People are moving into cities at a tremendous rate. 75% of Latin America is urbanized, 60% of the world. Mega-cites are emerging all over, here are the largest: 1.Tokyo, Japan 26.4 million 2. Mexico City, Mexico 18.4 million 3. Bombay, India 18.1

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People are moving into cities at a tremendous
rate. 75 of Latin America is urbanized, 60 of
the world. Mega-cites are emerging all over,
here are the largest 1.Tokyo, Japan 26.4
million 2. Mexico City, Mexico 18.4 million 3.
Bombay, India 18.1 million 4. Sao Paulo, Brazil
17.8 million 5. Shanghai, China 17.0 million 6.
New York City, USA 16.6 million 7. Lagos,
Nigeria 13.4 million 8. Los Angeles, USA 13.1
million 9. Calcutta, India 12.9 million 10.
Buenos Aires, Argentina 12.6 million
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And this doesnt account for the daytime
population. With this population growth there is
the migration of the poor, mostly to the
peripheries. The automobile has conquered the
world, using up the oil preserves. New forms of
energy are required. China for example proposes
producing 5 to 10, 000,000 new cars each year.
Roads take up space, and with the housing good or
bad, we lose agricultural land. Traffic is slowed
to a standstill. Rapid transit is expensive.
Services have decreased. Water is both scarce and
polluted worldwide. We are losing the natural
environment, which gives us more than oxygen.
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We are in a crisis,However, as I understand the
Chinese word for crisis, it includes to
ideograms, danger and opportunity. We do have an
opportunity, but we cannot remain in the desert
for forty years.Here I would like to quote from
my good friend, Anwar Fazal from UNDP, and a
MalaysianNothing, however, will work
effectively if we dont have in place a framework
of good urban governance. At UNDP, we have
identified at least nine fundamental principles
or core characteristic that we use as benchmarks
for good governance and these must also form the
anchors of a good water policy strategy.
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9 Principles of Good Governance1.
Strategic VisionLeaders and the public have a
broad and long-term perspective on good
governance and human development, along with a
sense of what is needed for it. There is also
an understanding of the historical, cultural and
social complexities in which that perspective is
grounded.2. Rule of LawLegal frameworks
should be fair and enforced impartially,
particularly the laws on human rights.3.
TransparencyTransparency is built on the free
flow of information. Processes, institutions and
information are directly accessible to those
concerned with them, and enough information is
provided to monitor them.
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4. ResponsivenessInstitutions and processes try
to serve all stakeholders.5. Consensus
OrientationGood governance mediates differing
interests to reach a broad consensus on what is
in the best interest of the group and where
possible, on policies and procedures.6. EquityAl
l men and women have opportunities to improve or
maintain their well-being.7. Effectiveness
EfficiencyProcesses and institutions produce
results that meet needs while making the best use
of resources.
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8. AccountabilityDecision-makers in
government, the private sector and civil society
organizations are accountable to the public, as
well as to institutional stakeholders. This
accountability differs depending on the
organization and whether the decision is internal
or external to an organization.9. ParticipationA
ll men and women should have a voice in
decision-making, either directly or through
legitimate intermediate institutions that
represent their interests. Such broad
participation is built on freedom of association
and speech, as well as capacities to participate
constructively.
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Ladislau Dowbor suggested that if Brazil gives
up the market model of economics, and returns to
Keynesian economics, one can create a program,
that can deal with may issues, at the same time.
In the USA under Roosevelt, there was created the
Works Progress Administration (WPA), the Public
Works Administration (PWA) and a Civilian
Conservation Corps (CCC). These organizations
recruited the poor, hungry, and unemployed, the
young and old. They produced almost all the
infrastructure of the United States, took them
off the streets, fed, educated people, and gave
them hope. He asks, Can this be done in
Brazil? I believe it can, all over the world. In
means a commitment to do so. It also offers a
possibility of business and government a chance
to cooperate.
