks Buffalo City, Mangaung, and Msunduzi sultant and established a project team Mangaung that would develop the city’s strategic assessed their economic development n Developed a plan for the plan. As part of the city’s integrated Botshabelo industrial area in needs and goals, developed action development plan, the strategic plan the broader context of the N8 would address the national goal of plans, and initiated steps to carry out Corridor, with the ultimate goal of reducing unemployment by half by leveraging improvements and eco- LED programs. 2014; contribute positively to the nomic growth for the Botshabelo financial viability of the municipal- area. ity; yield a globally competitive and job-creating economy; and contribute n Recommended that the steering substantially to a better life for all the committee evolve into a full- people of Msunduzi. fledged quasi-public N8 Corridor Redevelopment Authority with a Results board of directors.

The results of the joint efforts of all Msunduzi the partnerships were illustrated n and shared with a wide audience in Outlined the city’s economic Buffalo City at the 2006 CityLinks development status, potential, and Local Economic Development needs. Workshop, “Accelerated and Shared n Laid out short-term and long-term Growth in South African Cities: From goals. Policy to Practice.” n Created an action plan that would Buffalo City lead to a strategic plan to increase investment in the city. n Assessed the city’s business development challenges and n Reached agreement on a district- opportunities. wide economic development strategy, appointed a consultant, n Created a business retention plan and established a project team to based on the beliefs that retention undertake the development of the is preventive medicine and that city’s strategic plan. ownership should be in the public sector. n Developed a comprehensive action plan outlining the creation of a nonprofit marketing corporation to increase and support capital inquiries and employment and to develop and execute a robust business retention program.

CityLinks 2003–2008 [ 14 ] http://www.icma.org/citylinks Strengthening the Capacity of the Kabul Municipality

Infrastructure Management Afghanistan partner city: Kabul. Population of Kabul: Four million. Solid Waste Management U.S. partners: Vancouver, Washington, and Kettering, After more than a quarter century of continuous conflict that began with the Ohio (each provided a pro-bono consultant who worked in 2005 invasion by the Soviet Union in 1979, the provincial and municipal bureau- and 2006). cracy throughout Afghanistan has succeeded in overcoming a number of Program dates: September 2004 obstacles ..With the Taliban warlords removed from power, in October 2004, to June 2007. Afghanistan held its first democratic elections in two decades ..As in many Key program issues in Kabul: countries that have experienced years of conflict and oppression, however, Kabul’s infrastructure and municipal programs were the task of adapting to newfound freedom and rebuilding has proven to be unequipped to handle the needs overwhelming for Afghanistan .. of the city’s large, growing post- conflict population. Kabul, the capital, is the largest city of Afghanistan, with an estimated population of 4 million ..It is an economic and cultural center located strategically along Kabul River near the Khyber Pass, an important pass in the mountains between Afghanistan and Pakistan ..Kabul’s population grew from about 1 million to 4 million between 2001 and 2004, and the city’s infrastructure programs were unequipped to handle the needs of its growing population .. Its roads were deteriorating, contributing to congestion on the already crowded streets ..Open channels along the streets served as the only means of drainage for the trash and water discharged by homes and businesses .. Trash removal and disposal were among the many difficulties faced by city officials, as Kabul lacked the proper equipment to support an effective waste management program .

Program Objectives Encouraged by the program’s early success, USAID added funding to To address these challenges, the improve sustainability by train- United States Agency for International ing additional municipal staff and Development (USAID) provided fund- strengthening its cadre of engineering to ICMA to help solve infrastruc- ing technicians. This was especially ture problems in Afghanistan, starting important because the technicians in Kabul, and to put in place sustain- often receive inadequate training for able programs that can be continued the tasks that they are required to by the municipality and replicated complete. During the final phases of elsewhere in the country. Under the the project, ICMA provided training CityLinks Partnership Program, ICMA that allowed participating Afghans to provided a pilot program of technical put their training to practice as team assistance to District 4 in the Kabul leaders. municipality from September 2004 to June 2007.

CityLinks 2003–2008 [ 15 ] http://www.icma.org/citylinks Program Activities in Pakistan, Iran, and other neighboring countries, and the resulting With the overall goal of strengthen- population boom had overwhelmed ing the capacity of the city to pro- the system’s capacity to serve the vide essential services, the program neighborhood. provided technical assistance and training in the areas of trash collec- ICMA began by renting three dump tion, ditch cleaning, street repair, trucks and hiring 15 local laborers to park renovation and rehabilitation, carry out the trash collection activi- and street-side “greening.” ICMA ties. During the first year, 90 illegal established two project offices in dumpsites were cleaned up, and Trash removal was one of the small Kabul—in the sanitation and greenery 8,880 cubic meters of garbage were infrastructure projects the CityLinks departments—to provide technical program initiated to improve the quality of removed and disposed of in the city’s life in Kabul. assistance and guidance to municipal landfill. staff. To help ensure sustainability of improvements, the program focused After arranging for contract work- attention on interdepartmental coor- ers to locate and remove existing dination and capacity building for trash piles, an ICMA team devel- both city administrators and laborers. oped a trash routing system for the neighborhood’s 3,000 homes. ICMA Trash Collection purchased wheelbarrows, shovels, From 1989 to 2004, Kabul had no sys- pitchforks, and pickaxes and trained tematic trash collection, as it lacked more than 100 city workers in solid the human resources, equipment, and waste management. They were joined management capacity to develop any by dozens of temporary workers who kind of routing system. Crews were were organized in 11-member crews sent out each day to an indeterminate that included a truck driver and two area to simply “pick up trash,” but other men. These crews went door- with no system or tracking little was to-door with a wheelbarrow to collect accomplished. In some areas, trash garbage. Other workers were assigned went uncollected for weeks and accu- to ditch-cleaning crews. mulated on the streets, in roadside ditches, and at unofficial dumpsites The pilot trash collection project throughout the city, becoming a pub- allowed Kabul municipal officials lic health concern. and district residents to learn about the elements and functions of a solid The municipal government asked waste management system. ICMA to help address its trash collection needs. A neighborhood in the This was the first time door-to-door city’s District 4 was selected as the trash collection had been avail- location for the pilot project because able in Kabul—or in any area of of its integrated Sunni and Shia Afghanistan—so educating residents population. The neighborhood had was essential. As the dumpsites were a large influx of Afghans who had cleared, ICMA’s resident practitioners recently returned after years abroad and municipal staff talked to resi-

CityLinks 2003–2008 [ 16 ] http://www.icma.org/citylinks dents to explain how the new trash lection throughout Kabul. Already, collection system would work and ICMA has replicated the project in to request their participation. Staff the Afghan city of Khost, where it has explained that household trash would proven to be as successful as it has be picked up once a week, according been in Kabul. to a set schedule. Drainage Ditch Clearing Gradually, residents began to under- Because of inadequate collection, stand what was expected of them trash had been dumped in open and to cooperate with the program, ditches along the streets and was putting trash in plastic bags or a suit- clogging drains so that water col- able container and setting it outside lected on Kabul’s streets and side- their door on their designated day. walks during periods of heavy rain or Residents also were taught to seg- snow. During dry periods, the ditches regate biodegradable and recyclable captured the effluent from latrines trash, allowing biodegradable waste and septic tanks, creating a disease- to be composted, thus reducing the and mosquito-producing environ- volume of waste disposed of in the ment that compromised the health municipal landfill. of citizens. Clearing the ditches was critical to the health and safety of the As part of its efforts to improve on city’s residents. the program, ICMA conducted a door-to-door survey to document The ditch clearing was planned in the community’s awareness of the conjunction with trash collection. trash collection activities and deter- Clearing the ditches required workers mine their willingness to continue and manage the program. Responses indicated that most residents were Workers in Kabul were employed to clean street-side drainage ditches of debris and sewage to improve the flow of water and remove a public health hazard. familiar with the collection program, and the majority indicated that they would be willing to pay for privatized trash collection.

The trash collection methodology will allow Kabul to continue to provide services that eliminate the risk of improper dumping. Educating citizens in proper waste segregation will minimize the amount of waste going to the city’s landfill and encourage an environmentally friendly approach to waste management. The pilot program was conceived of as a training model, but due to its success, plans are in place to implement waste col-

CityLinks 2003–2008 [ 17 ] http://www.icma.org/citylinks “[Before the ICMA neighborhood to remove trash, debris, and sedi- city of Kettering, Ohio, the park was ment while keeping the sidewalks redesigned and renovated with new greening work], this area was a huge and roads clean so that there would pavement, walkways, and landscap- problem for us. Now, students can get be no disruption of pedestrian or ing. The design incorporated good to school easily, even on rainy days.” vehicular traffic. The waste was then drainage and easy maintenance. transported to the municipal land- Shafiqa Ahmadi Wardak, principal, fill. Iron mesh was installed atop The renovation itself involved clear- Maleqa Soraiia School some ditches in commercial areas to ing trash and debris from the park facilitate ongoing maintenance and to area; restoring the park’s electrical ensure the safety of pedestrians. After system; repairing and installing light the debris was removed, a routine fixtures; building the new pathways, maintenance schedule was put in gates, and other elements of the plan; place. The ditch-clearing cycle takes and planting greenery. two weeks to complete. In March 2007, the ICMA team extended the ICMA hired workers and provided on- ditch-clearing project to include all of the-job training to ensure the viabil- District 4. ity and sustainability of the project. ICMA also worked with citizens, Parks, Recreation, and Greening providing tips and advice on the After years of neglect, many of ongoing use and maintenance of the Kabul’s once-lush green spaces and park. Recognizing that the appeal of parks were in poor condition. Park the park would require ongoing trash Shar-i-Naw, located in the heart collection and removal, the team pro- of Kabul, for example, was once a vided daily trash collection services. popular destination for families with On November 7, 2006, the mayor of young children but had fallen into Kabul and USAID inaugurated the disrepair. With its greenery gone and park. Since its completion, many much of the area filled with trash, it residents have voiced their grati- had become an eyesore. ICMA took tude and appreciation to the Kabul on the challenging task of restor- municipality. ing Park Shar-i-Naw in conjunction with the Kabul mayor’s office and Neighborhood Greening undertook related projects as well, For more than 30 years, a vacant including neighborhood greening and expanse stretched for more than a the construction of a safety park for mile between the Maleqa Soraiia children. School for Girls and the Abo-Baker-e Renovation of Park Shar-i-Naw Sedique Mosque in the Wazir Abad section of District 4. The property The main objective in the renova- had initially been allocated as a green tion of Park Shar-i-Naw was to create area, with plans for a playground. a comfortable, green environment The Kabul municipality did not have for the citizens of Kabul to come sufficient funds for construction, with their families to relax and play. however, and the area had become With the assistance of a pro bono a dumping site for trash and raw landscape architect from the partner

