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Urban
Land Use in Bolivia
| Bolivia
Sustainable Urban Development Project. |
Land Index
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We would like to acknowledge
the contribution of the Canadian International Development
Agency for the funding of this project .
Introduction:
| Bolivia Sustainable Urban Development
Project (BSUDP) is building local capacity of Bolivia, to
plan and execute participatory development strategies. Urban
development involves more than simply providing and upgrading
physical infrastructure, it also involves strengthening the
capacity of institutions responsible for service delivery
and building mechanisms for transparency and accountability
in decision-making. |
| Urban development involves planning
for the existing needs of residents and future development
of the community. It looks at democratizing the planning process
by involving the public directly and seeks to establish a
cooperative and collaborative relationship between stakeholders
and local government, and the commitment from the civil society
for plan implementation. |
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This picture depicts the kind
of development that is common throughout Bolivia and most
of Latin America. It is evident that there was no developmental
planning or regulations on building houses
in this area. Neighbourhoods are usually
overcrowded and lack proper access
to transportation, safe drinking water
and sanitation. |
Background:
| Bolivia undertook an important
reform process adopting the Law of Popular Participation (Participacion
Popular) in 1994 and the Law of Administrative Decentralization
in 1995. The goal of this reform was to create more democratic
and accountable institutions and to devolve new responsibilities
to Bolivian municipalities as well as increasing involvement
of local grassroots organizations. |
| In response to the Bolivian request for
assistance, the University of Toronto Urban International
was awarded in January 1997, a $ 4.9 million contract over
a 4 year period by the Canadian International Development
Agency for the implementation of the Bolivia Sustainable Urban
Development Project. Canada's comparative advantage in supporting
Participacion Popular in Bolivia lies in the field
of urban development in large cities. Internationally, Canadian
cities are perceived to be well managed and maintained. Through
the project, the University of Toronto brings to Bolivia a
vast range of expertise related to policy formulation and
analysis, program formulation, urban planning and management,
and alternative service delivery mechanisms. |
| The challenge of this project
is not only to strengthen the technical capacities of municipal
governments, but also to make the urban decision-makers and
managers more responsive and accountable to the ongoing actions,
needs and demands of civil society. The approach of this project
is founded on the belief that critical problems of access
to urban services by the poor can only be addressed by building
a mutually-reinforcing relationship between civil society
and governments at all levels. |
Goals:
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The project goal is more
sustainable urban development in large urban areas in Bolivia
through the strengthening of the capacity of Bolivian institutions
at several levels for planning and development. The project
purposes to:
- increase Bolivia's
capacity for policy and technical training in urban development;
- build expertise to develop
an 'enabling' policy framework for urban development;
- strengthen the capacity
of selected Bolivian municipalities to prepare urban plans
consistent with Decentralization Reforms and Participacion
Popular; and,
- build the capacity
of municipalities to provide more efficient urban services
in selected peri-urban areas.
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| Technical support to the central
government in developing an enabling regulatory framework
is important when transforming local governments from implementing
to 'enabling' organizations. The University of Toronto provides
both short-term and long-term technical assistance to selected
government departments and agencies to work on specific areas
of regulatory reform. This is done through technical assistance,
workshops, policy-oriented studies, and short courses. |
| Technical assistance to municipalities
is needed as urban planning in Bolivian urban municipalities
requires a careful balancing of physical development, environmental
constraints, popular participation and enforcement capacity
on the part of municipalities. |
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Working with selected peri-urban neighborhoods
on the upgrading of services such as service delivery in
peri-urban areas, is constrained by lack of financial resources
and/or inadequate community consultations on problems and
priorities. Projects are to be implemented in partnership
with municipalities. Examples of projects include: road
upgrading, community street-lighting, tertiary drainage
improvement.
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This channelized stream
has a heavy silt load which reduces its flow rate and
thus its water supply to the community
it runs through. It was originally channelized to reduce
the risk of flood. All the potential adverse
effects of channelization were not taken into consideration.
