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“Arusha City Resilience Index Pilot Program” for the Tanzanian Ministry of Lands, Housing and Human Settlements Development, Arusha, Tanzania, 2015

Abstract

The “Arusha City Resilience Index Pilot Program” established an accessible, evidence-based definition of urban resilience in Arusha, Tanzania, culminating in the publication of the City Resilience Framework in July 2015.

The City Resilience Index (CRI) from 2015 aimed to measure and assess to what extent a city is achieving its resilience goals. The CRI was developed by International Development non-project branch of Ove Arup & Partners International Ltd with support from the Rockefeller Foundation. The Ministry of Lands, Housing and Human Settlements Development in Arusha, Tanzania was one of five municipalities to participate in the CRI pilot program to test the feasibility and utility of the Index in different contexts around the world.

As part of the Program, I2UD staff performed an initial review of the Index to develop a work plan for the pilot program and to contextualize urban planning in Arusha. The team managed a task force of local authorities to collect qualitative and quantitative data related to the four dimensions of resilience: (Health and well-being, Economy and society, Infrastructure and environment, and Leadership and strategy). Finally, I2UD experts analyzed data collection outputs to produce an internal report assessing the indicators and data collection process and provided recommendations for improving the Index. I2UD also interviewed key community stakeholders from a wide range of disciplines, and facilitated a stakeholder workshop to perform a qualitative assessment of urban resilience in Arusha.

Documents include a CRI Introduction, an I2UD Schedule, and a Master Plan Stage II “Socio-Economic Report” and “Preliminary Visioning and Programming Report”. Supporting documents include a Technical Working Group Meeting Agenda.


[Excerpt: CRI Introduction, July 2015]

“Urban populations are facing increasing challenges from numerous natural and manmade pressures such as rapid urbanization, climate change, terrorism and increased risks from natural hazards. Cities must learn to adapt and thrive in the face of these diverse challenges – they must learn how to build resilience in an uncertain world. Armed with this knowledge and understanding, governments, donors, investors, policy makers, and the private sector will be able to develop effective strategies to foster more resilient cities.”

Project Year:2015
Project Type:Workshop
Geographic Regions:Arusha, Tanzania
Reports:
Authors:Andrew Charles (Ove Arup & Partners International Ltd); Alejandra Mortarini; Barbara Summers
Sponsors:Rockefeller Foundation
Categories:Climate Change and Resilience Building
  
ID:2015_08_001

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I2UD Digital Library Study Guide: Urban Climate Adaptation and Resilience: Planning for Equitable and Inclusive Cities, March 2026

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“Monitoring Processes of Change in Historic Centers: A Case Study of Fes, Morocco,” Case Study Paper for UNESCO World Heritage Center and the International Centre for the Study of Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM), 2002

Abstract

Mona Serageldin presented the report “Monitoring Processes of Change in Historic Centers: A Case Study of Fes, Morocco” at a workshop on Monitoring World Heritage in November 2002, held in Vicenza, Italy and sponsored by the UNESCO World Heritage Centre and the International Centre for the Study of Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM). Serageldin’s report assesses the rehabilitation strategy for the Medina of Fez based on a spatial analysis and social and economic indicators, and outlines the considerations involved in implementing the strategy and a geographic monitoring system.


[Excerpt: Abstract, p. 3]

ABSTRACT
“Historic centers encompass monumental buildings and landmarks embedded within a rich urban fabric of utilitarian buildings. Property owners and residents are constantly altering these buildings to adapt them to new needs and lifestyles. Their interventions trigger interlinked processes of transformation that lead either to preservation or to deterioration. Rehabilitation strategies must reconcile the plurality of views, interests, mandates and missions adds layers of complexity to the already challenging task of coping with the impact of disinvestments, misuse, abuse and neglect eroding the quality of life in historic centers.”

“The strategy developed for the first phase of the rehabilitation of the Medina of Fez required a thorough understanding of the dynamics at work in the Medina and of the institutional and financial blockages that prevented reinvestment and fostered the continued deterioration of residential buildings. This assessment was based on a spatial analysis of the key physical, social and economic indicators for the area, including property transactions and building permits for new construction and improvements.”