CityLinks 2003–2008 [ 18 ] http://www.icma.org/citylinks sewage. A potholed maze of rusted the park. Pedestrian traffic fatalities “I hope this [safety park] process can metal and broken glass, the area was are a leading cause of death among provide a model for everyone in Kabul, dangerous and frequently impassable. children in Afghanistan; with few alternatives, they spend much of their and that we will be able to work in all ICMA’s Kabul staff identified the time playing or begging in the streets, areas of the city in the future to build rehabilitation and greening of this making them prime targets for motor property as a priority. With the help vehicles, which often are operated more projects like this one.” of an engineer from the partner city by inexperienced drivers. In addi- Rohullah Aman, mayor, Kabul of Vancouver, Washington, a new tion to having no safe place to play, design was created and implemented. many children did not understand or The team worked on solutions that appreciate traffic dangers. A safety included ditches to drain the raw park could address these problems sewage away from the homes in and would be the first of its kind in the neighborhood, a landscaped Afghanistan. pedestrian mall and play area, paved walkways, gates to keep out motor As its name suggests, the safety park vehicles, and other features that is designed to build awareness of transformed the site. traffic issues. It has a “road” that replicates a highway, complete with To ensure sustainability and ongoing traffic signs. Riding small, pedal- commitment to a clean and usable powered cars, children can learn park, the ICMA Kabul team sought what the roadway looks like from a to involve residents. On September driver’s perspective. 20, 2007—the eve of the International Day of Peace—the newly created park ICMA worked with the munici- was dedicated as the Kabul Peace pal greenery department to design Park. Roshan (a cell phone company) and build a prototype safety park agreed to partner with the municipal- in the northern area of Park Shar- ity by committing six maintenance i-Naw, employing a work crew of workers for upkeep over the follow- 20 Afghans. To build the park, the ing year. This was one of the first team cleared the space, constructed such public-private partnerships in a guardroom and storage area for Afghanistan. The ICMA Kabul team equipment, developed an irrigation believes that this highly successful system, repaired the electrical system, and cost-effective project can serve constructed bicycle paths, installed as a model for replication in other playground equipment and traffic Kabul neighborhoods, as well as in signs for the children, and land- Afghanistan’s other provinces. scaped the area.

Safety Park To ensure the sustainability and trans- In a February 2006 study tour to ferability of the safety park, ICMA India, staff from Kabul visited a provided onsite training for municipal safety park in Ahmedabad. Here, greenery department staff. Working parents and children learned about together, ICMA and city officials traffic regulations as they enjoyed found a small cell phone company,

CityLinks 2003–2008 [ 19 ] http://www.icma.org/citylinks Areeba, that agreed to take over the need for traffic markings, barri- future upkeep of the park. Areeba ers, and signs throughout the district. assumed responsibility for mainte- Based on that detailed assessment, nance, irrigation, planting flowers, plans were developed and then and protection of the child-sized cars approved by the municipality. The for one year. The company also hired plan included marking pedestrian three employees to maintain and crosswalks and school crossings and manage the park, announced that it installing traffic signs. To implement would add benches and lights, and the plan, the team worked with dis- sought additional opportunities to trict streets supervisors and the pub- work with the city. This was another lic works and streets departments. example of a public-private partnership, representing a sustainable way In collaboration with a local street to provide park maintenance. sign company, ICMA Kabul person- nel produced reflective street signs Street and Traffic Improvements for some major thoroughfares and During the Soviet era, most of Kabul’s installed traffic signs and speed streets were paved with asphalt. Over humps in numerous locations to the years, however, war and neglect improve traffic flow and pedestrian took a toll. Potholes made traveling safety. At each stage ICMA worked on Kabul’s streets difficult, and some with municipal staff to ensure the streets had deteriorated so completely transfer of knowledge and skills. that they were impassable. Traffic Frequent inspections were under- problems were heightened by an taken to ensure that the designs and increase in the number of drivers as suppliers resulted in durable, appro- Afghan refugees returned to the coun- priate markings and signs. try. In addition, signage was either nonexistent or inconsistent, and Kabul residents viewed the markings painted street markings, signal lights, and signs positively. This was an eas- and traffic-regulating barriers were ily replicated way to improve traffic rare. As a result, traffic congestion flow and to reduce the number of and accidents are serious problems in accidents and deaths. the city. To address these issues, the Street Rehabilitation ICMA Kabul team focused attention ICMA also undertook an extensive on two main areas: (1) street mark- street paving and repair effort, giv- ings and traffic signage and (2) street ing priority to residential streets that rehabilitation. connect with or provide access to Street Marking and Traffic Signage mosques, schools, community cen- The ICMA team implemented a plan ters, major market areas, and other for a system of uniformly accepted, key areas of the community. The internationally recognized marking of team had to consider several impor- the paved streets in District 4. Trained tant elements, including the fact that engineers and technicians assessed roads would be used not only by

CityLinks 2003–2008 [ 2 0 ] http://www.icma.org/citylinks cars, but also by bicycles and pedes- Capacity Building n Traffic markings and signs trians, including children on their improved vehicular and pedes- One of the major components of the way to school or worship. trian safety. ICMA Afghanistan CityLinks program was to build the capacity of n The ICMA team rehabilitated 1.76 To help determine what method local Afghans. Only by building the kilometers of streets, repaired 2.6 would be best suited for Kabul’s capacity of the local government will kilometers of potholes, and paved roads, the municipality asked ICMA real change take place. To accomplish 300 meters of non-cobblestone to rehabilitate four streets using a this objective, ICMA Kabul worked streets. different method for each. Several hand-in-hand with municipal staff criteria—including cost, sustain- n Successful programs were repli- and laborers throughout each project. ability, maintenance needs, and cated elsewhere in the city and In addition to providing onsite train- viability—were used to identify the the country. ing, ICMA organized regular training method that was best suited for classes for the project’s technical Kabul’s needs. That analysis led to staff. Training programs focused on the conclusion that cobblestone roads broad and transferable skills, includ- would be best for some of Kabul’s ing computer skills, planning, map- residential streets that had low traffic ping, and engineering software. volume. Rebuilding the roads with cobblestone had the additional Results benefit of providing employment for a significant number of workers and Overall, ICMA’s program in Kabul teaching them a valuable skill that achieved significant results: could be used in other projects. n More than 200 major dumpsites were cleaned up; nearly 174,000 Once plans were developed, ICMA cubic meters of garbage were coordinated the project with munici- removed; and 150 kilometers of pal and district departments. Staff ditches were cleared of debris. notified residents in advance, solicited input on project designs n Weekly door-to-door trash collec- and timing, and implemented the tion was implemented for 3,600 rehabilitation as expeditiously as households. possible to minimize disruption to n More than 200 sanitation workers neighborhoods. were trained. Residents showed their support for n Park Shar-i-Naw was restored the street paving and road mainte- from its neglected condition to a nance programs by flooding the office family-friendly green space that with requests for street improvements incorporated a “safety park” area in other areas. Not only does the where children could learn about program enhance safety and speed traffic rules. the flow of traffic; it also reduces the n Other rundown areas were trans- wear and tear on the vehicles using formed with new paving, drain- the roads. age, and landscaping.

CityLinks 2003–2008 [ 2 1 ] http://www.icma.org/citylinks Afghanistan Municipal Strengthening Program

Afghanistan partner cities: Solid Waste Management Khost (Khost province), Tirin Kot (Uruzgan Province), Qalat (Zabul Province), Bazarak Road Construction and Rehabilitation (Panjshir Province), Charikar (Parwan Province), Sharana Water Management (Paktika Province), and Jalalabad (Nangarhar Province). Electricity Supply Populations of the Afghanistan cities: Khost, 12,000; Tirin Kot, Job Creation 5,500; Qalat, 9,900; Bazarak, 9,400; Charikar, 45,200; Sharana, Following up on the successful program that ICMA carried out in Kabul, the 13,000; Jalalabad, 168,600. capital of Afghanistan, in 2004–2007, the Afghanistan Mission of the U .S .. Program dates: May 2007 to November 2010. Agency for International Development (USAID) granted ICMA a contract in U.S. partner cities: None thus May 2007 for the Afghanistan Municipal Strengthening Program (AMSP) .. far. Key program issues in Program Objectives Program Activities Afghanistan: The limited capacity of local governments results The new program initially focused on The program is being carried out in a lack of services for the strengthening the municipal gov- with a series of activities undertaken municipalities’ residents. ernments in six provincial capitals: in partnership with the capital cit- Tirin Kot (Uruzgan province), Qalat ies, and one of the critical strengths (Zabul), Khost (Khost), Bazarak of the AMSP has been the level of (Panjshir), Charikar (Parwan), and cooperation and the degree of com- Sharana (Paktika). mitment demonstrated by the partner municipalities. Prior to providing The AMSP provides technical assis- services, the AMSP and each munici- tance and training to city administra- pality entered into a memorandum of tors and to laborers in each city in the understanding (MOU) that delineated areas of sanitation management, road the responsibilities and resource com- rehabilitation, water management, mitments of both parties. The efforts electricity supply, park rehabilita- of each municipality have been tion, and street-side “greening”—that significant and have extended the is, planting bushes along roadways capabilities of the resources available in barren sections of the city. Small to them. Here is a menu of typical infrastructure improvements have ways in which municipalities contrib- been initiated, and work will be ute to the joint effort: supplemented with a temporary n Provide office space (and in some worker/training program that espe- municipalities, staff residences) cially targets youth. Young people for AMSP staff in the municipal will also be the key audience for spe- building or buildings owned by cial recreation programs and commu- the municipality nity events to build their connections to the areas in which they live. n Provide trucks and laborers

CityLinks 2003–2008 [ 2 2 ] http://www.icma.org/citylinks n Share expenses for the mainte- The mobilization of the AMSP offered nance of trucks and equipment a discrete set of activities geared to (except for fuel) quickly and visibly improve public services within the municipality. In n Provide for the security and stor- 2008 and 2009, the AMSP will feature age of the trucks and equipment a menu of activities such as these: n Facilitate the hiring of short- n Solid waste management term day laborers from the local community n Cleaning street and roadside cul- verts and drainage ditches n Participate in determining loca- n tions for dumping solid waste Paving streets with cobblestones Near Bazarak, the capital of Panjshir n n Restoring and expanding the province, the CityLinks team eliminated a Promote projects within the theme significant roadway hazard by building this of “Our City is Our Home.” water supply system safety wall at a dangerous curve along an important transportation route. n Rehabilitating and expanding the Another critical component of the electrical system. program will be city-to-city partnerships that link experienced U.S. local The lack of trained and compe- government officials with Afghan tent municipal staff proved to be counterparts. Central to these part- a constant in all municipalities. nerships are peer-to-peer exchanges, Accordingly, as part of the MOU through which Afghan leaders can process, the mayor worked with the ask questions and get much-needed AMSP staff to identify areas in which training and technical assistance in AMSP staff members would augment specific areas of municipal manage- the existing municipal staff. These ment. In addition to these city-to-city AMSP employees work in the munici- Workers in Tirin Kot excavate to identify partnerships, the AMSP will provide damaged and broken components of the pal facilities not only to implement training and technical assistance to water supply system; providing safe drinking water is a nationwide challenge. develop the human capital within Afghanistan and encourage the development of alliances within and beyond the country.

