Report on the Launch event
Urban Pathways
Implementing the New Urban Agenda
The Urban Pathways project was formally launched in Berlin on the 16 October 2017, at the premises of the German Federal Ministry for Environment (BMUB). Opening the two-day workshop on the 16th October, at the BMUB offices in Berlin, Ms Anke Brummer-Kohler, Director General for Urban Development, BMUB, highlighted the challenge in reducing emissions and the need for demonstrating actions to improve efficiency of basic services. She welcomed the objectives of the Urban Pathways project to reduce urban emissions and implemented practical actions with involvement of various stakeholders.
“Urban Pathways builds on ongoing projects such as the EU supported SOLUTIONS project and will complement the results” said Mr Andre Dzikus, Coordinator, Urban Basic Services Branch of UN-Habitat. He highlighted the changing landscape in provision of basic services with the advent of technology, and that the options to choose for cities are more than before. The Urban Pathways project shall provide informed decision-making to the project cities in conceptualizing, planning and implementing basic urban services.
“As a key technical partner the Wuppertal Institute shall contribute through the work done by the institute in the areas of energy transition and sustainable urban mobility” said Uwe Schneidewind, President of the Wuppertal Institute. He also added that the current work of the institute with cities in emerging economies shall contribute to a great extent to the knowledge and experience transfer in the Urban Pathways project.
Support from financing initiativesAs delivering the objectives of the New Urban Agenda is one of the core aims of the Urban Pathways project, the opening workshop brought together organisations that are working with similar aims. Among such initiatives were Connective Cities, MobiliseYourCity (MYC), C40 Financing Facility and IRENA.
The representatives from the organisations shared with the local, sub-national and national government representatives in the audience on the various opportunities to realise plans to actions at an urban level.
Following the launch of the project on the 16 October, the project cities have also participated in a training event that ran until the 20th October. This extended training was an effort to enable cities to dig deeper into exploring the possibilities of implementing low carbon development and identify how the Urban Pathways project can support their ambitions.
Regional and local governments provided inputs and sought expert advice on the various options that are available for cities to implement low carbon development, with examples from cities that have implemented such strategies. The four Lighthouse Cities, Kochi (India), Belo-Horizonte (Brazil) Nairobi (Kenya) and Hanoi (Vietnam) presented some of their activities in the areas of urban energy, mobility and waste management and replication cities were recruited.
Cities also expressed need for technical assistance in new areas such as smart mobility, electric vehicles, innovative waste management. A panel discussion reflected on the German perspective on international cooperation for urban development, followed by a project scoping session in which participants developed initial project ideas that can be developed further into bankable projects as part of the Urban Pathways project.
The Urban Pathways also explored synergies with on-going EU funded projects such as the FUTURE RADAR Project and the Urban Electric Mobility Initiative (UEMI). Experts from institutions such as the World Resources Institute in Brasil, Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP), Rupprecht Consult, German Aerospace Institute (DLR), WhereisMyTransport, took part in the training week and shared with the audience, the readily available options for up-take in urban mobility in their respective working regions. The discussion explored on the policies and actions that are essential for the realisation of low-carbon mobility pathways.
A sound governance structure and a thought-through financing plan are essential for any successful project. The training week also gave a chance for the project cities to learn from their counterparts and experts on the various opportunities and challenges to governance of low-carbon development projects. Presentations from representatives from Cape Town (S. Africa), Aguascalientes (Mexico), Min. of Urban Development (Nepal) and Choma City (Zambia), gave a wide gamut of experiences to the participants to ponder on the governance structure in their respective context.
Representatives from the German Development Bank (KfW) and MobiliseYourCity, shared with cities the opportunities that are available for cities to fund their low carbon mobility projects. In both cases the recommendation from the financing experts to cities was to look beyond the time frame of the project and already identify possibilities to sustain the project beyond the funding time frame. This can be achieved by a good initial mix of national, regional and local resources with international funding, rather than relying solely on international funding for the entire project.
