Urban-Rural Linkages Newsletter | Issue 2 2020 Urban and rural spaces are inextricably linked economically, socially and environmentally and cannot be adequately dealt with in isolation from one another. The spatial and functional interconnections of territories entail conceiving urban-peri-urban and rural as continuous space, in which processes, opportunities, and challenges are not constrained by urban, rural or administrative boundaries.
Urban and Territorial Planning for Health: a Training Manual 2020 The "Integrating Health into Urban and Territorial Planning: A Practical Training
Guide" is a comprehensive sourcebook developed by UN-Habitat in partnership with
the World Health Organization (WHO). Building on the sourcebook, this training
manual addresses the need to incorporate health and well-being into urban and
territorial planning. It is an essential tool for urban health professionals, planners,
decision-makers, and civil society organizations involved in urban development.

The manual emphasizes global awareness, tackling common challenges, building
capacity, and fostering stakeholder collaboration throughout the planning process. It
is structured into modules closely aligned with the UN-Habitat/WHO sourcebook and
includes practical exercises for hands-on learning. This resource aims to drive
positive change in planning practice to create healthier, more sustainable urban
environments.
Country Brief - Jordan 2020 UN-Habitat envisions well-planned, well-governed, resilient and efficient cities and human settlements, with adequate housing, infrastructure, and universal access to employment and basic services. Its programmes and projects are designed to help policy-makers and local communities get to grips with human settlements and urban issues to achieve sustainable urban development to all.
Spatial Development Strategic Framework: Hebron Governorate (2030) 2020 The Spatial Development Strategic Framework, also known as the city-region plans for Hebron, Ramallah and Al-Bireh, and Jerusalem governorates adopt the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as the overarching framework to promote for the process of sustainable spatial development, and the achievement of harmonious urbanization through better functional urban-rural linkages in Palestine.
UN-Habitat Lebanon Unions of Municipalities' COVID-19 Rapid Assessment Report 2020 Local authorities have played a major role to curtail COVID-19, particularly in vulnerable urban settings, while maintaining critical services.
To identify problems and suggest solutions, UN-Habitat assessed 34 Unions of Municipalities and 5 individual municipalities, covering 52 per cent of Lebanese municipalities. The report highlights key urban challenges and proposes several mitigating measures.
COVID-19 Wuhan Guidance Papers-Emerging Experiences on Responding to COVID-19 in Chinese Cities and Townships 2020 China has good and efficient systems in place to fight against epidemics. China has set in place strict containment measurements which have been proved to reduce the spread of the disease, managed to reduce the public health crisis and economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The presented Guidance Papers summarize specific measures for infection prevention and control of the disease from the Wuhan experience.
Marco de Evaluación de la Gobernanza para la Gestión Metropolitana, Territorial y Regional (GAF-MTR) 2020 El Marco de Evaluación de la Gobernanza para la Gestión Metropolitana, Territorial y Regional (GAF-MTR) y su herramienta de evaluación de dos pasos presentan una visión analítica y práctica de la gobernanza. Proponen la comprensión de la gobernanza como un proceso complejo en el que las soluciones institucionales, la toma de decisiones y la acción colectiva deben trabajar juntas.
Johwar Urban Profile 2020 2020 The Jowhar Urban Profile provides for an overview about the main features of the city. It shortly analyses the current development challenges with a special focus upon displacement and urban resilience with regard to the Shebelle river floods. It is a complementary technical document to a several other planning studies and reports to shape the future of Jowhar in a more sustainable way, providing basic urban services to all communities and to leave no one behind.
NATIONAL URBAN POLICY PROGRAMME 2020 ANNUAL REPORT 2020 The National Urban Policy Programme (NUPP) remains a pivotal tool towards promotion and achievement of transformative, inclusive, green, productive and resilient urban development. Over the last six years, NUP has done this through shared responsibility and deliberate consultation between UN-Habitat and respective countries globally. This joint initiative aims at contributing to the successful implementation of the New Urban Agenda (NUA) to achieve sustainable and prosperous human settlements for all as NUP supports countries with tools and knowledge to undertake the NUP process. The aim of this initiative is to attain Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 11- Sustainable Cities and Communities which by extension enable attainment of the other 16 SDGs.

The 2020 Korea NUP Programme report articulates the commitment of UN-Habitat, in collaboration with the government of the Republic of Korea to support the people of I.R. Iran , Myanmar, and Niger State in Nigeria to realize respective sustainable urban development agenda. As the third edition, the report builds on the second edition (2018-2019) hence a focal reference point of information for policymakers and urban professionals among other key stakeholders as it points out key milestones made in 2020 in the three pilot countries towards implementation of NUP and smart cities. The main objective of the report is to update stakeholders on aims of the project which are; sub-national and national governments’ capacity enhancement, knowledge centralization about smart cities strategies, and providing augmented knowledge sharing on NUP and Smart City Strategies. The report further gives comprehensive financial expenditures updates on activities undertaken in 2020, outcomes, next steps, activities plan, and recruitments for 2020. The report is a co-creation of the Republic of Korea, UN-Habitat, and I.R. Iran, Myanmar, and Niger State in Nigeria who are the key implementers of the pilot phase among other stakeholders to ensure ownership and alignment of respective national development priorities.
Compendium of case studies for the implementation of the urban-rural linkages: Guiding principles (URL-GP) and framework for action, first edition 2020 The First Compendium of Case Studies for the Implementation of Urban- Rural Linkages Guiding Principles and Framework for Action (URL-GP)” presents examples of the URL-GP application in different regions. The cases in this first edition and in subsequent editions are useful tools and inspiration for Member States, professionals and actors interested in enhancing Urban-Rural Linkages.