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What Healthy Cities offers is a model of a
process and a paradigm that must be used
worldwide. The crisis we are facing is truly an
opportunity fo make great changes in our thinking
and doing. We, who are on the frontlines can be
the leaders, with values of equity,
participation, the uniqueness of each individual
and culture, the processes of conflict
resolution, kindness and compassion, honesty and
integrity, the broad definition of health, the
broad definition of community, the development
of shared vision from community values, the
importance of an improved quality of life for
everyone, diverse citizen participation and
widespread community ownership, based upon
systems change, the development of local assets
and resources and the creation of benchmarks and
measures of progress and outcome.
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SOME OF THE PROGRAMS THAT ARE DEALING WITH
THESE ISSUES WORLD WIDE
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UN HABITAT has take the leadership in looking at
best practicesThe Safer Cities Program was
launched in 1996 at the request of African mayors
who wanted to address urban violence by
developing a prevention strategy at city level.
The program supports the implementation of the
Habitat Agenda, which acknowledges the
responsibility of local authorities in crime
prevention. Furthermore, the Program is in line
with the ECOSOC Resolution 1995/9 of 24 July
1995.The main objectives of the program are
to(1) Build capacities at city level to
adequately address urban insecurity and
thereby(2) Contribute to the establishment of a
culture of prevention.
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The BLP works closely with Habitats Global
Campaigns on Secure Tenure and Urban Governance
on the Inclusive Cities Network. Together with
Urban Indicators Programme, the BLP forms the
Global Urban Observatory (GUO), UN-HABITATs
facility for monitoring global trends in
sustainable urban development and evaluating
progress in the implementation of the Habitat
Agenda and Agenda 21. The policy implications and
lessons learned from Best Practices are
incorporated into Habitats State of the Worlds
Cities report.
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There are programs in cities on Safe Cities, one
being that of UN HabitatThe Safer Cities
Program was launched in 1996 at the request of
African mayors who wanted to address urban
violence by developing a prevention strategy at
city level. The program supports the
implementation of the Habitat Agenda, which
acknowledges the responsibility of local
authorities in crime prevention. Furthermore, the
Program is in line with the ECOSOC Resolution
1995/9 of 24 July 1995.
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The Safer Cities ApproachViolence does not
happen spontaneously. It grows out of an unequal
and exclusive society, and out of lack of
institutional and social control. An inadequate
urban environment and exclusion encourage crime
and violence. Moreover, the criminal justice
system, including police, courts and prisons, is
poorly adapted to the rapidly changing urban
environment, and is unable to respond to the
concerns and needs of urban dwellers,
particularly the poor. This situation leads to
distrust, intolerance and in some cases violent
reactions such as "mob justice" as a collective
form of defense against petty crime.
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Another example of UN HABITAT is the sustainable
cities program.The Sustainable Cities Program
(SCP) is a joint UN-HABITAT/UNEP facility for
building capacities in urban environmental
planning and management. The program is founded
on broad-based cross-sectoral and stakeholder
participatory approaches. It contributes to
promoting urban environmental governance
processes, as a basis for achieving sustainable
urban growth and development. Currently the SCP
operates in 20 main demonstration and 25
replicating cities around the world, including
cities in China, Chile, Egypt, Ghana, India,
Kenya, Korea, Malawi, Nigeria, the Philippines,
Poland, Russia, Senegal, Sri Lanka, Tanzania,
Tunisia and Zambia.
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UNICEF has its program of Child Friendly
CitiesWhat is a Child Friendly City? It is a
city, or any local system of governance,
committed to fulfilling children's rights. It is
a city where the voices, needs, priorities and
rights of children are an integral part of public
policies, programs and decisions. It is, as a
result, a city that is fit for all.The Child
Friendly Cities Initiative (CFCI) was launched in
1996 after Habitat II, the second UN Conference
on Human Settlements (Istanbul, 1996) and its
resolution to make cities livable places for all
and, in UNICEF terms, for "children first." The
Istanbul Conference declared that the well-being
of children is the ultimate indicator of a
healthy habitat, a democratic society and good
governance.
