Category: Local economic development

Tourism promotion strategies in municipalities

Posted on by erik

Adopting innovative tourism strategies can help municipalities boost their economies and promote sustainable development. These strategies often focus on leveraging local culture, history, natural resources, and new technologies. Municipalities in the MENA region are capitalizing on their unique cultural, historical, and natural assets while incorporating modern technology and sustainability practices to attract a wide range of tourists. During an insight session held on the 9th September 2024, representatives of municipalities from Jordan, Palestine, Tunisia and Lebanon have learned about and discussed effective tourism promotion strategies. This session focused on two key areas, namely innovative tourism promotion strategies, improving existing tourism activities and sustainable tourism practices to prevent destination decline. Participants have learned about digital marketing techniques, methods for identifying and showcasing their unique selling points, and strategies for creating compelling tourism narratives that resonate with potential visitors. The session delved into effective collaboration strategies with local businesses and tour operators to create a cohesive tourism ecosystem.

A good practice example was presented by the secretary general of the municipality of Sidi Jedidi in Tunisia by sharing insights into the local touristic attractions and the promotion strategies they have implemented that included community engagement. Through story-telling, Nablus municipality representatives have engaged the participants in a captivating virtual visit to their city in Palestine.  These presentations have sparked a lively discussion between the participants that included several elements of peer learning, particularly on the solutions developed as part of the working group which include:

  1. Local handicraft protection and promotion policy – Al Aizariya Municipality, Palestine
  2. Designing touristic trails and envisioning an eco-touristic village – Kufranja municipality, Jordan
  3. Assisting and guiding Kfarmatta municipality (Lebanon) in establishing the rules of procedures for Al Hima zone and the establishment of a Local Development Office.
  4. Tourism promotion Strategy in Nablus municipality, Palestine.

Recording of the insight session on Connective Cities platform (in Arabic).

Kampala, Karlsruhe and Strasbourg join forces to strengthen social entrepreneurship

Posted on by erik

All across the world, there are more and more social entrepreneurs combining their business activities with a commitment to the common good – be it climate or environmental protection, social participation or reducing poverty.

For local authorities, this relatively new target group for local economic development agencies has great potential to contribute to sustainable development. But many cities, municipalities and districts are still in the early stages of promoting social entrepreneurship. Kampala in Uganda, Karlsruhe in south-west Germany and Strasbourg in France have joined forces to promote social entrepreneurship in their cities and help entrepreneurs form networks.
 

The Kampala – Karlsruhe – Strasbourg triangle of cooperation

‘I see a great deal of potential for collaboration,’ says Khasalamwa Lucia from the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA). Representatives from the three cities have identified that the challenges facing social entrepreneurship are very similar in Kampala, Karlsruhe and Strasbourg – despite their social and economic differences. They each have a lack of needs-based training, mentoring programs, opportunities for exchanging expertise, and start-up financing for (potential) entrepreneurs. Political frameworks such as tax reliefs and suitable legal forms for businesses are also not yet fully developed.

Local Development Strategy Guidebook

Posted on by erik

This guidebook is an outcome of the working group ‘Local development strategies for municipalities in MENA’. It outlines a comprehensive methodology for municipalities to develop strategic sustainable planning with a mid- and long-term vision.

The objectives include:

  • Strengthen Resilience and Capacity
  • Enhance Participatory Strategic Planning
  • Define Long-Term Development Strategies
  • Improve Local Services
  • Develop Project Card Templates

The manual also addresses the importance of having up-to-date data to improve the accuracy of analysis and decision-making processes. This includes staff training on data collection and interpretation methodologies.

Kufranja municipality – city of oxygen in Jordan

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This is the first video in the second edition of ‘Voices from Connective Cities’. Dr. Anwaar Bani Salman, Head of Planning and studies at Kufranja municipality in Jordan talks about the competitive advantage of the municipality in agri- and eco-tourism due to its unique nature and high percentage of green cover. She highlights the benefits of peer learning particularly from Madaba municipality on the topics of local development strategies, proposal writing, and forging partnerships with stakeholders from different sectors. She noted that the moral support that she received from Connective Cities network helped her overcome various challenges such as fear of failure.

