Special feature: Key insights on Integrating Urban Sustainability into Municipal Development Planning Tools
03/08/2012
The journey towards urban sustainable development and service delivery will require a paradigm shift away from business as usual and a redefinition of the way municipalities develop and implement strategic objectives, outcomes and indicators they build into their municipal development planning tools such as Integrated Development Plans (IDP’s) and service delivery programmes.
The topic of integrated urban development is increasingly coming to the forefront in major sustainability forums – not at only at international platforms like the recently held ICLEI World Congress and Rio+20 Conference in Brazil, but also through a range of publications providing key insights, research and guidance.
ICLEI Africa is proud to share an insightful publication recently produced by ICLEI Africa Executive Director, Kobie Brand, with support from Robert Klein from Ignite Reporting Systems, entitled “Embedding Urban Sustainability Considerations into IDP’s and SDBIP’s” which featured in the Winter 2012 edition of the Institute of Municipal Finance Officers (IMFO) Journal. The article aims to provide guidance and information to municipalities on the urban sustainability challenges, risks, strategic objectives, outcomes and indicators that should be considered in the preparation of Integrated Development Plans (IDP’s) and Service Delivery Budget Implementation Plans (SDBIP’s). For the full article, see here.
Furthermore, a recent article by the Climate Development Knowledge Network (CDKN) compliments the messages brought forward by the article above, focusing on the critical role local governments play in establishing on-the-ground policies that address local opportunities and vulnerability arising from climate change. The publication provides insights on two South African cities that have been early movers in mainstreaming climate change within their IDP’s - the City of Cape Town and eThekwini Municipality. This brief, as part the “Inside Stories on Climate Compatible Development” series of CDKN, reviews the lessons learnt by these two cities and highlights the importance of local capacity building, research, political support and decision-making in the pursuit of climate –compatible development. Please see the full article here.
