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“Urban Resiliency & the Challenge of Coordinating Climate Adaptation Strategies at Different Scales,” Assessment and Presentation, Zofnass Program for Sustainable Infrastructure Workshop on Infrastructure Resilience II, April 2016

Abstract

In 2016, Mona Serageldin and I2UD developed the workshop presentation “Urban Resiliency & the Challenge of Coordinating Climate Adaptation Strategies at Different Scales.” The workshop on Infrastructure Resilience II: Advancing Planning and Design Tools was organized by the Zofnass Program for Sustainable Infrastructure under the Harvard University Graduate School of Design. Documents include the presentation and presentation text.

Learn more about current research on climate resiliency improvement strategies at I2UD’s main site: “AI Climate: A Decision Making Tool for Climate Resilience: Using AI to Identify Climate Change Hazards in the Cities of the Global South.”


[Excerpt: Presentation Text, by Mona Serageldin, for “Urban Resiliency & the Challenge of Coordinating Climate Adaptation Strategies at Different Scales”]

“Urban Resilience is a cornerstone of the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and will be at the center of the discussions at the Habitat III conference. Climate experts and environmentalists are developing tools to assess the regional manifestations of climate change, but reliable prediction tools at the local level are still lacking. Professor Charles Kennel and his colleagues have demonstrated that multiple environmental stress factors interact with local micro-climate and ecological systems to produce different effects at different locations and hence different levels of exposure. They advocate regional assessments as a basis for local action.”

“Settlements in risk areas will differ in location, urban patterns, social characteristics, sources of livelihood and cultural particularities which in combination will shape vulnerabilities to climate change related effects. The focus on informal settlements will highlight the social dimension of exposure to the risks associated with climate change, which are often aggravated by human action. We will present two cases, Arusha, Tanzania and Cartagena, Colombia to illustrate the challenge of resilience building.”

“City and community responses to past weather events provide a good indication of the technical and managerial capacity of local authorities and the ability of vulnerable groups to protect themselves and their assets. Local resilience requires dynamic urban planning and management and an observatory capable of monitoring change in selected environmental indicators and mapping the spatial configuration of affected areas and systems. This task is facilitated by access to aerial photography and GIS. Land issues are critical to the effectiveness of local adaptation strategies, but their impacts tend to be underestimated.”

Project Year:2016
Project Type:Workshop; Presentation
Geographic Regions:Arusha, Tanzania / Cartagena, Colombia
Reports:
Authors:Mona Serageldin; Alejandra Mortarini; Barbara Summers
Sponsors:Zofnass Program for Sustainable Infrastructure, Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Categories:Climate Change and Resilience Building
  
ID:2016_04_001
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“Exploring the Use of Land Value Capture Instruments for Green Resilient Infrastructure Benefits”

Abstract

Team members from I2UD collaborated with the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy from 2015 through 2019 to produce a research paper that explores how land value capture can finance green resilient infrastructure (GRI) in rapidly urbanizing, climate-vulnerable cities, using a flood-mitigation river project in Santiago de Cali, Colombia as a case study.

This research provides evidence that green resilient infrastructure (GRI) can measurably increase land values—even in flood-prone, low-income urban areas—creating a real financial basis for climate adaptation. By showing that most of the land value uplift comes from green amenities rather than flood control alone, it demonstrates that well-designed GRI can both reduce climate risk and generate revenue that cities could recapture to fund resilience. However, without stronger institutional capacity and safeguards against displacement, land value capture for climate adaptation risks reinforcing inequality rather than financing equitable resilience.

Project Year:2015-2019
Project Type:Research and Policy Discussion
Geographic Regions:Cali, Colombia
Reports:Exploring the Use of Land Value Capture Instruments for Green Resilient Infrastructure Benefits (Working Paper, July 2019)
Authors:Stelios Grafakos; Alexandra Tsatsou; Luca D’Acci; James Kostaras; Adriana Patricia López Valencia; Nohemi Ramirez Aranda; Barbara Summers
Sponsors:Lincoln Institute of Land Policy
Categories:Climate Change and Resilience Building
  
ID:2015_10_001
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“Inclusive Cities and Access to Land, Housing, and Services in Developing Countries,” Urban Development Series: Knowledge Papers, World Bank’s Social, Urban, Rural & Resilience Global Practice, 2016

Abstract

I2UD produced a research paper titled “Inclusive Cities and Access to Land: Housing and Services in Developing Countries.” The World Bank-supported project addressed how global disparities in income, wealth, and opportunity, experienced worldwide, have contributed to social exclusion and spatial segregation in cities in the Middle East, North Africa, Latin America, Central America, and Western Asia.

