Review of the Cities Development Strategy Program in the Philippines and Preparation and Publication of the State of Philippine Cities Report
The Philippines CDS Program was launched in 1998 to respond to cities’ concerns in urban development and management. Three phases of the CDS Program (CDS1, CDS2 and CDIP) have so far been carried out while a third CDS3 is currently under implementation, with efforts being made to measure the performance of cities in various aspects of city development. Thus far, a total of 65 out of 120 Philippine cities have prepared their CDS.

This proposal was submitted by the League of Philippine Cities as part of these efforts to measure and evaluate. Co-sponsored by the World Bank in partnership with the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) its objectives are to: (i) Draw lessons from the vast experience of the Philippines in implementing the CDS Program through the conduct of a strategic assessment of the program; (ii) Enhance the awareness and appreciation of Philippine cities on the benefits of implementing and sustaining CDS activities, with specific focus on the Marikina Shelter Program; and, (iii) Improve the performance of CDS cities in governance and service delivery by preparing and publishing a State of Philippine Cities Report. This will serve as basis for follow-up project design, policy formulation and performance-based aid.

Cities with Jobs: Integrating Productive Employment into City Development and Slum Upgrading Strategies
This proposal is a derivative of an informal brainstorming in March 2007 involving Cities Alliance members like Sida, DFID, UN-Habitat, Cities Alliance, World Bank and the International Labour Organization (ILO) to establish a working group on urban employment. This working group would provide guidance on the integration of employment strategies into overall city development and slum upgrading strategies.

Proposed by the ILO and co-sponsored by Sida and UN-HABITAT, the grant will enable the development of a Policy Advisory Note on urban employment strategies, and to provide input to a long-term strategy for Cities Alliance on how to incorporate employment strategies into city development and slum upgrading programs.

Data for this Policy Advisory Note will be gathered through field visits and reports and documents relating to Cities Alliance projects, visitations with Cities Alliance members and the Secretariat, including field assessments of Cities Alliance projects, presenting a draft of the Policy Note and input to a long-term strategy at the World Urban Forum IV for further discussion and input, with a final product prepared and published thereafter. Total budget for the activity is US$100,000, with $75,000 requested from Cities Alliance.

Building institutional capacity for scaling up slum upgrading -Distance Learning Course for Integrated Slum Upgrading Actions
This proposal has as its principal objective the preparation, application and evaluation of a Distance Learning Course for Integrated Slum Upgrading Actions. Submitted by Brazil’s Ministry of Cities and Caixa Economica Federale, the course will target municipality officials to help address the institutional and capacity challenges that could hinder the effective implementation of the Growth Acceleration Program (PAC).

Co-sponsored by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the World Bank Institute of the World Bank, the course will train students on how to incorporate the lessons into their professional activities at all stages of the implementation of the integrated slum upgrading projects, especially in terms of maintaining: (i) a systematic record of the techniques, methods and evaluations used in the course of slum interventions; (ii)encouraging the study and analysis of the results obtained in the slum upgrading program by the city; (iii) highlighting to other Brazilian states and municipalities the usefulness of the Distance Learning Method (EAD) as a valuable tool for technical training as well as being a useful vehicle for disseminating the importance of social interest public policies to a wider audience; (iv) and familiarising students with urban poverty reduction experiences and policies, particularly those promoted by the Ministry of Cities and Caixa.

Cities Alliance will fund the course to the tune of US$211,496 with co-financing to the tune of US$108,088. It will be implemented by the Fundação para o Desenvolvimento Tecnológico da Engenharia (FDTE) Escola Politécnica of the University of São Paulo. It is expected that participation in the course will lead to enhanced capacities for the students to deal with the deal with the challenges presented by the integrated slum upgrading interventions.

Sana'a City Development Strategy Climate Change
The objective is to explore linkages between increasing water scarcity and urban development a local level, with Sana’a as case study. It is designed to complement the development of a City Development Strategy for Sana’a, currently underway.

Submitted by the Sana'a Capital Secretariat and co-sponsored by UNEP and the World Bank, the grant will among other things enable the assessment of the impact of urban development patterns, building materials, and building typologies on water and energy consumption, and propose alternatives for adaptation. It will also enable development of an inventory of large water and energy users in the city; identify feasible measures for harnessing rainwater and wastewater for re-use in urban areas; propose feasible measures for renewable energy systems; assess the current storm water management systems at the neighborhood level and propose measures to improve runoff and capture and Support for the national water scarcity committee. Total budget for the activity is $99,500, with $74,500 of it to come from the CA.

