Mobilizing Development Expertise for Human Settlements Planning

Abstract

The urban planning and development problems of Third World nations in Africa, Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean are massive, urgent, and complex. Now, after a long saga of trial and error with state-centered, sectoral planning and ad hoc urban development projects, and in the face of declining public resources and eroding standards of living and high costs of housing, new goals have been established to create a strengthened urban public service with greater public participation. Briefly, these are:

• “1. Formulating national urban policies which define and harmonize at all levels of government the inter-related goals of economic and physical land use planning with social equity and better living and working conditions, particularly for the poorest communities.

• 2. Organizing, strengthening and coordinating public and private institutional, financial, legislative and administrative management systems for plan implementation.

• 3. Designing integrated affordable and implementable programs and projects which utilize the initiatives, resources and creative energies of local communities, individuals and nongovernmental organizations.

• 4. Creating broad education and training programs for policy makers, professionals, project personnel and community implementors.

• 5. Establishing appropriate and cost-effective national and international arrangements for technical cooperation, information transfer, and trade and aid which take into account the needs and priorities of urbanization in developing countries” (Blair, 1984).