In order to begin rapid implementation, the AMSP approached each municipality with trained AMSP staff to be embedded into the mayor’s office and a plan featuring a pre- determined set of activities that could (1) be started quickly; (2) generate short-term employment; and (3) improve the municipality’s image to its citizens through enhanced public services.

CityLinks 2003–2008 [ 2 3 ] http://www.icma.org/citylinks the desired activities, but to serve as which employs hands-on experiences “change agents” with the municipal to help young people understand the staff. A typical AMSP augmentation economics of life. Through a similar team in a municipality might include approach, the “Afghanistan Youth in the following positions/functions: Government” program promises to make a critical contribution to a new n Provincial coordinator and better prepared generation of n Senior engineer Afghan leaders. n Site engineer To set the stage for quick, high- n City manager impact activities, ICMA established a Workers in Jalalabad make improvements presence by opening operational field in a ditch that is part of the city’s sewage n Finance/administration assistant. system. offices in all six provincial capitals While the initial focus of the AMSP within the first five months of the program was on highly visible and project. By the end of 2007, ICMA tangible results, the program will was fully staffed in each provincial move beyond quick-impact projects office as well as in Kabul, where and will start to address sustain- ICMA staff operate a management ability. The AMSP will soon broaden center for all of the AMSP activities its platform of “municipal strength- around the country. The Kabul staff ening” through a series of itera- members coordinate and oversee tive training sessions and technical the activities that take place in the assistance designed to enable the provinces and train ICMA employees municipal leaders and their staff to in the provinces. take on the challenges of stabilization To have an immediate impact and and ultimately growth in the areas build credibility for city officials in of public services and the municipal the provincial capitals, ICMA has typ- economy. ically worked first on trash collection While addressing the needs of the and the construction of cobblestone leaders in the partner municipalities, streets. For example, street construc- ICMA will also launch an aggressive tion has been started in Tirin Kot awareness program for local youth. and elsewhere, and ditch cleaning is The growth and development of the underway in Khost. These activities local youth, through an understand- have a high profile, can employ many ing of the principles of good gover- citizens, and provide a foundation on nance, will be based on the same which ICMA and the municipalities topics and content as the training and can prepare for the more challenging technical assistance being provided areas of water and electricity supply. to current municipal leaders. It will In addition to trash collection and be customized, however, to make street construction, ICMA has worked it age appropriate. The AMSP will on ditch cleaning, street rehabilita- use a model similar to that of the tion, water supply, electricity supply, internationally recognized “Junior and creating temporary jobs. Achievement Worldwide Programs,”

CityLinks 2003–2008 [ 2 4 ] http://www.icma.org/citylinks Though the security situation in up activities, USAID amended the some provinces posed a challenge project’s scope of work, asking ICMA to getting activities underway, ICMA to expand into the city of Jalalabad, was able to overcome the difficulties the capital of a seventh province, through a solid partnership with the Nangarhar. This is noteworthy given cities’ mayors and the provincial that the original USAID award cov- reconstruction teams (PRTs)—military ered only five provinces, and in six missions that provide security and months this has been extended to support to the provincial capitals in seven. ICMA hopes to build on the Afghanistan. momentum and continue expanding into additional provinces in 2008. In 2008, ICMA built on the momentum of the project’s first six months. Results ICMA continues to work closely with n Fully operational field offices the mayors in each of the provincial have been established in seven capitals to ensure that they under- provinces. stand and support the ICMA efforts. ICMA has also started new efforts n Solid waste management and in water management, electricity road rehabilitation programs have supply, youth activities, and capac- been implemented in all seven ity building for municipal staff, in all provinces. the capitals. Given the early program n AMSP staff embedded in mayors’ successes in Tirin Kot and Qalat, offices have begun capacity build- ICMA will conduct assessments to ing training for municipal staff. determine possible future activities in other areas of southern Afghanistan. n USAID has provided funding to expand the program into five On the basis of ICMA’s success- additional provinces. ful completion of the AMSP start-

CityLinks 2003–2008 [ 2 5 ] http://www.icma.org/citylinks Cuddalore and Nagapattinam, India— Port Orange, Palm Bay, and Oldsmar, Florida

India partner cities: Cuddalore Disaster Preparedness, Management, and Nagapattinam (municipalities located in southern India in the Mitigation, and Emergency Response state of Tamil Nadu). Populations of the Indian cities Coastal Restoration and Park Development (approximate): Cuddalore, 159,000; Nagapattinam, 93,000. Financial Management U.S. partners: Palm Bay, Port Orange, and Oldsmar, Florida. Improved Citizen Access to Services Program dates: April 2005 to Model Street Development September 2007. Key program issues in India: On December 26, 2004, the Indian coastline experienced the most devastat- The tsunami of December 2004 demonstrated the need to ing tsunami in recorded history ..Almost all the countries situated around prepare for and mitigate future the Bay of Bengal were affected ..Nearly 80 percent of deaths along India’s disasters along the southern Indian coastline and to build the southern coast were centered in the state of Tamil Nadu, which also incurred capacity of local governments approximately two-thirds of the property damage ..Within Tamil Nadu, the to increase the generation of cities of Nagapattinam and Cuddalore suffered much of the worst damage revenue so that they can provide basic and reliable services to and loss of life .. their citizens. In response to the tsunami, in April 2005, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) awarded the CityLinks Post Tsunami Recovery Program in Cuddalore and Nagapattinam to ICMA .

Program Objectives Program Activities The primary objective of the program To capitalize on the knowledge and was to provide disaster manage- expertise of Florida city officials, ment assistance and guidance on ICMA facilitated a working partner- the improvement service delivery to ship between the three Florida cities citizens of the two cities. A key com- and Cuddalore and Nagapattinam. ponent was the CityLinks Partnership The partnership worked to help pre- between Cuddalore and Nagapattinam pare for and mitigate future disasters and Palm Bay, Oldsmar, and Port along the southern Indian coastline, Orange, Florida. Like Tamil Nadu, as well as to build the capacity of Florida continually prepares for natu- both governments to provide basic ral disasters that include unrelenting services to their citizens. A CityLinks hurricanes throughout the state. Local team was formed, composed of ICMA and regional government officials staff, officials from the three Florida from cities like Palm Bay, Oldsmar, cities, and representatives from the and Port Orange not only have first- Urban Management Centre (UMC), hand disaster response experience, an organization based in the Indian but also provide models of good city of Ahmedabad that works in col- service delivery to citizens. laboration with ICMA to professional-

CityLinks 2003–2008 [ 2 6 ] http://www.icma.org/citylinks ize urban management in India. The been mapped, the CityLinks team “I am deeply grateful for the team provided pro-bono, hands-on identified low-lying areas and drain- educational and cultural opportunities technical assistance, capacity build- age problems and provided written ing training, and focused exchanges, recommendations in a report entitled provided to me as a participant in complemented by small and targeted 8 Ideas that Work to these com- the CityLinks Post Tsunami Recovery project assistance funding for disaster munities and to self-help groups on preparedness, computer-aided design ways to combat flooding. The team Program.” (CAD) mapping, park/playground removed the silt from drains to allow Roger Smith, public utilities development, water delivery, flood for a freer flow of water during mon- director, Port Orange, Florida mitigation, model street development, soon seasons, including over 750 run- and financial management. The part- ning meters of drainage in Cuddalore. nership and program led to lasting By cleaning the drains, which had relationships and tangible results that historically been clogged with trash, will continue to improve the quality debris and snakes, the cities miti- of life for the citizens of both cities. gated the effects of monsoons.

Disaster Preparedness, In addition, the CityLinks team Management, Mitigation, and hired a local Indian firm to survey Emergency Response both cities to determine and provide Mapping recommendations for the best way to tangibly mitigate seasonal flooding. The CityLinks Team created com- The team then worked closely with puter-aided design (CAD) base maps local communities and municipal offi- for both cities with detailed data cials in Cuddalore and Nagapattinam layers of all relevant geographic to design responsive flood mitigation features, public infrastructure sys- projects. As a result, working designs tems and facilities, land uses, and were developed for both cities, and relevant building structures. The Ponds being interconnected in cities are now better equipped to Nagapattinam to mitigate flooding. evacuate during emergencies, are able to respond to vulnerable populations more quickly, and are prepared to plan, prepare for, and develop infrastructure based on current municipal information and citizen needs. The CAD maps were also used throughout the CityLinks program by the project team and by Cuddalore and Nagapattinam for planning and implementation purposes.

Flood Mitigation The CAD maps were particularly ben- eficial in efforts to decrease seasonal flooding. Once the land features had

CityLinks 2003–2008 [ 2 7 ] http://www.icma.org/citylinks a flood mitigation pilot project was were built by hand within five days completed in Nagapattinam. Ponds at each site with approximately 4,000 and water bodies were cleaned and hours of labor donated by citizens. linked together through the widen- In-kind contributions were donated ing of seven ponds to allow for a free by citizens, the government, and flow of water during storm surges ICMA and through public-private and to provide a natural system for partnerships. In addition to the play- draining water that accumulated as a ground, the CityLinks team designed result of inclement weather. and constructed two parks, allowing for increased urban greenery and Coastal Restoration and Park improved gathering spaces for the The final design of the playground in Development tsunami-affected communities. Nagapattinam was based in part on During the December 2004 tsunami, drawings that schoolchildren made of an Financial Management “ideal” play space. parks in Cuddalore and Nagapattinam were destroyed. To revitalize these To strengthen the capacity of community spaces, the CityLinks Cuddalore and Nagapattinam in the team built two neighborhood play- area of financial management, the grounds, soliciting the involvement of CityLinks team worked with the cities over 300 schoolchildren, ages 8 to 12, to increase their own-source revenue their parents, teachers, and members generation. The team helped identify of the community. These school- more than $800,000 in uncollected children drew pictures of their ideal back taxes and as a result, more parks, which formed the basis for than $500,000 was collected by both the final designs that were approved cities. The increase in revenue was by both communities during stake- successful because the CityLinks holder meetings. The playgrounds team worked hand-in-hand with local government and finance specialists to Park construction on Silver Beach in Cuddalore. strengthen their financial skills and institutional capacity. By the close of the project, both cities had updated their financial records, identified out- standing tax payments owed to them, and improved the tax collection process. The increase in revenues has allowed Cuddalore and Nagapattinam to pay for and provide better services to citizens.

