Chile – Support for the implementation of the programme to recover 200 neighbourhoods through capacity building and strengthening among local actors and public services
Chile’s Ministry for Housing and Urban Planning (MINVU) received a $498,200 grant in support of an overall $9.5 million programme to recover 200 deteriorated and vulnerable neighbourhoods. The Alliance grant supports technical assistance to public services and municipal professionals, technical materials development and dissemination, programme strategy dissemination, and design proposals. MINVU provides $8.5 million for the programme. In addition to the Alliance grant, GTZ, UN-HABITAT, Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), municipalities, and Servicio de Cooperación Técnica (SERCOTEC) provide co-funding.

Kenya - Proposal for Funding to Prepare City Development Strategies and State of the Cities Report Programme for Kenyan Urban Local Authorities
The Association of Local Authorities of Kenya (ALGAK) and UN-HABITAT received a $75,000 grant to engage local authorities of select cities in identifying issues and collecting data to prepare a proposal for submission to the Cities Alliance. The proposal will lay a framework for a national city development strategy process and preparation of a State of the Cities report. ALGAK and UN-HABITAT are providing $25,000 in co-financing, mostly in-kind.

Tanzania – Establishment of Tanzania State of the Cities Report (Preparatory Phase)
The Alliance of Mayors in Tanzania (AMICAALL) received a $73,956 grant to form a Tanzania Cities Network (TACINE) and develop a proposal for a State of the Cities Report (SoCR). Objectives of the project include documenting and analysing Tanzania’s cities as a basis for national- and local-level policy development, creating a baseline upon which to measure progress, benchmarking the performance of cities against one another, and building the capacity of cities to analyze data and in-turn use it to inform policymakers. Co-sponsors of the project include the World Bank, the German Development Service (DED), and TACINE. Co-financing is $106,356.

Tunisia – Greater Sfax Development Strategy: Phase 2
The seven municipalities of Greater Sfax received a $245,000 grant to move forward with phase two of the Greater Sfax Development Strategy (GSDS) that they initiated in 2003. Objectives of the GSDS include defining an economic development strategy that includes job creation, preparing urban integration strategies for historic city centres and working-class urban areas in conjunction with the National Agency for Urban Rehabilitation and Renewal; collaborating with the Ministry of Transport to produce a report on improving public transportation, and enhancing good governance. An additional $520,000 in co-financing is provided by Greater Sfax municipalities; the Tunisian Ministries of Interior, Infrastructure, Transport, and Environment; the Tunisian Urban Planners Association (ATU); Fédération Nationale des Villes Tunisiennes (FNVT); Diputació de Barcelona; the Municipality of Marseille (France); MedCities; and the World Bank.

Vietnam - City Development Strategy for Thanh Hoa City in a Regional Development Context
UN-HABITAT received a $75,000 grant to work with the Government of Thanh Hoa City and Province to conduct workshops and studies to prepare a proposal for a city development strategy (CDS) that takes regional development into account. A CDS is necessary to address the region’s rapid economic development, an expected doubling in population of Thanh Hoa City by 2015, and a tripling in size of the city’s area. The Government of Thanh Hoa City and Province, the Asian Development Bank and UN-HABITAT are providing $51,500 in co-financing, mostly in-kind.