In 2014 I served at the United Nations Programme for Human Settlements (UN-Habitat) headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya in the Urban Planning and Design branch under Laura Petrella where I contributed to the National Urban Policy Framework for Myanmar.
CONTEXT OF NATIONAL URBAN POLICY FRAMEWORK
A core element of UN-Habitat’s country program for Myanmar is to provide advice to the government’s work on a National Urban Policy, where UN-Habitat’s activities consist of a series of building blocks. A first step was the preparation of a National Urban Policy Note for the Union of Myanmar (December 2014) which in a broad manner outlines themes and topics to be addressed by a National Urban Policy for Myanmar.
WHAT IS A NATIONAL URBAN POLICY?
According to UN-Habitat, a National Urban Policy is “a coherent set of decisions derived through a deliberate government-led process of coordinating and rallying various actors for a common vision and goal that will promote more transformative, productive, inclusive and resilient urban development for the long term”. Thus, a National Urban Policy may be considered to be a statement of political intent or a commitment to pursue a certain course of future action. A key function of a National Urban Policy is therefore to serve as an instrument for future decision-making, translating broad principles into more concrete directives and guidelines.