Towards Inclusive Cities in Asia

Towards Inclusive Cities in Asia Report from a Regional Multi-Stakeholder Symposium in Delhi 23-24 February 2016 2 Towards Inclusive Cities in Asia 2 Table of Contents Symposium Background ........................................................................................................................... 3 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................... 4 Emerging Themes ..................................................................................................................................... 5 Setting the context for inclusive cities – Perspectives from India and the Region ...................................... 6 Session I: Assigning the Right to the City for the Urban Poor - Facilitating National Urban Policy and City Governance .............................................................................................................................................. 8 Session II: Planning and Programming Frameworks for Addressing Informality ...................................... 11 Session III: Inclusive Infrastructure and Alternative Approaches for Upgrading of Low Income Neighborhoods........................................................................................................................................ 14 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................................. 17 Annex 1: Agenda of the Regional Symposium ..................................................................................... 18 Annex 2: Overview of speakers ............................................................................................................. 20 Towards Inclusive Cities in Asia 3 Symposium Background The Regional Symposium ‘Towards Inclusive Cities in Asia’ was held in New Delhi on February 23-24, 2016, with representativesSymposium from eight Background countries including governments at the national and subnational levels, public agencies, civil society, community-based organizations, development financing agencies, and academia to discuss case studies on inclusive approaches in Asian cities and metropolitan regions. The event was organized by the Cities Alliance, the Cities Development Initiative for Asia, the GIZ Inclusive Cities Partnership Programme, the GIZ Inclusive Metropolitan Environments for the Urban Poor Project and the GIZ Sector Network Governance Asia. The diverse participants shared their respective approaches and solutions to face the challenges towards developing sustainable and inclusive cities. The workshop specifically focused on the social and economic well-being of the urban poor and on questions of the accessibility in face of accelerated urban growth. The Regional Symposium was designed as a 2-day event with around 40 participants. After a joint inaugural session, Day 1 revealed case studies from practitioners, and Day 2 was run in a workshop mode to consolidate insights of the key questions including group work and plenary discussions. The event deliberate on three thematic areas namely (1) Assigning the Right to the City for the Urban Poor – Facilitating National Urban Policy and City Governance (2) Planning, Programming and Monitoring Framework for Addressing Informality (3) Inclusive Infrastructure and Alternative Approaches for Upgrading of Low Income Neighborhoods To better approach the concerns of inclusive cities, the symposium looked into (a) stakeholders, both urban and beyond, that act in the city and collectively impact on urban development; (b) the ongoing urbanization, which is simultaneously the spatial and social expression of “the urban” and eventually (c) into the best ways forward to address these issues. In the last session on the second day, participants were organized into working groups which reflected on the learnings from the presentations and discussed in detail the role of various urban stakeholders, the challenges and opportunities of inclusive urbanization, and transformative urban innovations. The working groups came up with a set of recommendations for the New Urban Agenda and Habitat III process leading to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11 - Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. 4 Towards Inclusive Cities in Asia 4 Introduction More than 60 percent of the increase in the world's urban population over the next three decades will occur in Asia. OverIntroduction 900 million people in Asia and the Pacific live on less than US$1.25 a day, more than half of them in urban areas. The resultant urban challenges in the region are amplified by fast population growth led by rural-urban migration, and informality in housing and employment. The urban poor have low access to social services and basic infrastructure, weak tenure security and low level of participation in decision making. While urban centers have undergone substantial growth and transformation, the urban legal and institutional reforms have not lagged behind. The rapid growth of cities combined with existing weak management practices have resulted in large intra-city inequality in access to urban housing and infrastructure, social facilities and economic opportunities, which are necessary for sustainable and inclusive urban development. The growth opportunities to reduce poverty offered by urbanization in the region cannot be harnessed to full potential at present and there is in fact growing inequality largely due to combination of factors - overlapping institutional frameworks and weak local institutions; poor city planning and steering (regulatory) mechanisms; nonfunctional land markets and rigid zoning regulations; and deficient urban infrastructure and social facilities. The key challenges to improve living conditions for unserved, poor and marginalized population segments in cities are their participation in city governance, and access to land and secure tenure, infrastructure, community services, and income generation opportunities, among others. The policies to address these challenges would in effect trigger assigning the marginalized population with the right to city. Effective urban management necessarily requires a multi-sectoral approach to planning for urban growth while simultaneously adopting an inclusive approach to transform existing slums into city areas, recognizing the contributions of informal economy and strengthening its linkages with city economy. The challenge for the cities is to address various manifestations of urban poverty by promoting equitable access to habitat, social infrastructure and economic opportunities. In this context, the event brought together representatives from governments at the national and subnational levels, academia, community organizations, development agencies, and financiers. Local water supply and decentralized wastewater management in Agra, India (Source: Eva Ringhof, February 2016) Towards Inclusive Cities in Asia 5 Emerging Themes Access to land determines the city’s shape and equity The access to urban land and all its related determinants are forces that shape theEmerging city also in terms Themes of the equity of its citizens. Determinants of access such as land markets and prices, informality, distances and location, the access to services and many others, divide the urban population into markedly different strata, eventually leading to segregation and inequality. Urban regeneration program in Sri Lanka (Source: KA Jayaratne, February 2016) Urban economic development impacts and vice-versa Access to land determines theUrban city’s development shape and isS sensitiveettingequity to the economic processes that happen in and outside the city. The levels of informality, the state of local economic The access to urban land and all its related determinants are forces that shape development and livelihoodscontext opportunities determinefor a number of social features, the city also in terms of the equity of its citizens. Determinants of access such as land such as the affordability of housing. Local Economic Development can be markets and prices, informality, distances and location, the inclusiveaccess to services cities and many challenged by the macro economy, of which it is however an inseparable part. The others, divide the urban population into markedly different strata, eventually leading to strong connections can be –illustrated Perspectives e. g. by international demand and local segregation and inequality. development: investments fromof global India companies, and such as the garments in Bangladesh, in a country have a multiplier impact on the growth of local industries in the developing world. The local industries including the informal units, provide the RegionUrban relatively cheap inputs for theregeneration global companiesprogram in Sri Lankabecause of weak enforcement of labour laws and consequently(Source: cheap KA industrial Jayaratne, February workers. 2016) Local economic development, a woman making handicrafts on the streets of Agra, India (Source: Eva Ringhof, February 2016); Waste pickers in India (Source: GIZ, 2009) Existing challenges are magnified by the accelerated pace Urban economic development impacts and vice-versa of urbanization, which contributesLocal economic development, to disparities, a woman making handicrafts on the streets of Agra, India (Source: E. Ringhof, February 2016); Waste pickers in India (Source: GIZ) exacerbating

Load more