The Covid-19 pandemic has significantly altered economic activities and people’s lifestyles. These changes also have a great impact on industrial, commercial and private waste volumes. It is important for municipal waste management companies to estimate changes in quantities and thus the utilisation of their facilities as early as possible.
Category: Municipal services
Innovation for the environment
As the case with the majority of municipalities in Lebanon, Bikfaya municipality lacked support from the central government and was unable to provide viable solutions for solid waste management (SWM). This motivated local residents to propose grassroot initiatives. A group of volunteers (with no prior technical knowledge in solid waste management), promoted recycling and sorting at source. Initially receiving technical support from a local environmental NGO, this case has eventually transformed into a best practice that is resonating in Lebanon and the MENA region.
Trash to Cash
Despite the weaknesses that permeate solid waste management in Lebanon, some municipalities have committed themselves to innovate solutions and overcome the challenges that include cost recovery issues, treatment and disposal difficulties, low capacity of dumpsites, lack of commitment from the local community for recycling, and a low demand for recycled products. Al Manara and Ghalboun municipalities are two examples on how municipalities were able to transform these challenges into opportunities.
Insights into the working group ‘digitalisation of public services in MENA’
Digitalisation is the path for improving service delivery to citizens, and is key in the municipal recovery from the impacts of the pandemic. Connective Cities program on municipal recovery from the pandemic has thus supported the establishment of the working group ‘digitalising public devices in the MENA region’. The working group has been very active and has involved the participation of representatives of more than 21 municipalities in the MENA region. As part of the activities, the following was accomplished:
- The first virtual workshop for the working group was held on the 26 October 2021. The workshop incorporated a capacity building component focusing on the use of GIS for the collection, mapping and monitoring of geospatial data. The working group’s members were introduced to the Geographic Information System (GIS) and its various applications in municipal roles and services.
- Good practice examples from Hazmieh municipality in Lebanon, Hebron Municipality in Palestine, and Madaba- Jordan were showcased. The presentations revealed how employing GIS contributes to improving municipal service provision, strategic planning, tax management and decision making at a municipal level. Furthermore, a full end-to-end digital transformation solution used by Zgharta municipality in Lebanon (AKA Al-FULK) was showcased as part of the workshop held on the 23 November 2021. This digital platform leverages municipal best practices, tools and technology and has resulted in increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of operations and service delivery in the municipality and improve interdepartmental coordination and regulatory compliance initiatives.
- Project ideas of six municipalities were developed into prototypes of GIS apps. Connective Cities conducted a round of intensive capacity building to train the relevant municipal staff on utilizing the apps. The municipalities of Bizerte- Tunisia, Abasan-Palestine, Menjez, Qaraoun, Matan al-Alaa- Lebanon, Jerash and Madaba-Jordan have benefitted from the capacity building and thus have progressed in the realization of their projects on GIS application in municipal management.
Click here to view recording of the workshop on 26 October 2021
Click here to view the recording of the workshop on the 23 November 2021
Towards a gender sensitive urban development
Why do we need a gender sensitive approach in urban planning?
Existing urban public spaces as well as public transport were mostly designed by and to accommodate the needs of men. A lot of them are not fit for women’s needs – some even pose a threat to women’s safety, they complicate their everyday lives and reduce their possibilities to engage in community life. The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed and exacerbated existing gender inequalities in various aspects.
At the same time, this crisis can be an opportunity to make urban planning more gendersensitive, equitable and sustainable. There are a lot of gender sensitive practices already existing. The task is to implement these practices and help municipal actors achieve sustainable, inclusive and (gender) equitable development in the (post-)COVID era.
This was the aim of the two Connective Cities Working Groups on:
- Gender sensitive urban planning
- Gender responsive urban mobility
Connecting municipalities in their efforts towards a gender sensitive city
The participants of the working groups joined us from the municipalities of Nabeul and Sfax in Tunisia, Mexico City and Guadalaja in Mexico, Tena in Ecuador, Nairobi in Kenya as well as Uruguay and the Municipality of Gaza, Palestine.
In bringing municipal representatives and urban practitioners together to present and discuss their challenges and good practices they were supported to develop new project ideas through peer-learning and exchange. In this they were inspired by regional and international experts who shared their insights in gender sensitive planning approaches.
The first kick-off meeting was aiming to sensitize for the various risks of widening gender inequalities in urban development and to identify the roles cities administrations can play in this context.
Annika Dalén, Strategic development and gender equality officer, Municipality of Umeå, Sweden presented the efforts of the Swedish city of Umeå as a model city for gender sensitive urban planning and mobility. Until today, reliable data on how women move in cities is missing in a lot of countries. Therefore, to redesign cities and their transport systems to effectively respond to women’s needs, it is the first essential step to collect gender-specific data at the municipal and national levels.
Due to curfews and social restrictions, the pandemic put women at a higher risk to suffer from domestic violence. Katja Schülke, Gender equality officer, City of Bonn, Germany and Conny Schulte, General manager, Arbeitskreis Opferschutz Bonn/Rhein-Sieg presented their approaches for combating domestic violence of the City of Bonn.
A third keynote by Giada Cicognola, programme analyst, Cities Alliance introduced the participants to the programme Femmedina in Tunis, Tunisia. The programme’s goal is the rehabilitation of public spaces for women in the historic centre of Tunis, the Medina, through participatory decision-making.
