Post COVID-19 Recovery in Informal Settlements in the ECE Region

Project start date: 14 September 2020

Project end date: 31 December 2020

Target countries

Albania (Tirana), Kyrgyzstan (Bishkek), Montenegro (Podgorica) and North Macedonia (Skopje).

Overall objective

The objective of this project is to strengthen the capacity of the national and local governments in the UNECE countries to address the needs of the most vulnerable groups of population living in the informal settlements. This would enhance the socio-economic recovery following the pandemic and contribute to urban resilience in participating cities and countries.

The project will also build capacities of the national and local authorities in the four pilot countries for the development of recovery and upgrading informal settlements plans.

It will also compliment the work in progress in five selected informal settlements of Bishkek within the UNDA funded project “Smart Sustainable Cities for the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development and the New Urban Agenda in the UNECE Region”.

The most pressing priority outlined by the city Hall of Bishkek is the formalization and transformation of its informal settlements - home to about 20 percent of the city’s population. The city identified five pilot informal settlements to initiate formalization The integration of these settlements (land and buildings) into formal land markets is a prerequisite for attracting incremental investment to realize possible future transformations of these areas into sustainable neighbourhoods. It is equally critical to ensure that inhabitants of those settlements have identity documents, which will allow them to access basic services, such as hospitals, schools, as well as register property, among others.

The project will result in the development of a Post COVID-19 Recovery Action Plan for Informal Settlements for countries in the ECE region as well as concrete recommendations for the four pilot cities for upgrading the informal settlements and supporting the cities in the recovery from COVID-19 pandemic.

Expected benefits for participating cities

A Post COVID-19 Recovery Action Plan for Informal Settlements for the ECE Region, including detailed recommendations for the four pilot cities
Increased capacity of national, subnational and local governments in the four project cities/countries to transform informal settlements into sustainable, resilient urban areas in the recovery from COVID-19 pandemic.
Preparation of a series of online lectures on the formalization process of informal constructions to build capacity of national and local governments and as starting point for implementing the Recovery Action Plan.
Organization of a series of thematic online workshops to build capacity of local policy makers and public authorities on policy areas for sustainable urban development.

Reports and assessments

To be finalized:

Innovative financing
Sustainable urban mobility
Energy Efficiency, Accessibility and Sustainability

Online trainings

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