Expected impacts include the identification of local level measures in facing climate change-induced water scarcity, and providing greater focus on the linkages between water scarcity and urban development.

Preparation of Monrovia Slum Upgrading Initiative
Liberia is still emerging from the devastating effects of a 16-year civil war. Democratic elections took place in 2005; since then, a rapid development process has been unfolding, aided by a massive bilateral and multilateral aid programmes. However, the developmental challenges remain daunting, especially in the cities. A Monrovia City Profile prepared by UN-HABITAT reports that a majority of the city’s inhabitants now reside in slum communities or in pockets of interspersed slum settlements situated along the coast and inundated swampy river fronts.

This proposal, submitted by Mayor Ophelia Hoff-Saytumah of the Monrovia City Corporation (MCC) and co-sponsored by the World Bank and UN-HABITAT aims to mobilise stakeholders in Monrovia to a consultative process; identify systemic issues and obstacles to sustain urban development in low-income areas and settlements on the legal, regulatory, socio-economic and civil infrastructure levels, and prepare the next steps for a slum upgrading initiative.

Activities include the setting up of a Steering Committee, comprising of key stakeholders, to guide the process and validate technical inputs; conduct a needs assessment in a consultative manner by engaging affected communities; identify systemic issues contributing to slum development, expansion, and deterioration of conditions and Develop and validate an equitable approach in allocating a budget envelope for physical slum upgrades. Total budget for the activity is US$115,000, with $75,000 of that requested from Cities Alliance

The expected outcome is the creation of a framework for the formulation of coordinated approach for upgrading slum areas in Monrovia, in addition to a concentrated effort to improve the overall legal and regulatory environment expected to limit the future development slums.

Preparation of Slum Initiative, Freetown
Following the end of the armed conflict in Sierra Leone, slums and informal settlements in the country began to proliferate, both in terms of numbers and in relation to the complexities related to physical infrastructure, availability and management of services, and livelihoods of the population. Factors contributing to this increase include population growth, lack of an adequate response from public and private sectors to develop serviced land and housing facilities, and continuous influx of people from upcountry areas to economically more prosperous urban centers and especially Freetown.

To facilitate the national Government’s commitment to formulating a full-fledged slum and informal settlements strategy this proposal was submitted by the mayor of Freetown, Herbert A. George Williams in conjunction with the National Commission for Social Action (NACSA), the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Local Government and Rural Development, and co-sponsored by the World Bank, UN-HABITAT and Oxfam. With CA funding of US$71,000 it aims to: (i) commence a process of strategy formulation and engage stakeholders and policy makers in discussion on slum issues; (ii) identify systemic issues as underlying causes for slum development and expansion; (iii) develop a slum and informal settlements strategy outline focused at measures for slum prevention and slum upgrading of selected areas to improve immediate living conditions; and (iv) make preparation activities for the next phase.

Preparatory Grant for Development of Lilongwe CDS
Lilongwe has of late has been besieged by an influx of rural immigrants, resulting in the mushrooming of squatter houses/slums within the city. In a bid to find solutions to the ever-sprouting problems, a task force was put in place to draft a CDS. However, lack of technical know how on the part of the participants derailed the process.

Lilongwe City Assembly, the technical arm of the Local Government of Malawi responsible for service delivery within the city participated in the UCLG/Cities Alliance City Future workshop held in Johannesburg in 2007. Lilongwe City was under the mentorship of the City of Johannesburg and during round table discussions with its mentor, it clearly stated that it was operating without a CDS. Submitted by Professor Donton SJ Mkandawire, Chief Executive of Lilongwe City Assembly and co-sponsored by GTZ Malawi, UCLG and JICA Malawi, the grant activity will help develop a full-scale proposal for a City Development Strategy to cope with rapid urbanisation and slum formation. It is expected that the resulting CDS will be a tool that would help Lilongwe City Assembly to effectively plan and manage the growth and development of the city.

* Guidelines for proposals and eligibility requirements for funding support are available from the Working with Cities Alliance Guide, accessible from the Cities Alliance website at:

http://www.citiesalliance.org/work-with-ca/work-with-ca.html.