The final report—authored by Mona Serageldin and I2UD staff, and published in 2016 by the World Bank—documented examples of successful inclusionary policies, programs, and initiatives by public agencies and NGOs with a special focus on cities in Latin America and the Middle East. The report discussed the difficulty in organizing integrative projects. It underscored the shortcomings arising from acting on one dimension of inclusion while ignoring others.

Documents include a workshop presentation from January 2014, with a final draft from April 2014, along with the final report from February 2016.


[Excerpt: Index for the Final Report: “Inclusive Cities and Access to Land, Housing, and Services in Developing Countries.”]

The Growing Importance of Inclusion in Urban Areas
1.1 Defining Inclusion
1.2 Measuring the Dimensions of Exclusion: São Paulo’s Exclusion/Inclusion Indicator Mapping

2. Trends Affecting Social Inclusion in Urban Areas
2.1 Demographics
2.2 Mobility and Migration

3. Infrastructure and Public Services: A Powerful Tool to Promote Social Inclusion
3.1 Rethinking the Approach to Slum Upgrading and Regularization of Informal Settlements
3.2 South Africa’s Municipal Infrastructure Grant Program (MIG)
3.3 Access to Public Services: Social Missions in the the República Bolivariana de Venezuela

4. Restoring the Social Function of Public Space
4.1 Rio de Janeiro’s Favela Bairro Program

5. Access to Land: A Critical Factor at the Core of Inclusion and Exclusion
5.1 Regularizing Tenure in Informal Settlements: Impacts on Social Inclusion
5.2 Impacts of Property Registration on the Inclusion of Informal Settlers
5.3 Integrated Projects to improve the Living Environment: The Role of State Agencies 16
5.4 Egypt’s Informal Settlements Development Facility (ISDF)

6. The Erosion of Inclusive Options for Affordable Housing
6.1 Affordable Housing and Spatial Segregation in Chile
6.2 Looking to Rental Markets as Instruments of Inclusion

7. Generating Revenues to Finance Urban Improvements: Land-Based Financing
7.1 Cuenca’s Improve Your Neighborhood Program

8. The Right to the City
8.1 Implementing the Right to the City in Brazil
8.2 National Legislation and Local Implementation: Colombia’s Policies of Decentralizing the Improvement of Lower Income Settlements
8.3 An Emerging Urban Agenda in the Middle East
8.4 Recife, Brazil (ZEIS)

9. NGOs and CBOs as Strategic Partners in Driving the Implementation of Inclusionary Programs
9.1 Grassroots Initiatives: A Rights-Based Approach
9.2 SEWA
9.3 CODI, Thailand

Concluding Remarks
References
Appendix 1: Indicators of Urban Exclusion and Inclusion in São Paulo, Brazil
Appendix 2: Property Tax and Registration in Middle Eastern Countries
Appendix 3: Statistical Appendix
Appendix 4: Resources

See related I2UD projects below

Project Year:2014-2016
Project Type:Research Paper
Geographic Regions:Latin America and Middle East / Venezuela / Recife and São Paulo, Brazil / Chile / Colombia / Mexico / Syria / Egypt / Morocco / Tunisia / South Africa / Thailand
Reports:
—
Authors:Mona Serageldin; Sheelah Gobar; Warren Hagist; Maren Larsen
Sponsors:World Bank
Categories:Informal Settlements and Urban Upgrading
  
ID:2014_04_001

Related I2UD Projects

Gallery 4: Chile: Santiago, Concepción, and Talcahuano (1992-1993)

Galleries 6-7: Egypt: Cairo and Helwan (1986, 1990)

Gallery 16: Venezuela: Caracas (1989)

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“Climate Change Adaptation and Resiliency Framework,” Development Strategy for Cartagena, Colombia and Condega, Nicaragua, 2012

Abstract

In 2012, I2UD assisted the municipalities of Cartagena, Colombia and Condega, Nicaragua to develop a “Climate Change Adaptation and Resiliency Framework” to inform their urban planning. The projects provided context for research on physical and social climate change vulnerabilities in informal settlements in Colombia and Nicaragua.