Improved Citizen Access to Services Public service delivery was addressed through the improvement of the municipal water supply and by encouraging citizens to become more

CityLinks 2003–2008 [ 2 8 ] http://www.icma.org/citylinks knowledgeable about water services. In Cuddalore, approximately 1,200 “The model street project introduced The CityLinks team surveyed citi- applications had been distributed, an approach for soliciting stakeholder zen needs and opinions, tested the and 980 applications had been filed. water, and reviewed improvement The filing of applications to hook participation in the community options, then installed chlorinators up to the municipal water supply development process. Once constructed, and pressure gauges. Chlorination— shows a significant change in citi- a low-cost, sustainable, and effec- zens’ perceptions of water quality, these streets will stand as a testament tive way to treat water—is a proven as well as their interest in supporting to the power of ordinary citizens and means for decreasing disease among the municipal water system. By suc- business owners to shape the future of citizens. Pressure gauges allow the cessfully hooking citizens up to the city to determine when the flow of municipal water systems, Cuddalore their communities.” water has been interrupted, so that and Nagapattinam have the capac- Donna Steinebach, assistant to they can ensure that citizens receive ity to increase revenues by at least the city manager, Port Orange, regular water service. The installation $150,000 per year. Florida of chlorinators and pressure gauges increased access to pure drinking Model Street Development water for over 65,000 beneficia- During an exchange visit to Florida, ries and showed concrete efforts Indian representatives were intrigued by Cuddalore and Nagapattinam to by the well-planned streets and side- address both concerns. walks that were built to accommo- date citizen, business, and municipal Once the chlorinators were installed, needs. In an effort to recreate these the CityLinks team, in partnership spaces, Cuddalore and Nagapattinam with the cities, implemented a public requested that the CityLinks team relations campaign to encourage design and facilitate the construc- citizens to hook up to the municipal tion of a model street in each city. water supply and to pay for house- In response, the CityLinks program hold water connections. Citizens had implemented stakeholder meet- previously refused to hook up to the ings, designed model street sections, water system because they were wary identified funding/financial structur- of the water quality and questioned ing opportunities, and advocated the regularity with which water was with municipal and state govern- being provided. The campaign pub- ments to provide funding for model licized the improvements in service street development initiatives. The delivery through a video shown on team developed concept papers and government television stations, an proposals and submitted them for audio/street campaign, and distribu- funding from the state government of tion of leaflets. Tamil Nadu. As the program ended, the proposals were pending approval. By the end of September 2007, 670 applications for water con- Results nections had been distributed in Nagapattinam, and approximately The CityLinks program in Cuddalore 365 applications had been filed by and Nagapattinam was a success citizens to request water connections. because it remained a dynamic

CityLinks 2003–2008 [ 2 9 ] http://www.icma.org/citylinks partnership that responded to munici- n Widened, cleaned, and connected pal needs; it was demand driven; and seven ponds to improve drainage it improved the quality of life for and reduce flooding. citizens. Although the program n Built two neighborhood play- officially ended on September 30, grounds with labor donated by 2007, the partnership fostered lasting schoolchildren, their parents, international relationships between teachers, and members of the local government professionals in community. Florida and India that will continue for years to come. The program n Designed and constructed two achieved the following results: parks, allowing for increased urban greenery and improved n Created working CAD base maps gathering spaces for the tsunami- for both cities with detailed data affected communities. layers of all relevant geographic features, public infrastructure sys- n Identified more than $800,000 tems and facilities, land uses, and in uncollected back taxes and building structures. collected more than $500,000 in actual revenues for both cities. n Removed silt from drains to allow for a freer flow of water during n Installed chlorinators and pres- monsoon seasons, including over sure gauges to provide access to 750 running meters of drainage in pure drinking water for more than Cuddalore. 65,000 beneficiaries.

CityLinks 2003–2008 [ 3 0 ] http://www.icma.org/citylinks Chiang Mai, Khon Kaen, and Phuket, Thailand—Portland, Oregon

Redevelopment Projects Thailand partner cities: Chiang Mai, Khon Kaen, and Phuket. Environmental Management Populations of the Thai cities (approximate): Chiang Mai, Financial Management 170,000; Khon Kaen, 150,000; Phuket, 76,000. Citizen Participation U.S. partner: Portland, Oregon. Program dates: September 2003 The United States-Asia Environmental Partnership (USAEP) awarded ICMA to September 2005. the CityLinks Associate Award in Thailand to strengthen municipal manage- Key program issues in Thailand: ment, improve public service delivery, and encourage democratic partici- A consortium of Thai cities perceived a need to improve pation by citizens in a consortium of cities—Chiang Mai, Khon Kaen, and environmental management Phuket—in partnership with Portland, Oregon ..The award was in direct through sound financial policies, undertake municipal response to the former Resource Cities partnership between Portland and redevelopment projects, and Rayong, Thailand, which concluded in December 2002 and allowed the city foster citizen participation in of Rayong to better respond to the challenges of decentralization through decisions affecting local services. improved financial management and increased citizen participation .

Through the CityLinks program, Portland shared practical knowledge and techniques with the consortium cities in order to improve redevelopment opportunities and environmental management through sound financial policies ..As the program progressed, citizen participation and outreach became an increasingly important component ..A smaller component includes developing and sustaining a relationship between the finance officers’ association in Thailand and the U .S-based Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) .

Program Objectives and The CityLinks program concluded Activities with a symposium highlighting lessons learned and accomplishments The partnership between Portland achieved in the three cities since the and the cities of Chiang Mai, Khon program began in 2003. The sympo- Kaen, and Phuket grew from the need sium was attended by 160 partici- to foster and improve environmental pants who included representatives management. The cities agreed to from 42 Thai municipalities, the act as a consortium to implement Thailand Municipal League, and rep- improvements in their downtown resentatives from the city of Portland, areas and to provide sustainable ICMA, and USAEP. The symposium environmental protection through the provided opportunities for the three implementation of prudent financial participant cities, along with neigh- management. boring municipalities and officials, to

CityLinks 2003–2008 [ 3 1 ] http://www.icma.org/citylinks discuss lessons learned, challenges meetings to discuss the project and and benefits, public participation its benefit with the community. In policy, and the role of local govern- addition, Khon Kaen officials met ment organizations throughout all of with the Department of Treasury to the project areas. discuss opportunities for increased economic growth and enhanced tour- Chiang Mai ism. Construction plans were devel- Redevelopment Project oped with significant community involvement and input, but only one The objective of redevelopment in contractor provided a bid. The city Chiang Mai was to beautify the Mae planned to rebid in the near future. Ping River. At this stage, Chiang CityLinks partners worked with Thai From this activity, Khon Kaen learned officials on redevelopment projects in three Mai held several public meetings to that public meetings could take many cities. discuss public sentiment and expecta- forms depending on the topic and tions. The activity did not progress target audience. as far as originally hoped, but did provide a good opportunity for the Environmental Management municipality to grow more confident The goal was to begin charging some in the citizen participation approach. users for sewer service by the end Unfortunately, the funding for this of the program. Several meetings activity did not materialize so prog- were held to discuss the principles of ress was difficult. sewer rate making, and an initial tar- Environmental Management get was identified. The sessions were held by either the mayor or deputy Chiang Mai wanted to begin to mayor and individual stakeholders. charge a small number of users for The city obtained commitments from sewer service. A public meeting was the stakeholders for an initial portion held to discuss the fee concept and to be charged, and the expectation the benefits of the principle that a was that the city would soon begin to polluter should pay. There was an ini- charge hotels and large department tial discussion of the need to set rates stores. The municipality identified based on the volume and strength of 70 hotels and businesses that had sewage. The city agreed that depart- agreed to pay a determined fee for ment stores and hotels would be the municipal services, developed a first target customers. phase-in strategy, and discussed rate Khon Kaen worksheets and reports with the hotel group. Khon Kaen originally planned Redevelopment Project to begin charges in summer 2005 but The objective of redevelopment was delayed. The staff learned that a in Khon Kaen was to improve the fee system involves not only who and commercial viability of the Rama how to charge, but also the prepara- District to ultimately enhance tour- tion of bills, collection of fees, and ism. The city held multiple public enforcement.

CityLinks 2003–2008 [ 3 2 ] http://www.icma.org/citylinks Phuket by Chiang Mai and Phuket. The Chiang Mai, Khon Kaen, and Phuket manuals and resource materials were Redevelopment Project agreed to act as a consortium to adapted, revised, translated into Thai, The goal of redevelopment in Phuket and presented at the best practices implement improvements in their was to beautify and increase the flow symposium. downtown areas and to provide capacity of the Klong Bang Yai Canal and install public access points. A public participation session sustainable environmental protection Accomplishments included the dredg- attracted attendees from the three through the adoption of sound ing of the lower section of the canal partner cities, 38 people from 16 Thai financial policies. to improve flow, the construction of a municipalities, staff identified as new park with features that encour- “trainers of trainers,” and representa- aged community gathering, and tives from the city of Portland, ICMA, multiple public meetings to discuss and USAEP. The city of Khon Kaen the project and to encourage the served as overall coordinator for the exchange of information and ideas. training session, which was devel- The activity slowed following the oped by the three cities and included destruction caused by the tsunami of examples from their CityLinks December 2004. partnership experience. The event included mock training sessions high- Environmental Management lighting the different techniques or The goal was to begin charging fees methods used to engage the commu- for sewer service by the project’s nity, such as lecture, demonstrations, end. The city of Phuket held an initial group discussions, and role play meeting to discuss the need to charge exercises. The session also provided fees, and there was general consen- a citizen participation manual that sus that those who contribute more was well received by the participating or higher-strength waste should pay municipalities, and copies were made higher fees. Following the tsunami, available on the USAEP and ICMA activity slowed, although there was Web sites. continued interest in pursuing a fee system in the future. As a result of Emergency Management Training the partnership and consortium, the In response to the devastation caused municipality of Khon Kaen requested by the tsunami, the city of Phuket assistance in creating a toolkit to help requested additional assistance to local government officials through- better prepare for future tsunamis. out Thailand implement the public Training was provided in Phuket for participation process. Khon Kaen’s 161 attendees from the city, including desire to become a national leader in the Phuket Provincial Administrative citizen participation and outreach led Office and subdistrict administrative to additional funding and assistance office, NGOs, representatives from from USAEP in the form of a Quick Rajabhat University, community Response Grant to fund the creation disaster volunteers, and the munici- of a manual or toolkit and to provide pality of Patong. The two-day session training of trainers for Khon Kaen was designed to help the community staff and additional staff identified become self-sufficient and to help

CityLinks 2003–2008 [ 3 3 ] http://www.icma.org/citylinks With help from their CityLinks partners, local authorities restore infrastructure Results and services should another disaster the Thai cities developed techniques for n strike. Topics covered included disas- A consortium of Thai cities was citizen participation and involvement ter awareness and planning before, created to address common issues. through public meetings and other during, and after such an event; the impact of potential disasters on n Sustainable environmental man- opportunities for input into decision transportation, utilities, water and agement was improved through making. sewer systems, and structures; critical the implementation of prudent response operations such as dam- financial management. This objec- age assessments, command posts, tive was difficult, but the consor- field operations, public safety, and tium cities held initial forums to medical surge operations; and critical discuss the need for and benefits repair operations to assist displaced of a fee-for-service system. In communities; debris removal; and addition, the cities learned how to infrastructure repair. develop a rate structure that can ultimately help the cities develop Support for the Local Financial a fee system. Association n With assistance from Portland, One component of the Thailand the cities developed a manual or program was a partnership between citizen participation toolkit that the U.S.-based Government Finance provided information about the Officers Association (GFOA) and techniques and processes involved finance officers in Thailand. It was in ensuring that the community is hoped that GFOA would be able to engaged and knowledgeable about provide training and technical assis- the municipalities’ administration tance to the Thai Finance Officers and programs. These techniques Association and to assist with accred- were used to gain support within itation. Unfortunately, national laws the communities for redevelop- were implemented that made results ment and environmental manage- difficult to achieve. It was hoped that ment discussions. the relationship between the two associations would continue beyond n Training was provided to assist the program’s end in September 2005. Phuket and other municipalities affected by the tsunami so that they can better prepare for and respond to future environmental challenges.

