The overall objective of ASUD programme in Colombia is to strengthen
national and local governments as well as relevant stakeholder's capacities for
improving urban planning and urban policies leading to sustainable urban
development. For the case of Medellin,
the project aims to support the development of strategic interventions (through
technical assistance, policy advice and project development), that will support
the consolidation of ongoing institutional reforms aiming at improving the
management of the habitat in the city in a more comprehensive manner.
Due to the fact that Medellin will host the World Urban Forum 7, to
take place in 2014, this particular project is an opportunity to document and
learn from the specific experience of Medellin, in how to address social
challenges with adequate urban management mechanisms. In this sense, the
project aims to broaden the scope of specific urban interventions in order to
reach further and address inequity and poverty challenges that have been
growing as rapid as the urbanization of Medellin has been moving forward.
With this in mind, and considering that ASUD is a global pilot of UN-Habitat,
and therefore it is considered to be part of a global learning platform, the following
outputs and activities will be prioritized:
a)
To support the institutional reform that the city
requires to adjust itself in order to face growing urban challenges within a
more comprehensive concept of “Habitat”. To achieve this, the project will conduct studies on all institutional structure/capacities with special emphasis on
ISVIMED as the leading institution on social housing. Throughout consultations
and international references, the project will propose a new legal and
institutional framework aligned with the city's habitat requirements. An
awareness campaign regarding institutional adjustments will be conducted in the
framework of the global UN-Habitat campaign I'm a City Changer.
b)
To create an UN-Habitat Regional City Lab as a
hub for the global institute of excellence for capacity development of cities
and urban managers, promoted by UN-Habitat's HQ, to contribute in the promotion of South-South and decentralized cooperation,
to provide specific training for urban managers and community in general,
provide technical support on urban issues to the ACCC and other institutions,
promote cooperation on urban issues among Colombian cities, leverage the
expertise acquired by the city on local sustainable urban policies, conduct research,
document best national and local practices, facilitate partnerships among
public, private, social, national, local and international urban stakeholders, and
support Medellin and UN-Habitat in the organization of World Urban Forum 7 –
WUF 7 to take place in the city in 2014. The hub will also support the process
of citizen ownership and awareness for the continuing transformation of the
city through UN-Habitat's campaign "I'm a City Changer". It will also
document and monitor the strategy of the Metropolitan Green Belt, established
in the Local Development Plan, the experience of the Metropolitan Area of Valle
de Aburra, the UN-Habitat Participatory Inclusive Land-Readjustment exercise
“PILaR”, and will provide support to the development of Partial Plans in the
city, considering a participatory and inclusive approach.
c)
To design and support the implementation of an
urban planning activity at neighborhood level in close coordination with
UN-Habitat's Participatory and Inclusive Land Readjustment project – PILaR to
be implemented in Medellin. This pilot initiative will work as a learning
experience for the city to promote a more participatory and inclusive urban
development model and will work hand in hand with UN-Habitat PILaR team. It will be properly documented in order to
become a pilot experience for the UN-Habitat Regional City Lab.