In partnership with the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, the I2UD study team addressed changes in land policies to foster adaptation measures and facilitate their implementation, to assess social vulnerabilities, and to make institutional considerations. Reports demonstrated that lack of enforcement for housing or service regulations, poor quality construction, and environmental degradation increased vulnerabilities to climate change in both regions. Although the two municipalities had undertaken risk assessments, neither had specifically addressed the special vulnerabilities in informal settlement areas to floods and landslides resulting from climate change.

Documents include the final report from January 2014, followed by earlier concept papers, research presentations, report elements on Cartagena and Condega, and a curriculum outline. The final report is available in English and Spanish.



[Excerpt: Final Report, “Increasing the Resilience of Informal Settlements to Climate Change in Two Latin American Cities: Condega and Cartagena.” I2UD, January 2014.]

ABSTRACT
“The conceptual framework for the research is based on the documentation of climate change effects and adaptation approaches by the International Panel on Climate Change but it focuses on risks in informal and lower-income settlements. It adapts basic guidelines that apply fundamental principles found in current climate and urban planning literature to these settlements. Despite IPCC warnings, many cities in the developing world are taking a reactive approach to climate change, only addressing impacts when they become emergencies. A strategic approach fostering adaptation is needed to address the multiple dimensions of risk faced by urban settlements, particularly lower-income communities, and build their resilience. Underlying causes of vulnerability include the lack of developable, serviced urban land, unplanned urbanization and limited public resources, all of which arise from ineffective management of land as a valuable asset, a creator of development potential and a generator of public revenues.”

“Two case studies document and evaluate the strategies adopted by the cities of Condega, Nicaragua and Cartagena, Colombia to reduce climate change related risks in informal and lower-income settlements, and assess remaining sources of risk. The proposed land-based policies, instruments, and projects – some conventional and some more innovative – are intended to better prepare the communities through both remedial and preventive adaptation measures.”

Project Year:2012
Project Type:Risk Assessment and Local Development Strategy
Geographic Regions:Cartagena, Colombia / Condega, Nicaragua
Reports:
—
Authors:Mona Serageldin; Warren Hagist; Carolina Morgan; Alejandra Mortarini; Mauricio Rodriguez Gomez; Luis Sevilla Fajardo; Alfredo Stein
Sponsors:Lincoln Institute of Land Policy
Categories:Climate Change and Resilience Building
  
ID:2012_10_001
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“Migration, Remittances and the Empowerment of Women in Central America and the Andean Region,” for PROMESHA, Lund University, 2007-2008

Abstract

In 2007 and 2008, I2UD conducted a study on “Migration, Remittances and the Empowerment of Women in Central America and the Andean Region,” commissioned by the PROMESHA program of the Housing Development and Management Program (HDM) at Lund University and funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). The study provided background research for programs specifically designed to assist women affected by migration in Latin American countries—Honduras, El Salvador, Ecuador, Chile, Peru, Colombia, and Argentina.

Mona Serageldin’s focus in the reports centered empowering women’s experience of navigating migration and housing needs by examining remittance sending and receiving patterns and funding use priorities. Suggested strategies included investing remittance funds into key assets for Latin American communities, chiefly to meet housing needs. Documents include an interim report (January 2007) and final report (August 2008).

Project Year:2007-2008
Project Type:Research Paper
Geographic Regions:Honduras / El Salvador / Ecuador / Chile / Perú / Colombia / Argentina
Reports:
Authors:Mona Serageldin; Christa Lee-Chuvala; Carolina Morgan; Alejandra Mortarini
Sponsors:Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida)
Categories:Reconciliation and Development
  
ID:2007_07_002

Related I2UD Projects

Gallery 4: Chile: Santiago, Concepción, and Talcahuano (1992-1993)

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Executive Training Course 2006: “Strategic Planning for Sustainable Infrastructure Development,” Workshop Curriculum with Case Studies, Pretoria, South Africa, 2006

Abstract

In November 2006, the Institute for International Urban Development (I2UD) organized a week-long Executive Training Program on “Strategic Planning for Sustainable Infrastructure Development” for local leaders and municipal officials in Pretoria, South Africa. The workshop covered four main topics:

  1. Sustainability of infrastructure projects;
  2. Impact of migration on housing and service delivery;
  3. Infrastructure and municipal finance; and
  4. Infrastructure and the millennium development goals (MDGs).

