Submission Guidelines for Good Urban Policies and Enabling Legislation

A. Background and Goals

In 1996 the second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) addressed the issues of improving the living environment for all people. The conference adopted the Habitat Agenda, with all spheres of government and civil society organisations committing themselves to attaining the twin goals of "Adequate shelter for all" and "Sustainable development in an urbanizing world". Documented "best practices" was identified as one of the two main tools together with indicators, for monitoring the implementation of the agenda. As a result, UN-HABITAT established in 1997 the Best Practices and Local Leadership Programme, comprised of a global network of partners, which has documented to date over 1150 good and best practices from 125 countries. These practices are included in the Best Practices Database, available on the Internet: www.bestpractices.org. All of the practices included in this database have competed for the Dubai International Award for Best Practices to Improve the Living Environment. Further to a comprehensive and independent assessment process that evaluates qualifying submissions, 10 Best Practices are selected every two years to receive the Dubai International Award.

In 1999, UN-HABITAT initiated, with the approval of the Commission on Human Settlements, two global campaigns on Secure Tenure and Urban Governance in support of the implementation of the Habitat Agenda. These two campaigns combine the operational and advisory capacities of UN-HABITAT to promote, inter alia, the issues of housing rights; security of tenure and access to housing resources by the urban poor; decentralisation and the empowerment of local authorities; and more transparent and accountable forms of urban governance. These issues therefore constitute the first tier entry points for the documentation and dissemination of good urban policies and enabling legislation.

In June 2001, the Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly for the review of progress made in the implementation of the Habitat Agenda organised a Thematic Committee. This Committee featured 16 examples of best practices, enabling policies, legislation, and proven action plans in the areas of Shelter and Services; Environmental Management; Urban Governance; and Eradication of Poverty. The contribution of the Thematic Committee to the substantive debate and exchange of information led the Special Session to adopt in paragraph 63 of its final declaration: "A further goal is to translate best practices into policies and permit their replication. In this respect, the international community should ensure the effective formatting and dissemination of proven best practices and policies."

As a follow up to this declaration, UN-HABITAT convened an Expert Group Meeting in November 2001 to develop a framework for documenting and disseminating lessons learned form good urban policies and enabling legislation to further the exchange of expertise and experience in support of the implementation of the Habitat Agenda. To this end, the Meeting adopted the following terms of reference:

Define what constitutes a good urban policy and enabling legislation including specific criteria;

Propose a reporting format that would enable government officials, practicing professionals and the informed public to better understand the essence of documented policies and legislation;

Propose additional information that would enable the international community, researchers and policy analysts to understand and differentiate between the contextual and generic elements of the documented policies and legislation, including the socio-economic and political rationale for the policy;

Propose the thematic scope or entry points for documenting good urban policies and enabling legislation;

Propose means of dissemination and applications in policy development and capacity-building;

Accordingly, the Meeting designed the attached reporting format enabling policy makers, legislators and other partners to document both the process and content of good urban policies and legislation.

B. Checklist of Criteria

In order to properly assess the effectiveness in the scope and design of good urban policies and legislation the following evaluation criteria are proposed. These criteria address a wide range of issues concerning the intended impact, the decision making process and governance structures. While it is unlikely that any single policy or legislation will meet all of these criteria, they provide a checklist for improved understanding of how a policy or law supports the goals and strategic objectives of the Habitat Agenda.

a/ Criteria pertaining to social, spatial, economic and environmental impact

• Promotes gender equality

• Enhances social inclusion

• Recognises cultural sensitivity and diversity and promotes non-discrimination

• Empowers all stakeholders, particularly women, civil society organisations, local authorities and the urban poor

• Improves urban sustainability particularly through integrated, holistic and comprehensive approaches to social, spatial, economic and environmental issues

• Flexibility in accommodating different conditions, groups and needs

b/ Criteria pertaining to institutional roles and responsibilities

• Provides a clear definition/assignment of roles and responsibilities including appropriate institutional framework and governance structures and appropriate levels of centralisation and decentralization

• Promotes the use, availability and accessibility of research findings and information

• Simplicity and clarity

• Realistic in terms of scope and implementation

• Provides for measurable impact and/or results

• Supports the participation of all stake holders including disadvantaged groups in decision making monitoring and evaluation

