AUICK Second Group Training Course
on Integrated Urban Policy 1995

BACKGROUND

The aggregate population of Asian countries constitutes approximately 60% of the world's total population. In population growth, Asian countries also occupy half of the top 10 countries in the world. Moreover, the population growth rate of cities in Asian countries is very high, behind only that of Africa. Many Asian countries are now confronting common urban problems caused by a population influx into urban areas.
With support from the UNFPA and the city of Kobe, the Asian Urban Information Center of Kobe (AUICK) was founded in 1989. Since then it has been engaged in the study and research of urban problems facing Asian cities. It has conducted the "Asian Urban Inquiry" and organized the "Research Projects." In 1994, the AUICK established the "Group Training Course on Integrated Urban Policy" for middle-ranking administrative officials in medium-sized cities in Asian countries. This program aims to introduce the process that Kobe and other Japanese cities have undergone and the actual urban policies they have imple- mented, thus contributing to the solutions of urban problems in Asian countries. In January 1995, Kobe was heavily damaged by the Great Hanshin Earthquake. The city government is now planning to introduce new technology and methods in "building a city that is safe against disasters." We believe that this plan for building a new city will be very useful to participants in their future activities.

AIM

The objective of this training course is to introduce to middle-ranking administrative officials in medium-sized cities with a population of 100,000 to 4 million in Asian countries concrete examples of how Kobe and other Japanese cities have been working to solve urban problems in housing, urban environments, public health and welfare - thus helping them to grasp clues to solutions on a wide scope of urban problems that have occurred due to an increase in urban population, and contributing to these cities' appropriate and sustainable development. At the same time, it aims to contribute to the building of a network among medium-sized cities in Asian countries.

Targets to be Attained:

1. To obtain a summary understanding of population dynamics, family planning,housing, urban environment, health and medical care, and welfare in Kobe and other Japanese cities, as well as the plan to build a new disaster-proof city.
2. To understand what kind of urban problems occurred in Kobe, how these problems occurred, how these problems affected the citizens' lives, and how the Kobe city government is dealing with the problems.
3. To study Kobe's examples, through which each participant can make effective proposals for solving urban problems confronted by the city to which each participant belongs.
4. To form a network among the participants' cities, the city of Kobe, the UNFPA and AUICK.

PERIOD

Wednesday, November 1, to Thursday, November 30, 1995.

PARTICIPANTS

Mr. Ismail Hossain Mohammad
Administrative Officer, Tangail City , BANGLADESH

Mr. Ullah Shahid Mohammad
Administrative Officer, Tongi City, BANGLADESH
Tel. 892390, 892351

Mr. Wang Ming Ru
Head, Tangshan House Property Administrative Bureau, Tangshan Municipal People's Government, Hebei, Province, CHINA

Mr. Liu Yu Ping
Sector Chief, Urban Planning Institute, Yangzhou Municipal Government, Jiangsu Province, CHINAT

Ms. Kulsum Ali Abbas
Program Officer (Woman Development), India Population Project-VIII, Hyderabad, INDIA

Mr. Deepak Shrestha
Member-Secretary, Dharan Town Development Committee, Department of Housing & Urban Development (DHUD), Ministry of Housing and Physical Planning, Dharan, NEPAL

Mr. Jit Bahadur Ghimire
Section Officer, Department of Housing & Urban Development (DHUD), Ministry of Housing and Physical Planning, Kathamandu, NEPAL

Mr. Ayub Tariq Sheikh
Town Planner, Planning Wing, Capital Development Authority, Islamabad, PAKISTAN

Mr. Mohammad Iqbal
Deputy Director, Urban Planning, Planning Wing, Capital Development Authority, Islamabad, PAKISTAN

Mr. Pathiranage Don Kumaradasa Pathirana
Planning Officer, Design & Project Management Division, Urban Development Authority, Ministry of Housing Construction & Public Utilities, Colombo, SRI LANKA

Ms. Withanage Indra Nalanie Jayasekera
Assistant Director (Planning), District Planning Unit, District Secretariat, Kurunegala Regional Development Division, Ministry of Finance, Planning, Ethnic Affairs & National Integration, Kurunegara, SRI LANKA

PROGRAM

REVIEW

It is suggested that the 21st century will be one in which the world population will be heavily urbanized. This means that most of the population will reside in urbanized areas on a global scale. Thus, the 21st century will be characterized by a revolutionary change in the distribution of human beings on the Earth - globalization of urbanization of the world population.

It is estimated that 3.3 billion people, half of the 6.6 billion world population, will be urban population by 2005, and that 5.065 billion people, which account for 61.1 percent of the world population of 8.3 billion, will reside in urban areas by 2025 (UN: World Urbanization Prospects, 1994 Revision, 1995). The five billion urban population is on a scale almost equal to the world population of 1990. Thus, the situation necessitates new reviews and measures on a global scale toward social, economic and political issues.

In 1995, the level of Asian urban population is low, 34.6 percent of the total population in Asia. However, the absolute number is as large as 1.2 billion. Furthermore, by 2020 this percentage of urban population in Asia will rise to 51.4 percent, and to 54.8 percent by 2025. The absolute numbers will sharply increase to 2.44 billion and 2.72 billion, respectively. Moreover, the urban population in Asia in 2025 will account for 54 percent of the world urban population all over the world.

Such a sharp increase in the urban population will require a comprehensive settlement strategy. In particular, it is essential to undertake policy measures that can bring about balanced development of population and industries between large metropolitan areas or mega cities, which are currently rapidly growing, and medium- and small-sized cities.

The characteristics of AUICK's activities are to collect information so as to analyze the functions and roles of medium-sized Asian cities, and at the same time to contribute to the solution of urban problem by utilizing the information collected. We have carried out training courses to train administrative officials of Asian cities to directly contribute to effective administration in those cities.

With the objective of introducing integrated urban policies, participating countries and cities in this program are carefully selected. Countries are first decided upon, and midlevel administrative officials are chosen from two cities that have mutually contrasting urban problems. General introduction on worldwide urbanization is made with a "macro" viewpoint. However, the AUICK training course can be said to be distinctive because it is carried out with a "micro" viewpoint, that is, with a focus on the individual character of each city. It aims at helping administrative officials understand, recognize and improve their own particular problems with micro viewpoints toward individual cities in different countries. In particular, it is significant that the participants are able to find great differences between cities by a three-way comparison: differences between two cities in the same country; differences from other Asian cities; and differences from Kobe.

In consideration of the above points of view, I called the trainees' attention to being positively conscious of their own cities' characters, which may be different or similar, superior or inferior to other cities, as well as to how they should take action on behalf of their cities in the future.

I would like to make a few comments on the Second Training Course on Integrated Urban Policy:

1. I found the trainees' attitudes to be excellent as before - both in the course and in daily life in Kobe - thus making the course meaningful and successful.
2. The course covered a wide range of areas. It may take trainees more time until they can substantially review on how sufficiently they understood the contents, and how they can apply what they learned in the course to the actual situations in their own jobs.
   To fully utilize what they learned in the course, it seems necessary for us to take follow-up survey about their follow-up actions after returning to their countries, particularly on the following items: (1) What kind of reports have they made concerning what they learned in the AUICK course?; (2) City proposals are made or now under consideration for administration based on their experience in Kobe; (3) Whether or not they have any idea in connection with routine administrative job after finishing the training course; (4) Do they have any suggestion or impression about the training course and other activities of AUICK?
3. Trainees are required to improve their capability of understanding and utilizing population statistics. Thus, it is desirable that AUICK study more about the contents of the training course.