Case studies from past I2UD projects used as background reference in the workshop profile the cities of Southwark, London, UK; Szczecin, Poland; Santo André, São Paulo, Brazil; Saint-Denis, France; Ahmedabad, India; Middledrift, South Africa; Cuenca, Ecuador; Cotonou, Benin; Belo Horizonte, Brazil; Bogotá, Colombia; and Barcelona, Spain. Documents include presentation slides, with a workshop overview, schedule, and bibliography – followed by case studies.

[Excerpt: Sustainability Presentation:
Discussion Topics]

INTEGRATED DEVELOPMENT PLAN

REVITALIZATION OF SMALL TOWN CENTERS

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

HOUSING AND INFRASTRUCTURE

SUSTAINING MUNICIPAL FINANCE




Workshops defined inter-linkages between topics:

– Finance

– Local economic development

– Social inclusion

– Partnerships

– Sustainability

– Institutional framework

– Management for performance indicators

See related I2UD projects below

Project Year:2006
Project Type:IEP; Education
Geographic Regions:Pretoria, South Africa (Workshop Location)
Reports:

Case Studies:
Authors:Barry Shaw; Clare Wright; Mona Serageldin; Raj Rewal; Suzanne Kim; Sameh Wahba
Sponsors:Institute for International Urban Development (I2UD)
Categories:International Education Program; Executive Training Program; Education
  
ID:2006_11_001

Related I2UD Projects

Beginning in 1982, the Unit for Housing and Urbanization at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design hosted International Training Programs (ITP), an annual series of 2- to 4-week summer seminars designed to strengthen the decision-making skills of senior professionals in public and private agencies responsible for urban development.

The I2UD Digital Library holds curriculum materials for ITPs from 1988, 1991, 1994, 1995, 1997, and 1998:

The tradition of ITPs continued after 2000, when the Center for Urban Development Studies (CUDS) (a re-organization of the Unit) continued training seminars as International Education Programs (IEP) from 2000-2004:

Programs included inter-linked modules, lectures, case studies, interactive computer simulation models, site visits to urban projects, discussion groups and networking with professional counterparts from international metropolitan regions. Sessions had a modular format and structured team teaching, taught by a team of senior faculty and guest lecturers. Programs ended with a synthesis presented through a project evaluation exercise. Participants used case projects to examine strategies from the viewpoint of both public and private partners — to assess the feasibility and potential impacts of policies and projects on the community and the city. Presentations by guest speakers, representing U.S. and international agencies, NGOs, and community groups, were also integrated within the pedagogic framework of each module.

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IEP 2003: “Infrastructure and Partnerships for Local Economic Development” in Pretoria and Bloemfontein, South Africa, International Education Programs, 2003

Abstract

Curriculum components from the 2003 IEP (International Education Program) “Infrastructure and Partnerships for Local Economic Development,” which was held in Pretoria and Bloemfontein, South Africa in August and September 2003.

Documents include agendas, case studies, project summaries, and reference materials. Noted work by Mona Serageldin includes “Decentralization and Urban Infrastructure Management Capacity,” a background paper for the 2001 Third Global Report on Human Settlements.

Additional contextual documents include: The “Best Practices 2001” submission for Middledrift, Eastern Cape, South Africa; an executive summary from May 2000 for the “Housing Microfinance Initiative”; a presentation of indicator reports by CUDS “Neighborhood Improvement Program, Neiva, Colombia”; and “Participant Evaluation and Comments” forms for the 2003 seminar participants.

See related I2UD projects below

Project Year:2003
Project Type:IEP; Education
Geographic Regions:Pretoria and Bloemfontein, South Africa (Program Locations) / Brazil / Boston, Massachusetts, US / South Africa / Bogotá, Colombia / Southwark, London, UK / Saint-Denis and Aubervilliers, France / Ahmedabad, India / Adjamé, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire / Szczecin, Poland
Reports:
Authors:CUDS Team
Sponsors:Center for Urban Development Studies, Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Categories:International Education Program; Education
  
ID:2003_08_001

Related I2UD Projects

Beginning in 1982, the Unit for Housing and Urbanization at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design hosted International Training Programs (ITP), an annual series of 2- to 4-week summer seminars designed to strengthen the decision-making skills of senior professionals in public and private agencies responsible for urban development.