Urban Pathways
Implementing the New Urban Agenda
The Urban Pathways project was formally launched in Berlin on the 16 October 2017, at the premises of the German Federal Ministry for Environment (BMUB). Opening the two-day workshop on the 16th October, at the BMUB offices in Berlin, Ms Anke Brummer-Kohler, Director General for Urban Development, BMUB, highlighted the challenge in reducing emissions and the need for demonstrating actions to improve efficiency of basic services. She welcomed the objectives of the Urban Pathways project to reduce urban emissions and implemented practical actions with involvement of various stakeholders.
“Urban Pathways builds on ongoing projects such as the EU supported SOLUTIONS project and will complement the results” said Mr Andre Dzikus, Coordinator, Urban Basic Services Branch of UN-Habitat. He highlighted the changing landscape in provision of basic services with the advent of technology, and that the options to choose for cities are more than before. The Urban Pathways project shall provide informed decision-making to the project cities in conceptualizing, planning and implementing basic urban services.
“As a key technical partner the Wuppertal Institute shall contribute through the work done by the institute in the areas of energy transition and sustainable urban mobility” said Uwe Schneidewind, President of the Wuppertal Institute. He also added that the current work of the institute with cities in emerging economies shall contribute to a great extent to the knowledge and experience transfer in the Urban Pathways project.
Support from financing initiativesAs delivering the objectives of the New Urban Agenda is one of the core aims of the Urban Pathways project, the opening workshop brought together organisations that are working with similar aims. Among such initiatives were Connective Cities, MobiliseYourCity (MYC), C40 Financing Facility and IRENA.
The representatives from the organisations shared with the local, sub-national and national government representatives in the audience on the various opportunities to realise plans to actions at an urban level.
Following the launch of the project on the 16 October, the project cities have also participated in a training event that ran until the 20th October. This extended training was an effort to enable cities to dig deeper into exploring the possibilities of implementing low carbon development and identify how the Urban Pathways project can support their ambitions.
Regional and local governments provided inputs and sought expert advice on the various options that are available for cities to implement low carbon development, with examples from cities that have implemented such strategies. The four Lighthouse Cities, Kochi (India), Belo-Horizonte (Brazil) Nairobi (Kenya) and Hanoi (Vietnam) presented some of their activities in the areas of urban energy, mobility and waste management and replication cities were recruited.
Cities also expressed need for technical assistance in new areas such as smart mobility, electric vehicles, innovative waste management. A panel discussion reflected on the German perspective on international cooperation for urban development, followed by a project scoping session in which participants developed initial project ideas that can be developed further into bankable projects as part of the Urban Pathways project.
The Urban Pathways also explored synergies with on-going EU funded projects such as the FUTURE RADAR Project and the Urban Electric Mobility Initiative (UEMI). Experts from institutions such as the World Resources Institute in Brasil, Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP), Rupprecht Consult, German Aerospace Institute (DLR), WhereisMyTransport, took part in the training week and shared with the audience, the readily available options for up-take in urban mobility in their respective working regions. The discussion explored on the policies and actions that are essential for the realisation of low-carbon mobility pathways.
A sound governance structure and a thought-through financing plan are essential for any successful project. The training week also gave a chance for the project cities to learn from their counterparts and experts on the various opportunities and challenges to governance of low-carbon development projects. Presentations from representatives from Cape Town (S. Africa), Aguascalientes (Mexico), Min. of Urban Development (Nepal) and Choma City (Zambia), gave a wide gamut of experiences to the participants to ponder on the governance structure in their respective context.
Representatives from the German Development Bank (KfW) and MobiliseYourCity, shared with cities the opportunities that are available for cities to fund their low carbon mobility projects. In both cases the recommendation from the financing experts to cities was to look beyond the time frame of the project and already identify possibilities to sustain the project beyond the funding time frame. This can be achieved by a good initial mix of national, regional and local resources with international funding, rather than relying solely on international funding for the entire project.
