The Mauritius urban profiling consists of an accelerated, action-oriented assessment of urban conditions, focusing on priority needs, capacity gaps, and existing institutional responses at local and national levels. The purpose of the study is to develop urban poverty reduction policies at local, national, and regional levels, through an assessment of needs and response mechanisms, and as a contribution to wider-ranging implementation of the Millennium Development Goals.
The study is based on analysis of existing data and a series of interviews with all relevant urban stakeholders, including local communities and institutions, civil society, the private sector, development partners, and others. The consultation typically results in a collective agreement on priorities and their development into proposed capacity-building and other projects, all aimed at urban poverty reduction. Urban profiling is being implemented in many African and Arab countries, offering an opportunity for comparative regional analysis.
In Mauritius, Black River is one of the districts selected as a pilot project under the urban profiling programme. For this purpose, an analysis of the following sectors has been undertaken: land tenure and management, governance and urban planning, infrastructure and basic urban services, municipal revenue collection, local economic development, housing and deprived and vulnerable areas, gender issues, urban security, and environment, climate change, and urban disaster risk reduction.
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