CityLinks 2003–2008 [ 34 ] http://www.icma.org/citylinks Tirana, Albania—Catawba County, North Carolina

Municipal Assets Management Albania partner city: Tirana. Population of Tirana: about Business Licensing and Permitting 586,000 as of December 2005 (according to an estimate made Solid Waste Management by Tirana municipal officials). U.S. partner: Catawba County, North Carolina. The partnership between the city of Tirana, Albania, and Catawba County, North Carolina, began in 2002 during a critical period for reforms inaugu- Albanian local partner organization: Institute for rated by the new mayor of Tirana, Edi Rama ..During the previous decade of Development Research and transition, the nation’s local government system had suffered corruption and Alternatives (IDRA). mismanagement ..In addition, the neglected public infrastructure was crum- Program dates: February 2002- bling under a wave of migration from the north and ever-increasing urban May 2004; September 2005- September 2007. expansion, especially in the city of Tirana .. Key program issues in Tirana: USAID provided funding for the partnership between Tirana and Catawba In-migration and urban expansion were putting increasing County, first under the Resource Cities Program and later under CityLinks, to pressure on the city’s public help the city address these formidable management challenges .. infrastructure and solid waste services. At the same time, the city was implementing reforms Program Objectives Catawba County, with its publicly after emerging from a period of recognized and well-managed depart- corruption and mismanagement. Tirana sought to improve management of public works, was able to ment and service delivery in infra- assist Tirana with infrastructure man- structure and asset management; agement and municipal code enforce- licensing and permitting processes ment issues. Catawba County officials (backed up by building code enforce- also worked with officials in Tirana ment); and a number of issues to balance municipal budgeting and related to solid waste collection and revenue generation with capital disposal. Although the level of litter infrastructure development. In addi- in Tirana’s center had been reduced tion, the officials worked together significantly by a metal waste con- to improve citizen participation and tainer pilot project, there were still ensure a transparent decision-making waste spillovers due to an ineffective process. The partnership achieved cycle of trash collection, and the city impressive results during its first needed to take additional steps to phase (2002-2004), but challenges reduce unsightly waste spillages in its remained, particularly in the area of downtown. Furthermore, the city had solid waste collection and disposal. not implemented environmentally sound practices to deal with industrial waste, a by-product of the new construction that accompanied the city’s rapid growth.

CityLinks 2003–2008 [ 3 5 ] http://www.icma.org/citylinks “We’re hoping that our efforts will result Program Activities businesses could pay for all municipal services, licenses, taxes, and fees. in clean streets for Tirana, by improving Municipal Assets Management A database with up-to-date informa- municipal waste management and Changes in Albania’s laws made pos- tion on businesses and their activi- citizen awareness.” sible the transfer to the municipality ties was designed to enable the city of Tirana the administration of 25 to generate records of all receivable Barry Edwards, director of utilities formerly state-owned enterprises with taxes and fees and pursue delinquent and engineering, Catawba County assets such as land, buildings, and businesses. Connecting this database equipment. Most of these enterprises to various city departments promised were related to heavy industry. Tirana to increase the city’s capacity to plan had a mandate from the national and collect its revenues. government to manage the funds Permitting attached to these assets for upkeep or operations. The partnership Evaluation of Tirana’s existing build- introduced a system to accurately ing code enforcement and compli- evaluate the municipal enterprises ance system revealed a problematic so that Tirana could make informed and fractured policy structure. The decisions about the future of each of municipality and three national layers the newly acquired enterprises. This involved in building permitting com- project prepared Tirana for successful municated poorly and seldom if ever municipal ownership by establishing shared data. To remedy the situation, a master inventory database as a tool Catawba County provided Tirana for analyzing the profitability of each with tools and technical advice to enterprise and preparing a master help the city develop and implement plan for the restructuring of its assets. a transparent process for legalizing existing illegal buildings, issuing Business Licensing future building construction permits, The transition from a centralized and implementing an integrated economy to one that encourages local building code development and com- approaches to economic development pliance system that ensured public created a need for local authorities safety and minimized corruption. The to support businesses and improve partnership also formed a task force services to them. To improve Tirana’s charged with creating an enabling business permitting process and over- environment for application of the sight, the partners designed a license policy tools developed through this program that not only gave the local partnership. Utilizing these tools was government a new revenue source expected to help Tirana reduce the but also increased its control over corruption that leads to the construc- business activities by using higher tion of illegal and unsafe buildings. fees and taxation to discourage enter- At the national level, the tools could prises that lessen the health or safety create a sound foundation for a new of the community. building codes compliance system based on a partnership between Central to the program was the national and local governments and concept of a “one-stop shop” where private agencies.

CityLinks 2003–2008 [ 3 6 ] http://www.icma.org/citylinks Solid Waste Management taminated fluids that pollute under- “Clean-up Day and the recycling ground waters and the air. Tirana’s system of solid waste man- programs it’s launching are models agement was beset by problems in Solid Waste Collection and that could be replicated in other both collection and disposal. The Recycling contractors that were providing clean- neighborhoods, as well as elsewhere in Priorities for the second phase of ing and waste disposal services were the partnership were solid waste Albania.” running costly and inefficient opera- collection and the introduction of a Auron Pasha, executive director, tions. Moreover, insufficient equip- pilot recycling program in Tirana. To Institute for Development ment and obsolete operations had begin the process, Catawba County Research and Alternatives turned the municipal landfill into a worked with Tirana officials to serious environmental concern. assess the current state of Tirana’s solid waste collection management With assistance from Catawba and infrastructure, including regula- County, Tirana implemented a pilot tions, contracts with waste collection program for solid waste collection, contractors, and tariffs. New waste using containers designed specifically collection system areas, based on for Tirana’s needs. Metal solid waste area and street distances, were desig- container units—heavy, secure, and nated. The city was divided into four lockable—were installed at specially waste collection zones. The associ- calculated distances from each other ated waste collection contracts with across the city center and provide private contractors were also assessed collection flexibility for multiple by the officials, who considered such waste and recycling streams. The factors as the waste stream, collec- containers, suitable for painting or tion points, and number and size of decoration, can be used as advertis- containers. ing billboards to stimulate municipal revenues and pay development costs Tirana, with assistance from Catawba or to disseminate public information. County officials, then determined the city’s waste management and To address waste disposal problems, waste collection points citywide the partners developed a strategic and recorded the collection points plan for the old Tirana landfill and in a geographic information system for a new one to be built midway (GIS). The waste generation rates between Tirana and Dures, the of collection points were observed second largest Albanian city. They and assessed. City “hot teams” and also developed a plan to improve the contractor representatives were dis- management of the current landfill patched for street and bin inspections and extend its life. With the help of a three times a day in their respective grant and a loan from the Italian gov- zones. ernment, Tirana implemented many of the plan’s recommendations, such Next, Tirana and Catawba County as covering and cleaning the landfill, developed a street cleanliness reconstructing the roadway leading to program and scale. The program it, and reducing the amount of con- included street-cleaning zone

CityLinks 2003–2008 [ 3 7 ] http://www.icma.org/citylinks development issues and review of the Networking (EDEN), private contrac- private contractors’ 2007 contracts tors, university students, a paper mill with the city. It was based on New representative, and a paper recycler York City’s Scorecard Program, which representative. City officials gave the was managed by the mayor’s office, task force volunteers an overview to monitor street cleanliness and of the city’s solid waste challenges citizens’ awareness about the issues. and introduced the city’s plans for a pilot recycling program. In addition, To kick off the street cleanliness the task force volunteers shared their program and initiate the recycling concerns, needs, and ideas regarding initiative, Tirana officials selected a the city’s overall solid waste manage- pilot zone. Known as the “Television ment program. Block” neighborhood, the selected zone had a broad base of waste An early responsibility of the vol- generators that included residential unteer task force was a door-to- buildings of various size, villas, dif- door outreach campaign within the fering business types, educational Television Block. Volunteers admin- institutions, and several embassies. istered a questionnaire that sought to determine the rate at which the A volunteer task force was created to city’s household waste was disposed A poster for the Clean-up and Pilot Recycling Day event. lead the efforts within the Television and the volume of recyclable plastics, Block. This volunteer task force paper, and aluminum and to assess included city staff, government offi- citizens’ attitudes toward separation cials from the health department, a of household waste at the source. national ministry-level representative, This effort was significant because staff from the Environmental Center Tirana had gone from zero participa- for Development Education and tion to formation of a volunteer task The poster art exhibition for the Clean-up force. and Pilot Recycling Day event. Clean-up and Recycling Day To highlight progress and kick off the city’s pilot recycling program, a Clean-up and Recycling Day event was held in May 2007 in the Television Block neighborhood. Approximately 30 volunteers from the city, Catawba County, the Institute for Development Research and Alternatives (IDRA), EDEN, the Red Cross, local universities, and ICMA gathered to participate in the event.

Four cleaning and recycling teams worked with shovels, brooms, and scrapers to clean and pick up recy-

CityLinks 2003–2008 [ 3 8 ] http://www.icma.org/citylinks clables; then new recycling bins Tirana. As a first step, Tirana and were distributed, the streets were Catawba County officials conducted washed and sanitized, and the teams assessments of the construction and distributed brochures to citizens on demolition (C&D) waste generated the street and leaflets to businesses. by the city, C&D waste disposal at The materials were created by city the Sharra Landfill, and illegal C&D officials and can be used for future dump sites in and around the city. recycling programs the city imple- They also collected the European ments. In conjunction with the four Union’s C&D waste statistical data teams, city officials worked with the in order to have an internationally solid waste and recycling contractors; recognized standard against which to conducted interviews with the media; compare the assessment data. interacted with the surrounding neighborhood businesses and resi- Catawba County officials then drafted dents; and prepared for the mayor’s a waste stream analysis and C&D arrival at the event. waste management concept paper as a foundation for the development of Other activities that occurred during a program for Tirana. In developing and after the Clean-up Day included: the concept paper, the team sought input from the city’s financial and n A competition among art school legal departments, the building com- students to design a poster with munity, and the national Ministries of the theme “I Recycle for Tirana’s Policy and Planning for Public Works, Future” Urban Planning, and Environment. n Development of media campaign products for the event: posters; brochures for the public; leaflets for businesses participating in The Sharra Landfill in 2005 (right) and in 2007 (below). the recycling campaign; public television announcements; and a children’s coloring and game book n Post-event activities focusing on environmental topics n Plans for replication of the event in other pilot areas n Development of a Recycling Handbook as a resource and tangible tool for the city.

