Bridging Cities

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BRIDGING CITIES, TRANSFORMING LIVES3rd LCP Philippine Cities Global Convention and ExpositionNovember 17-19, 2011Resorts World, Pasay CityPhilippines

I. Background

The Philippines is undergoing rapid urbanization. In 2005, theurban population was estimated more than 53 million or over 60%of the country's population. By 2015, it is estimated that it ispegged at 70 million comprising at least 70% of the Philippinespopulation. (National Urban Development and HousingFramework 2009-2016)

Improved economic growth of urban centers is also estimated toaccount for 70% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In 2003,cities contributed 73% of the country's economic output and 67% of the household expenditures. Metro Manila citiesalone in 2007 accounted 33% of the country's gross domestic product.

Urbanization and economic growth continue to attract people in urban centers, thus causing significant strain on thecapability of cities to manage development and provide for the basic services required by an increasing number ofconstituents. The ability of cities to respond to the challenges is constrained by the varying levels of technicalcapability across different types of cities as well.

This issue of inadequate technical capacity is further heightened by the limited term of local leaders with the threeyear local election cycle ushering, in most cases, new leaders and new sets of key local government personnel thatneed to implement capacity development programs, at least in the Philippines.

However, it is imperative to strengthen the capacities of city managers given the traditional and evolving functions ofcities - from service providers to more professional and strategic growth managers. Cities need to efficiently manageand program resources to ensure that basic services are sufficiently available to meet the requirements of a growingurban population.

It is important to enhance their technical competence in determining and pursuing priority investments and tomaximize resources. As technological advancement now allows for improved mobility of investments, cities need toaccelerate to develop local niche and promote global competitiveness that will support their sustained growth.

The need for further development intervention is well-pronounced in the Philippines, as large number of citiescontinues to rely on financial transfers from the national government and have not been able to effectively leverageand manage their own resources . In most cases, the identification of local investments has limited support in termsof technical evaluation thus affecting the effective programming of resources across the different sectors. Withminimal appreciation and lack of exposure to global best practices, cities tend to focus on an inward perspectiverather than develop and pursue thrusts that will promote inter-city collaboration and enhance local and globalcompetitiveness.

Since its establishment in 1988, the League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP) has conducted learning activities tosupport knowledge development of cities in the Philippines. It is imperative for the LCP and its stakeholders to design

and implement effective and accessible learning interventions that will allow cities, and possibly, cities around theworld, to assimilate and apply practical knowledge that cuts across urban development issues. These interventionsshould incorporate global best practices on city management to inform about tested solutions and provide theopportunity to exchange knowledge with local and international practitioners.

II. Theme


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In the 3rd Philippine Cities Global Convention and Exposition, LCP will re-examine theinclusive character of cities as the main overarching theme. The theme is Bridging Cities,Transforming Lives.

Cities are the catchment area of people from the rural areas. Cities become beacons ofopportunity and engines of growth. Given their multi-dimensional character, the need forintegration is inevitable given the limited technical competencies and resources.

According to the UN Habitat, an inclusive city is a city that promotes growth with equity. It is acity where every individual regardless of the people's economic stature, race, and/or religion isempowered to participate in the decision-making process. Why inclusiveness is important?Because it reduces inequality and tension, and incorporates knowledge, productivity, social,and physical capital of the poor and the disadvantaged, and increases local ownership ofdevelopment processes and programmes.

By bridging cities, they redefine the notions of inclusiveness as the way forward for sustainablegrowth. How is inclusive development attained in cities? What defines their inclusive growth?What impede cities from implementing the development agenda to attain inclusive growth?How can bridging cities promote inclusivity in a broad spectrum of development challenges and

solutions? How can cities be inclusive?

III. Objectives

The main objective of the 3rd Philippine CitiesGlobal Convention and Exposition 2011 is toincrease the knowledge of city governments oninclusive urban development through theconduct of a knowledge exchange systemamong city stakeholders, both national andforeign.

