Background and Objectives:
Veracruz is characterized by its importance as an economic region and its great cultural diversity. It is the third most populous state in the country, with 6.9 million inhabitants.
The government of Veracruz has given priority to promote “participation for strategic planning”, focusing on urban poverty reduction in the marginalized areas of the cities.
At the local level, there are few experiences of urban management that have applied strategic planning as an instrument to optimize the impact of public investments and to serve as a catalyst for social and economic development. Hence, the governor of the State of Veracruz requested UN-HABITAT to support and contribute to build the capacity of local governments in Strategic Development Planning, with emphasis on Local Economic Development.
The general objective is to collaborate with the government of Veracruz to address the deep social differences in the cities and metropolitan areas of the state. This is done in order to transform cities into habitable, orderly and safe places, without damage to the environment, and to contribute to improve the life of the inhabitants of slums.
The immediate objective is to strengthen the urban development policies of the government of Veracruz, applying the tools and know-how of UN-HABITAT, which will be reflected in the strengthening of the state and municipal institutions, as well as of the organized communities. The project is part of a six-year framework agreement between the Government of Veracruz and UN-HABITAT.
Activities:
The main activities include:
Diagnosing the conditions to design support activities.
Developing and adapting training material for Strategic Planning in Local Economic Developments.
Preparing project proposals and partnership arrangements.
Training and capacity development of local governments in strategic planning.
Monitoring and supporting local urban observatories.
Implementing proposal of campaign for participatory planning in low-income urban settlements.
Results:
Strategic urban development initiatives with support from the UN-HABITAT unit in Veracruz initiated.
Local Urban Observatories consolidated - now in operation.
Local partner agreements (pacts) initiated, with plans of action, to promote participatory planning and development initiatives in low-income settlements.