Construction and Demolition Waste Management Waste generated by the demolition and construction of buildings had been identified as a major issue in

CityLinks 2003–2008 [ 3 9 ] http://www.icma.org/citylinks The program proposed in the draft varied depending on the location of n Improved the environmental was generally accepted, but ministry the site, the number of local govern- conditions, maintenance, and life officials expressed several concerns, ments involved, and the size of the extension of the Sharra Landfill requesting a study to determine the site. They appeared eager to sup- through better operations financial feasibility of a C&D facil- port Tirana in its efforts and also n Improved the management of the ity and a “management and control” to develop countrywide policies city’s infrastructure assets study to determine the best opera- and standards for these kinds of tional course for proceeding with processes. n Created a model practice for more such a facility. Catawba County offi- cost-effective contracting with the cials also explored the feasibility of a Catawba County officials also briefed private sector for waste collection bidding provision that would require the director and staff of the Tirana services recycled material in new construc- Building Association on the city’s n Developed a model pilot waste tion, but they learned that regulatory plans for a future C&D waste facil- container program and legal action would be needed. ity and the ministry representatives’ cooperation. n Developed citizen surveys to eval- As a next step, the Catawba County uate the solid waste system and officials met with representatives Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) determine how citizens felt about from the same ministries to discuss Meetings were held in 2006 and early participating in a pilot recycling models that Tirana could use. The 2007 with the Sharra Landfill engi- program model they recommended for Tirana neers, from the T.E.I. Group in Milan, n Introduced a pilot recycling pro- was a DBOT (Design, Build, Operate, Italy, to develop plans for a materials gram with a neighborhood event and Transfer) facility. With a DBOT, recovery facility (MRF) at the Sharra and public awareness campaign financing of the C&D waste manage- Landfill and/or a possible future ment facility would be provided by landfill site. The proposed Tirana n Developed “how to’s” for solid the private sector entity that would MRF would remove recyclables from waste management, construction then design, build, own, and later the waste stream before the waste is and demolition management, transfer ownership to the city at an transported to a remote disposal site. landfill management, and a mate- agreed-upon time. rials recovery facility (MRF) and Results transfer station The meetings with the ministry The Tirana–Catawba County partner- n Produced a Recycling Handbook representatives also included dis- ship achieved the following results: for local government officials and cussions of each ministry’s role in youth. the selection of a new landfill site n Analyzed and revamped the city and in the building of a C&D waste of Tirana’s solid waste collection facility. The ministries’ involvement system

CityLinks 2003–2008 [ 40 ] http://www.icma.org/citylinks Bulgaria CityLinks Program

Local Economic Development Bulgaria partner communities: more than 50 municipalities throughout Bulgaria, working Infrastructure Management with CityLinks on local economic development, infrastructure Waste Management management, and/or waste management. Recognizing the challenges facing local government in Bulgaria, in 1997 the Populations of Bulgaria and participating municipalities: United States Agency for International Development (USAID) charged ICMA for Bulgaria overall, 7,640,000 with helping Bulgaria find sustainable local solutions to problems accompa- (2008 estimate); the Bulgarian nying the country’s unsteady march toward democracy and decentralization .. CityLinks municipalities range in population from 10,000 to In partnership with the Bulgarian Foundation for Local Government Reform 350,000. (FLGR), ICMA’s Bulgarian Technical Twinning Program was created ..Through U.S. partners: village of ICMA and FLGR, USAID initiated a pilot partnership program between U .S .. Johnstown, Ohio; San Bernardino cities and Bulgarian municipalities that included five phases, starting in 1997 .. County (California) Economic Development Agency; and seven U.S. cities: Charlottesville, The CityLinks program in Bulgaria celebrated its tenth anniversary in 2007, Virginia; Auburn, Alabama; and in that year the program had significant achievements in its three pro- Winchester, Virginia; Kettering, gram areas: local economic development, infrastructure management, and Ohio; West Carrollton, Ohio; Golden, Colorado; and West Bend, waste management ..Also in 2007, USAID granted a seven-month extension Wisconsin. for the program, for September 2007 through February 2008, to bridge the Bulgarian local partner period of local elections and to help FLGR establish or reestablish relation- organization: Foundation for ships with newly elected local governments .. Local Government Reform (FLGR). Phase V of the program, August 2004 through February 2008, was designed Program dates: August 2004 to to build on components from the earlier phases that had been most success- February 2008. ful and that had made the greatest impact on the development of Bulgarian Key program issues in Bulgaria: As Bulgaria made the municipalities ..It also set the stage for continuing changes in the way transition to democracy and Bulgarian municipalities are managed and serve their citizens ..As a very suc- decentralization, local economic cessful model for creation of partnerships between Bulgarian and U .S ..cities, development became a high priority for cities; infrastructure the program further fostered the exchange, upgrading, and wide dissemina- management and waste tion of experience, know-how, and effective local government practices .. management soon emerged as additional areas where U.S. partners could share best Program Objectives Program Activities practices. The goals of the program were (1) to Program activities focused on three strengthen the capacity of Bulgarian areas: local economic development local governments to develop and and marketing, replication of infra- apply new approaches and meth- structure management practices, odologies for solving their current and replication of a pilot composting problems and (2) to enhance the program. capabilities of Bulgarian local governments to facilitate economic growth.

CityLinks 2003–2008 [ 4 1 ] http://www.icma.org/citylinks Replication of best practices was an Local Economic Development important component during Phase Consortium for Local Economic V, in which an increasing number Development of practices developed in the United States and piloted in Bulgarian Local economic development (LED) municipalities were introduced was a major priority for the CityLinks throughout the country with the program in Bulgaria during the pro- assistance of Bulgarian professionals. gram’s 2002–2004 phase. Over that As the CityLinks program developed period, substantial resources were from phase to phase, it also evolved, used to enhance and strengthen the with the traditional city-to-city LED capacities of Bulgarian munici- Bulgarian local economic development partnerships giving way in Phase V palities by establishing a consortium training participants with their with U.S. cities and by implementing counterparts from Auburn, Alabama. to new partnership models based on networking. The exchange of experi- a large-scale economic development ence and best practices continued and marketing program. Uniting with the assistance of experts from the joint efforts of Bulgarian and Auburn, Alabama; Charlottesville, U.S. cities resulted in the creation Virginia; Golden, Colorado; West of the Bulgarian Local Economic Bend, Wisconsin; Kettering, West Development Partnership (BLEDP), a Carrollton, and Johnstown, Ohio; and broad network of leading Bulgarian San Bernardino, California. municipalities and economic development specialists. BLEDP provided its Bulgarian participants with strength- ened capacities to offer professional The Bulgarian Local Economic Development Partnership exhibited at a trade fair in Poland services to businesses and to lead under the sponsorship of the Foundation for Local Government Reform in 2005. proactive economic development programs.

To build on the success of the previous phase, the fifth and final program phase involved the expansion and further development of the consortium through the institutionalization of LED technical assistance, marketing, training, and the certification of Bulgarian municipalities as “ready for business.” Those activities allowed the municipalities to continue to be successful in their LED efforts following USAID “graduation,” that is, when FLGR is self-sustaining and no longer receives funds from USAID. As an example of institutionalization, FLGR assumed responsibility for the certification program.

CityLinks 2003–2008 [ 4 2 ] http://www.icma.org/citylinks CityLinks activities in Bulgaria sought regional, and central governments “We worked diligently to transfer to help the BLEDP network accom- and their civic partners with build- our [local economic development] plish the following: ing public consensus on important development issues. This confer- techniques and knowledge to n Become more effective in bring- ence brought together more than 180 ing economic development to its enable our partner cities to fully participants, including the USAID municipalities Mission representatives from Sofia understand the method of recruiting n Increase awareness of the impor- and Macedonia; Bulgarian mayors, and retaining business and industry tance of local economic develop- municipal council chairs, deputy to their municipalities. This training ment among municipalities mayors, and city officials and experts from 48 Bulgarian municipalities; effort gave us the opportunity to n Implement certification “with four Bulgarian regional governors; excellence”—an advanced level of visit throughout Bulgaria and see representatives from seven Bulgarian the certification program national ministries and two agen- municipalities we would not normally n Develop the BLEDP network into cies; representatives from Bulgaria- get the chance to visit. The effort on a strong platform to attract private based businesses, universities, and behalf of Auburn was tremendous. We investment to Bulgarian munici- NGOs; and representatives from the palities, thus creating new job Italian Chamber of Commerce, the sent 14 staff people at various times to opportunities Institute for Economic Modeling and do work or training in teams with our Development Strategies in Ireland, n Institutionalize technical assis- counterparts. The experience for them tance and LED efforts to allow the Association for German Technical sustainability after USAID Collaboration (GTZ), and the was wonderful.” graduation. Bulgaria-based foreign missions of Phillip Dunlap, Economic Ireland, Norway, and France. Development Director, Auburn, Local Economic Development Alabama Conferences The keynote presentation provided an In November 2006 FLGR held its first analysis of Bulgaria’s competitiveness annual LED conference, “Businesses in the globalizing world. Other topics and Municipalities: Partners for addressed by conference presenters Economic Development” in Sofia. included the importance of having a More than 200 participants heard ses- common vision and strategy at the sions on mobilizing business involve- national, regional, and municipal ment in municipal investment and levels; mutual trust and cooperation business environment improvement among the different levels of govern- policies; municipalities as suppliers of ment; and effective utilization of EU needs-based administrative services funds for regional projects. to businesses; intermunicipal coop- Waste Management eration; European Union guidelines for successful public-private partner- In the 2002–2004 phase of the ships; and other topics. CityLinks program, the successful implementation of a pilot compost- In February 2008 FLGR organized a ing program increased the interest second national conference, which in waste management among other encouraged dialogue among stake- Bulgarian communities. holders and assisted Bulgarian local,

CityLinks 2003–2008 [ 43 ] http://www.icma.org/citylinks “The project began with 14 The municipalities of Boliarovo and generated compost for use mostly Tundja (both in Yambol province), in farming. Each site was equipped municipalities in the spring of 2003. two of the original participating with containers for solid waste, The municipal leaders of these cities during the 2002–2004 phase, and municipal officials and ecolo- municipalities had the vision to realize increased their capacity in solid gists organized the regular turning waste management. The two were of the piles with machinery. A local the need for the collection of current also committed to improving their Bulgarian nongovernmental organi- information and its analysis, the efforts through further expansion of zation, the Bulgarian Association of maintenance of databases on the local the composting program and to shar- Municipal Environmental Experts ing their knowledge and experience (BAMEE), as well as the Ministry of business environment, and specialists with Bulgarian municipalities inter- the Environment, worked with the trained in recruiting investments to the ested in replicating the composting municipalities through the program to activities. In 2004–2007, 15 additional expand the efforts and improve over- municipalities. The start was difficult. municipalities built on and utilized all solid waste management practices Following our participation in several the expertise of Boliarovo and Tundja, in the country. The program was sup- trade shows and as a result of an with the aim of ensuring sustainabil- ported by U.S. training that is now ity beyond the end of the CityLinks delivered by Bulgarian trainers. aggressive marketing policy, the efforts program. started to produce results.” Infrastructure Management Overall, 19 municipalities intro- Zlatko Zhivkov, Mayor, Montana, Many Bulgarian municipalities duced a pilot composting program, Bulgaria have faced the challenges of both established one or more composting maintaining old urban infrastruc- sites, conducted a public educa- ture and developing new systems. tion campaign to inform citizens In November 2000, an infrastruc- of the benefits of composting, and ture management partnership that focused on developing asset and financial management plans for the Joe Roller (right), pro bono landscape architect from the partner city of Kettering, Ohio, provided technical assistance to several Bulgarian municipalities. public infrastructure was established between the municipality of Veliko Turnovo (Veliko Turnovo province), and the city of Golden, Colorado. The partnership was successfully replicated in the six districts of the city of Plovdiv. These projects increased the capacity of both Veliko Turnovo and Plovdiv to prepare for and manage long-term infrastructure needs.