The I2UD Digital Library holds curriculum materials for ITPs from 1988, 1991, 1994, 1995, 1997, and 1998:

The tradition of ITPs continued after 2000, when the Center for Urban Development Studies (CUDS) (a re-organization of the Unit) continued training seminars as International Education Programs (IEP) from 2000-2004:

Programs included inter-linked modules, lectures, case studies, interactive computer simulation models, site visits to urban projects, discussion groups and networking with professional counterparts from international metropolitan regions. Sessions had a modular format and structured team teaching, taught by a team of senior faculty and guest lecturers. Programs ended with a synthesis presented through a project evaluation exercise. Participants used case projects to examine strategies from the viewpoint of both public and private partners — to assess the feasibility and potential impacts of policies and projects on the community and the city. Presentations by guest speakers, representing U.S. and international agencies, NGOs, and community groups, were also integrated within the pedagogic framework of each module.

Gallery 2: Côte d’Ivoire: Adjamé, Abidjan, 1990-1995

Gallery 12: Poland: Gdansk and Lublin, 1994–1995

Gallery 15: United States: Boston, Massachusetts, 1994-1997

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Seminar on “Protecting Cultural and Natural Heritage in the Western Hemisphere: Lessons from the Past, Looking to the Future,” World Cultural Heritage Convention 30th Anniversary, Conference Materials, 2002

Abstract

The Center for Urban Development Studies (CUDS) at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design hosted a seminar in December 2002 titled “Protecting Heritage of Western Hemisphere,” organized as part of the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the World Cultural Heritage Convention. The seminar brought together international policy makers, public officials, practitioners, and academics involved in the protection and management of national and cultural heritage sites.

Documents include a substantial list of conference materials, including lecture presentations by guest speakers, memos, conference addresses by participants, transcripts of individual panel contributions, and a conference booklet containing a schedule and list of participants.


[Excerpt: CUDS Internal Memo, Francois Vigier, June 2002, p. 1]

“Open to the general public, the Seminar [was] attended by senior officials of UNESCO, the World Heritage Center, The World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the Organization of American States and bring together policy makers, public officials, practitioners and academics involved in the protection and management of natural, archeological and urban cultural heritage sites in the Western Hemisphere.

“Key participants include[d] international organizations and foundations, bilateral and international development agencies and representatives of the major institutions and foundations active in promoting the conservation of the natural and cultural heritage in multiple regions:

Ecuador — Peru National Park — Colombia — Venezuela — Upper Amazon (Peru and Brazil) — Cuna language regions (Central Panama) — Galapagos Islands

“The objective of the Seminar [was] to review past and present experiences. An open discussion of the economic, social and managerial issues in the designation, conservation and use of cultural sites [addressed]:

▪ Disseminate cutting-edge approaches;
▪ Allow an exchange of successful practices; and
▪ Help the participants address emerging challenges in the preservation of the natural and manmade cultural heritage.”

Project Year:2002
Project Type:Conference
Geographic Regions:Cambridge, Massachusetts, US (Seminar Location) / Latin America / United States
Reports:
Authors:Francesco Bandarin; Mounir Bouchenaki; Orestes del Castillo; Francesco di Castri; Belia Contreras; Maureen Finnerty; Silvana Giaimo; Pamela W. Hawkes; Maria-Valeria Junho Pena; Roberto L. Klabin; Vincent J. Lujan; Claudio C. Maretti;Colonel James G. May; David Maybury-Lewis; William Moss; Bernie Perley; Eduardo Rojas; Peter Rowe; Ismail Serageldin; Bradford H. Sewell; Anthony Stocks; François Vigier
Sponsors:Center for Urban Development Studies, Harvard University Graduate School of Design; United States Committee of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (US-ICOMOS); UNESCO World Heritage Centre
Categories:Evaluations and Assessments
  
ID:2002_12_001

Related I2UD Projects

I2UD Photograph Collection, Gallery 4: Chile: Santiago, Concepción, and Talcahuano (1992-1993)