For the first time, LCP will open invite itsinternational counterparts and cities across the globe to discuss cross cutting urban developmentchallenges and initiate long-term partnerships. Moreover, the Convention also seeks to achieve thefollowing:

1. Showcase what Philippine cities offer such as tourism destinations and events, one town oneproduct, services, good governance practices, and culture;

2. Promote Philippine cities as investment haven through the exposition to boost local economicdevelopment to further generate more business opportunities and employment;

3. Foster cooperation among cities in the Philippines with other cities through networking activities;

4. Strengthen inter-governmental cooperation in planning and implementation of developmentprograms;

5. Promote stronger partnership between city governments and the private sector; and

6. Share innovative and sustainable solutions to common urban issues and challenges, such aspoverty, unemployment, traffic congestion, environmental degradation, and impacts of climatechange among others.

IV. Methodology

The Convention consists of plenary discussions and thematicbreakout sessions on specific urban management issues,including urban competitiveness, strengthening local economies,


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greening cities, and cityto-city cooperation. During the plenary breaks, possible book launchings, memorandumsigning, product endorsements will also be an added feature.

Plenary session will be held during morning. Breakout sessions will be conducted during the afternoon. Eachbreakout session will have a moderator, its respective resource speakers/ city presenters on specific topics, and adocumentor. Each breakout session will run for an average of 3 hours.

An exposition showcasing the best of Philippine cities will also be conducted not far from the venue.

V. Programme and Thematic Sessions

The Convention is seen as a platform to identifyurban development challenges and deepen thecommitment into a synergized urbandevelopment agenda among cities. Notedinternational resource speakers in urbandevelopment, city mayors both local andforeign, and experts in local governance willpromote best practices, will present crosscutting urban development issues and

challenges, and will seek to find solutions while promoting inclusive sustainable growth.

1. Urban Shelter - Against the backdrop of limited resources, diversity in culture, and populationgrowth, cities must be able to provide adequate and affordable shelter for its citizens. This sessionwill showcase successful initiatives on providing quality and affordable shelter, and discuss integralcomponents such as design, financing, and social marketing. It will also bring forward policy issuesthat need to be addressed to enhance and sustain the said services.

2. Strengthening Local Economies - Cities have long been regarded as the engines of growth, as theyprovide specialized services and generate significant revenues that fuel national growth. Thecapacity of cities to generate employment and investment opportunities, and finance developmentprograms depends on the strength of its economies. This session will focus on enabling cities toformulate effective economic development plans that capitalize on their strategic advantages, suchas size, location, and human and material resources.

3. Creating Green Cities - As cities pursue greater economic development to generate much neededresources to finance its development programs, due consideration must be given to the protectionof the natural environment. The increasing occurrence and the degree of severity of disastersworldwide sends a clear message that unless ecological balance is achieved, people will continueto pay a high price for development.

4. Human Development - Because cities are often the educational, financial and cultural centers oftheir respective regions, they attract a significant section of the populations of contiguous areas.Cities are therefore challenged to respond to the human development needs of their growingpopulation.

This session will delve into the best practices and innovations of cities regarding health, education,and human security. Development partners, in turn, will also share their paradigms for enhancinghuman development in cities.

5. Planning, Designing and Managing Cities -Unplanned growth has brought about complexissues such as congestion, informalsettlements, environmental degradation, anddisasters. To effectively address these issuesand pursue sustainable development, citiesmust undertake sound urban planning andmanagement.

This session will focus on enabling cities to effectively perform one of its most important mandates.


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Topics under this session include land use planning, urban renewal, heritage conservation, andtransport planning.

6. Green Urban Infrastructure - Crucial to increasing the competitiveness of cities is the availability ofmodern infrastructure such as roads, bridges, utilities, schools, hospitals, and telecommunications.Limited resources however, have not only stymied infrastructure development, it has also led toinfrastructure development initiatives that contribute to the deterioration of the environment.

This session will present several windows of opportunities for cities to design and buildenvironmentally - sound infrastructure. In addition, the necessary tools to enable cities to prioritizeinfrastructure projects and identify appropriate financing mechanisms will also be presented in thissession.

7. Good Urban Governance: Key to Sustaining Urban Development - Other than human and financialresources, materials for production, and infrastructure support, good urban governance isrecognized as an essential ingredient to achieving and sustaining urban development. Good urbangovernance embraces public participation, gender equality, transparency and accountability, rule oflaw, innovation, and balanced development.

This session will highlight the direct relations between good urban governance and sustained urbandevelopment, and provide simple and doable steps on how cities can enhance their governancesystems.

