What are your best practices for sustainable and resilient urban planning?

1 Define your vision and goals

Before you start planning, you need to have a clear vision and goals for your city, aligned with the SDGs and the NUA. These should reflect the needs and aspirations of your stakeholders, including the local community, the private sector, and the government. You can use participatory methods, such as workshops, surveys, and focus groups, to engage them in the process and ensure their ownership and support. Your vision and goals should also be realistic, measurable, and adaptable to changing circumstances.

2 Assess your risks and opportunities

The next step is to assess the risks and opportunities that your city faces, both current and future. This involves analyzing the environmental, social, and economic aspects of your city, such as its climate, demographics, infrastructure, services, and governance. You can use tools, such as vulnerability assessments, scenario planning, and SWOT analysis, to identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of your city. This will help you prioritize the most urgent and relevant issues and opportunities for your city.

3 Design your strategies and actions

Based on your vision, goals, and assessment, you can design your strategies and actions for sustainable and resilient urban planning. These should address the key challenges and opportunities of your city, while promoting the principles of sustainability and resilience. For example, you can adopt strategies and actions that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, enhance biodiversity, improve public health, foster social inclusion, and stimulate economic development. You can also use innovative and integrated approaches, such as green infrastructure, smart technologies, and mixed-use development, to optimize the use of resources and space.

4 Implement and monitor your plan

Once you have your plan, you need to implement and monitor it effectively and efficiently. This requires strong coordination and collaboration among different actors and sectors, such as the government, the private sector, the civil society, and the academia. You can use platforms, such as steering committees, working groups, and online portals, to facilitate communication and information sharing. You also need to secure adequate funding and resources for your plan, by mobilizing public and private investments, applying for grants and loans, and exploring alternative financing mechanisms. Moreover, you need to monitor and evaluate your plan regularly, by using indicators, data, and feedback, to track your progress and impact, and to make adjustments if needed.

5 Learn and share your lessons

The final step is to learn and share your lessons from your sustainable and resilient urban planning process. This involves reflecting on your achievements and challenges, identifying the best practices and lessons learned, and disseminating them to your stakeholders and peers. You can use methods, such as reports, publications, presentations, and webinars, to document and share your knowledge and experience. This will help you improve your own practice, as well as inspire and inform others who are working on similar or related issues.

Sustainable and resilient urban planning is not a one-time or one-size-fits-all exercise. It is a continuous and context-specific process that requires constant learning and adaptation. By following these best practices, you can enhance your skills and competencies as an urban planner, and contribute to the sustainable and resilient development of your city and the world.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?