UN-Habitat
is mandated by the United Nations General Assembly to promote socially and
environmentally sustainable towns and cities and to help the urban poor with
better opportunities and where everyone can live in dignity. Historically,
UN-Habitat’s programmes and projects have been designed to provide adequate
shelter and living condition for all, particularly to those who are in poor
and/or in emergency condition. As seen in the context of the growing refugee
crisis, most of the humanitarian operations within Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, and
internationally aim to provide only short-term emergency support, which need to
be followed by long-term, sustainable solutions that UN-Habitats can provide
through its expertise.
In line
with UN-Habitat Strategic Plan 2014-2019, the project has a strong linkage to focus
area 2, urban planning and urban basic services, and contributing to the
implementation of policies for increasing equitable access to improving the
standard of living. In addition, the project will achieve sustainable
development and urban safety related to focus area 1 urban legislation, land
and governance and focus area 4 urban basic services. The project will also
generate job opportunities and contribute to livelihoods that indirectly apply
focus area 3 urban economy.
Based on
its experiences and technical expertise, UN-Habitat can support mitigating risk
of conflicts, to prevent wide spread of diseases and to achieve better access
to livelihood and employment opportunities among refugee and host communities
in cooperation with other international agencies and local NGOs.
Globally,
UN-Habitat is mandated to lead implementation of SDG 11 “Make cities and human
settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable” that are interlinked
among the other SDGs; and the project will directly contribute to the
achievement of SDG 11 in Cox’s Bazar and globally. The Government of Bangladesh
has been working toward the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs with
considering the country’s specific context and the project will also fully in
line with the proposed strategic priorities of SDG in Cox’s Bazar.
UN-Habitat has/is providing worldwide assistance to local,
regional and national governments for sustainable urban planning, leading
concrete projects to improve plans, designs and management of urban planning
through a series of planning tools, capacity development, long-term strategic
development proposal advisory and government support.
The following are some lessons learned and projects that are
reflected in ongoing work in crisis and post-crisis settings:
• Somalia, Baidoa Kismayo - In the newly formed
states of Southern Somalia, Jubaland and South West States, UN-Habitat is
supporting the attainment of Durable Solutions for populations impacted by
displacement. Areas occupied by IDP settlements in the cities most impacted by
the recent crises, Kismayo and Baidoa, are being approached as integrated part of
the urban environment, and planned as city extensions rather than temporary
camps disconnected from the city. The definition of a strategic framework
should lay out diverse actions in a step-by-step approach: aiming to solve the
most urgent problems, at first, and to start a process of urban development, in
the longer term.
• Kenya, Kalobeyei - The plan for the Kalobeyei New
Settlement responded to a refugee crisis by taking a development approach to
planning refugee settlements. Rather than following existing temporal methods
where camps respond purely to the emergency contexts of refugee influxes, the
new proposal created a plan for the emergency response that is based upon a
sound urban structure that can evolve into a functional town. The plan was developed
through a rigorous participatory approach where women, youth, refugee and host
communities as well as Local County and ward level administrators were involved
in shaping the proposal forward.
• Haiti, Canaan – UN Habitat responded to the urban
crisis generated in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake through the Urban
Development Initiative for the metropolitan area of Port- Au-Prince, in
collaboration with the country team office in Haiti, USAID, UCLBP (Unité de
Construction de Logements et de Bâtiments Publics), the American Red Cross and
the Haitian Red Cross. An urban structure plan and 10 neighborhood plans were
put into place through a multi-stakeholder participatory approach to coordinate
the different crisis interventions and integrate through planning the different
urban sectors. The urban structure composed of roads, streets, public spaces,
services and infrastructure that resulted from the planning process is being
implemented by different governmental bodies and NGO’s improving the quality of
life of a large amount of the currently more than 250,000 residents of Canaan.
• Afghanistan, Maslakh – UN-Habitat supported the
Afghanistan country office and the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing in
the development of a plan for Maslakh, a consolidated IDP settlement in Herat,
matching the upgrading of the existing fabric with a planned extension that
could accommodate the new influx of returnees and the relocation of households
from other sites in the town. The plan provided an urban structure that could
preserve the existing community and their movement pattern, while providing
access to well needed facilities, assuring space for future development,
economic activities and protecting the existing natural fragile environment.
UN-Habitat’s Projects
in Bangladesh
UN-Habitat
has been active in Bangladesh over the last 15 years and has an office in the
Urban Development Directorate of the Ministry of Housing and Public Works,
working on urban-related interventions. Whilst UN-Habitat engages directly with
the Ministry of Housing and Public Works, its largest intervention has been
through LGED for the implementation of the slum upgrading and basic services
component of the Urban Partnerships for Poverty Reduction Program and its
predecessor programmes, with DFID funding and through/with UNDP. The Urban
Partnerships for Poverty Reduction covered 23 cities. It had been one of the
longest continuous slum upgrading engagements of UN-Habitat, with grant funding
close to $60m disbursed over 15 years, and strong coordination and technical
support provided to build local capacity for the development and implementation
of poverty reduction strategies at town level with a well-experienced team of
urban planners resettlement planners, emergency experts, economist, livelihood
experts, governance specialists, gender and youth experts., UN-Habitat is also
currently implementing a public space initiative in Khulna and maintains strong
links with professional associations such as Bangladesh Institute of Planners
and the Municipal Association of Bangladesh.
In UN-Habitat’s multiple approaches to crises response,
long-term planning and recovery, the lessons learned from adapting to specific
and unique planning scenarios, can inform the planning process for Cox’s Bazar
and other potential international projects.
