strategic urban development

STRATEGIC URBAN DEVELOPMENTa knowledge management program of the Marseille Center for Mediterranean IntegrationDecember 2009

CMI The Marseille Center for Mediterranean In-tegration was launched in October 2009 with the mandate of creating a platform for integration in the Mediterranean region through high-level policy dialogue, dissemination and knowledge manage-ment in key development areas which are of prima-ry importance for the Mediterranean region: urban and spatial development; skills, employment and labor mobility; environment and water; transport and logistics; knowledge economy, innovation and technology. Founding members are the Govern-ments of Egypt, France, Jordan, Lebanon, Moroc-co and Tunisia as well as the World Bank and the European Investment Bank. Other members are likely to join the Center in the near future.

CENTER FOR MEDITERRANEAN INTEGRATION

THE MARSEILLE

the center for mediterranean integration 3

tise resulting from their international and national work, the staff and the financial resources necessary for the success of the program. A joint team is operating si-multaneously out of Marseille, Paris and Washington, and is liaising actively with the official counterparts and centers of excellence in the focus countries as well as in Europe and elsewhere. OTHER PARTNERSHIPS Key to the success of the program is the ac-tive involvement of centers of excel-lence, public institutions, university and research centers, city governments and municipal associations from the mem-ber countries, from the European Union and elsewhere, so that each program activity will result in a rich interaction

among different stakeholders at re-gional scale. To date, the following have committed to contribute to the activities supported by the program: AFD, Blue Plan, Cities Alliance, City of Marseille, Euroméditerranée, Medicities. This list will be regularly updated as the program builds up its network of partnerships in the Mediterranean region.

FOCUS COUNTRIES The Center for Mediterranean Integration makes its knowledge management services avail-able to the countries of the southern and eastern coast of the Mediterranean. Mediterranean integration is intended as an opportunity for further linkages and exchanges between both rims of the Mediterranean region, as well as within its southern part.

PROGRAM PARTNERS The Stra-tegic Urban Development program is promoted, financed and implemented by two of the CMI partners: the Caisse des Dépôts, a French public financial insti-tution, and the World Bank. They have committed to a three-year partnership to combine the policy and technical exper-

strategic urban development4

REGIONAL & URBAN PLANNING The program will provide analytical work leading to the assessment of the cur-rent spatial structure, regional imbal-ances, and forecasts of urbanization at the 2030 horizon of selected countries

The countries of the southern and eastern Mediterranean are experiencing a very high rate of urbanization, which is expected to reach 67% by 2030, with a 58% increase of their urban population compared to 2005. This represents ad-ditional 85 million urban inhabitants. Such urbanization trends pose tremendous challenges, as well as opportunities. Spatial imbalances and lagging regions are present in many countries, and territorial development plans are rare. Urban plan-ning often lags behind informal urbanization driven by demographics and hous-ing demand; urban renewal operations need complex management tools, which are often lacking. The program will collaborate with national and local institutions and agencies in order to address some of these issues.

4

in the region. This work will be carried out by making use of combined statis-tical forecasting and satellite imagery, to predict the size and shape of major cities, and of international analytical methodologies. Advisory work will also

DEVELOPMENTSTRATEGIC URBAN

the center for mediterranean integration 5

transactions and access to secure land tenure, of lowering the incidence of il-legal subdivisions, and of accelerating the process of urbanization of peri-urban rural land. Land-based financing of urban development will be explored, in view of ensuring that the costs of providing trunk infrastructure may be recovered from the landowners and developers due to the increased value of land, and of self-financing urbaniza-tion. The institutional dimension of land management will be equally addressed, comparing various experiences with the creation and functioning of Land Management Agencies, either as part of the public administration or as sepa-rate entities set up under the tutelage of sector Ministries. The status of public

land reserves and their utilization and replenishment will also be examined as a priority concern.

URBAN EXPANSION & RENEWAL Governments in the region are extend-ing existing urban areas, creating sat-ellite communities and new towns, and facilitating the rehabilitation of obsolete

be carried out for the review of the ur-ban planning instruments of selected main urban agglomerations, to enhance their coherence with coastal zone man-agement, where appropriate, and with energy, water, and transport planning. Mediterranean and European experi-ences in urban planning will be reviewed and compared, with the purpose of fa-cilitating a process of modernization and simplification of the planning instru-ments adopted by the countries in the region, in view of improving the quality of urban development.

URBAN LAND MANAGEMENT The program will provide a review of urban land management policies for the pur-poses of facilitating formal real-estate

strategic urban development6

or degraded urban areas, including a number of up-scale urban projects and real-estate operations, often fueled by foreign direct investments. Such ini-

tiatives require special legal arrange-ments, institutional and administrative set-ups, the availability of large tracts of land, and the mobilization of significant

national and inter-national financial resources, in order to be successful. The program will explore the techni-cal, institutional and financial aspects of such urban projects across the region, facilitating exchang-es and bringing to bear the innovations that have been tried out elsewhere. In

particular the possible forms of partner-ship of the public and private sectors will be explored, from dedicated public sec-tor developers to public-private corpora-tions, to foreign direct investment and inter-communal investment agencies.

the center for mediterranean integration 7

POLICY WORKSHOPS The program will deliver a number of policy work-shops per year, where the main issues covered will be reviewed on the basis of national reports, case studies, and spe-cific technical and policy contributions that would facilitate the exchanges and integration across the Mediterranean region. They will bring together policy-makers, practitioners and academi-cians, will be preceded by preparatory research work, and followed up with the dissemination of the recommendations, outcomes and materials. The impacts expected from the policy workshops are awareness-raising, contributing to the definition of reform processes, and pro-viding access to updated knowledge by key practitioners.

GUIDANCE MATERIALS The pur-pose of the CMI, and therefore of its urban programs, is to be part of the debate on key development and inte-gration policy topics, and to become a pivotal part of the existing regional net-works. The program will produce and disseminate guidance materials and in-formation on the issues of strategic ur-ban development in the Mediterranean region, resulting from the networking, the policy workshops, the studies and technical advisory services. The pro-gram also inherits knowledge materials from the Europe-MENA urban knowl-edge hub which operated in Marseille from 2004 until 2008.

STUDIES & ADVISORY SERVICES The program will provide resources and opportunities to conduct studies and provide small-scale technical assistance on the topics covered, on a selective basis, to the national and local Govern-ments and cities of the region. This will enable CMI to support its clients in a more detailed exploration of some of the issues, innovations proposed, and approaches suggested. Advisory servic-es will be provided by the regional cen-ters of excellence and expertise and by specialized consultants and consulting firms. The program will also facilitate di-rect, decentralized cooperation among cities on all sides of the Mediterranean for technical and policy exchanges.

DELIVERABLESPROGRAM

PROGRAM DIRECTIONAnthony G. Bigio, World BankPascale Chabrillat, Caisse des Depôts

CONTACT INFORMATION Olivier Lavinal olavinal@worldbank.org (+33-4) 91 99 24 48

Pierre-Marie Villettepierre-marie.villette@caissedesdepots.fr (+33-1) 58 50 11 34

Center for Mediterranean IntegrationVilla Valmer, 271 Corniche Kennedy, Marseille, France 13007