CONSULTATIVE GUIDELINES FOR SUSTAINABLE URBAN DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION
The central objective of the European Union’s cooperation is poverty reduction and, ultimately, its eradication through sustainable development and the progressive integration of Developing World countries into the global economy.
In this context, a cooperation framework tailored to the individual circumstances of each country would help each country and its regions to achieve their human and economic development objectives. This can be achieved by identifying a framework upon which strategies can be built and developed. These should then provide links in practical ways to translate priorities and objectives with specific operational measures to inform the practicalities of development programmes. There is also a need to promote local ownership and social reform, and integrate the private sector, and civil society into urban development process. These are the main objectives of sustainable urban development.
This document builds on the earlier good work of the 2001 EC publication “Consultative Guidelines for Sustainable Urban Development Cooperation: Towards Sustainable Urban Development - A Strategic Approach”. Rather than merely revise the previous document, it is suggested that a user friendly manual, allowing policy makers, planners, urban specialists and simply those in search of more appropriate city-wide solutions to look for entry points to better guide and manage the explosive growth rates affecting rapidly urbanising countries.
The aim of this document is therefore to identify opportunities for interested and committed individuals to engage in a broader understanding of urban dynamics. It is meant to allow users to think of opportunities to engage in the urban debate, propose systems and solutions to respond to growing social, income, housing, infrastructure and other inequities that exist in many urban areas of poorer countries and look for appropriate responses to ameliorate these. These revised Guidelines should serve to provide users with a template for the achievement of sustainable urban development in developing countries.