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Examples of CDS Projects
Project
Urban Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy: City of Douala and its Greater Urban Area
The Situation
Home to 20 per cent of Cameroon’s urban population, Douala is the largest city and the economic centre of the country, generating 25 per cent of GDP and accounting for 40 per cent of non-agricultural value-add in the “modern sector”. The city has also an important regional function; it plays a crucial role in the economic development of neighbouring Central African countries, particularly in external trade.
This productivity, however, is undermined by major development problems: inadequate infrastructure, scarcity of formal sector housing land supply, poverty (13% of households) and unemployment (27% of the labor force). The growth of informal sector jobs in particular has caused an increase of street vendors along major traffic arteries and in the middle of residential and industrial areas, creating significant problems for informal traders and for city administrators trying to cope with the spatial demands of the informal sector.
Partners
Communauté Urbaine de Douala (CUD)
The Result
The Douala CDS is credited for its role in nurturing effective partnerships at the city level. CUD led the CDS with minimal assistance from external partners such as the Cities Alliance. It launched an extensive advocacy and outreach campaign to include as many as stakeholders in identifying the needs and priorities of the city. Several workshops were held in which local participants—including NGOs representing the poor, women and other vulnerable groups—were encouraged to voice their concerns. As a result of this effort, the Douala CDS is seen as a credible and representative development action plan for the city.
The Douala CDS is credited for its role in nurturing effective partnerships at the city level. CUD led the CDS with minimal assistance from external partners such as the Cities Alliance. It launched an extensive advocacy and outreach campaign to include as many as stakeholders in identifying the needs and priorities of the city. Several workshops were held in which local participants—including NGOs representing the poor, women and other vulnerable groups—were encouraged to voice their concerns. As a result of this effort, the Douala CDS is seen as a credible and representative development action plan for the city.
The participatory and collaborative nature of the CDS process also influenced institutional behaviour and produced new management capacities at CUD and other local institutions. Based on consultations with different city stakeholders, CUD has now adopted an integrated urban planning approach. This also helped in the prioritisation of projects, since decisions were based on their level of urgency and available resources. As the CDS progressed, CUD and other local actors developed a sense of ownership and commitment to its process and outcomes.
Another major contribution of the Douala CDS is that it has led to critical financing opportunities for the city. For instance, in 2011, the World Bank approved a USD 28.5 million loan for a city sanitation project. Its design was based on the diagnostic study conducted in the first phase of the Cities Alliance-supported CDS. The French development agency Agence Française de Développement (AfD) is also financing a Euro 163 million project (approximately USD 212 million) to improve the city’s drainage system. In a country with little public funding for sanitation, this is significant. It also keeps the momentum going for the CDS, so that it does not remain a purely academic exercise and translates into action.
Project
Nationwide city development strategy programme in the Philippines focusing on standard of living, economic competitiveness, sound financial management of local governments, and good governance.
The Situation
The Philippines is urbanising rapidly. More than half of the country’s population already lives in cities, and 1.3 million new residents are added each year. Generally, urban areas have grown quickly and without planning; many lack a basic urban infrastructure, such as transport, water and sanitation. Moreover, quality of life is deteriorating in cities, with crime on the rise and an increasing number of informal settlements. The health of Philippine cities is of critical importance to national economic development—they account for around 75-80 percent of economic output and 80 percent of economic growth.
Partners
League of Cities of the Philippines, the Cities Alliance, the World Bank
The Result
City development strategies have been implemented in cities of all sizes throughout the Philippines, helping them plan strategically for growth and economic development. So far, three phases of a nationwide CDS programme have been completed, generating more than 500 priority programmes and projects in the areas of infrastructure, environment and governance. On a policy level, city development strategies are being incorporated into the national planning process. A grant is currently underway to review the CDS programme and document innovative approaches taken by local governments.