Capacity Building for Green Urban Growth

Project Summary:

With more than half of the world living in cities, and with urban populations expected to double in developing countries in a generation, rapid urbanization poses one of the greatest challenges of the century. The program sees also this as an opportunity to implement new approaches, new markets, new technologies, and new values for green economic growth. The program aims to build and strengthen green growth strategic, practical and technical know-how to improve urban land use planning, and contribute to resilient, participatory environmentally and socially inclusive urban growth.

List of Activities:

Output 1:

• New modules on green growth developed, including topics on (i) urban expansion and energy efficiency, and (ii) sustainable land based financing 

Output 2:

• Customized course developed and piloted jointly with selected implementing agencies in Africa (including universities or other national or regional knowledge institutions such as ARDHI in Tanzania, Eduardo Mondlaine University in Mozambique, and others) 

Output 3:

• One regional workshop on innovative practices in urban land use planning and management in Africa

Outcomes:

• Contribute to global knowledge by developing and piloting practitioner e-learning training modules on cutting-edge urban land use planning and management techniques
• Facilitate peer-to-peer learning through knowledge exchange workshops and virtual practitioner networks
• Mobilized substantial resources from Open Learning Campus (OLC) and various external partners - KRIHS, WRI, MIT, WMO,NIUA and MT, to jointly develop and deliver the knowledge products

Outcomes:

Expected outcomes of this project include the development and strengthening of strategic and practical knowledge and skills among policy-makers and practitioners to integrate green growth principles, approaches, and tools into urban planning and management practices. This outcome is further expected to help reorient cities in developing countries towards a more efficient, resilient, sustainable and inclusive development path.

Collaboration with K-Partners and Others:

This project worked with the Seoul Metropolitan Government, Seoul Housing Corporation and Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements to develop several Korean cases on land readjustment, transit-oriented development, flood management, land markets, and public space, which have been incorporated into the global knowledge products. For example, a blended learning workshop on Sustainable Urban Land Use Planning and Management was conducted in Seoul in collaboration with the Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements and OLC, which brought together 40 senior officials from 21 developing countries