Background and objectives:

With the overwhelming influx of displaced and migrants families into Greater Khartoum and the rapid urban expansion, Khartoum State authorities have been faced with many challenges. They have lacked adequate capacities to develop a timely physical planning responsive to the rapid urbanization. The large and sudden population influxes have also put pressure on the city’s infrastructure, resources distribution and stability and have created pockets of abject poverty
Squatter settlements are often spontaneously created to absorb recent migrants and people displaced from inner city locations by high rents and land values.

The overall goal of the project is to contribute to urban poverty reduction in Khartoum State with specific objective to strengthen the capacity of Ministry of Physical Planning and Public Utilities (MPPPU) of Khartoum State to formulate and implement people-centred urban plans and policies focusing on urban poor through incorporating strategic and right-based participatory approaches in on-going structure planning processes, in addition to advisory services and technical support to shelter and urban planning.

With the provision of a comprehensive situation assessment and an appropriate capacity building support to MPPPU, the expected results of the project will be:

• Strategic and right-based planning approaches incorporated in on-going planning processes and Local economic development, food security and slum upgrading prevention projects integrated/incorporated in the Structure Plan and Urban Development Plan
• Planning and implementation capacity of MPPPU and stakeholders enhanced and applied in pilots
• A State-level urban observatory with a network of seven localities together with GIS/LIS established.
• System and procedures concerning data collection, plan performance, monitoring, review and updating established and applied

Activities:
The main activities include:

• Review and assess the current overall land legislation, urban planning practices and spatial and Sectoral policies and strategies with a view of stimulating pro-poor approaches in the facilitation of access to land and housing;
• Review the ongoing structure plan and urban development processes to stimulate the legal frameworks for broad-based participatory processes.

• Conduct Rapid Urban Sector Profiling Study (RUSPS) for Identification of priorities Selection of pilot projects for demonstration for on-the-job  training
• Train key stakeholders for participatory plan formulation, programming and implementation, conflict resolution, local leadership skills training
• Conduct a capacity building needs assessments and prepares State-level status reports on legal frameworks, institutional set-ups, and modalities of implementation in the following areas: land management (including tenure), strategic settlement planning, housing and shelter, basic infrastructure, urban environment and local economic development
• Develop a capacity building and training action plan based on capacity building needs assessment and the Rapid Urban Sector Profiling (RUSPS) recommendations and further needs of the Structure Plan 2005–2025;
• Provide technical assistance to MPPPU and localities (municipalities) including exchange visits to prepare strategic plans focusing on settlement, urban agriculture and rural urban linkages.
• Conduct thematic workshops that cover the main themes of the structure and urban development plan to ensure in-depth and broad-based consultations in order to facilitate urban planning processes and to formulate policies
• Build capacities of MPPPU, Municipalities and local partners through training and institutional development:

Results achieved are:

• Sectoral studies on land, spatial planning, housing, basic urban service (BUS) and local economic development (LED)
• urban pro-poor policy in support of urban poor and IDPs
• Assessment of the whole process of planning and implementation of urban and development policies in Khartoum state (urban Planning and Development Report)
• RUSPS Reports for three areas in Khartoum state
• local urban observatory established 
• capacity building needs assessment and capacity building and institutional development action plan
• monitoring and evaluation and feedback system for structure plan
• on-the-job training on participatory urban planning for stakeholders at community, local administration and state levels