International Forum on Urban Poverty(IFUP)

PROCEEDINGS OF THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON URBAN POVERTY FLORENCE, ITALY 9-13 NOVEMBER 1997 United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat) TABLE OF CONTENTS FOREWORD CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION 1. Background and objectives of the Conference 2. Structure and agenda of the Conference 3. Opening Address CHAPTER 2 - THE INTERNATIONAL FORUM ON URBAN POVERTY: MODUS OPERANDI AND EXPEREINCES OF OTHER NETWORKS CHAPTER 3 - GOVERNANCE AND PARTICIPATION 1. Background Theme Paper 2. Governance and Participation 3. Urban Poverty in Africa CHAPTER 4 - FROM VIOLENCE AND SOCIAL EXCLUSION TO SAFER CITIES 1. Plenary Presentations 2. Panel of Local Authorities 3. The Working Group 3.1 Urban conflicts and the example of youth confronted with urban violence 3.2 Women and urban violence 3.3 Partnerships and Cities 3.4 Discussions in the working group 4. Conclusions and Recommendations CHAPTER 5 - SHELTER, EMPLOYMENT AND THE INFORMAL CITY 1. Plenary Presentations 2. The Working Group 3. Synthesis 3.1 Issues raised germane to topic: Shelter, Employment and the Informal City 3.2 Issues raised germane to Conference theme: Governance and Participation 4. Action Plans by Region CHAPTER 6 - ACCESS TO TRANSPORT 1. Plenary Presentations 1.1 Urban Poor and Access to Urban Transport 1.2 Mumbai Transport Case Study 2. The Working Group 2.1 Transport, poverty alleviation and human settlements 2.2 Gender issues in transport 2.3 Transport, infrastructure upgrading and employment creation 3. Action Plan CHAPTER 7 - CHILDREN AND URBAN POVERTY 1. Presentation in plenary 2. Activities in the working groups 3. Committee output CHAPTER 8 - GENERAL CONCLUSIONS 1 Report of the Task Force on the International Forum on Urban Poverty 1.1 Introduction 1.2 The Mission of the International Forum on Urban Poverty 1.3 Policy principles of the International Forum on Urban Poverty 1.4 Activities of the Forum 1.5 Structure of the Forum 1.6 Next steps 2 The Project Document 3 Lessons for Governance and Participation: Practical Approaches to Urban Poverty Reduction ANNEXES Annex 1 B Participants by region Annex 2 B Conference Agenda FOREWORD The second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) brought to the attention of the world that urban poverty and its attendant human cost is perhaps the greatest challenge of our time. The absolute number of people living in poverty in urban areas has increased over recent years. A major goal of policy-makers in the 21st century will be to combat poverty, which means, in concrete terms, the integration of the informal city, the recovery and democratic use of public space, and the reversal of the trends towards the concentration of wealth and opportunities. This goal has become more and more relevant not only for developing countries, but for the developed countries as well, where social inequalities and poverty are undermining the prospects for social justice, equal opportunities and sustainable development in our cities. The Habitat Agenda -the Global Plan of Action adopted at the Habitat II Conference- calls for a concerted effort for the reduction of urban poverty as an overriding objective of the international community, one to which the United Nations has attached high priority. In the present phase of implementation of the Habitat Agenda, the eradication of urban poverty has to be kept high in the agenda of the international community: resources, as well as knowledge and experiences have to be mobilized to tackle this challenge. UNCHS (Habitat) organized the Recife and Florence Conferences on Urban Poverty, both of which represent milestones in the debate and international understanding of the issue and for the definition of adequate policy responses. The International Forum on Urban Poverty, launched in Florence, Italy in November 1997, is an independent partnership of governments, municipalities, bilateral and multilateral agencies, private Foundations, non-governmental organisations and communities active in the fight against urban poverty. The initiative builds on the experience of various cities and communities to establish a global partnership for the sharing of experiences, the advancement of knowledge, and the mobilisation of resources. The Forum aims at empowering people living in poverty to overcome their conditions with the support of civil society and governments at all levels. It will do so through an active effort to raise international awareness on the need to reduce and eradicate poverty. The Forum will also directly promote integrated policies for the reduction and eradication of poverty, based on the principles of the Habitat Agenda and of the Recife Declaration, in countries of the North and the South alike. The development of capacities among its members, municipalities, programmes and communities to formulate and implement poverty reduction policies will be instrumental in granting the sustainability of the effort. Being the main promoter of this initiative, UNCHS (Habitat) wishes to acknowledge the fundamental contribution towards this effort of the Municipality of Florence, the Italian Government, and the Swiss Development Cooperation, and of all those who contributed to the success of the Florence Conference. It is my sincere hope that the proceedings of this remarkable conference in Florence contribute to the widening of knowledge and expertise on urban poverty strategies. This documentation shall become a source of inspiration and reference to those who are committed to the eradication of poverty. Klaus Toepfer Director-General CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION 1.     