Theory and Practice of City Development Strategies
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The document outlines the theory and practice of city development strategies (CDS) as a framework for strategic urban planning aimed at fostering growth and inclusive governance. It discusses the components of strategic planning, the iterative process of developing CDS, and highlights selected case studies illustrating successful implementations in various cities. Key success factors, common bottlenecks, and potential pitfalls of CDS are also addressed, emphasizing the importance of political will, stakeholder participation, and effective partnerships.
Theory and Practice of City Development Strategies
- 1. Theory and Practice of City Development Strategies U.L.B. | Brussels | 6th December 2017 Dr. Rene Peter Hohmann, Sr. Urban Specialist
- 2. • What is strategic planning? • What are City Development Strategies? • Selected City Development Strategies in Practice? • Common bottlenecks and success factors for CDS • On the need for understanding the potential pitfalls Structure of todays session
- 3. What is strategic planning? “Strategic planning is a process that involves developing a long-term (usually multi-year) roadmap comprised of a set of specific goals, objectives and actions. A strategic plan is founded on a vision that sets a clear path to the future, but also incorporates the flexibility to adapt the vision over time, and as needs require.” (Cities Alliance 2017)
- 5. Mission Statement Strategic Objectives Strategic Goals Action Steps Strategic Planning (short/long term) Action Plan, Monitoring and Evaluation
- 6. What are City Development Strategies? • CDS is a continuous and iterative process that enables strategic planning. • CDS is one approach to urban strategic planning to develop strategies for growth and inclusive local governance. It usually consists of: – A strategic direction or plan; – Objectives for the growth and development of the city, including- but not limited to- poverty reduction; – Series of preparation stages based upon an extensive consultation.
- 7. 1. The first question (Where are we?) is answered through an analysis of the present situation. 2. The second question (Where do we want to be?) is addressed by a vision of the future, supported by realistic objectives. 3. The third question (How do we get there?) is answered through the development of strategic options or a strategic action plan. 4. A fourth question (How to implement and know if we are on track?) concerns the implementation, operation and evaluation of the strategic options. 4 Key Guiding Questions
- 8. The Cycle in a City Development Strategy
- 10. Relevance for Cities in rapidly urbanising contexts
- 11. The benefits of a City Development Strategy ✓ Helping cities visualize the bigger picture: Strategic planning can help cities transcend short-term pressures and “emergencies” and focus on vital longer-term priorities. ✓ Helping provide a strong framework for investment: A strategic plan provides a well thought out framework for investment planning and budgeting. It deals with both capital investments and operations. ✓ Yielding results: A strategic plan should provide a realistic framework that is built upon a foundation of constant improvement. Built into the plan are milestones that help gauge progress. ✓ Adapting to a changing environment: It can provide a framework that is flexible enough to accommodate change, while at the same time, strong enough to adhere to a local government’s basic mission and objectives. ✓ Responding to citizens’ needs: A successful strategic plan includes priorities that are important to the citizens. ✓ Fostering participation: A good strategic plan involves people at all levels of government, the business sector, civil society and the public. By involving more people among the various levels, cities can foster teamwork and a sense of ownership. ✓ Providing a tailor-made roadmap: A strategic plan allows for specific objectives and parameters that are specialized and appropriate to the city, its population, and the local government’s mission. ✓ Being adaptable: Elements contained within a strategic plan represent an ongoing process that is designed to be refined based on changing internal and external conditions. ✓ Providing accountability: A solid strategic plan with definite objectives, financial targets and monitoring tools in place can provide a sound basis for accountability
- 13. Cities Alliance Experience # 1: City Development Strategies in the Philippines • Context: 60% of its population lives in cities • Features: – 63 cities participated in three phases – Development strategy structured around four pillars: Livability, Bankability, Competitiveness, Governance – Having LCP as an implementing partner helped achieving strong leadership/ownership of mayors – A consideration to harmonize CDS approach and tools with the existing planning frameworks • Results: – Participating cities seen as attractive financial destination by international donors and private sector – Knowledge sharing through CDS Learning Centers Partners: Cities Alliance, League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP), WB, UN-Habitat, JICA, ADB Duration: 1999 – 2008 Cities Alliance Financing: $1,171,100
- 14. Cities Alliance Experience # 2: Alexandria City Development Strategy • Context: rich cultural heritage and has two of Egypt’s leading seaports that handle 60% of the country’s imports and 47% of exports • Features: – Development strategy structured around three pillars: LED, SU, Lake Rehabilitation – Three advisory committees working on three pillars (studies, assessments, reviews) – ‘Partnership Forum’ convened regularly to invite participation from various stakeholders • Results: – CDS served as an overarching umbrella to coordinate and leverage financial support: • IFC supported improvements in local business and strategy to support the manufacturing sector • GIZ, AUDI and UNICEF invested in building health centers in slums • Central government committed funds ($165 million) for immediate pollution abetment measures needed Partners: Cities Alliance, Alexandria Governorate, AUDI, WB, UNEP Duration: 2004 – 2008 Cities Alliance Financing: $550,000
