UNITAC Hamburg has officially launched “Just transitions in vulnerable places – digital solutions for more climate resilient informal areas and climate smart urban recovery of communities affected by crisis”.
Funded by The German Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and with an overall budget of 6,000,000 Euro, this new project spans over 3 years and will be implemented in Namibia and Ukraine to promote just and green transition in the context of sustainable urban development and digital transformation.
The project engages with national, sub-national and local government institutions to support digital urban data generation and analysis for evidenced-informed and participatory decision making, aligning project objectives towards localizing the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda and the New Urban Agenda.
The project is divided into two modules:
- Towards inclusive, smart, and resilient urban recovery in Ukraine
- Towards climate resilient neighbourhoods and communities in Namibia
Taken together, the modules address just climate and digital transitions in communities affected by poverty and conflict. A focused inception phase will be critical to fully anchor the two components in the respective local contexts and all relevant ongoing programming as well as complementarity with partner initiatives. It will also allow further co-creation with all stakeholders and the implementing partners, to detail the proposal and to build in the necessary flexibility where it needs to be.
Towards inclusive, smart, and resilient urban recovery in Ukraine
Cities in Ukraine have come under extreme stress through destruction and intake of displaced people. In this crisis context, timely data and automatised analysis for planning is critical. An anticipated return of internally displaced people will create new arrivals that need support in re-establishing the functionality of their cities and their lives.
With a Kick off workshop held on December 14, 2022, this project module, dedicated to inclusive, smart and resilient urban recovery in Ukraine, initiated its first consultation with a wide range of stakeholders. The workshop aimed to outline forward looking recommendations for a value proposition of UNITAC Hamburg in Ukraine, in a context where a vast array of technology-based assessment methods are already applied.
During the workshop, participants shared information and reflections on existing initiatives to assess the impacts of the war. they also mapped the existing digital and innovative assessment tools for urban recovery while identifying the main gaps and areas of improvement where UNITAC Hamburg could add value. Moreover, participants were invited to reflect on a list of criteria to be considered for the selection of the project’s pilot cities, taking into account the diversified impact across towns and cities in Ukraine and ongoing response, proposing a tentative roadmap for the inception phase of the project, and further elaboration of the programme approach.
The inception phase will incorporate broader engagement with stakeholders at all levels, from local to regional and national government, UN agencies and INGOs active in the country, as well as civil society organisations and academia among others. The inception phase also plans a mission to Ukraine to kick-start the project in the cities.
Participants included representatives from All-Ukrainian Association of Amalgamated Territorial Communities, Association of Ukrainian Cities, Chief Digital Transformation Officers, Gehl People, GIZ, HafenCity University Hamburg, Hochschule Luzern, Kharkiv School of Architecture, UNDP, UN-Habitat, UNHCR, UNRCO, UN-OICT, and ReStart Ukraine.
About this module
This module aims to support and extend the collaboration between national, sub-national, and local governments on digital urban data generation and analysis for evidenced-informed and participatory decision making by application of diagnostic digital tools with technical assistance and capacity development. It also intends to:
- Review relevant urban policies at the appropriate level and provide integrated policy support,
- Reinvigorate long-term and integrated urban and territorial planning and design, assess urban legislation/ rules/ regulations and governance,
- Support effective, innovative, and sustainable financing frameworks and instruments, and
- Implement climate resilient local innovation challenges at pilot basis.
The project will specifically support the urban profiling workstream, bringing in the needed innovation, providing emergency responders and local governments will be able to guide local recovery with consideration to spatial dynamics, multiplier effects and the importance of phasing and sequencing of interventions in cities.
The project will also align with the pre-war decentralisation process, further capacitating local governments, which complements all efforts undertaken in Ukraine, facilitated by UN-Habitat as part of the implementation of the UN Transitional Framework, closely collaborating with other local, national and internal actors working on assessments and profiling, including German institutions.
Towards climate resilient neighbourhoods and communities in Namibia
This module aims to develop digital urban data platforms and engage with and support national, sub-national and local government institutions to improve enhanced evidence-based decision making for climate resilient city-wide informal settlements upgrading. The project builds on and supports the work of various existing urban initiatives in Namibia, aiming to improve the information base for effectively enhancing climate resilience of informal settlements through mapping, data collection, data management, data governance and provision of climate smart basic infrastructure in informal settlements.
The project will contribute to and leverage broader initiatives focusing on key areas including:
- Reviewing of relevant urban policies at the appropriate level and provide integrated policy support,
- Strengthening skills and capacity development for national, sub-national and local governments to better support community-based collection, analysis, and management of data from different sources,
- Reinvigorating long-term and integrated urban and territorial planning and design, assessing urban legislation and governance,
- Supporting effective, innovative, and sustainable financing frameworks and instruments,
- Implementing climate resilient local innovation challenges at pilot basis.
For more information contact: unitac@un.org