Background and objectives of the Conference In March 1996 UNCHS (Habitat) together with various partners organised the Recife International Conference on Urban Poverty in preparation for the Habitat II Conference, and within the context of the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. The main outcome of the meeting was the adoption of the Recife Declaration which called for a fundamental change in attitude and policy to confront urban poverty. The declaration received the backing from mayors, government ministers, spiritual leaders and representatives of donor countries. This was further endorsed at a special event held during the Habitat II Conference and at the 16th session of the Commission on Human Settlements. The proposed mechanism for follow up to the Recife Declaration was the setting up of an International Forum on Urban Poverty, which would provide a permanent arena for the discussion of crucial aspects of urban poverty, of its causes and consequences, and of the policies needed for its reduction, involving experts, practitioners and researchers in urban policy analysis. The Forum would be a partnership among key stakeholders at the local, national, regional and international levels. The objectives of the Forum were conceived as follows: to advocate for the concrete application of the principles of the Recife declaration for poverty reduction at the local and national levels, and to promote the horizontal exchange of experiences among stakeholders; to allow for an international exchange of experiences in poverty reduction, involving extracting lessons, analyzing them and contributing to capacity building among the organizations that deal directly with poverty reduction at city and municipal levels; to create an advisory "think tank" on policy development in poverty reduction and a facility for bringing together interested individuals, cities, countries, bilateral and multilateral agencies to share their experiences. The functions of the Forum may be summed up as follows: exchange of experiences; improved knowledge; policy advice; technical support; advocacy; and awareness-raising. The success of such a Forum would depend on clearly articulating its goals and membership, and putting in place resource mobilization mechanisms to support its activities. It was agreed that the period between the "City Summit" and the Florence Conference would be used as a planning phase leading up to the launch of the Forum in Florence. UNCHS (Habitat), in close collaboration with other partners, would steer the Forum leading to the establishment of an ad hoc Secretariat and a co-ordinating committee including municipalities, multilateral and bilateral agencies, private foundations, non-governmental and community-based agencies. The Forum would hold biennial meetings, alternatively in the North and the South, to discuss specific themes pertinent to urban poverty reduction. The objectives of the Florence Conference were therefore primarily two-fold: to formally launch the Forum and to put in place mechanisms for it to function; to bring together representatives from the North and South to deliberate on the theme: governance and participation: practical approaches to urban poverty reduction. Prior to the Conference a task force was established in UNCHS (Habitat) to co-ordinate the activities of the proposed Conference, which included members from the substantive divisions of the Centre dealing with urban poverty. This task force was responsible for liaising with the Florence Municipality as the host and with all the partners involved in the Recife Conference. It was also responsible for the invitation of the thematic groups and the preparation of terms of reference for the groups. It also prepared the overall theme paper for the Conference. In addition, it was agreed that a pre-conference meeting be held in Florence with the thematic groups, with a view to strengthening the synergies between the groups. 2.    Structure and agenda of the Conference The structure and modus operandi of the Conference were as follows: The first part of the discussions focused on the presentation of the Forum objectives and sharing experiences with other networks. This included presentations by the Habitat International Coalition, the European Forum on Urban Safety, the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council and the Huairou Commission. This created a learning forum and highlighted the key lessons required for launching the Urban Poverty Forum. The second part of the Conference focused on the theme of the Conference - Governance and Participation - to draw attention on the importance of good governance as a precondition for meaningful poverty reduction. The theme paper highlighted the linkages that needed to be made with the different thematic concerns of the Conference. Whilst there was not much substantive debate on governance per se, it was clear that governance and participation were at the core for addressing poverty given the importance that governance attaches to the relationships between the state and civil society and the implications for resource mobilization and allocation. The third part of the Conference focused on the four sectoral themes: From urban violence and exclusion to safer cities; Shelter, employment and the informal city; Access to affordable transport for the urban poor; Urban children. Theme papers were presented in plenary and followed by group discussions, which were based on the experiences of the researchers, policy-makers