- 15. Cities Alliance Experience # 3: City of Douala and its Greater Urban Area • Context: largest city of Cameroon with the biggest port along the Atlantic coast of Africa, accounting for a quarter of the National GDP • Features: – Highly participatory – Diagnostic Studies – Ten priority interventions and four focus areas: slum and urban poor; economic development; environmental protection; and improved urban governance. – Integrated planning approach adopted • Long term planning responsive to the needs of urban poor • Prioritization of projects • Investment plan matched with available resources • Results: – WB: $28.5 m loan for city sanitation – AFD: Euro 163 m to improve the city’s drainage Partners: Cities Alliance, Communauté Urbaine de Douala (CUD), WB, AFD Duration: 2000 – 2009 Cities Alliance Financing: $175,000
- 16. Cities Alliance Experience # 4: Citywide Slum Upgrading Plan (CSUP) for the Heritage City of Agra • Context: A global tourist destination • Features: – Citywide slum upgrading plan – City sanitation plan – MIS integrated with the CBIS on a map based platform for planning and monitoring service delivery in slums – Slum upgrading project implemented in one ward to demonstrate the approach – Resource mobilization plan • Expected Results: – An Implementation Plan to upgrade 1,40,000 households in 252 slums – Private sector contributing to slum upgrading Partners: Cities Alliance, Center for Urban and Regional Excellence (India) Duration: 2010-2012 Cities Alliance Financing: $500,000
- 17. Success factors ✓ Political will: A strategic plan is only as strong as its advocates. Strategic planning at the local government level can only succeed, if it has the unequivocal support of the chief executive, legislative body and affected department heads. The political will needs to be strong enough to mobilize and coordinate the use of the resources necessary for implementation and operation and maintenance. ✓ Participation: Stakeholder groups should be mobilized or created for continuous consultation and, at a later stage, for providing feedback into the planning process (UN-Habitat 2010, 3). There are several different levels of participation. Forms of participation that actively engage stakeholders in planning decisions help to empower them. At the same time, they are more likely to ensure contributions from different groups in society and result in feedback that can help to improve planning decisions. ✓ Partnership: Local governments cannot do everything on their own. The better the partnerships, the better the strategy. The basic premise behind a partnership-based strategic planning process is that traditional top- down decision-making and delivery mechanisms without the involvement of relevant stakeholders are inadequate in the face of the complex challenges faced by local governments.
- 18. Common bottlenecks • CDS are at times wish-lists either lacking follow up with investments, project prioritisations and/or a resource mobilisation strategy. • The ‘project-bound’ timeline of CDS, which is often insufficient to implement the necessary structural changes or to adjust to the changing operating contexts; • CDSs often have an unclear relationship with statutory master plans, with the latter overriding the strategic exercise; • CDSs often have a lack of attention to the enabling environment - from the statutory and municipal authority, to relations with the national government, to the available capacities and resources - needed to give the CDS some policy and operational strength; • CDSs having an excessive stress on an action-oriented process, developed and sustained through participation but not sufficiently grounded in a sound analytical analysis; • The development of CDS through major international consultancies with limited ownership at the local level; • The need to scale up such that all cities have a CDS even if undertaken locally with local capacities
- 19. Towards a new generation of CDS with a focus on implementation and institutionalisation • Going beyond project bound delivery models towards a reform project of mainstream planning systems; • Complementary anchoring to existing or to be created master planning exercises; • Improve the CDS as a strategic tool for urban management (i.e. beyond public sector managerial capacities)
- 20. Understanding the potential pitfalls: Degree of participation Why does it matter? Source: Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
- 21. Understanding the potential pitfalls: Degree of participation
- 22. Understanding the potential pitfalls: Degree of Participation • ‘Transformation in governance, the re-configuring of institutional capacities and designs, is understood not merely as a task for actors with interests and leadership qualities, or the mobilisation of coalitions to achieve formal changes in law and organizational structure. It is about transforming the deeper frames of reference and cultural practices which structure how people make sense of their collective world and engage cognitively and bodily in their day-to-day routines’ (Healey 2007: 65).
- 23. Understanding the potential pitfalls: Degree of Institutional Capital Type of institutional capital Elements and indicators for assessment Knowledge Resources (Intellectual capital) The range of knowledge resources to which participants have access The distribution of information and creation of shared knowledge (Openness and learning) The frames of reference which shape conceptions of issues, problems, opportunities and interventions, including conceptions of place Mobilisation capacity (Political capital) The opportunity structure and the ‘rules for engagement’ The arenas used and provided by the regeneration schemes The presence and absence of critical change agents at different stages Relational resources (Social capital) The range of stakeholders involved The morphology of the partnerships, in terms of division of labour and inter-organisational relationships Selected dimensions of institutional capacity building (adapted from Healey, de Magalhaes et al. 2003 in Hohmann 2011)
- 24. Understanding the potential pitfalls: Degree of Institutional Change
- 25. Where to find toolkits to do a CDS?
- 26. Thank You Brussels, 6 December 2017 country programmes knowledge transfers partners members needs strategic country framework gaps advocacy capacities implementation enable cooperation development coherence learning communications collaboration effort aligned technical partnership brokering