TheGlobal Campaign on Urban Governance

Campaign Secretariat

United Nations Human SettlementsProgramme, UN-HABITAT

P.O. Box 30030, Nairobi, Kenya

Tel:        +254-2-623216

Fax:      +254-2-624264

Table of Contents

Summary                                                                                                                                   3

1.0 Why a Campaign on Urban Governance?                                                                 4

1.1 The Habitat Agenda......................................................................................................... 4

1.2 UN-HABITAT’s Response............................................................................................... 5

1.3 International Policy and Operational Context: linking poverty andgovernance....... 5

2.0 What is a Campaign on Urban Governance?                                                           7

2.1 Good Urban Governance................................................................................................. 7

Governance versus Government.................................................................................................................................. 7

Good urban governance................................................................................................................................................ 8

2.2 Good Urban Governance and the “Inclusive City”........................................................ 9

2.3 Process for Identifying Global Norms of Good UrbanGovernance............................ 10

International Legal Instruments................................................................................................................................ 10

Commitments at Major UN Conferences................................................................................................................ 11

Operational experience in cities.................................................................................................................................. 11

2.4 Towards Norms of Good Urban Governance............................................................... 12

Sustainability in all dimensions of urban development....................................................................................... 12

Subsidiarity of authority and resources to the closestappropriate level........................................................... 12

Equity of access to decision-making processes andthe basic necessities of urban life.................................. 13

Efficiency in the delivery of public services and inpromoting local economic development....................... 13

Transparency andAccountability ofdecision-makers and all stakeholders.................................................. 14

Civic Engagement andCitizenship......................................................................................................................... 14

Security of individuals and their living environment............................................................................................. 15

Table 1:  Norms,Objectives and Operational Principles for the Inclusive City.............. 16

3.0 How the Campaign Works                                                                                           19

3.1 Campaign Strategies and flagship products.................................................................. 19

Normative Debate........................................................................................................................................................ 20

Advocacy....................................................................................................................................................................... 20

Operational Activities and Capacity-building......................................................................................................... 21

Knowledge Management............................................................................................................................................ 22

3.2 Phases of the Campaign................................................................................................. 22

Phase 1: December 1999 – December 2000............................................................................................................ 22

Phase 2: January 2001 – December 2001............................................................................................................... 23

Phase 3: January 2002 – December 2003............................................................................................................... 23

3.3 Partnership Strategy...................................................................................................... 24

Campaign Partners....................................................................................................................................................... 24

Campaign Strategy....................................................................................................................................................... 24

Campaign Steering Groups......................................................................................................................................... 25

3.4 Organisation within UN-HABITAT.............................................................................. 25

Role of Regional Offices............................................................................................................................................. 26

Flex teams...................................................................................................................................................................... 26

Campaign Focal Points................................................................................................................................................ 26

Internal Coordination Team....................................................................................................................................... 26

Summary

The development goal of the GlobalCampaign on Urban Governance is to contribute to the eradication of povertythrough improved urban governance. It aims to increase the capacity of localgovernments and other stakeholders to practice good urban governance and toraise awareness of and advocate for good urban governance around the world. Thecampaign focuses attention on the needs of the excluded urban poor.  The campaign promotes the involvement ofwomen in decision-making at all levels, recognizing that women are one of thebiggest levers for positive change in society. In so doing, the campaign will make a significant contribution to implementingthe Habitat Agenda goal of sustainable human settlements development and to theUnited Nations’ action strategy for halving extreme poverty by 2015.[1]

The campaign theme – “inclusiveness” –reflects both the campaign’s vision and strategy.  The vision is to realize the “Inclusive City,” a place whereeveryone, regardless of wealth, gender, age, race or religion, is enabled toparticipate productively and positively in the opportunities cities have tooffer.  Inclusive decision-makingprocesses are an essential means to achieve this and are the cornerstone of thecampaign. The concept of inclusiveness links the governance campaign toUN-HABITAT’s Global Campaign for Secure Tenure.[2]

Based on its ownexperience working with cities, UN-HABITAT has initiated a global debate byarguing that good urban governance is characterized by the principles ofsustainability, subsidiarity, equity, efficiency, transparency andaccountability, civic engagement and citizenship, and security, and that theseprinciples are interdependent and mutually reinforcing.  Through a participatory process at the local,national, regional and global levels, the campaign is facilitating a debate onthese principles of good urban governance.

The campaign supports the increasingnumber of initiatives worldwide aimed at improving governance as a means toachieve sustainable development. By focusing on the city level, the campaigncomplements these efforts and builds on UN-HABITAT’s experience in urbanissues. Almost all of UN-HABITAT’s programmes, regardless of their strategicentry point, promote good governance. The governance campaign distills andfocuses lessons of experience so that they can be harmonised with those ofpartners and applied more widely.

To this end, the campaign must be a modelof good governance, both in process and outcome. It is guided in its operationby the principles of inclusiveness and decentralisation. To the maximum degreepossible, implementation will be decentralised to regional networks ofpartners.  A Global Steering Groupconsisting of UN-HABITAT and key strategic partners guides the campaign design,implementation and evaluation.

The campaign has the following “FlagshipProducts”:

·        Declaration on the Norms of Good Urban Governance;

·        National Campaigns for Good Urban Governance;

·        Policy Papers Series;

·        Revised National Legislation;

·        Inclusive Cities Initiative;

·        Good Urban Governance Index;and

·        Good Urban Governance Toolkit Series.

This paperoutlines the why, what and how of the campaign.  It isdesigned to flesh out key concepts, place the campaign in the broaderinternational urban policy and operational context, generate debate internallywithin UN-HABITAT and with external partners and act as a catalyst to drive thecampaign.  It remains a “work inprogress,” subject to modification as the clarity of the vision improves andpartner contributions are incorporated.

UN-HABITATprepared two internal drafts of the concept paper before sending a third draftto external partners for feedback. Comments from over 30 external reviewers were incorporated into Draft4.  Draft 4 was reviewed by partners atthe first meeting of the campaign’s global Steering Group held in Nairobi inMay 2000.   The paper was presented anddiscussed at more than 30 international and regional meetings during 2000 and2001.  The current draft includesrevisions to section 3.0, “How the Campaign Works” to update the campaign’sphasing and strategies.

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[1]See UN Development Group, “Halving Extreme Poverty: An Action Strategy for theUnited Nations” Final Draft, 10 November 1999.

[2]See “Global Campaign for Secure Tenure: Implementing The Habitat Agenda -Adequate Shelter For All,” http://www.un-habitat.org/tenure