“The institutionalization and periodic updating of a monitoring system recording the key indicators used in the preparation of the project and linking these databases to the ADER-FEZ GIS has been recommended, but not yet implemented. With a good monitoring system in place and closer collaboration between the tax Department and the Municipality the tax yield from the Medina would be enhanced and the interest of the authorities in the historic core as a viable economic entity [would be] rekindled.”

—

“At the Center for Urban Development Studies, we have developed an approach to revitalization and rehabilitation that recognizes the plurality of stakeholders in historic centers. We accept the evaluation of cultural significance given to different components of the historic urban fabric by specialized agencies. Our role is to assist local government in devising strategies ensuring coherence, inclusion and impact. Our approach to action plans focuses on valorization of the urban fabric based on the dynamics of change in the site as a living component of a larger urban agglomeration.”

Project Year:2002
Project Type:Workshop
Geographic Regions:Fes, Morocco
Reports:Monitoring Processes of Change in Historic Centers: Fes, Morocco (November 2002)
Authors:Mona Serageldin
Sponsors:UNESCO World Heritage Centre; International Centre for the Study of Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM)
Categories:Education
  
ID:2002_11_001

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Gallery 10: Morocco: Fes, Casablanca, and Rabat (1983-1993)

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Workshops on “Strategic Planning and Management of Municipal Infrastructure Programs,” from Review of Grant-Funded MIPs in South Africa, May-June 1999

Abstract

The Unit for Housing and Urbanization at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design developed two workshops in 1999 on “Strategic Planning and Management of Municipal Infrastructure Programs.” Workshop materials built off original in-depth research and a previous report by the Unit, “Review of South African Governments Grant Funded Municipal Infrastructure Programs” (Project ID: 1998_08_001) from 1998-1999. Workshop One was held on May 19-21, 1999, and Workshop Two was held on July 28-30, 1999.

Documents include a copy of the full report on Municipal Infrastructure Programs (MIPs) in South Africa, an outline on Performance Indicators, a presentation on MIPs, program overviews, and detailed schedules for the two workshops.

See related I2UD projects below

Project Year:1999
Project Type:ITP; Education
Geographic Regions:South Africa
Reports:
Authors:Mona Serageldin (Team Leader); David Cook; David C. Jones; John Driscoll; Christine Williams; Sameh Wahba; Suzanne Kim; Christopher Rogers; Wesley Wirth; Vicky Milne; Alejandra Mortarini
Sponsors:World Bank; Development Bank of Southern Africa
Categories:International Education Program; Executive Training Program; Education
  
ID:1999_05_002

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I2UD Digital Library Study Guide: Understanding Informal Settlements and Slum Upgrading, October 2024

I2UD Digital Library Study Guide: The Role of Urban Planning and Management in Post-Crisis Reconciliation and Recovery, October 2025

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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Design Studio 1994: “A New Urban Center for Adjamé, Abidjan, Ivory Coast,” Seminar Curriculum

Abstract

Professors François Vigier and Mona Serageldin led the Spring 1994 Design Studio, an annual seminar hosted by the Unit for Housing and Urbanization at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design. The topic that year focused on urban development in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast).

The document, “Designing for Urban Growth: Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire” (January 1994), discussed the housing compound profiles, land allocation, household demographics, and design conditions of Abidjan’s housing regions. The report details designs for dealing with environmental impacts such as organic and industrial effluents, solutions for reducing public subsidies for housing, reforms the housing production, and, in particular, suggestions for readdressing the respective responsibilities of the public and private sectors.

See related I2UD projects below

Project Year:1994
Project Type:Urban Design Studio
Geographic Regions:Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
Reports:1994 Design Studio: Abidjan Designing for Urban Growth (Report, Vigier and Serageldin)
Authors:Mona Serageldin; François Vigier; Samir Abdulac; Howard Trett; Randa Tukan; David Neilson
Sponsors:Unit for Housing and Urbanization, Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Categories:Design Studios; Education
  
ID:1994_01_001

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