8. City to City Cooperation - Inter-local government unit cooperation encourages best practicessharing and replication for the benefit of their respective constituencies. Through the additionalinitiatives and support of local government associations, the benefits are further distributed. Thissession will focus on the successes of the different modalities of partnership that local governmentsand local government associations have engaged in, hoping to encourage more replication andinnovation.

Transcript of The Philippine UrbanizationThe Philippine Urbanization The Phl Urbanization

in the context of Asian Region With more than half of its population (54 percent) living in

urban areas in 2007, the Philippines, is one of the most highly urbanized countries in

Southeast Asia, second only to Malaysia. In 2000, while Philippines had 48 percent of its

population living in urban areas, Malaysia already had 57 percent. Percentage of Rural and

Urban Population, 1950-2020 The evolution of the composition of the Philippine population

from 1950 to 2000 has been quite dramatic. In 1950, about 25 percent lived in cities.

Twenty-five years later, 42 percent of the population resided in urban areas.

But the major break occurred in the 1990s when almost one-half (47 percent) of the

population had settled in urban areas, slowing down in 2000 to 48 percent. By 2020, almost

three-fourths of the population is projected to live in cities. While the urbanization process in

the Philippines has been quite rapid, the overall patternof urban growth among the

geographical regions has been quite uneven. The growth and levelsof urbanization among the


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regions are largely associated with the growth of a metropolitan centerlike Metro Manila or

the traditional regional centers like Cebu City or Davao City. Some reasons for rapid urban

growth -Employment opportunities

-technology development

-food accessibility-political freedom Urban growth of populations is largely due to the concentration of

industrial and services in the cities.

Urbanization and the attendant agglomeration economies can result in greater productivity

levels for the national economy. With urbanization, the benefits of economies ofscale can

result in more efficient and effective delivery of public services Urbanization, Economic

Growth,

and Urban Development More than half of the countrys gross domestic product (GDP) are

generated by urbancenters. Employment, Unemployment, and Underemployment Data

shows that from1988 to 2003, the rate of employment in the urban areas is lower

than that of the rural areas. But rural areas seem to have offered more opportunities for males

but

quite the reverse for females. Urabnization, Economic Growth, Urban Development The

Philippine economy has been largely transformed into an urban-based economy during the

last 15 years or so. This can be seen in the continuous decline of the growth of the

agricultural sector and with the increasing productivity, employment and income

opportunities generated by the services and industrial sectors. But government support for

urban economies during the past decade has considerably improved. This can be seen in the

infrastructural improvements (e.g., interconnectivity of roads,bridges, flyovers, rapid transit

system, etc.) Data shows that from 1988 to 2003, the rate of employment in the urban areas is

lower than that of the rural areas. Employment, Unemployment, and Underemployment.

Consistent with the trends in poverty incidence, the unemployment rates for the whole

country

have also declined. Overall rates of unemployment in the Philippines declined

during the period 1994-1996, but started to rise again following the economic crisis in 1997

Urban Growth, Poverty, and Social Inequality Problems include congestion, shortage of

housing, inadequate basic services like potable water supply, health, waste collection and

management, etc.

These problems are also compounded by water and airpollution, the increasing need for

disease control and health services. the incidence of poverty in the Philippines seemed to

have declined

from 1985 to 2006, but the number of people below thepoverty line has been increasing in


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absolute numbers. Poverty Incidence Across Regions and Income Groups Health, Education,

and Literacy

Water supply, services, sanitation and solid waste management.

Pollution Levels (Air, Water, and Surface, Noise). Revitalization of old cities/settlements.

Decentralization and democratization of urban governance. Urban Social Change, Planning

and Development Thank You! Towards a Sustainable Development of Cities and Towns

URBANIZATIONUrbanization has largely run its course in the worlds richest countries. Theremaining action will play out almost entirely in middle and low-income countries. In

2010, the urban population in these countries stood at 2.5 billion. In 100 years, the

urban population there could be nearly three times larger. At that point, the worlds

urban population is expected to stabilize. Future generations will live forever with the

system of cities we leave behind in 2110. In the interim, rapidly urbanizing countries

have a tremendous window of opportunity in which to use urbanization to speed up

progress for generations to come.

Bridging Cities

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Transcript of Bridging Cities