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The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, now
ratified by 191 countries, challenges cities to
conceive of themselves-and the services,
amenities and quality of life they provide-in a
new way. While there may be illegal settlements,
from a child rights' perspective there are no
illegal children. All children in cities have the
right to access basic services and enjoy
opportunities for development, whether they live
with their families or alone, in informal
settlements or on the streets. CFCI advocates the
adoption of governance approaches and
participatory urban management that aim to ensure
that the youngest citizens realize their
fundamental rights.
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In practice the movement for Child Friendly
Cities has seen young citizens take part in
municipal decision-making and help planners
design "the city they want" and child-sensitive
quality indicators have been developed to measure
progress against child-oriented goals.With the
growth of CFC activities, cities have
increasingly expressed the need to exchange
notes, share experiences and sort out common
problems together. Informal exchanges have
gradually developed into networks and regular
meetings. After Habitat II, CFCI partners
gathered in Accra, Ghana in 1997 and in Italy in
four major fora in 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2000.
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And finally complete view of the UN is
UNESCO.UNESCO functions thanks to the synergy
between diverse community actors that together
form an international community. These
communities include governments, National
Commissions, Parliamentarians, NGOs and
Associations. Among them we also find the media,
schools, cultural and scientific institutions,
private sector partners and the United Nations
family of institutions. Together, they give
life to UNESCO's ideals and values around the
world, at local, national and international
levels.  
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Community Care Networks are partnerships focused
on achieving better accountability, aligning
resources with social needs and improving the
health of the population.Report Public-Private
Partnerships to Improve Health CareThe
Collaboration Primer Proven Strategies,
Considerations and Tools to Get You
StartedCommunity Care Network Demonstration
PublicationsRead Community Care Network
BriefingsEvaluating Partnerships (Winter
2002)Community Building (Fall 2001)Report
Sustaining Community Health The Experience of
Health Care System Leaders
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The Communities MovementMany different community
based groups and movements with complementary
perspectives can loosely be referred to
collectively as the "Communities Movement. The
Communities Movement entails an effort to link
the various community-based movements while
maintaining the integrity of each in order to
further benefit communities by building on what
these movements have in common and highlighting
their unique and valuable differences. There is
an emphasis then, on integration not merger, on
collaboration and synergy toward the common goal
of community transformation.
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The Sustainable Communities Movement -
www.sustainable.orgThe Sustainable Communities
Movement works to produce communities that are
more environmentally sound, economically
prosperous, and socially equitable. This movement
emphasizes the importance of environmental
protection and seeking approaches to long term
interrelated human and natural sustainability.
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The Smart Growth Movement - www.smartgrowth.orgTh
e Smart Growth Movement recognizes connections
between development and quality of life. It
leverages new growth to improve the community. In
general, smart growth invests time, attention,
and resources in restoring community and vitality
to central cities and older suburbs. As
communities continue to grow, smart growth
provides a scaffold to ensure that this growth is
well-managed and beneficial for all.
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The Community Building Movement -
www.ncbn.orgThe Community Building Movement
works to reduce poverty and create social and
economic opportunity through comprehensive
community building strategies. In addition, this
Movement works to achieve social and economic
equity for all children and families. Community
builders work on physical and economic community
development, but also focus on promoting strong
social networks among community residents.
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The Livable Communities Movement -
www.livablecommunities.govThe Livable
Communities Movement assists communities to grow
in ways that ensure a high quality of life and
strong, sustainable economic growth. There is an
emphasis on the integrity and compatibility of
the "built environment" with human and ecological
well being.The Safe Communities Movement -
promotes a community culture of safety and well
being by addressing occupational, community and
lifestyle issues. There is a particular emphasis
on both accident and violence prevention.