During the following working group meetings, the participating municipalities identified one gender related challenge in their cities. They are exemplary for the issues women face in many places around the globe:
- Enhancing the integration of women in decision making processes in Tunis, Tunisia
- Improving the situation of commuting women from rural areas in urban environments in Tena, Ecuador
- Incorporating the needs of women in the implementation of e-mobility projects and addressing sexual and gender-based violence in the e-mobility space in Nairobi, Kenya
- Promoting cycling for women in Mexico City and Guadalaja, Mexico
Connective Cities working groups promote the idea of Peer-to-Peer Consulting so that the participating municipalities can benefit from each other’s experiences and good practices. If you are interested to learn more about this approach, you may find more information here. As an outcome of lively discussions, the groups developed Guidelines that can also help other municipal actors to get going. their guidelines for:
Guidelines:Towards a gender-sensitive urban development [pdf, 307 kb, 7 pp.]
Guidelines: Towards a gender responsive urban mobility [pdf, 337 kb, 8 pp.]
Without a gender sensitive approach to urban development, the pandemic could have far-reaching effects including the risk of widening gender inequalities in various areas. At the same time gender mainstreaming tools and good practices of gender-sensitive recovery strategies already exist, which, if used effectively, can mitigate the negative impacts of COVID-19 and contribute to an increased gender equality.
Find more useful resources on gender sensitive urban planning:
Gender Responsive Urban Planning and Design | UN-Habitat (unhabitat.org)
How Vienna designed a city for women (apolitical.co)
How to Design a City for Women – Bloomberg
Gender in Mainstreaming Urban Development (berlin.de)
Harsh-realities-Marginalized-women-in-cities-of-the-developing-world-en.pdf (unwomen.org)
A safe city for women and girls in El Alto, Bolivia | UN Women
Goal 11 | Department of Economic and Social Affairs (un.org)
Brief-Recommendations-COVID-19-Safe-Cities-and-Safe-Public-Spaces-en.pdf (unwomen.org)
Safety First in Belo Horizonte
The municipality of Belo Horizonte in the south-east of Brazil introduced a Covid-19 safety protocol for the selective collection and screening of recyclable materials. The protocol ensured that waste management services could continue during the pandemic and that waster pickers and sorters were protected as effectively as possible.
Sustainable Urban Mobility and COVID-19
The Covid-19 pandemic has led to fundamental changes in urban mobility worldwide. Some impacts are short-term, especially during lockdowns. Others are long-term changes in the way urban mobility and traffic will operate in the future. Sustainable urban mobility and Covid-19 was the focus of the Connective Cities Virtual Dialogue Event in partnership with United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) and UN-Habitat and hosted by the City of Wiesbaden – Germany that took place on 19, 20 and 22 July 2021. This peer-learning note summarizes good practices of participating cities with a focus on local public transport, bicycle traffic and sustainable urban logistics.
In addition to the English version, there is also a German and Spanish version.
Additional information: a summary of the event including all presentations is available here.
TUMI Transport Outlook 1.5˚C
The Paris Climate Agreement as adopted in December 2015 set out to reduce global greenhouse emissions at a rate that would limit global temperature increase this century to a level 2.0˚C above pre-industrial levels. It went even further, laying out steps that might be taken to pursue an increase limited to 1.5˚C.
for exactly how we can achieve the goal of limiting greenhouse emissions. The transport sector accounts for nearly one-quarter of global energy-related carbon emissions. Climate action in transport is urgently needed because energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are the main driver of climate change (Teske et. al 2019). Yet a clear-cut path to transformation, one which is backed up with ‘hard’ numbers for policymakers around the world, remains missing. To close this gap, TUMI and the University of Technology Sydney developed a robust scenario study.
This study considers the conditions necessary to achieve these goals under three scenarios: A reference baseline study, in which no changes are implemented in terms of transport, along with a look at those changes that need to take place in order to limit warming to 1.5˚C or 2.0˚C.
For an executive summary and animated charts visit:
TUMI Transport Outlook 1.5˚C
The Paris Climate Agreement as adopted in December 2015 set out to reduce global greenhouse emissions at a rate that would limit global temperature increase this century to a level 2.0˚C above pre-industrial levels. It went even further, laying out steps that might be taken to pursue an increase limited to 1.5˚C.
for exactly how we can achieve the goal of limiting greenhouse emissions. The transport sector accounts for nearly one-quarter of global energy-related carbon emissions. Climate action in transport is urgently needed because energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are the main driver of climate change (Teske et. al 2019). Yet a clear-cut path to transformation, one which is backed up with ‘hard’ numbers for policymakers around the world, remains missing. To close this gap, TUMI and the University of Technology Sydney developed a robust scenario study.
This study considers the conditions necessary to achieve these goals under three scenarios: A reference baseline study, in which no changes are implemented in terms of transport, along with a look at those changes that need to take place in order to limit warming to 1.5˚C or 2.0˚C.
For an executive summary and animated charts visit:
Unturning the Stones
The virtual dialogue event “Unturning the stones – Exploring Climate Finance for Asian Cities” was held on the Connective Cities platform from the 28th to the 30th of September 2021. It was jointly hosted by Connective Cities and TURBOCLIC (Transformation – Urban Opportunities – Climate Change), an initiative from GIZ’s sector networks TUEWAS (Transport Environment Energy and Water in Asia) and SNGA (Governance Asia).
The active participants consisted of 25 urban practitioners and experts from 6 countries (Nepal, Indonesia, India, Bangladesh, Philippines and Germany) working in the sectors financing, public works / infrastructure, greening and planning departments. They were united by the fact that all of them are working at the forefront of climate change mitigation and adaptation measures in their cities. In order to implement green and sustainable solutions that leapfrog current unsustainable patterns, it is essential to develop innovative and efficient financing approaches to build climate resilient and low-carbon cities.