Towards Sustainable Urban Development: A Strategic Approach

The central objective of the European Community’s
development co-operation policy is poverty reduction and
ultimately its eradication, through sustainable development
and the progressive integration of Third World countries into
the global economy. In this context, a co-operation framework
needs to be tailored to the individual circumstances of each
country. This can be achieved by identifying strategies that
provide links in practical ways with how development
programmes are formulated and run. There is also a need to
promote local ownership and social reform, the integration of
the private sector and civil society into the urban development
process. These are the main objectives of sustainable urban
development.

The Guidelines are divided into four parts, the first of which sets out the rationale
for the strategic approach. The second part deals with the strategic
approach in practice, in the initiation, design and implementation of urban
programmes to support urban development. Part Three covers some of the most
important themes and sectoral issues encountered in cities. Part Four provides
the tools for developing urban projects as a series of appendices.