Issue - 15
November 2023
Monthly
The CITIIS 2.0 Challenge was launched on 16 November 2023 by Shri Hardeep Singh Puri, the Honourable Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs. Building on the success and learnings of CITIIS 1.0, CITIIS 2.0 will drive climate action by promoting a circular economy through selected integrated waste management projects. It will foster data-driven planning and action in States as well as build institutional mechanisms, leverage partnerships and anchor capacity building for ULBs across India.
The launch was attended by the EU Ambassador to India H.E. Mr Hervé Delphin, Secretary of MoHUA Shri Manoj Joshi, Joint Secretary and Mission Director (Smart Cities Mission) Shri Kunal Kumar, Joint Secretary of Swachh Bharat Mission Smt Roopa Mishra, and senior officials from AFD, KfW and EU. The launch was followed by interactive sessions with Smart City officials and a walkthrough of the online application process.
18 Smart Cities will be selected for the program through a challenge process. Learn more about the program and application process here: https://bit.ly/CITIIS2Guidelines
Inclusive Cities Centre (ICC)
NIUA facilitated a training workshop for city officials in Bhopal on 10 November 2023, organised by 'I for Humanity,' with NIUA serving as the knowledge partner. Kanika Bansal, Lead for Inclusion and Accessibility at (ICC), NIUA, led the workshop on the application of the Harmonised Guidelines and Space Standards for Universal Accessibility, 2021 in the Indian context.
Over 40 officials from the Public Works Department attended the workshop.
Climate Centre for Cities (C-Cube)
CDoT, a pioneering platform designed and developed by C-Cube was presented at the 'Building Impactful Urban Data Ecosystems' session during the National Urban Conclave on 31 October 2023, at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi. The session focused on data and dashboards like UMEED, AMPLIFI, and the Climate Data Observatory (CDoT), providing climate data for 126 cities assessed under the ClimateSmart Cities Assessment Framework (CSCAF) 2.0. Vaishnavi Shankar, Lead at Climate Centre for Cities, participated as a Panelist.
CDoT data wall is embedded with 28 indicators across five thematic areas (urban planning, energy and green buildings, mobility and air quality, water management, and waste management) for informed decision-making. The platform which has impacted 30% of India's urban population, compares city performance to the national average and service level benchmarks. City profiles created through this tool contribute to scenario-building exercises, supporting research and action in cities.
C-Cube supported the one-day Stakeholder Workshop of the ‘Integrated Urban Climate Action for Low-Carbon and Resilient Cities (Urban-Act)’ project in Shimla. This initiative, jointly implemented by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (@GIZ) GmbH, TERI, and NIUA on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) aligns with India's Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Focused on Coimbatore, Panjim, and Shimla as pilot cities.
The workshop organised by the Shimla Municipal Corporation and the project team, provided a platform for stakeholders, including government officials, technical experts, academia, and think-tanks, to share insights on climate-sensitive urban development. NIUA's session on ‘Training needs assessment’ was a highlight, addressing existing institutional capacities and structures for coordinated climate actions. More than 60 city officials, including the Mayor, Commissioner, and Deputy Commissioner attended the workshop, setting the stage for future training and capacity-building activities in the project.
NIUA and GCoM South Asia have partnered to support the Pune Municipal Corporation for the development of the Pune Climate Action Plan. The project will implement ambitious climate and energy commitments, through target and priority-setting processes, based on Climate Action Plans. NIUA’s team has been working on compiling a comprehensive Greenhouse Gas (GHG) inventory and conducting a thorough vulnerability assessment.
NIUA’s team conducted focused group discussions with the Heads of key City and State departments during the city visit. To bring a diverse perspective to the Climate Action Plan, a second stakeholder consultations with (NGOs) and academic institutions was held in the city on 3 November 2023. Pune residents were asked for inputs and suggestions through citizen engagement based on an online google form questionnaire. These consultations present the city's existing data analysis, discuss their opinions and recommendations on key areas of focus for the development of the Climate Action Plan.
The one-week visit, with key stakeholders, identified areas that require immediate attention and developed effective strategies to address them for preparation of Pune city's climate action plan. It includes an assessment of existing and proposed projects in priority areas, contributing to the formulation of recommendations and action points.
Clear and simple language is important to make climate discussions accessible to everyone, fostering inclusive engagement and informed decisions. NIUA's CCA launched the ‘Climate simplified’ initiative, which aims to simplify climate jargon along the lines of ‘Dejargonise to Decarbonise’, and create short videos of one climate word every week in collaboration with a partner organisation.
The current list of videos is a line-up to COP28.
CCA is currently developing a 'Youth-led Engagement Framework for Urban Climate Action', supported by the Urban Youth Unit, NIUA and in collaboration with Youth Ki Awaaz. The framework will serve as a guiding document for both the urban local bodies and youth to effectively engage with each other for desirable climate action outcomes, across three overarching areas of practical intervention: institutionalising youth participation, engaging youth for urban policy and planning, and ensuring inclusive and impactful physical climate action interventions.