C. Institutional Framework and Governance Structures

A key concern is the institutional framework and governance structure for creating and implementing good urban policies and legislation. Experience has shown that there needs to be a clear definition and assignment of roles between various actors, entities and jurisdictions responsible for oversight and regulation, coordination and implementation and evaluation and follow-up. In general, approaches that decentralise authority and responsibility lead to improved service delivery and responsiveness to local development priorities. This is especially the case for addressing the needs of the poor, particularly women, and other disadvantaged groups. Such forms of decentralisation must involve genuine reallocation of power, resources and responsibilities to local levels, not just the reshuffling or reassignment of administrative duties. Experience has demonstrated that in many situations, decentralization can foster more effective responses for reducing poverty – a key concern and priority for developing countries.

D. Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women

An important and cross cutting issue in good urban policy and enabling legislation is gender equality. In order to attain gender equality, the political, social and economic empowerment of women is crucial. Specific focus on gender equality also means that good policies and enabling legislation need to be gender aware; they need to distinguish between men and women in the issues they seek to address. For example, a policy or law seeking to help the urban poor to obtain security of tenure should spell out how this can be done for both women and men. A critical contribution to gender equality and the empowerment women is to ensure that policies and legislation are based on the assessment of the different needs, concerns, roles and responsibilities of men and women.

E. Reporting Format

The attached reporting format is intended to provide detailed information regarding who developed the policy or legislation, its content and substance, how it was formulated and is being implemented, what are the measurable results and impacts. It also addresses the issue of how policies and laws are being monitored and evaluated, and most importantly, what are the lessons learned for replication and transfer. Attached is the complete reporting format, much of which is self-explanatory. However, UN-HABITAT would like to highlight several key points regarding the purpose and rationale for the reporting categories.

It is important to explain the governmental context in terms of which agencies are responsible for various aspects of the process and anticipated outcomes. With respect to legislative initiatives, in addition to the date of adoption, it is important to record the date the law entered into force.

The reporting format requests that each policy and law identify the key aspects of the Habitat Agenda that are addressed in terms of improving living environments, such as upgrading slums and reducing poverty.

In recognition of the fact that each country and community is different, the reporting format asks for contextual information regarding the policy and legislative circumstances to enable others to assess the degree of relevance to their situation.

Detailed information is requested regarding the purpose and intent of the policy or law as well as its substantial elements.

A premium is placed on describing the processes of policy and legislative formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation. At each stage it is vital to provide accurate information regarding the full involvement of all stakeholders in the process, and their ability to participate in decision making and to obtain access to information, particularly by disadvantaged and marginalised groups.

The reporting format calls for a detailed explanation and enumeration of measurable results and impacts of the policy or legislation, including positive as well as negative outcomes. Finally it is critical that the documentation include an analysis of lessons learned and other implications.

F. Use of Information and Dissemination

The information provided through this reporting format will become part of the UN-HABITAT Best Practices Database and made available globally to support governments, local authorities and the private and civil society sectors to play more effective roles in the implementation of the Habitat Agenda. In addition, lessons learned will be analyzed and discussed in international fora and will be used for training and capacity building purposes.

G. Submission Procedure

Submissions of urban policies and enabling legislation can be made by any stakeholder at any time directly to UN-HABITAT. Submissions will be reviewed by an independent committee for eventual inclusion in the database. Urban policies and enabling legislation that are being submitted should, in principle, have been in existence and fully enforced since a minimum of two years. This time frame is deemed necessary to assess effectiveness and impact and to illustrate the contribution of a policy or law to the implementation of the Habitat Agenda and Local Agenda 21.

H. Review by Stakeholders

Two or more stakeholders should review all documented examples prior to submission; in particular by those directly affected by the policies and laws. The active engagement and involvement with public, private and community partners in the preparation of these reports will contribute to the quality of the information and improve the learning dimension for all. Differing views on the effectiveness of the policy or legislation should be incorporated in the report so as to provide a more complete account of lessons learned, intended and unintended outcomes and remaining challenges. The diversity of views and opinions will further enhance the learning experience for those whom are directly involved and affected by the policy/law and other end users of the database.

For further information, please contact:

Best Practices and Policies
The Urban Secretariat
UN-HABITAT

Tel: 254 2 623448
Fax: 254 2 623080
Email: Anne.Klen@unhabitat.org