Overview
UN-Habitat, in partnership with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), United Nations Centre for Regional Development (UNCRD), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), seeks to support four African countries in strengthening their urban-rural linkages.
The project “Leaving No Place Behind: Strengthening Urban-Rural Linkages in Africa” aims to support Cameroon, Guinea Conakry, Nigeria (Niger State) and Tanzania (Zanzibar) to overcome the urban-rural divide by integrating urban-rural linkages into National Urban Policy. To this end, the project aims to enhance capacities of policy makers and change agents at all levels to collect and use evidence for fostering cross-sectoral, multi-level frameworks, strategies, and action plans for integrated and inclusive territorial development. Expert Group Meetings (EGMs) to guide authorities on how to integrate the URL-GP in existing or newly formulated policies and regional and territorial development strategies is one important instrument for this project.
The challenge
Urbanization has been widely acknowledged for its transformative powers. However, in Africa, the rapid urbanization is widening the gap between rural, peri-urban and urban areas. Although urban and rural areas are interdependent, rural areas often lag behind; globally 85 per cent of the poor reportedly still live in rural areas. The project “Leaving No Place behind: Strengthening Urban-Rural Linkages in Africa” aims to support four African countries in strengthening their urban-rural linkages and overcome the urban-rural divide by enhancing capacities of policy makers and change agents at all levels to collect and use evidence for fostering cross-sectoral, multi-level frameworks, strategies, and action plans for integrated and inclusive territorial development.
Projects
Strengthening Integrated Territorial Development for the Effective Implementation of the New Urban Agenda in Mozambique
The project “Strengthening an Integrated Territorial Development for the Effective Implementation of the New Urban Agenda in Mozambique” aims to support Mozambique’s government authorities (national and local levels) to formulate recommendations for improved urban development processes. In this project, the Urban Rural Linkages: Guiding Principles and Framework for Action (URLGP) plays a fundamental role and was used for the first time are used as tool to develop methodologies and to review the policy frameworks in a specific context.
The project also aims to strengthen the capacities of local authorities and relevant partners by using existing tools such as the Spatial Development Framework (SDF) and the International Guidelines on Urban and Territorial Planning (IGUTP). This project is implemented by UN-Habitat with support of the Catalonian Agency of International Cooperation for Development (ACCID).
Supporting the Effective Implementation of the New Urban Agenda through National and Subnational Urban Policies in Burkina Faso and Senegal
UN-Habitat, in partnership with the Andalusian Agency of International Cooperation for Development (AACID), UN-Habitat’s Regional Offce for Africa (ROAf), partners in Burkina Faso and Senegal, and UN Habitat´s Offce in Spain are carrying out the project titled “Supporting the Effective Implementation of the New Urban Agenda through National and Subnational Urban Policies in Burkina Faso and Senegal”. The project aims to support the development of action plans in Burkina Faso and Senegal to strengthen urban-rural linkages and territorial approaches within the National Urban Policy process based on the Agenda 2030 and the New Urban Agenda.
This project will also serve as guidance to governments at national, regional, sub-national and local levels and to other urban and rural stakeholders in order to work collaboratively towards a more integrated territorial development while reducing the inequalities across the urban-rural continuum.
Related Sustainable Development Goals
Related Sustainable Development Goals
Donors and partners
The governments will facilitate the implementation of the activities in the country. They are also the beneficiaries of the Policy recommendations for urban-rural linkages.