NIUA conducted an Online Training Programme for Students on 'Diagnosis of Urban Water Bodies' on 3 November 2023 supported by Jamia Millia Islamia University to harness the power of youth as catalysts for water sustainability.
Over 300 students participated in the training programme, including students from China, East Africa, Thailand, Ireland, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and South Africa.
The participants received hands-on training on how to use the 'Urban Water Body Diagnostic Tool,' designed by NIUA and UNESCO New Delhi to assess the health of our urban water bodies.
The UrbanShift Country Project supported the participation of Mr Vikas Dhakane, Addl. Municipal Commissioner, Pune Municipal Corporation at the ‘E-Mobility Support and Investment Platform for Asia and the Pacific’, held on 14-16 November 2023, at Seoul.
The workshop highlighted the importance of partnerships in driving sustainable and scalable e-mobility solutions. It provided a platform for government functionaries, industry leaders, innovators, and experts to engage in peer-to-peer learning, knowledge exchange of best practices and technologies, discussions to identify bottlenecks and future areas to accelerate e-mobility in the region.
Centre for Digital Governance (CDG)
NULP being the major capacity building platform of NIUA focuses on user-based on-demand learning based on a Learning Need Assessment (LNA). In the first phase of LNA, NULP focused on the 5 domains of Solid Waste Management, Urban Planning, Municipal Finance, Water supply, and Sanitation, to create learning journeys. The learning journeys for Solid Waste Management (SWM) and Urban Planning (UP) have been successfully launched on the platform on 31 October, 2023, at the National Urban Conclave (NUC).
Solid Waste Management learning journey is a comprehensive training program in collaboration with the SCIAP project, comprising three distinct levels: Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced.
'The अrban Learnathon-2023' culminated in the prestigious event at the India Habitat Centre during the National Urban Conclave on 31 October 2023. The challenge witnessed active participation from 75+ cities and states, reflecting a nationwide commitment to urban innovation.
'अrban Learnathon-2023' garnered an overwhelming response, with an impressive 264 entries received, each showcasing exemplary best practices in the urban sector.
NULP extended recognition to 11 states and cities for their outstanding contributions across various categories. The felicitation ceremony was a testament to their innovative approaches and dedication to urban excellence. 'The अrban Learnathon-2023' underscored the commitment of participants to address real-world urban challenges and implement tangible improvements.
To seek a new identity for the flagship initiative of capacity building, NULP has launched a challenge, 'Your Urban Wisdom, Our New Name' to propose a new distinctive name for NULP that encapsulates the spirit of urban knowledge and learning in India.
Manpreet Singh, CPO-NUDM, participated in a workshop on ‘Using Data for Better Cities’ organised by CivicDataLab on 6 November 2023. He deliberated on the challenges and possible solutions for enhancing civic engagement in Indian cities and the pivotal role data can play in it.
The Officials from the Danish Embassy and NIUA deliberated upon collaborations on urban digital initiatives for monitoring water quality and waste-water management under NUDM on 10 November 2023,.
Manpreet Singh, CPO-NUDM shared insights at the National Urban Conclave on the 'Communities of Practice' organised by MoHUA and GIZ on 16 November 2023. He focused on the pivotal role of digital solutions in transforming urban governance and ensuring regulatory frameworks.
A meeting was held to review the progress of Greater Chennai Corporation, Enterprise Resource Planning (GCC-ERP) 2.0 at Secretariat, Chennai, under the chairmanship of Dr D. Karthikeyan IAS, Principal Secretary to Government, MA&WS Department, on 21 November 2023.
To review the status of pilot implementation in Karnataka, a virtual meeting was held with Shri. Prabhuling Kavalikatti, Director on 23 November 2023.
To deliberated on crafting the State Urban Digital Plan and obtaining the 2nd Tranche from MoHUA as a Pilot State, the NUDM team held a meeting with Dr Nitin Bansal, Director DULB and other officials of Uttar Pradesh on 23 November 2023.
NUDM team met with the new Principal Secretary, UDHD, Govt. of Bihar, Shri. Santosh Kumar Mall and discussed the way forward for driving digital progress in the state on 2 November 2023.
Urban Youth Unit
This episode captured the increased risks for mental disorders, including anxiety, and depression amongst the youth, that have been associated with living in urban areas. Young Professional, Rudraksh Rishi Mitra highlighted how the neighbourhood and the city environment are important for social support, comfort, and a certain level of stimulation. However, factors such as pollution, crime, and social disparities are influencing health and safety, and have profoundly impacted the youth's mental well-being negatively.
‘Inclusion Design: Envisioning Neurodivergent-friendly Urban Spaces’ is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9X98i034wI
Urban Youth Unit is calling young innovators, planners, designers and thinkers from across the country to participate in the Blog and Poster Competition ‘My DreamCity: Envisioning Cities for our Future.’
The competition seeks to envision the ideal city of the youth through vivid, well-written articles, or the artistic form of a poster around one of the following themes which can further be the base of a research work:
- Safe Neighbourhoods
- Cyclable and Walkable Cities
- Our Connection with Rivers and Waterbodies
- Cities, Health and Wellbeing
For more information, one can explore https://niua.in/youth-unit/dreamcity and submit their entries.
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