Watch video at YouTube: https://youtu.be/q6TZawYNglY

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Further information: Municipal Business Incubators in Madaba

10 Years Connective Cities

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“And there is a magic in every beginning…” these Hermann Hesse’s words can be used to describe the atmosphere when almost 70 experts from local politics, local administration and academia came together for their first exchange of ideas exactly ten years ago in Leipzig’s former stylishly renovated town bath. (Some impressions: https://youtu.be/CA7naV3BFco )

The motto of the kick-off event was “Sustainable urban development between resource efficiency and sufficiency”. The key concepts of “efficiency” and “sufficiency” were presented as two complementary strategies for sustainable urban development. The discussion ranged from technological innovations for resource-efficient development paths, to social innovations that focused on the transformation of social and individual lifestyles. The approaches and topics discussed then, have lost none of their importance for sustainable urban development. Such topics under the umbrella of Connective Cities today include “flood management”, “energy-efficient urban redevelopment and energy-efficient construction”, “revitalisation of contaminated inner-city areas”, “citizen participation”, “participatory, integrated urban renewal”, “neighbourhood development” or “urban gardening and urban agriculture”.

The very first kick-off event was attended by a large number of international participants, including experts from South Africa, Kenya, Morocco, Indonesia, China, Colombia, Hungary, and Serbia.

A Strategy for Climate-Sensitive Urban Development in Garowe, Somalia

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Connective Cities has supported the development of a bottom-up strategy for climate-resilient urban development, known as the Climate-Sensitive City Development Strategy (CSCD). This involved a participatory methodology for identifying and analyzing key entry points for municipal action. Garowe was the first pilot project where this methodology and the design of the CSCD strategy were tested. We are pleased to present this strategy to you here.

Connective Cities was commissioned by the GIZ project “Promotion of social and economic inclusion of extreme poor IDPs and residents of host communities in Puntland, Somalia” (SEIPP) to support the development of an integrated climate protection concept (adaptation and partial mitigation) for the city of Garowe, Puntland, Somalia. SEIPP is dedicated to promoting the socio-economic integration of extremely poor internally displaced persons and residents of host communities in Puntland, Somalia.

If you have any questions about the methodology or are interested in discussing it, please contact Paulina Koschmieder: paulina.koschmieder@giz.de

Climate-positive cities: circular economy and carbon accounting

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Background

The construction industry is one of the most energy-intensive sectors of the economy and a major contributor to global climate change. It is responsible for up to 40 per cent of global CO2 emissions. However, there are ways to make construction more sustainable and hence more climate-friendly. Municipalities play a key role in initiating and supporting these processes locally.

Two examples of such municipal engagement were in the spotlight of a virtual exchange organised by Connective Cities on 27 February 2024 and were discussed by 18 (municipal) experts from six countries. The event was part of a one-year learning process that began in November 2023 with the international dialogue event “Climate-friendly construction with organic and recycled materials” in Potsdam, Germany.

Lörrach plans Germany’s first timber-built commercial area

Posted on by erik

In 2020 the town of Lörrach purchased the 8.5-hectare Lauffenmühle site which had formerly been home to a textile factory. The purchase was made possible by urban development grants worth €9.1 million from Germany’s federal government and the state of Baden-Württemberg.

Following discussions with the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, the idea arose of creating a timber-built climate-neutral commercial area on the site.

The historic factory buildings on the site and their stone facades are not protected monuments, but the project still plans to repair and retain their basic structure in order to utilise them for new commercial purposes. By doing this, the project hopes that people will be able to identify with the project, particularly in the surrounding areas.

The project can serve as a model for other municipalities in Germany and around the world, providing that entire commercial areas can be built of timber.

For more impressions, take a look at our Good Practice website!

Resilience in Times of War – Municipal Exchange between Ukraine and Germany

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Discover innovative strategies for rebuilding infrastructure and fostering resilience in Ukrainian municipalities amidst the aftermath of Russian aggression. Join us in exploring the outcomes of the Connective Cities’ Project Planning Workshop, ‘Resilience in Times of War – Municipal Exchange between Ukraine and Germany.’ Held from November 28 to 29, 2023, in Munich, Germany, this workshop brought together over 35 participants, including representatives from 12 Ukrainian municipalities. Through dialogue and experience sharing, attendees delved into key focus areas such as sustainable energy development, local and regional economic growth, and strategic/urban planning. Learn from the insights of esteemed guest speakers and delegates from Kosovo municipalities, as they offer perspectives on German and international municipal experiences, paving the way for collaborative efforts in rebuilding and fortifying Ukrainian communities. 

All presentations can be found here: https://community.connective-cities.net/en/group/215/topics

Lörrach plans Germany’s first timber-built commercial area

Posted on by erik

There is more than enough wood available in the town of Lörrach and its proximity to the Black Forest. The idea was born to build a climate-neutral industrial estate in timber construction on the Lauffenmühle site. To date, there have only been individual commercial buildings constructed from wood in Germany, but no industrial estate with a comparable concept. Parts of the historic factory buildings on the site with their natural stone façades are to be integrated into the new utilisation structure.