Based on the improved capacity in Veliko Turnovo and Plovdiv, the replication of infrastructure management best practices was expanded to eight other Bulgarian municipalities between 2004 and 2007. The three- year effort built on and utilized the

CityLinks 2003–2008 [ 44 ] http://www.icma.org/citylinks expertise of Veliko Turnovo and a business and tourist destination; n An economic development strat- Plovdiv to help ensure sustainability prepare for and acquire certification egy and marketing materials were of these best practices in the future. as “ready for business”; replicate developed for all participating successful models for infrastructure municipalities, and a marketing In addition, Veliko Turnovo and management; and replicate programs Web site was launched to handle Plovdiv developed a new project in for source separation, composting, inquiries and coordinate visits the field of infrastructure manage- and improvement of waste manage- with potential investors. ment related to bridge maintenance. ment in rural areas. n 33 municipalities were certified as The new activities included a com- “ready for business” and began prehensive assessment of ten bridges Results applying a professional approach in the two cities and the development Overall, the CityLinks program to economic development. of a financial plan for their mainte- increased the capacity of Bulgarian nance and replacement. These efforts n 19 jurisdictions successfully repli- municipalities to directly support built on best practices in the United cated a pilot composting program, local economic development, prepare States, as applied to the Bulgarian supported by training, public for and manage long-term infra- environment. In this way, there was education, and acquisition of structure needs, and manage waste an expansion in the exchange of composting sites and equipment. services. Key achievements included infrastructure management expertise, the following: n The replication of an infrastruc- which, in previous rounds of the ture management model from program implementation, had been n Replication of best practices in Golden, Colorado, was extended identified as a key area for needed multiple jurisdictions, and the to 8 new Bulgarian municipalities, cooperation. sharing of experiences through resulting in the development of a Best Practices Symposium, asset and financial management Best Practices Symposium increased the impact of improve- plans for street maintenance and ments implemented in the course In June 2007, a Best Practices repair. Symposium, “Get Ready for of the program. n 9 municipalities adopted an Business,” was held in Varna, n In the last three years of the optimized street and road mainte- Bulgaria. The symposium was program, 25 new LED projects nance model. dedicated to 10 years of Bulgarian– were implemented that resulted in American Partnership as well as the 2,500 new jobs; 120 million Euros results and projects achieved under were invested in new business the final phase of the program. projects; and 20 million Euros were invested in expansion of The symposium attracted 120 people, existing businesses. including representatives from more than 50 municipalities (mayors, n The position of a local economic chairs of municipal councils, munici- development specialist was cre- pal experts), regional governments; ated in 39 municipalities; offices nongovernmental organizations, and dedicated economic development the business sector. The symposium were established in many of them; provided an excellent opportunity for 17 business advisory boards were participants to share their experiences established; and more than 100 and knowledge about how to support LED professionals from participat- local and foreign companies; create ing municipalities were trained. new jobs; market the municipality as

CityLinks 2003–2008 [ 4 5 ] http://www.icma.org/citylinks Alaska—Russian Far East Partnership Program

Russian Far East partner Local Economic Development communities: Bolshoy Kamen, Dolinsk, Bikin, Ussuriysk, Nevelsk, Luchegorsk, Arsenyev, and In the Russian Far East (RFE), the easternmost federal district of the Russian Vyazemsky. Federation, the standard of living lags behind the rest of the country despite Populations of the Russian (and in part because of) the area’s natural resources ..Natural resource devel- communities: Bolshoy Kamen, 38,394, according to 2002 opment has overshadowed the development of a more diversified economy, census; Dolinsk, 12,555; Bikin, distances are vast, and the climate harsh; thus the RFE’s infrastructure is 19,641; Ussuriysk, 157,759; Nevelsk, 18,639; Luchegorsk, poor, and energy and transportation costs are extraordinarily high . 22,365; Arsenyev, 62,896; Vyazemsky (town), 15,760. Many small, isolated communities in the RFE struggle to maintain basic ser- U.S. partners: Alaskan cities vices such as health care, heat, and electricity ..Outdated or underdeveloped of Wasilla, Anchorage, Kenai, infrastructure paralyzes communities as they pursue sustainable economic Skagway, and Juneau, as opportunities, but businesses are not willing to locate in a community or well as the Juneau Economic Development Council, Skagway region that lacks adequate public services ..Operating under new laws that Development Corporation, are rarely fully understood or enforced, local governments in the RFE are and Kenai Peninsula Economic Development District. ready to embrace economic growth, but implementation remains a problem .

Program dates: September 2005 Cities in the RFE, unsure of their role in local economic development, have to September 2007. been stifled by years of centralized planning and regulation, an inability to Key program issues in Russia: promote competition, and isolation from the rest of the world ..Despite such Russia’s Federal Law # 131, which was passed in October 2003, challenges, cities have begun to open their doors to tourism, encourage gives local governments new homegrown entrepreneurship, and carry out vigorous marketing campaigns authorities and responsibilities, but local governments are to attract and expand investment to bring needed revenues and improve struggling to implement it, due to citizens’ lives . the communities’ lack of revenue and know-how. The CityLinks partnerships in the two-year Alaska-Russian Far East (RFE) Partnership Program involved the Alaskan cities of Anchorage, Kenai, Juneau, Skagway, and Wasilla and eight Russian communities in Primorsky Krai (territory), Khabarovsk Krai, and on the island of Sakhalin, which is part of Sakhalin Oblast (province): Nevelsk, Dolinsk, Bikin, Luchegorsk, Vyazemsky, Arsenyev, Ussuriysk, and Bolshoy Kamen .

Collaborating with ICMA on the program were two Russian institutions: the Counterpart Enterprise Fund (CEF) in the city of Khabarovsk, Khabarovsk Krai, and the Institute of Urban Economics (IUE) in Moscow ..The local RFE partner, CEF, worked on the ground, helping ICMA implement the program, and IUE provided additional resources, especially sharing best practices from other Russian cities, which was key to the sustainability goals for the program .

CityLinks 2003–2008 [ 46 ] http://www.icma.org/citylinks Program Objectives Bolshoy Kamen-Kenai The objective of the CityLinks Bolshoy Kamen, Primorsky Krai, Alaska-RFE program was to provide recognized the need to become self- RFE communities with the tools they sustaining to prepare for the day needed to implement successful local when it ceases to have the central economic development programs. government subsidies that come To help achieve that objective, the with its “closed city” status. The city program provided access to hands-on identified the need for a business technical assistance, training, and incubator to help achieve that goal. focused exchanges with the cities’ With the assistance of ICMA person- Alaskan partner cities in order give nel and economic development staff Staff from Bolshoy Kamen explain their RFE community leaders the opportu- from Kenai, Alaska, the partners from municipal budget to partners from Kenai, Alaska. nity to learn about municipal man- the Bolshoy Kamen city government agement and economic development and the Bolshoy Kamen Institute of strategies from local government col- Economics and Technology drafted a leagues who have practical, on-the- proposal to have the business incu- ground knowledge. bator developed on a municipally owned site. ICMA and Kenai staff The program, which began in 2005, participants provided guidance and focused on sustainable community assistance throughout the develop- and economic development, with ment of the incubator, including each of the partnerships undertaking training and technical advice on site a project specific to the needs of the selection, establishment of regula- Russian city and the expertise of the tions and guidelines, and defining the Alaskan partner city. role of stakeholders and the resources that they could provide. Bolshoy Program Activities Kamen secured about $15,500 in funding from the city administration The CityLinks RFE program entailed to have the new facility renovated two rounds of implementation. and equipped. Throughout the program, eight partnerships participated in sev- This incubator will leverage the eral exchange visits, from Russia to already active business plan train- Alaska and from Alaska to Russia. ing at the Institute of Economics Some of the projects were assisted and Technology. The incubator will by IUE, and the successful pilot provide assistance and training to municipalities from the first round potential new businesses in the areas of implementation were encour- of marketing, accounting, permit- aged to mentor new municipalities. ting, and management. It will allow Mentorships and the sharing of businesses without access to credit resources played an important role in to establish themselves at minimal ensuring sustainability as skills were cost, as the institute and the city will transferred from U.S. municipal offi- provide basic services and building cials to their Russian counterparts. space as well as training and support.

CityLinks 2003–2008 [ 4 7 ] http://www.icma.org/citylinks “This has been an exciting, educational, The incubator is slated to open in In 2007, with JEDC assistance, the 2008, with the aim of increasing the municipal economic development and dynamic relationship for everyone number of self-sustaining businesses department of Bikin completed the involved. As a result of this partnering in Bolshoy Kamen. That, in turn, is brick-factory business plan and experience, mutual understanding is expected to lead to more jobs in the started to design promotional materi- community, more tax revenues for als and market their business idea to growing both in Alaska and the Russian the city government, and a decreased potential investors. By the end of the Far East. Such interaction is necessary dependence on current local factories program, municipal officials had met to promote world peace and economic and central government subsidies. with several potential investors and entrepreneurs, including owners of development.” Bikin-Juneau another privately owned brick plant. Kevin Ritchie, former director, To foster economic diversification, The economic development skills Alaska Municipal League the city administration of Bikin, acquired during the process will serve Khabarovsk Krai, proposed reopening the community in the future, and the a brick manufacturing plant that had economic development specialists ceased operations in the early 1990s. will continue to look for new market Experts from the Juneau (Alaska) opportunities to involve small busi- Economic Development Council nesses in the processing of agricul- (JEDC) provided training and mentor- tural and non-timber forest products, ing in the preparation and use of a in construction, and in other produc- business plan and a marketing strat- ing/manufacturing industries. egy and assisted in designing Bikin’s Dolinsk-Anchorage package of development incentives to help attract investments in a start-up To increase private investment and Staff from the city of Anchorage, Alaska, company. sustain local businesses, officials in speak to visitors from Dolinsk about Dolinsk, Sakhalin Oblast, decided Anchorage’s landfill operations to provide that the creation of an industrial an overview of how the city’s operations all contribute to economic development. park/economic development area would increase the demand for Dolinsk property and attract new developers and investors to the city. Alaskan partners, ICMA experts, and the IUE helped formalize a business park concept, providing support on physical site plan recommendations, identifying the business park site, and developing performance indicators to evaluate successful implementation of the project. Dolinsk began to sell municipal land, a relatively new activity for the local government. The Dolinsk-Anchorage partners obtained and studied several clas- sic planning examples from the United States as well as successful