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Support for education and training is also
important as there is a need to encourage educational institutions
involved in training Bolivians to work effectively in the
urban context. Through policy workshops, development of
technical capacity, academic exchanges, student exchanges,
a student apprenticeship program for graduate or postgraduate
students, and by including work practiced into the training
of the students, the institutional linkage with educational
institutions will begin to build a broader base of Bolivian
expertise in urban development.
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Status and Report:
| Since the project
started, the first Masters' Program on Local Development and
Public Management has been designed and implemented. To date,
five Canadian and eight Latin American professors taught courses
to approximately 70 Bolivian students. Exchanges and internships
for Bolivian and Canadian students have been organized through
placements of Canadian master-level students in Bolivian organizations
for practical training. |
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In Tarija (with a population of 100,000)
more than 3,000 people participated in the preparation of
a vision for the city's economic, social, environmental
and institutional development and identified local strengths,
weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Strategic objectives
and strategies, specific actions and recommendations for
concrete progress were formulated.
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The whole community
is encouraged to participate in the planning process as their
views and perceptions of what is of priority to the community
may be different to those held by the planners and developers.
By participating, the residents contribute information and
ideas and show a willingness to work
together with the planners. This creates a sense of responsibility
within the community, to maintain the new development and
prevent others from abusing it. |
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The idea is to set up a process to determine
a few key priorities that can be realistically addressed
and produce the most impact, rather than attempting to solve
all of the problems at once. This concept is useful for
Bolivians, coping with limited resources available for providing
basic services in urban peripheries, let alone planning
for future growth. Bolivians also realize municipalities
alone cannot control the development process, and that citizens,
private sector institutions, migrants and other key players'
interests must be considered.
This is an incredible achievement in a
city like Tarija, since until recently urban planning in
Bolivia was perceived to belong to "the realm of dreams".
Plans were generally ineffective, formulated by professionals
sitting in their offices, unaware of the needs and the realities
of the communities they were supposed to serve. Tarija took
a big step towards sustainable urban development, as decision-makers
are now more accountable to the needs and demands of its
citizens.
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As institutional capacity is built, access
to basic services by the poor is also gradually improving
through the building of mutually reinforcing relationships
between civil society and government. Similar processes
have also been completed in Cochabamba and Santa Cruz through
BSUDP. All of these plans, now considered models for the
entire country, involve the communities and guide them towards
sustainability.
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The children of the community
are included in the plans to improve their neighbourhood playground.
They are seen here drawing pictures of what they would like
the new playground in their community to look like. |
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The central government is responsible for
developing policies, regulations and guidelines related
to urban development. Many policies and regulatory instruments
must be implemented that aid in transforming governments
to "enabling" rather than implementing organizations.
The emphasis is on addressing policy areas with direct implications
for urban development and reducing poverty. The University
of Toronto provides both long-term and short-term technical
assistance to selected departments and agencies within the
government to work on specific areas of regulatory reform.
This is done through technical assistance, workshops, policy
studies and short courses.
Urban development in peri-urban areas involves
more than the simple provision and upgrading of physical
infrastructure. It is necessary to strengthen the capacity
of the institutions that are responsible for delivering
services and to build mechanisms for transparency and accountability
in the decision-making process. Service delivery in peri-urban
areas is also constrained by the lack of financial resources
and/or inadequate community consultations on problems and
priorities. Currently, three complementary activities are
being undertaken to address this issue, they include:
1. A more adequate means of public consultation with the
planning processes supported by the project.
2. Support of individual local projects with community organizations
on a cost-sharing basis with the municipality and the community.
3. Providing municipalities with technical assistance to
develop methodologies to implement local individual projects
with community organizations on a cost-sharing basis with
the municipality and the community.
In addition, Canadian input will assist
with the technical specifications and design work, and address
the institutionalization of demand-driven service delivery
into municipal systems.
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