Welcome to Policy Tools & Guides on Housing and Urban Governance

Policy Tools & Guides are based on lessons learned from experience. They are designed to provide decision-makers, planners, city and community leaders with an array of proven problem-solving ideas, policy options and strategies. The following guides on Housing and Urban Management and Governance can serve as tools of reference as well as a comparative analysis of how governments, cities and communities are responding to common social, economic and environmental problems.

The guide on: Innovative and Effective Uses of Technology, Tools and Methods for Urban Management and Governance is based on the analysis of 82 cases from 33 countries found in the 1998 version of the Best Practices database.

The guide on: Innovative and Effective Approaches to Housing is derived from 229 housing cases from 56 countries presented in the 1998 version of the Best Practices database.

These guides are available in Portable Document Format (PDF files). Please note that first time users of PDF files need to download and to install the free Adobe Acrobat Reader before opening these files.

Each guide is divided into three parts:

Part I presents a general overview and statistical analysis of relevant good and best practices contained in the Best Practices Database. As such, it provides an unique perspective on global and regional trends, priorities and policy responses.

Part II presents key and effective ideas derived from the analysis of good and best practices. This part can be used as a stand-alone tool for better informed decision and policy making. Each entry presents an innovative idea or an effective policy response. Each entry also points to one or more detailed and specific cases contained in the Best Practices Database.

Part III presents an analysis of lessons learned and their potential for transferability.

Both guides were developed for the Best Practices & Local Leadership Programme by the School of International Public Affairs (SIPA) of the University of Columbia.

Please feel free to copy and distribute these guides quoting their source.

For more information on these guides or on other tools and methods developed by the Best Practices and Local Leadership Programme and UN-HABITAT, please contact:

The Chief
Best Practices and Policies
Monitoring Systems Branch
UN-HABITAT
P.O. 30030
Nairobi, Kenya
Tel: (254-20) 623029
Fax: (254-20) 623080
E-Mail: bestpractices@unhabitat.org