CityLinks 2003–2008 [ 4 8 ] http://www.icma.org/citylinks Russian experiences on business assets. Staff from Arsenyev expressed parks. Dolinsk officials started work an interest in developing tourism on legal registration of the park, opportunities within their community identifying tenants, and organizing a and creating a “one-stop permitting public relations campaign to promote office” for all tourism-related permits. the advantages of doing business in Wasilla staff shared the experiences Dolinsk. of the Matanuska-Susitna (Mat-Su) Valley Convention and Visitors’ Ussuriysk-Wasilla Bureau (CVB) with their Arsenyev Partnered with the city of Wasilla, counterparts. The Alaska partners Alaska, the community of Ussuriysk, also helped Arsenyev develop a scheme for a fund to help market the Officials from Wasilla and Arsenyev review Primorsky Krai, was seeking to Arsenyev’s tourism promotion materials. enhance the relationship between city’s tourist attractions and establish the municipality and its small and a pilot program for a one-stop permit- medium enterprises. The Ussuriysk ting office for tourism enterprises, and Wasilla partners also collaborated which would enable entrepreneurs to on the development of an improved more easily and efficiently open new tourism industry as a component of businesses. the local Ussuriysk economy. An active tourism advisory board In 2007, working with Wasilla staff had been working with the Arsenyev and the IUE, Ussuriysk completed municipal administration to support the creation of a business advisory the tourism industry, but the board council in the city and introduced a was looking for ways to fund addi- one-window approach to streamlining tional programs. If the tourism board the issuance of land use permits and could implement a “bed tax” that building permits for start-ups and would be paid by visitors and col- existing businesses. Ussuriysk’s local lected by all the hotels in the area, museum provided a world map for that would generate revenue for visitors to mark their home locations, general tourism projects such as the allowing staff to track where the visi- production of publicity materials. tors were coming from. An inventory of existing tourism-related business The administration of Arsenyev was conducted, and the city Web site changed while the program was was updated with foreign language underway, and the new administra- tools. tion decided to eliminate the department that oversees tourism activity. Arsenyev-Wasilla However, the new officials did pass a resolution allowing proposals from In late 2006, the city of Arsenyev, organizations to form a tourism Primorsky Krai, was paired with bureau like the Mat-Su CVB, which Wasilla, Alaska, to collaborate on was a significant step toward tourism an economic development project to development in Arsenyev. increase employment opportunities in the RFE city and capitalize on its

CityLinks 2003–2008 [ 4 9 ] http://www.icma.org/citylinks “Success can be measured in many Vyazemsky-Skagway Nevelsk-Anchorage different ways, and I feel strongly that Officials in Vyazemsky District, The city of Nevelsk, Sakhalin Oblast, Vyazemsky and Skagway succeeded Khabarovsk Krai, asked for assis- and its surrounding area possess tance in developing a business plan plentiful natural, material, and in all aspects of our partnership. The that could be presented to regional recreational resources, but it lacks dedicated staff in Vyazemsky expanded officials and then tendered publicly a developed tourism sector. That to locate and select a developer and was identified as a main challenge the boundaries of their knowledge, other interested investors to restart for the community, and the city of which gave them the skills to improve and operate a vegetable processing Anchorage, Alaska, was paired with the quality of life for their citizens.” plant. There appeared to be a broad- Nevelsk to work on tourism enhance- based stakeholder desire to resurrect ment. Anchorage helped Nevelsk cre- Michael Catsi, executive director, earlier processing capabilities as ate a tourism-based business plan to Skagway Development Corporation a means of increasing agricultural guide the municipality and its entre- production in the district’s underuti- preneur community in a common lized fields. In 2007, officials from direction. In order to identify and Skagway, Alaska, helped develop implement project goals and provide a questionnaire that would allow administrative and technical support, Vyazemsky to conduct a business the Nevelsk municipality estab- survey and analyze available market lished the Nevelsk Tourism Working niches to attract new companies. Group to bring together government, A potential site for a new process- tourism-concerned businesses, and ing plant was identified, and the active citizens’ groups. IUE experts new business idea was presented to conducted a survey to assess public citizens and the business community opinion and the territory’s attractive- through the mass media and round- ness and potential for tourism devel- table sessions. opment. The study results indicated general support in the community for Due to its natural and cultural ameni- the tourism development strategy as ties, Vyazemsky District also has the a means of facilitating business and potential to develop a tourism and infrastructure development, increas- leisure audience. Because the district ing budget revenues, creating new does not have a tourism marketing jobs, and attracting the attention of function, it sought assistance through investors. The survey was comple- the CityLinks program to develop a mented by a seminar organized professional brand marketing cam- by IUE in Nevelsk to identify pilot paign. In 2007, Skagway participants projects to serve as basis for the city’s introduced brand marketing and mar- future marketing program. keting plan concepts to Vyazemsky to give their RFE counterparts a direc- During the course of the program in tion in which to move with tourism, Nevelsk, several private tourist lodg- agricultural production, and enhanc- ing options were established. The city ing the existing amenities in the government also leased out its first district. section of beach for a private tourism venture and started constructing

CityLinks 2003–2008 [ 50 ] http://www.icma.org/citylinks a beach promenade. A local busi- and medium enterprises (SMEs), and “People in Luchegorsk are well educated ness reached agreement with a travel they will continue looking for corpo- and highly motivated. Their efforts agency in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk—which rate funding to set up a loan fund for is the largest city on the island of entrepreneurs and small businesses to expand their local economy will Sakhalin, and about 204 kilometers to access. be successful if they continue to (127 miles) from Nevelsk)—to sell air tickets in Nevelsk, a first for the city. In addition, the city decided to hire work together openly to identify and The city started an ambitious pro- a specialist to facilitate communica- overcome barriers, take advantage of tions between the municipality and gram to remove dilapidated buildings opportunities, and support each other’s and to paint other buildings in bright the local business sector. By the colors. A Nevelsk tourism brochure end of the program the structure efforts.” was produced and printed for distri- and functions of the SME support Kevin Ritchie, former director, bution. The city sponsored a contest center had been established. Based Alaska Municipal League for Nevelsk’s children to design a on the model provided by Juneau, prototype for souvenirs to be sold in Luchegorsk planned to continue to local businesses, and flowers were deliver business training for entre- planted all over town—an idea bor- preneurs, working in cooperation rowed from Anchorage. with a local technical college and with the American-Russian Center in Luchegorsk-Juneau Vladivostok. Luchegorsk, Primorsky Krai, has a viable business community but On the tourism side, Luchegorsk has been challenged by the lack of boasts a number of potential tourism a structure for the municipality to activities and facilities but has lacked support local businesses. The city an implementation plan to market of Juneau assisted Luchegorsk in the city. Juneau helped Luchegorsk setting up an operational economic assess its tourism potential and plan development structure to facilitate for sustainable tourism by developing good relations with the business brochures and a “model tour” to help community, with an overall goal of raise the city’s visibility and promote making the city more attractive for already available resources and prod- investment and job creation. Partners ucts. Juneau and Luchegorsk agreed from Juneau provided Luchegorsk to continue informational exchanges with templates of the bylaws and involving schools in the two cities, the organization chart of the Juneau possible formalization of a sister cit- Economic Development Council ies relationship, and foundation of a (JEDC) and gave Luchegorsk staff an Rotary Club branch in Luchegorsk. opportunity to study examples of suc- Program Culmination cessful infrastructure project implementation. As a result, the newly The culmination of the CityLinks formed Business Development League Alaska-Russian Far East Partnership in Luchegorsk and the municipal Program was a best practices sym- economic development department posium in August 2007 in the city decided to combine efforts in order of Vladivostok, Russia, where each to sustain a support center for small partnership project showcased its

CityLinks 2003–2008 [ 5 1 ] http://www.icma.org/citylinks methods, tools, and results. The transparent mechanisms to foster n The city of Arsenyev passed a symposium included presentations of broad community involvement and resolution allowing proposals case studies by the partners as well to mobilize private-sector resources, from organizations to form a as work sessions to further the trans- which will further their development tourism bureau like the Mat-Su fer of knowledge and practices to and partnership goals and support Convention and Visitors Bureau interested communities. Several orga- new initiatives. (CVB) in Alaska, which was a nizations that are based in the RFE significant step toward tourism and that provide technical assistance Results development in Arsenyev. with funding from the U.S. Agency n Over 150 municipal officials in n Vyazemsky took steps to restart for International Development the RFE were trained in basic an existing plant by conducting a (USAID) also gave presentations, principles of effective municipal business survey, identifying a site, which could lead to continued sup- economic development, com- publicizing the idea to citizens port and involvement for the RFE cit- munity action planning, business and businesses, and adopting ies. In addition, the IUE led in-depth development, and creative city brand marketing concepts. training on strategic planning at the marketing. municipal level. n The city of Nevelsk created a tour- n A virtual reference library of more ism-based business plan, estab- By the end of the program, eight core than 100 project documents was lished a tourism working group, partnerships had been established. created to be shared with any and supported specific tourism- The RFE cities had made significant community that might be inter- related initiatives, including the progress on their projects and had ested in replicating the successful identification of several private identified the next steps needed to models. tourist lodging options and steps sustain partnerships results. These toward beachfront development. n A business incubator was estab- future activities are expected to lished in Bolshoy Kamen to sup- n Luchegorsk established an include forming strategic public- port entrepreneurs. operational economic develop- private partnerships, disseminating ment structure to facilitate good best practices to new municipalities, n In Bikin, a business plan for a relations with the business com- and creating intermunicipal and brick factory was developed and munity, with an overall goal of regional clusters of local government the city started to design promo- making the city more attractive professionals who will collaborate on tional materials and market their for investment and job creation. promoting economic development. idea to potential investors. n A business park concept was In early 2008, USAID approved fund- Each partnership identified replicable formalized in Dolinsk, including ing under the U.S.-RFE Municipal models for specific issues and poten- physical site plan recommenda- Partnership Program for further tial challenges for RFE communities. tions, site identification, and per- work on the Ussuriysk-Wasilla, This information was showcased at formance indicators to evaluate Bolshoy Kamen-Kenai, and Nevelsk- the best practices symposium, and successful implementation of the Anchorage partnerships, based on the know-how was also transferred to project. recommendation of the Foundation other cities through mentorships, for Russian American Economic roundtable discussions, and other n The city of Ussuriysk created a Cooperation. information dissemination activities. business advisory council, stream- The program helped increase inter- lined the issuance of land use per- regional cooperation and knowledge mits, and took steps to increase transfer at the municipal level and tourism. helped local governments develop

CityLinks 2003–2008 [ 5 2 ] http://www.icma.org/citylinks ICMA: Leaders at the Core of Better Communities

To learn more about ICMA International, please visit http://icma.org/international or send an e-mail to [email protected].

The mission of ICMA is to create excellence in local governance by developing and fostering professional local government management worldwide.

ICMA 777 North Capitol Street, N.E. Suite 500 Washington, D.C. 20002-4201 Telephone: 202-289-4262 Fax: 202-962-3500 icma.org

08-248