and support agencies. The depth of experience on the different themes varied and so was the networking level among the groups. In all cases it was clear that the concepts of partnerships and enablement had gained good ground, which was evidence of the follow-up to the Habitat Agenda. The fourth part of the Conference focused on detailed group discussions of the thematic presentations, moving from principles and concepts to applied strategies and practices. Working groups were given the responsibility to identify mechanisms and tools, and to make specific recommendations for policy-making and programme implementation. Once again there was variation among groups highlighting the differences in network configurations, varying depth in the substantive understanding of the subject and networking. Each of the groups made practical recommendations which were presented in the last plenary session. In addition to the specific thematic groups, a task force was established to elaborate on the mission of the Forum and to agree on the specific modalities for the follow-up. The task force held six meetings which debated the mission of the Forum, the policy principles of the Forum, its future activities, alternative proposals for its structure, as well as its future perspectives and programme of action. A report was presented to the last plenary session and distributed to all participants in the four languages of the Conference. 3. Opening Addresses The opening addresses were made by Mr. Daniel Biau on behalf of the Executive Director of UNCHS (Habitat), by Prof. Mario Primicerio, Mayor of the city of Florence, and by Card. Luciano Piovanelli, Archbishop of Florence. The Executive Director of UNCHS (Habitat) made some important remarks and welcomed the Conference as an important follow-up to the Recife Declaration and the Habitat Agenda. He recognized the presence and importance of the key stakeholders in the fight against poverty and the particular importance of interfacing their experiences with those of the urban poor and their needs. He stated that the Habitat Agenda reflected on the growing importance of urbanization in the developing regions and the need to strengthen the capacity of municipalities in meeting the challenges. Poverty has become endemic and affects both the developed and the developing countries. In the developing world street children, slums and broken-down services are some of the evidence of the growing poverty in cities. These problems are compounded by the very low incomes that the majority get in both the formal and the informal sectors. In the industrialized world social exclusion and homelessness are growing problems which afflict the affluent cities of the North. He highlighted the importance of the Forum as the meeting point for sharing experiences and identifying key initiatives that countries and cities have undertaken in the struggle against poverty. He emphasized that the Forum was not an institution, but a network anchored in cities and regional institutions with which UNCHS (Habitat), UNICEF, ILO and other key partner groups are working. He further elaborated on the important institutional and regional anchorage of the Urban Management Programme which is supported by the Governments of the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland and UNDP, and said such an arrangement could inspire the establishment of the Forum. On the specific themes of the Conference, the Executive Director emphasized the importance of good governance and the need to recognize its critical importance to the poverty theme. Many countries and city governments have recognized that unless the key governance dimensions are built into poverty reduction, which should include participation of all key partners, the likelihood of effectiveness is limited. In the area of urban violence there is a need to build local coalitions at city and community levels and a critical need to reduce corruption among the law-enforcing agencies. To achieve safer cities, there is a need for municipal/city Governments to assume responsibility in policing and working together with the different interest groups in combating crime and violence. In addressing the informal city, there is a very important need to involve the participation of all key groups, and for local governments to create an enabling environment through a simplification of the regulatory framework and provide basic services needed by the poor. The need for a governance approach was underlined for all the thematic groups. Finally Mr. Biau urged the working groups to strengthen connections, cooperation and the capacity to mobilize funds to strengthen the Forum. The groups were urged to provide guidance and applied research and to contribute to the deliberations of the task force. In the opening addresses by the Mayor of Florence and the Archbishop of Florence, a welcome was made to the international delegations and emphasis placed on the importance of sharing experiences. They stressed the need for solidarity at all levels of society to combat the forces of social exclusion. At city level this calls for changes in the culture of public administration from a centralized bureaucratic mode to a much more participatory culture focusing on decentralized decision-making. A response to poverty is therefore likely to be inadequate unless broader issues of legal instruments, the nature of the decision-making system and community involvement are addressed. The presentations recognized the importance of exchange between the North and the South, and the need to promote further learning through the Forum.